Marked

by Penelope Scott

  "What…" Echo started, she stared at Remus in shock. "You mean you said all that stuff on purpose…"

  "It worked didn't it?" Remus said coolly. "At least he'll be too pissed at me to actually be wallowing in self pity."

  "Don't think I won't forget what you said." Irvine grumbled.

  "Sorry. I hate to bring it up but you didn't leave me with much of a choice."

  Irvine sighed and ran his fingers through his long, dark hair. "I know…I know…"

  Echo looked at Bold, hoping for an explanation, but he only shrugged and shared her confused expression. She glanced over at Lys, but he had taken to staring at the floor like it was suddenly very interesting. "Lys?" She questioned. He didn't answer her; he just started humming some nameless tune to himself.

  "Lysander!" She snapped.

  His face jerked up to look at her. "Uh oh, she used my full name. Does that mean I'm in trouble?" He teased.

  "Lysander…" Echo warned, "What the hell just happened there?"

  "Don't ask me," He shrugged. "I just got here remember?" He slunk past her to the now full coffee pot and poured himself a mug full. Echo glared at his back for a moment before finally giving up. "Men!" She groaned.

  *

  Later that afternoon, Echo found herself outside with Shy on the porch. The girls were taking a quick break from yard work and the intense heat of the sun sipping on lemonade. "So…" Echo started, for the sake of conversation, "How long have you been with the group?" It surprised Echo to realize that she knew next to nothing about the younger girl, even though she'd known her close to three weeks now.

  Shy leaned back in her chair and stretched before answering. "Bold and I were the last before you."

  "Oh really?" Echo said casually. "Then who was the first?"

  Shy shrugged. "No one really likes to talk about their beginnings much. From what I've gathered, Maddox, Lydia and Irvine found Lys and Loch close to two years ago. I guess they were the 'first'."

  "Loch…that's Lys' brother, right?"

  "He told you?" Shy asked, shocked.

  "Not really, but I kinda guessed."

  "Oh…well yeah, Lochinvar was what they called him. Real nice guy, although I didn't know him for long. He looked just like Lys too only…I dunno, better looking."

  Echo laughed. "What about after that?"

  "After that came Remus, then they picked up Thena and Ro, and then us, and then you. There were probably others in between who didn't last long, but if they're mentioned at all it's only once and then never again."

  Echo frowned at the younger girl and looked back up at the roof of the covered porch, studying the beams that held it up. If she were captured now, would they forget about her like they had everyone else who had been caught? It gave her the shivers just thinking about it.

  "Hey, don't worry. You're tough, I can tell. And everyone's already taken a liking to you. We'll protect you."

  Echo couldn't help but smile. "Thanks Shy. I'm…" She stopped when she realized that the Asian girl was no longer paying attention to her. She was staring at something out in the yard with her mouth hanging open.

  "What? What is it?" Echo asked, following the girl's gaze. She stopped when her eyes fell on Lys and Irvine, working in the yard. The heat was making them both sweat, and Irvine had already peeled off his shirt.

  "Good to see Irvine finally let go of that kid." Echo said with a shrug. She was about to turn back to her infinitely more interesting glass of lemonade when Shy whispered, "Wow…"

  "What?" Echo asked, annoyed.

  "Don't you think Irvine is just so hot?" Shy squealed.

  'Oh God, it's just like High School'. Echo thought, but she obliged the girl and looked back anyway. "Yeah I guess. But don't you think he's a little old for you?"

  "I don't care." She sighed. Echo rolled her eyes.

  "Lys is pretty cute too." Shy continued.

  Echo just about choked. "Are you kidding me?"

  "Yeah well, once you get past the greasy, grunge look he's not so bad." Shy defended with a blush. "Plus, he's so sweet!"

  Echo chuckled and glanced back at the two men with a coy smile. So maybe Lys wasn't exactly the hottest guy she'd ever laid eyes upon, but Shy did have a point. He wasn't ugly either. Maybe he'd be better if he'd cut his hair and shower a bit more often/ But Echo knew she shouldn't really complain about his personal hygiene. After all, she didn't shower very often either and she doubted she was at her most attractive at the moment.

  "Don't tell me you haven't noticed!"

  "Not really."

