Part VI

"Gwen!!!" whined Justine, her eyes flaring up into flames.
"What?" I snapped, frustrated with my own failures and my friends' failures.
"I'm tired. We're tired. Can we stop yet?" The fire died from her eyes and smoked slightly as I sighed.
"Fine. Take a break." Carmen's water weapons dropped to the ground and she jumped into the salty ocean.
"What's the rush anyways? I mean, it's not like we're going to be up against the Apocalypse anytime soon." Linda huffed, creating a tree to lean against. Carmen's head popped out of the waves and she climbed back onto the beach, completely dry still.
"Did I not tell you that it's probably going to be in 2012?" Carmen, Kendra, and Ellen joined Linda under her tree.
"So? We've still got three years." Tiffany sighed and plopped herself next to Ellen. She waved an absentminded hand in the air and a light breeze swirled around the tree. The tree stuck out in the middle of the beach. If anyone had seen, it would have been a weird sight.
It was the beginning of our sophomore year. I had trained them hard during the summer. They hadn't liked it at all, but I was scared. I didn't want to die, nor did I want them to die. With added school work, the amount of time we had to do homework and train was slowly decreasing. I could slow down time enough for our homework to take only 30 minutes in real time, but it was taxing on me.
The opposing seven were beginning to travel around the world and wreak havoc. So we had to fight against them.
Natalie's power allowed them to travel from place to place quickly, but we couldn't. We depended on Tiffany's wind to carry us from place to place. And it was difficult.
Natalie caused volcanic eruptions and earthquakes that were difficult to stop. We had no control over the earth, and Linda did her best to hold the earth together with her plants. Justine also worked with Linda, holding back the volcanoes as best she could.
Meanwhile, Queenie was creating massive sandstorms, increasing the rate of growing deserts. Tiffany did her best to hold back the powerful torrents of sand.
Rachel and Kimberly were causing problems in large cities, causing blackouts. There was little we could do about that, but Carmen was doing something with her water to prevent Rachel's electricity from messing with the cities. But even if the power didn't actually go out, Kimberly sometimes was still able to create a cloak of darkness. Justine usually worked with Carmen because her flames sometimes could penetrate the muffling gloom.
Somehow, Bianca had helped to create better, more powerful weapons under a false name and now some countries were turning against each other in fear of being attacked. This one was difficult. With the countries bombarding others with destructive weapons, they were essentially helping with creating the Armageddon. They didn't know it, but we did. Justine also helped out here, trying to extinguish the flames or the firepower of the weapons before they got anywhere. I also gave her time, especially since she had such difficulty putting out the fire. It was easier for her to create rather than destroy flames. Tiffany helped a bit as well, using air to slow down the weapons and try to put out the fire.
Michelle worked to make the sun's rays brighter and more brilliant, helping with the greenhouse effect. Ellen and Kendra mostly worked against Michelle. Having Ellen there made it hard for Michelle to do what she was supposed to. They still loved each other, but they had to fight against each other. I know it killed Ellen to go against Michelle, showing Kendra mentally what Michelle was about to do as they attacked each other. Michelle could only create illusions, but her illusions often were so powerful that the body imagined being hurt and actually damaged itself. Kendra was the one who was hurt most of the time. Ellen must have been dying inside, fighting against her love, but watching her twin get hurt. It was a good thing that Carmen was slowly learning how to manipulate the body's cells to heal wounds.
It was a dangerous experimentation of Carmen's and she was terrified of hurting someone. But some of the wounds we got had to be healed by someone within the seven. If our parents found out, or anyone else... I shudder to think what could have happened if we had gotten caught. It would have made it even harder to get out of the house and save the world.
She was very careful though, and most of her attempts did work. It was harder for her to heal though, because liquids other than water used up more of her energy and more effort. We tried our best not to get hurt, naturally, but sometimes injuries couldn't be avoided.
