The Secret of Eleven

Chapter 8

I'm numb inside, as I walk towards the lake, my new Chimæra beside me. I look down at my ankle, and count the scars. There are five now, only seven of us left. I don't care about anything anymore. My new Legacy is useless, unless all I want to do is run away from fights. I've had to rely on my Elecomun in all my encounters with the Mogs, because I don't have any more damn legacies. It's why Thirteen is dead.

I reach the lake, my face blank, my insides empty. It's nearing nighttime, and I look at the horizon as the sun sets. I feel like screaming again, and my Chimæra, in dog form, climbs into my lap, way too big for it. She looks up at me with big, sad eyes, but with knowledge hidden behind them. I name her Olivia, and she perks up, running around me.

I laugh for what seems like the first time in forever, and she perks up even more, charging at me, then jumping up to lick my face. I start laughing again, trying to get her off me, but wanting her to stay. All of a sudden, she stops, looking at me in confusion.

I realize I'm glowing again, and all of a sudden, Olivia changes into a tiger, growling at the trees. A man walks out, a human, and says nothing as he looks at us. He doesn't even look like he's surprised.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" I ask him, making my voice louder than it needs to be, but he's unperturbed, just looking at me with a sadness.

And then he's gone. Just like that, one second there, one second not, like I had imagined him. I probably had.

"Olivia, I really need some sleep, don't you think?" I ask, not expecting an answer.

She just wags her tail more, and I lie down on the ground, resting against a tree, not caring about anything. I just wanted to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up to a stiff pain in my neck and back, and with a monster headache. Olivia was gone, but I knew she was near.

I immediately took in my surroundings, a survival instinct. The same lake, the piles of ashes flying in the wind, the blood that I don't want to look at. This may have been a place of large victory, but nothing comes without a price.

My heart aches still, from Thirteen's death yesterday. Sometimes I feel like our time together was too short, him taken rudely from my life. Other times all I can think about is revenge, about killing every single Mog on the planet and beyond. But to do so, I need to train, train harder than I ever have, train until I'm an unstoppable killing machine. 

My new legacy, teleportation, is more useful than I thought. I can't teleport as far as I did a couple days ago, now, for some reason. Maybe the first teleportation is the most powerful. I look at my scars, five of them.

Wait, five? And then I remember, the pain of thirteen's death was so strong emotionally, but the scar burning into my ankle was far too painful to just be one. Two Garde had died. Two less of us to fight. Two less of us to be there at the end. 

I train for Thirteen, for the Garde that died, for the rest of us living, for humanity. I train to make sure we win. I train against every single tree around, incinerating all at every movement of every leaf. I feel empty afterwards, like I had spent everything on killing a few trees.

I whistle for Olivia, who is sitting at the edge of the clearing, panting happily. We need to get back to the city, we need to find twelve. After twenty minutes of getting lost, I find the old coffee shop, but don't bother changing my appearance. If the Mogs want to get me, I'll kill them all.

Olivia changes into a mouse, and skitters into my jean pocket, poking her head out for air every once in a while. The TV is playing in the background, something about a terrorist attack in Chicago. I don't really focus, instead going straight to the computer for news on the Garde.

Nothing. I shake my head in disgust. Were they doing absolutely nothing? I know they were together; they needed to get their shit together if we are going to win. Here I was already looking for twelve, while they were doing nothing. No wonder the Elders added us to the plan; these guys were useless.

I clear the history on the computer and go back to the home page, where something catches my eye: Ohio. What better place to go? It was the beginning of all this shit, when the Mogs really stepped up, and there could be something there that I could use. Could I teleport there? I could at least try, although I'm not sure I have a handle on this new legacy and using it reminds me of Thirteen. 

A plane would be best, but surely the Mogs would be watching the airport after what happened here, right? Maybe not, but I had to take the risk

I ran to the airport with instructions from google, working up a bit of a sweat since it was such a long distance. The crowd there surprises me, but I push through, ducking under lines and teleporting short distances. I feel more tired than I should after the ordeal, but I'm finally at the plane heading for my destination. 

They start boarding and I turn myself into one of the girls from the convent I saw oh so long ago. That was an idiotic move.

The flight attendant recognized me, and said, "Didn't you just board this plane?"

I didn't say anything, just shook my head. She seemed satisfied until the girl actually ran out of the plane to grab a bag she forgot. The flight attendant, alarmed, stared at me, and then at her. She slowly walked towards both of us, while the girl, oblivious, rummaged through the bag. The attendant grabbed a radio, and I did the only thing I could.

I ripped the radio from her hands with my telekinesis, then teleported into a plane I saw just leaving. I stayed as the girl, and hoped no one saw me as I sat down in an empty seat. I made sure there were no Mogs this time, and asked my neighbor if this was the right plane. 

"Yup, we're going to Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico. Business or pleasure?"

I ignored her, instead settling myself into the seat and dozing off. I needed to make a plan but sleep grabbed me, and welcomed me as my eyes closed.