A Hero In The Dark

Chapter 97: True Strength

A well-needed shower and a chance to have some alone time with John is really all I am hoping for tonight. I haven't had either really since Phiri Dun-Ra kidnapped me over a month ago.

The water is warm. I turn it up, letting the temperature raise until it heats my skin. I will always select a hot shower over a cold one. It helps me forget. Forget everything Setrákus Ra has done.

The scars on my wrists? Nonexistent.
My imprisonment? Nonexistent.
Nightmares? Nonexistent.
The Charm binding my life to his? Nonexistent.

All of it.

It all goes away under the hot water. And I couldn't be any more grateful for that.

Only when I turn off the water to end my shower does it all become real again. I sigh.

The clothes that Marina was nice enough to lend me is nothing short of kind. A pair of black sweatpants and a plain white tee. Similar to what I wore during my escape attempt with Five.

An outfit that suits my comfort. It feels great to wear something that matches my style of ease.

I look to the counter beside the bathroom sink where the four pendants lie. The three from the dead Garde that Henri insisted I hold on to. And mine, that which the Entity gave to bond with my power.

I place them over my head; let the cold Loralite amulets rest against my chest.

One, Two, Three, and Unity.

"You won't have died in vain," I whisper, clutching the pendants in a firm grasp. "I promise."

Before I leave the bathroom, I take one look at my reflection in the mirror.

From the glimmer of the pendants in the bathroom light. To the shoulder that's been injured and healed with his revolting black ooze. To my arms and then wrists.

I can't help glancing at my wrists; at the green scars covering them from the torturous ooze he used during my time in captivity.

At the sight of my first most visible scars, my gaze shifts to my right ankle. Unseen in the mirror, but noticeable as it is.

The Charm connecting my life to an evil dictator.

I bring my arms back down to the bathroom countertop after unknowingly rubbing the green of my wrists. And carefully, look into the eyes of my reflection.

Beneath the deep brown of my eyes, I can see all the pain and hurt my body has faced. Over the weeks. Over the months. Since that very first day I made the decision to join the Loric cause. It almost pains me still to look into my own eyes. But I do. As much as I hate that it forces me to remember, I do.

And yet, through it all, I can see renewed determination and strength far stronger than what I had in my old life. There is not only hurt and pain and distrust and anger under my eyes. There is courage and bravery and honor and strength.

Strength.

If there is one thing I hope to always see, it is true strength. It's then I realize that Henri was right. Lorien chose me for a reason. I now understand what that reason is. It is as Pittacus Lore has once said.

I hold the power. To stop this war and unite our two worlds. Loric, Mogadorian, and humanity. To help all coexist without conflict.

It is what Pittacus and the Entity have been urging me to follow; the future that I am meant to save.

I take a deep breath, in through my nose and out seconds later. And I speak to my reflection in the mirror, "All that pain you've endured. Everything you've seen since you started your journey. There is only one thing left to do now. End him. Make him pay for all the hurt and destruction he has caused."

As if the girl in the mirror has received the drive she needs, I exit the bathroom and head out to find John.