Reyna

When the elevator doors opened, the men in front of us looked out of the ordinary. Similar attire and similar look in their eyes. Suspicious in every way. Axel needed to know something seemed off about them. Before I could even get a word out to him, he'd surprisingly grabbed my hand and dashed towards the staircase, I followed right away.

"Hey!" One of the men yelled from behind as they followed us down the staircase. Everything was happening so fast. I couldn't stop even if I wanted to. I'd promised Axel that I wasn't going to hold him back. To be honest, I expected him to had taken off without me. So, when he took hold of my hand, I instantly became surprised.

From behind, I could hear one of the men telling the others, perhaps through his phone, where we were. We sped out right through the door and onto the street. The others who stood by the car on the other side of the street caught sight of us and immediately came after us.

We ran, bumping into a few people and rushing past them. During this time, my legs felt weaker. I'd never run this much nonstop before. I wanted badly to tell him to stop, if we could have a bit of rest but I couldn't. One look behind and the men were drawing closer. This time, they had guns in their hands. It reminded me of how serious this was. During this time, not once did he let go of my hand and I was ever more grateful for that. When it seemed we had enough distance between us and them, we ran into an alley. There was no way forward for us.

My breathing was loud and fast from all the running. Only when I gulped down did I realise how parched my throat had become. Axel's gaze wandered every corner for a quick solution. Suddenly, he made a left turn and headed straight to the garbage can. He kept his suitcase down and opened the can.

She shifted his eyes to me. I stared back at him. "Go in."

This time, I pulled off every nuh huh expression I could, including shaking my head. He let my hand go. Instead, he put a hand behind my waist and our eyes locked. In that second, it felt awkward and a little good.

"I won't leave you." Those words seemed the sincerest I'd gotten from him since we met. It felt inexplicably enough for me to trust him. Quickly, he lifted me off my feet bridal style and into the can. Then, he threw in his suitcase and joined in. As we crouched down, he brought the lid over our heads till darkness overshadowed the light we once had from the day. God, it reeked in here and still, we couldn't go out, not until we were sure the men after us had run past. In that silence, all I could feel was my heart beating. It almost felt like I could hear it myself.

Suddenly, the lid was flipped open and we raised our eyes to a man holding a gun which he pointed at us. Axel to be precise.

"Get up." He ordered and slowly, we both did while we raised both hands in the air.

"You're one slippery bastard. The others will be glad to see you." He commented while he reached to dial on his phone. The second he broke eye contact from us, Axel grabbed onto his gun and turned it on him. The man was left surprised though his gaze was quick to display bravery.

"You're only delaying the inevitable."

"Shut up." Using the gun, he knocked him out unconscious. Quick, he jumped out of the can and reached for the man's phone. I watched Axel let out a light sigh before turning the phone to me. "Thankfully, he was yet to tap on the call button."

My smile was half-hearted and brief. He helped me get out of the can before he reached in for his suitcase. Without looking at me, he took hold of my hand once again. I found myself staring at our hands together before he led the way and I followed behind once again. The first time we held hands, I attributed that to his quick reflexes. This time, I didn't know what to attribute to and it messed with my head.

He looked right then left. We sighted their backs. In search of us, they had spread themselves with some across the street. Their frantic acts scared some people. Axel took the lead in walking down the path we'd previously come from. We were careful not to get their attention to where we were.

Suddenly, I felt an electrifying pain shot up my left leg. I lost my balance and fell to the ground. The minute I looked at my leg, my eyes widened at the gunshot wound that laid there. They shot me! These men were insane to go after us this boldly in broad daylight. It had to be some kind of silent gun because the sound wasn't loud at all unlike what we saw in the movies.

With fear in my eyes, I looked at Axel who now crouched beside me.

"Go. You can go." I said to him whilst the men drew closer. He'd warned me about this and I'd told him I wouldn't be a hindrance to his path. Axel didn't care about me. It would be futile to wish he did, especially now. Though my lips spoke the words he would love to hear, my heart wished he wouldn't listen to them at all.

The men hurried even faster towards us, pointing the gun as they did. People around us scurried away from us and their path in fear. This time, we'd become the center of focus.

"Go!" I urged him again. Though his eyes lingered on me, I couldn't tell where his thoughts were. He did the unexpected when he stood straight on his feet with his hands raised in the air as he turned to them.

"Cover your ears and stay down." Those were his words to me when he spared me a look. It was clear he was up to something. The moment the men were close, I did and even went as far as closing my eyes. I didn't hear much but I could feel something was going down between Axel and them. Perhaps, he was fighting them off. But, how? They had guns and he didn't. Immediately, I recalled he'd once been in the same position as our chasers and it would be a little silly if he couldn't bust out a few moves.

