The Uprising

The Fate of Ten

Hi guys!

Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews! I love them all and I love hearing your feedback and thoughts. So thank you all so much for them all!

I have an incredibly busy day of travelling tomorrow so that's why I'm updating tonight! I didn't want to make you wait more when I (amazingly) completed it on time!

Disclaimer - There are parts copied directly from the text as I think the description was too good. In those parts, the story is not mine, nor is it my work.

Answers to reviews –

- Reginaa2111 – Hope your exams went well!

So thank you all for understanding how busy it is right now and I really appreciate it! Hopefully everything is going well for all of you as well!

Read on and enjoy!

Maren

I can't be out for long, maybe a few minutes or so. When I come to, I can feel tiny pinpricks of ice along the side of my head, and a warm hand pressed to my forehead. I open my eyes, blinking past the blood that obscured my view to see John kneeling by me with my head in his lap, as his healing legacy runs through me, fixing my injury. There's a weird pulling sensation at my hairline as the tissue there regrows, the gash I took from the falling stone quickly healing up.

The relief of the pain disappearing is so strong that it takes me a second to realise that his other hand is pressed over my mouth, as if I'll scream when I wake up. I widen my eyes at him to show him I'm awake and he pulls away his hand, looking shaky. His face is covered in grey ash, a remnant of the fallen temple. There are tear streaks running through the grime on his face and despite the ash caked all over him, I can see the grief in his eyes.

"It's gone," he whispers. "He destroyed it all. The temple...it's gone,"

I ignore his words; we can't give up, not now. Instead, I sit up and assess the situation. We're still at the edge of the jungle, hidden by lumps of fallen stone and uprooted trees, almost piling up in front of us. It's a good cover for now but it's impossible to see beyond it. There are gaps in the canopy above our heads from the falling stones and through the holes I see a glimpse of the blue sky. It seems so at odds with the scene down here. Nine is nearby, one of the surviving blasters in his hands, as he tries to carefully peer over the pile of rubble to see what's happening. Marina and Joseph are next to him, Marina pressing her hands to Joseph's shoulder with her face furrowed in concentration and worry. I watch as Joseph's tense position relaxes, Marina healing him of whatever injury he sustained from the blast. Above us, I can see birds flitting in the trees above us and I'm relieved to see one change shape in mid-flight: the chimaera made it too. We're ok.

I turn to John, making sure he's uninjured. It's so typical of him to put others first, but he seems to be physically fine. His face is a weird mixture of grief and anger, and I can tell by the tight-lipped, squinty-eyed look he gives me that he's desperately trying to put on his brave face, even though he's scared shitless.

"Everyone ok?" I whisper, looking around at the others. They nod, Marina finishing her healing, and Nine stops attempting to see what's happening. We huddle in a group, trying to keep quiet. I can't hear anything from the ship, just the crackling of fires caused by the explosion.

"What're we going to do?" Marina whispers, trembling slightly. "He's destroyed everything. The well..." she breaks off, her voice catching in her throat. I can tell it's bad when Joseph doesn't even make a move to comfort her.

"Hey," I whisper quietly. "We still have a plan. We stick to it," I remind them. Nine snorts, looking angrier than I've seen him in a while. I wonder if, while I was unconscious, the others had to restrain him from going out all guns blazing to attack Setrakus for what he's done.