Chapter 52: Chapter 52

“Baby, listen to me.”

He cupped both of my cheeks, then scooped me closer so he could rest his forehead against mine. I blinked, looking at him teary-eyed when he smiled down at me. We successfully run away from Allen and his troupes, but now, we’re lost again in the middle of these woods. It’s a never-ending phase. We always found our way in the woods, hiding away from Allen. I am so sick of it.

“I know it’s hard for you, for us to acknowledge the truth, but please, we need to stand up. Even though I wanted to fight them, there were many. And you know the more I kill, the more reasons they want me to be put behind bars.”

He wiped off the tears from the corners of my eyes, and the moment I could see things clearly, he was also in tears but suppressing them. He sighed, then swallowed multiple times, trying to act brave even though he was also falling apart. Why is this happening to us? Why do they always find a way to ruin our lives even if Ethan doesn’t intend to harm some of Allen’s forces.

They should be put behind bars too. They killed Steve and Harry, who didn’t do anything to them or the other civilian. They killed innocent people who have clean records!

“T-they killed them, Ethan.” I slumped down on the rock beside me, leaning my body against it. He kneeled in front of me, holding both of my hands against his heart.

I couldn’t control this burst out. It’s too painful for me to accept it. They risked their lives for us. I could still hear the explosions inside my head. I could still picture Harry in my mind and how he pushed us to spare our lives. I was sobbing drastically, and Ethan couldn’t do anything but watch while caressing my knuckles.

“They are the real monsters here…the government here is fuck up.” I cursed at them repeatedly, clenching my hands while gritting my teeth.

“Natasha…” Ethan whispered my name, sighing and then looking down at the ground in shame. I know he was also vulnerable, but he’s keeping his sake. If both of us are in chaos, the storm will ignite and spread, killing both of us.

I breathed in and out, controlling the respiration technique he had taught me before. I finally regained my senses when I realized Ethan was guarding his sane even if he was falling apart. I inhaled sharply, pulling him into a tight hug that he didn’t expect.

“I’m sorry, my love. Am I annoying?” I asked, and he shook his head, burying his face in my neck.

“No…no, you’re not. It’s okay to feel sad about it. It’s okay to burst all your emotions with me. I’ll keep myself intact for you. I am ready to listen to your rants…” he pulled out so he could see my face. He stroked my temples while tilting his head to the side, carefully eyeing me with those deep beguiling eyes.

I am glad Ethan is safe with me. We both stayed there behind a boulder, feeling each other’s presence while listening to the whispers of nature that surrounded us. It’s peaceful here because all I could hear was the chirps from the birds—the susurration of the winds that tickled my skin. I glance at Ethan beside me, whose eyes are closed, breathing in harmony.

“What now?” I ask him after a moment of silence. Ethan opened his eyes, sighing.

“Honestly, I don’t know…” he mumbled, looking from afar.

I blink, watching him closely underneath my lashes. Ethan looks baffling, as if he was carrying all the burden. He was thinking hard about how we would survive after Allen had ruined our plan to escape from this country. I don’t know if he has found out already about our goal. Hence, the helicopter itself, but I just hope he doesn’t see a thing.

There’s no food, water, or shelter for us. Even our belongings were destroyed. I was just glad Bobby is not here with us, and I am sure he is alright back in Harry’s mansion. Harry has a lot of guards, and I am confident his properties are protected right now.

“Hey,” I placed my hand above his shoulder, caressing it lightly.

“Relax, we can think through this. Okay? We’re here in the woods. There are maybe fruits here and any essentials that we need-”

“Wait…” Ethan suddenly stood up, looking like he had realized something. He walks back and forth right in front of me, placing his finger on his chin. He looked worn out, so I told him to sit down and relax when he hushed me.

“Do you think there’s still a possibility that Harry’s jet is still in the airport, waiting for us to arrive?”

“Ethan.” I stood up so he could look me straight in the eyes. I understand what he meant. However, I can’t agree with his plan of him.

