Fallen (MCSM Fanfic)

Chapter 15: The Escape

Petra covered her head with her arms, cowering down as the earth shook with the explosion. Debris went flying as the wither storm plummeted down, the impact of it hitting the ground sending what felt like a massive shock wave across the land.

And then everything was silent.

Petra slowly looked up, her blue eyes wide as she scanned the surroundings. A large crater was left in the ground where the wither had landed. Lifelessly lying there, tentacles all sprawled out around it.

"Is is over?"

Petra simply shook her head, hearing Lukas's frightened whimper of a question beside her.

Slowly everybody were starting to emerge from their hiding spots. Petra stayed in her crouching position, not even trying to stand up as she knew she couldn't. The weakness and pain in her limbs being a cruel reminder that the battle wasn't over yet.

"Jesse!"

Petra's head snapped in the direction of the call, seeing Olivia and Axel dart out from between the trees. It only took a second for her to spot the limp form on the ground they were heading to.

"Here." Lukas said, offering a hand to Petra which she gratefully accepted.

Magnus, Ellegaard and Soren also emerged into open, exchanging glances with each other. They all slowly began to crowd around Jesse.

Petra felt her stomach turn at the sight of the unconscious girl on the ground. Burns tattooed her skin, fresh blood soaking the fabric of her clothes. Bruises bloomed where her skin wasn't burned, limbs bent at awkward angles. Still, by some miracle, her chest was slowly rising and falling.

That's not Jesse... it's not Jesse...

No matter how much Petra tried telling herself that, it didn't help her in any way to battle back the lump in her throat. She blinked rapidly, feeling an awfully familiar burning sensation in her eyes.

"This is all your fault!" Olivia suddenly sneered, flinging around to face the members of the order.

"Jesse knew the risks." Soren responded bluntly. "It was her own choice to do this."

"Look at you all, clad in armour! And you couldn't think to even lend her any?" Axel added, crossing his big arms.

"Did you not see how the storm attacked us?" Ellegaard fought back. "If we weren't armoured, we wouldn't be standing here any more!"

"And what makes your lives so much more important than Jesse's?" Olivia snapped aggressively.

"Well excuse you!" Petra didn't think before speaking. "We're all people here, nothing makes one life more important than the other!"

"Stay out of this already, will you?" Axel scowled over at Petra. "You've screwed up enough already!"

"I've screwed up?" Petra raised her eyebrows at him, snorting. "If you want me to play along with your sick plans, maybe you shouldn't try leaving me for dead at every opportunity you get!"

The three order members had grown silent, wide-eyed as they watched the scene between the younger people.

"Accuse and blame us all you want, Petra." Olivia sneered at her through gritted teeth. "You're not the hero here!"

"Yeah!" Axel added in a bellow, promptly shoving Petra. The blow was enough to send her weak form toppling to the ground.

"Don't you lay a hand on her!" Lukas all of a sudden spoke up as well.

"Since when are you on her side!?" Olivia threw her hands in the air. "This whole thing is a bust, a bust I tell you! Aiden should have known-" She all of a sudden cut herself off, quickly shutting up.