Chapter six:the choice you make
585 Words
“Elara!”
Jonah’s voice cut through everything.
Sharp.
Urgent.
Real.
That was what did it.
Not the danger.
Not the fear.
Him.
She turned and ran.
The narrow passage twisted sharply, forcing them to slow just enough to not crash into the walls. It smelled like damp concrete and something older—forgotten.
“Keep going,” the girl said, her voice tight. “He’ll catch up.”
“You don’t sound very sure,” Elara replied.
“I’m not.”
That didn’t help.
They reached the end of the passage and burst out onto another street—quieter, darker, almost empty.
Elara doubled over slightly, catching her breath. “You wanna start explaining now?”
The girl shook her head, scanning the street. “We’re not safe yet.”
“Then when are we?”
“When they stop finding us.”
Elara straightened, frustration bubbling up. “That’s not an answer—”
Footsteps.
Behind them.
Both of them turned at the same time.
For a split second, Elara thought—
It’s him.
But it wasn’t.
It was Jonah.
Breathing hard, a fresh cut along his cheek, but standing.
Alive.
Relief hit her harder than she expected.
“You made it,” she said before she could stop herself.
Jonah looked at her, something unreadable passing through his expression.
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I told you to go.”
“You think I didn’t notice?”
A small pause.
Then, despite everything—
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
“You listen about as well as I expected.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I’m starting to think you like that.”
That earned a real reaction—brief, but there.
Then it was gone.
Back to serious.
Back to danger.
“They’ll regroup,” he said. “We need to move again.”
Elara crossed her arms. “No.”
Jonah blinked. “No?”
“No more running without answers,” she said. “You don’t get to drag me into this and then keep me in the dark.”
The girl groaned softly. “Now is really not the time—”
“It is for me,” Elara cut in. “I need to know what I’m risking my life for.”
Jonah held her gaze.
Longer this time.
Like he was deciding something.
Again.
He stepped closer.
Close enough that his voice didn’t need to be loud.
“If I tell you,” he said, “you don’t get to walk away from this.”
Elara didn’t hesitate.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
Another pause.
Then Jonah nodded once.
“Okay.”
The air shifted again.
This time, not from danger.
From truth.
“They’re not just chasing her,” he said.
Elara frowned slightly. “Then what?”
Jonah looked at the girl.
Then back at Elara.
“They’re chasing what she has.”
Elara’s eyes narrowed. “And what is that?”
The girl swallowed.
And for the first time since Elara met her—
She looked afraid in a different way.
Not of being caught.
Of what came next.
“It’s not just information,” she said quietly.
Elara’s pulse picked up again.
“Then what is it?”
A beat.
Then—
“It’s proof.”
Silence.
“What kind of proof?” Elara asked.
Jonah answered this time.
“The kind that can take them down,” he said.
“And get us all killed.”
- Writer