  "I don't believe you." Shy said bluntly.

  "Why not?"

  "Well…" Shy smirked, "You seem to be really attached to him."

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Echo demanded. "Just because he's a nice guy doesn't mean I have to fall head over heels for him!"

  "Whatever you say." Shy said with a shrug.

  Echo grumbled a bit and settled back into her chair and resolved to look straight ahead. "Hey Shy," She said after a few minutes.

  "What?"

  "Don't look now but lover boy is coming over."

  "What!" Shy shrieked. She just barely managed to cover her blush behind her glass when Lys approached. He didn't even say anything before he grabbed what was left of Echo's lemonade from her hand and gulped it down.

  "Hey!" Echo protested. She glared at the older teen as he finished her drink. "Thanks Echo, I was really thirsty." He grinned.

  "Lys! Get your own." She kicked him playfully in the shin. Echo then glanced over at Shy, who was gulping down her own lemonade greedily trying to hide her face behind the glass. Echo grinned as a malicious thought struck her. "Hey Lys, you'll never guess what Shy just told me."

  "What?" Lys asked. Shy paled and she stared at Echo, aghast.

  "Shy has a huge crush on – "

  "No!" Shy screamed. In a moment of panic she flung her still half full cup at Echo, soaking her with the sticky lemonade.

  "Shy!" Echo screamed, leaping from her seat. The Asian teen was quick to jump to her feet and rush inside the house. Echo was hot on her trail. "Shy, come back here you little brat!" She screamed as they tore into the living room.

  Echo stumbled into the room just after Shy, who for some reason had stopped dead. "Shy?" Echo questioned. She looked around and spotted Maddox standing in the centre of the room staring at the TV.

  "Maddox? What is it?" Echo asked softly, stepping up behind the man. Shy too was curious and looked at the TV screen.

  "It's starting." Maddox growled under his breath.

  "What is?" Echo asked. Just as she was asking this, Lys stepped in with Irvine. "What's with the old man?" Lys asked. But when no one answered him he adopted a concerned expression and joined the group.

  The TV screen showed the news, and a woman onscreen was talking while a small video stream played in the corner. "Tragedy struck this afternoon when a group of people protesting the treatment of circus animals turned violent. The protest was peaceful up until a protestor tried to physically stop a man from entering the arena where the circus was being held. Witnesses say the fight turned bloody from the very start, and in the end, two people were trampled to death in the fray. But today's tragedy isn't the only one. Stories are coming in from all around the world about peaceful gatherings turned into deathtraps. Concert goers in Madrid were sent into a frenzy when the concert was delayed, outbursts in the war-torn countries of the Middle East are the worst they've ever seen, and in Japan, seven young teens were killed when a fight broke out in the High school cafeteria."

  "Holy shit…" Lys commented as the screen cut to footage of the riot in Madrid, police and people alike punching and screaming, beating each other to the ground without an ounce of mercy.

  "Like I said…it's starting." Maddox said once again. "And it's all downhill from here."

  Chapter Eleven

  ~*Blossom*~

  The TV coverage of increasingly violent riots around the world was frequent. And every time th
e reports came they were even more disturbing. Echo had nearly thrown up when a picture of a man who'd had his face literally smashed in came up on the television screen. But while Echo stared at the footage, pale and sick, the others stared at it, stone-faced.

  "I've seen this exact riot in the dreams." Shy whispered to her as they watched the news. It had become a ritual for them. Every night and morning, Shy, Bold, Echo and Lys would sit on the couch in Mrs Marlow's living room and watch the news.

  Sometimes Ro would join them, or Irvine, but for the most part everyone else claimed to know what the TV would cover and didn't bother with watching the news.

  Echo didn't answer Shy, she was too preoccupied with the anchorwoman on the TV, who was attempting to explain how three children had been beaten to death when a fight in England randomly turned into a violent brawl. Bold was watching Echo with a curious expression on his face. "Are you alright, Echo?" He asked. "You look kinda sick."

  "How could people do this?" Echo breathed. "What could possibly make them so angry that they would turn on each other like this?"

  Bold frowned and touched her hand gently. "Maybe you shouldn't watch this, Echo," He started. But Echo shook her head and ripped her hand away from him. "I'll have to get used to this won't I?" She shot. "After all, Maddox said it would only be getting worse, didn't he?"

