Fated

by T. L. McDonald

  I feel like a human arsenal and every time I take a step something pokes me. I don't know how Will walks around with this many weapons on him all the time without injuring himself.

  In the living room Adam and Kat stand before one of the broken windows in front of the porch, while Luca and Owen appear to be in an intense conversation.

  Adam turns his head in my direction at the sound of my footsteps. "How mad would you be if I threw you over my shoulder right now, drove us home, and promptly locked you in your room until all of this is over?"

  I crack a smile at the serious look on his face. "I don't know. Are you going to try it?"

  Adam shrugs his shoulders. "I'm thinking about it."

  I pull him into a hug. "I appreciate your willingness to kidnap me to keep me safe but I have to do this."

  "I know." He kisses my cheek. "Just be safe okay."

  "I will."

  Kat hugs me next. "Make sure to kick a lot of Fallen butt for me while you're out there."

  "Will do."

  "Seriously though, be careful and bring Jared home safe," Kat adds.

  "I will. You guys be safe too. We'll be back before you know it." I hope.

  Eric honks the horn and I grab Adam and Kat, pulling them into one more group hug. I let go quickly and step out through the broken window without glancing back because if I do I'm going to lose it and I don't want their last memory of me to be seeing me as a blubbering mess. Because truth be told things could go sideways out there at any time, and I might not make it back.

  Will opens the door for me and despite my best efforts to not look back I do. Adam waves from the doorway and Kat chews on her bottom lip for a half a second before running down the walkway to jump into Luca's arms. I wave back at Adam then motion for Will and Owen to get inside the SUV so Luca and Kat can have a moment to make up in private.

  ***

  I lean back in my seat relieved that we're finally on our way to getting Jared back and absolutely terrified because we're going to have to fight our way through hundreds of Fallen to do it. A nervous sweat has me wiping the palms of my hands off on the front of my jeans. What if we can't do it? What if we fail and the whole world suffers for it? What if we all die before we ever even make it to Jared?

  Will kicks the side of my leg.

  "Ow. What was that for?"

  "So you'll stop psyching yourself out. Now is not the time for negativity Hanna. You need to pump yourself up not bring yourself down."

  "I wasn't."

  He gives me a pointed look.

  "Okay fine, maybe I was, but this is big Will. If we lose—"

  He clamps his hand over my mouth. "We're not going to lose." He locks eyes with me and in them I see a fierce determination. Will’s prepared to fight tooth and nail, taking no prisoners and that's exactly what I need to do too. No more negative thoughts. No more worst case scenarios. Jared's soul is at stake and I need to fight like hell to save it just like I promised I would. A slow smile spreads across Will's face and he removes his hand from my mouth. "Now you're getting it."

  "Now I'm getting it," I say. "Maybe we can do this."

  "We can do this. You can do this," Will states. He's so confident it's hard not to believe that maybe, just maybe what he's saying could be true.

  "We have to go on foot from here," Eric says as he pulls the SUV off to the side of the road. "The caves about a quarter mile that way." He points to a section of woods across the street from where we're parked. He shuts off the ignition then reaches under his seat pulling out a pair of bolt cutters. "Let's go free Jared and take down some Fallen while we're at it."

  The woods are eerie and quiet with no sounds of any kind other than the snapping of twigs beneath our feet. It's the perfect atmosphere for all my worries and doubts to bubble back up to the surface despite how hard I'm fighting to keep them shoved down. There are just so many things that could go wrong.

  And there are so many things that could go right, my inner voice, (which at the moment sounds oddly like Will's voice), whispers in my head. I told myself no more negativity and I meant it, so as hard as it is, I make my self ignore all my insecurities, as I bury them back down deep below while l focus all my thoughts on Jared instead, because he's what matters. He's why I'm here and scared or not, I’m going to fight with everything I've got until I reach him and once I do, I'm never letting go. Blondie and all the other Fallen can go straight to Hell as far as I’m concerned.

  The echo of chanting brings us all to a halt.

