The Invasion

19 | Saving

The storm has stopped and fog envelops the town. At long last, I can finally assess the damage that the storm has left behind; ripped power lines, fallen trees and branches, overturned cars, damaged roads and houses. Some areas of the neighborhood are flooded.

My heart constricts with sorrow. It's devastating to see my hometown—the place where I was born—beyond recognition. Destroyed.

Where is home now?

Behind us, a siren gets blasted out of the house. Bits of debris and dirt fly everywhere. The siren's body crumples in the soil, broken and dead. At her death, her sisters let out a loud, painful shrill. Sorrow and grief meld in their unearthly voices, accompanied with a growing fury.

Undeterred, Jace grabs my wrist and drags me along into a run. Our shoes slap across the wet pavement. "I know a way out of here," he says quickly. "Take the car from the next house. I found the key earlier."

Worrying, I throw a quick glance back. "What? What about Zarius–"

Jace hurries me to a silver car that's parked in front of the neighbor's lawn and we climb in quickly. In the side mirror, I glimpse a view of the house we were just at a second ago. A mob of creatures has arrived on the scene, clearly attracted to the commotion that we've made. Half of the group descended on our trail and the other half crowd around Zarius to attack him—at least twenty against one. I see his hunkering form on the roof of the house and he launches himself into the pack to take them out. Even though he is clearly outnumbered, he lacks fear and exhibits monstrous strength.

If I'm strong enough, with better control over my abilities, I can be like that too.

Yet, time is just not in my favor.

Jace immediately pulls out of the driveway without waiting for Zarius to join us. I turn in my seat and snap at him.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Saving our asses."

"Just us? What about Zarius? Turn back right now!"

"No." Jace presses his lips firmly together. Adamant. "If we go back, we die."

So is Zarius if we don't help him. "Fine." I lean back into the seat. "Give me back the gun, Jace. You drive and I'll keep pests away from our tail."

Unsuspecting, he hands it back to me without a word. "Now," I sit straight and point the gun at him impassively, only to earn a look of disbelief from him. "Circle back to the house."

"What? Are you insane?!"

"Am not," I answer calmly, even though my heart is plummeting to my stomach at the thought of us abandoning Zarius. I've only known him for a short period, but I find myself fearful of losing him. How many times has he saved my life? "But I might go crazy if you do not bring us back. We need to pick Zarius up. We can't leave him behind—he saved us! Come on, Jace!"

"Cordelia," Jace groans. "Are you listening to yourself? This is nuts! That thing is one of them!"

I grunted at his words. "Did you forget he saved us back there? Would we have made it out of the house safely if he didn't distract the creatures from us?" When Jace continues to shake his head at me, I groan in annoyance. "You know what? You can leave the car with me. I'll drive this thing back myself."

What on earth am I saying? I can't drive at all!

Failing to persuade me, Jace's anguished eyes flicker between me and the road several times. His jaw is rigid and his hands clutch the steering wheel tightly. "Fine," he huffs begrudgingly. "If we both die, my restless soul will haunt you down in the afterlife."