Almost At The Top- Book Four in the United Series

Chapter Five

John's POV:

We all heard the explosion.

It was so big that we could hear it as if it were right next to us and it even knocked us all off our feet.

We all frantically tried to figure out what happened. All we know is that Max and Ivan are gone. They're probably the ones that caused the explosion in the first place. Knowing Max, she definitely caused the explosion.

"Guys! HEY!" I hear someone yell to us. I turn towards the voice and see a bruised and bloody Ivan running towards us, and he's carrying Max in his arms.

I let out a strangled gasp. Max. Ivan rushes towards us and I automatically take Max from him. I gently put her on the ground. She has the two level three burns I saw in the vision of her, Sam, Six, and Setrákus Ra. I start to panic, not because of the burns, but because of the fact that Max is barely breathing.

Everyone gathers around Max and Leo bites his lip and it looks like he's trying not to fling himself onto Max and never let her go. Percy looks terrified, his sea green eyes wide and his hands shaking. I wonder how that must feel- my little sister badly injured and nearly dead at my feet and not being able to do anything about it. 

"You have to help her," Ivan tells me. I nod my head and place my hands on Max's chest, trying to use my healing legacy. I can slowly feel Max's wounds healing and I look up at Ivan.

"What happened? Where were you?" I ask him. His pitch black hair is tousled and his coal black eyes are wide.

"She-She wanted to go to the river, and I went with her to make sure she wasn't being followed, and the Mogadorians...they found us. And Setrákus Ra, he used his whip on her," Ivan explains, breathing heavily. I gasp and look back down at Max. It doesn't look like Setrákus Ra used his whip on her besides the burns on her face and neck, but that's not what happened when Nine and Six were hit with the whip at Dulce Base in New Mexico.

"And Max, she used a shield of water to protect herself. When the whip and the shield collided, it made the explosion," Ivan finishes and I see the Cêpans exchange looks at each other. I forget about it and focus on healing Max.

"So, she basically blocked the blow? The blow of the whip?" Sandor asks Ivan.

"I don't know, I guess that's what it looked like, but what does it matter? Just help her!" Ivan yells at them.

"She blocked it." Katarina mutters under her breath.

"So what? She blocked a whip, so what? Just help her!" Ivan yells frantically. He seems even more frantic than me to save Max.

"You don't get it, do you?" Reynolds asks Ivan.

"Get what?!" Ivan yells, obviously frustrated.

"Only one of the nine Garde can block Setrákus Ra's whip," Conrad quickly says. I freeze and so does everyone else.

Everyone looks down at Max, who's still unconscious. I continue to heal her, though my progress is slow.

"Only one of the nine Garde can block Setrákus Ra's whip," Marina repeats and the Cêpans all nod their heads.

"And Max is that Garde, and she's the only one who can protect us against the whip..." Nine trails off. 

"Yeah, and she's about to die!" Ivan yells at all of us. Marina and I snap out of our shocked trances and we both try to heal Max, but our progress is still slow. So slow that before we finish, Max will be dead.

Ivan looks up at the Cêpans. "You guys know that the whip can only be blocked by one Garde, you should know what happens after, right?" He asks them and they all nod their heads yes. "So you know how to heal her?" The Cêpans sadly shake their heads.

Ivan looks at me, looking frantic, worried, and concerned.

"Help her," Ivan tells me. I nod my head.

"I'm trying," I reply.

"Well you're not trying hard enough!" Ivan yells at me, looking down at Max, whose wounds are barely healed. I nod my head in agreement and focus on Max and Max only. I think about her being alive and well and happy with me.

"Come on, Max," I whisper through gritted teeth. Everyone has closed their eyes or looked away. It's like I can feel a circular scar forming on my ankle now.

"Max..." I whisper, though it comes out more as a strangled cry. Tears stream down my face but I don't want to risk taking my hands off of Max to wipe them away.

I grit my teeth even harder and put every last inch of strength I have in healing Max. I open my eyes as Max starts to breathe normally. I sigh in relief when I see Max with only cuts and bruises on her. I run a hand through my curly blond hair and sigh again. I can hear others sighing in relief behind me and Ivan looks at me gratefully.

"Thank you," he whispers to me breathlessly. I nod my head, glance down at Max, look back up at Ivan.

"Can you bring her somewhere to rest?" I ask him. He nods his head and carries Max near her chest. He sits down next to Max's chest and lays Max's head down on his lap.

He loves her, I realize. And Max clearly favors him over me.

I shake the feeling of loneliness and despair away and go join the other Garde on discussing how we're going to tell Max that she's the only one who can protect us against Setrákus Ra's whip when she wakes up.

"I don't think we should tell her today. She's had a really long day and I don't think she also needs to worry about how she's going to protect us from Setrákus Ra all by herself," Eight explains and we all nod our heads in agreement.

"Yeah, no need to stress her out even more than she is now," Six agrees.

"Maybe we should tell her tomorrow. When we're heading to Mexico to the Sanctuary our Cêpans were talking about," Marina suggests and we all once again nod our heads in agreement.

I glance back at Max and she's starting to wake up. I get up and head towards her. I can hear the other Garde getting up as well but someone stops them.

"Wait. Just let John go by himself. No need to crowd her," Five tells them all. They take his advice and sit back down again.

When I get to Max she's sitting straight and talking to Ivan. I kneel down on one knee and she faces me. She smiles warmly at me.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" I ask her, concerned.

"Fine," she replies. I smile at her and brush some hair out of her face. She seems confused on why I'm doing this, though I'm not sure why.

"Good," I tell her and get up and walk back to the Garde. I will never let Max out of my sight again.

-----------------