Reborn Heart of Steel

The ill-lit passages of the hospital made my eyes water as I listened to Aiden’s story. My heart thumped in my chest and I could feel the beads of sweat forming on my forehead. I knew The Raven wanted revenge, but this was on another level, because The Phoenix Organization was more than one could Fathom. He was coming for me. He seemed to leap along the hall like a panther.

Just before the lights went off, I called in Chase and Alessandro to listen to what Aiden had to say again. I then looked at Chase, my boyfriend, who was seated beside the hospital bed still looking concerned. His hand went for the one opposite his, and we locked hands; he held it with a soft grip. On the other hand, Alessandro kept walking. From one place to the other, usually composed, Alessandro was visibly agitated.

“I think it is time to go. ” I am still whispering. “If what Aiden said is true, then we are all not safe. ”

Chase was shaking his head, his jaw muscles tensing up in the process. “I’ll go talk to a nurse, try to get you out of here. ”

The last image I saw before the lights went out was him leaving. As I sat down, the lights went off, off again and stayed off. Fear lodged itself in my throat and I realized that I hadn’t breathed since she’d said his name. Since it was pitch dark on the boat, I could hear Alessandro grumbling to himself.

‘It is happening,’ I said, my voice shaky. “They’re here. ”

Hand still in my hand, Chase clenched it into a fist. ‘We need to go, now. ‘

I tried to sit up and slipped a hand under my back, which made the sore muscles in my abdomen twinge in protest. Chase pulled me to him, his arm around my waist to keep me upright, which, now that I could acknowledge, was quite wobbly. Alessandro felt around in his pocket, the light coming from his phone’s flashing light shining on his face as he switched it on.

“This way,” he said in a stage whisper, pointing at the door.

Thus, we moved as silently as possible, and entered the hallway using the light of Alessandro’s phone. In many places it was as if life had been beaten out of the building; the only noises I did hear were the occasional shout of curses from far away and hurried footsteps. My heart was thumping so violently I thought people would hear the noise and come for us.

Casting a glance around me the next moment, I nearly ran into a group of men clad in black. One could not see their faces because they wore ski masks, but there was no doubt in my mind who they were. The Raven’s men.

It was quite warm when one of them said: ‘There she is!’ And pointed at me.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Chase sprang into action, pushing me out of harm’s way, and I saw Alessandro winding up to strike. What occurred next was quite a spectacle of activity. Chase and Alessandro slashed at each other with great intent, hitting masked faces with fists, which became increasingly fruitless, as I found myself backed against the wall, filled with fear, and utterly useless.

Chase growled as the man tried to punch him, ‘Brianne, run!’

For a fleeting moment, I stood still before me, extending my arm behind me and running in the direction of the hall. I dashed along the corridor, being barefoot, my clothes trailing after me, flapping and snapping against my legs; the sounds of fighting receding into the background, the noises of large feet thundering in my rear.

I flung open a pair of swinging glass doors, and was in a corridor that contained a staircase. Blindly, I began to ascend the stairs and started running at every flight even though my body was protesting in pain. I could feel that my chasers were gradually advancing, and I could hear them coming closer and the sound of their footsteps was a familiar sound of an enclosed space.

After that, I thought I would collapse on the floor and just as my legs were about to give way, I came across a door that said ‘Roof Access. ‘ There was only one hope that the door was not locked. Thank God, it began to creak unbolting, and I stumbled out onto the heater of the night.

The rooftops opened in front of me and were decorated with the signs of air conditioning units and satellite dishes. I rushed to the edge, and I saw. It had seemed a long way down and there was no fire escape visible. I was trapped.

Suddenly, the door at my back flew open, and I turned around to see two of the masked men come on to the roof. They moved forward gradually, the way hunters do to their quarry.

‘Now that you are cornered, little girl, where do you think you can go now?’ one of them said in a sneering tone. Once again, I was on a rooftop. The last time I was on one I loosed my life and my soul transferred to this body, a mystery I haven’t gotten the chance to even think about.

I had to step back until I could sit on the low wall at the roof perimeter. My thoughts quickly flashed on the inner search for an escape from this horror. I considered it closed and barely had time to take it in when the door opened again. Suddenly, Chase and Alessandro rushed in. They attacked the two men on the roof from behind.

“Brianne, come on!” Chase yelled, taking my hand as he pulled me along with him while he ran. “Not today”, I whispered to myself.

We hurried down the stairs with great good speed, Alessandro bringing up the rear as usual. In one way or another, we managed to get inside the parking garage without being accosted by any more of The Raven’s thugs. We rushed into Chase’s car panting.

It was only as Chase drove out of the parking garage making donuts that I could finally let myself let my guard down a little at least. We had run away, but I was fully aware now that this was not even the beginning of the end.

We drove in complete silence for what seemed like hours, Chase being extra careful not to be followed, so he got lost several times. And then we drove to the parking lot of a small motel on the outskirts of the town that looked more like a slum.

“We will be safe here now for some time,” Alessandro said, barely recognizing his own voice. ‘I’ll get us a room. ‘

As Alessandro went to check in, Chase looked at me and said, ‘I hope you can handle it today’, his eyes revealing a lot of concern. ‘Did they touch you? Are you alright?’

I shook my head, immediately tears filled my eyes. “You’re okay?” he asked, fear evident in his voice. “Yeah, just scared Chase, what are we going to do?”

He hugged me so closely that I could barely breathe, and his chin was leaning on the top of my head. I will say: ‘We will think about it,’ and most importantly, I will guarantee you that no harm will come to you, or we will see about it.

I asked for water and Alessandro came back with a key; we climbed the stairs to the second floor to a dirty room. The moment Rob got up from the door and closed it, I collapsed on the bed because I began to feel the need to withdraw after the long rush.

‘We need a plan!’ said Alessandro, walking across the small room. ‘The Raven is not going to leave Brianne alone, they are not going to quit searching for her, and we cannot keep running all our lives’

Chase nodded, the corners of his mouth pulled down in a frown. “You’re right”, agreed Alessandro, but what can we do? We’re just kids going up against a criminal organization. ”

I shut my eyes and reap through the possible events that put us in the state that we are currently in. The corruption I’d uncovered, the evidence that I had finally collected, and which had put The Raven behind bars. But now, he was bent on making me regret it.

I stopped suddenly and, out of the blue, an idea occurred to me: it was both irrational and risky, and so likely unwise. But it could be the only opportunity to try it.

‘We will fight back,’ I said, my words more conviction than I actually felt.

Chase and Alessandro looked at me, and they were both surprised.

‘I don’t understand’, replied Chase.

I straightened up, and immediately my mind came up with a plan. “The Raven wants to kill me, right? So let’s kill him first. Clearly, we know The Raven heads the Phoenix Organization. What if we could strip him of that?”

What?? Alessandro said.