Page 22 of The Fall of Five (Lorien Legacies 4)

Sarah’s so enthusiastic that Six can’t help but smile back. “That could be fun. ”

“That’s where I’d like to go,” I tell Sarah, putting my hand over hers.

“Europe?”

“Lorien. ”

“Oh,” Sarah replies, a note of sadness in her voice surprising me. I try to explain.

“I’d like to show you Lorien the way I’ve seen it in my visions, the way Henri used to describe it to me. ”

I catch Six rolling her eyes at me in the rearview mirror. “That’s not really the game,” she says. “Pick someplace that you could actually get to without building a spaceship. ”

I think it over for a moment. “I don’t know. Disney World?”

Six and Sarah both exchange a look and then start laughing.

“Disney World?” exclaims Six. “You’re so cheesy, John. ”

“No, it’s sweet,” says Sarah, patting my hand. “It’s the most magical place on Earth. ”

“You know, I’ve never actually been on a roller coaster. Henri wasn’t down with the whole amusement-park thing. I used to see the commercials and I always wanted to go. ”

“That’s so sad!” exclaims Sarah. “We’re definitely going to get you to Disney World. Or at least on a roller coaster. They’re amazing. ”

Six snaps her fingers. “What’s that one ride? It’s supposed to be like a rocket ship?”

“Space Mountain,” answers Sarah.

“Yeah,” replies Six, and then hesitates as if she’s worried she’s about to divulge too much. “I actually remember looking that up online when I was little. I insisted to Katarina that it had something to do with us. ”

The thought of a young Six investigating Disney World is priceless. The three of us share a laugh.

“Aliens,” mutters Sarah jokingly. “You need to get out more. ”

CHAPTER TWELVE

NIGHT HAS FALLEN BY

THE TIME WE CROSS THE Arkansas state line. Luckily, we know exactly where we’re going. The billboards started popping up about twenty miles back, the huge and hairy face of the Boggy Creek Monster inviting us to visit Fouke’s one-and-only Monster Mart. We’re close now, and the tree-lined highway is pretty desolate, so I break my own rule and really start gunning it.

Sarah peers out her window, craning her neck at one of the faded Monster Mart signs.

“Just a couple more miles,” she says quietly.

“Are you ready?” I ask, sensing some apprehension in her voice.

“I hope so,” she says.

I pull the car over just before the exit for Fouke. This isn’t exactly a thriving tourist destination. More like the kind of dinky small-town thing that bored traveling families will stop off at to snap a few pictures and get a bathroom break.

“Probably a good idea to go on foot from here,” I say, glancing at Six. “We’ll want to be invisible. ”

Six nods. “Agreed. ”

We pile out of the car and into the dark woods that separate the highway from the town. Bernie Kosar briefly stretches his legs before taking on the form of a sparrow. He lands on my shoulder, awaiting instructions.

“Scout ahead, BK,” I say. “See what’s up there. ”

As BK soars off into the night, the three of us ready ourselves. I snap my bracelet onto my wrist; I certainly haven’t missed the painful tingling feeling I get whenever I wear it, but I’ll definitely feel safer with it on. I tuck my dagger into the back of my pants. Watching me, Sarah takes her gun out of her backpack and shoves it into the waistband of her jeans as well. All those road-trip fantasies of a couple hours ago are gone. It’s time for action. We start into the woods, the dim lights of Fouke about a mile away through the trees. Sarah grabs hold of my arm.

“Do you think we’ll see the Boggy Creek Monster?” she asks, widening her eyes in mock terror. “From the pictures, it looks a lot like Bigfoot. Maybe we can make friends. ”

Six warily scans the woods around us. “Some dumb folk legend isn’t the monster I’m worried about running into. ”

“Besides,” I add, trying to keep things light for Sarah’s benefit, “who needs a sasquatch when we’ve got Nine waiting for us back in Chicago?”

Like Six, I’m also searching the woods for any sign of Mogadorian ambush. It’s eerily quiet out here, the dead branches that crunch beneath our feet sounding like fireworks. I hope that we’ve beaten the Mogs to Five’s location, that they weren’t as quick to figure out his weird riddle as we were. The fact that there isn’t a new scar on my ankle and that the small town up ahead doesn’t appear to be engulfed by flames from a recent battle are both really good signs. Still, we have to stay on our guard. There’s no telling what might be waiting for us up ahead.

As we get closer, Six reaches her hands out to us. Sarah has to let go of my arm to take hold of Six. I wish there was time for one last hug, just a quick moment to reassure her. With each of us holding one of Six’s hands, she turns us invisible. We walk on.

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