The Fall of Five (I Am Number Four) (13 page)

The sudden change in direction throws me off Five’s back, my hand clutching a ripped piece of his T-shirt. I’m falling.

I’m able to push against the ground enough with my telekinesis to somewhat cushion my landing. If not for that, I probably would’ve broken a leg hitting the ground. Still, the wind is knocked out of me. And, to make matters worse, I hit the ground right in front of the beast.

Distantly, I can hear Six and Sarah shouting at me to run. It’s too late for that. The centipede is just forty yards away, rumbling towards me. Its mouth is wide open, a foul stench emanating from the darkness of its gullet.

I brace myself and ignite my Lumen all over my body. If this thing wants to make a meal out of me, I’m going to make sure I burn going down. As long as I can jump past those rows of teeth, I can probably burn my way right through the thing. Getting swallowed by a Mogadorian centipede isn’t my best plan, admittedly, but in the seconds I have before it’s right on top of me, it’s the best I can come up with.

As it gets closer, I see a red dot reflected in the centipede’s eye, like the beam from a laser pointer. Where is that coming from?

A single gunshot explodes from somewhere behind me.

The monster’s eye explodes. It’s just a few yards from me, and I’m splashed with foul-smelling eye goop. It shrieks and rears up, forgetting all about me. I use the opportunity to backpedal, lobbing fireballs at the creature’s underbelly as I go. The beast starts convulsing, its tail thrashing with enough force to make the ground under my feet shake. After one last, massive spasm, the centipede collapses into the dirt and begins to slowly disintegrate.

Five lands next to me, both of his hands on top of his head. “Dude, I am so sorry I dropped you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I reply distractedly, pushing him aside and spinning towards the Monster Mart. No one with us was packing a sniper rifle. Where did the shot come from?

Six and Sarah rush towards a tall middle-aged man with a beard as he climbs down from the top of a beat-up old car. He’s holding a rifle with a laser scope. At first I think maybe he’s just a Good Samaritan—who wouldn’t shoot a giant worm creature if it was rampaging through their neighborhood? Then again, there’s something about him that seems really familiar.

And then I notice someone else standing next to the car. He’s helping the older man down from his sniper’s position. When Six gets near she almost tackles him with a hug. My jaw drops and I immediately break into a run.

It’s Sam.

SIX HUGS ME SO HARD THAT I ALMOST FALL
over. Her arms are wrapped around my neck, and my hands are splayed across her back. The back of her shirt is sweaty from the battle the Garde just fought, but I don’t mind that at all. I’m more focused on the way her blond hair brushes gently across my cheek. Those daydreams that I occupied myself with back when I was being held prisoner? A lot of them featured a scene just like this one.

“Sam,” Six whispers, stunned, holding on to me like I might disappear, “you’re here.”

I squeeze her tighter in response. We hold on to each other for longer than is probably appropriate with everyone else around. Next to me, I hear my dad clear his throat.

“Hey, Six, why don’t you let someone else have a turn?”

It’s Sarah, sidling up next to us. Six lets me go, suddenly looking sheepish. I’m not sure I can remember seeing her tough exterior crack that much. I feel a blush creeping up
my own cheeks. I’m glad it’s dark out here.

“Hi, Sam,” Sarah says, hugging me too.

“Hey,” I reply. “Fancy meeting you here. It’s a long way from Paradise.”

“No kidding,” Sarah replies.

Over Sarah’s shoulder, I watch John jog over to us. He’s joined by a stocky brown-haired guy who I assume is the Number Five who posted that message online. It’s what brought Dad and me to Arkansas, his internet-scanning program having picked up the news story. We drove nonstop from Texas to make it here in time for the end of the battle.

While Five lingers at the back of the group looking nervous to be meeting so many new people, John strides right towards me. A grin splits my face—it’s more than just being united with my best friend, it’s the feeling that we’re going to be part of something great together. We’re going to save the world.

John grins back at me, clearly excited that I’m here, yet there’s something in his eyes that I can’t really decipher. He clasps my hand tightly.

“Just answer me one question,” John says abruptly, not letting go of my hand. “Do you remember that day in your room, when you first thought I might be an alien?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“What did you do?”

I squint at John, not really sure why he’s asking me this.
I glance back at my dad, who is watching this exchange curiously, waiting for me to introduce him to the Loric. “Um, I pulled a gun on you. Is that what you mean?”

