More Power More Hope- Book Three In The United Series

Chapter 12

Max's POV:

I storm through the woods until I reach a small stream. I sit down in front of it and bury my head in my hands. It's not long until I hear footsteps carefully approaching me from behind. I ignore them.

"Hey, Garde," I hear Ivan call out to me. I lift my head from my hands and turn to face Ivan, who sits down next to me on my left. I smile at him.

"Hey," I reply. "I'm sorry about what happened." Then I realize that this is the same reason that Ivan left in the first place.

"You're not going to...leave? Are you?" I ask Ivan cautiously and he hesitates before shaking his head.

"Not yet. If things get too out of hand like last time, though..." Ivan trails off, fiddling with the grass and avoiding my gaze.

I place my hand on Ivan's shoulder and he looks at me again. "You can't leave, Ivan."

"Why not? What's so special about me?" Ivan asks me.

"Ivan, you saved me from the Anubis. And speaking of that, I never properly thanked you for it..." I trail off, scratching the back of my head and Ivan shrugs his shoulders.

"No, you thanked me," Ivan replies and I must look confused because Ivan takes one look at my face and smiles. "You brought me back, remember?" Ivan says, grabbing my hand.

"Right," I breathe. Suddenly I hear multiple footsteps heading towards Ivan and I. Way too many to be John, Adam, Nine, and Five, but also way too much to be Sam, Malcolm, Ella, BK, Marina, Eight, and Six. Ivan and I both know who it is.

Ivan and I jump up and I reach for my sword when I remember that I don't have it. The Mog who brought me to Setrákus Ra took it and threw it. Dam it, I should've grabbed something from camp.

Ivan realizes that I don't have a weapon with me because he steps in front of me to protect me. I wish he didn't.

His leg is blasted with a bullet from a pistol and he goes falling to the ground before he can even unsheathe his sword.

"Ivan!" I exclaim and kneel down next to him. He groans and holds his leg where he was shot.

"Run, Max," he orders me through gritted teeth. I shake my head.

"You didn't leave me when I was shot," I remind him and grab one of his arms then sling it across my shoulders. I stand up and Ivan limps with me.

"I fricking love you," Ivan mumbles from next to me and I hold in a laugh. That quickly disappears as a huge Mogadorian solider appears from the trees, smirking. I scowl at him, unsheathe Ivan's sword, and point the tip at the Mog solider.

The Mog chuckles and about twenty more Mogs walk out of the shadows as well. Ivan glares at all of them.

"Come with us, Number Two. You need to be tested," the first Mog sneers at me.

"You're funny. Get your freak show army out of my face," I tell him. He laughs and cocks the pistol he's holding. He points the pistol at Ivan and I jump in front of him. The Mog scoffs.

"You're being stupid, Two. Move out of the way," the Mog orders me and I finally realize something. The Mogs won't kill me. They need me alive for this experiment. They won't shoot at Ivan if it risks getting me killed.

I try my best not to smirk but that once again disappears as a Mog behind me grabs Ivan's arms and pushes him to the ground.

"Ivan! Leave him alone!" I yell at the Mogs as another Mog behind me grabs Ivan's sword and throws it out of my reach. Then he holds down both of my arms with his. I struggle against his grip unsuccessfully.

The Mog solider holds Ivan down by stepping on his right arm and keeping it there, then he points his pistol at Ivan.

"I thought you were dead. Guess I was wrong. But now, you can really die," the Mog tells Ivan.

Now, I know he won't hesitate to pull the trigger.

Eight's POV:

Marina and I walk side-by-side as BK scouts ahead.

I open my mouth to speak to Marina about anything, but BK comes bounding towards us, no longer in the sparrow form, but back in his beagle form.

He barks at Marina and I twice, then rushes back to where he came from. Marina and I look at each other curiously then race after BK. We find him hidden behind a bush, growling at something near a stream.

Mogadorians.

Marina and I dive behind a tree to not be seen. I peek behind the tree to see what's happening and what I see gets me confused, shocked, and surprised at the same time- it's Ivanick.

Wide-eyed, I push my back against the tree Marina and I are hiding behind, clutching Nine's pipe staff tighter than usual. Marina touches my shoulder.

"Eight, what'd you see?" Marina asks me.

"I-Ivan," I whisper. Marina looks just as shocked as I feel.

She peeks behind the tree as well, but when I see her face again, she doesn't look shocked. She looks confused.

"Why is he being held down?" Marina asks me. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion and take another glance at Ivan and the other Mogadorians surrounding him. He is being held down, by a huge Mogadorian solider with a pistol in his hand.

"He's still helping us, isn't he?" Marina asks and even though I don't want to believe it, it's obvious he is. Why else would other Mogs surround and attempt to murder him?

"Eight, we have to help him," Marina tells me. I look at her and she looks determined and ready to fight.

I'm about to protest when another voice yells from the group of Mogadorians: "Let him go!"

Marina and I both recognize the voice. We both know it's Max.

Marina slightly cocks her head to the right at me. "How about now?" She asks me. Dam.

I sigh. "Fine," I answer. Marina smiles at me and BK looks up at me eagerly.

"Get em, BK," I order BK, gesturing to the Mogadorians. BK barks once then shape-shifts into a huge tiger and roars, bouncing out of the shadows he was hiding in, in view of the Mogadorians, Ivan and Max.

I hear Mogadorians screaming. "Stay here," I order Marina, then jump out from behind the tree I was hiding behind. BK goes for the Mogadorians closest to him and I go for the Mog holding Ivan down, quickly glancing around for Max.

She has to be here, right?

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