Twilight of Shadows | LingOrm (GxG)

TWENTY THREE

The warehouse was cloaked in shadows, the silence broken only by the faint hum of distant machinery. Earn crouched low behind a row of rusted metal crates, her heart pounding in her chest. Her focus is razor-sharp. Narin is inside. She had to be.

Kitti's urgent call and the gun he handed her had set her on this path. Now, adrenaline was all she had, driving her forward. She wasn't trained like Lada's men, but her determination was enough.

She crept towards the back entrance, spotting two guards. Their conversation was distracted, giving her a window. She moved swiftly, taking out one guard with a brutal strike to the head and the other with a quick blow to the jaw.

Breathing heavily, Earn edged inside, staying close to the shadows. Her senses were heightened, every sound and movement magnified by fear and urgency.

Then she heard it-a voice, sharp and cold. Bella's voice.

Earn's grip tightened on her gun as she edged closer. She had to act before Bella noticed her. Narin was tied up, her face streaked with tears. Earn's heart ached at the sight. Focus, she told herself. Focus.

She spotted Bella, her back turned. Earn raised her gun, hands trembling but steady. She took a deep breath and fired.

Bang!

The shot rang out, hitting Bella in the chest. Bella staggered, dropping her gun, and collapsed.

Before Earn could move, a shot hit her thigh, sending a jolt of pain through her. She gasped, stumbling. A man emerged from the shadows, gun in hand. The pain intensified as another shot struck her shoulder, and she collapsed.

Atid's voice broke through the chaos, raw with panic. "Earn!!! Wake up!!" He knelt beside her, his hands pressing desperately against her bleeding shoulder. "Babe, open your eyes! Don't you dare leave us! Please, stay with me!"

Earn's vision was a haze of red and pain. Her eyes fluttered, barely open, as Atid's frantic cries echoed in her ears.

Earn's vision blurred as she struggled to stay conscious. "Narin..." she whispered.

"She's safe," Atid said, tears in his eyes. "Hold on, okay? We're getting you out of here."

Then, Lada appeared, her breath catching in her throat as she took in the sight before her.

Earn shot Bella?

Earn, the woman she had never expected to see again, was lying on the floor, blood pooling beneath her. Her heart shattered as she dropped to her knees, her eyes wide with disbelief and terror.

"Earn?" Lada's voice was a trembling whisper, her mind struggling to comprehend the scene. "What... what are you doing here?" Her fingers hovered over Earn's wounds, her hands shaking uncontrollably as she tried to staunch the bleeding.

The shock was overwhelming. Lada's tears flowed freely, her face pale with fear. "Why... why did you come here?" she choked out, her voice breaking. "You shouldn't have... oh god, Earn, why did you do this?" Her hands were frantic, pressing against the wounds, her eyes locked onto Earn's fading form. "Don't leave me... Please, Earn... Stay with me!"

Lada's heart was pounding, each beat echoing with the terror of losing Earn. The world seemed to spin around her as she rocked Earn gently, desperate to keep her conscious. "Please, don't go... Not like this... Not after everything..."

She clung to Earn as if her own life depended on it, her voice raw and pleading. "Earn, stay with me... I need you... I can't lose you again..."

Earn's eyes fluttered open, hazy but focused on Lada. Despite the pain, she managed a faint smile. "Narin... I couldn't let anything happen to her..."

"Earn, no...," Lada pleaded, tears falling onto Earn's face. "You're going to be okay. You have to be okay. Stay with me, please... Stay with me."

Lada's world felt like it was collapsing. She pressed harder against the wounds, her mind racing. "Please, Earn... I need you to stay. Don't leave me."

Earn's breathing grew labored. Her eyes drifted shut again, pulled under by the pain and exhaustion.

Kitti, who is also at the scene, rushed over, his face pale with fear. "We need to get her to a hospital, now!" Kitti shouted. "She's losing too much blood!"

Lada's voice cracked as she shouted, "Where's the ambulance?! Where are they?!"

Tears streamed down her face as she clutched Earn tighter, her heart pounding with terror. "Please, Earn... hold on..." she whispered, rocking Earn gently.

As the ambulance arrived, Lada watched in a daze. Earn, whom she had never forgotten, was on a stretcher, her life slipping away. "Save her!" Lada cried, grabbing a paramedic's arm. "You have to save her!"

The paramedics worked quickly, but Lada's world was a blur of lights and sirens. She whispered a desperate prayer, "Please... let her survive... Please God, don't take her from me..... again."

The ambulance doors slammed shut, and Lada's legs wobbled. As the sirens blared, she stood frozen, her heart shattering with every second. She could only watch as the ambulance disappeared, her thoughts consumed by the fear of losing Earn forever.