Flashf0rward

Chapter 36: The Night Of

Ivy

We had approximately 4 hours left until Matthias would come to collect his deadline. The village was on high alert, and prepared for pretty much anything now. Most of the 20 or so hours had been spent outlining our strategy, training as many villagers as we could, and building our weapons, with the help of Sparrow.

After counting up our weapons and ammo, we concluded we had about 46 guns, and over 2,000 rounds of ammunition. It was good, but like Jude said, it wouldn't be enough to go up against what Matthias had. We were outmatched in terms of firepower, but thankfully Sparrow had been working overtime. She'd been meticulously building bows and arrows out of every stick and piece of string we could find. So far, she'd crafted over a 1000 bows and god knows how many arrows.

Jude and his men had given some more in-depth combat training to many of the people who needed it, and expanded the knowledge of the people who already had it. Not just gun training, but fighting techniques, and basic combat medical skills. I hated that most of these people were basically riding to their deaths, but we had no choice.

I had helped Katrina calculate the space inside of the town hall, and we concluded that we could just barely squeeze everyone in. Provided that Matthias's men didn't breach the front gates and make their way through the village to here, everyone would be fine. At least, that's what we kept telling ourselves.

As for the metahumans, they were enlisted as well. Those whose powers had offensive capabilities, such as Duncan and Bailey, were selected to lead the charge on the front lines. They didn't need as much training as the others, thanks to Reservoir. All of the other metas would stay behind, help the civilians stay safe.

We had geared up all of our horses as well, putting all of our spare scrap metal onto them as a makeshift form of armour. It would slow them down, but at least it would give them less of a chance of being shot and killed. I would be taking Fred with me on the flanking route, and he too was loaded for bear.

With everything pretty much set for tonight, I was walking back to my place to take care of one last thing: my team. Connor was agiven, since I wasn't letting him out of my sight for the entire fight, but there were a few others I wanted to talk to. Opening the door to my cabin, I saw Julie and Max look up as they saw me come in.

Julie rushed up to me and hugged me. I embraced her, and the two of us stood there silently for a moment. "I'm scared, Vee." I sighed and looked at her, letting go. "I know. But I promise that everything's gonna be alright." Looking at the two of them, I bit my lower lip. "Listen...what I'm gonna ask you is dangerous, but I'm doing it because I trust you both more than anyone else in this village. I want you to be a part of my flanking group."

Max and Julie's eyebrows raised, and Max, who had shifted his hair to now have a more longer, curlier look, spoke up. "Ivy...you don't even need to ask. We'd follow you even if you didn't want us too." Julie nodded. "Max is right. If this is our last night together, and I'm not saying it will be, we're gonna finish things together."

I smiled, even though there was a hint of sadness behind it. "Thanks, guys. I knew I could count on you both." Max gave a small smirk. "Yeah, we're gonna kick Matthias's butt. We'll ride over that hill and take him out like Gandalf and the Riders of Rohan!" He said with a triumphant expression, and Julie and I looked at him weirdly. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Seriously? Neither of you guys have seen Lord of the Rings?"

After leaving the two of them, I went to go talk to my next core team member. Before I could make it, I heard someone running up to me. "Ivy!" Turning around, I saw Yuko, panting slightly from having apparently run all the way across town. "Yuko, why aren't you with the others? You should be getting ready to hide." Yuko shook her head. "I heard what you were planning...I want to come with you."

Shaking my head, I looked at her apologetically. "Yuko, it's too dangerous. You don't have enough training to fight these guys." Yuko frowned a little. "Jude gave me some training because I asked him! And besides...those guys won't care how much training I have anyways." She said, referring to Matthias's men. Grimly, she had a point.

Thinking about it, I sighed and placed my head on my forehead. After a moment, I looked at her seriously. "You do exactly what I say, when I say, got it? If I tell you to run, you run, got it?" Yuko stared back at me with the same intensity, and nodded. Looking at her, I took her hand. "I'll make sure you're ok, sweetie. I promise." I hugged her gently. "Meet me back here in 4 hours, ok?" Nodding, Yuko ran off.

Turning back and heading towards my destination, I saw that beside the bustling town hall, there was a single person still in the greenhouse. Opening the door, I saw Katrina packing up every single vegetable and plant that was inside. Once she saw me, she smiled a little sheepishly. "Gotta save every last bit. Don't know how much we might lose."

I walked up to Katrina, a serious look on my face. "I want you to come with me on my team." Katrina turned to me. "Why?" She asked after a brief pause. I shrugged. "Do you want the official answer or the honest answer?" She considered this, then responded. "Both is good." I was glad she was honest as well.

"The official answer is that your powers can be useful inside the forest if we come across any resistance. The honest answer is...I want you by my side so I can protect you." She frowned. "Why do you want to protect me?" I shook my head. "It's not for me. It's for my brother." At the mention of Wren, Katrina blushed.

Crossing my arms, I spoke semi-smugly. "I've noticed the two of you for sometime now, and honestly, I figured it was only a matter of time before you both realized how you feel. Now that Wren has finally found someone he's happy with, I can't afford to have him lose you. Which is why I'm making sure you live through this. For him."

Katrina looked at me, speechless for a moment, then she nodded gently. "Thank you." She spoke quietly. I smiled a little. "Don't let me down, Katie. Time is fleeting. We should spend time with the people we love as much as we can." Looking back at me, a smirk grew across her face. "Like with you and Connor?"

Now I was the one blushing. Katrina giggled slightly. "You're not the only one who can notice things. Didn't know you liked bad boys." I frowned a little. "Shut up." We both had a laugh over that, and then Katrina hugged me. "I'll be by when it's time. Take care." I nodded. "You too." With that, I went to go see the last one.

Heading to his cabin was the hardest part. Thoughts about what might happen were coursing through my mind, and I couldn't focus. I could barely knock on the door. As Connor opened the door, I saw that he'd switched out the rag on his face with a much more streamlined medical eyepatch that Dr. Rajesh had probably given him.

Walking inside, he shut the door behind me, and I reached up and kissed him, holding him tightly as he did the same to me. I noticed that whenever he held me, I became more aware of his height and size. It made me feel protected. Breaking off the kiss, I looked into his eye as we were inches away from each other.

"What was that for?" He asked, a little breathlessly. I put my forehead against his and closed my eyes. "Insurance. In case we don't..." I didn't want to finish that sentence, and clearly he didn't either, since his lips closed around mine again. I felt him take my hand and grip it tightly as he looked at me. "That won't happen. I'll make sure of it."

Running my fingers through his hair, I savoured every single sensation of him, touching him like it was the last time I ever would. Connor spoke lowly. "How long do we have?" I looked up into his eye. "Less than four hours." I felt his hands tangle in my hair. "Stay with me." I nodded, not wanting to be anywhere else in the world. We held each other, and for a moment, it seemed as if we were the only two alone in the universe.