Alone - a Lorien Legacies fanfiction

Found

Two

Nine

After John and I took our showers and packed our bags, we took off in my tricked-out Ford Taurus with Ella. I decided to take the wheel and Ella slid into the passenger seat. She smiled over at me with a little blush on her cheeks as she tucked her auburn hair behind her ear. I smiled back before my eyes flicked up to the rear view mirror to see John rolling his eyes.

"You just mad because we're leaving Sarah?" I asked with a smirk.

John glared. Ella giggled quietly into her hand as I threw the car into drive and squealed the tires before leaving the underground garage. We bounced out onto the quiet night streets of Chicago, a sight that could only be found in the very wee hours of the morning. We left the city and hopped onto I-65 with the pedal to the metal for the majority of the way. After about 30 minutes of silence, I looked over at little Ella to see her asleep against the passenger door. I shook my head with a smile before turning my attention back to John quickly. He was fighting sleep, looking out the window into the darkness around us.

I opened my mouth to say something, but he beat me to it.

"It's odd that they just randomly showed up. Sam had been staring at that thing for days." He yawned, covering his mouth before running his hands through his blonde hair.

"I was thinking the same thing." I kept my voice quiet, trying my best not to disturb Ella. She had been looking extremely tense lately, especially after reading the letter from Crayton. I was surprised John invited her. "Maybe Maddy took off some kind of protection barrier?"

"Maddy? You talk like you've known her for years."

My chest tightens. That was a slip.

"Do you know her?"

I shook my head, black hair falling into my eyes. I push it away. "No."

There was a pause. I looked up at the mirror to make sure he hadn't fell asleep, but, instead, he seemed to be waiting for my answer. I turned my eyes back to the road. He wasn't getting one.

"Nine, who's Maddy?"

Silence.

"Nine -"

"I outlasted over a year of Mogadorian interrogation without saying a word. I can last a ten hour car ride."

Ella shifted slightly beside me with a pained expression but did not wake. John didn't press anymore, his exhaustion probably outweighing his interest in my past. Which is perfectly fine with me, because I was not interested in discussing previous girlfriends. Er, girlfriend. Friend who I liked and dated. Unofficial girlfriend. Crush. Girls are confusing.

My mind wandered back to Madeleine's pictures – the new Madeleine, not my Maddy. It wasn't her bruises that struck me; it was her dead eyes. Despite the not-so-great photograph, I could barely make out a set of pale blue eyes that should have been full of life. She was easily my age or a year younger with bright red curls and freckles hidden by pain. She grew up outside a busy city. She should have many friends and go out on the weekends. She should be happy. This Madeleine was the opposite of my Maddy, who had big brown eyes and long black hair with those adorable bangs. My mouth twitched into a smile thinking about the planetarium and the car chase from the Mogs...

The Mogs... The ones who stole her away from me. Who she turned me into. The ones who killed her and her parents.

My face fades back into its usual stony expression. Even though Madeleine isn't the same girl, she bears the same name as her. We can't lose another Maddy. I can't lose another Maddy.