The Fall of Five

Six watches me approach through narrowed eyes. She jams the fuel pump back into its home with way more force than necessary. We stand looking at each other from opposite sides of the car.

“We should talk,” I say.

“Sarah made you come over here, didn’t she?”

“Look, I know you don’t really like her—”

“That’s just it, John,” she interrupts. “I do like Sarah. And she loves you.”

I stare at Six, trying to sort this out. “All right, I get that you’re mad at me because we haven’t really talked about everything since going to Chicago. With Sarah around it just seemed . . . weird.”

“John, I’m not mad at you because we kissed and now you’re back with your girlfriend. I thought I liked you, John. You know, as more than a friend. But then I got dumped in that cell with Sarah and saw the way she talked about you. And now every day I see the two of you together. Whatever was between us back when we were on the run, it’s not like what you and Sarah have. Watching the two of you is almost enough to make me believe Henri’s crap about Loric only falling in love once.”

I nod, agreeing with Six. What she’s saying is definitely true, but how am I supposed to respond? Yeah, you’re right, I totally like Sarah better than you? It’s probably better if I just keep my mouth shut.

“I guess,” Six continues, “I feel shitty for kissing you while you were supposed to be with Sarah.”

“In our defense,” I say, “we did think she’d sold us out to the government.”

“It was also our first time meeting other Garde. Once that excitement was over, you were always waiting to go back to Sarah, huh?”

“It wasn’t like that at all, Six. I wasn’t thinking ahead, or biding my time, or whatever.” My mind drifts back to that moonlit walk Six and I took, holding hands so we could be invisible. “When we were together, I’m not sure I’d ever felt so comfortable with another person before. Like I could just be myself.”

For a moment, Six’s hard voice turns almost wistful. “Yeah, me too.”

“But it’s different with Sarah,” I say, gently. “I love her. I’m more sure of that now than ever before.”

Six claps her hands as if the matter is settled. “Good. So, let’s forget about it. You and I are just friends, and you and Sarah are the happy couple. I’m cool with that. All this love triangle crap makes me want to barf.”

“Six . . . ,” I start, not really sure what to say. It almost feels like she’s letting me off the hook here, or trying to push me away.

“No, listen,” Six says, cutting me off. “I’m sorry I got into your business with Sarah. Whether or not you want to tell her about us kissing is your thing. I don’t care. I just . . .” She glances over to the gas station, where Sarah is finally emerging. “When I got tossed in that cell with her, the way she talked about you—she’s given up so much to be with you, John. She’s basically betting her life on you. Maybe I’m being nosy and it isn’t my place, but I just want to make sure you’re up for that.”

“I’m trying to be,” I say to Six, and turn to watch Sarah approach. What Six said rings true. I know Sarah has given up a normal life to be here with me, facing danger. I love her, but I haven’t figured out how to strike the right balance between keeping her safe and letting her be involved in my chaotic life. I might never figure that out. Right now, it’s enough that she’s here with me.

Six calls for Bernie Kosar and they get back into the car. Sarah stops in front of me, her eyebrows raised.

“Everything cool?”

I have the sudden urge to wrap her in a hug, so I do. She makes a surprised little noise and I kiss her on the cheek. She squeezes me back.

“Everything’s cool,” I say.

I take over driving when we leave the gas station. BK crawls into Sarah’s lap and paws at the window until she rolls it down. The car floods with cool spring air. BK hangs his head out the window, his beagle tongue lolling out of his mouth. I guess Chimæra or dog, it still feels good to have the wind hitting your face as you cruise down a highway.

The fresh air feels pretty good to me too. I don’t know if everything will ever be squared away between Six and me, but I feel better after our talk. At least I know where I stand now. The mood in the car has changed; there’s not as much tension hanging between the three of us. I relax a little, leaning back in my seat, watching the mile markers skip by.

Sarah gently taps my leg. “Too fast.”

I smile guiltily and slow down. Sarah has her arm out the window, her hand flat as she lets it surf across the currents of wind. Her blond hair is blown about her face wildly. She looks beautiful. For a moment, I pretend that it’s just the two of us and we’re on a road trip to someplace fun and normal. I still believe that could happen for us one day. If I didn’t, there’d be no reason to keep fighting.

Sarah meets my eyes and I swear she must read my mind. She rests her hand on my leg.

“I know we’re on a serious mission here,” Sarah says, “but what if we were just taking a regular road trip, like normal people? Where would you go?”

“Hmm,” I reply, thinking it over. My fantasy with Sarah and myself didn’t really have a destination. It was enough just to be in a car with her. “So many options . . .”

Before I can decide, Six leans forward from the backseat. “I didn’t really get to see much of it when we were there because of all the running and fighting, but Spain looked pretty interesting.”

Sarah grins. “I’ve always wanted to go to Europe. My parents backpacked there after college. It’s how they met.”