We also learned to watch out for the opposing seven's Guardians. There was Yolanda, Marianne's monkey, Oliver, Natalie's red eyed tree frog, Samantha, Rachel's cheetah, Rose, Bianca's humming bird, Issac, Queenie's king cobra, Artemis, Kimberly's panther, and Apollo, Michelle's lion. Those guardians sometimes would attack us while we were fighting against each other. Thank goodness we had Hana and the other Guardians to help.
Our parents wondered why we always were so tired and ended up coming home with wrinkled or ripped clothes. They were worried for us and sent us into therapy. Not like it helped. It just wasted time. Ellen helped us, thankfully, and read the therapists minds for us, instructing us what to tell them so that they would be convinced that we were fine. Well, we were fine, in our opinion, but our parents sure didn't. They were annoyed at the therapists and basically every day, tried to wheedle information out of us. Naturally, we couldn't tell them that we were trying to stop the Apocalypse. I mean, we could, but they wouldn't believe us. Who would?
Jacob and Aaron continued their relationship with Bianca and Rachel, much to my distaste. I loved Jacob and Aaron, but who in their right mind would go out with those two?! I suppose that people who didn't know that they were out to destroy the world would see them are cute, attractive girls, but they repulsed me. They had my two brothers practically under their spell. Jacob and Aaron were almost like dogs, begging Bianca and Rachel for their love and affection. It was disgusting. I wished the two would snap out of it. I wasn't even sure if the two girls liked my brothers or not.
The world was slowly deteriorating and there was little we could do about it. Hurricanes and tornadoes were becoming more and more common, and Tiffany couldn't hold them back by herself. All she could do was weaken them and hope they wouldn't do too much damage. Global warming was increasing its speed and almost all the coral in the ocean was gone. The ice in the north was nearly all gone, and so many species had died. It seemed no matter what we did, things just got worse. And the opposing seven knew.
~*~
"Um... Gwendolyn?" I whipped around on my heels to see Erin sheepishly looking at me through a curtain of chocolate brown hair. Erin was my lab partner in science class. He (yes, HE!) was a pretty good partner, a little shy sometimes, but overall intelligent and athletic. He was a runner too, but he did a different style of running. I did more cross country style, and he was a sprinter. And he was FAST. He was one of the first I'd ever seen who could beat me in running speed, even though I did cross country.
"Oh, hi Erin." We had a thing going on between us. He refused to call me Gwendolyn, and since he hated being called Erin (he preferred Eri), I called him that.
"Do you want to go running with me today?" I hesitated. The Apocalypse couldn't wait forever, but it would have been nice to go running with him.
"I...have something to do today... How about after dinner?" I'd have to slow down time a lot in order to finish homework really quickly after dinner.
"After dinner? But it'll be dark then." I sighed.
"Who says you can't run in the dark?" I had run after dark a couple times, though it was a little difficult. With one of those lights that could be mounted on one's head, it was possible.
"Ha ha, fine, you win. See you at your house at around...?"
"Seven would be good." I smiled and winced inwardly at the time. There were seven of us, but there were seven of them as well. I just hoped that things would turn out alright.
"Cool. See ya then." He walked off with a little grin on his face, hazel eyes sparkling slightly. I wondered if Justine and Dustin were right. Justine heard from Dustin that Erin liked me, and I suppose that it was likely, but... I sighed. I liked him as a friend, but I wasn't sure if I liked him that way. Or maybe I did. I didn't really know.
I wandered off to the tree and readied myself for another battle.
~*~
"Alright, let's get going then." Linda smiled, weariness etched into her eyes. We all were tired. No matter how hard we tried to hide it or how much we slept, we looked exhausted. And we were, though we had enough energy to make it through each day.
"Ready, Gwen?" I nodded to Carmen.
"I'm ready."
"Tiffany?"
"Ready."
"Ellen?"
