Only The Goode Spy Forever

Chapter 82: The Descendant

("Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." -Joshua 1:9)

I felt like everything that day was in slow motion. The explosion went off and I flew to the ground. My ears were ringing. The flames were huge. Zach had blood running down his face. I watched as a blur shot through the sky and touched down. Catherine was dressed in all black and smiling like a mad woman. 2 men appeared at her side.
"Get her!" Catherine screamed. Chase didn't waste a second. He hauled off and kicked an attacker in the face.
"Anna, come with me!" Bree shouted. Bree grabbed Anna's hand and tried to run, but they were both still weak from the boat accident. Bree was slower, and Anna couldn't run straight.
I went to Zach. He was groaning as blood ran down his face. I didn't know where it was coming from. I put his head in my lap. "Zach get up. We have to go! We have to fight!" He opened his eyes and looked weaker than I'd ever seen him. His head nodded slightly and I pulled him to his feet.
One of the men ran towards us and Zach tried to throw a punch, but he was too slow. The attacker grabbed his arm and twisted it. Zach cringed and moaned, but was too injured to do anything else. I spun on him and grabbed the mans arm. He let go of Zach as I held both of his arms and head butted him in the face. He stumbled back and Zach took the opportunity to land a swift punch to the mans gut. He doubled over and I threw my knee up and the man threw up. Zach pulled up both arms and drilled his elbows into the mans back. The man finally collapsed.
Chase was dodging his attacker's kicks and punches. He countered his weight and Chase landed a kick to his gut. The man was huge. He had about 150 pounds on Chase and way more training. The man was angry by Chase's kick, so he slapped Chase across the face. Blood sprayed from Chase's face. Chase turned his head and screamed "no!"
I turned and saw Catherine dragging Bree. Anna wiggled out of Catherine's grasp and prepared to fight. Catherine pulled Bree in front of her. Anna resisted, not wanting to hurt Bree. Bree had a rag stuffed in her mouth. Her eyes kept rolling back into her head. Anna ripped it out.
Bree looked up. She looked incredibly tired. "Chase," she moaned.
"Bree I'm coming! Stay awake!" Chase screamed. Chase's attacker grabbed him and held his arms tightly. Chase couldn't move. Zach collapsed to the ground and I held his head in my lap. I was losing him. Catherine threw Anna and she hit the wall and passed out.
"Stop," Bree said. She was louder than she should have been. Bree looked at all of us through her tired eyes. She was bloody and hardly awake. She took in every position. Defenseless Chase, unconscious Anna, dying Zach, and me trying to keep him alive. She smiled. She looked confident. "Take me. I won't fight. Just leave them alone."
"No!" Chase screamed. His attacker swooped his leg and I heard the sickening snap. Chase fell to the ground and struggled to get up. His leg was broken.
"You stupid girl," Catherine cackled. "You would sacrifice yourself for them. They don't deserve it."
"It's not about deserving," Bree said as her smile came back. "It's about being selfless. Take me. No harm has to come to them."
Catherine laughed and tossed Bree to her partner. He grabbed her and began dragging her into a jet. Catherine made her way over to me. Her eyes softened for a second when she saw Zach. She threw me alcohol and bandages.
"Keep him alive, Cammie dear," she said. The wind was roaring. My hair was flying everywhere. I had terror in my eyes and smoke in my lungs. I could see the fire raging behind her.
"Why are you doing this?" I pleaded. "She's just a girl."
"Oh? She's far from being just a girl. Isn't she, Chase?" Catherine asked as she turned to my son struggling on the ground.
"How did you find out?" Chase asked.
"How did you?" Catherine countered. She cackled. "I finally have the last female descendant of Regina O'Dare. Sorry I had to take your little girlfriend, but I have big plans for her. She's going to help me end the world." Catherine laughed at Chase. She turned back to me and reached into the seam of her leggings. She pulled out an old looking book. "Still, I'm a woman of my word. This belongs to you."
Catherine tossed the book at me and my eyes widened as I realized it was my fathers journal. We had gotten what we came for, but we had lost someone incredibly important. I had no idea that Bree was the descendant. I never should have brought her with us. She was gone. Catherine cackled and spun. She sprinted to her jet and it soared through the sky.
"No!" Chase screamed. He held on to a tree trunk and stood up. He took a step and collapsed back to the ground. His leg was hanging at an odd angle. I was shocked to see that Chase was crying. Chase never cried. I almost thought I was dreaming. Chase let tears roll down his face as he screamed into the wind. "I should have just told you I loved you!" My heart broke as I realized his message was for Bree.
I realized that Chase had probably never told her how he felt. Sure, they flirted all the time, but they never became a couple. I never knew why. I assumed it was because of Chase. He was always so scared to let people in. In our line of work loving someone is putting them in danger.
I wrapped Zach up and cleaned the wound. I used our burner phones to call Townsend. He sounded panicked as I heard him bark orders. We were going to be okay. We would live. As for Bree, there was no telling how long she had. I had been with Catherine. It was torture. My family had been spared because of her. I vowed to get her back.
As I heard the low hum of the helicopter I looked up. Townsend emerged with the twins. There was a mad rush as they pulled Chase up with a stretcher, fought to keep Zach alive, and waited for Anna to gain conciousness.
"Why didn't you tell me that she was the descendant?" Townsend barked at Chase. "How did you know?"
"She was telling me about her grandmother. Her grandma was murdered along with her sisters. You told me about how they killed all of Regina's female descendants years ago. I put the pieces together and I looked at the alumni list. Part of me thought it all along," Chase said painfully. "I couldn't tell anyone. I figured the more people that knew the easier it would be for Catherine to know. I ruined everything."
Townsend questioned Chase. Chase still held pain in his eyes and voice. I looked to my son, bloodied with a broken leg. She had crushed him. I looked at my unconscious daughter. Finally, I looked to Zach. He was dying. I felt my breathing pick up. I clutched my fathers journal tightly to my chest. This was the last straw. I would not let Catherine hurt anyone again. I would find Bree and kill Catherine. I might have been far from the flames, but the fire raged on inside of me. The fire that was going to put an end to Catherine Goode.

(That's the end of the 'next book'! PLEASE tell me what your thoughts are. In the next book I will reveal Matthew's journal. Chase will be going into senior year and there's no telling what could happen. And what about Bree? Will Cammie get to her in time? Or will Bree be in a casket the next time that Chase sees her? Stay tuned to find out!)