“Oh, Samuel,” my dad mutters reproachfully, but John grins at my response. Immediately, he pulls me into a hug.

“Sorry about that, Sam. I just had to make sure you weren’t Setrákus Ra in disguise,” John explains. “You have no idea how good it is to see you.”

“Same here,” I reply. “I’ve really missed having to fight giant worm creatures.”

John chuckles, taking a step back from me.

Five tentatively raises his hand, stepping forward. “I’m lost. Setrákus Ra can shape shift?”

That’s news to me too. I find myself subconsciously touching the burns on my wrists. I know firsthand the kind of evil Setrákus Ra is capable of. “How do you know that? Did you go up against him?”

John nods solemnly, glancing in Five’s direction. “Yeah. I’d call it a draw. I’ll bring you both up to speed, but first . . .” John’s gaze moves to my dad. “Sam, is this who I think it is?”

My smile grows again. It feels like I’ve been waiting years to introduce my friends to my dad. “Guys,” I say, pride in my voice, “this is my father, Malcolm. I can confirm that he’s definitely not Setrákus Ra either, if you’re worried about that.”

My dad steps forward, shaking hands with each of the Garde and Sarah.

“Thanks for the help out there,” John says, motioning to my dad’s rifle. “Glad you brought some hardware.”

“Looked like you had it under control,” my dad tells John. “I’ve just wanted to shoot something Mogadorian for a very long time.”

“Under control,” chuckles Six, shaking her head. “Looked to me like you were about to get swallowed, John.”

“So, it wasn’t my best plan.” John shrugs, smiling. Sarah pats him on the back encouragingly.

Five is studying my dad and me. “You’re not Loric,” he says matter-of-factly, like he’s just put it together. “I thought for sure you must be a Cêpan, being so old and all.”

My dad chuckles. “Sorry to disappoint. Just an old human, hoping to help.”

Five turns to look at John, nodding. “You’ve got a real army here.”

Six and I exchange a look. I’m not really sure if this new guy is being sarcastic or if he’s really just kind of dense. Judging by her face, Six isn’t sure either.

“There’s the six of us here, and four waiting for us back in Chicago,” John says patiently. “I don’t think ten people really qualifies us for army status, but thanks.”

“I guess not,” mumbles Five.

“I want to hear everything about how you guys found each other,” John says. He looks at my dad almost cautiously, like he just knocked on our family’s door and asked if I could come out and play alien invasion. “First, Mr. Goode, I just want you to know that I never meant for Sam to get wrapped up in all this. I’m sorry I’ve put him in danger, but I don’t think we would’ve made it this far without him.”

“Definitely not,” Six agrees, smiling at me. I look away, feeling a blush creeping up my cheeks.

My dad looks touched. “Putting ourselves in danger for the safety of Earth is a Goode family tradition. But thank you for saying that.” He rests a hand on my shoulder. “I’m glad you found each other. And drop the ‘mister’—Malcolm will do just fine.”

There are sirens nearby, drawing closer. We might be in a rural part of Arkansas, but the local authorities would definitely notice a spaceship crashing out of the sky. They’ll be here soon.

“We should get moving,” Six says.

John nods, already starting to run towards the trees. “Our car is parked out by the highway.”

“I’ll ride with Sam and Malcolm,” Six says, “and show them the way.”

John, Sarah and Five head off towards the highway. Meanwhile, as flashing lights begin crawling through Fouke, my dad and I, along with Six, make for the Rambler. While my dad climbs into the driver’s seat, Six touches my arm.

“I’m sorry if I, um, embarrassed you before with that hug. In front of your dad and all. I hope that wasn’t weird.”

“No way,” I say hurriedly, wanting Six to know that hug was about the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. “That was really nice.”

“Don’t get used to me being all emotional,” Six says, giving me a look. I think she’s teasing me. “You showing up just caught me off guard.”

“So you’re saying I’d have to disappear again to get another hug?”

“Exactly,” Six replies, and then starts to get into the backseat. She hesitates, thinking something over for a moment, and then suddenly hugs me again. “Okay. One more.”

I hold Six close as my dad starts the car. His face is lit up by the car’s instrument panel and even though he’s pretending not to, I can tell he’s watching us. If I had my way, I’d never let her go—we’d keep right on hugging until the local cops came to arrest us.