"All set!" I began to rotate my left hand and Tiffany whisked us into the air. That took some getting used to. It was an odd sensation, knowing that we were in the air, standing on nothing but air. Ellen took care of the minds of people who happened to see, modifying their memories slightly. The people knew that they saw something, but they thought it was a flock of birds. It was hard for Ellen to do, and birds were all she could do for now. Her usual work involved reading minds and talking to other people telepathically.
Ellen also directed Tiffany where to go by showing where the people were. Interestingly enough, when we landed, all of them were there. And they weren't doing anything. Yet.
I took a quick glance around as my feet touched the ground. We were in a heavily wooded area, probably somewhere in northern Europe or Asia, judging from the cool temperature.
"Hello all." Marianne said. Yolanda rested in her arms as she spoke.
"What do you want today? Haven't you caused enough trouble as it is?" Linda's words were cold and edgy.
"We want one final battle with you. The Apocalypse is almost there. But we want to face you one last time before we destroy this world." Bianca smiled icily, with Rose fluttering next to her. The end of the world wasn't in 2012 after all. At least, I hoped it wouldn't be then or the next day.
"Is that what it is? You get to go to another world if you destroy this one?" Justine's eyes were narrowed as Vinnie slipped into his fox form. I felt Hana slip from my neck and morph into a wolf beside me. She rubbed against my leg comfortingly as Rachel replied.
"Something along those lines. And of course, you won't be there." She ran her fingers down the side of Samantha's spotted pelt as she laughed, her voice echoing through the trees.
"You'll all be gone." Bubbled Kimberly and Michelle, though Michelle's eyes were still sad, as they had been from the start. That ghost of sorrow had never disappeared during the whole time. Their two large felines slunk next to them, one a dark shadow, the other a glowing sun. Artemis and Apollo, respectively. How fitting.
I felt a growl ripple through through Hana, and a put a gentle hand on her shoulder to silence her. Now wasn't the time.
"When will this battle be?" Tiffany's voice floated around on an invisible breeze as Pax flew around us.
"Tomorrow after school at 5. I'm sure you'll know where from your little mind-reading freak." Natalie spat.
"Freak? Just look at yourselves. Then you'll know where the real freaks are!" snapped Kendra. Laura let out a menacing screech, or however one would describe the noises a komodo dragon makes.
"If we're freaks, then what are you? Life's final mistakes?" retorted Queenie. Issac hissed angrily as he hung loosely around Queenie's neck.
"We'll see you tomorrow then." Carmen said calmly, clearly trying to end the pissing match.
"Fine. Goodbye." Marianne gave a tight lipped smile, eyes emotionless.
"See you tomorrow." I said, with an edge to my words.
The earth came up from underneath them and then they were swallowed up into the ground.
"Let's go back then. I see no point in staying any longer." Linda said.
"I'll send you guys back, but I'll go around with Ellen to try to fix a couple things." Tiffany looked at Ellen who nodded.
We went back in the same manner as we left, except that Tiffany placed us on the beach.
"See you later then." I said, giving Tiffany and Ellen a gentle hug.
"Yeah, we'll see you later!" Ellen smiled before they both flew up into the air. Ellen and Kendra had gotten a little more distant lately, especially since Kendra was spending so much time with Carmen. It didn't seem to bother Ellen though. She seemed to understand, I guess.
The others departed for the bus, and I went back home. I didn't bother speeding up time around me so that I could make it seem like I did my homework at super speed. It was the first time in a long while that I had actually done my homework at normal speed. I finished just in time for dinner and didn't wolf down my food. My parents looked puzzled, but they didn't ask. I was thankful that Rachel and Bianca didn't join us for dinner. They did that sometimes, and the meals ended up with me glaring at them and them glaring back at me.
After dinner, I found that it was only half past six, so I went up to the roof and just stared at the sky, watching the blue turn darker until I felt it was about time to get down. Just in time, too.
"Gwen! Some...boy is here!" I winced. My brothers would have heard my father shouting.
