Elena
There's a fake smile on my face as I sit in the conference room with Isaac and Ace, the three of us exchanging glances. Ace's smile is identical to mine and he rolls his eyes once my uncle is not looking, making a gesture as if he has a rope around his neck and is choking to death. When uncle looks at him, he quickly sits straight, clasping his hands on the table politely, almost making me smile.
"So you two really want to join me?" Isaac says sceptically. "I can't say what surprised me more, seeing you here-" he looks at me "-or the fact that you brought an entire army with you. Quite impressive, I must say, but I wouldn't expect anything less from my own flesh and blood."
"Of course, sir," I say firmly. "Unfortunately, my brother decided to run away, he couldn't stand being a part of this war anymore. I. . . I tried everything to persuade him to come but he was stubborn." I have to make my story believable, it's hardly possible for someone who would give their life for their brother to just leave him.
"What about your little boyfriend, hm? You two seemed so in love, what happened?" Isaac narrows his eyes.
"He kicked me out of his base more than once after everything I did for him, no one in their right mind would stay with him. If I get a chance, I won't hesitate to kill him," I lie with a straight face, my heart clenching at the mere thought of Harry dying.
Uncle's lips pull in a satisfied smile as he now shifts his attention to Ace. "And I assume you're here because you have no allies left and you chose the stronger side, isn't it?"
Ace nods. "Of course, I want your expertise guidance while I give you the army I've spent the last two decades building and training." I notice the sarcasm in his voice, but he quickly masks it with a smile, making Isaac nod.
"Alright." He stands up. "I know Hazard is about to attack, good thing I've taken certain measures and left a few surprises on their way." He smiles, carefully watching my reaction.
"Then this will be easier than I thought," I say, barely hiding hatred I feel for him. "Now, what do you need me to do, uncle?"
. . . .
"You know what to do when the sun starts rising," I say to one of Seth's loyal soldiers guarding the gates, checking the watch around my wrist, knowing there's less than a few minutes left to set my plan in action.
Seth, along with Louis, Alex, Jess, Liam and the rest of the soldiers, is going to use the tunnels underneath the base so they can infiltrate it without being seen. I made sure to take care of any soldiers who might see them, deciding to choose the time when there's a shift change, the night shift going to sleep while the morning one takes over. We'll kill all the highest ranked soldiers in their sleep, Isaac included. We have to make sure we get rid of the American leaders who are also staying here. Then Hazard and Wildfire are going to attack and start the war, bringing all this to an end.
I pretend to supervise the soldiers doing their duties while exchanging looks with the one helping me with my plan. When I check my watch again, I give him a subtle nod, a siren starting to blare a few seconds later, indicating it's time for the shift change. I can't help but smirk, quickly walking toward the main building where the conference room and the tunnels are, glancing around in case someone saw me before darting inside. Everyone is too busy, the patio being almost empty as the night shift soldiers leave their duty. I run toward the conference room, bursting inside, my eyebrows furrowing in worry when I see they're not here yet.
My heart starts pounding, anxiety settling in the pit of my stomach as I keep glancing behind me in case someone sees us, moving toward the entrance on the floor. Just when I reach to open it, the lid covering it gets lifted, Seth's blonde head poking out, relief washing over me. I usher him and the rest of the soldiers outside, watching as they quickly climb out of the hole, filling the room. All of them are wearing Vortex uniforms so they don't draw any attention to themselves. The hard part is to sneak so many soldiers out of the building without it seeming suspicious, that's why I had to make sure the patio is empty. We're going to have to be quick.
"Ahhh, I'm back," Seth mumbles with a smirk as he glances around the room, nodding to himself.
When Alex climbs out, he lies on his back beside the entrance, his chest heaving. "Lord I saw the face of death down there, it smells even worse than the last time and I ran into a bloody spider web, ew!" He shudders. "That spider totally violated me. . ."
"I'm honestly surprised no one heard his high-pitched scream when it happened," Jess says flatly.
"We don't have time for this, let's go," I say. "I took care of the guards, but careful when leaving the building. I suggest you walk out in small groups, and remember, Isaac is mine."
