He could feel his hands go numb again.

The despair, the pain, the anguish, everything was crawling back into his senses.

"She is still breathing. It's faint, but it's there. We should hurry." The brunette who helped Clarissa muttered.

He felt the cold barrel of a gun pressing into the back of his head.

"Hey romeo, it's over. Stop staring at her. She is probably dead. Hands behind your head. Now."

Maybe it was time to do it again.

He could feel the man's leg just behind his back.

He ducked a bit from the gun's barrel and punched the man behind his knees.

The man stumbled a bit due to the impact and Martin punched his nose simultaneous grabbing the gun out of his hand.

He wasn't willing to do this, memories running through his head.

It was astonishing for him to feel how familiar it was to hold a gun.

It was a Desert Eagle.50.

7 bullets.

7 shots.

Hopefully he hasn't forgotten how to shoot after 4 years of not seeing a shot gun.

The man he kicked before tried to lunge at him to grab the gun, but he shot him in his shoulder.

He didn't want any deaths on his hands. Yet.

He shot another three men, two in their stomachs and one in his leg.

He felt an arm choke him from behind. He tried to pry his hands away but they just tightened in response.

"How are you capable to shoot so perfectly? Let me guess, you are a fùcking Ray, aren't you?"

Holding the gun with the barrel he swung it above his head resulting in the man to stagger a bit. This loosened the choke and Martin swiftly turned and pulled the trigger planting the bullet deep in the man's stomach.

Two shots left.

"We have to hurry! She will lose a lot of blood man! Hurry up!" The grey eyed girl bellowed at him which made his thoughts snap back to reality.

Tearing one of the unconcious men's shirt he put one hand under Clarissa's nape while the girl helped him prepare a make shift bandage for her head.

"What's your name?" He Inquired.

"Amelia. You?" She raised her eyebrows while holding Clarissa's head in place.

"Martin," he took a deep, shaky breath and spoke, "So Amelia, I am going to carry her, you find a knife or something, we go out, and when you see any guy, you attack only if I tell you to. Because some will be there to help us, and I don't want them injured."

"Are they cops?" She prodded.

"Uh yeah, right. But they may not be in their uniforms."

It highly confused Amelia, but she chose against asking.

They helped the other girls out of the ropes after they found the knife Clarissa had got embedded in a man's thigh.

None of the men had any other weapons with them. They didn't expect a counter-action by a bunch of teenagers.

They cautiously sauntered through the dim lit store room, carefully side stepping bodies, following the path of sunlight to step outside.

The moment they stepped foot outside, they heard the distinct clicking of the barrel of a gun.

His stomach dropped, as she was still in his arms, injured and losing blood, as all the other girls will be seized again, as all the hard work and pain that they had gone through now was in vain.

"Drop the gun's down, now!" Echoed a voice from a little distance.

After a little while he spotted chocolate brown eyes and he heaved a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"Is it her?" He observed Clarissa in Martin's arms, as the brunette came forward to speak up.

"We need to hurry. She has lost a lot of blood." She spoke with urgency in her voice.

They walked fast towards the exit while Jacob gave out orders to the other men to bring out a car.

"Could you not have barged in when you were already here?" Martin hissed at Jacob with a glare plastered on his face.

"I didn't want them to know that we, the Rays, know about her." He replied.

"Well they already know. One of the guys inside just predicted it while fighting with me," he slid into the back seat while Jacob sauntered to the front.
"How do they not know about her? They already had one guy planted behind her. What happen to that?" He inquired with furrowed brows.

"He was the only guy who knew about her. He hadn't passed it yet to Deamonne. We got him killed before he could pass it." He stated with a nonchalant shrug. "Is the wound fatal?"

"The back of her head is bleeding. Got hit there twice. Hurry." His voice was laced with concern, and Jacob turned back to meet Martin's woeful eyes. Jacob nodded in response. He was at loss of words.

"Urghh.." She muttered with drooping eyes.

Her groan was what caught Martin's attention to the still bleeding wound.

Her heartbeat faint, her breathing even fainter.

"No. No. Please Claire, please," he patted her cheek lightly while holding a jacket to her bleeding wound.

"Stay with me. Claire! Please. Stay. Stay with me!" He wiped the hair off her forehead and whispered words to her.

"Aren't we going to the hospital?" Martin implored.

"Can't risk that again. That place gives away everything." He spoke over his shoulder.

In no time they reached the the main gate of the Crescent Ray Organization, where a stretcher outside was already waiting.

She was taken into personal quarters, into one of the rooms which looked like a mini hospital room in itself.

"She is safe now. She is safe." He looked towards the source of the reassuring voice and found warm brown eyes looking at him. Amber.

He smiled a half smile.

She gave him a side hug, her short brown hair going side to side.

"Don't fret now. That's not the Martin I know. You are much stronger than that."

