by Jaclyn Lewis
“Amy, you’ve got to wake up!” I exclaimed. I kept shaking her. “You’re going to turn into fire in the middle of the apartment, and then we’ll really be in trouble.”
She jumped up then. “Okay, I’m up.”
I smiled at her expression, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. She should have had control of her powers by then…
She had to be stable. I wouldn’t allow her to die because of something like that. Being unstable was the one death I couldn’t protect her from, and it was also one of the most painful ones in existence.
Your entire body pretty much implodes, turning you practically inside-out while you’re still alive. Then your essence explodes and you finally die.
“I’m hungry,” she said suddenly.
I laughed. “Well, you’ve eaten all of my food, so we’re going out, I guess.”
She smiled a little at that, and I grabbed my wallet and we left.
I really needed some good, fattening fast food, so we went to the first fast food restaurant we saw.
“So, I noticed that you’ve been more in human form lately,” Amy said through bites of a cheeseburger.
I nodded. “Yeah, this form has its perks.”
“How is it possible, though?” she asked; the curiosity was obvious in her voice. “You had so much trouble staying in this form before. How is it that you can do it so easily now?”
I shrugged. “I wouldn’t say it’s easy.” I stared at my own food, slightly embarrassed at admitting my theory, since it meant that I was only strong when she was with me. “I think it’s because you put off so much energy, even in human form. It’s still being put out around you, into the air, and I guess I’m harnessing it or something unconsciously. It doesn’t affect you. If it did, I’d find a way to stop doing it.”
Humans eat to get energy, Leem absorb the energy other things put out, so you just walk outside and absorb the energy from the grass or something. Eating in human form gave us energy too, and it was a lot tastier than absorbing energy.
When I first came to Earth, I’d gained an addiction to jellybeans, cheeseburgers, and coke.
Amy nodded, understanding my explanation. “That makes sense.” She grinned. “Being an Air seems so much cooler than being a Water, Earth, or Fire.”
I smiled and nodded. “Yep, we are so much better.”
Amy laughed.
After a minute, she spoke again. “Why do Leem still call it Earth form?”
I smiled mischievously. “Who do you think named this planet?”
Her eyes widened. “You’re lying.”
I shook my head, my grin widening. “Nope,” I replied.
She looked dazed as she continued eating.
She ate four cheeseburgers, five sides of fries, two milkshakes, and a large soda.
It worried me. Yeah, I had to eat more than the normal human, but I couldn’t eat that much.
It made me even more scared that Amy was unstable. Only unstable Leem ate as much as she did.
I shook my head, refusing to believe it. She was stable.
She was definitely stable. She just wasn’t used to being a half Leem yet—going through that big of a change had to have side effects.
***
That night, I rested in my Air form. I needed to regain energy, so then I could stay in human form when I woke up.
I didn’t fall asleep for a long time though. I couldn’t sleep because I could hear Amy’s sobs.
She was crying, and I couldn’t do anything about it.
I knew she wanted privacy, and she just wanted a moment to think about all that she’d lost.
It made me sad, but I let her have her moment to mourn her mother.
When I finally fell asleep for real, or whatever you would call it in Air form, I didn’t think about anything. It was all just black and blank.
That doesn’t include when I woke up though. Even sleep couldn’t help when I woke up at a little passed five in the morning.
As I lay there on the couch, I thought back a bit.
She was as cute and innocent as any five-year-old, but she didn’t have parents to celebrate her fifth birthday with.
She sat down on the porch steps, looking depressed and sad.
I couldn’t take it. I just couldn’t float around and watch her while she was all alone on a day that should have been happy.
I appeared a few feet away and walked over to her, trying to hide the pain of being in human form.
“Hello,” I said, sitting down next to her.
She looked at me and smiled somewhat, but she didn’t speak, which was unusual for a little girl. Usually, you couldn’t get them to just stay silent for a minute.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
She looked at the ground, grabbing a stick and writing three letters in the dirt.
“You can spell?” I asked, sounding as proud as I could. “That’s very impressive.”
She smiled a little, but still just shrugged.
I put my arm around her shoulders, noticing her questioning look. “Come on, Amy, you can spell. That’s incredible. Be proud of yourself.”
I remembered how proud I was when I’d first learned how to write a complicated algebraic equation, when I was eight. For humans, they were that proud when they could spell their name correctly.
Amy had done it without the hesitation that most kids had, making it obvious that she’s known how to do it for awhile.
She looked at the ground again, and I finally got to hear her voice for the very first time.
“I don’t know how,” she whispered, and it was so faint I could hardly hear her with my freaky alien hearing.
I smiled. “Don’t let them get you down on your birthday.”
She looked up at me, her eyes glassy from tears that never fell. “How’d ya know?”
My smile soured a bit. “You have the look on your face saying that you would do anything in the world to get your parents to smile at you, like the day is special. What day is more special than your birthday?”
Finally, the tears fell, making her small cheeks wet.
I gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. “You’re special today and every day. Just because people don’t think it doesn’t mean you can’t.”
I then got to my feet and turned away from her.
Then I remembered something.
