Whispers Of Chaos | ✓

| 29. 𝑳𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑾𝒐𝒆

Wolves asleep amidst the trees
Bats all a swaying in the breeze
But one soul lies anxious wide awake
~ Lullaby of Woe, Ashley Serena

Chapter 29. Lullaby of Woe

The next few seconds went into a disorienting blur. The once discernible sounds morphed into a chaotic symphony, muffled and distant as if submerged in water. A steep ringing crescendoed Selena's ears.

The ominous feeling, a chilling premonition, rose within her like an impending storm.

"Selena!" Rafael's urgent voice shattered the surreal haze. His hands shook her, anchoring her in the present. She gasped, consciousness flooding back, and the world snapped into focus like a camera lens adjusting to the sudden shift.

Selena turned normal.

Rafael's brow furrowed with concern as he witnessed the abrupt shift in her demeanor. Her expression, once a canvas of emotions, turned eerily calm.

The sudden switch unsettled him, a foreboding whisper that perhaps the storm lay beneath the deceptively calm exterior.

"What do I need to do?" he asked.

"Drive me," Selena responded. The simplicity of the command was chilling. Yet Rafael found himself compelled to comply.

And there she was, beside him in the car, a passenger on a journey to an uncertain destination. As he accelerated, breaking all the rules in his urgency to reach the location-he stole glances at her, expecting some sign of agitation, a flicker of concern. Instead, he found her seated with an unsettling composure, her gaze fixed on the road ahead.

"I have his coordinates," Selena and Hayate had always shared their locations for safety precautions, a practice that had become a lifeline in times of uncertainty.

In his peripheral vision, he caught glimpses of her eyes, which remained like an ocean in the dead of night-deep, mysterious, and, at this moment, inscrutable.

Hayate is as good as me. I have nothing to worry about, Selena reassured herself.

The car skidded to a halt, sending a cloud of dust in its wake. The run-down factory loomed before them, a shadowy silhouette against the canvas of the night.

Selena's eyes widened, not with fear, but with a cold recognition. They met with an unsettling sight-an inferno raging within the factory, tendrils of black smoke clawing at the night sky.

The factory was on fire.

Tendrils of fire licked the air, reaching for the heavens like serpentine tongues of destruction. The heat radiated in pulsating waves, distorting the very atmosphere.

Embers floated on the currents, sparks of red and gold carried away by the night breeze like incandescent fireflies fleeing the impending devastation.

The flames danced with malevolence, casting a ghastly glow that reflected in Selena's eyes. The air was thick with the acrid scent of burning, a symphony of crackling flames mingling with the distant wails of sirens. The chaos painted a vivid tapestry of destruction, yet Selena remained undisturbed.

The acrid scent of burning materials permeated the air, an ominous fragrance that painted the night with a harsh reminder of destruction. The car screeched to a halt at a safe distance from the roaring inferno, the flickering flames casting an eerie glow on the surroundings.

Selena emerged from the car with a calm determination, her pace measured as she walked towards the fire. The world seemed to slow around her.

She was not in a hurry; she moved with an assurance that spoke of an unshakable belief that nothing would happen to him amidst the escalating chaos.