The Tale Where What We Make Is Not Our Fate...

 

Read Through Her Battle Against Fate To Reach The Only Place Where She Can Feel Safe... With Her Friends, Her Only Family. 

Follow through the labels on the right hand side of the page to find all the chapters in order.

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Epilogue

Life basically depends on the core concept of moving on.

With the events that pull us apart and then put us back together, the only option left for us is to move on.

How do you do that though?

It is not that easy as it seems. The events that have traumatized us aren’t something we planned for. They were always unexpected and when something unexpected hits you so hard…it rattles you beyond comparison. So we try to escape.

We go to a place where we are needed so desperately, where there are people who are happy to see us and want us to be happy and would do anything to make that possible. We will lead ourselves away from the doubts in life and make ourselves feel validated.

‘I am just glad that you are okay Sean. I really am. I might sound selfish at the moment saying that I’m glad that you alone are okay but…I am and I can’t hide that.’

‘N-No Claire, I understand. I am happy that you care for me. I am lucky to have you.’

‘Are you going to be alright within though, Sean?’

‘I really don’t know Claire; I am not going to lie. You will be there with me though, right?’

‘I am not going anywhere. I am not going to leave you alone in any other situation in your life. I promise to you, that you will not lose me. I am here for you.’

‘Shall we confirm it right now?’

‘What do you mean? W-Wh-Why are you going down on one knee? Oh my god, really?!’

‘Clarence Regina Dawson, will you marry me and give me the honor of being your husband forever?’

‘Y-Yes! Absolutely yes! Oh my god, you are putting a ring in my finger. Shit, I am crying now.’

‘And I promise you, the tears you shed anymore will always be out of happiness. I vow to you.’

‘I love you so much.’

‘I love you too dear.’

Or we go to a place where we feel like we need to be. There may be people who love us there or there needn’t be one. We just want to be at a place where we feel like we may belong no matter what. it just helps further if you had someone to care about you there.

‘Mia…he’ll be back. He’s gone just gone to the grocery store for a supply run. Standing at the door, staring into the dark, empty lane isn’t going to help the way you fell in anyway.’

‘I know Kelly…I know. I just want to see him walk into that lane as soon as possible. I’ll then know he’s alright.’

‘I have never seen you like this Mia. Frankly, you are scaring me. Since you returned home and Deke joining you a week after, you’ve been real jumpy. I thought you’d be happy that he’s around more just to be with you.’

‘I am happy, Kells…you have no idea how much though. But I cannot help but be scared for him. After the events that happened back there, after all that he went through, after Ayu…I just cannot help but be scared for him. I wish that I hadn’t been involved in any of this crap. I feel like I've lost my normality. The whole ‘take life as it comes’ attitude is a goner. I've lost that part of me and it kinda sucks.’

‘I need you to realize the bad times are over Mia. You don’t have to change your life because of the past. None of it was planned. I am just glad that things are okay for all of you now. But realize this. It is all over. The losses and pain have stopped and you need to come back to reality. Now, close your eyes and take a deep breath.’

‘It makes no difference Kells. I am…’

‘Just do it, will you? Close your eyes.’

‘Fine. But for how long though?’

‘Until…now!’

‘What are you playing at…Deke? You didn’t go the grocery store did you?’

‘I have no work there when I have to celebrate the birthday of my girl.’

‘Flowers? How clichéd?’

‘So you would like a whole chicken roast to yourself for a treat now wouldn’t you?’

‘Now boy, you are talking.’

‘How did you manage to feed this beast Kelly?’

‘Boy, I ask that same question to myself every single day.’

‘Hey, it is my birthday, cut me some slack.’

‘Or some meat…’

‘Deke!!’

‘Alright, don’t break anything while chasing each other around the club!’

‘Sure thing Kelly!’

‘Kids…Love… What’s not to like?’

Else, you re-create your system. The life you had before the surprise, you might want to gather the remnants of it and hope to re-live a part of your past in the future and work to make it better.

‘How are you doing Ms. Wood? You just woke up? That is good. You’ve slept a solid five hours without medication. I guess you are healing sooner than we anticipated.’

‘I am trying my best. Hey, how-how is Ethan?’

‘Why don’t you ask him yourself huh?’

‘What? How do I do that?’

