A Hero In The Dark

Chapter 90: Hold On

I hear her screams.

I hear her cries.

In a vast void of darkness.

"Kristina! Kristina!"

Voice frantic and scared.

Tone desperate and hopeless.

I hear her calling to me.

"Where are you? Please hurry."

I try to talk back, even without knowing where she is.

I try to give her hope.

"Agatha, I'm coming. Just hold on a little bit longer."

Two simple words.

Two words that seem to have so much weight.

In the fate of despair.

Yet it soothes even me.

I say it enough; repeat it over and over. For not only her comfort, but mine as well.

"Hold on. Hold on. Hold on."

I keep whispering those words until her screams fade.

And I wake.

...

"I didn't know when you would wake up," says a voice nearby. "I didn't even know if you would at all."

It's John.

I don't open my eyes yet. Just lie there peacefully; at ease. How I waited so long to hear his soothing voice. How I missed him so. I just want to listen.

I want to listen to his voice.

"It's been crazy lately. These past few weeks," he continues. "Even with Sarah... it just hasn't felt right. Not without you."

I keep my breathing steady. Granted by my legacy, I can sense John watching me closely. I don't want him to think I'm awake just yet. I want to listen.

"I need you Emily," he says then, and grabs tight onto my hand. "I need you more than you know. I don't know how to win this war without you. Please. Please wake up."

He is tearful now; I can hear it in his voice. I don't need my Eneration to register that much.

And so, I open my eyes; turn my head to see him.

Immediately as I do so, he jumps with eagerness and joy, wrapping his arms around my chest and pulling me in close.

John's arms are full of such tenderness and care. For the longest time, I wonder if he will ever let go. Soon to realize that I don't want him to let go. And so, I hold on tighter.

Once we separate, I'm able to glance around the room to find that I am in the same room I woke in previously.

My strange Mogadorian prison room.

Though this time, I am not nearly as frantic and desperate to escape because John is by my side.

"John?" I start initially, relieved to see him but still confused. "You have no idea how much I missed you John, but please tell me we aren't in a Mogadorian prison."

John actually smiles. A happy, playful smile. Glad to see me awake and well. "No. Not quite," he says in answer.

"Not quite?"

"We're in Ashwood Estates, a mog facility built up by trueborn. It's not a prison; more like a neighborhood. We attacked the place a little over a week ago," he explains. "It was Adam's idea."

I try to sit up, nearly collapsing back down if it weren't for John's hand.

"What's going on?" I start again in confusion. "I saw Mogadorians. I saw an FBI woman with red hair. I saw you and Nine and Malcolm and Sam. I saw Sarah. Are you helping them? Did you capture those mogs?"

Realizing how distraught and confused I am, John stops me with a short half-hearted chuckle.

"Emily you have no idea," he says at first. "Can you walk? I'll take you to the common area. We'll fill you in."