Everyone heads out of the room, Alex and Seth being on my sides as soldiers leave the building in small groups like I instructed, blending into the crowd of soldiers who are supposed to take over the morning shift and guard the gates. I can't hide my smile as no one suspects anything, the groups reaching the buildings with flats without any problem, ready to slaughter everyone sleeping inside.
"Let's go," I say as we're the last group left, Seth, Alex, Liam, Louis, and Jess following me. All of them are natural at this, having typical emotionless expressions and straight, firm postures. Well, everyone besides Alex who is nervously looking around and wiping his palms against his jacket, but we make sure to hide his quivering body, my eyes rolling knowing he probably thinks we're all going to die.
"If someone told me you and I will work side by side with damn Hazard soldiers with us, I'd laugh at their face and tell them to just stop breathing and stealing precious oxygen," Seth tells me, looking at me sideways.
"This is only temporary, you need my help and I need yours, don't look into it too much."
"We make a good team and you know it, every single mission you and I had together was a success," he says and I hate it that he's right. "I know your moves, I know how you think."
When we enter the right building, we quickly take out our weapons, dropping our act and swiftly moving toward the stairs, ready to act. Before all of us take care of our duties, I grab Alex's arm, making him turn and face me, brown eyes meeting mine. "You take care of yourself, you hear me?"
He nods, a smile appearing on his lips. "I will. Same goes for you, little sister." Before I can make a remark about us being twins, he quickly adds, "I'll always hold on to those two minutes, Lenny, get over it." His smile turns into a grin before he hugs me tightly. "I love you, please don't die."
"See you soon," I promise quietly and pull away.
We split once we reach the floor where Isaac and most of the other soldiers are sleeping right now, my feet soundlessly carrying me down the hallway, the handle of my gun clasped between my hands. I stop in front of Isaac's room and take a few deep breaths, preparing to take his life. I reach for the door handle, surprised it's actually unlocked. I open the door and push it open, hiding behind the wall beside it in case someone jumps outside, lifting my gun to my face.
When I make sure there is no danger, I dart into the room with my gun pointed in front of me, eyes glancing all over the darkened room. The door suddenly shuts with a bang, but I don't even flinch, knowing Isaac is onto me. I wouldn't expect anything less really, he's too cunning for his own good. But he tends to forget he's the one that raised me, that taught me everything I know, and I'll use it all against him today.
The best part of my plan is that I made sure to tell David and Harry to speak to Anne and let her know to gather as many military planes as she can and load them with grenades. Once they arrive, there won't be any sign of Vortex ever existing here. Of course, it takes time to prepare all of it in barely two days we had, so we have to fight and stall until she intervenes and sends help.
I feel someone's hands grabbing my shoulders, but I quickly turn and face my attacker, using my gun to knock him unconscious. When another one locks his arm around my neck, I elbow him harshly, making him groan while turning around, punching him in the face repeatedly. There are more of them circled all around me and I decide to just shoot them, managing to strike only two when they decide to attack me at the same time. I deliver punches into their guts and throats, groans surrounding me as adrenaline gives me enough strength to keep fighting. I won't ever let myself become an easy target ever again.
I jump up, grasping the shoulders of one of them, using him as a leverage as I lift my leg and slam my foot directly into the face of the soldier to my right, hearing a crack as I do so. I twist my legs around the neck of the soldier I used as my leverage, making him grab my calves painfully, managing to snap his neck with my legs, causing him to fall on the floor, making me fall down with him.
"Enough," I hear Isaac's voice, followed by lights turning on, causing us to stop fighting, my glare firmly focusing on him. The remainder of soldiers -three out of eight- grab me and pull me up and I let them hold me, knowing it's smart to preserve my energy for what's waiting for me next.
"Oh Ellie," Isaac coos as he approaches me. "How stupid do you think I am? I knew you're planning something, I wasn't sure what, though. Thank you for killing the Americans, you've made things easier for me, leaving all of their troops at my disposal."