‘You can turn your head for starters…’

‘Ethan? You are out of emergency care?’

‘I had to. I needed to be right next to you. That place started to feel too lonely.’

‘Six broken ribs, a broken knee, scars and cuts all over your body and you still manage to be romantic? You do realize that we are at a hospital, lying in our beds next to each other wounded and battered right?’

‘I know, thanks for stating the obvious by the way. But I have to be romantic and I have to make you smile. I have been spending a lot of time making you cry and worry. That is not fair on my part, especially when I am in love with you.’

‘So you are in love with me? When did that start?’

‘I never stopped loving you. I don’t intend to stop sooner too. I can’t really do anything to earse the past but I intend to write my future with you. I hope you know that. I really do.’

‘I am glad that you are going to.’

If none of the methods work, you can try acceptance. You can accept that life screwed you over and you weren’t aware of the consequences. You can allow yourself to believe in the fact that you couldn’t have done anything to save yourself and your loved ones through the ordeal and make it out, as a whole, and maybe live a life where you were all together. You understand that there was nothing you could’ve done. Now, that is just a truck load of crap.

‘So… A ‘warrior’ you say?’

‘I can’t apologize for that reference. It is how I look at things and…’

‘Hey…no criticism here. But the ‘peasants’ reference was a bit too much.’

‘Well, it is my license to use.’

‘It is more like an abuse though.’

‘Whatever…you are just jealous.’

‘So…do you miss her?’

‘Hmmm… you want me to be honest about it?’

‘Isn’t that the whole point?’

‘Then honestly, not really. I am glad that Sebastian’s dead. The police came in and shot him down like the monster that he was in reality. They managed to get to Rachel and Ethan before it got worse too. With Sebastian off the picture, my parents, especially my dad can relax. And my brothers can move on with their lives. I mean, if you see all these factors, I am actually happy that Aysha’s not around anymore.’

‘I am happy to hear that from you. It is time we moved on further don’t you think?’

Nevertheless, you move on because life calls for it. Eventually, we all do too. Despite the pain, the anger, the loss and the devastation, we all move on.

‘Oh…I actually forgot one more thing. I am glad Aysha’s dead. More than that, I am glad I have you next to me baby. I am really happy that you are here. Our future will be great.’

‘I know Ryan…I am feeling the same way.’

Eventually…

~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Thirty Three

‘What the ‘f**k’ are we doing here?’

Those were exact thoughts of the youngest once they started moving towards the stairs to reach their parents at the second floor. It wasn’t really an uphill task if you see it plainly. This mansion has two floors and they were inside one of the five rooms that complete that storey. With the four them here, it wouldn’t take less than a minute to find out which room they were kept inside. The task becomes uphill now as the halls now had massive hooligans ambushing each other, few loyal to their master and few trying to break free off the control.

‘Stay close!’ the warrior’s announcing this declared that they were moving in, into the battle now.

Led by the warrior holding some automatic weapon obtained from one of the deceased hooligan, the brothers followed closely. The middle one followed the warrior first, and then the youngest followed by the eldest. The youngest was placed in the middle by his brothers as he had no experience in handling a weapon. The two elder brothers took it upon them to protect their little brother. If the brothers were protecting their younger brother, the warrior was protecting all three of them at once.

Gunshots began erupting at a close range. She had started firing her weapon now and the youngest could see whoever fell down dead. Everyone had one bullet lodged on their forehead, exactly in the middle and it amazed him how she could hit a target so fine from so far away. In fact, this scared him a little. He also noticed that she knew exactly whom to target. While she was showing finesse out there, the elder brothers were struggling to keep their ground. Random shots, stray ones kept hitting them regularly and there was nothing else they could do but dodge, in spite of having weapons.

‘Guys! Shoot them already!’ she yelled to us over the growing echoes of bullets.

‘How do you know whom to shoot? There are a few out there who are helping us too right?’ the eldest was being battered the most by these shots.

‘Just shoot the ones pointing the gun at you. You ask questions later!’

The eldest shot a glance at both his brothers, panicked. The bullets hadn’t stopped and they hadn’t stopped the dodging. The youngest noticed that his elder brother was no longer focused on escaping the hits they were taking; he intends to stop it all. Right then, there was a few second stop between the bullets. With a look over at their brothers and taking a deep breath, the eldest stood up straight and shot his weapon towards the perpetrator.

