𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧

④

Vera didn't struggle as she was lifted through her house.

The person that was handling her moved her so swiftly and quickly that she was unable to pinpoint where she was in her home with the blindfold on. She was also much too exhausted to fight back.

It wasn't until she heard a door close and was made to sit on the floor that the adrenaline began to race inside of her. The lack of movement and being restrained by the person lit a fire within her and she began to frantically wriggle in the person's grasp.

The survival instinct seemed to finally be kicking in

The hand covering her mouth stuttered a bit as Vera continued to shake , but Vera didn't get a word out of her kidnapper until she took a bite out of their palm

A muffled "ow" escaped their lips. Vera noticed the unfamiliarity of the voice. Who was this? she wondered

Vera was about to take another bite until the person began to whisper in her ear, noticing her plan to cause them pain again

"I'm trying to help you, I promise that I won't hurt you"

The whispered voice made a comforting chill roll down her spine. Vera, now intrigued, decided to cease her resistance.

As she calmed down, Vera began to hear crashing noises coming from somewhere in her house. She heard the voices of soldiers yelling and breaking glass.

Vera focused in on the noise and realized that it was coming from below her. She took into realization that she was currently in the secret attic of her home. Whenever she would go into it as small child, she could hear her mother on phone calls when she'd be cooking in the kitchen.

She shook the thought away, remembering that her mother was gone and that she hadn't even gotten to say goodbye.

~

The commotion gradually faded after about 30 minutes, and Vera's awareness returned to her immediate surroundings.

She had honestly forgotten the predicament she was in until she felt the knot of the blindfold being untied

With the cloth now removed from her head , and the hand that had been covering her mouth quickly following, she blinked her eyes, looking around her dimly lit attic.

She heard movement behind her which led her to quickly turn her head around to see who had taken her hostage

Her captor was a fella who looked about her age. He was sticking the blindfold into a backpack, so he hadn't noticed Vera observing him just yet.

His knuckles were bloodied and he had bruises on his face. Vera looked him up and down, taking in his strong arms. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as he looked down.

Vera was lost in observation until she roamed her eyes back up toward his face and locked eyes with him. His hazel colored eyes looked kind as he observed Vera as well.

Suddenly, he broke the silence, speaking softly to Vera, "We need to leave now , we don't have a lot of time"

Vera hesitated. Totally dumfounded at the fact that this stranger expects her to trust him. Her mom just died most likely due to a calculated assassination , so she wasn't exactly in a trusting mood.

"I can't trust you"

The mystery man didn't respond immediately, he just studied Vera, carefully thinking of the right way to respond.

"There are people after you for the wrong reasons, Vera. I'm not one of them," He explained earnestly. "Jalraven saved my life, and I promised to her that I would save yours. I can't afford to break that promise. I have to do this for her. So, I just need you to trust me right now."

At the end of the statement, He extended a bruised hand to Vera. A hand of trust. He waited patiently for Vera's response.

Reluctantly, Vera took his hand into hers.

~

Outside her home, they found refuge in some nearby bushes

Vera gazed over the broad shoulders of the man as she watched him operate something on his watch.

Within minutes, a sleek yellow sports car appeared out of thin air on the road in front of Vera's home.

The boy took Vera by the hand and rushed her to the car, opening the door to it, and gently placing her in. When Vera was in, the boy hopped in after her, taking control of the steering wheel.

The engine stirred to life. Vera could feel the rumble of the car running through her whole body. She turned to the boy behind the wheel who was focused on the road.

"Everything's gonna be okay" He said to Vera when he felt her eyes on him, then he sped off

Vera quickly turned her head to the side to watch as the sight of her home disappeared behind her. Eventually, she turned her whole body in the passenger seat, watching out the back window as they drove farther and farther away.