Chapter Four

They are here...to Kill me?

Am I surprised? No. Just...unable to wrap my head around everything.

They want to kill me, but I can't let them do that. I can't let them kill me.

Theo needs me. She has no one but me. I can't let her go to that monster. I have to protect her.

But more importantly, I can't let them kill me, because I want to live.

I don't want to die yet. I want to live and grow old, looking after Theo until she grows up, marries, gives me grandchildren. I want to spend the life a normal mother should.

Am I being selfish? Are we considered selfish, just because we want to live?

I once believed so. I had blamed my other half for wishing to live, For valuing her life over other's. I had blamed her, but now I'm wanting the same.

I don't think we are selfish, I think we are just being humanly by displaying these desires. It's just...normal.

I guess.

Suho is saying something, but I no longer hear a thing. He is laughing, grinning from ear to ear while his men remain stoic and unmoving.

When he realizes that no one is sharing his merry moment, he grunts, holding Theo by the shoulder before turning his back on us, on me, and commanding something to his men in Korean.

Soon, the men begin closing in on me, and I begin to wonder what on earth they are actually planning to do. Had they only wanted to kill me, they could have just shot me right now and got rid of the body with none the wiser.  No one would hear a thing over the heavy noise from the plan engines.

But they don't shoot, which means they have other plans.

I don't want to know what those other plans are. Sorry but I have a daughter to save.

With sudden kick of adrenaline pumping through my veins, I urge my legs to move, at first stalking before finally breaking into a run, so fast that just like earlier in the day, Suho didn't see it coming.

He didn't know when I ran, or when I jumped, balancing my aim by first kicking the wall of the left side, and then jumping straight on top of Suho, stabbing the glass dagger straight in his gut.

Suho's eyes widen with shock, but before he even has the time to react, I pull the dagger out and stab it once again.

Blood splutters out of his mouth, while he stares up at me in horror, while I glare at him. I can feel droplets of the hot liquid in my face against my frozen skin, but I don't care.

I don't, until I hear them all at once.

Gunshots. And my daughter crying.

I didn't have the chance to give a kick off line like they do in the movies, because in movies they show the character has all the time in the world, like as if even the goons are waiting to shoot until he is done with his line.

But in real life, no. The shots ring out even before my brain can comprehend the situation.

Turning around as fast as possible, I grab a crying Theo and hide behind a broadened wall, shielding her with my body while covering her ears with my hands to avoid the excess noise. I shut my eyes tight, fearing the end coming nearer.

I need to run, but I can't. I'm surrounded. One move and they will shoot me, killing me instantly. There is nothing I can do. I value my life, but now I have another life I value above all else, just like my other half did.

I want to live, but Theo needs to live. I will do anything to let that happen.

Hugging her to my chest tightly, I pull away slowly, smiling down at the girl as tears run down my bloody cheeks, and I know I look like a mess.

But that's hardly the concern now. I have to distract them. Give myself to them if they want but Theo needs to run. Find somewhere to go where Louise won't find her.

There must be something in me that is helping him track me. If they kill me, it will be the end; they won't know where to look for Theo.

"T-Theo..." I call out amongst the noises, barely managing to catch her attention. “Listen to me very carefully Theo. You need to run. Keep running, and don't look back. No matter what happens, do not look back, and steer clear if you see people like them."

The shooting stops, and I know they are closing in on my hiding spot. I need to hurry but...Theo has questions. "What is going in mommy? I'm scared! I'm so scared!"

"I know- I know luv and I'm sorry. Mommy is sorry to get you scared like this, but it's nothing. It's all just a bad dream. You hear what I said? You run, and don't look back. Find Miss Pompers or anyone and they will look after you."

At least they will give you a better life than I could.

"But...But what about mommy?"

I release a sob, startling Theo even more but it is just so hard to hold back. I can't believe what we have come to, it's just so painful. I never thought I would be separated from my daughter like this, although I knew there would be chances.

"Mommy has to go somewhere. Far far away. But you understand right? You understand why mommy has to go right?"

She doesn't, she never does.  But she nodes anyway, because she knows that's what I want to hear. I have always kept her in the dark, saying that she would know these things once she grows older.

"You understand mommy don't you?" I would ask her and she would nod yes. That's how it has always been. I have always left her in the dark. Even right now.

Because my past is something no human must go through, nor is it a story that needs to be retold. And for my own daughter, I will do anything that she doesn't go through the same thing over again.

"Just remember this. If anyone ever asks you who your mother is, don't tell my name. You hear me? Don't tell my name. Say it's-"

A single gunshot rings, startling both of us. Then a man speaks up, who I notice is not Suho. "Soralina Russo, show yourself now and hand over the child. It's over now."

Yeah. I'm sure it is.

Hugging Theo tightly to my chest I push her away, stepping out of the broadened wall and right in front of the men. Immediately their guns aim towards me, and I feel that same nauseousness I felt five years ago.

I look at where Theo is, still standing behind the wall with fear etched all over her tiny fragile face. It is at times like this that she looks nothing like her father, the most vulnerable, the most...me.

Tears stream down both of our faces, but I manage to smile, mouthing one last word to her. "Go."

Then I turn away, fixing the men before me with a bold glare, tears disappearing from my eyes  instantly. I spot Suho still on the floor, my dagger still stabbed into his gut, and I realize one thing.

He isn't moving. Because he is dead.

I killed him.

Why am I not disgusted? Because he deserves it.

And even his men aren't trying to save him. I guess they know it's already too late.

Well, serves you right. I will see you in Hell monster.

I raise my hands up; at the same time I hear the safety going off of many other guns other than the ones already pointed at me, and the soft thumping of feet as Theo tries to follow my command.

I hope she isn't looking this way. Whatever happens next, she shouldn't see it. It will scar her for life.

"You killed Suho. You will have to pay the crime with your life." Says the same man from before, but I don't reply. I already know.

The sound of guns loading fills the air around me, my heart starting to hammer repeatedly as it fears its final beat. I shut my eyes tight, not wanting to see the gruesome scene and just get over with it, but it is just so hard. All my memories flash before my eyes.

Holding Theo in my arms for the first time. Seeing her grow up, her first walk, her first word, everything.

But then the memories shift, and they are older than the previous.

They are memories of my other half.

I made a promise. A long time ago. I made a promise but I can't fulfil it anymore. Not when this bastards are going to kill me.

"Goodbye Theo." I whisper softly, a single tear sliding down my eyes as I feel the burning of the guns pointed directly at me, as if glaring at me.

But then...nothing. Nothing comes. No sound, no firing, no shot. Just, nothing at all.

And when I open my eyes next, there is someone in front of me, his face covered with a cloth and his hood pulled over his head.

His eyes are green as they stare back at mine, but just when I'm trying to comprehend what is going on, the man is gone, flying up on top of the airport building as many more dressed like him follow suit.

Now who on earth was that? A vigilante? At this era? What now the Green Arrow is real?

I stare up at the building rooftop, my eyes going wide when the figure reappears, looks down at me one last time, points towards a certain something and then, he is gone. Disappeared.

I don't have the time to look for him, for I'm already running towards the direction the hooded figure pointed, towards Theo.

I hug her to my chest tightly while she cries her heart out, myself joining in.

When I look back behind me, it is then that I notice the massacre.

All of Louise men are slaughtered.  Dead.

The hooded figure and his men killed them.

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