He just nodded in response and took in a deep breath, hoping that everything indeed, goes well.

☆

He wanted to ask her out today. In the fair. Everything was planned, but it seems life has different plans for them.

He was listening to the lulling sound of her breathing. Slow and steady.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it for comfort.

"Hey man. How are you feeling? Do you-"

"I don't want to be here when she wakes up." He spoke in one breath.

Jacob was utterly confused, his brows furrowed. Why would he want that?

Martin sighed heavily. "I lied to her. And you don't know, but she is too smart sh-she'll figure it out. I don't know h-how to face her."

He rubbed his face and got up from his seat.

"Could you maybe ask Amber or Ajay to just inform me when she is up?"

Martin glanced behind his shoulder as Jacob responded to his question with an affirmative nod.

☆

Jacob observed Clarissa carefully. Frail and thin body, brown hair, nothing out of ordinary.

Even though she was anything but ordinary.

He was waiting for Hazel to arrive. She did manage to injure their doctor the last time. Amber was just a bit pre-occupied hence she would arrive later.

She was indeed a specimen. A fiery personality, as observed. And Martin seemed to have a soft spot for her.

Jacob had to talk to him too. He needed Martin's skills, and he was almost ready to take up that responsibility.

He was about to call Hazel for her to make haste, when she arrived with a waistband gun.

"Need to take precautions. Always." She gave a tight smile accompanied with a shrug following her statement.

Jacob, once again nodded, and left the room silently.

☆

Clarissa

My head was throbbing. I think I should start getting used to pain, as if it's my homework. Have had quite a lot of it nowadays.

I think Mart--

Why is the ground so soft? This room  doesn't even have that eerie hospital smell either, just a bit.

I stayed still for a while so that I could catch some noise, but there was none.

But I am sure I can feel there is someone here.

I open my eyes slowly to assess my situation, and I find a young lady, sitting in chair beside me.

I look around and I find myself in a room, surely not a hospital room.

The room was painted in lilac and it had tables and book shelves.

Perhaps the blood test did reveal I was different.

Wait. Where's Martin?!

The woman beside me touched my forehead with her palm and questioned, "Are you okay, kid?"

Yeah, kid.

They got her to guard me?

I look around and find a glass filled with water on the table, so I let out a fake groan to falter her attention.

"Hey! What happen? It shouldn't-"

I quickly take the glass and chuck it at her, swiftly getting out of the bed I take the glass in my hand and heave the blanket over her head and quickly run towards the door.

I luckily find it open, then I hurriedly lock the door from outside.

She was by now screaming. I ran in the long alley way, wishing I find Martin on the way, or perhaps maybe the exit when an arm chokes me from behind.

I still had the glass in my hand. I was about to bang it into the hand when I see Martin standing right in front of another door. He was maybe 2-3 metres ahead of me, and was facing me.

"Martin! What the hell are you looking at? If you know the exit ru-"

"Stop struggling Clarissa." His voice boomed.

I was flabbergasted.

I stopped all my movements.

"Amber. She is good. Let your hold off." He stated.

And holy hell. She complied to it.

A soft voice resounded from the back of the alley way.

"God Martin! She is one hell of a girl! She locked me in?!"

He knew them. They knew her. And all the while I believed he was helping me.

I trusted him.

"How long ago was this planned?  Huh? You came to my school four, maybe five years ago. Did you know all the while? Answer me? Was this all a fùcking plan?" I started out with a low deadly tone, but it ended up being a screech.

"Claire, it's not li--" I cut him off.

"Was this the project you were talking about? And did you-- no, no. NO. Was even Suzanne a part of all this treachery? Does even she know all of the people in this room?"

He was quite. I doubt he was even breathing. And his head hung low. With shame.  Maybe guilt. But it's too late.

"ANSWER ME DAMMIT!" I bellowed.

There was still silence. Another man came and stood beside Martin. But I couldn't care less.

"I'll be in that room I was sleeping in before. Please do not disturb me. I want to rest."

I turned around to make my way towards that room. But before I took another step I swiftly turned to face him again and threw the glass right near the ground at its feet.

It shattered into pieces loosing it's original form. Just like my trust on him.

"Don't show me your face again. And yes, tell that to Suzanne too."

I wiped the lone tear that escaped my eye. There was no point escaping. Even if this was all a fùcking plan for him, I liked him. A lot. And I was not like him. I couldn't resist if he held me and told me to not leave.

I couldn't.

Because I was a pathetic excuse of a teenage girl, who once again, like every other person on this planet, made the mistake of trusting too much.

And trusting the wrong person.

☆

This chapter is dedicated to fatemaarsiwala to urge me to post chapters. Thankyou so much Fatema.

I promise will try to better my shitty update schedule, sorry 😅.

Please keep supporting me and this book. Thankyou so so much.