I can't help but smile, honestly not giving a shit about that. Sweet how he thinks I wasn't prepared for this. "I knew not to underestimate you, but that's exactly what you did with me, uncle. You're scared. You're scared because you know we have you outnumbered. You know that despite your fancy equipment and strong army, we're still stronger. It will be fun to watch you burn with them."
He grips my jaw in anger, hazel eyes glaring into mine. "The only ones burning will be your little friends once they come here. If they make it here that is. You're stronger, I'm smarter. You win wars with intelligence, not the number of soldiers. I thought I raised you better, but I see you're as stupid as the people on the side you've chosen. Such a shame."
"Go on, Ellie," he says as he gestures for the soldiers to let me go, but their weapons are quickly pointed at me, preventing me from killing him. "Run, I'll give you a head start. Let's see how far you'll get."
I glare at him as I take a few steps back then exit the room in a haste, the only thing in my mind being my brother and my friends. I also think about Harry, having faith he's going to survive and come here so we can watch our victory play out together.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me," I say when I look behind me, seeing the same soldiers from earlier close behind me, bullets flying toward me, colliding with the wall, chipping the paint. I roll my eyes and run in a zig-zag motion while grabbing a knife, swinging it at one of them while running, watching as it flies and pierces right through his eyeball.
When I collide with a body, I raise my fists, ready to punch but when I see it's Seth, I drop them immediately. He pushes me behind him and shoots at the soldiers chasing after me. "Come on," he tells me as he turns around. "I guess uncle dearest knew about this, huh? He didn't seem to care about the rest of the soldiers because we've slaughtered them without any problem."
"He wanted us to kill them, if he had done it himself, the Americans would've turned against him for killing their leaders," I explain as we run. "He's fucking smart, I'll give him that, but still not enough to get out of what we have planned."
"Your brother and friends should be somewhere around here," Seth informs me. "The building is packed with Isaac's soldiers, he waited for us to gather all in one place so he can take us down. But Ace should be here any second now-"
We come to a halt when three soldiers block our path, making us look behind only to see three more. Seth and I look at each other, keeping eye contact before nodding and taking our weapons quickly, me aiming toward one group and him toward the other, starting to shoot. They lurch toward us, making me do the same, lifting my elbow and smashing it into the head of one of them while I shoot the other one.
The third one seizes the opportunity and I feel sharp stinging in my side, realising there's a knife peeking from my flesh, but the pain is subsided because of the adrenaline. I immediately pull it out with a grunt and stab his neck, blood spurting out as he slumps down. I hiss as I touch the wound, seeing blood on my fingertips, swallowing heavily but knowing I'll manage to survive long enough to see Harry winning this bloody war.
I turn my head, seeing Seth worriedly running toward me. My eyes widen as he suddenly gets shot in the back, dropping down to his knees. I run toward him and crouch down, glancing at one of the soldiers on the ground who shot him, aiming the gun at me. Before he can pull the trigger, I shoot him in the head, his head falling down. "Seth? Can you get up?"
"You and I both know I won't survive this. . ." he grimaces, lying down on his back. "Shit, I can't-" he laughs. "I can't feel my legs, wow. What a fucking brilliant death."
I know he's right and I won't think twice before leaving him here, but there's still a small part of me that feels sorry for him. He helped me and did the right thing in the end, plus I've known him for years, ever since I was a child. "I'm sorry it has to be like this, Seth. I- I have to go now."
"I know- fuck. This is the part where sad music plays in the background and I tell you I love you," he says with a grin on his face despite the fact he's dying. "Well, I do. I love you. Now go and win."
"I will." I squeeze his hand and nod. I notice he's firmly holding a gun in his hand, knowing what he is planning to do once I'm gone. I give him a smile as I stand up, starting to run down the hallway, looking at him one last time before disappearing around the corner, hearing a loud bang a few moments later. I can't let myself focus on his death, not when I have to find my brother and the rest of my team. The wound on my side is throbbing with pain, making me grit my teeth and slow down a bit to let myself catch my breath.
