PROMPT : SUM
Adelaide stumbled through the rubble, eyes swimming with tears. She pawed at the giant pile of rocks where her friends had last been standing.
“No, no, no! You can’t do this to me,” she sobbed. “You’re all I have left.”
The sounds of marching feet reached her ears and she frantically dove behind the pile. Pressing one hand tight to her trembling lips, she willed herself silent as the enemy lieutenant surveyed the result of his destructive blow.
“Bring an excavator and verify that they are dead,” he droned. “I want their bodies as proof! And find that last one. Wherever it is, I want them all gone! Do you hear me?”
There were murmurs of general agreement and then some of the marching feet moved off. A few stayed to guard the rubble pile.
Adelaide swallowed hard. She inched around to the back of the pile and bit her lip. She could try to dig, but that would likely cause too much noise and even if she did walk through it, there was no guarantee that she’d be able to save her friends.
But no proof that they were dead either.
Squaring up her shoulders, she sucked in the deep breath needed and let the change wash over her.
Gradually her body became less physical and more intangible. Eventually, she walked straight into the pile of rubble and towards the heart of the mound.
Relief and surprise overtook her in equal measure when she found her friends huddled together, with Rosa standing over them, her pale pink shield flickering as she held the debris off of them.
“Adelaide!” Jamie was the first one to spot her. He brightened up at once, holding out a hand.
Adelaide felt a smile tugging at the corners of her lips and she went straight for him. This had been the right choice after all. It always would be. For together, the sum of their parts would always overpower the enemy—no matter what.
(c) S. Harricharan