The bullet hit the guy who had concealed himself behind a railing and wasn’t really visible because of the tattered curtains that hung there. His bullet hit the man in his arm and he yelled out in pain, attracting the attention of the people revolting. They took care of the rest.

‘I just shot a guy…’the eldest dragged slowly still caught up in the revelation of the fact. ‘I actually hit him…’

Before anyone else could react to that statement, the bullets started to pour again. Dodging and almost crawling they followed the warrior further into the hall.

They had cleared the hall almost completely. Two other people who were fighting on their side appeared suddenly and started to fight alongside us. The bad news now was that they were running out of wall to hide behind. To proceed to the next floor, they needed to take the stairs on the opposite side and that side was still prowling with hooligans out for blood. The two brothers tried shooting the other side while she scrounged for more ammunition for her gun. Unfortunately none of the bodies that were within their reach had any on them and their guns barely had any bullets left. It looked as if they just let their bullets rain, caught up in the process of revolting.

‘Any luck with the bullets?’ the youngest yelled over the noise to speak to her.

They both were crouched on their hinges while the other two desperately tried to cover them.

‘We are surely running out of bullets. Is it possible you have a backup to reload?’

She didn’t even reply to the eldest’s question. She simply fished a couple of magazines out of her pocket and handed each of them one. The youngest noticed her concentration was occupied focusing on something else. He also noticed that she had found what she wanted to when her eyes lit up like the shine of the stars.

‘Hey…save those bullets. I need you two to cover me.’

‘We are not really doing a good job here Ayu. You might wanna stop trusting us so much.’ The middle one was visibly terrified.

‘We cannot move further without clearing up the guys on the other side. I need to take care of it and I need you to cover me, so that I can do that.’

‘How in the hell are you going to do that?!’ The youngest screamed in shock and concern.

‘I’m gonna smoke them.’

She started dragging one of the nearby corpses towards herself. The boys stopped shooting under her advice but the hooligans didn’t seem to be bored. While the boys were desperately trying to hide behind the walls, she was digging through the pockets of a dead person. The youngest couldn’t really imagine what could be so important that she could need from a dead body. Only when she took out what she was searching for did he realize that this ordeal has also destroyed his common sense. She held in her hand now four grenades and had a smile in her face that suggested she had just hit the jackpot.

‘I have to move out of our cover. When I yell ready, you start shooting them while I go and finish them with these. I see that the fight is already happening upstairs. So I am assuming by the time we make it up there we might just get the interval to grab your parents. It will all happen only if you cover me properly. No real pressure, guys.’

‘Oh…that is a great way to not put pressure on us.’ the middle one’s sarcasm started to show up, suggesting he was pissed.

‘Why can’t you just throw these from here? You are risking yourself by exposing yourself to a potential death!’ the eldest was very much concerned about her, partly more because he cannot trust his skills to protect her.

She gave them a soft smile and reassured them with her eyes. ‘I need a better vantage point, Sean. I have one shot at this. Time is a wasting. Besides, Rachel taught you right? Then you would know enough to cover me from those bullets. Just trust yourself guys. We are just one step away from saving your parents.’

Somehow those last few words she uttered seemed to have affected them immensely. A sudden focus appeared on their faces as they loaded their weapons at ready. The youngest had nothing to do but duck and keep an eye out for his love and pray for her safety.

‘Shall we?’

‘Yes we shall…’

With a distinctive nod signaling ‘go’, the warrior stepped out of hiding, as the peasants protected her from the bullets. She ran towards the center and went down on her knees, trying to avoid the plummet of shots that hit her now. The youngest noticed the desperate effort that his brothers were taking to shoot them hooligans. Unexpectedly, they were hitting their targets. The hooligans were focused on shooting the warrior that they let their guard down to their side. The brothers had a lot of time to focus and hit the shoulders and arms of the men shooting at their friend. Sooner the speed at which the bullets came slowed down with at least half of them injured. It was right then when she stood up with grenades on both her hands. Only two were shooting now properly while the rest were trying to run for cover. She was waiting though, while they shot at her, without throwing the grenades. The youngest one’s concern over her grew immensely along with his impatience for her safety even after he realized their aim was going haywire. But she stood there, uninjured as every shot that they pointed at her was never really well targeted. It was only then did he notice what she waited for.

