The Caravan of Hope

Chapter 8: The Shadowy Figure

Hey guys....sorry I'm late...The app deleted my part...well, here it is!

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"Jarred?..."

Bella stood trembling in front of him, wanting to touch him.

"Wait." She pauses and looks at Hearthfell, who additionally says, "How do we know that you're the real Jarred."

Jarred smiles and sighs. "I should have known that you would not immediately believe me. He raked a hand through his hair, but paused and said, "But if it helps, I dyed my hair blue for my country, and I don't regret it."

Bella, tears streaming down her face, runs up to him and hugs him. "It's really you!" She mumbled in a voice that only they could hear. "Only you would be still polite to your enemy."

He pushes her away. "I do not know how long this is going to last, Bella. If I do not create a distraction in order to help me get rid of him then..."

He breaks off, so everyone knew what would happen if he lost would be permanent.

"Alright, I'll help," said a reluctant voice.

They turned to Daiko, who closed her book."But you guys have to do what I say, no matter how crazy."

Jarred nodded, so she said, "Let him win for now, Jarred."

There was silence as everyone tried to process what she said.

"Err..Daiko, aren-" Alex started to say, but Jarred interrupted. He smiled and said, "I see what you plan to do." He bows. "Thank you for helping me."

He stands totally up and relaxes. Bella didn't even know that he was tense until he did it. Then, his face had a twisted expression. "Fight me will ya? Don't cha know that you can't beat me?"

As soon as he finished saying that, Daiko said, "Caravan of Hope, ATTACK!!!"

"Wait, what?!" Hearthfell was confused, but Daiko was already singing:

"Peleo! Peleo! No con pistolas y espadas, pero con fuego y hielo!"

With one hand heated and the other ice cold, she attacked "Jarred".

Alex figured out what she was trying to do. "Hearthfell, help Daiko out for thirty seconds!" He started chanting, and as he did, a big shadowy sphere appeared before him.

Hearthfell, still confused, created a lance and started to attack "Jarred" too.

Soon, the shadowy sphere was very big, and Alex put it over his head. "Daiko! Hearthfell!" He yelled as he threw it.

They ducked. "Jarred" thought, Hey that spell is Rogue's Power and HOLY CRAP IT'S WAY MORE POWERFUL THAN IT WAS FOUR YEARS AGO. Good thing I know how to dodge it. He smiled and stepped to the side. But he then felt a jerk in him, and the real Jarred came back, successfully winning.

"Thank you..." he said as he collapsed to the ground...

But then, as he fell to the ground, a black figure rose from his body.

"Is that thing made out of...shadows?" Alex was frightened because unless he was controlling them, shadows were bad news.

"Oops, I forgot about that," Daiko argues, her eyes wide open.

"You," It said in a weird, distorted voice.

"You'll pay for this!"

It then raises its hands. All of a sudden, everyone except Bella and unconscious Jarred is locked up in black shadow balls.

It then holds a blinding white ball in its hand. "Meet my curse. If it hits you, you would experience terrible pain for a minute and then die. How about I start with you first?"

He throws the ball at Bella.

She, of course, is paralyzed with fear.

But a tall figure came in front of and the ball hit it square in the chest. As it fell to floor, Bella caught it and realized that it was Jarred's body.

She set his head in her lap, which showed signs of pain. "Jarred! Don't die!"

Painfully, he smiled up at her and whispered in a way that only they could hear, "Je t'aime."

I love you.

Bella's eyes widened. He smiled up at her and said, "And IO sono un cavaliere, disposti ad abbandonare la mia vita per il mio regno."

I am a knight, ready and willing to sacrifice my life for my country.

No, she thinks, tears streaming down her face. "No!" She grabs his shirt and starts shaking him. "You're not supposed to say that as you're dying! Don't-"

But it was too late.

She loosened her grip on him. Tears rolled down her face, but she didn't care who saw them, even if they were the most evilest people in the world.

"Don't worry! You'll see him soon!" The shadowy figure had another ball, and it was about to hurl it straight toward Bella.

But George, who had been trying to get out of his spherical prison, finally broke out and tried to punch the figure.

The figure just smiled. "Fool! Don't you know that ya can't punch a sha-"

The figure was interrupted with George's fist in contact with his face. He fell to the floor.

Standing up, he says, "Wait, how can ya punch me?" He dodges another punch.

George was upset, for he felt that this man was stupid. He was finally able to grab the shadow. "I don't care! But don't cha know that there're more important things? Ya made a girl cry twice and also tried ta kill her twice. Ya also did kill someone. And most important of all, YA IMPRISONED MY SISTER!!!"

"How is that more important than anything?" Hearthfell was disgusted by this sis con, but George just kept punching and punching.

Finally, there was nothing left to punch, for the shadowy figure was gone. The black ball prisons also disappeared, leaving the prisoners free.

"Yes!" George pumps his fist into the air. "I defeated the most evilest dude ever!"

Hearthfell hit him. "You idiot! You can't beat a shadow!"

"That's what he said before I punched him!"

As they continued to argue, Daiko wiped the sweat from her brow. "Whew, he's gone!"

For now... She thought.

"Jarred..." They heard a soft sob.

Everyone stood still and turned to Bella, who had a lifeless Jarred in her arms.

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Aww...poor Bella (well, poor Jarred too).

Yeah, he's really dead, go ahead and yell at me.

But please read on!!!! I promise a good surprise that makes Bella happy!