Witness Protection ✔

Time's Up

To Nathalia, it was one of those nights where she just couldn't fall asleep. Maybe it was her subconscious that was stopping her from falling asleep and waking up another day closer to the trial.

She checked her clock, 12:30 am. She had to get up early the next day and falling asleep late would mean she'd look like a zombie the whole day. Groaning, she flipped over her pillow to the cool side as if that would somehow help her fall asleep faster.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

She immediately sat up straight because she recognized those sounds. They were gunshots.

Bang. Bang.

A cold sweat broke out. She needed to move, she needed to get out.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

They were here. The men who were after her. They're making their move and this time they might succeed. But how? How did they find her? There were so many people coming and going lately it could've been anyone.

Bang. Bang.

She tried to untangle herself from the bedsheets but it took longer than it should have because of her panicked state. She couldn't let them get to her. All her hard work and the months of preparation would go to waste if they got their hands on her. She needed to survive, for herself, for Cassius, and for the family of the man that was murdered that night.

Bang. Bang.

Luckily she didn't sleep naked. She wore a pair of sweatpants and a thin T-shirt. When she was finally released from the covers she made a beeline for the door. The gunshots were coming from downstairs which meant the first floor would be safe for now.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

She tried to run into the hallway as fast as she could, hoping that whatever was going on wouldn't find her. However, when she opened the door she ran straight into someone who caught her with an 'oomph'. She didn't have to look up to see who it was.

"C'mon," Cassius grumbled as he moved away from the doorframe, dragging her along with him. She held onto him for her dear life. He didn't say anything else and his face conveyed not fear but focus. He knew what he had to do and he would, no matter what.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Flashes of a memory from long ago played out before her eyes. A snow-covered alley in the early hours of the morning. Men talking, men crying, men running. Blood stained the ground around the lifeless body of a man.

Bang.

At every gunshot, it played out again. It felt as if she were back in the moment. But she wasn't. Her legs weren't able to keep up with Cassius's much longer ones and she stumbled a few times.

He didn't stop, he just kept dragging her along.

His grip on her arm was made of steel. No doubt there'd be bruising later. But the pain in her arm was nothing to the pain in her lungs. She couldn't breathe, it felt like the world itself was trying to suffocate her. She was scared, so scared. Every wall was closing in on her and she had no idea what was going on anymore, everything was blurry.

He shoved her into the safe room and turned to leave, making her panic even worse.

"No, please, Cassius," she pleaded. She didn't know what she was pleading. Was she crying? She didn't know that either. It was all happening so fast.

He turned around and his emotionless eyes finally connected with hers. She moved forward and tightly wound her arms around him while clinging to his back shirt. With seemingly great effort he unwound her arms from around him and angled her chin up.