Chosen_Book One

by Rebecca Thomas

  "Stay with me," she told him, thanking whatever power in the universe had allowed him to survive such a terrible fall.

  Lifting him by herself wasn't an option. He was dead weight and it was going to be impossible to maneuver him through the doors without hurting him even more.

  "Somebody! Anybody! Help!" she screamed, holding onto Caleb tightly, like he might slip away if she let him go.

  "PLEASE! HELP ME!"

  It was agonising howling the words again and again, only for no one to respond. Kiara was about to give up hope when suddenly a voice called back.

  "Where are you?"

  "IN HERE!" she bellowed, waving a hand in the air in case they could see it.

  There was some creaking and groaning as two people she didn't recognise, but had clearly been caught up in the fighting seconds ago, pushed the doors down to get to her and Caleb.

  "Oh my gosh," the woman gasped, quickly crouching down beside Kiara to take Caleb's pulse.

  "He's hanging on by a thread, we need to get him to the medical area now," Kiara begged, looking at them both, her face wet with tears.

  "Please, help me. He can't die, I need him."

  The pair could see how desperate she was feeling. Caleb wasn’t just her teacher, he was becoming family. She couldn’t lose her family, not again.

  "Don't worry, sweetheart, he won't be going anywhere if we can help it," the woman said, squeezing her arm softly.

  “Now, help me get him up,” the guy said.

  They positioned themselves by each of Caleb’s shoulders, making sure that they had a secure grip on him.

  “Okay, on three.”

  Kiara nodded.

  “One, two…”

  ~

  Hallie’s world had come to a shuddering halt.

  One moment she was staring down a shotgun, certain that she had already taken her last breath, and the next her brother was lying on the floor with blood spilling out of his chest.

  Her voice didn’t sound like her own as his name tore its way out of her throat. She dropped to her knees and clutched at his shirt, her hands quickly becoming slick with his blood.

  “Hallie.”

  Someone was trying to talk to her, but she didn’t want to listen.

  All she could see was red.

  A pair of hands held her shoulders as Eshe and Diana materialised on the other side of Will. Hallie hadn’t even realised that Diana was here.

  “Heal him,” she choked.

  “I’m on it,” Eshe promised, running her hands across the top of Will’s shrapnel wounds. As they glowed brightly, Hallie felt her heart fill with hope. But as time passed and nothing happened, despair started to creep in instead.

  “Why isn’t it working?”

  “It must be his time,” Diana said, her eyes filling with tears.

  Hallie shook her head. That couldn’t possibly be the reason. He had made promises he had to keep, he couldn’t die now.

  “He told me once that he knew he had four years, but the Oracle never told him exactly when he was going to die,” Eshe said. “He’s been living in limbo all this time, wondering when death was going to catch up with him.”

  They were all giving up. Why were they giving up?

  “No, no, NO! This can’t be it, we have to do something!”

  “Hallie.”

  It was Lily’s voice that came from behind her, she must have been the one trying to comfort her.

  “They’re right, once he’s gone, he’s gone.”

  “NO!” she screamed, slapping her hands against his chest. If they wouldn’t do anything, then she would! She could bring him back.

  “Heal,” she pleaded, her sight of him going blurry. “Heal. Heeeeal.”

  Still nothing.

  “HEAL GOD DAMN IT.”

  A second pair of arms wrapped themselves around her, joining Lily’s.

  “I’m so sorry, Hallie,” Priya said.

  “Noooo,” Hallie wailed, screwing up her face because she couldn’t bear to hear it.

  “He loved you so much, Hallie, you were everything to him.”

  It was that love that had got him killed.

  Killed.

  Hallie felt her heart shatter into a million pieces as she yelled out with anguish. The only things keeping her tethered to reality were Lily and Priya’s arms, cradling her, supporting her, giving her the room she needed to fall apart.

  If it wasn’t for them, she might never have come back.

  ~

  “Help! Somebody help!”

  Kiara and the other Guardian tripped over the bodies in the hallway trying to get Caleb into the crowded infirmary.

  They brushed by everyone as they made straight for the nearest cot. Kiara was sort of half aware that a bunch of people were currently huddled around on the floor, but she didn’t get a proper look on the way past.

  “Why is nobody helping?!” she declared as she turned and looked at them.

  That was when she saw him.

  The reason so many people were on the floor was because Will was down there, flat on his back, soaked in blood, and Hallie was falling completely to pieces.

  “Oh my God,” she gasped.

  Or, at least, she tried to, but was completely drowned out by Diana crying out at the sight of her son.

  “Caleb!”

  The previously still room sprang into action.

  Diana and Eshe almost fell over each other trying to get to Caleb’s cot. Hallie pushed Priya and Lily away to look to Kiara, her eyes bloodshot with grief.

  Her expression said it all. She was hanging on by the slightest thread, if anything else happened then it was going to push her straight over the edge.

  “Someone help me up,” she croaked.

  Ezra obliged, gently lifting her over to Caleb’s bedside, which is where they all knew she wanted to be.

