After Fate Fell

34 • MARINA

Note: the last chapter was originally and accidentally named 32 • ELLA. It was in fact Chapter 33 and it is now fixed.

1 year, 3 months, and 16 days after it all
•MARINA•

Ella comes running back up the hill, looking worried and exhausted. And wet...I guess I'll have to ask her about that part later, I can tell whatever she's about to tell us is important. All of us have stayed within a block of where the cars are parked, so once people started seeing Ella coming back, everyone just flocked back to the cars. They seem to be the only place that makes sense. They're the only part of this city that makes it look like people are still alive here.

"We don't have much time," Ella says once she finally makes it to us, out of breath. "We have to leave now."

Though we may all be confused because of the sudden urgency in her manner, we don't hesitate. We all get into the cars. I forget about my earlier ideas to change cars, I just get in and get ready.

There's no movement from the other car. Everyone has gotten in, but they haven't started the car yet. Ella must be talking things over in her car. I don't have any idea of what's going on, but it doesn't matter. It must be dire. We all know this, we've all learned to know this.

I see Ella get out of the other car. She bangs her fist on her head. She looks overly frustrated. I decide since nobody in the other car is going after her, I won't either. She just needs space.

"-kay, so this is what's happening. Ella is still trying to reach Legacy or something to figure out if we're gonna go north or south from here. We can't really leave until she figures that out," Six tells us over the walkie-talkie.

"Okay. Until then?" I ask her.

"We wait for her. There's nothing else to do."

"She'll be back soon. I know she will, she'll figure this out," I say. As much as I believe in Ella, I'm nervous for her. Because she looked more frustrated than I've ever seen her. And I've seen her at her worst. With all the nightmares and the visions and the voices, Ella has had her share of trauma.

"I know," Six says.

//

Still no sign of Ella after ten minutes, and I'm getting nervous. She has too much pressure on herself right now to do this alone. I need to be there for her.

"I'm going to find her," I tell Six over the walkie-talkie.

"-o Marina give it a couple more minutes," she says.

"Six, I have to be there for her. She's my best friend, my sister. We've always been there for each other and I can tell she needs me now. I'm going." It takes a lot to defy Six. I really don't want to get beat up. But there's no response over the walkie-talkie, and when I get out of the car, she doesn't get out of hers, so I guess I'm good.

I walk around to the side of the nearest buidling, because this is the direction she was walking when she left. She isn't here, so I go around back. Stil nothing. I check the other side, and I don't see her. I look off in all directions and I don't see any signs of her. She must've gone inside is my best guess. So I see the door at the back of the building is open a bit and walk inside.

It's dark on the inside, but there are a couple windows that let in enough light for me to be able to find my way around. I can tell that this was a stock room for a grocery store. I look around for Ella, and all I see are shelves full of canned food, bottled water and other drinks, and just about anything else you would find at any grocery store. This actually scares me, because nobody came and looted this store. I walk out into the aisles of the store after no luck finding Ella, and see every single shelf almost completely full. It's like they stocked the shelves and then left. Nobody took anything, yet the door was wide open.

I look around for Ella more, calling out her name. It isn't until I reach the checkout row that I find her, sitting on a stool behind one of the registers, her head in her hands. I know she heard me, she just doesn't want to acknowledge me because she knows that she looks weak in this moment.

"Hey Ella," I say softly, walking closer. "From birth, we've all been trained, expected to become warriors, put under pressure. We were evacuated from our home planet in an attempt to save our kind. We came here, just to find ourselves in another war, always hiding, running, fighting. But Ella, you have been expected to do all of this even faster. You came here as a baby, literally born what, twenty minutes before your ship took off? You came to the convent as such a young, unexperienced girl. You've matured twice as fast as all of us, Ella. You became a warrior before you could even learn to speak. And look at you now, leading us....leading us Ella! Not a single one of us should be expected to be able to handle all the pressure you're under right now Ella." I put my hand on her back while saying this all, her body is shaking a little and I can tell she's crying. "Ella, don't think for one second that any of us think you're weak, or you're not goood enough. We're all following your lead. We know you know best in this situation. But Ella, I can't stand to see you like this. Please, let me take some of this pressure off you. Let me help you. Tell me what you need me to do," I say this all in one burst, barely remembering to take any breaths in between words or sentences.

She finally looks up, her face wet with tears.

"I don't know Marina," she says, her voice shaky and quiet. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong. If we go the wrong way, if I make the wrong choice, we could get stranded out in the desert and die here," she says, and I move the hair out of her eyes that she hasn't bothered to think about in all this.

"I know you'll make the right decision Ella. So-" I cut myself off, thinking about my words. "So you haven't been able to reach Legacy?"

"No," she says, shaking her head, her voice cracking. "Marina, I wasn't going to tell anyone until now, but I thought she was already gone until now. And just because she isn't doesn't make it any better. I don't know if we'll make it in time, and if we do, what are we supposed to do? I've dragged you guys out into this desert to die. I don't know what happens when she dies Marina, but I know it isn't good. And we may just find out soon."

I'm too shocked to respond at first. The idea of Legacy already being dead scares me to death, and I can see why Ella is so broken in this moment. She was holding all of this in and now she doesn't know what to do even though what she thought wasn't quite true. Even if we do choose the right direction and play all the right moves, will we even be able to save her? And if she dies, do we all just turn to dust like the damn Mogadorians? Without Legacy, without Lorien, who are we?

She finally looks up at me instead of down, and I can see the pain in her eyes, even in the darkness.

"Ella, I know we can do this. Everything we've overcome already is too great to give up now. I know you aren't giving up, but you just need a helping hand. We can do this together. Whichever way you decide to go, I trust you. We all trust you. And if we die out in this desert, we'll die trying to save the one thing that makes us who we are."

She stands up, but she falls into my arms. I hold her and don't let go. I lost the only person I'll ever love. I can never take back what happened. And Ella, here crying in my arms, our leader, my sister, my best friend, I will never let her go.