Space Blood

14. The Battle

The streetlights were lit up when they left the hospital, I turned on the headlights and pulled out of the parking lot. The car ride was quiet, more awkward. Izzy was in such a bad state that the doctors didn't let me touch her, it was scary watching wires and machines connected to her. Her usual bright face was pale and her eyes didn't flicker. I focused on the road, I took a quick glance at Alia, she was staring out of the window, her eyes clouded with thoughts.

I found Susie by the house door when I parked the car in the driveway. She was wearing her black hoodie and she had her head down. I unlocked the front door and Susie followed me in. We went straight to the living room, Alia went to get our weapons. She came back, spear in her right hand and dagger in her left. She chucked me the spear and sat down beside me. Susie opposite us.

I rummaged around my pocket, then pulled out the locket. Susie stared at it silently and then she unzipped her hoodie and the identical locket hung from her neck. We sat their, in silence, looking at each other. Then my phone's home screen lit up and there was a notification. I picked up my phone and looked at the screen. 'Lauren Major, Meet me in the park at 12. R' Susie and Alia both gave me a worried look.

It was already 11:30. I returned their looks with a shrug and stood up. "We better get going, I don't think Riley likes to wait."

Susie nodded and pulled on her hoodie. Alia looked uncertain but she gave in and put on her shoes. 11:35. I locked the door behind us and got into the car. Hearing the low rumble of the car soothed me a bit. I looked at the weapons in the rear mirror. Susie had her bow out and the spear and dagger beside her. We were the only ones on the road.

11:45. I pulled up near the park and got out of the car. The street lights flickered and the night was darker than usual. I led the way through the park gate, my eyes were still adjusting to the darkness. 11:50. I gripped the spear tighter, fear crawling around in my mind.

"You're early, and you brought spectators," Without even looking back, I knew it was Riley. The spear's wood digging into my palm. I looked around at Alia and Susie, Susie already had an arrow in place, ready to fire. Alia held the dagger in front of her, she was scared and angry.

"I guess it's time to finally ditch this human girl," Lauren slumped to the ground, in her place was a blinding blue light. If I squinted, I could see the outline of a sword. Lauren's face was pale, like the blood was drained out of her. She hadn't eaten in a few days, her cheekbones clear and there was dark circle under her eyes.

Riley laughed and slowly started moving towards me. Susie fired her arrow, it cut through the darkness, the arrow head lighting up with a bright yellow light. Riley swerved out of it's way. His outline started to change, it merged what seemed to be a boy. The blue light dimmed until it was just a faint glow. He looked like a normal university student, then I noticed his bright blue eyes. They looked like they belonged to God, bright blue with a white pupil, it was as mesmerising as it was scary.

He continued to walk forward, Susie kept on firing golden arrows, Riley kept on dodging. "You're annoying Lorale," Riley waved his hand and Susie was sent flying, her back contacted with a tree trunk and she fell unconscious. "I'll deal with you after I kill your brother."

Anger rumbled inside of me, I looked around for Alia, but she wasn't anywhere. Fear took over the anger, I was alone, facing a killing machine. I felt the spear start to hum, the tip started to glow bright white. I locked my eyes on Riley's heart. And took a step forward. He was the reason why my parents were dead, why Izzy was in the hospital, why Amina now is a wasteland. Anger built up inside me.

Then I saw a dark purple dot bob around in the dark. Alia. She was moving closer to Riley. He didn't seem to notice her, his blue eyes locked onto mine. Then he gave a yell of surprise, he fell forward, blood forming around his mouth. He coughed and I saw Alia, she started backing away. He roared in anger and pain and he glared at Alia, then Alia slumped to the ground.

"No!" I yelled out. I have never felt this before, real anger. My vision was blurred with tears, I thought I was going to break the spear. I had no control over my body anymore. Anger took over. I gripped the spear tightly, the tip was shining so bright it could blind mortals. But I wasn't a mortal. I charged at Riley and I saw him laughing.

"I like this new you. Full of anger and energy. Too bad I have to kill you." Riley said as he lifted his hand.

I ran towards him, spear held out in front of me. I felt my spear cutting through his skin, he gasped. His hand was millimetres away from my shoulder. I pulled out my spear, there wasn't any blood on it, the tip shone brighter than the sun. His blue glow slowly started to fade, he fell onto his back, a hole where a normal human would have his heart there. His blue faded and he almost looked like a normal boy, his eyes opened, staring into nothing.

I knelt down beside Alia's body, there was a nasty wound on her shoulder, blood soaked her t-shirt. Susie came up behind me, she was clutching her right arm and she had a limp. She knelt down beside me and rested a hand on my shoulder.

"There is a way to save her," Susie said softly. I looked at her and she gave me a grim smile. "I spent 3 years crafting this, it's a mix between Amina technology and Earth's. It's called a Blood Rune. I wanted to use it if we failed against Riley, then I would have fulfilled my promise to our parents. It means that you would die in order to save Alia." Tears rolled down her cheek and she handed me a little bag. Inside was a blood red crystal.

I took the rune out and I pulled Susie in for a hug, "Thank you," I whispered into her ear. As soon as the rune contacted with Alia's skin, there was a blinding light.