"Ooo, looks like someone's got a BOYfriend!" Jason said, nudging me as I walked down the hall.
"Gwen, the loveless, has actually gotten someone interested in her?" Adam said mockingly.
"The question is, does she like him?" Alexander said, grinning evilly.
"All of you just shut up!" I screeched, annoyed. They took this as a yes.
"Gwen and mystery boy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" taunted Johnathan. I could only hear the rest of the muffled song as I went to the door with my light. He had gotten one too.
"Hey Gwendolyn." Erin said, hands stuffed in his pockets.
"Hey Erin." I said, smiling slightly.
"Have fun, Gwen!" My father said, winking at me. I gave an exasperated groan and pushed him away as I closed the door behind me.
"What was that about?" Erin asked. Clueless.
"Nothing you want to know." I replied, rolling my eyes. We ran in silence, listening to the noises of the night, the pitter patter of our feet, and our ragged breaths. He tired quickly (or at least, faster than myself), so we made many stops. It took us around an hour and a half before we got back to my house. I suggested we go to the beach, and he followed me down to the water's edge.
I kicked off my shoes and rolled up my pants, dipping my feet into the water. I shivered slightly as the water flowed up to my ankles. I waded in a little more until the water was up to mid-calf level.
"Eee. It's cold." whined Erin, who had waded in behind me.
"Well, deal with it." I smiled. I wiggled my toes in the wet sand underneath my feet, feeling little rocks mixed in with the grains.
I took a sharp breath as I felt arms wrapped around my shoulders. If anyone else had done that, I would have ripped their arms away from me, but.., Somehow...it was okay when he did it.
"Gwendolyn?" he asked, his head resting on my shoulder next to my ear. Gods, he was warm. I could practically feel the heat radiating from his body.
"Yes Erin?" My voice came out more quiet than I had wanted it to.
"I... I really like you a lot. I've been dying to say this. Will you go out with me?"
"Erin..." I thought about how much time I had. "Alright. Tomorrow after school okay with you?"
"Yes. Thank you, Gwendolyn. You won't regret it." He released me from his hold and turned me around, looking deep into my eyes.
"We'll see." I said, smiling.
~*~
As we walked back to my house, with slightly damp and sandy feet, we talked about who was the better runner, a long term argument that still hadn't been decided. When we got to the door, I pulled out my house key and prepared to open the door.
"So...see you tomorrow?" I said, fiddling with the key with my fingers.
"Yeah, see ya." He turned and I heard his footsteps move away from me for a couple seconds. But then the sound stopped, and I turned around, key still stuck halfway through the lock, confused at why he stopped.
"Eri-" I was about to ask him if something was wrong, when I found his lips pressed gently against mine, for just a moment.
"Goodnight, Gwendolyn." he said quietly, flushing slightly in the pale light of the moon. And then he was gone.
I touched my fingers to where his lips had just been and felt heat rising up to my cheeks. I stayed there for a couple minutes, waiting for the heat to die down before entering the house.
"How did it go, Gwen?" Jason asked, smiling mischievously.
"None of your business, Jason. But if you must know, it went well." I replied coolly, smiling at him sweetly before going up into my room.
I flopped myself onto the bed even though it was only around 8:30. For the first time in a long while, I was able to fall asleep peacefully.
~*~
"Did something happen to you, Gwen?" I smiled at Justine.
"Nothing, nothing at all!" I chirped happily.
"You seem... Different, somehow." Linda said suspiciously.
"Something good happen?" Carmen asked, definitely trying to get me to say what occurred the previous night.
"Maybe." I didn't really give them time to ask more before I began to ask what we were going to do today.
The rest of the early morning was spent discussing the plan for after school. I briefly mentioned I'd be going somewhere before the battle, and they tried to get me to say, but I kept my mouth shut. But then Ellen had to go and read my mind.
"Ooo! I know now!"
"What is it Ellen, what is it?" Carmen was half jumping up and down in excitement.