She waited for the bullets to run out.

Sliding the pins out simultaneously, she threw the two grenades with almost perfect synchronization. They also landed exactly where she intended for them to fall. The blast that ensued felt enormous to them, especially the youngest as they all were pretty much close to it.

The flames burnt high in the opposite side while the warrior continued to gather weapons from the corpses around. The two brothers, who shot up the menace, kept staring at each other wondering how they actually pulled it off while the youngest kept staring at his love, doing what she does best. It disturbed him in a way, all the events that he was witnessing. He clearly anticipated all of this and even more but he never did so for the effect that it would inflict on him. He was seeing his girl, whom he knew since childhood, whom he lost, working her way through the fight like a professional. She was trained for this combat by the very man whom they seek to hunt now and it disturbed him to know that there was a slight possibility that she might’ve been one among the people on the other side. He was also shocked to see her keep going on with all the injuries she had sustained and it only made him sick to think of all the things she had to go through to become who she is now. He couldn’t do nothing but pray for things to get better here after.

‘Okay boys…new plan.’ She had finished her gathering and now she was ready for the next step. ‘When we move up there I want you to solely focus on searching the rooms and finding your parents. I am anticipating help up there and if that’s the case I will be able to cover you pretty well. I will handle the fight; you will find your parents and get the hell out of here. You understand?’  

Her face was very well focused and she knew what she was talking about. The firmness in her voice and her dominant demeanor rattled them within that they couldn’t do nothing but nod their heads in agreement. Before they moved further up she shot a glance towards the youngest which reminded him of her mellow self\, her eyes sincere and soft. He felt her assurance through her look that things were somehow going to be okay.

Once the flames started to cease a bit, they wasted no time in moving up the stairs. As she anticipated the fight was going on up there already. What they didn’t anticipate was the fact that the fight wasn’t with the guns but muscles. Every hooligan up there had shed their weapons and we slugging each other with fists and legs bigger than normality.

‘What the hell?’ the eldest didn’t waste any time expressing his feelings

‘I am right with you on this emotion bro…’ the youngest too was baffled.

‘Is this even legal?’ the middle one, however, seemed disturbed.

These were men, double the size of any normal human being and they were literally clobbering each other. What was fascinating was how all these men comfortably ended up in the second floor where our parents were held. Then again, Sebastian would want impenetrable security at this specific doorstep. Man, he should see the penetration now. It was oddly mutual.

‘These guys are the toughest in general. Now that they are torn between each other, they have the perfect opportunity to outshine each other.’ She explained to the boys slowly.

‘So basically it is an ego fest? Can the timing be more crappy or what?’ the middle one was losing his patience and sanity by watching it.

‘Now how are we going to get through these…these ‘things’ without getting clobbered? We have five rooms to search and it is going to be very hard to move on without gathering attention too. There might be people on our side there but I think they might even stamp us by mistake.’ Being the responsible one as always, the eldest already assessed the situation.

‘If only we knew which room to search for, we could minimize the damage.’ She seemed to agree with him.

It was a moment of clarity that the youngest one had. His instinct suddenly started working overtime, providing with a solution that somehow he declared to himself was true.

‘We should check the second room on the right.’

Stumped by his sudden revelation, the other three stared at him without a clue.

‘How do you know for sure?’

‘I just know Sean…I feel as if that is the place. I think we should see there first.’

He looked at her hoping that she would agree with him in this matter. His eyes were pleading to her to look into his words further, so that she might understand.

‘Alright…let’s move into the location quickly. We have only one shot at this. If the lock isn’t opening, shoot it down okay? I’ll cover you.’

Looking over at the hall and ensuring that the fight was still going on with no attention on them, she darted towards the hall with the three following closely behind. They reached the door quickly and the eldest started to try and unlock the door.

‘Shoot it open!’

With the prompt from her, the middle one didn’t really think twice before he shot the door’s lock. Slowly the door creaked and let the sunlight that was now coming up slowly, in to shed its shine on their parents who were cuddled in the corner of the room.

‘How did you know they would be here?’ the middle one asked his younger brother in awe.

‘This was the room where she and I hid before she left and then was taken. I just figured everything bad might start or end at this room for me.’ He stared at her as he explained why and her face reflected every bit of sadness that memory brought upon her.

