BATTLE SCARS: (Indigo Symbols Book II)

Chapter Seventeen: Fallen Symbol

REINA:
I watched as Indigos began to fall, as they fell, and didn't get up. Keepers were cheering, racing through the blood and gore, racing through the death that they created. I felt my power, my strength lagging, felt it start to fall. "HUNTOR." Sarah's voice. I turned in her direction and saw her, her palms flashing as she froze Keeper after Keeper. Saw her, and the dead Indigo she was too late to save, one of the Warriors boys I'd seen when I entered. "No." I thought. "No, no no no." Then I heard sarah's scream, this a scream of power, one last effert. I let out my own and heard Huntor's. Thee Symbol, the state, the world trembled from the force. Power roared through the Symbol, linking Huntor, Sarah, and myself. Then the Keepers screamed, then they screamed, they yelled in agony, as they're bodies were evaporated, as the Earth, winds, and ocean took them under. Blue light engulfed the Symbol, then, then they were gone. The Keepers, and the fallen Indigos. There was nothing but the gasping of Indigos and staff. I saw Huntor, splattered with blood as he limped slightly over and pressed his palm to the wall. He took several deep breaths and said, "It's begun, Gods fucking damn it it's begun." Then he turned to us. "We fought well, all of you, all of you fought well." He turned to the broken doorway, that housed the Center stairs, that was supposed to keep Indigos safe, but they'd come anyways, they'd fought anyway. His face, his simple face seemed to crack and i saw him under it, the him that hid behind the Leader. Then he said, "Everyone clean up, we don't have much time left, we need to get out of here."
    No one spoke, no one even seemed ot breathe as we left the Hall, and made or way silently through to our rooms. I scrubbed away the blood, the gore, and the pain I'd feel for a lifetime. So many lost. I saw, for that brief moment, just how many Indigo were dead. Just like that, they were dead, so many of them. So many bodies were just, just gone. I stepped out and grabbed my pack, feeling the comfort of the grass, of the weight. I slid my band, and daggers into it, then slung it over my shoulders. Huntor waited for everyone to come out of the halls and into the ruined entryway of the Symbol. "We lost many Indigo today." He said. 'We lost many brothers and sisters, so many we loved and cared for." Then he began the list, the list of the dead. "Our Warriors, our Warriors who knew the cost, who knew the dangers ahead and fought with us anyways." "Another list. "Gale, Andrew, Dauntless, Hecate, Fiji,." He took a breath then listed the staff who were dead. "Let their names never be forgotten, let us all remember those we lost today, and make the Keepers pay for it." He paused, then said, "Today was planned, they knew, they found us, today is the mark of a prophecy that has begun to unfold." He spoke the lines, then said, "Three Indigos, with equal power." He turned to me. 'Reina, Sarah, and myself. We are the three with the power that is equal, with the power that is true and deep." Us. Of course it would be us. WHat we did, the little demonstration we did, our outburst, that proved it beyond a doubt.
    "Now we have to leave. Now it is our time to move on and gather strength. We aren't hiding, we aren't giving up, we are taking the time to heal from our scars. We lost a lot of people we cared about today. We gained a lot of battle scars that we will carry, but we will heal from those scars, heal, and creat a new Symbol, one that we all will defend and no one will destroy." His words rang through us all, and I felt a lift in my heart. "Shawn, James?" A boy came forwad, "James isn't with us, but he created something that will help us move on from here." He gestured and several bikes were being rolled out. "Each of you will travel with a partner, thre at the least. We travel in groups and will find a safe place, a place to gather everythign we can, and to gain strength. And when the time comes, we'll be ready to finish this, to truly finish this war." I stepped forward to stand next ot him. Sarah moved out of the crowd and stood on his other side. I saw the boy, Shawn, stand next to a girl who had to be his sister. Then other Indigo-Warriors were stepping into place, next to their fellows, those they'd run with.
    "These bikes will keep you hidden." Shawn said. "One person need only touch and it'll awaken, ready to do your command. Home to awaken the power, goodnight ot put it to rest." Huntor swung his leg over one and I looked at Sarah, "Go ahead." I sat behind him and wrapped my arms loosely around his waist. Sarah sat behind me and did the same. Huntor swiped his wrist over his face, wiping away tears. "Home." He muttered. THe bike hummed under us, and he wheeled it around to face tthe others. "Thank you all for being so brave and so strong, for fighting among your brothers and sisters. For defending what we love. I'm going ot make this up to you. I'm going to return, we will return, and when we do, we're ending this." With that, Huntor kicked the bike and pushed us forward. I turned to see the others doing the same and disappearing into the trees. I looked one final time at the symbol, at the fallen Symbol, our home. The huge building imploded, as if it's guardian kept it alive just long enough and died along with the building.
    I faced forward and saw Huntor wiping his face again, saw the sadness in him, in his posture, felt it hover over him. I opened my mouth, but Sarah was the one who said, "It'll be ok Huntor, we will return. We'll answer the prophecy and end this. We will end this once and for all." I bowed my head so Sarah couldn't see the scowl I had, the scowl because, for once, I wanted to give Huntor the reassurance. I wanted to be kind ot him, to let him know that I was here. That warmth in me faded to ice, ice that was rage, oh familiar rage and anger. For a while we zoomed through trees, zoomed across the forest, then Huntor said, "There's a nice hotel not too far from here, we'll camp there for a few days, then figure out a plan." He turned the bike and began weaving through the trees. Soon we came onto a road and were heading South.