  Bold's frown deepened but he didn't attempt to talk to her again. Instead he looked back at the anchorwoman just as she was being cut off by an emergency signal. The teens adorned identical confused expressions as they looked at the man who appeared on the screen.

  The man was tall, broad, and had a permanent frown on his face. He carried himself with perfect posture and had the look of a man who'd seen many things in his lifetime. He was relatively young, perhaps in his late thirties, although his eyes seemed much older. They were so dark brown they could have been black, and his chocolate-coloured skin gleamed with set. His suit was rumpled, and it was obcvious he had just thrown it on for the occasion. To Echo he looked vaguely familiar. "Who…?"

  "The President." Lys cut her off with a scowl.

  "I take it you don't like him much."

  Lys laughed bitterly. "Let's just say I preferred Bush. I think I know what he's up to."

  "What?" Echo asked. But she got no answer. She wasn't expecting one. She looked back at the TV at the President who was clearing his throat.

  "This announcement is going out to the entire world. Twenty minutes ago, the United States of America received a threat of war from several nations of the Middle East. These nations threatened to declare war on the United States if their strict terms were not met. This, of course, is not possible. The United States will not submit to terrorist threats. Thus, I have no choice to declare war on the following nations…"

  "Fuck!" Lys roared. He leapt from his chair and slammed his fist against the 'off' button on the TV. "That little bastard!" He screamed. The other three stared at him in horror. Lys rarely lost his cool.

  "Lys?" Echo asked, standing up and approaching him cautiously. "Calm down. We knew this was going to happen, didn't we?"

  "Yeah but…" He sighed, "I didn't think it would be so soon. Everything is just…spiralling out of control so quickly. How will we ever get the shelter finished in time? God, Remus says the first teams have only just started on them! We can't…" He cut himself off, unwilling to finish his sentence.

  "We can't what, Lys?" Bold growled suddenly. "Don't you dare say we can't do it! If we give up we never will."

  Lys blinked at him and brushed his long hair out of his face. "Sorry Bold. It's just a shock, that's all."

  "We're going to be getting a lot of shocks from now on." Echo sighed. "We…" She stopped as an uncomfortable feeling settled in her stomach. Her toes tingled and her fingers went numb, and her stomach started doing jumps in her body. The familiar feeling of irrational terror welled up inside her. She went pale and looked at the others, who seemed to feel the same way. It took the sudden wail from Andrew to snap them out of their daze. "We have to leave!" She shouted, bolting upstairs. The feelings had returned:

  Run! Run! Run! Run! Run! It's time to go again!

  Echo pounded up the stairs to find Ro frantically throwing clothes and other meagre possessions in to a duffel bag. Athena was behind her, grabbing things out of the drawers. Echo didn't spare them a second glance. She dashed into her room and dug through the mess on the floor until she found her backpack and started filling it hastily. She heard Shy run in behind her, grabbing a bag and running into the bathroom.

  "Girls? What's going on here?" Mrs Marlow asked as she stared at the four panicked girls.

  "No time to explain, Mrs M." Lys said as he pushed past the older woman, nearly knocking her over. He disappeared into his room and came back a moment later with an armful of stuff.

  "Thanks for everything, Mrs M." He said, kissing her cheek. "We really appreciate it but we have to get out of here, fast! Where are the old ones?"

  "If you mean Maddox, Irvine and Remus, they're out back." Mrs Marlow responded suspiciously. "Just what are you guys into? Is someone after you? Why are you running?

  'Why does she choose now, of all times, to be suspicious?' Echo groaned to herself.

  "You think we should grab their stuff?" Lys asked Echo, ignoring the old woman.

  "Might as well, they're probably already going to the van." Echo replied, also ignoring her. "We need to get at least Andrew's things."

  Lys nodded his agreement and hurried down the hall to Maddox and Remus' room. Echo started to follow him but he stopped her. "No, Echo, you get down to the van. Tell the others to wait five minutes and then go."

  "But Lys!" She protested. Lys shook his head vehemently and grabbed her arm. "Listen, Echo, you need to go. They're going to be on us any minute and I don't want you to get hurt."

