Shattered Innocence

Through the Darkness

My eyes lock on the retreating form of Nora's sister, my fists clenched at my sides. I wanted to chase after her and demand that she listen to Nora, but how can I make her see when she is so blind to the truth? So lost in the love of her father that she doesn't see the ghost of the woman he broke before her. When I glance back, it's to see Nora's stricken face before she shuts it down, turning that emotion inwards. I never had a family or siblings to care for. To love and miss. Nora did—does, and to see them turn their back on you? It must be indescribable. I want to scream at her sister and tell her what Nora went through to keep her safe, but as I go to chase her down, Nora's voice cuts through the air like a command. "Don't." I look back, and she shakes her head at me sadly, as if knowing what I was going to do. "Let her go. She has every right to feel the way she feels. She owes me nothing. It's probably better if she hates me anyway."

"She doesn't know," I snarl, getting angry on her behalf. For a moment, I see sadness in her eyes before they turn cold again, but she can't fool me. I saw the hope, pain, and heartbreak written there.

"And she never will. It would break her heart more than I ever could," she replies before sighing. "Let's just find the damn lab and leave this wretched place so I can burn it down once and for all."

"We must insist you find the lab also," a soldier sneers, uncaring about the fact that Nora is clearly upset and already feeling triggered by being in this godforsaken horror house. Zack throws them a withering look as Ivan moves over to Nora, whispering in her ear. She smiles slightly, and jealousy pounds through me for a moment before I toss it aside. There is no room for jealousy here, and I'm glad he got her to smile. When he leans back, she nods, squeezing his shoulder. "It's down here, if I remember correctly."

She turns and freezes for a moment, blinking at the dark, empty corridor. We all move closer, knowing the signs—after all, we struggle with them too.

"Nora?" I murmur.

"Yeah, sorry," she whispers, but her voice is shaky. "Damn, I hate this place."

"We do not have time for memory lane," one of the soldiers snaps.

I turn to knock him out, but Nikolay beats me, fisting his hands in the man's shirt. "You do not get to speak to her. You know nothing of what we survived. If I hear one more word come from your mouth, I'll rip out your tongue and give it to her as a gift," he snarls, and then with an effortless move, he launches the man across the reception area and right out of the front door, where we hear him hit the car. The alarm sounds as he groans. Turning back to us, he winks at Nora. "Just taking out the trash."

I can't help but laugh, and she does too, even as the other soldiers start barking orders and surrounding us. It's going to be a long day.