I looked back. “I’m Zane, by the way,” I called. “You better remember that for the future because you’re going to see me again.”
I disappeared back into the air, and I decided to be careful and watch for the perfect moment before I would talk to Amy again.
I smiled at the memory. It had been the first time I’d ever appeared to her, and the next had been right before her eighteenth birthday.
I’d gone twelve years without hearing her speak to me.
I walked into my old room, the one Amy was now sleeping in, and I looked at her.
I could still see that sad, neglected girl on the porch steps.
It was too bad she didn’t remember me from that, the fifteen-year-old looking kid that cheered her up on her birthday.
Chapter 16
Amy
The next morning, my eyes were all red and puffy. I’d cried the night before, thinking about my mom and everything that had gone wrong in the past few weeks.
Then, when I saw Zane’s Air form on the couch, I smiled. There were some things that had gone right. I still had my friend/protector, for one.
I sat down on the floor next to the couch and started to read one of the books I’d taken from home.
“Good morning, Starshine,” Zane murmured. “The Earth says hello!”
I smiled, but I didn’t say anything.
He sat up, appearing in human form. “How long have you been up?” he asked me, still looking half-asleep.
I shrugged. “I don’t know, an hour?”
After a second, he groaned and stood up. He headed toward the kitchen and
asked me over his shoulder, “You hungry?”
“Always,” I replied.
He laughed and made breakfast in the tiny kitchen. We’d gotten some stuff the day before, after we had eaten the perfect dinner of fast-food.
As it turned out, Zane had a debit card that would never run out of cash. In any currency it was unlimited, which, in my opinion, was pretty sweet.
While we ate, we had the morning news on. You know, in case it talked about any recent homicides in the area.
“Maria Saunders death might not have been suicide after all,” the news-lady said eventually. “Witnesses say that Amelia Saunders, Maria’s eighteen-year-old daughter, was seen coming out of the house with an unknown young man. Former classmates say that Amelia was mentally unstable and extremely quiet. She is a suspect, and we are currently trying to locate her for questioning.” They showed my senior year photo.
I gasped. I looked over at Zane.
“I’m not going to get blamed for it, am I?” I asked him, my voice shaking.
He shrugged, looking worried. “I don’t know. It’s possible, but they won’t be able to find your fingerprints anywhere, so they might just say it was suicide.”
“What will happen if they find me?” I asked, my voice quivering from fear.
He looked pained. “I don’t know, Amy. I just don’t know.” He sighed heavily. “For now, you really shouldn’t leave the apartment.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I really don’t want to go to prison for a murder that I didn’t commit.”
Suddenly, Zane’s cell phone rang. I didn’t even know that he had a cell phone. Weird… who did he have to call? He was an alien, for crying out loud!
“Hello?” he asked, answering it.
He paused, listening to the other person. His face showed his confusion and disbelief, and then anger quickly replaced them.
“Why are you even calling me?” he growled.
He paused. “Well, I don’t care!” He looked at me, and his face softened just a bit. “No, there is no way,” he said, still looking at me.
Suddenly, whatever the other person said made him look horrified.
“You wouldn’t…” he whispered. “No, just… don’t.”
Finally, he hung up. “It was Andrew. I don’t know how he got my number, but…”
“What did he want?” I asked.
“You,” Zane answered instantly. “He wanted you. He said he’d kill Mo if I didn’t hand you over to him.”
“Mo…?” I asked, confused. “I thought Mo was on his side. Why would Andrew kill him?”
Zane shook his head. “No, Mo helped us. He was the one that told me where you were, and how I could get to you. He never made it out when I rescued you.”
I was shocked. “Why? He must have known he wouldn’t have gotten out. Why would he help us?”
Zane looked like he really didn’t want to answer that question, but he did anyway, since he knew I was curious, and I had a right to know.
“Mo was there when you passed out once. He was in Air form, so you didn’t see him when you woke up. Your body was so malnourished that you had to have an IV. He saw all of what they did to you, and he felt bad. He knew he’d made the wrong decision by following Andrew, so he told me how to get to you. He said he wanted to finally have done something right before he died.”
“So…” I swallowed the lump in my throat. I remembered the red, person-shaped air when I’d woken up with a bruise on my stomach. “So, he did that knowing that he would die in the end?”
He nodded.
“You just let him?” I asked. I wasn’t judging or blaming Zane; I was just curious about the answer.
Zane looked uncomfortable. “Well, it wasn’t easy, if that’s what you’re asking. He begged me, saying that if you died, it was all over. Mo said he was… replaceable, but you are not.”
“He wanted to die?”
Zane hesitated, but he eventually nodded.
“We should try to save him,” I said after a minute.
He looked at me, surprise from my words turning into grim determination. “No, we’re not.”
I shook my head. “Zane, there’s two of us, and there’s only one Andrew.”
“He’s got an army!” Zane exclaimed. “You’re not getting close to Andrew, Amy. He’s not your responsibility.”
I shook my head. “All of this is my fault. It’s my fault that Mom is dead, and I can’t have Mo’s life hanging over my head too.”
Zane’s determination crumbled, piece by piece.
“That was Andrew’s fault, not yours.”
