Ascension

Lorelei

"We need to go back to camp now." I try to convince Silas.

We are standing in front of Indiana who is now foaming at the mouth.

"I don't think he will last much longer if we don't leave now." Elijah helped my cause.

Silas looked at his soldier who was growling and baring his teeth like an animal. The skin rot had reached his neck. He looked half alive and half dead.

"Alright. I agree with you. Indiana definitely needs help." Silas sighed in disappointment.

We packed everything we might have needed and went back to camp. We dragged Indiana behind us like a rabid dog. I blinked tears out of my eyes.

Elijah grabbed my hand and squeezed. I shut my eyes tightly as if that would make all the horrors in my life magically disappear.

"When this is all over I will take you away and make sure no one ever hurt you ever again." Elijah whispers into my ear.

His promises barely enter my thoughts. I can't be distracted by Elijah's promises of a better life. However some small voice inside me whispered "Where will we go?"

"I want to. When the war is over take me away please." I pleaded with him.

He guides my face up so I would look him in the eyes. He nods and just like that he promised my life would receive happiness again. He took it upon himself to fix me again.

"Stars, Lorelei I want to show you everything. The sunshine, the blue sky, the sun's rays, the sunset, the sunrise." Elijah's eyes penetrated me.

He really meant it. He would let me experience everything.

"The sunrise is so pretty. It's almost as gorgeous as you." He poked.

"You are such a sweet talker." I complained.

"Would you rather I not?" He asked me.

I think for a minute before smiling and shaking my head.

"Then I will sweet talk you everyday." Elijah brushed my hair out of my face.

Then we break through the clearing and our camp is in sight. The soldiers dragging Indiana look absolutely exhausted as they take him to the infirmary and Doctor Faed trails behind them. Elijah and I go to sit on a fallen tree.

"What happens when the war is over?" I ask him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well we are in the military right now so we probably won't need to be when the war is over." I explain.

"We continue our normal lives." Elijah tells me.

"What is our normal life?"

"I guess we will find out. I will be fine as long as it includes you by my side, perhaps with a kid or two." Elijah whispers against my ear.

I blush a deep red.

"What do you think?" He asks still in his low voice.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea for when we are adults. However we still have 2 years left of our teen years." I remind him.

"Fine," he groans, "I would probably go back to school. Become an engineer like I always wanted. What about you?"

"Oh I don't know. I've always been told that I have to be a leader. I never really thought about what job I would want if I could be anything. Maybe a Biologist, I've always been interested in biology. Or maybe a Bioengineer." I answer.

"I believe in you." Elijah smiled at me.

Then an ear splitting scream cut through the air. Elijah visibly winced.

"They better not be killing Indiana or so help me we all will get the boot from Alivia." Elijah laughed a little.

I smile a little. As much as my conscience will allow me.

"What do you think would have happened if we had met on Earth? Like if we didn't completely depend on each other like we do now." Elijah asks me.

I've pondered this many times before now. What would have happened if we had just randomly met each other on the streets? In the distance I could see someone walking up to us.

"Who is that?" I ask.

"It looks like Faed." Elijah squints.

"I think it is." I agree.

"Would you guys like to Indiana now?" Faed asks us.

"Yes!" We both exclaimed at once.

Faed leads us to the infirmary where the air seemed extremely silent. When we enter the tent Indiana was laying on a bed looking extremely pale.

When he wasn't a flaming ball of insane he looked so sickly. He was gaunt and his Grey/Blue eyes don't look as bright anymore. He looked like a sack of bones.

He didn't look like the Indiana we knew.

"Is it safe to wake him up?" Elijah asked Faed.

Faed nodded and Elijah softly went over to Indiana and shook him a little. Indiana opened his eyes. They looked tired. Indiana looked like he hardly had enough energy to lift his head from his pillow.

"What happened?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes.

I gripped my wrists where I had sported bruises from when he was trying to kill me.

"Lorelei are you okay? You are looking at me like I'm an alien. Actually I've seen you react to Aliens before and you didn't look like this. You look like I have just come back from the dead." Indiana laughed.

"Indiana pull up your shirt." Elijah said still wide eyed.

"Elijah, there are children present." Indiana nodded at me.

Indiana did it though. He still had skin rot where the poison was traveling to his heart but his insect bite had shrunk down to the size of a pin.

"What in the world?" Indiana asked examining his chest.

"Indiana what do you remember last week?" I ask him.

"We raided a Bright base. Wait Lorelei I thought you got shot yesterday. Why isn't your arm in a sling?" Indiana asked me.

"Indiana that was three weeks ago." I tell him.

"No, no it wasn't. It was yesterday. You got shot in the raid yesterday." Indiana insisted.

"You really don't remember anything do you?" I ask him.

Indiana nods as he tries to make sense of what happened.

"Guys you need to go pack up your stuff we are leaving to go back to the base in 2 hours." Faed tells us.