Chapter 9

I awoke in an ambulance, an oxygen mask over my face. I blinked, my eyes still half shut. I was so tired. It doesn't hurt so much anymore, though. I could see a man leaning over me, talking to me. I could barely understand a few words.

"Can you speak? What… doing? Why were…"

I stared blankly as I tried to collect my thoughts. Where's Mina? Where's Daniela? What about Diana? They have to be okay! I'll never forgive myself if any one of them got hurt!

"Where is she?" I croaked, not knowing which of the three girls I was speaking of. "You have to tell me where she is."

"He's talking!" The man said to the other people in the ambulance. The light above me was shining way too brightly after he moved his head.

"Where is she?" I repeated.

The man said, "We'll be there soon." Like that helps.

I was dazed, but I could still comprehend the situation. I think I'm okay. What if the others didn't fare so well? Even worse, what if they're dead? What if I finally found my soul mate just to lose her again?

I closed my eyes once more, and when I opened them, I was in the hospital. This, like many other things, hasn't changed since the time of Jack Force. There's still the white color, the white beds, the white curtains for those who didn't get their own room. I stared at the white ceiling, trying to get my bearings. I hear shuffling as doctors tend to other patients. When I turn my head, I see my parents and little sister. They're smiling at me, relieved.

My little sister, Brenda, said almost excitedly, "I can't believe you were in a fire! It's like the person in my book!"

My parents scold her, but she's right. I feel like I am living in a book. None of this stuff happens to normal people. No one mistakes their soul mate for a boy, or gets trapped in a building on fire, or ends up in the same school as all these people from his past.

Around me, voices drift through the room. I recognize Daniela's parents who are cooing gently at her. I hear a mother-like voice say Mina's name, and someone talking to Kingsley.

"Let him sleep," I hear a man, probably the doctor, say. I close my eyes, approving of the suggestion, and fade away.

When I awake, there is no one in the room- no nurses, no doctors, no parents, or families. Silence is throughout the room, and I detect the breathing of the other patients easily. I notice that, with that good sleep, I feel fine. Some bruises and burns, but nothing much worse. Slowly, I rise from the bed and walk to the left around the curtain. Daniela lies peacefully, but there is a content smile on her face as if she is having a wonderful dream. In the next curtained box, I see Kingsley's minor burns as a bead of sweat drips down his face. I move on and pause at Mina's bed, where she stares at the ceiling blankly. I spot get-well cards on the nightstand beside her bed.

"Why did this happen to us, Adrian? What did we do wrong?" She whispers, her throat dry.

I shake my head. "Nothing, Mina. We did nothing wrong."

She looks away to gaze at the white curtain separating her bed from Kingsley's, her face drained of any animation. I continue to where Jude sleeps, his blond dreadlocks disheveled over the pillow. Earlier, I heard no one say his name, like he had no visitors. Finally, I reach Diana, where she lies still as stone next to the window. Of all of them, her burns and blemishes are the worst. But even now, I can see her beauty. Pale skin as if she has never been in the sun, long eyelashes that lightly brush the skin below her eyes, and wavy black hair that trails from the pillow to where it hangs off the side of the bed in a braid. Light from the window illuminates her pale skin, and I feel an urge to touch her cheek. I start to move closer.

"Get away from her, Adrian."

I hear a solid voice behind me and turn quickly to see Lawrence (used the same name as the last cycle) standing in the doorway. He repeated, "Get away from her. This is the wrong time to start messing with her heart; greater things are at stake."

What could be more important than Diana? What could matter more? I said, "Like what?"

"I will tell you very soon. All of you. I didn't think it would happen so soon, but I don't have a choice. As soon as they wake."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Daniela asked, even more confused than the first time. We sat around Diana's bed, who the doctor said should not get up, in chairs and wheelchairs.

Lawrence sighed and began to explain once more, opening the small, worn brown book. "About a hundred years ago, someone found a book holding a prophecy, one everyone had forgotten about. It was found in the Repository, hidden carefully. The prophecy goes like this:

The Croatan will strike

They will raise their fists

On a beach they will rise with the sun

Ready to battle with their foes

But the fight may not be won

The Uncorrupted shall raise her sword

And let out a mighty cry

A half-blood will follow after

To stand by her side

Forgiven by the Almighty, and by his will

A Silver Blood will be their aid

His past is darkened, but now

Redemption is his to claim

Destruction will roll throughout the land

Obliterating his enemies

And proudly, the beast will roar

Thrusting his claw in the air

The Seas will reveal his true power

As the waves crash among the Croatan

They will drown painfully

Screaming out the Seas' forgotten name

Last of all, Death will strike

Her blackness will cut lives as it spreads

She cannot save herself from her power

But she can save us all instead

The Chosen Ones will rise together

Alone, they must fight

The fate of our kind is their hands

Or there will be no light

"You six are the Chosen Ones. You are destined to save the Blue Bloods. Only you can save us. The fire at the school was no accident. The Croatan are ready to fight, and thank God you survived. I don't know how they found out about the prophecy, and it's happening sooner than I thought, but this is it. Are you all in?"

Diana sat in the bed, a pained expression on her face. She had already asked for her pills, but they were lost in our escape. She whispered, "This is stupid; it's a fake prophecy someone wrote to mess with us. It's not real…" Yeah, Lawrence, buddy, I'm with her on that one. This has to be a joke.

"Yes, it is," Lawrence insisted. "You must face an entire Silver Blood army, most likely led by Leviathan. You all will need to fight harder than ever before. And- it might kill you. All of you."

She stared at the sheets silently, her face lacking any emotion: fear, anger, sorrow. Nothing.

"That- that's ridiculous. We can't-," Jude started.

Lawrence interrupts, "You can. But it takes all of you. We need the Uncorrupted and her daughter, a Silver Blood, Destruct-"

Jude, though weak, managed to muster enough anger to snap, "Can you stop with the prophecy? I have three younger brothers that I need to take care of. I don't have time for this!"

"I know that you and Diana are not in the best family situations, but this is bigger than that. The fate of our kind rests in your hands, and only you can do it. I will ask once more: Are you in?"

There was a long silence, but Mina was the first to say, "I'm in. For the good of our kind."

"Me too," Daniela said. I swallowed. These two can't do this alone. I put in my agreement,"I'm in."

Diana opened her mouth, but Kingsley cut her off before she could say anything. "Don't do it, Diana. You'll be killed by your own power."

She looked at him with anger. "Why would you care?"

"'Cause I care about you. I don't want to see you get hurt." I felt a small burst of jealousy until I realized he was right. Diana couldn't do this-

"I'm in," she said. Stubborn as always. Kingsley sighed, "That means I'm in too."

Jude hesitated the longest. "Well, what choice do I have? I'm in."

This is crazy. Crazy prophecy, crazy Lawrence, crazy teenagers, crazy crazy crazy.

"Excellent. We will start training when you are physically able."

Kingsley asked, "Training?"

"Of course. You need to be able to fight an entire Silver Blood army and some other abilities need to be heightened. That's enough for now. I will see all of you in 5 days at 4 sharp. PM so you don't get confused. I'll text each of you the address." We nodded and he stood, walking out the door. No disrespect or anything, but isn't there anything else he'd like to say to us? Perhaps something like, 'Sorry you almost died in a fire'? Instead, he's scheduling a training session.

"Wow," Daniela muttered. "This is… wow."

Tell me about it.