​Aron & Elena: Bound by Fate

Chapter 8: Death – The End or the Beginning?

Jace's voice echoed from afar:

"Aron, are you ready? We have to go; it’s getting dark."

​We got into the cars and quickly began observing the location Jace had found from a distance. Yes, it was believable that Raven was truly there, because I could hear the clanging of scrap metal from the surroundings. Loud horn sounds blared... "Turns out, those were the horns of ships," I whispered under my breath.

​Jace called out:

"Alright, guys, are you ready? As we discussed, we need to neutralize the two guys outside in complete silence. We don't know who is inside, and if there are more people, we shouldn't wake them."

​The men Jace had hired for this job replied, "Don't worry, friend, you’ve told us how many times already? We’ll handle it," and they began moving forward.

​Among them was a tall guy with blue eyes and dark brown hair, about 24-25 years old. He caught my attention; he kept looking straight into my eyes. I felt like he was either scared or watching me. At first, I didn't pay much attention, but his final glance as we moved made me wonder. However, I didn't have time to think about it; my mind was only on Raven. I had to get her out safely.

​We advanced with cautious, quiet steps toward the location where they were keeping Raven. There were about eight of us, including Jace. We had enough armed men with us, but I was extremely anxious. It felt as if dark premonitions were filling my soul. At that moment, I couldn't see the tall guy. As my eyes scanned the surroundings, a gunshot rang out from behind. We all turned back. It was that man who hadn't taken his eyes off me...

​Raising his voice slightly, Jace shouted:

"Rogue, what are you doing?!"

​Rogue shot the other five men beside us, dropping them to the ground. We were utterly shocked. At that moment, Victor's men caught up with us from behind. It seemed we had been betrayed. Rogue had betrayed Jace and me. It turned out he was Victor's man all along. This was Victor's final warning to me. I was certain he would kill us this time, but I had absolutely no intention of surrendering. I wanted to kill Rogue for this betrayal because he had ruined everything and sold us out.

​Jace was looking around with a look of pure fear on his face. I signaled him with my eyes; he understood me perfectly at times like this. An armed man approaching from behind ordered me to put my hands over my head. But striking his weapon with my elbow—it was the first time in my life I had moved with such agility—I ripped the gun from his grip. Stepping behind him, I used him as a human shield. The shots fired toward me hit him instead. At that moment, I screamed at the top of my lungs:

"Jace, take cover!"

​Jace disappeared in a flash, and I saw two men go after him. Jace was capable, but he wasn't exactly great at street fighting. Meanwhile, with the gun in my hand, I shot Rogue right between the eyes and killed the last three of Victor's men. Everything was covered in blood. The blood of the man I used as a shield had splattered all over me.

​I ran toward the direction Jace had gone. Jace had managed to neutralize one of the men chasing him, but the other had tackled him to the ground and was choking him. If I hadn't arrived just in time, I would have lost Jace. That night, I aimed the gun at the man and shot him in the back. I couldn't believe my own actions; I had stained my hands with blood, ending the lives of several people.

​Jace got up from the ground:

"Friend, you arrived just in time. We finished them all off," he said, looking at me with a relieved expression.

​At that exact moment, a gunshot echoed from the direction of the containers where Raven was being held. We both looked toward the sound. I whispered "Raven..." under my breath. As we both ran closer, we saw a man exit the containers, get into a car, and speed away. Most likely, he was another one of Victor's men.

​We searched the containers one by one. Jace on one side and I on the other were shouting, calling out "Raven!" There was no response. Suddenly, Jace's voice came from the next container:

"Aron?!"

​When I approached that container, Raven was covered in blood. I collapsed involuntarily. Sobbing, I placed Raven's head on my lap. The chest wound Raven had received was severe; these were her last breaths. In a faint, whispering voice, she said:

"Promise me... you won't leave this unfinished..." and closed her eyes to this world for good.

​I screamed, "No!" The gun Raven had been shot with was on the ground. I picked it up and held it to my head without a second thought. I was going to kill myself. Just as I was about to pull the trigger, Jace intervened, causing the bullet to miss me and fly off to the side, and he ripped the gun from my hand.

​"Aron, no! We are not going to die before we make that bastard pay for this!"

​I heard nothing. I couldn't take my eyes off Raven, who was dead in my arms. I was the reason for her death. The sirens of numerous police cars could be heard all around.