The Brink of Betrayal

Elena's Point of view:

"Orion, don't you dare," I said, reaching for him with shaky fingers. "Don't exacerbate this.

Not at this moment.His eyes locked with mine and for the first time I recognized something in them I had not seen before, raw terror.

He moved back, as if he wanted to separate himself from what was approaching, yet he couldn't look away. He was not just concerned about the approaching risk; something sinister lurked there as well.

"You have to leave," he whispered in a tight, desperate voice. "Now Elena."I shook my head then stepped forward.

"You assume I will be running? Having gone through all we have? Not at all. I'm staying.

Orion's jaw tightened, his knuckles white as he held the gun's handle and the barrel pointed at the entrance. Still, I understood it went beyond the gun. It was not about the folks following us, those eager to see us burn.

It was the conflict between us, an unsaid truth gathering months of worth.His voice cracking, as if he were battling something deep within him, he pleaded, "Why won't you let me protect you?

"I couldn't respond straight away.

Too many things remain unsaid, too many emotions entwined in the jumble of events.

Actually, the reality was really straightforward.

I had no fear about dying. Not quite anymore. Losing him, the one person who knew everything even if I couldn't articulate it, terrified me the most.

" Orion, I have no need for defense.

I muttered, the words tumbling out before I could stop them.

I need you. Weighty and loaded with all we had gone through together, they hung in the air.

Though his gaze softened, the loud sound of the door being kicked open broke the moment.

I had no time to respond; I just dove behind the couch as bullets tore across the space.

With a speed I hadn't expected, Orion's body dragged me down to the floor and covered me with his own.

He muttered, "Stay down," his voice low and forceful as he pointed his rifle at the open door.

"I have this.."My heart thumping in my chest, I could hardly breathe as the anarchy around us developed. Footfall reverberated, closing in on us, the tension smothering.

I had been clinging to the hope that we may still escape this disaster a minute before, but now in the middle of this craziness everything seemed dubious.

Orion's fingers seized mine, and I could feel his frantic, quick pulse.

He was afraid as well. I could feel it in the tightness of his hold, in the stress emanating from his body, much as much he attempted to conceal it.

"They're not alone," he said, staring around the room for any movement.

"This is a trap here. A configuration.

I attempted to cool my anxiety by swallowing hard, my throat dry.

"What should we do now?"He gazed down at me and his lips closed into a tiny line.

His eyes were sharp and full of something I didn't quite identify.

But time was not for explanations or for responses. I knew they were closing in when the sound of more deliberate, heavy footfall arrived.

"Get ready," he murmured.

"This is going to get worse before it gets better".

As we lay there waiting, listening for the slightest indication of movement, the seconds seemed to last like hours. Every muscle in my body was taut, coiled like a spring, ready to shatter at the least sound.

Suddenly, then, the quiet shattered.The crowd laughed quietly, and I shivered down my spine. My heart pounded as the voice came to me.

"You thought you might outrun me, didn't you?" The voice was all too familiar, icy, deliberate. "But you're incorrect.

"My blood stopped cold as the man moved forward into the low light.

To know who it was, I didn't have to see his face.

The guy in charge of everything.

From the very start, the man who had coordinated everything.Victor.You," I spat, my pulse accelerating. I should have known.

Victor grinned, that same awful smile that had tormented my dreams for months.

"Elena, you have been a thorn in my side for too long. But it is time to call this off.

Orion's hold on me became tighter as he turned, his rifle still fixed on Victor, his posture unbroken. With flaming eyes, he hissed, "You'll have to kill me first.

"Victor laughed with a chilly, somewhat contemptuous quality.

Oh, I mean to, tension permeated the air as one hundred unspoken words hung between us.

Though the raw might of Orion's protection was felt on my flesh, it was insufficient.

Not opposed to someone like Victor.

As we waited for the inevitable, the seconds seemed to last a lifetime. Everything changed the instant the first shot went off.

Time appeared to slow down.

The pistol flashed, the gleam of metal in the low light, then... nothing.The room reverberated with a loud smash followed by a thud, and I turned just in time to see Orion trip back, his hand clutching his side. Blood seeped through his shirt giving the cloth a rich red.

'Orion!' I lunged for him and yelled, my voice cracking.Gritting his teeth, he gently pushed me away.

"Keep back." Not, "Still, another shot went off before he could finish.I turned still.

My heart came to a standstill. In my arms Orion's body became slack.

"NOT!" As I clutched his dead corpse, I screamed and my world broke.

The room whirled about me, Victor's laughter resounding in my ears.

But just now I couldn't pay that much attention. Everything else was lost to me except the man I loved.I heard it then as well.

An opening in a door squeaking.

Was assistance involved? Alternatively more enemies? From behind me, a voice urged "Get up."Turning, gasping, eyes wide, I begged it wasn't too late.

My heart hammering in my chest, I whirled around trying to ignore the horror chewing at my throat.

Though I couldn't see their faces, the person at the doorway was silhouetted against the low light. The air smelled strongly like blood, mixing with my chilled sweatshirt on my skin.

"Who are you?" I gasped, hardly able to arrange the words.The person approached closer, and my breath stopped as the light captured their features.

Someone from my past, someone I had never expected to see, someone I considered to be far gone.

"Donovan?," asks. My voice wavers. Though my feet froze to the ground, I wanted to run.

Trying to make sense of what was occurring, my head spun.

He grinned, a chilly, mechanical smile that caused my stomach to turn knuts.

Surprised? Though his voice was smooth and somewhat mocking, there was something darker under it.

"You did not believe I would let you go away?”I staggered backwards, my hand still grasping Orion's lifeless form and unable to look away from Donovan.

For so long, he has been a ghost in my life, a terrible memory.

But here he stood, fronting me exactly as he had never gone.

"How, how are you even here? Whispering, I tried to regulate my breathing. I could hardly keep onto Orion since my hands were trembling so much.

Donovan looked at the body at my feet then back to me.

His voice sank low, as if he were relishing every syllable, darkening his gaze. "Never left, Elena. I always lagged one step behind you.

Tensing, believing it was someone else, I could hear the door creak behind me once again but no, Donovan had the room in his grasp.

His presence was stifling, and the air seemed charged.I left here unable to remain.

I refused to permit him to have me.But I heard the definite sound of a gun being primed before I could move.Donovan advised not moving, his voice dangerously mild.

"You're not pulling away this time."I swallowed while my mind ran through looking for any kind of escape. My legs felt like lead, yet my body screamed at me to do anything, anything, but.

Part of me remained paralysed, unable to comprehend what was occurring.And then another voice sliced through the air, just as I believed the earth would implode around me.

"Drop it, Donovan," said.I whirled around, my heart jumping in my breast at the sound of the foreign yet so strong new voice.

Was it another opponent? Alternatively, someone on my side? Donovan stopped, his smile fading for just a moment before he turned to face the new person, his eyes narrowing.

The voice urged, harsh and relentless, "You're not in control here anymore.

"What I was hearing seemed unbelievable. This individual was whom?And I knew, everything was going to change, as Donovan's hold on the pistol tightened.