After Fate Fell

52 • SIX

1 year, 3 months, and 19 days after it all
•SIX•

My head is spinning and I can't seem to stand properly. I lean onto Sam, who I know is at my side, and close my eyes, trying to stop the spinning of everything around me. I can't believe it, but I should have seen it coming.

I'm the one who knew of the prophecies. I'm the one who should have known that the entity would try to lure John back to Paradise. And I'm the one who should have goddamned known that John would've been stupid enough to listen to it, and to steal our car, our only way to get out of here and back to safety, back out of this barren, dead place, and drive out into the middle of the desert with no navigation system, all alone, in hopes of returning to that shitty town in Ohio where nothing special ever happened until the whole town burned to the ground in an alien attack. So I feel fully responsible, because I needed to see this coming.

Sam is saying something to me, I can feel his warm breath in my ear, but I'm too overtaken by confusion, by guilt, and by rage, that I can't seem to focus on the words he says. I just hold onto him, my grip stronger than ever, because I never want to let him go, and in this time, I am more fearful than ever that our time together is running out. All the while, one thing won't stop bombarding my mind. We are trapped out here with no way back to civilization, alone, with the only other here being an entity who has shown it can control any one of us whenever, for whatever reason. Who knows what it will do next?

Finally, my senses begin to return to me. I open my eyes, still holding onto Sam, but turning my death grip on him into a simple hand-hold. I look up to see everyone staring at me, and I know that in this moment, this is the weakest they have ever seen me. I can't let that last. I have to restore my usual stormy ambiance. Out of everyone here, I know I'm usually seen as one of the strongest ones, one of the most focused of us all, and I can not let them see me falter. So just moments after my eyes were filled with tears, my mind was filled with hopelessness, I pull myself back together.

"I know John well enough," I start. "To know that he wouldn't want us to worry about whatever idiocy he's exposed himself to, and rather to focus on the here and the now. I know this is confusing, and don't even start with me on how stupid this decision was on his part, but what we need to do now is to continue to do what we were focusing on before he left. We need to kill this thing. We kill this thing, and then we worry about him. Then and only then. Because the fate of Lorien depends on it, depends on all of us... not just one." I look around, hoping to see the sureness in their eyes that I hold in mine.

"Six is right," Ella speaks up, coming closer to my side. "John will return. I know he will. Yes, he is important to us. Without him here, I feel saddened, as I'm sure you all do the same. But without Legacy, without Lorien, the burden is much greater. We lose our very selves, what makes us different than the humans who walk this planet. We lose everything that is Loric... including John. This is what we need to do, and there will be no questions about it. One more day of waiting, and Lorien may fall, all of this becoming truth, irreversible truth. We cannot wait another day. Tonight, the entity will fall, and Lorien will once again rise."

And she's right. About everything, John, the entity, and us. And so I nod in agreement, as do some of the others.

"Tonight," Marina echoes Ella's words. "We kill this thing. Tomorrow, we figure out the next step. That next step being home. Lorien." There are tears in her eyes as she says all this, and I try not to let my own eyes become filled with them.

//

We go into the house and try to build off our plan from yesterday, now accounting for no John, and also focusing more on action rather than simply talking about our questions and confusions about the entity.

We decide that we need to scout out the situation to get a real grasp on a plan of attack.

We all walk outside and toward the church, everyone's eyes away from it, because everyone's looking at the nearby buildings and walls for possible cover in an attack by the entity, and also because we've all seen what can happen if you look directly at the entity.

"We should keep distance from it when we're attacking," Adam says.

We keep walking closer.

"No, I don't think there's any issue with getting close," Sam says. "It's looking into it where you get fucked. As long as we don't look at it, it can't do anything.

We all think this over.

"I think there's truth to both sides," Ella speaks up. "Looking into it definitely does the trick, but I think it's safe to keep at least some distance from it as well," she says, and I agree. Although there are no strong signs of distance having a real affect on a person, better safe than sorry.

"Right," Adam says, agreeing with Ella.

We continue to walk closer, everyone looking around.

"That building is still intact enough, and from the roof, you would have almost a perfect vantage," Nine says, pointing out a two-story building to our left, not far from the church, maybe about 150 feet.

"So we put two people up there," Ella says.

"And," I say, pointing to our right, "someone up there," another building with a good view of the church.

"That wall of the building right next to the church on the far side, that could work well for cover. That would be close enough for a strong barrage but not too close," she says, looking to us.

"Yes," I say, and Ella nods.

"Looks good to me," Adam says.

"So," Ella starts. " We have two people behind that wall, one on each end. Two on that roof," she says, pointing to Nine's building, "and one on that roof," she says, gesturing to the building I pointed out. "How many people does that leave us?"

"Thr-" I start.

"Two," Sam says, correcting me. Without John, we have one less number. But as hard as it is to say, we have one less rogue warrior. John is infamous for going off to do things by himself, all throughout our war with the Mogadorians. Nine was the same way, but losing his arm humbled him a little. I just hope we can all stick together.

"Okay, so the remaining two will be on the ground, I'd say let's split them and put one on the ground level doorway in Nine's building and the other on the same place in Six's."

"Sounds good," I say, and the others seem like they like this plan as well.

"Nine, Marina, you two on that roof, and Adam on ground level. Six, you can be on the roof of that building, with me down below. Sam, Five, you're on the wall," Ella says.

And with this, we split up to further inspection each of our stations. It feels more real than ever. I just can't wait until the morning, when talks of Lorien can finally be in the air without worry of this. But first, we all have to make it to the morning.