  We're close.

  Eric pulls out his phone sending a quick text. His phone vibrates a few seconds later in reply. He swiftly reads it then sends another. "Montgomery and the rest of the Guardians are here and in position. When I give the word, they're going to attack. Our mission is to get to Jared, cut him free," He shakes the bolt cutters in his hand for emphasis. "And get him out of here during the commotion. Is everyone ready?" At our nods he sends a text giving Montgomery the go ahead.

  We hold our positions waiting for the sounds of chanting to turn into sounds of war. We don't wait long.

  Eric waves us forward. "Game time."

  I pull a knife out from one of the straps attached to my thigh. I grip it so tight it hurts. My heartbeats come faster and faster in anticipation, as the symbol on my wrist ignites in a soft glow of pale blue, sharpening all of my senses.

  The five of us crest the top of the hill and I gaze down into the chaos below. Blades of all sizes wielded in the hands of Guardians glimmer in the moonlight while the blades of The Fallen absorb it. I look past them to Jared. Chained and motionless he stands arms and legs spread out, the symbols drawn on his chest glowing a bright red mimicking the same symbols drawn around the cave entrance behind him.

  Eric dishes out instructions for what we should do, for the best way to reach Jared, but I hardly hear a word he says because all I can focus on is the sight of Jared bound and helpless and the intense want clawing inside of me to free him, to feel him in my arms, to whisk him away from all of this. And before I know it, I'm running full force into the madness below with the sound of Will calling my name drifting after me.

  I make it half way through the fray of swinging blades and falling bodies when out of nowhere an outstretched arm slams into my chest. All the air in my lungs rushes out in one quick exhale way before my back hits the ground. Taking advantage of my momentary lack of movement Blondie sits on my stomach pinning my arms to my sides with his knees. He removes the blade from my hand tossing it into the crowd before pulling out one of his own.

  Finally catching my breath I try bucking him off. He laughs at my attempts then leans down placing the edge of his blade against the skin of my throat. "I was wondering when you were going to crash the party. And now that you have I'll get the pleasure of seeing the look of horror on your pretty little face when you watch Jared get torn apart. And after that you and I can have some real fun." He lightly drags the blade across my throat, leaving a warm trail of blood trickling down the side of my neck. It's not enough to cause me any real harm, but it is enough to show me he could if he wanted to.

  I wrap my hand around a secondary knife strapped to my thigh. If I could just free my arm, even just a little, I could—

  "What are you concentrating so hard on there Hanna? Hmm?" He runs his hand down the length of my arm then in one swift motion pries away the knife gripped in my hand. "Now what ever should I do with this?"

  "You could go stab yourself with it," I suggest.

  "As thrilling as that sounds, I know of a better place for it." He twirls the blade in his hand, his mouth curling into a sinister grin. "A much better place." He stares down at me, the darkness within his eyes chasing away the blue. "I think it would look nice right about..." He circles the blade around above my left shoulder. "Here." Thrusting it down, he stabs the knife straight through flesh and bone until it hits the dirt pinning me to the ground. I try not to, but I scream. Blondie throws his head back in laughter.

  "Is th
at all you got?" I say through gritted teeth.

  "Nope. There's still the other side." Blondie raises his knife above my other shoulder and I fight like hell to pull my arm free from where it's being pinned at my side. By some miracle I do. Before he can stop me I reach under my back, pull free a knife, and bury it deep into his upper leg. His jaw clenches and while he works on removing the knife from his leg I do the same with the one in my shoulder. Pulling the knife free from his thigh, Blondie tosses it to the side. "That wasn't very nice Hanna."

  "Neither is this." I stab him in the stomach with the knife previously buried in my shoulder, twisting it to the side in the process. I shove him off, leaving the knife stuck in his gut, as I scramble to get to my feet. I've barely regained my balance when he's already standing in front of me as if he was there all along.