‘Mom…Dad?’ the eldest called out slowly hoping that they were conscious first.

Gingerly they raised their heads, reacting to their son’s voice. Their faces were lifeless and they looked malnourished. However, when they focused on their sons, a faint smile popped up on their melting all their sorrows at once.

The boys pounced at the moment and held their parents in one tight family hug. The warrior stood, still with her guard up but also silently admiring the love within the family that she just helped save.    

‘Boys…you should leave soon. Things look like they are about to get worse. I need to check on Rachel too. Pick them up, we’re leaving.’

Right then a blast occurred downstairs at ground level distracting everyone for a moment, pushing absolute silence.

‘What was that all about?’ the youngest exhibited his astonishment.

‘Backup…’ she announced as she heard them announce themselves as they made their way in. ‘They have got perfect timing.’

Almost immediately the enormous (literally) hooligans made their way downstairs to continue the ambush against the police while the good ones followed, trying to resist the bad ones from it.

‘Okay then…this is our perfect interval. We can get you out right now. I am hoping the backup is enough to hold on until we all escape.’

‘Aysha…’ an elderly voice called her.

She turned around to see the boys’ father, now balanced on the eldest’s shoulder, looking at her with apologetic eyes filled with regret.

‘I do not have the right to even request your apology. I did things that were unacceptable. I have no reason to explain my actions or why I did what I did. I have ruined many girls’ lives and I got my penance. I got the torture that you got but didn’t deserve, although I do. I need you to do something for me...’ with a pause, he uttered the few words that shocked his family immensely. ‘I don’t want you to save me from this. I want you to take my wife and boys out of here and escape. I’ll hold them. I want you to leave me here to die.’

Gasps and deep breaths from his family took over the silence but the warrior stood unfazed. She didn’t react even a bit while his family pleads continuously to watch what he was talking about and reconsider it.

‘You cannot do that, Dad. We are not letting you be here! Ayu, tell something.’ The eldest was on the verge of breaking down suggesting all this was too much for him to handle at the same time.

‘Wait…you aren’t seriously considering it, are you? He is our father, damn it!’ the middle one’s hostility grew saying that he was as desperate as his elder brother in this case.

The youngest stood silently, holding his mom firmly, waiting for his love to react to this.

Slowly but steadily, she moved closer to them. She hadn’t broken eye contact with the father and that look intimidated him further, prompting him to put his head down.

‘I will not leave you here to die. You made a mistake, maybe one too many. If death was the answer to our sins, no human would exist on Earth. You wanna be punished? You lost the love and trust of your sons, your wife. Your father called you dead to your own sons and you let them grow up as orphans. You do not have a happy life. You are riddled with the guilt from your actions. The punishment you deserved is the life you lived so long. You knew you did all that and you lived with that realization. You will live with that realization till you die a natural death. More than that, you will have to face me. I am saving you because my boys here need their parents. They want you safe and I am saving you. I love your youngest son and he loves his father. So I will save you. Now let us please leave before things get worse.’

The brothers couldn’t help but smile at her, the youngest in particular was extra proud. They loved their parents, yes. But now with all the facts that have come to light, they were bothered about their parents and their outlook towards them. She knew how they felt and that impressed them. They didn’t anticipate her ability to understand them and they felt ashamed that they didn’t understand her, this well.

‘Hey! Who are you?!’ a couple of cops came bursting open the door now.

‘No no it is okay, we are the good guys. I am with Ethan. He mentioned Aysha too you? These people need to be evacuated immediately sir.’

They took a moment to analyze the situation. The scene of two elder people, barely able to stand with three sons and a girl who was saving them seemed to fit their description of survivors. They moved in immediately and took over the saving process. They carefully lifted them both and moved out of the room as the other four followed.

‘Sir…did you find Ethan or a girl called Rachel downstairs?’ she suddenly realized.

‘Not really. We never captured anyone who was a girl and we certainly didn’t see Ethan yet.’

 She stopped moving right then and there, catching the brothers off guard now, specifically the youngest. He knew the look on her face and what it suggested. He was quick enough to contradict her thoughts.

‘No way on Earth you are going to do it!’ he yelled out loud making the police to even stop and listen to them.

