Author Note: I apologise for this late update. Since lock down has started, I've been working from home so....did not have much time to write here. I will try to update as often as I can. Stay safe people! 

Alandria grabbed her long red dress coat and descended the stairs at what seemed like the speed of light to her. She ran in the hallway, pushed the doors open and ran outside in the cold where a black jeep was waiting for her. The tinted windows rolled down and a young man with black sunglasses smirked at her.

"Hang on, I'll open the door for you" he said.

It was Fernando. He had been waiting for her in the car.

"Thanks!" Alandria gasped.

"Let's go baby!" the young man exclaimed as soon as Alandria sat at the front next to him.

The car sped towards the main road, taking over the slower cars . Fernando was a good driver. She could see it. But Zayden was better, well maybe it was because she has seen him in action, drifting with his car.

They drove for a few minutes, but both were stayed quiet. Alandria was worried and Fernando had noticed that.

"Chill, he will be okay. If he is not, you can always marry me. Face it, I'm more handsome and I am mafia material too, which makes me twice as sexy."

Alandria looked at the young confident man and smiled as she shook her head.

"You really are something Fernando. Thanks for trying to cheer me up."

This guy. He really knew how to flirt, but this had no effect on her.

"I hope you are right though"

"That you can marry me?"

"No, you idiot!" she glared at him, "About Zayden getting better."

"Hahaha, sure."

The car turned in another street which gave to the mall. The mall...the first place where she and Zayden went the first time when they escaped...at that time she did not even know that she would be his girlfriend one day.

"Is it the first time that you've seen him in such a state?" Fernando suddenly asked, steering the steering wheel, giving her a side look.

She knew he was talking about Zayden.

"No, this is the third time actually"

Fernando lifted an eyebrow.

"The first time was at school...this is why we actually started talking in the first place..."

"Ah! The episode which triggered the romance! Mmmmm I love this!"

Alandria cackled and continued in a more serious tone:

"Anyway! The second time was at the wooden house, where we are actually heading. Have you even seen him like that?"

"No" Fernando replied, "None of us have. This was shocking to us."

"I know" Alandria nodded, "Apparently his doctor was prescribing dangerous medicines to him. He stopped taking them, but I don't understand why he has not recovered!"

"Are you sure he stopped taking them?" Fernando asked in a doubtful tone, "I mean don't get me wrong, but the boss is someone very different from us. He is in charge of so much. Much pressure. Now his dad has disappeared. It's easy to get...you know..an addiction easily in that phase."

"Oh come on, not all people get into drug addiction when they encounter difficulties in life" Alandria stated.

"I know, and it's true. But Zayden is exposed to all of these. And as you told me, he was taking those pills or medicines whatever. Maybe he tried to stop...but was unsuccessful."

Alandria looked at him with huge eyes, but his were focused on the road. Fernando had a point. Zayden was close to her, but he was also secretive. There are many things about him that she still did not know. Could it be...that he was addicted to that medicine and he didn't tell her?

"Anyhow, your coming into his life did bring him comfort and happiness I must say"

"What do you mean?" Alandria questioned.

They drove in an narrower road and left the main road. Green trees surrounded both sides now and Alandria felt a chill. It was much colder among the trees despite the fact that they were in the car.

"He seems happier in a way when he is with you. I see it." Fernando explained, "His gaze softens when it rests on you and I can tell that you mean a lot to him. I can also see that you love him. But today, the way he treated you...it clearly shows that he wasn't himself. We need to do something to make him feel better again."

"You're right" Alandria breathed, "And the something is now in front of us."

They were approaching the wooden house. They could now clearly see it in front of them. The jeep came to a stop and Alandria was about hop out when Fernando put him arm in front of her to prevent her from moving.

"What?"

"Zayden told the guys and I that you were attacked here...we need to be careful. Stay behind me." with that said, he pulled out a gun from the glove box and stepped outside. He walked to the other side, opened the door and let her step out.

The cold wind hit her in the first and she sneezed immediately.

"Bless you" Fernando smirked, then he back to being serious again.

They both walked towards the eerily silent house, the pebbles and leaves making a crunching sound under their feet.

Fernando stepped on the porch and Alandria followed. He put one hand the door knob and turned it open. A click was heard and he walked inside, his eyes narrowing and observing the living room.