"Let's go." Only when he said those words to me, did I open my eyes and withdrew my hands away from my ears. Quickly, he helped me stand on one foot. His arm around my waist and mine around his neck was how I felt supported enough to make a move forward. While we walked towards the car, I couldn't stop myself from taking a look at the scene I'd missed. Some were knocked unconscious and the others shot at less fatal spots on their bodies.

"The car keys!" He ordered as he pointed a gun at a man in the car. I didn't even know he had that in his hand. Hurriedly, the man opened the door and with both hands raised, he stepped down from the car.

"They're in there. Please don't shoot me." He pleaded for his life.

"Run." Axel said to him and without a second wasted, he was on his heels. Axel opened the door to the backseat and helped me get in before he rushed to the driver's seat. He started the car and we were on our way. A bit farther from the scene, we saw the police cars drive right past us. It was obvious they were headed for where he came from.

In a little while. I started to feel light headed so I looked at the wound on my leg. I was losing a lot of blood. This was new for me. I wasn't sure how to handle it. My eyes started to feel heavy. I knew I was going to pass out any moment from now.

"Hey!" Axel's voice forced me out of it in the meantime. I looked in the rearview mirror and met his gaze for a moment. "You'll be fine." He assured me and I lightly nodded. I chose so much to believe his words. I couldn't possibly die without finding mum. It would mean I wasted my life. The thought of her rotting away somewhere filled me with fear. The good memories we'd shared were refreshed in my head. "Mum... I'm sorry." I muttered in a breath while I couldn't stop my eyes from closing.

"Reyna. Hey, Reyna. Wake up." Axel's voice and his constant tapping brought me out of my unconsciousness. The period I opened my eyes, he was in front of me. His eyes held care and a bit of worry. No, I must've read them wrong.

"We can't go to the hospital. It'll draw too much attention. I'm going to take out the bullet myself." He explained and though my eyes still seemed lazy, I heard him.

"What? You... you can't."

"I can. You'll be fine." Axel repeated those words. But, this time, they didn't seem enough to keep me in a trance or in a blind faith.

"Wai... wait. It's... it's better with a doctor." I told him but he ignored my words and proceeded to wash his hands with what seemed like an alcoholic drink. At least there was the sight of a bandage, cotton wool and some plasters. He might've stopped at a pharmacy while I was unconscious. I didn't want to look as he proceeded to do whatever he could. So, I looked away and closed my eyes tightly. I felt the burning sensation from the alcohol he just poured on my injury.

"I can see the bullet. It's not deep." He said before he continued. I nodded, then covered my mouth with both hands to stop myself from screaming from the pain. Soon, he was there. The pain spread and I held on tightly to my mouth. Mentally, I kept telling myself it'll soon be over. At last, it was, just as I heard Axel say the words, "It's out."

I released my hold on my mouth and felt a little relieved. Next, I watched him dress the injury. During that period, I found myself looking away from my leg to his face at intervals. It was always my thought that he didn't care. But he was confusing me. He should've left just as he said he would if things went wrong. Yet, he did the opposite. He saved me.

"Why didn't you leave when I told you to?" It was detrimental for me to ask. Maybe, his answer would stop me from expecting anything even in the nearest future or perhaps make sense of him changing his mind constantly.

"You can die at your own risk but don't make me look like a douchebag while you do it." Those were his words before he stood on his feet and walked away. I replayed his words in my head and it still didn't make sense.

"I'm going to get another ride." He said the minute he popped his head in.

"Huh? Nothing's wrong with this one."

"It's a stolen car. Very soon, the police will be looking for it."

"Oh." I nodded in understanding. He stared at something on the seat. "What?"

"Your blood. It's on the seat." Immediately, I looked down at it. He was right. Though, it had dried up but it was there. The police will know I was here. This is bad.

"We'll burn it all."

"What? Fire? Isn't that too extreme?"

"I would like to hear it if you have a better idea. In fact, I wouldn't be in this situation if you had just stayed away like I asked you to. You're too damn stubborn."

I rubbed the back of my neck in irritation. "You're very annoying. I told you to go, leave me and you chose to not do that. Don't blame your decision on me."

He stared at me a little loathly. "You're definitely going to get one of us killed. Wait here." Through the window, I watched him walk away. I looked around and couldn't tell where we were. But one thing was clear, we were in some sort of abandoned garage. I released a sigh and felt grateful for making it this far.