Fight to Win (Book 5 of the SRMTHFG Series)

3

    "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Markus hisses. My hand is clenched on his wrist and Cameron follows. We run after Gwendolyn and Eric. It's dark out, but the streets of New York are lit up by a little moonlight and street lamps. I see them turn a corner, but when we run around it, they're gone.

    "Where are they?" I say out loud, looking around. We pass a dark alleyway, and suddenly, a hand covers my mouth and an arm wraps around my torso, pulling me back. I try to yell out to Markus or Cameron, but I can't move. I hear someone else struggle.

    "Hey!" Cameron snaps, running after me. I'm pinned against the wall by another person gripping my neck, and they're holding Markus up with their other hand. I see a flash of angry and suspicious eyes.

    "Who are you and why are you following us?" a sharp voice says. I look to see Gwen with her arms crossed and lips set in a firm line, standing behind Eric, who's holding us up. I grasp his hand in both of mine, trying to pry it off.

    "I-I'm not-" I choke, gasping for air.

    "Let. Us. Go!" Markus growls, trying to pry him off as well. "I'm warning . . . you . . ." I can see the golden energy tingling at his fingertips.

    "NO!" I say. We can't hurt them, it will only make us look more like enemies. Cameron runs up behind Gwen.

    "Wait! We're on your side!" he insists. "She's a M-"

    "Shaddup!" Eric snaps.

    "ENOUGH!" I yell. I feel my eyes tingle as they glow blue; my wings push until they tear out of the back of my sweater and unfold to their full length. Eric's eyes widen and he lets go of us both. I drop to my knees and cough, folding my wings back. Gwen rushes to my side.

    "Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry! We didn't know, we didn't know at all-"

    "It's okay," I say reassuringly. "Is there somewhere we can go and talk? It's important."

    "Sure, we can go to my apartment," she replies, taking off her jacket and draping it over my shoulders to hide my wings.

~Time Skip brought to you by Wonder Fun Meat World ~

"Of course we'll help you," Gwen says assuringly. "This Sorcerer guy sounds like a real jerk."

We're all in her living room with glasses of juice. After pouring out everything from me being thrown through a portal by Otto onto Shuggazoom to the present, she considered it for a moment before giving her reply.

"You will?!" I say expectantly. She hums and nods. Eric gives a nod, too. I practically leap over the coffee table and hug her.

"Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me!" She smiles and hugs me back. "You're welcome. And you guys can even stay here for tonight, we can all head out tomorrow."

Erin pulls the coffee table aside after everybody's done talking and eating dinner (provided by Gwen), then pulls out the two couches into the built-in cots. We separate to change into pajamas before regrouping. Erin goes off to his room, Markus takes one cot, and I take the other. Cameron climbs in beside me - he's my brother and he's just a hologram of sorts. Gwen flips the lights.

"Good night, you three! See you in the morning. Come get us if you need anything." With that, she turns on one heel and walks into her room, humming a song along the way.

It becomes quiet as I hear Markus's breaths become slow and steady, but I can only stare at the ceiling. I reach for the front of my night shirt, right above my heart, and let my fingers wrap around what seems like a silver pin with a design consisting of a black lightning bolt with a dot on either side. If I called, you would have picked up. If I call now, you won't pick up. Not with this thing, anyway.

    'You're going to try and contact them again, aren't you?' Cameron's voice says inside my head. Yes, inside - he can choose whether or not to talk with the image I made.

    'Yes,' I reply. 'It's the only thing that'll help keep me sane.'

    'Even if you get hurt every time they don't answer?'

    'Yes, even if I get hurt every time they don't answer.' He gets quiet, but it's the kind of quiet that comes from respect. I sit up and cross my legs Indian-style, resting my hands on my knees like Antauri taught me. I don't have to do this if I don't want to, but it helps me focus better, and - as Antauri said - the stronger I focus, the stronger the signal should be.

    I take a deep breath and close my eyes, darkness enveloping me completely. I can already feel the slight, green haze surround me. Instead of trying to talk right away, though, I just breathe, building my focus. I need to get a message through to them, I need to. Once I can sense nothing but the darkness and the Power Primate, I speak through my mind.

    Monkey Team, come in. I repeat, Monkey Team, come in. It's Chelsea. Come in, Monkey Team.

    Nothing. I swallow and try again.

    Hyper Force, if you're there, speak. Give me a sign that you can hear me.

    My eyes water as I take turns calling everyone's names, still with no reply. I continue on.

    I understand that this isn't working the way I thought, I understand that I'm not getting a reply of any kind, I understand that you're lightyears and galaxies away, but I don't understand why the connection won't work. I don't understand how Antauri could reach me when my Voice was taken, but I can't reach any of you. It doesn't make any sense.

    I pause and sniff, letting a couple of tears fall.

    You know what? If you can't answer, then don't answer. Either way, I have six months to do this and I can't waste any time moping around. I'm coming to save you, Hyper Force, and that's a promise. Don't forget.

    Please.