Chosen

Chapter Thirty-Three

​Chapter Thirty-Three: Against The Odds

"Some days I don't know if I am wrong or right. Your mind is playing tricks on you, my dear." -Of Monsters & Men: Little Talks.

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My breathing is erratic.

My heart rate is skyrocketing.

My blood pressure increases to dangerous levels.

I let out a whimper as I hear shouts and yells from my friends. They are right in the same room as me fighting for their lives and I am completely unable to help. I am trapped once again by fire, but this time the enemy has not been defeated yet. It is not okay for me to accept that I am going to face death by fire this time around. My teammates need me; my family needs me; the world needs me.

"Why are you doing this to me?" I cry out as I know Ebony can hear me.

"To show how weak minded you really are," Ebony Maw, "You think of yourself so strong since I cannot control you when in reality you are still as full of fear as everyone else. You are confronted of the reality that death follows you, child. You inflict death onto others that are just as dirty as yourself. You are so foolish in your actions. You know so little of the universe around you it is pathetic. You think you're so great with your iron suit when in reality you are the scum of all of universes!"

"That's where you're wrong. I know I'm not anything great. I'm just a girl who got sucked into this madness. But this is what separates me from you: I don't fight only for myself," I rebuttal confidently.

"And that will be your downfall," Ebony responds evenly.

The wall of flames suddenly jumps in on me. I shriek and stumble backwards away from the danger. The fire hungrily advances towards me like it craves the flesh of a victim. I retreat quickly and find myself with my back against the wall. Right when I don't think this situation can worsen, I hear a womanly cry indicating that she has been shot. I gasp in horror as there is a 50-50 chance that my mom has been shot. I am about to completely lose what is left of my composure when suddenly my dad appears next to me.

"Monica, Mon, hey, you're okay," Tony tries to comfort me, "Here..."

I do not move as my dad puts my helmet back on my head. My arms are shaking so violently that if I tried to put it on I am sure I would give myself a concussion. It is good that I now have my helmet, but what I really need is my suit.

Before I can ask where my suit is, my dad moves away from me and back through the wall of flames. "What are you doing to her?" I recognize Tony's voice, "What the hell are you doing to my daughter? Please, stop it, stop!"

My breathing quickens as I am now truly alone in this again, but the truth is that I am not alone. I have the one person who is always by my side.

"Lucis, how can I get through the fire?" I ask as I plan to escape my fate.

"I am afraid that I am not sure what you're talking about, ma'am," He replies.

"Right in front of us, there's a freaking wall of fire!" I yelp.

"There are no indications of flame or anything that poses an immediate threat of starting fire."

"Then why did Tony put my helmet on me? Obviously to allow me to breathe oxygen and not carbon dioxide."

"Jarvis tells me that it was to keep you safe from the gunfire."

I want to scream as Lucis is not being the least bit helpful. I am facing an imminent death by fire and there is no way I can get out of this myself. Alex was the first to try to help me and that failed. My dad was right next to me and yet he still was oblivious to the danger. Even Lucis failed me! When has Lucis ever let me down? I wonder if being in space has messed up his programming. Still, Lucis is always there for me no matter what threat I face no matter the circumstances.