  "That was fun." He smiles in a creepy, sadistic sort of way that sends shivers down my spine. "Round two?" So fast Blondie takes me by the wrist, spinning me around so my arm's pinned behind my back between us and his knife is once again pressed against my throat. "Isn't playing with knives fun?"

  "I always thought so." I hear Will say just before blood sprays out of Blondie's mouth, hitting me in the side of the face. The knife falls from Blondie's hand, his grip on me loosening. Free, I turn to see Will's knife protruding from the middle of Blondie's back.

  "Go. Get to Jared. I'll take care of Blondie," Will tells me while shoving me away.

  Blondie smiles from ear to ear, blood dripping from his chin. "You can't save him Hanna any more than you can stop what's about to happen. Jared made a choice and now that it's been made, it can't be unmade."

  "We'll see about that." Will hits Blondie across the jaw with a right hook, knocking him to the ground. "Go, Hanna." I nod glancing at Blondie long enough to see the smirk on his face as he reaches for the knife in his back.

  Wasting no more time, I take off running as fast as I can, pushing and shoving my way through the crowd. I reach the rocks and begin climbing when someone grabs me by the back of the hair, pulling me back down to the ground.

  "Not so fast little girl." The Fallen holding me captive is at least four times my size and all muscle. There's no way I can take on Gigantor hand to hand, but maybe… My eyes flick to the symbol on my wrist, I won't have to.

  The light of the symbol intensifies as I focus my energy. I stare into the face of the long dead person The Fallen before me wears as I curl my hand into a fist imagining I'm squeezing him as tight as possible. The strain showing on his features tells me he's feeling it, but the malicious smile spreading across his face shows my efforts aren't enough to do me any good or cause him any real harm.

  I push harder. Pain slices through my head and a stream of blood begins to flow from my nose. Gigantor laughs at my feeble attempt to tip the situation in my favor right before he wraps his gigantic hand around my throat lifting me up off the ground. Pin pricks of white light assault my vision. I try pushing my abilities at him again but it's no use. He's too strong and I'm too weak from the fight with The Fallen at Eric's earlier, from channeling the lightning during the storm, from the astral projection, and from the constant healing my body's been going through since this day began. I just don't have enough energy left to fight him off. Though I try, so hard I try.

  I start to gasp for breath I can't get, my hands digging at his fingers, my feet kicking at legs too strong to budge. From the corner of my eye I see Jared. Struggling against his chains, he screams my name over and over. He's so close. I got so close.

  My vision is starting to go blurry now, my kicking legs and clawing hands losing their fight. This is it. I got so close and now Jared's going to watch me die.

  Air rushes into my chest as I'm dropped to the ground. I take several deep breaths before succumbing to a fit of coughs that turn into screams when Gigantor lands beside me. What's left of him anyway.

  A hand appears in front of me. I look up at Owen. His blonde hair is tinted red with blood along with half his face. I take his hand, allowing him to help me up. "Are you okay?"

  I rub at my throat remembering the way it felt to have Gigantors hand clamped around it, squeezing tighter and tighter. "I'm fine."

  Owen gives me a look that says 'I don't believe you'.

  I don't believe me either.

  Owen glances at his watch. "There's not much time left. Do whatever you've got to do to get to Jared. I'll cover you."

  I nod then begin climbing the rocks once again.

  Jared's pulling against his chains when I reach the top, the shackles locked around his wrists and ankles digging into his flesh spilling blood over his hands and feet. He pauses in his struggles when he sees me. Unlike last time his eyes are the perfect shade of bright green, all the dark coldness they once held now gone.

  I rush to him throwing my arms around his neck, ignoring the sick feeling creeping into my gut at the sight of the cave behind him full of a darkness that's all wrong.

  "I'm so sorry Hanna," Jared starts to apologize.

  "You have nothing to apologize for." You did nothing wrong. I did, I think to myself. I grab ahold of one of the chains. Digging my heels into the ground, I pull with everything I have.

  "Yes I do and I need to get it off my chest before it's too late."

