Worth Waiting For (BL)

Chapter 26 - Separate Ways

Noises of guns being fired disturbed the peaceful night of a neighborhood in a suburban place somewhere in Italy.

Flames danced in the air, eating the homes of hundreds of people with its red and orange color of death. As its blaze rise up, the shouts and cries of people were heard as they witnessed the massacre of their once peaceful neighborhood.

A woman, carrying a bundle of sheets closely to her chest, was running away from the scene that had transpired; dodging branches and roots as she ran through the woody parts of the suburban she formerly lived. Along with her was another woman, barely in her twenties. They made their way out of the woods, escaping the men who were chasing after them, shouting curses in Italian, yet the women didn't stop.

Because if they stopped, they will be caught. And when they're caught, they will die.

And thus, they ran.

And when they had been close to the exit of the woods, a lone gunshot reverberated the whole place, making both women pause at the sudden assault. The younger woman dared to look back behind them and saw that the men were closing in on them. Alarmed, she looked at her companion, only to have her eyes widened in shock as she watched as blood stream down from a wound in her back.

"S-Stella, y-you're shot." The younger woman stuttered, hurrying to catch her companion when her knees gave away.

"T-take him." Stella said, outstretching her hand where the bundle was for the young woman to take.

"B-but..."

"You must take him. Protect him please. Give him a normal life that I cannot provide."

"What are you saying? Don't say things like that!"

"You must go. Now. I'll buy you some time. You must escape before they find him. Please Anika. I request you this one last time: protect my child and hide him where he cannot be found by them."

Anika was now sobbing as she stared at her older sister looking at her child with love and regret.

"I'm sorry you have to be caught into this, my love. I'm also sorry that I cannot be there to watch you grow. I hope you could forgive me, my son, but always remember that mommy loves you so much." Stella whispered, kissing her son's forehead before giving the child to her sister.

Anika took the baby and held it closer to her chest as she watched her sister trying to stand, using the trunk of the tree as her support. Anika also stood, watching as her sister took two .45 calibre pistols from her holster and looked back at them.

"When I count to three, you run, okay?" Without waiting for a reply, Stella looked back ahead to the men who were getting closer to them.

"One"

"Two"

"RUN!!"

Without being told twice, Anika started running out towards the exit, listening to the sounds of guns being fired from behind her. When she was now on the other side, she dared a glance back and wished she shouldn't have as she watched as Stella fell down on the ground, blood pooling around her. There were six bodies scattered; meaning, she had taken six men before she collapsed from blood loss.

Still sobbing, Anika looked away and started running again until she was at a highway. Because it was night, there were no public transportation, so she was forced to hitch hike on a truck when it stopped in front of them.

"Are you okay?" The driver asked, glancing at the silent woman who was clutching the baby closely to her as he cried. She tried to make him stop crying, but she failed. It's as if the baby understood that he was now parent-less and so he was expressing his agony, just as his aunt was doing.