How Many Heroes

18- Rain

Well, more like over Luke. We found him lying on the ground. In the dim light he could've easily been a rock. I stumbled over him, then fell to the ground clutching my side in pain.

"Beth!" Luke said.

"Luke?"

"Yeah. Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah. Are you okay?"

He didn't answer at first. His hand traveled over my back, finding the wound. I felt the same strange feeling of my skin stitching itself back together I had felt all those months ago. I sighed in relief.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Where's Amy?"

His amber eyes widened. "EVERYBODY GET DOWN!"

I dropped to the ground as quickly as I could, and I heard every else do so without question. An intense heat passed over my shoulder for a second, then a tree came crashing down a few feet away. That explains the noise.

"What was that?" I whispered. My heart was beating too fast for my liking, but I tried to look calm.

"Amy doesn't just want St. Monica's," Luke said, breathing heavily. "She wants to completely burn down Pennies." He coughed. "Right now, she's just taunting me."

I got my first good look at Luke. His shirt was completely damp with blood. I gasped. I didn't know Luke could even get hurt, but I guess his healing powers weren't as powerful as Amy.

Maria tapped my shoulder and pointed behind me. The tree that had fallen was burning on the ground, as well as several trees beside it. This was bad. This was really bad.

"What are you gonna do?" I asked Luke. The surge of power and purpose that sent me on this crazy ride had completely vanished, replaced by cold fear. Luke was the only one who could fix this, and he looked half-dead.

Painfully, Luke sat up. He surveyed Maria, Alyssa, and Jacob, who were watching our conversation. "I can put all the fires out, but you guys'll need to get Amy."

"What the hell, Luke! You didn't tell me Amy brought fucking bombs!" Maria whispered harshly.

While I wasn't sure what Amy's power was, I knew it wasn't something as basic as a bomb.

"Wait, what do you mean, 'get Amy'?" Alyssa said.

"She knows you guys are here. You need to convince her that I am unable to fight, and that I sent you to fight her instead."

"She knows you wouldn't do that," I said softly.

"Well, I'm doing it now, aren't I?" Luke said. Even in the faint light, I could see the guilt plain on his face. "There's no other choice. She wants to burn Pennies to the ground. People will lose everything, including their lives. Please, try to fend her off as best as you can."

"She's just a teenage girl," Alyssa said. "That'll be easy."

"A teenage girl with bombs," Maria said in disbelief. "And did you see how she fought Luke?"

Another wave of heat knocked over a tree, missing Maria by inches.

"What are you gonna do?" Alyssa asked, peering into the dark as if to find Amy.

Luke glanced at me. "You'll see. In the meantime, remember... Amy fights first with emotions. No matter what she says, don't let her make you lose sight of who you are and why you're here."

With great effort, he stood up. I wouldn't be surprised if he fell right back to the ground, the way he swayed on his feet. Luke saw me staring in concern and smiled his usual, easygoing smile. "Don't worry about me, Beth. I've done this before." Then he ran into the wildfire.