  "You'll never make it." Echo growled at him. He shot her a cocky grin. "Sure I will." He looked behind her at the Chinese twin listening to the conversation. "Bold, get her out of here." Lys ordered. Bold nodded and grabbed Echo's wrist firmly. "C'mon. Lys will be fine." The younger teen said.

  Echo started to protest again but he turned and literally pulled her down the stairs. He was a lot stronger than he looked. Echo struggled at first but soon realized that it was useless. 'Lys will be fine' she tried to tell herself, but it was hard to think over the feelings in the pit of her stomach.

  Why aren't you gone yet? Go faster!

  She pounded down the stairs after Bold and burst out into the front yard where Maddox and Irvine were throwing their things into the back of the van after Ro, who was climbing in with Athena.

  "Where's Lys?" Maddox asked as he saw them running towards him.

  "He's upstairs, grabbing Andrew's things."

  "That idiot!" Irvine cursed. "They're too close, he'll never make it!"

  "Andrew needs that stuff, and we can't afford to get more. He says to leave without him if he's not down in five minutes."

  "That's too long." Maddox said after a curse. "We're leaving in two."

  "What!" Echo screamed. "You can't do that!"

  "We can and we will." Maddox growled. "Get in the van."

  "NO!" Echo screamed, she turned to run back to the house but Bold kept his hand wrapped tightly around her wrist. "How can you just leave him here?"

  "We won't have to if he's fast." Irvine said calmly. "Just get in the van, Echo."

  Echo glared at him and furiously blinked back her tears. "After all he's done for us, you guys can't just leave without him! The Hunters…"

  "Will catch us all if we don't go now. He's lucky we're waiting at all." Maddox growled.

  "He's right, Echo." Bold said softly. "Don't worry about Lys. He can take care of himself."

  Echo didn't even care that she was crying, or that she looked like crap with the tears streaming down her face. She didn't want to leave Lys behind, she couldn't. "He thinks he has five minutes." She argued. "Someone should go get him."

  "No," Irvine s
aid firmly. He grabbed Echo's other arm and together with Bold they forcefully pushed her into the back of the van.

  "You assholes!" Echo screamed. "You can't do this!"

  "Shut up, Echo." Irvine snapped. He let Bold climb in the back behind her and then slammed the door shut. He then climbed into the front with Maddox.

  "You know we can't risk everyone, just for Lys." Remus said pointedly to Echo. She spun around and glared at him fiercely through swollen, teary eyes. "You bastard." She growled simply.

  "Hey," Ro said suddenly, creeping up to Echo while holding Andrew. "Don't worry about Lys." She put a comforting hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "He will make it back."

  Echo sniffled and nodded in return, but she couldn't really believe her. She looked through the back window, praying the Lys would come out sometime in the next forty seconds. But all she saw was Mrs Marlow, standing in the doorway, looking at them worriedly. The feelings were so loud that Echo felt like she needed to throw up. Andrew was wailing loudly, and Echo wondered if he got the feelings as well. Maybe it had never been Lydia who was chosen. Could it have been Andrew? She distracted herself with the thought as she absently stared at the doorway.

  "He's taking too long." Shy muttered sadly. Echo's chest constricted at her words. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak when a sudden blast of light cut her off and made the van shake. She stared out the window in horror as an explosion rocked the old house and sent pieces of the wall flying in all directions like shrapnel.

  Mrs Marlow was knocked off her feet and sent fling over the front railing and ended up lying motionless on the grass, blood trickling from her mouth. She was dead. But echo wasn't thinking about the old woman. She was staring in horror at the now flaming house, thinking about Lys. "No…" She whispered.

  Maddox was cursing from the front seat. As soon as he heard the explosion he stuck the key in the ignition and started the van. The engine roared to life and with a squeal of tires and a sudden jerk they were flying down the driveway.

  "NO!" Echo screamed, lunging at the back door and pressing her face to the glass of the window. The house was getting smaller and smaller, and she felt her heart drop into her feet. He wasn't coming. Lys wasn't coming. Her tears started up again and she was about to turn away when she caught a glimpse of something moving in the flames. After a moment, Lys' lanky form emerged from the fire, clutching a bag to his chest.