"Gwen's got a b-" I clapped a hand over her mouth.
"I've got a...brother." I said, trying not to blush.
"Why are you blushing?" Tiffany asked, expression innocent.
"Could it be that...GWEN'S GOT A BOYFRIEND?!" Justine shrieked.
"Shhh!" I hissed, putting my other hand over Justine's mouth.
"NO way!" Linda screamed, eyes going big like saucers. I sighed.
"It's Erin."
"Erin? A girl?" Tiffany asked. "Not that there's anything wrong with it, I just didn't know!" she added quickly after.
"Erin's a boy." I said, chuckling slightly. "You probably know him by Eri."
"Oh... Though you said you only saw him as a friend..."
"Justine, times change. Stuff happens." I rolled my eyes.
"So you have a date with him?" Kendra piped in.
"Yes, I have a date. If all goes well after, I can continue dating him. If not...well...we're all screwed. Hope it doesn't happen."
"Well... Good luck with the date! And the rest of school!"
"Thanks, Linda..."
~*~
School was pretty much a blur. I was mostly too preoccupied thinking about Erin and saving the world after our date. The only class that I really paid attention to was science, because Erin was there.
"No, Gwendolyn, that goes there." I sighed and looked again. He was right, as usual.
"Sorry, Erin, I guess I'm just a little out of it." He smiled at me and then took my wrist gently, moving the piece I had been working with to where it should have been. I had always been hopeless at trying to set up the microscopes properly, and today definitely wasn't my best day.
"I'll go get the sample. Be right back." Letting go of my wrist, he left my side, and I felt as if something was missing as I waited for him. I tried not to let myself speed up time. I would need all the energy I could get for later.
"Back." The sample slid under the lens and he nudged me gently towards the microscope.
"You should look first." I protested, but I looked into the microscope all the same.
"My turn." I moved away and he took my spot, marking information on the assignment paper. I knew that he was pretty much doing all the work, but I really needed a break. Everything was insanely stressing, and though he was soothing to be next to, it wasn't enough.
For the rest of the class, I could tell that he was flirting with me. My body reacted to it, but the rest of me remained stressed out and distracted. It wasn't until after school that I could really pay attention to him.
~*~
"What movie do you want to watch?" I stared at the movie theater sign.
"Um..." I hadn't watched a movie in...a very long time. "How about you choose?"
"What kind of movie do you like watching?" He really was very determined to get me to choose something.
"I'm an action girl, but I like movies with complicated plots."
"Er... How about... The Dark Knight?"
"Sure, I don't really know if there's anything good to watch anyways... I don't watch movies very often."
"Alright." I felt his hand slip around mine, and I looked up at him. Smiling a little, I turned back to the counter.
"Two tickets for The Dark Knight." I pulled out a 10 dollar bill, and he took my hand gently and pushed it down.
"I'll pay."
"No you aren't."
"Why not?"
"Because I said so. I'll pay for myself." We both put our money on the counter. My ten ended up on top of his 20.
"Whose money should I take?" asked the bewildered lady behind the counter.
"Mine." we both said at the same time.
"This isn't helping me." She threw up her hands into the air.
"Here, you know what?" I shoved my ten into his jacket pocket and pushed the twenty towards the lady.
"What? Take back your ten!"
"I don't want to!"
"Here's your tickets. Enjoy the movie. Next!" I shoved Erin towards the concessions stand.
"You can pay for the food if it makes you feel better." He smiled.
"Okay, what do you want."
"Nothing." I beamed. He scowled. "I win." Sticking out my tongue at him in defiance, he challenged it and stuck out his own tongue. We just glared at each other until we both burst into peals of laughter.
He bought a small coke and a medium bag of popcorn. We settled down in the middle of the theater, not too close to the screen, but not too far away.
I honestly didn't really pay too much attention to the movie. All I could concentrate on was listening to his breath soft against my neck as he whispered comments about the movie. I guess I really did like him.