  “What happened?” Diana asked Kiara as the two healers assessed the damage.

  “Someone tried to blow us up. Caleb knocked us both into a lift, but it became unstable. I managed to get out but he…”

  She couldn’t relive that moment over again, not right now.

  “He’s barely holding on,” Eshe said. “Hallie, give me your hand.”

  Hallie did exactly as she was told.

  “We’re going to channel each other, like we started to do last night with Aaren. Feel my power and use it, I’ll do the same with you. Got it?”

  Hallie simply nodded her head and closed her eyes.

  They each placed their free hand on Caleb’s arm and began to chant softly. It was something that Kiara knew Hallie did in her head when she was healing, but this time they were both doing it out loud. The longer they chanted, the brighter their linked hands glowed.

  Eventually it got to a point where everyone had to look away, their power was shining so brightly.

  Kiara wasn’t sure what was happening. She wanted so desperately to look back, but she knew she wouldn’t see anything if she did. For once, she was having to go on blind faith. Together, they could do it.

  Together, they could do anything.

  The sound of Caleb coughing was like music to her ears.

  When she opened her eyes, the bright light was gone, and Diana was holding Caleb’s head in her arms, pressing kisses to his cheeks.

  “I thought I was going to lose you,” she whispered, tears trickling from her eyes onto his face.

  “I thought I was going to lose me too.”

  There was something about what he said that hit Kiara like a freight train. All of a sudden, she was crying, sobbing even.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” he said. “I’m going to be okay.”

  “Yeah, but--”

  Kiara couldn’t finish. Her eyes met Hallie’s and that only made things worse. How was she supposed to tell him that while she was so relieved that he had pulled through, she couldn’t express it because of what had happened just minutes before.

  In the end, Ezra spoke for her.

  “We
lost Will.”

  Caleb’s face…

  “Hallie--” he tried, but she cut him off.

  “I can’t. I’m happy you’re alive, but I can’t, Caleb.”

  That was the last straw. With a shake of the head, Hallie ran from the room, unable to take it anymore.

  A mournful silence fell across the room.

  “I need to go after her,” Kiara said after a moment or two, looking round at all their sad faces.

  “Of course,” Ezra said. “We’ll take care of everything else.”

  “Give her our love,” Lily said.

  “I will,” she promised.

  Hallie was going to need all the love in the world right now if she was going to get through this. Thankfully, that was something that Kiara could give.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  It had been two weeks since the battle and Hallie still felt raw. She wasn’t expecting that to change any time soon, neither was anyone around her. The respect they had for her grief was exactly the sort of level that she would expect from them. No one overwhelmed her, tried to give her advice when she didn’t ask for it, they just supported her. They had all been through something like this before, so they understood that, in the end, what she needed was time.

  Hallie hadn’t known, but Kiara had managed to convince Will to phone their Dad the day before he died. As he had promised he would be on the first flight home after the fight, their Dad insisted that he be buried in Australia, for his and Will’s Mom’s comfort. Ezra moved heaven and earth to make sure that this happened for them, for which they were all appreciative.

  There had only been two other casualties. A woman who was found in the courtyard after the battle was over, who had been caught by one of her own grenades, and Master Talbot, who had been the old man that had given the message to Hallie. It turned out that he was the Elder who was the casting vote when they had to make any big decisions. She wished she had known this at the time, but she didn’t know what difference it would have made.

  They had their funerals in a church near the Citadel. A lot of those from the camp were allowed to attend, although most of them hadn’t accepted the opportunity to re-join the Guardian order. There was too much pain and shame there. The main instigators and those who killed Master Talbot and Will were arrested and were expected to be sentenced to life, which was less than they deserved in Hallie’s eyes. Although, the man who killed Will had been ripped a new one by Diana in the moments after he fired, which helped to add to the justice served.

  When it came time to fly out to Australia, Hallie wasn’t alone. Kiara came with her, of course, as did Caleb and Lily for moral support. Diana decided that she wanted to come too, to pay her respects, and so Ezra joined them to be there for her. It was a long and quiet plane ride, none of them saying very much. Hallie drifted in and out of sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw the image of Will lying there, covered in blood. She had woken up screaming several times since it happened, with Kiara right there to hold her and calm her down.

  How was she ever supposed to let go of something like this?

  The day of the funeral ended up being the worst. Hallie barely got any sleep and refused to talk to anyone at breakfast, not even her Dad. Once she was changed into the black dress and flats that Will’s Mom had picked out for her, she retreated out to the gazebo in the back garden, looking out over the ocean.

  This had been Will’s favourite place to sit, he had told her, whenever he needed to be alone. The sound of the waves washing up on shore was so peaceful.

  Hallie didn’t realise that there were tears sliding down her cheeks until a soft hand carefully wiped one of them away.

  “Hey,” Kiara said, sitting down beside her. “I wondered where you got to.”

  “I couldn’t face everyone, not today.”

  “They understand.”

  As Kiara’s hand dropped back down into her lap, Hallie caught it, running a thumb over her babe’s pale skin.