I briefly think about Harry, allowing myself to think he's perfectly alright and on his way to me. When I hear shots nearby, I immediately stop, turning around and walking back, going behind one of the corners, rooms on each side. Some of them are open, allowing me to throw a quick glance inside, seeing dead bodies of the soldiers Seth and the rest have slaughtered. I can hear what undeniably sounds like someone is fighting, my eyebrows drawing together in a frown, my gun already aimed ahead. I have a bad feeling in my chest, it feels like I'm drowning.
When I turn around yet another corner, the sight leaves me completely shocked. Jess is fighting with two Vortex soldiers while my brother and Louis are on the ground. I see blood staining the floor near them, my knees almost giving out. It appears both of them are severely injured. I snap from my trance and quickly shoot the soldiers fighting with Jess, making her drop to her knees from exhaustion, turning toward my brother.
"Alex!" I shout as I run toward him, dropping to my knees and sliding forward, right beside him. There are two nasty cuts on his right arm, but that's not what worries me. It's the wound on his ribs, surely the result of someone stabbing him. "No. . ." I mumble, shaking my head. "No no no, you- you'll be okay."
His brown eyes are half opened, face grimacing in pain, sweat over his pale skin. "Hi Lenny, it's- uh, it's not as bad as it looks?" He mumbles with humour in his voice, obviously being in a lot of pain.
"Alex, no- what. . ." I mutter in shock, glancing at Louis, who is pressed against the wall, his leg bleeding profusely.
"It's okay, I'm okay," Alex lies, barely breathing since it's too painful for him, quick pants leaving his mouth. "You're hurt, aren't you? I- I felt it and got distracted because I thought you're... I'm- I'm sorry for not being careful."
Suddenly I'm seven years old again, holding crying Alex in my arms and promising him I will protect him. The pressure in my chest bursts at the memory and I cry, breathing quickly as tears pour out of my eyes. I find myself praying I could take his place when I realise my worst fear has come true and I have to watch my brother die before my eyes. His eyes painfully screw shut, fear visible on his expression.
Tears fall on my shaky hands as I clasp his jaw, gently turning it to make him look at me. "You're not dying, you hear me?" I suddenly snap, sniffling. "You're not dying! I'll fix this, I fucking will. I'm not losing my brother today." I feel anger course through me as I take out my knife, unzipping my jacket and removing my vest, ripping a part of my shirt, using it to bandage the wounds on his arm and stop the bleeding.
"Do the same for Louis, now," I order Jess, eyeing the nasty wound on his leg, knowing he's going to bleed to death if we don't take care of it. I place Alex's head in my lap, using pieces of my clothes to create a makeshift cover for the wound on his ribs, tucking the bundle beneath his vest, putting the pressure on his wound which should result in stopping the bleeding.
Alex groans as I do it, making me feel as if I'm experiencing that pain, noticing tears sliding down his face. "God, I can't- it hurts- I. . . Elena, I can't."
"Shh, you'll be okay, alright? I'm here for you," I tell him gently, leaning down to kiss his forehead while running my fingers through his hair soothingly. "I know you're in a lot of pain, but I need you to be strong and try to stand up. It'll hurt like hell, but I've got you, okay? Do it for me, Alex."
He nods and gulps, clenching his jaw as I push him to sit up, Jess doing the same on the other side. Alex cries out in pain loudly, tears in his eyes making me feel as if someone has punched me in the gut. "You're doing great, come on. I can't- I can't do this without you."
We help him up with a lot of struggle, not forgetting about Louis as well, his injured leg being the worst thing for him in this situation. "I'll be fine. It hurts like hell, but I'll run," Louis assures us. "Help him, he needs it more than I do."
"We need to go to the main building right now," I say firmly, placing one of Alex's arms around my shoulders while Jess does the same. I ignore the throbbing pain in my side, letting my survival instincts take over. All of us hold weapons in our hands and I silently pray no one tries to stop us now that we're so vulnerable, we probably wouldn't survive it. When we hear hasty footsteps hurrying toward us, I exchange glances with Jess and Louis, knowing it's time for our final fight.
"Together no matter what?" Louis asks and gulps, placing his hand on my shoulder.
"Together no matter what," I confirm, getting ready to fight.