~*~
When the movie ended (and I didn't really know what happened at ALL in the movie), he ended up with his arm around my shoulder, and we walked out in that fashion. Flipping out my cell phone and turning it on, I realized that it was already ten minutes to five.
"Erin?"
"What is it, Gwendolyn?"
"I'm so sorry, but I really have to go now."
"Why such a rush?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Hopefully I'll see you soon. If things don't turn out well...I can't say much more than that."
"Wai-" That was all I heard before I dashed off to find my friends.
We'll come get you at that tree over there, Gwen. I heard Ellen's voice and I skidded to a stop. I had to hide from Erin in the tree as he ran by it, probably frantically searching for me. I sighed and wished that I didn't have the huge responsibility of saving the world. That just wasn't cool sometimes.
My friends showed up a couple seconds after Erin passed and I jumped to the ground and joined them.
"Let's get going then, shall we?" I said, giving a worried smile.
"I guess so." Justine said, sighing and visibly preparing herself for the ordeal ahead. Tiffany lifted us up as I slowed down time enough for us to get to the location that Ellen found by five. They were already there and waiting for us.
They had taken us to a desert location with giant hunks of rock circling the area. They had clearly chosen an area to their advantage.
"You're late." Marianne remarked, looking casually at a watch on her wrist.
"We're not late, you're just too early." Carmen said, taking Marie from her neck. Hana slipped off my neck of her own accord and shifted into a wolf beside me, hackles raised and fur rippling.
"Then let us begin." Queenie said, and sand lifted up into the air around her.
~*~
"Fuck!" screeched Justine, tossing a fireball the size of my head toward Kimberly, who wrapped a shadow around Carmen's eyes. The shadow twitched and released its hold over her eyes, and a torrent of water covers Queenie's sand, dampening it and making it heavier. Queenie cursed as her sand dropped with the extra weight, missing me by inches. Tiffany sent a sand tinged gust of wind at Michelle, who lifted her arms and braced herself against the grains of sand. Queenie had been distracted enough not to block the sand, and drops of blood began to flow down Michelle's arms and legs where her skin had been vulnerable.
I felt useless as I tried to help my teammates by slowing down the opponents' attacks. Ellen stood beside me, connecting our minds and showing all of us what the others intend to do.
Marianne gave a shout and I was thrown backwards with the force of the sound. I slowed down time for me and managed to catch myself. Barely. My arms and palms were scraped from the impact and begin to bleed. Normally, Carmen would heal us, but she needed all the energy she had to protect herself.
Linda made a cactus appear underneath Natalie, who yelped with pain and ripped the plant to shreds with shards of earth. Bianca tried to strike Kendra, but Ellen warned us just in time. Carmen shot a ball of water above Kendra's head and the water absorbed the electrical shock. I watched in horror as Carmen, concentrating only on save Kendra, was shot down by a pellet of metal. It embedded itself into her back, and crimson blood poured out from the wound. I rushed to her side, slowing down the time around us so I can talk to her while protecting her.
"Carmen. It's going to be okay." I tried to sooth her, but it didn't help. Her eyes were wide with fright, and her brow was pinched with pain. My eyes welled with tears and my vision blurred, but I had to keep my concentration.I kept one hand twirling as I listened to Hana's growls and barks, along with the snarls and hisses of the guardians.
"Gwen... Get Ken-" Her words were cut off by shriek that sounded forced out of her lungs. Body writhing with agony, I tried to hold her down as Kendra reached Carmen's side.
"No. No. Oh god, no." I hear Kendra whisper next to me as her crumpled and she collapsed to the ground, head in her hands.
"K-kenda." choked out Carmen.
"Carmen, my darling Carmen." whimpered Kendra as she dragged herself to Carmen's side.
"Don't be afraid, dearest. I love you, Kendra. Ah..." Her words were a sigh as her eyes fluttered shut and her body went limp. Marie looked at us sadly as she faded away into the air. Now that Carmen was gone, she would not appear again until the next Controller of Water was born.