  "You can get it off your chest later after we get you out of here." I pull harder, the skin of my fingers tearing against the sharp metal of the chain. Where is Eric? I scan the crowd but there's so much chaos I can't tell who's who and what's what. Wiping the blood off my hands onto my jeans I try yanking the chains free again. I could definitely use the bolt cutters right about now.

  "No. I have to do this now...before everything changes. Before I change." The tone of his voice, the regret, the overwhelming sadness, has me temporarily forgetting about the unbreakable chains in my hands. "When I left with Blondie I thought I could be stronger than him, I thought there was no way he could break me. And I fought. I fought so hard, but he wore me down filling my head with what I thought were lies. And when he showed me what was happening between you and Will proving they weren't, at least not entirely, I finally broke. Suddenly, the ground under my feet wasn't steady anymore and everything in me hurt like nothing I've ever felt before. There was so much pain inside of me I felt like I was drowning in it. I wanted you to drown too." Tears fall from his eyes. "But as soon as I agreed to help Blondie I regretted it, but by then it was too late, the decision was made and he had me completely under his control. He had a hold over me I couldn't break free from, a hold I wasn't sure I wanted to break free from. But then you showed up here and there was that white light between us and I saw you and I saw how you really see me and in that instant of clarity whatever hold Blondie had over me went away. I'm so sorry I doubted you when you said you chose me, when you said you chose us. I'm sorry I didn't fight for you. I'm sorry I took the vengeful cowards way out. I wish so much I could take it all back."

  I drop the chain to take his face into my hands instead. This broken beautiful boy is apologizing to me when none of it's his fault. Everything that's happening right now is because of me. I brought us to this place, to this exact moment and if anyone should apologize it's me. "No, Jared. I'm sorry. We wouldn't even be here if it weren't for me. I messed things up and I broke your heart and Blondie used that against you. But you can take it back. It's not midnight yet. There's still time. We just have to get you out of here." My eyes flick to the stirring darkness within the cave.

  "It's not that simple. I wish it were but it's not," he says; his voice laced with guilt and regret. I shake my head. I don't want to believe it. Blondie can't win, he just can't. I'm not ready to give up and Jared shouldn't either. I go back to futilely trying to break him free. "There are things that have been done that can't be undone," he says echoing what Blondie already told me. "But maybe if I survive what's coming next I can—"

  A silver hilted knife pierces through Jared's chest. A trickle of blood seeps from the corner of his mouth.

&nb
sp; Time does that funny thing again where it slows down and every tiny detail around me becomes crystal clear. The sounds of battle raging below us fall away to silence until it's just Jared and I.

  He can't die like this. Not now. Not ever.

  His eyes lock onto mine. Gurgled words of apology and love whisper past his lips. I ignore it all because this is not the end. This is not goodbye.

  "Shh, it's all going to be okay." I remove the blade sticking out of his chest. I do a double take at the Guardian blade clutched in my hand before it clanks against the rocks at my feet. Did a guardian do this? I cover the wound with both hands as blood begins to pour, seeping through my fingers and I'm reminded of the time Blondie nearly killed him this exact same way. But Jared didn't die that day and he isn't going to die now.

  A soft glowing heat emerges from under my hands as I send healing energy into his body. I picture the hole in his chest closing, the organs damaged inside mending. I start to sway, the edges of my sight blurring in a haze of gray, but I don't stop. I can't. I won't. Not until he's healed, my waning energy be damned. If this works, then I'll rest, but not now.

  Not now.

  I push a little harder, sending every bit of energy left in me into Jared.

  He takes a deep breath, the green of his eyes shining bright in the light of the moon. I kiss his lips with a smile.

  I did it.

  My hand slides down his chest as I drop to my knees.

  I pick up the knife I pulled from his chest examining the intricate design on the hilt. I've seen this knife before.

  "He has to die Hanna. It's the only way." I turn to stare down into the face of the person I now hate most in the world. Cassidy looks up at me with wide eyes that hold no remorse. How did she even know we were here?