Chapter four:Running toward something
224 Words
They ran.
Not aimlessly.
Jonah knew where he was going.
Through narrow side streets, past closed storefronts, cutting through alleys Elara wouldn’t have noticed on her own.
Her hand was still in his.
Tight.
Steady.
Every time she thought about pulling away, something stopped her.
Maybe it was the danger.
Maybe it was him.
“Left,” the girl said behind them.
Jonah nodded, turning sharply.
The engines roared somewhere nearby—too close for comfort now.
“Who are they?” Elara asked between breaths.
“No time,” Jonah said.
“You keep saying that!”
“I mean it!”
They turned another corner—
—and suddenly, everything went quiet.
Too quiet.
Jonah slowed.
That was the first sign something was wrong.
“What is it?” Elara asked.
He didn’t answer.
His grip on her hand tightened slightly.
The girl behind them stopped completely.
“…Jonah,” she said slowly.
“I know.”
Elara’s heart started pounding harder.
“What’s going on?”
Jonah looked ahead.
Then, slowly—
He let go of her hand.
Not because he wanted to.
Because he had to.
“Stay behind me,” he said.
The shift in his voice sent a chill down her spine.
And then she saw why.
At the end of the alley—
Someone was already waiting.
- Writer