  “I don’t think I ever thanked you for what you did with Will, getting him to call home. It would have been so much harder to explain to my Dad if he hadn’t heard from Will first,” Hallie said.

  “Of course. I knew how important it had been to have Lily back in my life, I wanted to give your Dad and Will that same sense of relief. I just didn’t realise that… it would be the last time they would talk.”

  “I know, but I still see it as a blessing. They reconnected in a way that they never would have without that conversation. That was one less regret for them both.”

  Hallie didn’t like the idea of Will being somewhere up there, worrying about all that he hadn’t been able to do for his family. It was better to think about it this way, that he had got the chance to reconcile with his family and learn just how much they all still loved him.

  “That’s good,” Kiara said with the smallest of smiles.

  It showed that Hallie was already making progress. Very slow progress, but still.

  “What’s everyone else doing?” Hallie asked.

  “I saw Diana in Will’s room as I passed by to come downstairs, and I think Caleb and Lily are both getting ready. I’m not sure about Ezra. We’re all just waiting for the cars to take us to the church.”

  Hallie was dreading the car ride, following Will’s casket all the way. But at least she could draw on Kiara for strength.

  “Do you think what happened will change anything?”

  Hallie asked Kiara because she knew that she had been talking to the others while she had been shut away in her room, not saying very much to anyone.

  “They’re still talking about it, but things are looking hopeful. There is no way that they can risk anything like this happening again, the Elders have decided that much.”

  Any loss of life would have been too great for them. The fact that they lost three people had to be forcing them to reassess what truly mattered.

  “I hope they do let Guardians have families again,” Hallie said. “It’s what Will was fighting for.”

  Kiara hesitated, which made Hallie frown.

  “What?”

  “I don’t agree,” she said. “That’s not what he was fighting for in the end.”

  “Then what was he fighting for?”

  “For you, Hallie.”

  Hallie’s bottom lip wobbled so hard that she had to bite it to make it stop. She looked at Kiara with a fresh set of tears in her eyes.

  “Please, don’t, Kiara. I already feel so guilty.”

  “Why?”

  “The bullet was meant for me. If he hadn’t been fighting for me, then…”

  “He would have done it anyway.”

  Hallie sniffed loudly in an effort to control her sorrow, but it was too strong.

  “It took sheer force of will to put himself in front of that gun and take that hit. He would have done it over and over again if it meant saving your life. It was a combination of his choice, the shooter’s choice, and fate that took him from you.”

  Kiara placed a hand on either side of Hallie’s face and looked at her with her earnest, hazel eyes.

  “I know it’s not what you want to hear right now, but you’re not guilty for any of it. I’m going keep reminding you of that until you believe it yourself. That’s what Will would have wanted.”

  Hallie pushed Kiara’s hands away from her, but only so she could lean into her chest and hug her tightly.

  “I love you so much, Hallie,” Kiara said quietly as she pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

  “I love you too,” Hallie murmured

  Hallie had felt like the unluckiest person in the world for the last two weeks, but now she realised that she was the luckiest, and that no one could take that feeling from her so long as she had Kiara’s love in her life.

  ~

  “Caleb? Can you give me a hand?”

  The Guardian had been sitting on the bed, staring at the tie that he was supposed to be putting on, unable to do so for the last fifteen minutes. This was the
same story that Caleb had been living for the last fortnight; unsure of what to do, confused about how to feel. Of course, he was happy that he was alive. When that elevator dropped, he had thought for sure that was it for him. It was a miracle that he survived. He didn’t believe in God, but if he did, he would say that he obviously had other plans for him, which meant that he had to be alive to see them through.

  Whatever gratitude he felt, though, was always marred by the fact that Will died while he lived. They could easily have traded places if Will wasn’t a Chosen. The timing of his death was so unbelievably unfair. If it had come a month, a week later, there was so much that Will could have done in that time which would have made it easier on his family. But it wasn’t to be. He performed his act of heroism knowing that it could very well be his end and fate, ever the cruel mistress, decided that was it for him.

  All that was left was to pick up the pieces, but they couldn’t do that until they had said goodbye.

  “Caleb?”

  Lily poked her head around the door to their bathroom, looking at him expectantly. They had been given one of the guest bedrooms, which had a double bed that could be separated into two singles. Caleb wouldn’t have minded the double, but he had no idea where they stood, whether he was allowed…

  “Hey. Come back to me.”

  Caleb’s thoughts had been drifting a lot lately, she had to be getting frustrated with him by this point.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, sliding off the bed.

  “Don’t be, I know you have a lot on your mind.”

  “That’s no excuse to ignore you, whether I mean to or not.”

  “You don’t mean to.”

  She was right, he didn’t. He was never that rude, but he still felt like he was being an ass.

  “It’s just the zip,” she told him, turning her back to him so that he could do it up for her. He did so gently, straightening out the shoulders of her dress when he was done.

  “There you go.”

  “Thank you.”

  Lily spun back around slowly, looking up at him when he didn’t move away. Being close to her was one of the only things that brought him comfort right now.