The tears from my eyes fell freely as I stood up and tried to pay attention to the fight ahead. There would be more time to mourn later, I told myself. I couldn't afford to break down now.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the tears of the other members glistening in the sunlight.
"NNNNNOOOOO!!!" screamed Kendra, head tilted to the sky. Her eyes filled with hatred and she lifted up hunks of rock. Natalie tried to take the rocks back into her control, but Kendra was too strong, too angry, too powerful.
With a flick of her wrist, all the rocks were sent shooting towards Bianca, who had no time to react. The rocks pierced through her, and she stared at the hold in her body before her eyes flipped up and she fainted. Rose gave a few feeble flutters before she melted into nothingness.
Still angry, Kendra lifted more rocks, sending them shooting towards the other members of Bianca's group. But they were prepared this time.
"Kendra, stop! You're using too much energy!" shouts Ellen. I realized that Ellen was right as I side stepped a slowed down sword of sand sent to me from Queenie.
Almost as if something snapped within Kendra, she suddenly froze in her movements, and the items in her control dropped to the ground. Her body fell to the ground. She had exceeded her limit and her body couldn't take it. I hope that it was a painless death. Laura gave a screech of lament before she disappeared, just like Marie had done.
More tears blurred my vision, but I whipped them away with my left hand, still keeping my right hand moving. Now I tried to slow the time around the objects that were being shot at members of my group.
I would have carried Carmen's body out of the way, but I couldn't afford to stop slowing down time. The only thing I could do was stand next to her unmoving body and protect the others.
Ellen walked up beside me and put a hand on my shoulder.
She died happy, Gwen. Carmen at least. Kendra felt no pain and was at peace at the last moment of her life.
"Thanks, Ellen." I murmured, knowing that she was going through as much pain as I was, if not more. She had been inside their minds in their last moments. For her, it must have been like dying twice. She had even taken the consideration to cut the rest of us off from their minds before they died. My heart ached with their deaths, but I had to go on protecting the remaining 4 members of my group, not including myself.
Would all of us die like the pattern had revealed? I didn't know then, and I hoped it would not come to be true.
I whipped around my head just in time to see a sand dagger plunge into Linda's leg. She fell onto her knees without a sound, eyes closed tightly in agony. I watched her take a deep shuddering breath before she ripped it out of her flesh. Only then did she allow herself to scream.
Rachel sent a bolt of lightning toward Linda, and I slowed it down in time for Linda to create a tree to divert the deadly shock.
Linda, are you alright? I asked, tears still refusing to stop falling from my eyes.
I'm...okay. I can't stand... she gasped out mentally, hands clutching her wound. One of her hands wrapped several leaves around the wound, stopping the blood from leaving her system, while the other created a wall of thorns to block Natalie's wave of sand. Will should have been at Linda's side, comforting her as she bled, but I noticed that he lay on the side, limp and unmoving. He was dead, but would stay there until Linda's life fled her body. A new Guardian of Plants would help the next Controller of Plants.
I watched an illusion of a stampede of cows ripple toward us. One of Michelle's mind tricks. Ellen did her best to block it, and through the mental link, I felt her sadness and pain at fighting against Michelle. Despite all that she had gone through, her feelings for the other girl had not diminished.
The bovines disappeared from my vision, but cuts appeared suddenly on Ellen as her body imagined horns cutting through her skin. I winced at the shower of blood. She let out a hoarse cry, and Marianne took advantage of the sudden noise, throwing me backwards. I didn't have enough time to react and my arm scraped against the ground as I landed.
Gritting my teeth, I lifted my arm and glanced at it to inspect the damage. It was a relatively deep cut, and there was a lot of sand in it. And it hurt. A lot. I could barely contain the scream the welled up inside my throat.
