‘It’s better for the both of you if you came with us silently.’ Vaughn threatened.
They had barged into the room while the sisters were still chatting.
Brielle had the kids clutched against her chest while Adira stood unshaken, her calm demeanor sending a quiet sense of terror across the room.
‘Let them go and no one will be hurt.’ Adira offered calmly, her eyes locked intently with Dreadmores.
Haha.
Vaughn laughed.
He couldn’t believe the woman in front of him still had the guts to speak.
‘Don’t make me collapse with laughter.’ He said amusingly.
‘You think you can hurt me?’ He asked, his voice still carrying the amusement from earlier.
Adira smirked.
‘I don’t speak what I can’t do.
It is better you listen to me and let them go.’ She offered once again.
‘And what if I don’t?’ Vaughn challenged.
Adira looked over her shoulder.
Brielle still had the panicked expression on her lips.
She was panting- faster than normal.
‘Then you all prepare for the consequences.’ Vaughn laughed once again.
‘I must say, you have a way of lighting up a room with your sense of humor.’ Then he stopped laughing.
‘But unfortunately, I have no time for that today.’ A solemn look crept across his face.
‘Guards, seize her!’ He ordered calmly.
The guards rushed with agility, hoping to grab the women once and for all.
Brielle’s grip around the kids tightened, her teeth gritting together tightly as her breath increased unevenly.
Adira slowly rose her head.
A breath of air slowly drifted from her lips as her eyes fixated upon the incoming men.
Then she shut them tightly, opening them slowly after some seconds while the first guard lifted his sword to strike her.
‘Adira, look out!’ Brielle screamed as she saw the blow nearly hitting her sister.
Then the guard froze, his hand stuck midair, while his eyes looked tearful.
‘What are you waiting for?
Kill her already!’ Vaughn ordered angrily.
But the guard wouldn’t move.
CLANG!
As if his hand had been twisted, sword slipped from his grasp and struck the floor with a sharp clang, the sound ringing through the room.
Vaughn’s eyes moved from the sword to the soldier, then he saw it- the dilated eyes, the unnatural blue color.
His eyes widened- not from fear- but from a feeling he couldn’t explain in that moment, maybe surprise, or the manifestation of something he had already anticipated.
His lips slowly drew open.
His chest heaved with the rapid beating of his heart.
‘Se…seize her!’ He ordered the other guards.
The other guards feared to move.
‘I said, seize her!’ He commanded angrily.
As the other guards decided to move, a sickening crack broke the tense atmosphere , and the guard went limp.
He dropped to the ground.
His pupils had dilated, nothing left but clear white.
The deafening silence that followed the event was enough to make the air itself feel heavy with dread.
Brielle stared at her in stupefaction, unable to comprehend what she had just witnessed.
Everyone seemed to have been frozen in their place.
‘Adira…’ Brielle called out softly, the consternation slowly wearing off her.
‘You must go now sister.’ Adira declared.
She turned her eyes to guards.
‘Anyone up for their turn?’ She asked wryly.
The guards stepped back.
‘If you dare leave here without ending her, I will kill you and your family members, and I will end your entire generation.’ Vaughn hissed.
The guards looked at each other, then without hesitation, they all charged towards her.
Adira swooped her hand.
She thrust both hands forward.
A burst of invisible force exploded from her palms, sweeping through the guards and knocking them off their feet.
The room fell silent again.
‘Sister, run !’ Adira told her.
Brielle had been transfixed with disbelief.
‘Sister!’ Adira called out again.
There was no response .
Adira turned towards her.
‘Sister, please, you must run.’ Adira entreated her.
She pulled her along with herself as they dashed out of the room.
Vaughn remained utterly emotionless, struck dumb with stupefaction.
Minutes flew by, and he was still rooted to his spot.
Then his phone rang.
It was not until the third ring that he finally snapped out of his shock.
‘Sir, please should I send more guards to join the others.’ The voice from the other end asked.
