Forever: A Life After Legend Fanfic (Marie Lu)

Daniel

I hated leaving June, but I had to get Faline out of there. I would hate for her to be injured and quite possibly lose her child. I speed along, occasionally looking back at the house where I left June at.

"She'll be okay. I can't thank you enough," Faline says quietly. I look over at her in the passenger seat as I drive. She had a very smug look on her face.

"I'm sure she will be. You're welcome," I smile and then frown.

An explosion. I hear it.

I stop the jeep with a screech. The tires squeal as I slam hard on the brakes. I turn around in my seat. A gloom of smoke and fire came from the house. Panic set in me. The thought of losing the girl I just got back.

I look at Faline and shout, "Take the jeep and get help, please!" I get out of the jeep and slam the door shut. Faline follows and goes towards the driver's side.

She nods and slides into the driver's seat with little urgency. The way she was acting caught me off guard. She was slow and in no rush to get help, it seemed like. She and June were friends; why wouldn't she want to help her friend?

As she gets in the jeep, I take off, running back towards the house. Running is the thing I know how to do best. My old metal knee felt rusty as I ran back down the street towards the house. Black smoke plumed high over the explosion site. As I ran up, my heart broke and sunk to the bottom of my stomach.

The house was gone. Demolished.

"June!?" I scream for her.

When I don't get a response, I start to pick up bricks and throw them, being desperate. I have to find her. I as I rummage through the debris, I hear sirens and helicopters. Anden hopefully has caught wind and sent troops like I told Faline to do.

Soldiers are first on the scene. They wait for orders, but no one gives them any. June wasn't here to give the orders. She was under rubble.

Fire trucks come and start to spray water onto the burning rubble, putting out what was left of the fires. Tess showed up and ran to me as I stood at what would have been the entrance of the house; I was on my knees, trying not to cry.

"What do we need to do?" She asks me and puts her hand on my shoulder.

"Start digging and searching," I say frantically not sure how to handle the emotions rushing through me.

Tess turns around and yells with a voice I never thought could come from Tess, "You hear the man! Start searching. Get the search dogs and find First Commandar Iparis!"

The men surprisingly listened to the orders and started to look at us. They get the search dogs and bring them through the debris, where they try to sniff out June.

It reminds me of the time Thomas used Ollie to find June... She loved Ollie.

Anden pulls up in a jeep and gets out. He starts barking orders and then runs a hand through his hair. He probably thinks Faline was the target or himself. He is lucky to be alive.

Eden and Pressa get through the blockage of soldiers that covered the front yard of Anden's gated house. They rush to us.

"Daniel? Where is June?" Eden breathes and pushes his glasses up.

"I don't know."

Eden hugs me tight. He would have thought this once little boy would be comforting me now.

We finally go sit with Anden and his guards waiting as the men continue to search. They brought different machines to help move larger pieces of debris. I hate waiting; so much of your life can feel like you are waiting.

"Over here!" A young soldier yells loudly.

He was tall and had blonde hair and green eyes. He had his gun at his hip as he called over to us.

Tess and I shoot up out of our seats and rush towards him. I prepare myself for the worst and I walk up and see her.

June.

I stare at her and hold back tears. She was pinned between wooden boards and lifeless.

Tess shouts, "Okay, let's get her unstuck. Be careful as we unpin her!"

We start to move the boards and get her unstuck. Tess and some other medics then get her onto a backboard. They hold her head straight and take her up from the debris of the house. An ambulance waits. What seemed like forever happened in a few minutes. They load her into the ambulance.

I ride with them to the hospital, leaving Eden and Pressa behind.

June had internal bleeding; the paramedics knew that. But they couldn't tell anymore until they did screening and tests on her.

I watch quietly as Tess and the other medics get out medical supplies and start an IV on her. They are saying things to each other as they work. I can't hear. My hearing is blinded by ringing in my ears, which is the explosion that keeps replaying in my head. It happened so fast...

Once at the hospital, they rush her in. I'm made to stay outside in the waiting room as they continue to work.

Eden shakes me awake. I had fallen asleep in the waiting room. He must have arrived shortly after I'd fallen asleep. I rub my eyes and stretch. I suddenly remember what happened. The explosion.

"She's stable and on fluids," Eden says, breaking my thoughts.

I stand up and hug him, hearing that she is stable.

I've spent my fair share of time in the hospitals. Honestly, the next time I thought I would be in one was for a baby being born to someone. Not June, almost dying.

I head into her room. Her eyes were closed, and she looked peaceful. I come and grab her hand and squeeze it. And as if on cue, she flutters her eyes open.

"Daniel?"

"Shh. It's okay, sweetheart," I reply and rub my hair through her hair.

"He's dead, Daniel." she croaks, her mouth and lips being dry.

"Simon? Well, we thought you were. What happened in there?" I ask her, my voice being gentle as I hand her a water cup, and she goes in to sip from the straw.

"I was able to use my gun after he started the detonator. I had my gun in my hand, aiming, and that's when he hit the button. I shot him and made a run for it." She says this so weakly, and she moans in pain.

"Just rest, okay," I kiss her forehead. "I won't let Anden bother you. You need to rest."

She relaxes some but grabs my hand. She tenses up and looks over at me. "Goddy hell. Is Faline okay!"

"We got down the road, and when I heard the explosion, I told her to take the jeep and get help. She is fine, Sweetheart."

She was so selfless. The fact she is here in the hospital but thinking about Faline's safety. She truly was an admiral person.

We sit there in silence. She doesn't let go of my hand and falls back asleep.

It felt like she was just as scared as me. June being scared was a rare sight. She really knew how to hide her emotions and be a perfect soldier.

I wonder if she was scared she was going to lose me. I know I was frightened. I had just lost her and got her back. I couldn't lose her again.