GOLDEN RULE

Death Will Be My Reward

When my consciousness slowly returned, I found myself lying in someone's arms, swaying back and forth. As I lifted my eyes to look at the person carrying me, I saw Ateş with overgrown beard."She's waking up..." I heard Yağız saying."Aar... Beh... Behind..." I managed to stutter. I had no strength to speak."Take her, I'll be there," Yağız said to Ateş. And then he grabbed the fist of the man behind him who was trying to throw a punch and twisted it back."Ateş...""Shh, don't speak, my beauty. Don't exert yourself," he said.My eyes were opening and closing intermittently."Damn it!" Ateş exclaimed, and when I heard his voice, I managed to open my eyes slightly. 

There were three men in suits standing in front of us.Ateş quickly turned to the left and placed me in the gap between two walls."Don't move, I'll be right back!" he said before he was about to leave, but I held his arm."Ateş," I managed to say softly."Shh, I'll come back, my beauty. Don't move!" he said, planting a kiss on my forehead, and left.I couldn't see what was happening, but the sounds I heard were not good.Ateş returned to me shortly with a trickle of blood slowly flowing from the corner of his lip. He picked me up again and continued moving.When we got outside, Yağız was waiting for us in the car.After Ateş put both me and himself into the car, Yağız stepped on the gas pedal. 

After driving a bit away, Yağız said, with a slight mocking tone, "Are you ready?"

 "Detonate!" Ateş commanded, with utmost seriousness.When Yağız pressed the button on the small remote control I was holding, fires started to break out in the large warehouse behind us, and it collapsed while swaying."Did you plant a bomb?" I asked, frightened.Both Yağız and Ateş looked at me, but neither of them answered.I rolled my eyes and closed them. Unable to bear it any longer, I succumbed to sleep.

>>>>>

When I woke up, I was lying on a warm couch with a blanket covering me. The air was filled with the sweet scent of cookies. I recognized it as Ateş' house. Sitting up on the couch, I took a look around. In front of me, under the black wooden staircase, was a television. Right next to it was a matching armchair to the one I was sitting on. A little further away, there was a round table in shades of light orange, and chairs surrounding it.

"Are you awake?" Ateş said.

"I'm still asleep," I replied, lying back down and pulling the blanket up to my head. Then I got up again and asked, "Where's Ela?"

"Calm down. Yağız knows someone, and she's with them."

"Who is it?!" I asked angrily.

"Can you calm down?" he said, and I took a deep breath.

"I'm calm..."

"Her name is Kiraz."

"Kiraz?"

"Yes, I saw her, everything's fine. Yağız trusts her, they've known each other for a long time."

"Where's Yağız?"

"He's not here!" he said, teasingly.

"Are you making a joke?! DON'T!"

"That was a pretty good response," he said and went to another room.

I rolled my eyes and continued looking around the room. Shortly after, the doorbell rang. Ateş went from where he was to open the door. It was Yağız who entered.

As Yağız came in, Ateş said, "I'll make coffee and join you guys." He went back to the same place.

"How are you?" Yağız asked.

"While Ateş was training me, he poured a bucket of cold water over me. I was a bit cold then. And at your place, there was nothing to warm me up, and that day he said to me, 'You don't need to warm up.' I jokingly said, 'As if I'm going to be kidnapped and thrown into an icehouse, right?' But he replied seriously, 'That could happen.' I wish I had prepared myself better that day. I know my life won't be normal anymore, but I wish I knew what I'll face, so I could prepare myself," I said. I shook my head, sighed, and poured my heart out without waiting for an answer. At that moment, Ateş came back with the coffee.