SURVIVE (THRIVE: Book Two)

Chapter 49- Humanity

I can't help but nervously pace back and forth while we wait for my mother to wake up. I've always loved my parents' room. After they rebuilt it, they etched intricate carvings into every single brick, painting the cracks in bright colors. The balcony is similar to mine, and the view of the mountainside is breathtaking. Despite all of the happy memories that filled my mind here, I can't help but worry. Roxie refuses to move from my mother's bedside while Desire and Phoenix huddle together on the couch. Nixi and Nanea had gone with Aurora and my father to help them get their hands treated, the burns that Ember had left behind were pretty substantial. As I watch Roxie stare worriedly at my mother, I turn back and see Aria standing in the corner by herself seeming pale and uneasy. When I start to approach her, she doesn't even seem to notice.

"You okay?" I ask cautiously and she suddenly snaps back to focus.

"What?" she asks nervously as she looks around frantically, then takes a deep breath "Yea, I just..." she begins to trail off.

"Aria, it's okay not to be okay," I say reassuringly as I put my hand on her shoulder. As she gently squeezes it, she tries to force a smile.

"I'm worried enough about Pearl still, but that..." she explains as she looks over at my parent's bed "I've never seen anyone use their power like that before, that was terrifying to be near." she sighs.

"I'm sorry you got caught in the middle of it. I've been around this my entire life, although I haven't seen them fight like that in person before either, just in memories." I explain as I try to remember "Something about this isn't the same."

"What do you mean?" she asks worriedly.

"Ember was able to light her own skin on fire like it was nothing, Roxie never even knew that was possible and now we have no idea how to face it." I sigh as I look over at Phoenix and Desire who look just as shaken. "They're three of the strongest people that I know and they practically couldn't touch her."

"You don't need to be so quiet about it," Desire suddenly says across the room, looking over at us "We're heavily outmatched with this one."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." I apologize nervously.

"Don't be sorry, you aren't wrong," she states as she stands up and walks toward the window. It only took about an hour, but the sky has basically cleared up since Nixi's brief storm earlier.

"This girl wrote everything we know," Roxie sighs as she looks down at my mother. "I'm guessing that we can expect the same from the others like her."

"You're not wrong." I state nervously "Speaking of which, Winona has to know by now that we escaped, so I doubt she's just gonna show back up here." I explain as I glance out the window.

"She was working with Aurora about an hour before you showed up and disappeared out of nowhere." Roxie explains "That can't be a coincidence."

"Well, you all look like a bunch of sorry losers," Aurora states bluntly as she walks in, her hands completely wrapped in bandages.

"Right back at you," Phoenix says as he kicks his feet up on the couch.

"Where's Daddy?" I ask nervously as I peek around toward the hallway.

"He's with Nixi briefing the guard about taking extra caution right now. The last thing we need is any of them getting blindsided by those freaks." Aurora explains as she walks over to my mother "How's she doing?"

"You're looking at it. She hasn't woken up yet." Roxie sighs "I don't know how, but we need to get that bitch out of her head." she explains frustratedly.

"I wish it was that simple, but I've never seen anything like this before. Who knows how risky it could be to even try." Aurora explains disappointingly, "You're going to need to dig out some of your old research." she states, and suddenly, Roxie looks both afraid and ashamed.

"I don't know if any of that applies here." she states hesitantly "I buried it for a reason."

"That doesn't matter now." Aurora sighs.

"I hate to interrupt whatever this is," Aria suddenly speaks up "But that sounds like it's going to take some time. We need to figure out how to get Pearl back as soon as possible."

"Aria," Roxie sighs as she stands up and comes over to us "I want to get her out too, but you saw what just one of them did to us, I don't know how we're supposed to blindly go against the others."

"So, you want to just cut her loose?" Aria asks, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"That's not what I'm saying," Roxie sighs "I'm just saying that we can't rush in right now, it's far too dangerous."

"That's the same as just leaving her behind!" Aria shouts defensively "You are all practically legends, why are you shying away from a fight?" she screams as the tears stream down her face.

"Aria," Desire begins, but Aria isn't listening.

"I know that you would all do anything for your family, but what about mine?" Aria cries "Unlike you, we don't get do-overs. If they kill her, she's gone. Don't you understand that? Or have you all really lost your humanity?" she asks, and within seconds we all fall silent. Suddenly, Aurora stands up and makes her way across the room to the windows, looking out at the flowers in the field.

"Just because we're able to be reborn doesn't mean that we don't feel the loss of our friends, our family. We have seen too much shit to just walk into something blindly, the last time we did, we lost half of the city. And just like you said, they didn't get to come back." Aurora explains, her voice coarse "Our humanity is what stops us from being corrupt or making stupid blind decisions because we understand that there can be consequences that affect more than just us." she states as she glances at Aria "Don't assume that it means that we don't care." As she finishes, she continues to stare blankly out the window as if none of us are here. When I turn to Aria, she looks guilty and scared, not knowing what to say now.

"I've had a lot of friends over the years, and I think about them all often despite them being gone for centuries now." Roxie explains solemnly "I want to help you, I really do, but if we go in without knowing what they can do, they could kill us all. If we were gone, who knows what state that would leave the city in." she says as she looks sadly at us.

"I'm sorry..." Aria sighs apologetically "I didn't realize any of that before."

"Hey, don't worry about it. We all think the same things about ourselves before we awaken and realize who we really are." I suddenly hear my mother state.

"Nika!" Roxie shouts as she darts across the room and leaps onto the bed beside her "Are you okay?"

"Never better." Mom says sarcastically as she holds a thumbs up "I haven't been struck by lightning in over eighty years, so that was fun."

"For the record, that first time was an accident." I laugh as I start to walk over.

"Who cares, I have something I can hold over Eliana's head whenever we get into an argument." she laughs as she slowly sits up "Look, I overheard what you guys were talking about, and I actually agree with Aria here."

"What?" Aria asks in surprise.

"Pearl is my friend now too, despite us not spending all that much time together. There wasn't exactly a lot to do in prison, so we talked about a lot." Mother explains "I know a little bit about each of them and how they set up the compound, I might have a few ideas." she smiles as she glances over all of our faces.

"This better be good." Roxie sighs nervously.

"Hey, look at it this way, the only one with an affinity with fire is stuck in my head. The rest of them aren't going to be as much of a problem if you hit them hard enough." Mother winks. Suddenly, Roxie, Desire, and Phoenix all look excited as Aurora turns around to stare at all of us.

"You've got to be kidding me, are you seriously considering this?" Aurora asks nervously.

"Well, when she puts it that way, it doesn't sound nearly as difficult." Roxie smiles "So, who's up for a prison break?"