“Are you saying that we need to go there? By foot? Ethan, that’s dangerous.”

“Who says we are going to walk?” he asked, talking about his curse. I shook my head, blocking him from taking another step forward.

“Ethan, running on the roads with your wolf form is dangerous. Can’t you see what they did to Harry and Steve? How do they blow them up? What if they fire missiles on us, huh?” I almost yelled but stopped myself because I didn’t want to argue with him. I am just helping him get back to his senses.

“I know, but I am going to be extra careful. I’ll sneak upon them. You know how high my senses are. I can sense dangers miles away from us. I’ll be attentive this time.” he tried to convince me but shook my head.

I pushed him away a little, crossing my arms against my chest.

“Ethan, the airport is thousands of miles away from us. You can’t seriously drain your energy just to get there without any assurance that the jet is still there.” I can’t believe I am arguing with him now on this topic. Which is supposed to be common sense that he should understand.

“No, I am not saying I will run that long while carrying. We will do stopovers, of course-”

“-And be dead right on the spot? Ethan, thank you for this straightly. Please, I can’t lose you.”

“I don’t, too!” his voice thundered, shaking the ground beneath us. I was shocked when he raised his voice at me.

“I know it might look impossible, Natasha, but please, I can’t watch you get killed here! You know how fucking important you are to me!” then he suddenly punched the boulder, and I yelped in surprise when the boulder was torn into pieces with just one hit. Ethan dropped his hands to his side, and I noticed something was reeking down from his knuckles.

“Ethan…you hurt yourself….” I mumbled. I was about to move toward him when he suddenly snatched me away. I dropped to the ground, kissing the dirt in just a blink. I cursed and looked at him to ask what was going on when Ethan hushed me.

“What is it?” I asked because I couldn’t control my curiosity.

Ethan placed his finger on my lips, motioning me to be silent. I swallowed the lump in my throat, nodding in response. Ethan roamed his eyes around the area, searching for something. I tried to be muted to hear what he was sensing when I saw the pebbles shaking slightly. Looking at it carefully, I narrowed my eyes into slits when Ethan suddenly grabbed me and ran away from our spot. Before I could ask, I heard a blasting blowup ring in my ears. I yelped and hugged Ethan, burying my face in his chest because the dirt and dust scattered.

“They know where we are,” Ethan mumbled, changing into wolf form to escape from the woods. However, before he could sprint away, we heard another explosion, which blew us away this time. Despite the detonation, Ethan didn’t let go of me as we rolled on the ground before hitting a large tree to stop us from resonating.

“Ethan! Natasha! Glad to see you two reunited!”

We both glanced up at the atmosphere when someone spoke under the megaphone. I coughed and almost covered my ears from the noise from the military helicopter where Allen was peeking out. He looks delighted, looking down at us like an ant he can squash.

“I can’t believe this man is still alive after I rip off his other arm,” Ethan mumbled behind me, growling like a beast.

“Allen…” I whispered his name like an acid I spitted. Allen smiled at us. I don’t know how he found us, but we won’t let him get us. We will not waste Harry’s and Steve’s sacrifices just to get caught by someone like him.

“One last call for the both of you. Surrender yourself, so this chase would end here.” Allen taunted, clicking his tongue while waiting for our answer.

Ethan was about to say something when I stopped him. I raised my hands, motioning that we would give up. Ethan looked so confused and Allen, on the other hand, signaled something. Before I knew it, we were surrounded by military forces pointing guns at us. However, my smile didn’t falter when I slowly rolled down the other fingers, leaving the middle standing.

“Fuck you, Allen!”

He gave me a hostile glare, then clenched his jaw.

“So you want to die, huh.” Allen sat inside the helicopter, and I saw he gestured something at the operator. Something came out of the helicopter’s belly, and I wasn’t surprised to see an enormous gun come out of it and then point at us.

“Say goodnight, you little shits,” Allen yelled one last time on the megaphone before firing.