“So Europe is your answer too?” I ask Sarah.

“Yeah,” she replies. “There are still places I’d like to see in America, I guess. Getting locked up by the government has kinda soured me, though.”

“That is a drawback,” I agree, chuckling.

Sarah turns around in her seat to look at Six. “We could go to Europe together. Um, if you’re not too busy restoring your planet and all.”

Sarah’s so enthusiastic that Six can’t help but smile back. “That could be fun.”

“That’s where I’d like to go,” I tell Sarah, putting my hand over hers.

“Europe?”

“Lorien.”

“Oh,” Sarah replies, a note of sadness in her voice surprising me. I try to explain.

“I’d like to show you Lorien the way I’ve seen it in my visions, the way Henri used to describe it to me.”

I catch Six rolling her eyes at me in the rearview mirror. “That’s not really the game,” she says. “Pick someplace that you could actually get to without building a spaceship.”

I think it over for a moment. “I don’t know. Disney World?”

Six and Sarah both exchange a look and then start laughing.

“Disney World?” exclaims Six. “You’re so cheesy, John.”

“No, it’s sweet,” says Sarah, patting my hand. “It’s the most magical place on Earth.”

“You know, I’ve never actually been on a roller coaster. Henri wasn’t down with the whole amusement-park thing. I used to see the commercials and I always wanted to go.”

“That’s so sad!” exclaims Sarah. “We’re definitely going to get you to Disney World. Or at least on a roller coaster. They’re amazing.”

Six snaps her fingers. “What’s that one ride? It’s supposed to be like a rocket ship?”

“Space Mountain,” answers Sarah.

“Yeah,” replies Six, and then hesitates as if she’s worried she’s about to divulge too much. “I actually remember looking that up online when I was little. I insisted to Katarina that it had something to do with us.”

The thought of a young Six investigating Disney World is priceless. The three of us share a laugh.

“Aliens,” mutters Sarah jokingly. “You need to get out more.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

NIGHT HAS FALLEN BY THE TIME WE CROSS THE Arkansas state line. Luckily, we know exactly where we’re going. The billboards started popping up about twenty miles back, the huge and hairy face of the Boggy Creek Monster inviting us to visit Fouke’s one-and-only Monster Mart. We’re close now, and the tree-lined highway is pretty desolate, so I break my own rule and really start gunning it.

Sarah peers out her window, craning her neck at one of the faded Monster Mart signs.

“Just a couple more miles,” she says quietly.

“Are you ready?” I ask, sensing some apprehension in her voice.

“I hope so,” she says.

I pull the car over just before the exit for Fouke. This isn’t exactly a thriving tourist destination. More like the kind of dinky small-town thing that bored traveling families will stop off at to snap a few pictures and get a bathroom break.

“Probably a good idea to go on foot from here,” I say, glancing at Six. “We’ll want to be invisible.”

Six nods. “Agreed.”

We pile out of the car and into the dark woods that separate the highway from the town. Bernie Kosar briefly stretches his legs before taking on the form of a sparrow. He lands on my shoulder, awaiting instructions.

“Scout ahead, BK,” I say. “See what’s up there.”

As BK soars off into the night, the three of us ready ourselves. I snap my bracelet onto my wrist; I certainly haven’t missed the painful tingling feeling I get whenever I wear it, but I’ll definitely feel safer with it on. I tuck my dagger into the back of my pants. Watching me, Sarah takes her gun out of her backpack and shoves it into the waistband of her jeans as well. All those road-trip fantasies of a couple hours ago are gone. It’s time for action. We start into the woods, the dim lights of Fouke about a mile away through the trees. Sarah grabs hold of my arm.

“Do you think we’ll see the Boggy Creek Monster?” she asks, widening her eyes in mock terror. “From the pictures, it looks a lot like Bigfoot. Maybe we can make friends.”

Six warily scans the woods around us. “Some dumb folk legend isn’t the monster I’m worried about running into.”

“Besides,” I add, trying to keep things light for Sarah’s benefit, “who needs a sasquatch when we’ve got Nine waiting for us back in Chicago?”

Like Six, I’m also searching the woods for any sign of Mogadorian ambush. It’s eerily quiet out here, the dead branches that crunch beneath our feet sounding like fireworks. I hope that we’ve beaten the Mogs to Five’s location, that they weren’t as quick to figure out his weird riddle as we were. The fact that there isn’t a new scar on my ankle and that the small town up ahead doesn’t appear to be engulfed by flames from a recent battle are both really good signs. Still, we have to stay on our guard. There’s no telling what might be waiting for us up ahead.

As we get closer, Six reaches her hands out to us. Sarah has to let go of my arm to take hold of Six. I wish there was time for one last hug, just a quick moment to reassure her. With each of us holding one of Six’s hands, she turns us invisible. We walk on.