The bright red blood gushed down my arm, dripping to the ground, staining the sand crimson. I must have hit a rock somewhere along my fall, but I couldn't see any around where I fell. It probably was Natalie, for that would be the kind of thing she would do. I was luck to not have been stabbed by a rock spear.
It seemed only seconds passed as I watched Justine get stabbed with a sand sword through the stomach, her fireball engulfing Queenie at the same moment. Vinnie yelped and vanished with a poof of smoke, as Issac did the same.
Rachel hit Tiffany with a bolt lightning. She gave a triumphant shout as Tiffany crumpled to the ground, but her celebration of cut short when a rock that Tiffany had been blowing fell onto her head. I heard a deafening crack, and I assume the rock broke something or knocked her unconscious. Pax and Samantha were gone.
Linda had vines around Kimberly's throat, the suffocating girl gave a strangled gasp for help before she went limp and the vines curled away. Artemis gave a something between a snarl and a whimper before she faded away. Beside me, I heard Ellen begin to retch as her stomach churned. I barely could hold onto the contents of my own stomach as I continued to watch in rising horror.
Marianne shot Linda across the sea of grass with a shout, and Linda crashed into a rock sticking out of the ground. A trickle of blood came from the corner of her mouth as her eyes grew dim and sightless. Will's limp body seemed to almost melt into the sand and then was gone.
Ellen's brow furrowed in concentration, and I stared as Natalie walked right onto a some snake that did not look particularly friendly. The viper lashed out and bit Natalie on the leg, and she cried out in pain as she killed the snake with chunk of earth. Then she fell to the ground and writhed in agony as the poison rushed through her veins. Oliver, her frog guardian, could do nothing as he watched his controller die.
Michelle walked up to Ellen, no illusions, just two daggers.
"Kill me, Ellen." she whispered softly, putting one knife into Ellen's hand.
"We'll die together then." Ellen murmured, tears streaming down her face. I couldn't move, or think, as I watched them kiss each other once, before plunging the daggers into each others' backs. Cam and Apollo disappeared together, looking at each other and their guardians sadly.
Then it was just Marianne and myself. I was almost completely helpless against her. I was wounded, and my powers could do little against hers. She, on the other hand, had no wounds, and her powers were offensive. I looked at her across the plain that was covered in blood and the bodies of our friends.
Her eyes were full of tears as she screamed, sending wave after wave of pure energy rolling off of her. I curled up into a ball, covering my ears. It did little to help against the pure, unfiltered cries that pierced my ear. I'm surprised my eardrums didn't break.
Hana had no way to cover her ears in time, and was only a couple of feet away from Marianne. Her body went stiff and then she fell. I don't know what happened, for there was no wound, but her brain must have not been able to handle the extreme power.
Then, I watched as she dropped to the ground. She had overused her power in her grief, and killed herself. Yolanda gave Marianne a little caress on her cheek before I could no longer see her.
I could still hear the echoes as I lifted my hands from my ears.
I spilled out the contents of what I had in my stomach, body heaving. Moments later, I lay against the ground, body almost entirely spent. Only then did I cry.
I cried for Justine, my best friend. I cried for Linda, our group leader. I cried for Tiffany, the smart one. I cried for Carmen, the bubbly cheerful girl. I cried for Kendra and Ellen, the twins who had loved with so much passion. And I cried for myself, for I knew I was going to die soon.
I sighed and looked down at my arm, which was still bleeding and throbbing. Using my unharmed hand, I pulled out the notebook and pencil that was still in my pocket. I was glad I had brought it. I set it down on the ground, and began to write, carefully moving one foot to slow down the time around my arm. I would need all the time I could get without killing myself.
I began to write down the story of what had happened to me, and my friends. Even if no one would read it, I wanted to free myself of the events that had led to now, before I would be no more.
The sky began to darken, and there were flashes of lightning, though no rain. The Apocalypse was on its way, but I still wanted to finish. That was the last thing I wanted to do before I died.