With Love, Elena

20

Elena was woken by the phone ringing incessantly in the middle of the night. She got out of her room and made her way towards the phone.

"Yes?" she croaked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"THE HOSPITAL IS BURNING!!" someone screamed.

Elena dropped the phone and ran out of the house in the direction of the hospital, barefoot.

As she approached from the distance, she could see the massive flames devouring the three rooms like a starving man getting a meal for the first time. People ran about trying to stop the flames with buckets of water but nothing was helping!

Elena stumbled towards the building...her life's work, all gone, just like that.

Her colleague saw her and rushed to her, smoke almost choking her as she covered her nose with the sleeve of her shirt.

"LENA!!" she yelled over the screams and yells of people that were helping as well as the loud roar of the satisfied flames that were slowly being quenched.

"Nooo..." Elena whispered, falling helplessly to her knees as the flames were extinguished.

Everything was gone!

All that was left were the soot covered concrete walls, charred wood and broken windows. Everything that could burn inside was all ash now. There was nothing left to even salvage or try to, she was sure.

Her colleague pulled her up. "I am so sorry," she kept saying to the distraught Elena who could not even muster any strength to cry as she stared wide eyed at what was once one of her only reasons to fight for life.

"What happened?" she asked as Vaal City residents who had been helping watched, some of them covered in dirt and soot, dirty buckets in their hands.

The blue eyed wispy blonde haired man she had treated some time ago stepped forward, his head hanging. "We got here too late," he said, sympathetic. He was covered in soot from head to toe.

"What happened?" Elena repeated, trembling with rage.

"Some...some men came in the night and set the building on fire."

"Who?!"

The people looked at each other and she could see the fear in their eyes.

Ram came running out of nowhere, covered in soot and his clothes singed in some places. He was breathless as he skidded to a halt before her. "We gotta get you out of here-"

Elena grabbed the rifle she saw someone in the crowd holding. She held it to her side. "If you're not going to tell me who the fuck burned my hospital down, I'll find them mys-"

"Elena, it was him," Ram said, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her away towards a black car she had not even seen earlier. He tried to push her into it but she held her ground, refusing to get in. He stopped pushing. "Elena, this is not the time...Thomas Francis is coming for you and he's bringing people from the city. He's bringing riders."

"Then let them come! I worked too hard for that hospital...I sold my soul to that man for that hospital!"

"Elena," a voice said. "Get in the car."

"Charles?" She got into the back, laying the rifle in her lap.

Charles turned to her. "We are leaving," he said.

"Let's go by my house first,"  

Charles nodded before driving away.

.

Elena watched Charles driving, her eyes on his hands that kept tapping the wheel.

"You ok?" she asked, her hand slowly turning her rifle towards him in the dark car, her finger on the trigger.

"Yes. Just a little nervous," Charles said. "Somebody painted my house and the neighbors...they were saying things so I thought it best that we leave town. The hospital...the hospital was not an accident. Thomas wants his revenge and he's getting it. We have to leave."

Elena nodded. "Can I ask you something, Tommy?"

"Yes, sweetheart."

Got him.

Elena pulled the trigger, missing Thomas slightly and hitting the front window which exploded with a loud BOOM!! The car skidded to a halt as Thomas yelled, opening the door and jumping out.

Elena kicked her door open, rifle cradled in her arms. When she appeared on the other side of the car, glass and plastic littered a small path towards the wood, showing that Thomas had escaped into the woods on the side of the road.

"This is not the end, Thomas Francis," Elena said to herself, firing once into the woods for good measure. "YOU MESSED WITH THE WRONG NEGRO, THOMAS FRANCIS!!!" she yelled before storming to the car and removing the broken glass from the driver's seat. There was some blood which meant that Thomas had gotten hurt.

She looked around before throwing  the rifle into the passenger  seat and slamming the driver's door shut before speeding off.

When she got back to the hospital, people had left except for her colleagues and Ram. She pulled Ram aside, rifle in her hand.

"Are you working for him?!" she shrieked at him.

"What are you talking about-"

"Thomas Francis! You put me in his freaking car! Are you working for him?!" She aimed her rifle at Ram, her finger on the trigger.

"No!" Ram said. "I don't work for Thomas Francis! I am on your side, Elena!! I thought he was Charles!"

Elena lowered the rifle. "You go home. Thomas Francis is hurt wherever he is...he's going to hurt someone too. Take the car."

She gave Ram the keys to the black car. "It's a stolen car. Be very quick and chuck it when you're done."

Ram quickly did as asked. As soon as the dust had settled after him, Elena went to make a quick call.

.

Charles stopped in front of what was once the hospital, his face shocked.

"What...what happened?" he asked as soon as he saw Elena who looked like a crazy woman, her hair in a net, face and clothes marked with soot and dirt. He frowned at the rifle in her hands. "What are you doing with that?"

Elena's nose flared. "They burned my hospital," she said in a low voice. "I'm going to kill Thomas Francis with my bare hands."

Charles stared at her, taken aback. When she called, he was not expecting to meet the crazed woman in a sleeping dress and a hair net in front of him. Things were already bad enough as they were in the city because he had left in a hurry, running from the mob that was threatening to kill him. But this...this was worse. If looks could kill, Elena was definitely taking first place.

"Elena, we have to get out of here-"

"I'm willing to die," she said and that scared Charles.

He really had to get Elena out of here but it looked like that was not going to be an option. He looked at her, seeing the determination in her face. "What do we need?"

She looked at him and smiled slightly. "Do you love hunting?"

He was perplexed. "What?"

"We got ourselves an animal in the woods that needs to be hunted down. Are you prepared to hunt Thomas Francis?"

"He's my brother-"

"He's not my brother."

Charles was incredulous. "You can't kill him!"

Elena cocked her gun. "Watch me."

To Be Continued...