A Hero In The Dark

Chapter 74: The Moonlight Kiss

I don't know what time it is when my eyes adjust to the comfort of the massive bed on the Anubis. I don't even know how many hours or days have passed.

My head hurts. I lie underneath the soft silk sheets, curling up like a child might after waking from a nightmare.

I am still dressed in the same black gown as before, the constant need to tug at the collar present. The cold metallic device still lies at my throat. The unearthly scar embedded in my ankle still.

I try to remember anything that happened last.

The United Nations. A fearful crowd. Frantic John. Strongminded Nine. Kindhearted Marina. Vengeful Six and purposeful Eight. Idle Ella – how I hope that she is someplace safe.

And then Five. The Garde I was supposed to protect and train and educate about his past.

Suddenly anger floods my system. An anger so real it brings with it the urge to destroy. The urge to destroy everything.

Why did Five join the mogs again? Why would he do this to us? To me?

My head hurts.

I roll onto my side, hugging myself. Trying to find a sense of peace. How I wish I could be home. On my own planet. With my own people. Away from the war at hand. The fight for survival forgotten.

My head hurts.

I want John. I want Ella. I want Pixie. I want Sam.

I want Nine and Six and Marina and Malcolm and Henri and Eight and Adelina and BK and Crayton. Hell, I even want to see Adam. Really, I'll take anyone but Setrákus Ra or Five.

My head throbs. My eyes close, some form of exhaustion still present in my body.

I pull the blanket over my head, welcoming the darkness that follows.

And there I lie.

Lying still on my side of the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in, aboard an enormous alien warship, stuck captive by the Universe's Greatest Threat.

Here I lie.

I lie and cry myself to sleep.

~

I am walking through an open field. In Paradise, Ohio.

The tall grass brush against my bare legs. A soft breeze blows through my wavy brown hair, letting my pink skirt flutter in the cool night air.

A chill runs up my spine.

I see John.

That same innocent kid that I found in Paradise all that time ago. The blonde hair of his flowing perfectly in the wind and his fingers interlocked through my own.

BK is here too. Playing with Pixie in the grass up ahead. Running and howling at the full moon hovering directly above.

John wraps an arm snugly around my waist; pulls me in close until our faces nearly touch.

We walk through the midnight air. Side by side. Hand in hand. Leaning against one another.

Everything is peaceful and calm.

Crickets chirp. Owls hoot. Pixie and BK brawl playfully. I hear John whisper into my ear, though I cannot make out what he is saying. The result? A snicker and a laugh from my happy and relaxed being in the freshest country air.