‘I have to. You know that I have to. I cannot leave Rachel behind.’

‘You will not. The police are here. They will take care of it. I cannot risk you. I will not.’ He was literally pleading now.

‘I will try. I promised you, didn’t I?’

‘I know. I now wish I had made you promise me that you would live and not just try.’

As he completed the words, she stepped forward, took his face in her hands and connected them with a passionate kiss. He reciprocated with such intensity, as if that was the last kiss that they would ever share. When she broke off, she held a smile in her face that reflected so much happiness. She shot a long glance at each and every one of them, her family for so long and forever. Finally she rested her gaze upon her love, as he was now on the verge of losing it all. With an enthusiastic nod for assurance, she started to run down the stairs in search of her comrade.

As the rest of the family descended downstairs, the youngest couldn’t help but scan the area for signs of his love along with his friends that went missing. His eyes moved to every inch and corner of the place but there was no sign of them or the desperado. He could only imagine the worst case scenario that could happen and it did not sit well with him. His heart was racing and all that he could think of was her.

Cops were everywhere inside the house and if they hadn’t found them, there was only one other place that they could be and the youngest knew where. As he saw his family move towards the safety of more cops, without a second thought, he took off in the other direction.

As kids he and his brothers used to come and play around this mansion and that is why they chose this place to spend that birthday that changed their lives forever. So, he knew all the places that allowed a person to hide in this huge house. And there was no chance that someone would immediately noticed the cleverly concealed door on the floor that leads to a basement that stretched to the length of the mansion and it was pretty deep too.

He wasted no time in climbing down the door, into the stairs that led him down into the basement. He also made sure that he made no noise when he descended down the stairs. Moving slowly and hiding himself behind a pillar that held the roof of the basement, he peeked. As he had anticipated, he found the desperado standing tall with a gun in his hands. He couldn’t see anything else clear so he peeked a little more. Once he had done that though, he wished he would’ve never done that.

He saw Ethan and Rachel down on the floor behind her, bleeding and barely breathing, fallen far away from each other, while the desperado was holding his gun right at his love, who was on her knees with hands up in the air. He also noticed three other guys down, probably dead on the other corner of the basement.

The scene was inconsistent with the image he had worked up in his head. He hoped the scene would be otherwise. He wanted her to be holding the gun against his head while Rachel and Ethan were fine. His breath was nothing but agitated as he heard the desperado talk again.

‘I really do not understand you girl. I mean, you are so not what I created. You killed people at will. You put down everyone who even remotely threatened you. You put yourself through all that gruesome training to become a monster and now you run from it? I am insulted by your situation now. You should have been holding this to my head. That is how I trained you. You were the one who wanted to change and now you are giving up? Why?’

The youngest couldn’t believe his ears. She was giving up?

‘I know what you mean Sebastian. I was that girl that you described just now. That girl was alone and desperate and wanted to find a way out. I never thought of the training to make me stronger but weaker so that I might die in the process. Instinctively though, I managed to survive that and I always wondered why. Reuniting with my family and friends I realized, to die back then, I had no purpose in doing so. Now I have loved ones who are safe out there and you are going to be captured in about two minutes. To save my friends who are hurt here, I am now on my knees giving you the satisfaction that you’ve always craved for. I want nothing but safety for my family and if it is at my expense, I don’t care. I need them to be safe. So take your shot. After all, you are doing all this to get revenge for what happened to your family isn’t it?’

Watching from a distance, he did not like where this was going.

‘I am going to miss you Aysha.’ His sinister tone laced with sarcasm echoed all over.

His words indicated nothing but the end. He knew he had to react and fast and he was ready to move. Once he started to move though, he felt his legs being pulled down by someone and he was able to notice that his brothers had followed him in somehow. He also noticed the cops scuffling down the trapdoor to make it in. The grip was too tight that he couldn’t fight it and he also lost his balance, initiating his fall. Right then, time slowed down for him when he fixed his glance on his love. In spite of time moving slowly though, it all happened too fast for anyone to control. The shot echoed around the room as soon as it was fired. His inside screamed of agony and his eyes couldn’t believe what they witnessed at first. But as he hit the ground he saw her falling too, right in front of him, blood spattered on the floor suggesting the one thing that he feared.

She broke her promise to him after all.