To The Moon And Back

Chapter 33

I barely get any shuteye all night. I keep tallying all possibilities, overthinking until my brain's fuses burn away.

Blood and tears will be shed.

I hope this is a joke, a warning, anything not serious, but I know better. Something is gonna happen today, and I'll have to stop it, no matter what the cost.

"You look like a truck hit you," Jay tells me when he wakes up.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Obviously. What's the matter?"

I show him the message. "I'm scared, Jay."

"Don't worry." He kisses me, taking away the worry and planting some peace into my heart. "I'll make sure nothing happens. You stay out of this completely."

I move along with my day after showing Deli the message at breakfast. I head to the ITD, work on some projects, and attend my lessons.

Emergency sirens interrupt my lesson at the ITD. Please don't be where the blood and tears will be shed.

"Another attack so soon?" I ask.

Kailee turns everything off swiftly. "Apparently."

"Let's get out of here," I say. We all leave for the safe room.

A scream attracts my attention. "Ellis! Sera, how could you leave him?"

"I wasn't working today, Caron."

"But you texted me and told me to drop him off!"

"No, I didn't!"

Someone from the crowd shouts "her phone got hacked, then."

They're going to kill her son to break her heart some more and break mine too. She knows I'll feel guilty even though I haven't directly hurt him. What a bitch.

"My son, I can't lose another son," Caron says, sobbing and fighting the guards to let her out. Her husband tries to calm her and calls for help.

I spot Deli, telling someone on the phone to check the nursery. He says he'll be there in five minutes."

Five minutes? If this kid stays there, he's going to die. These attackers are merciless, and neither Caron nor any of us can cope with another child as a casualty. Especially not me.

In an instant, I grab Deli's gun from her pocket and run towards the safe room's gate.

"Aurora! You can't go out!" She yells, running after me.

I keep sprinting. The guards try to stop me but I push them away.

"Jay is gonna kill us both. The guards will get the baby, come on!"

I keep running but she catches my arm.

"Deli, if anything happens to that baby, I'll never forgive myself."

She lets me go, so I pass the guards and ignore their screams, one destination and one purpose on my mind.

Reach the nursery. Save the baby.

A piece of cake, really.

I consult the map application and arrive at the nursery, breathless from all the running.

Ellis is in there, sleeping sound. I try to carry him without waking him up and fail. He wakes up and shrieks loudly, alerting someone that we're here. Footsteps echo in the hallway leading to the nursery.

We're dead.

I grab the gun and place Ellis in his crib again. My hands shake as I squeeze the cold handle in my hand and try to recall Landon's instructions.