Chapter 44 Strange Help
Serena's POV
The force took us back, sending us falling to the ground hard. And as I got up, I could barely see anything but honestly, there was only one person I wanted to see.
I coughed hard as my lungs were burning like the fire had been set in me. It became really hard to see anything as the dust grew till it was hard to see a thing 5 miles away.
I waved a few particles of dust away frantically, my eyes stung from the mixture of smoke and dust. I dragged myself to my bears and squinted my eyes, trying to look beyond the thick haze.
A heavy wave of flames erupted behind us, sending heat waves our way and landing on my back like lashes from a whip.
But as though it was sent to me, it reminded me of him. I turned my face painfully towards the burning mess. "Dante!" I yelled with all the force I could muster. And when I didn't hear his voice or see his face anywhere, I screamed louder again. "Dante! Where are you?!"
Only the sound of flames tearing through what was once Dante's prized possession, greeted my call. I stared back at the destruction ahead of me, what was once a beautiful structure, now has no trace to its previous glory.
It hurt me the more I thought about it. He may not have shown it while we were there, but this was a loss Dante didn't see coming and one that would hurt him more than we could imagine.
My heart bled for him, I remembered the way his eyes shone unnaturally when he was telling me about it. He had a specific kind of excitement that was rare with someone like him.
The more I thought about it, the more the painful thought crept in that he could have given himself away with the jet.
No. He can't.
I struggled to my feet, refusing to let my mind get carried away so easily. My legs felt shaky, like I could fall at any moment. But I couldn't stay down.
My knees buckled under my weight as I took a step towards the abyss. The more steps I took, the stronger my legs got, till I was literally marching towards the mess.
More waves of smoke and dust swooshed heavily in my face. The clouds seemed to have read the mood and adjusted to the gloomy feeling. I coughed more, pushing forward nonetheless with my hands out like a blind pauper.
I stepped on pieces of metal or sharp things that stung the under of my foot, but that didn't stop me. "Dante!" I yelled again. "Answer me!" I added desperately.
Nico's voice cut through my messy breakdown from behind me. "Serena!" He called out in a choky voice. "Come back! It's not safe!" He added.
I ignored him, I knew he was just doing his job and didn't care for a second if I was safe or not. If he had his way, he would have left me here anyway. I kept going still, practically hearing my heart beating in my ears.
I drew nearer to the mess now, taking in the horrible smell of burnt metal and gases. But there was no sign of him, no movement between the scrap, nothing.
I began to panick, already scared as fuck and it didn't help when all I could see were piles that resembled a human body.
What if... no. I couldn't let such a thought go through my mind.
"Dante!" I called out rather, lowering my head few seconds afterwards when I got no answer.
"Serena!" I heard a voice yell and I nearly jumped with excitement.
"Dante?" I asked this time around, waiting to listen to the direction of the call.
"Serena!" It came again and my head instantly dropped when I realized it was coming from behind me, Nico to be specific.
He was getting closer now as his voice grew louder. When he finally got close, I turned to him and to my greatest surprise, his eyes held a similar look of fear. His face had fallen, like he'd seen a ghost, or he's seeing what I'm seeing.
Seeing him that way toppled up the fear in me. I turned back to the wreck immediately and dropped to my knees hard, not putting much thought to how it stung. The dust settled slowly, revealing more mess littered everywhere, but no figure emerging from it all.
I soon felt a heavy burden on me. I knew I always wanted my freedom, and I hadn't forgotten how he treated me most times, but a part of me had grown accustomed to him and that part brought the tears that soon dropped from my eyes.
The tears flowed freely down my cheeks. He didn't make it, Dante's gone.
Just like that, I won't get to see his mean face again. The tears kept flowing as regret flooded through me, it all felt like it was my fault over again.
I mean, since I got here, it's been one death or another, and now, it has claimed the life of the only man that has ever stepped up to protect me.
Maybe, If we didn't come here, maybe if we didn't come to see my mom. Dante would still be alive. Now, now...
Now, he's dead, and it's because of me. That's what hit hardest. Between it all, I felt a strong hand landing on my shoulder, then it began tapping and running it gently.
I didn't need to look up to know who it was. More tears fell down my cheeks. "It's all my fault," I said as my body shook visibly.
Nico rubbed my shoulder lightly. "I wouldn't argue with that," he said softly.
"I wanted to hit back at him for the reply, but he's right, I'm right... I'm the cause.
His hand stiffened suddenly around my shoulder, and I looked up to find his eyes fixed far off in the direction of the wreck. I followed his gaze to find a broad shadow moving through the haze.
Dante's POV
The smoke choked me from all sides, and matched with the thick black clouds that began to form above the wreck. I limped out slowly from behind a large heap of metal I had hidden under when everything blew up.
My left leg throbbed badly, matching the burns on my body from the flames that hit me from the explosion. The briefcase felt heavier in my hand now as I grew weaker, but I gripped tighter to it, I couldn't lose it after I risked my life for it.
It wasn't long before I heard a muffled sound coming from far off. I quickly figured that it must be Nico and the men searching for me. And as I made my way towards them, the fire kept spreading behind me. I turned to the mess, to what used to be my Dad's jet.
I quickly swallowed the sting and focused ahead to where I needed to be. As I went past another haze, I caught sight of them.
A figure that looked so much like Serena was on her knees with her head hanging low and she looked to be shaking. And another figure stood by her side with its hand on her shoulder.
I pushed on besides the pain and as I drew nearer, their faces looked straight at me, but neither moved. Then, as I got to a clearer point, she shot up from her knees and rushed at me, jumping into my arms and nearly knocking me back.
With a briefcase in one hand and her weight on the other, I quickly submitted and dropped her slowly. But she still clung tightly to me with her face buried into my chest.
She pulled back after a while and I noticed the tears around the corners of her eyes. "Don't try that again," she warned with a smile.
I nodded once and stepped forward with her to my side. Nico just stared at me with a smile on his face and slowly nodded. I nodded back. "What's the situation at hand?" I asked.
"We lost a man and the rest are terribly injured," he explained. "They need help fast."
I nodded back grimly. "We all do," I admitted softly. "For the meantime, we need to find somewhere to rest and regroup before moving, probably get the directions to the nearest medical facility at once."
"Where, Don? We are just across the borders of Peru," Nico said frustratedly. "Besides, we can't go on foot, the men won't survive it and I don't think either of us wood," he added, looking down at my bleeding side.,
I was able to tell him we had no other choice, but the sound of an engine revving from our side beat me to it. It came to a stop while the driver brought the glass down and yelled over to us. "You need a ride?”