Lena Martins

Chapter Thirteen

" The fire in my blood
Is both a blessing and a curse
I will always need something to burn"

- R.Sternberg

LENA'S POV

"Lena! " a voice screamed
The individual had his bare back to me, looking at what seemed to be the void, his knees fall to the ground before he collapses completely carried away by flames. Then nothing

I wake up with a loud gasp , wiping the sweat on my forehead with the back of my hand

"Lena? Are you okay?" Zayn frowns, his thumb tracing slow circles on my wrist

"Yes" I breathe "just a bad dream, nothing to worry about"

"Well guys, I love you but I'm hungry it's
2: 25 PM " Bill grumbles maybe trying to cut the tension

Or maybe he's really hungry

"That's all you think about" I laugh, slapping his shoulder

"among other things, honey" he winks at me and I roll my eyes before joining my friends in the canteen.

The atmosphere was different, much too quiet. The food was less disgusting than usual, we could almost say that it was good.

On my way here I noticed that the guards had been reduced, they made no sneaky remarks, they were silent, as stiff as a board, nervously looking at their watches every two minutes, avoiding any eye contact with the prisoners.

So out of character

"What's the matter? " Adam whispered, putting his hand on my thigh

"I don't have a good feeling about this, something's not right.

"What do you mean?"

Jay, Zayn and Bill stopped eating, turning their heads in our direction seeming to be interested in our conversation

"The staff is acting weird, the guards are pale looking like they're about two seconds away from peeing themselves and if that wasn't weird enough, they're watching the canteen which they never usually do"

"Maybe they're constipated" Bill jokes

Not the fucking time to crack a joke

"No, Bill" I glare at him " I can feel it in my gut, there's something fishy going on and whatever it is it doesn't bode well
"

"So what? You think Albert is up to something"

"Tyler da Luca, a former ally of Albert's who has been in locked here for more than a decade comes out today and all of a sudden this happens ? There's no doubt he's got a lot of dirt on Albert. It may not be enough to destroy him, but it's enough to fuck him up."

"You think he'll get rid of him? "

"Yes, but I think da Luca is not the only one he plans to get rid of, so I advise you all to be on your guard and beware. Maybe nothing will happen but you can never be too careful.

They nod

°°°°°

𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒅 - 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍𝒆

4 hours later

"We've been here for two hours. What kind of medical check up is that ?"

"I think you know that if there was an actual medical checkup , I wouldn't be calling the 5 of you for that" Anika,the nurse sits on her chair, seeming way too relaxed for my liking which awakens doubts

"Why are we here then? Enlighten me"

"I'm saving you "

"Saving us?"

"Yes, although I shouldn't"

"What are you talking about? "

"I... I shouldn't be telling you this"

"No you have started, you might as well finish, don't you think, Anika ?"

"There's a fire "

" What now?"

" There's a fire going on. An accident"

My heart drops

"Isn't an accident supposed to be an unexpected and unwanted event?" I arch an eyebrow.

"Yes, that's how it will look in the paper. An accidental fire."

"An accidental fire? Will people buy that?" I scoff

"Maybe not, but no one will be able to contest the statement without evidence."

"Yeah?" Jay stands up, positioning himself behind Anika who tenses up, taking an audible intake of breath , my friend's fingers firmly planted on her shoulders
" and why are you telling us this? What's in it for you? "

"Because the five of you are the only prisoners I consider, you don't deserve to die. There are other innocent people who don't deserve death either , but everyone can't be saved and even if a few of them make it, they won't be able to go very far. Besides, I have nothing left to lose. All the prison staff are bound to die no matter where we go, our knowledge is too dangerous to be left alive, I've accepted that I'm going to die and I've made my choice." Anika breaks free from Jay's grip, nudging him with her elbow and sending him grunting before moving to a green drawer where she taps a code and grabs a key ring with two keys.

"What are these?"

"Keys" she looks at me funny

"I know" I roll my eyes "but for what? "

"Keys that will save your life, you'll have to take the first exit on the left, there will be a locked door that leads to an emergency exit, take the stairs, at the end you'll find a huge red door that you'll open with the smallest key and you'll have to run until you reach the prison parking lot "

"And you're sure you can't come with us, escape?"

"I already told you I'm doomed. No matter what happens they will find me but atleast I'll die with a memory of you, Lena" she smiled sadly playing with the pendant I gave her when I came back here after my long kidnapping "I'll miss you"

The smoke penetrates the room, the temperature rises

"Go, go, the fire will soon destroy everything" she coughs

"Anika -"

"Lena, let's go, we're out of time" Adam grabs my hand and we walk out of the infirmary, dodging the flames outside as best we can, sprinting to the first exit on the left, opening the door as best we can.

The fire was spreading rapidly and it was becoming difficult to breathe.

It was a race against time.

The steps never seemed to end and I began to feel my head spinning with each passing second.

A ringing sound is heard and it was different than the fire alarm.
It was the one in my ears. It prevented me from hearing everything else, I only had that noise as well as the painful throbbing in my head.

Up and up and up, until we were at the top and the parking lot was in our view.

We made it.

So why was Bill screaming?
What was he screaming ?

"Lena!" I read on his lips as he runs toward me.

It was the last thing I saw before I collapsed and felt myself falling down the stairs I had climbed so hard.