Six breaks away from me, looking into my eyes. I try to keep my expression cool and collected, but that’s probably not working.

“For the record,” she says, “I never thought you were Setrákus Ra. I knew you right away.”

“Thanks,” I reply lamely, scrambling for something better to say, like how I missed her or how amazing it is to see her now. Before I can come up with anything, Six has gotten into the backseat.

She’s just buckling her seat belt when Five clears his throat. “Uh,” he says. “What was that stone thing you threw at me?”

We all turn to stare at him. “The Xitharis stone, you mean?” Six asks.

“Yeah,” Five says. “That. I kind of, uh, dropped it.”

“WOW, JOHNNY. I SEND YOU OUT FOR REINFORCEMENTS
and you come back with an old man, a nerd and this little hobbit guy. Great job.”

Nine is there to sarcastically greet our group as soon as we enter the foyer of his ridiculous Chicago penthouse. So, my first impression of him during our brief meeting in West Virginia wasn’t off after all. He really is a douche bag.

We’re back later than anyone thought we would be. We searched for the Xitharis stone, but it was gone and we couldn’t stick around any longer than necessary. And while no one seems very happy about it, it’s like they’re trying not to blame Five for losing it. For now, at least.

After it was clear it was gone, after Five had apologized for the hundredth time, Six just tossed her hair and shrugged. “It’s a rock,” she said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself. “A powerful rock, but we’re pretty powerful on our own.”

Still, it’s clear that it hasn’t endeared Five to anyone. Especially Nine.

“Be nice,” Sarah warns him. Clearly the others have gotten used to his not-so-witty banter. By the way he and John slap hands in greeting, I’d say they’ve even become friends. Five, though, seems wounded. Next to me, he subtly tries to suck in his belly. “Hobbit guy,” he repeats, under his breath.

“It’s from a book,” I start to explain, but he cuts me off.

“I get the reference,” Five says. “It isn’t very nice.”

“That’s Nine,” says John, overhearing. “He’ll grow on you. Or, well, you’ll get used to him.”

Five gives me a deadpan look like he doubts it and I can’t help smiling in return. I think we’re both feeling a bit like outsiders in this penthouse. Six tried to catch me up the best she could on the ride back, but there are a lot of new faces and stories here in Chicago, not to mention the most surreal hideout in history. I still can’t believe the Garde are living in a place like this. It’s the kind of lavish pad they used to tour on that MTV show, the one about rich celebrities and their jealousy-inducing lifestyles. How Nine and his Cêpan managed to put together a place like this and keep it off the Mogadorian radar to boot is pretty impressive.

John introduces everyone to Nine, who has stopped cracking lame jokes long enough to meet Five and my dad.

“And you remember Sam, right?” John finishes.

“Obviously,” Nine says, striding forward to shake my hand. His grip is rough and he towers over me so that I have to crane my neck up. He lowers his voice, not wanting the others to hear. “Seriously, bro, sorry about leaving you in the cave. That was sort of my fault.”

“It’s cool,” I reply, a bit taken aback by the apology.

Nine turns my hand over before letting me go, noticing the fresh pink scars on my wrists. “So they put you through it, huh?” he asks solemnly. By his tone it’s like he’s just realizing we have something in common. I guess I’ve joined the secret fraternity of Mogadorian torture victims.

I don’t know what to say. I just nod my head.

“You made it out,” Nine says, patting me hard on the shoulder. “Good for you, bro.”

John starts to lead us by Nine, who’s basically been standing right in our way. He sort of reminds me of one of those big dogs that jump all over visitors as soon as they come in the door. When he finally steps aside, I notice the three other Garde that Six told us about—Seven, Eight and the younger Ten. They’re waiting where the living room starts, a little more patient than Nine, at least letting us get inside.

“If you’re wondering what the horrible smell is, it’s the vegetarian food Marina’s cooking for dinner,” says Nine.

“Hey,” the dark-haired Seven—Marina—replies good-naturedly. “It’ll be good, I promise.”

“Dinner,” Nine snorts, “whatever. Who cares? We’ve
got the whole team together! They’re pudgier and dorkier than expected, but I’m cool with it. Let’s go blow some shit up.”

“You need to calm down, dude. We’ve been driving for like twelve hours,” Six tells Nine, shoving a bag of equipment into his chest. “Here. Make yourself useful.”