Alandria walked behind him, trying not make a sound.

It felt much warmer inside.

They looked into the corridor. Deathly quiet.

The place even looked haunted.

A few seconds later, splattering sounds were heard. 

Alandria looked outside the widow at her left to see that it was raining.

"Where did you keep the medicine?" Fernando asked.

"On the table, at the far end of the corridor" she replied and started walking away.

Fernando put the gun inside his jacket and watched her run towards the table at the far end of the corridor.

Each of her steps echoed in the deadly quiet house, sending shivers down her spine. She could sense that something was wrong. But what?

At last she reached the table and found the tablets and prescription paper on the table. She took them all in her hands and looked at them carefully, making sure that these were the medicines. Her right hand held the medicines that she had ordered from the pharmacy and her left hand held Zayden's poisonous medicines.

How cruel to adminster Zayden with something like that! Dr. Bertram was truly a monster.

"That's the thing?"

Alandria gasped in fear and turned around to see that it was only Fernando.

"I scared you? I'm sorry..." he smiled.

"It's ok..I...."

Fernando put his fingers on her lips gently and grasped her shoulder with the other hand.

"What are you...." she whispered, but he tightened his fingers around her mouth.

What was wrong with him?

Fernando was looking behind her....why was he looking behind her?

"Fernando..." she said in a muffled voice.

The man pulled him to his chest, and whispered:

"No talking."

What? What happened? What was he protecting her from?

"Listen" he whispered in her ear.

She listened...the rain was falling outside....so what? She listened harder...silence....silence...silence....

Silence....

Silence....

Tack....

No....there was something faint...a faint sound....

Tick...tack....tick...tack....

A clock? No it didn't sound like a clock.

She wanted to ask him what it was, but he did not want her to talk so she just lifted her head to look at him with huge eyes.

"Don't panic..." he whispered.

Oh no. It couldn't be. Could it?

"It's a bomb" Fernando whispered.

Alandria was scared! That she was sure of! And she would have been surprised at the calm composure of Fernando if she was not so close to him. He was scared too. His heaving chest gave it away. But she knew that he was thinking of something.

"Why can't we move?" she asked him as she gulped.

"Because I love hugging you"

"Huh?" 

"Because I don't know what kind of bomb it is silly!" Fernando was upset, but still managed to whisper, "It might be a time bomb, booby trap...oh man...which one..."

Alandria was not familiar with any of these. But one thing she knew for sure; it would explode and it would not be amusing.

"We might be standing on it...if it's a booby trap then it can explode if we touch it. What if they installed some mechanism and we have already stepped on it...."

"Fernando!" Alandria could sense that he was panicking now, "Stay calm. Look, if it is hidden somewhere it's definitely not the corridor as we just walked here."

"And what if we are standing on it...now?"

"There's a ticking sound..." Alandria thought out loud, "It might be a time bomb. Meaning that, it will only explode when the countdown reaches zero, right?

"I think...I...I don't know!" Fernando gasped, his eyes watering, "You must be wondering what kind of moron Zayden hired!"

"No, I am thinking that we need to get out of here asap...and...." she stopped dead.

Something red was twinkling in his sunglasses.

"What?" he whispered.

"No, no...don't move..."

She looked into his sunglasses carefully and instantly knew what was being reflected.

She turned around and walked towards the wall.

Fernando let out  a big sigh of relief and she could even hear a sob which was quickly muffled by his cough.

She slowly parted the flowers that were stuck on the wall.

There it was....a small black squared shaped box with the countdown going...

00:04, 00:03....

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!!!" Alandria bellowed as she grabbed his arm, kicked open the window open. She threw herself outside, pulling Fernando with her.

Unable to handle her own body, she fell down and Fernando fell right behind her.

"GET UP!!!! RUN!"

They started running but it was too late.

The house exploded with a loud boom and fire swarmed the place as both were projected at least 5 metres away!

A sharp pain hit Alandria in the chest and she felt her arms burn. She was badly bruised. She got to her feet and looked at the house in horror. It was engulfed in flames.

"FERNANDO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

She stood up with much difficulty, her face covered in dirt.

No, no, no! Where was Fernando? 

 She wandered around desperately looking for him.

There he was! Lying on the grass a few metres away!

"Fernando!" she cried in relief.

"I will save you!" she whispered as she ran to him.