Gladiator Wars

Chapter 14: Explanations, Realizations, and Complications

Daniell's point of view

I feel like a complete idiot. I mentally facepalmed, the moment I heard Victoria walk down the stairs. I took a deep breath and willed myself to calm down.

I pictured a snowy landscape that always made me feel relaxed. I thought of hot cocoa and Christmas lights. Christmas was one of my favourite holidays.

Even though we live differently from the people that lived before the great flood, we still kept a lot of their holidays.

I calmed down, but then Victoria ran back in. She looked very flustered and I could see that she had multiple tears spilling down her face. I got up from where I was sitting.

"Victoria, what's wrong?" I asked concerned about her. She smiled meekly and walked over to me.

"It's Heath." She said tearfully. "He's awake."

Hearing this made me feel a million times happier knowing that I hadn't lost a great friend. I started walking to the door and Victoria fell in step next to me.

We walked down the steps as fast as we could, but we were greeted with a strange scene. One that involved a very surprised Heath and one very mad Natalie.

Heath's point of view

(Ten minutes ago)

My eyes felt like lead and my head felt like as if I had banged it against a wall for an hour. It breathing felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest.

Finally I gathered my strength and tried to open my eyes. When I opened my eyes the first thing I saw was Natalie talking to Victor.

I tried to sit up, but the moment I tried, I feel pain coursing through me. I gasped at how immense and sudden the pain was.

I suddenly remembered everything that had happened. I remember fighting with Natalie at my side, getting stabbed and then a sudden darkness.

I saw Natalie rush to my side with an expression of utter concern. Victor grabbed something out of his medicine bag and then walked over to me.

"Here." He said holding out his hand, which held a small clear liquid. I recognized it as a painless potion.

I grabbed it and drank it in one gulp. The effects were instant. The pain dulled and I felt like I could breathe without wincing.

"How are you doing?" Asked Natalie. She looked worried and I noticed something else in her eyes.

"I'm fine now. I feel better." I said sitting up.

"Good." Natalie said smiling. Then I saw a blur of movement and a stinging sensation on my left cheek.

I stared in shock at her. I realized what that look was in her eyes. It was fury. She red-faced and had tears streaking her face.

Victoria and Daniell walked in and looked quite surprised at what was happening. Natalie paid no attention to them and started her lecture.

"Next time don't be an idiot and take a knife for me." Natalie said with an edge to her voice that sounded like it was sharp enough to rival her best blade.

"What's worse is that you have the power to stop things like this from happening." She continued. I smiled despite the fact that Natalie could kill me for doing so.

"I'm sorry for nearly dying, but by the time I said the spell you'd already be injured." I stated watching her closely.

"And I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt and I could have done something." I continued. I meant ever word I said. I cared about her deeply and I could see through her eyes that she felt the same.

She scoffed, but I could see that she wasn't angry anymore. Well at least not at me specifically.

"Spoken like a poet." Hama interrupted smiling his usual impish smile. I rolled my eyes and saw nearly everyone do the same.

"Be quiet, Hama." Natalie and I said in unison. Hama just shrugged still smiling and started to talk to Daniell in a whisper. Victor went over to talk to Ron and Joseph who were sharpening their blades on the counter.

"So you do care if I get hurt." I stated. Natalie blushed scarlet and punched my arm playfully.

"And if I do?" She answered. I thought about what I wanted to say to her. I wanted to tell her exactly what I felt, but I want sure how to say it. I finally found the right words.

"If you do, then I want to make sure that you're also safe and in my opinion I can do that the best if you're by my side." I said unsure if I misunderstood what she was trying to say.

"Gladly." She said. I grabbed her hand and kissed it lightly. I was happy now that I knew I would get to be with Natalie. Hopefully we would win this war, so I could spend more time with Natalie.

Joseph's point of view

Everything was slightly hushed in our house. Johnnie and Catherine were sitting down talking quietly amongst themselves. Victoria, Daniell and Hama were discussing something that sounded important.

Natalie was talking to Heath in halfwhispers. Morgan was messing with his phone and Sebastian was no where to be found.

I was sitting with Ron, when Victor came over. I was half listening to their conversation about what had transpired at the school. Suddenly Sebastian appears with a stack of books and a triumphant look on his face.

"I've figured it out!" He announced. He came over to the counter Ron, Victor and I were currently occupying. He set down his books and opened the books to certain pages.

"What have you figured out?" Questioned Victoria. She strides over to where Sebastion was currently setting up charms that he was pulling from his satchel and from the pockets of his jacket and pants.

"I've found a way to get us home." These words sent shockwaves through us. I know it's technically been three days, but that's a long while to be away from your kingdom. Anything could happen in that amount of time.

"How?" Johnnie asked. I knew for a fact Catherine and Johnnie wanted revenge on Bale for locking them up. The rest of us just wanted to get rid of Bale for threatening our homelands.

"The army you guys fought had to have crossed the dimension and time barrier to get here, so I figured that we go back to where they materialized from and draw on the energy that was left behind." Sebastian paused taking a breath. "With that energy Morgan can take us home."

Victoria broke out into a smile and hugged Sebastian. We followed suit. He looked happy, but then his face fell as if remembering something rather unpleasant.

"The only problem is that if we try to go home using that power, we can only go to the exact time they sent that army and I have no idea what time or even if it's our dimension." Sebastian finished looking a bit put out.

"If we stay, we're sitting ducks. They'll send bigger armies and we'll only put the people in this dimension in more danger." Victoria stated. She had that look in her eyes that said that she thought this was what they should do.

Then she did said something that surprised even me. She turned her head towards Morgan who was listening intently.

"I'm not the leader, but you are..." She took a deep breath, "And I'm ready to support any decision that you think is right." Morgan smiled a small smile, while everyone that really knew Victoria just stared wide eyed and shocked.

"If you approve, then it's a good plan." Said Morgan. He looked over at Sebastian. "How soon can we do this and where?"

"Tommorow. After-school would be best and I've traced the signal to the school courtyard where we fought the Dragon." Sebastian stated.

And tomorrow at school it would be, but none of us knew what forces of evil were actually doing.