Love or Vengeance

Chapter 3: The Escape

Her brothers were being dragged out and thrown into the black van, her own house burning with everyone's body inside .

As a seven year old , she couldn't do anything , all she could do was cry from pain as she watched her friend , someone she saw as a guardian turn out to be her own very nemesis .

Maverick yelled , “ kill me instead , but please don't kill her “

The masked man paused, his gaze fixed on his son .

“ Why should I spare a traitor’s daughter , we ,the Thanes, never show such mercy, we won't sell out our reputation for meagre feelings “ he said as he pushed Maverick back into the car.

“ If you hurt her or kill her , I will kill myself !” He yelled angrily.

The bulky man still held him in place in the car .

“ Take him away !” Mr Thanes said as the car drove off with maverick thrashing in the car.

Alejandra stood in place as she watched the black van drive away with her brothers in it . She turned only to see her once happy home with many maids and enough cake , burning to the ground in the most ungraceful manner .

“ I will give you a chance for my son's sake , you have five minutes to run to any place you want” he said ,his words coming out coldly .

The coldness hit her skin as she shivered , she looked deep into his pupils and immediately took to her heels .

She ran like it was her last moment, if she didn't run , she would die , if she didn't let those feeble limbs that had never done anything stressful , that had always been pampered, if she didn't push it to run , she would die and would never get to meet her brothers again .

She knew the best way to get out of sight was not in the open field but in the comfort of dangerous trees.

She slipped into the forest , her bare legs immediately pricked by sharp tree stunts .

She screamed in pain as she kept running , she wasn't out of sight yet , she was now leaping as one of her legs was hurting so much .

Mr Thane waited till it was five minutes and immediately dispatched his men .” If you find her , kill her “ he said coldly as he got into the black Mercedes and drove off.

Andra heard a strange sound in the thick bush , her heart thumping , “ mom please help me , Carlos I can't do it alone !” She said sobbing as she heard hunting sounds and woods snapping . Something was looking at her . It was after her . It wanted to devour her .

Carlos has always been good at things that had to do with danger . He would always escape little problems like this .

Alejandra tore off some part of her skirt , her little brain telling her to think like Carlos .

What would Carlos do in this case ? Her heart was drumming so hard , the snapping became even more frequent as if anything out there was running towards her .

What would Carlos do ? What would Carlos do ? Her little brain kept ringing trying to develop something that could save her neck. She was in tension , her legs were shaking as she was exposed to so much trouble .

A little girl like her has never been exposed to so much pressure , even though she was much more advanced than her mates , she didn't have to make a decision of her own.

But right now , if she behaved like the baby she was , she was as good as dead .

“ Carlos would climb the trees “ she whispered as she saw flashlights . They were gaining rapidly on her . Whoever it was , they didn't have good intentions.

Luckily for her , the tree that stood in front of her had so many branches . It won't be difficult for someone her height .

She started to climb , this was the first time she was doing a thing like this , for others it was awesome but to her ,it was dreadful. She had no one's guidance and she almost slipped . Falling from the height she had just risen to was near death .

She heard hissing sounds but she didn't know what it was , instead she climbed higher and managed to find a broader branch where she could hide for the night .

Looking down from where she has started , she became scared , how will she ever be able to come down ? She wanted to scream for help but saw the men from before . Her survival instinct immediately kicked in and she hid behind the branch .

One of the men followed her blood stains and it led up the tree .

“ Here , she climbed the tree “ he said as he flashed the light upwards .

“ She is hiding there, “ another added , a smile to their faces.

“ Don't be ridiculous, how can a seven year old climb a tree ?” Another chimed in .

“ She is quite tall for a seven year old , it isn't impossible” the one who discovered the blood stain said .

They all agreed with him and immediately went ahead to climb the tree.

Andra’s heart sank deeply . After climbing for so long ,it was going to be fruitless , they were going to kill her . She saw as the men climbed rapidly. She didn't know what else to do or where else to hide as she gave in to her fate . She would never forgive what happened today ,even in death .

She promised her seven year old self.

Suddenly, a growl was heard , and some strong animal was coming out.

Others on the floor immediately took to their heels , animals here were wild and a single scratch could send you straight to Hades .

They ran off leaving the two others who had already started to climb .

As they looked below , they saw that two wolves were already beneath them.

They climbed faster but the wolves jumped on the trees . It had too many branches making it easy for anything to climb on it .

The two men were devoured into nothing in an instant as only piercing screams filled the air before it died down .

Andra got scared , she would rather be slaughtered like everyone else than face those ugly looking wolves.

“ I know you are up there , come down !” She heard a male voice .

As it turned out , someone came with the wolves

Andra flung up from the bed , her face covered with beads of sweat . Her chest was heaving up and down as she clutched onto her bed .

A figure rushed from outside and ran to her side , “ are you okay ?” His masculine voice rang out .

Alejandra steadied her breathing as he handed her a cup of water .

He touched her neck and forehead , worry etched on his face .

Alejandra shook his hand away , “ I am fine , august “ she said as she stood up from the bed .

Memories from 14 years ago wouldn't leave her no matter what . She barely slept at night as her insomnia seems to have gotten worse by the day.

The insomnia was a constant reminder for vengeance . Seeing her own family burn to the ground on her birthday was a trauma to her . The smiles and teasing turned into a bloody bath.

She snapped her eyes close to steady her emotions as they were consuming her .

“ I will get the doctor to come and check you , you have a lot of people to train today , I fear if you ….” August chattered away as Andra rudely interrupted him .