I shook my head again. “No, he might have done it, but I was the reason why.”
“You can’t take the blame for Andrew’s decisions!” Zane yelled. His desperation was written all over his face.
“Why can’t I?” I asked. “I was the reason why he did it, so why don’t I get any blame?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Zane whispered. He turned his head away from me, his mind drifting away into a different time.
“Zane,” I said softly. “I know you’re worried. I am too, but I need you to help me with this. I can’t have Mo die. I’ll never be able to forgive myself if we just stay here and do nothing.”
Zane finally faced me again. Tears were on his cheeks, which immediately broke my heart. “What if we can’t help him and Andrew ends up getting you or killing you?” he asked. “I can’t lose you too.”
“You can just go on living if I don’t make it,” I said, shrugging. “I’m not that important. I’m just a freak of nature.”
Zane stared at me as if I had five heads and eight eyes.
Finally, he shook his head. “No, Amy, you’re not a freak of nature. You’re special, and I don’t think I could just go on living as if nothing was wrong.”
“Yes, you can,” I replied. “I have faith in you.”
He shook his head again. “No, I can’t risk it. Mo said he was ready to die, and he wanted you to be safe. He wouldn’t want you to try and save him.”
“Zane, I’m going.” I looked away from him. “I’ll never be safe. It’s only a matter of time before Andrew comes for me again. Sooner or later, he’s going to succeed and I’m going to die.”
“No, Amy, you’re staying here,” Zane replied. He put his fingers under my chin and forced me to look him in his eyes before he dropped his hands. “I’ll always protect you, Amelia Saunders. I won’t fail you again.” He looked saddened. “You’re staying here so I can protect you.”
“I can’t cause another death!” I screamed, losing it. I put my face in my hands. “Causing Mom’s death tore me apart, and I don’t think I’ll be able to live that down, but Mo… I can’t cause his death, too. I just can’t, Zane,” I said, my voice breaking in several places of that speech. I finally looked at him again. “If I just stay here and do nothing, I’ll never get over it. My heart will be torn in two, and the guilt will kill me.”
Zane stared at me, sadness in his eyes. He didn’t want me to get hurt. He cared about me, and he didn’t want me dead or back in Andrew’s waiting arms.
Finally though, he nodded. “Okay,” he whispered.
I smiled a sad smile. “Thanks, Zane.”
He hugged me suddenly, squeezing me tightly in his arms, as if he never wanted to let me go. He hugged me like I was going to be gone as soon as he stopped.
When he released me, he spoke again. “I’ll be with you the entire time. If Andrew tries to get you, I’m going to fight him alone. You will not help under any circumstances. While I’m fighting, you’re running away with Mo. If I can’t get away, then fine. You don’t go after Andrew. Just, get away and Mo will be able to get you to Ellem, where you’ll be safe at the palace.”
I nodded. I knew I would never allow Zane to die in battle against Andrew, but I didn’t want him to say I couldn’t go.
Once Zane was satisfied, he grabbed his phone and slipped it into his pocket. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he
muttered to himself. After a minute, he looked at me. “Okay, let’s go.”
I got to my feet.
“Wait,” he said, smiling slightly. “I have an idea.”
He opened his cell phone and called someone.
“Hey, Paul?” he asked. He waited before continuing. “Yeah, it’s Zane. Get the team back together and meet us at these coordinates when I say the word.” He then listed off a bunch of different numbers and whatnot, but I wasn’t listening.
When he hung up, he held his hand out to me.
I reached out and took it, and almost as if we’d planned it, we both turned into Air form at exactly the same time.
I hoped more than anything that Zane survived what obstacles were ahead.
Funny, I didn’t even hope that I would, just as long as Zane made it home.
Chapter 17
Zane
Why was I even doing this? I just knew that something was going to happen, but I was allowing Amy to go, and I was definitely going if Amy was going. I had orders, and I would protect Amy, but why did she have to save Mo? She could end up dead!
As we walked to the field that Andrew said he’d have Mo in, we were silent.
I understood why she wanted to save Mo. He used to be the one she talked to, before me. He used to be that person that made her day, but then she found out that he was on the wrong side. Now he’d saved her and she couldn’t deal with another death.
Finally, we made it to the small field.
“This kind of reminds me of some horror film,” Amy whispered when we arrived.
I had to cover my mouth to stop a laugh. It did look like something from a movie, definitely.
We both saw Andrew at the same time.
Behind him, he had seven other Leem. All of them were waiting for us. Mo had on form-keeping handcuffs, on his back. Electricity that kept surging through him, trying to get him out of human form.
We stopped walking about twenty feet away.
“Give us the girl, and you can have your brother back,” one of the Leem shouted.
I shook my head. “No,” I said. I took a step forward. “Andrew, he’s your brother too. You need to stop this.”
Andrew threw his head back and laughed. “Like I would stop this now—It’s finally getting good!”
I shook my head, saddened. “Well, then. You’ve just sealed your own fate. Only one of us is making it out of here alive.” I looked back at Amy’s horrified expression at the thought of Andrew winning this battle. “Andrew Ellen, I challenge you to a duel, just me and you. No one else,” I demanded.