Vaughn creased his brows, anger stirring ridiculously through him.
His grip tightened around the phone, his knuckles turning white as he gritted his teeth together.
‘Send as many men as you can, if you have to send them all, do so!
They mustn’t escape our clutches today!’ He decreed.
He disconnected the call as he marched out of the room.
‘Brielle and Adira, I will make sure you won’t live to see the sunset.’ Meanwhile, Adira and Brielle had managed to flee from the building.
They had cautiously maneuvered their way close to the border, stopping just short of it.
‘There, sister, we’re almost out of this wretched place.
We can finally move to New York.’ Adira said amidst smiles despite the tiredness that hugged them.
Brielle’s eyes filled with tears.
She was happy they had made it this far.
She didn’t even know they could reach this point.
‘Please, don’t cry sister.
We…we’re going to have our freedom soon.’ This time, she couldn’t contain herself anymore.
She broke down in tears.
She bore the children on her back, bound securely in a cloth wrap.
She fell down to her knees, the day’s events finally taking an emotional toll on her.
‘Sister, I know you have seen a lot of things today, and I believe you have tons of questions for all of them.
But trust me, I will explain everything to you in due time.
First I need to get you out of here, you as well as the kids.’ ‘We’re all going.’ Brielle stated firmly.
Adira smiled.
She knew her sister cared about her a lot and that she was unwilling to leave her behind.
‘You’re right, we will all be going.’ ‘Not so fast!’ Her words were barely out when she was interrupted by a deep voice and the loud marching of men.
They both rose their heads to see Vaughn and his men.
‘You both aren’t going anywhere!’ He affirmed.
‘Nothing can stop us now, Vaughn.
We’re at the border now and neither you nor your men can stop us from leaving.’ Vaughn scoffed.
‘Do you really think that you can leave here on my watch?’ He probed.
‘Well then,’ Adira stated.
‘Let me see how you stop us.’ She whispered something into Brielle’s ears who shook her head- probably to disagree to whatever she said- but eventually began taking steps backward, inching closer to the border.
‘Now!’ And with that, Brielle ran with all her strength, knowing very well her life depended on it.
‘Run!
Run and don’t look back!’ Adira shouted after her.
‘Seize them!
We must burn them today!’ Vaughn ordered coldly.
Adira floated upwards, soaring over the men.
‘Enough of your evil deeds Vaughn.
Today, you will meet your end!’ She threatened.
She began swooping her hands again, and the men began falling down.
Some somersaulted .
Vaughn on the other hand had already prepared himself.
He pulled out his pistol.
POW!
He shot her.
Adira let out a loud shriek and fell to the ground which caused Brielle to stop in her tracks.
She turned back, but there was no one and the sound had stopped.
Tears began rolling down her face while the children began crying.
She tried to hush them to sleep and continued running.
‘You were boasting so much a while back, only for you to be defeated by a bullet.’ He scoffed.
‘Pathetic!’ He pointed his gun to her head.
‘Speak your final words!’ Adira grinned.
‘I have more than a few words to speak.
There’s something I need to do first.’ She said.
‘And what is that?’ Vaughn asked, confusion flickering across his face.
Adira said nothing.
Instead, she stared right into his eyes.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then a strange glow began to radiate from her body.
Vaughn instinctively stepped backward.
“What—?” Before he could finish, flames erupted around Adira, engulfing her in a brilliant blaze.
Vaughn stood frozen, staring at her in disbelief.
Adira’s eyes remained fixed on his through the flames.
And somewhere beyond the border, Brielle kept running.
She didn’t look back.
She couldn’t.
Not when her sister had told her to run.
Not when the children were depending on her.
And not when she had no idea whether Adira was still alive.
Behind her, the flames continued to rise.
And then— everything went silent.
For Vaughn, it was the end of a pursuit he had believed he could never lose.
For Brielle, it was the beginning of a life she had never imagined.
And for Adira… Perhaps it was not the end at all.