|The Lost Omega|

26

The ominous darkness of night fills the room, only leaving our shadows dancing in the slither of moonlight. Abel and his staff have to be long asleep by now. His guards drank the poisoned lemonade like it was fine wine. They'll be out of commission at least until daybreak.

"Stay awake. It won't be too much longer" my mother shakes my tired body that rests against the wall. We've been waiting for hours and still no contact from Brandon.

"What's taking them so long?" I fight to keep my eyes open.

She glances down at her watch with concern, "I don't know, they might be having trouble finding the location". 

"So all we have to do is wait here and they'll come get us?" I go over the blueprint once more. Regrettably, there are flaws in the strategy but we have to push forward.

She nods with confidence despite the growing worry between the both of us, "Exactly, we can't risk going alone. Abel could have alarms, if he wakes up early this gets a lot more complicated".

My legs get wobbly at the mere possibility of this all going to shit. One wrong move and it's all over. Without a doubt, this is the most stressful position I've ever been in. It distorts my perception of time, whether it's been thirty minutes or three hours is beyond me.

"Thank God, I got a message. They're here!" she looks up from the phone, then grabs my hand. Her grasp is shakey but she keeps a tough face.

All the way from upstairs we can hear the sound of the front door being tampered with. The knob jingles back-and-forth rather loudly but as long as Brandon and the Brotherhood are swift it will be a straightforward operation. 

A loud gush of wind travels into the house alerting us that they've made it in. We ready ourselves to move but the echoes of gut-wrenching screams freeze me in place.

"Come on!" my mother tugs at my arm, practically dragging me out of the room. She doesn't wait to figure out where the commotion is coming from, instead, she takes immediate action.

It's hard to see with so little light but we manage to find our way to the staircase. I look over the balcony to see pure chaos. A few maids struggle against the men of the Brotherhood. The squad of six tries to manage the women, presumably to prevent them from turning.

To make the scene more abhorrent, this is all happening while the bodies of the drugged guards lay scattered. My mother was accurate with her timing of administering the pills, they must've passed out quite recently.

With my foot on the first step of the stairs a powerful arm yanks me back unexpectedly, "You're not leaving me, woman! I'll kill you before I let the happen" Abel pins me to the wall by the neck. I can hardly breathe in his tight grip.

The booming voice gets everyone's attention, Brandon's eyes go directly to the second level of the home, "Let her go! Before this has to get messy" he holds a maid hostage. Hurting his staff was never a part of the original plan, no one expected them to react to the home invasion as quickly as they did.

"Do you know who I am? You will regret this greatly" Abel warns without taking his eyes off me for a second. My stunned mother watches from halfway down the stairs. 

"It's a six-on-one fight, your guards are a little busy at the moment. So you'll have to deal with us yourself", the corners of his mouth form into a grin. In spite of the night not going as intended, his comrades still have the upper hand.

"Oh really? You must be mistaken", he jerks me away from the wall and towards the railing.

"No! Let go of me asshole!" I kick and squirm feeling my back slam against the wood. My mother who's now in full panic pleads for him to release me.

"I'm disappointed Janice, I thought we had a breakthrough. This is just pathetic and sad. Let me guess, the lemonade was tampered with?" he questions her but she stays silent.

A disturbing chuckle rumbles in his throat, "Luckily I beefed up night watch, I have new security patrolling my property. They're usually outside securing the perimeter so I don't blame you for missing them", Abel watches the reinforcement stealthily corner them from behind. From this angle, I can see the setup taking place but I'm silenced by the lack of breath.

The ensemble is highly qualified, just by their posture it's clear. Brandon and his friends are novice vigilantes against these experienced mercenaries. With a simple hand gesture, the team attacks the Brotherhood. They're trained well enough to be able to shift seamlessly into wolf form, throwing their enemies completely off guard.

The battle begins, and the maids make their escape at the first opportunity. The horrific sounds of bones breaking and glass shattering shake the mansion. My mom runs up the stairs shouting but I can't hear her over the ruckus. Effortlessly Abel wraps her up in his free arm while still choking me. He calls for one of his fighters to follow him as he forces us into a room.