I need at least half an hour for everything. Good luck.

I read the message from Luna and put the phone back in my pocket.

"What is Luna doing anyway?" Nyx asked as she closed the trunk of the car from which she took out a bag full of weapons.

"Nothing you need to know." That's a minor lie, but I'll keep that to myself.

"We have to go. My contact says we don't have much time." Charles came out from behind the car.

"Let's get this over with." Nyx looked at me with a smile and slung her bag over shoulder as she left.

"Be careful." I looked at Charles. "I know you'll never forgive me, but after this, can we start over?"

"Go. You don't have much time. And neither do I." I turned my back on him and started walking when I felt a hand on my wrist.

"I'm really sorry about all of this."

"Me too." I yanked my hand out of his and continued walking. I didn't turn around to see if he was still standing there. It would distract me.

After a few minutes of walking, I saw a tall metal fence in front of me. There were cameras and sensors at every meter in the treetops.

A huge gray building in the middle of nowhere faded beyond the gate. Women at every turn, like goddamn ants.

It was teeming with white snakes. Frederik is ready, that's for sure.

But he is not the only one.

It's one thing to threaten me. But put Killian or Lucy in your mouth and we'll have a problem.

He crossed a line he really didn't want to cross.

By the end of today, he'll regret ever touching them.

No one takes what's mine and gets out alive.

Two women were already waiting for me in front of the gate, high enough to be impossible to climb over. They searched every part of my body for any weapons, but found none.

The metal gate opened and with the two of them behind me, I stepped into the territory of the white snakes.

I noticed the looks I was getting. I know many of the women here. Or rather knew.

Four other women joined us at the building. "He won't risk anything, will he?" I laughed and went inside.

They led me through a long corridor to the elevator, which we entered.

"There's still time to turn and run. You don't have to die."

I felt like I was talking to myself. Can they even hear me?

"This isn't going to end well, you know that. Run before it's too late." I tried to warn them, but they didn't listen. "All right." I breathed out hard. "It's your choice."

The elevator rang as we reached the desired floor. The moment the door started to open, I dropped to the ground, my head on the floor and my eyes tightly closed.

I heard screams of pain before bodies started appearing on the ground next to me.

"This is not a good time to be having a nap, Lyssa." I looked up at Nyx, who was offering me her hand. I accepted it and stood up.

I looked at the ground where the stunned women lay. "How long until they wake up?"

"Not long, so we should get moving. Here." She handed me a gun. "And also this." She took out a dagger from her belt. "Don't lose it, it's my favorite."

"I promise nothing." I laughed and bent down to one of the women who took my cell phone. I took it out of her pocket and saw the message that came a minute ago.

Luna: Fifteen minutes. Get out of there fast.

That's not much time.

"Everything all right?" Charles asked as I got off the elevator.

"Yes." I put my cell phone in my back pocket. "Let's go find Killian and Lucy." I slipped past him and started walking down the hall.

The cameras were off and someone was bound to notice sooner or later, we have to move fast.

As we rounded the corner, we encountered five women in front of a metal door.

Two of them fell to the ground before they could draw their weapons. And the other three ran in our direction with daggers in their hands.

One of them, a tall brunette tried to stab me but I caught her arm and flipped her arm onto her back. I kicked her in the back and she fell to the ground.

Another brunette with shorter hair lunged at me with her fist, but I dodged it. I crouched on the ground and kicked her legs from under her.

When she hit the ground, I took the dagger from her hand and put it to her neck. I took the gun from behind my belt and aimed it at the tall brunette as she tried to get closer. She stopped in place.

But before I could do anything, I felt the head of a gun on my temple. "You only have two hands." Said the third.

"And I have two as well." I heard Nyx and a gunshot, then I felt blood on my cheek. A dead body fell to the ground beside me. "You play with them too much." She fired two more shots, hitting both women. "You can't save them all."

"I wasn't trying to." I threw away the brunette's dagger and rose from the ground.

"You okay?" Charles appeared next to me.

"You could have helped me earlier."

"You had it covered." He smiled warmly.

"She was showing off." Nyx rolled her eyes. "Let's move before they find us here." She ran to the door and stopped at the improved lock with numbers and letters.

"Can you open it?" I stopped next to her.

"If I can open it." She laughed. "There's no door I can't get through." She smiled and within a few seconds a green light flashed above us and the metal door opened a little.

With my finger on the trigger, I carefully opened the door and headed straight into the room.

"Mommy!"

I lowered my gun and dropped to my knees as Lucy ran towards me. I have never felt such relief as when I held her in my arms.

"Oh my God." I whispered and buried my head in her hair. "I'm here. I'm here, Lucy." A tear ran down my cheek and I hugged her tighter. "It's okay now."

"I knew you'd be crazy enough to come" A faint voice came from behind Lucy and I looked up.

Killian sat in the corner with blood on his hands and a small smile on his lips.

"Killian." I looked at the blood around him in horror. I let go of Lucy and ran to him. "What happened?" I looked him over to find a gunshot or stab wound.

"I might have pissed Frederik off." He hissed in pain.

"Shit." I noticed his leg, which was obviously bleeding. I tore the scarf from my hand.

"Lyssa, no. Not with that." He grabbed my hand.

"It's just a bandana." I wrapped it around his leg as carefully as possible.

"We have to move, Lyssa." Nyx called from the door.

"Just a second." I tightened the bandana so much that Killian hissed in pain. "Sorry."

"That's fine." He said between his teeth. "Help me up?"

I grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him to his feet, leaning against the wall. "I never realized you weighed so much."

"Well thank you." He laughed.

"It wasn't a compliment." I smiled at him and ran my hand over his face. "You're terribly pale. You've lost a lot of blood."

"I'm gonna be fine." He smiled and bent his head to kiss me.

I never thought I would miss it.

I thought I would never see him again.

I enjoyed this moment for a while.

"We have to get out of here." I pulled away from him.

"Good idea."

I helped him to the door where Charles helped him as well. I was holding Lucy's hand and was ready to go back to the elevator when my cell phone rang.

Luna.

"We have a problem." I heard her voice. "The self-destruct protocol cannot be run from here. It must be run from the inside. From the main room."

I looked at everyone who was looking at me confused.

"Lyssa, we have to go." Nyx urged.

"And when the protocol starts, all the doors will close and all the people inside will be trapped. I'm sorry, Lyssa. There's nothing I can do from out here. We'll have to finish this some other time. You need to get the hell out of there, before they will all come after you."

"Thank you Luna." I hung up.

"What's the matter?" Killian asked.

And at that moment I had to make a decision. A decision that would change everything.

"Lyssa?" I looked up at Killian. "What's the matter?"

"I..." I stopped and looked at Lucy who was holding my hand. I bent down to her and whispered in her ear. "I love you Lucy. Never forget that sweetie." A tear ran down my cheek and caught on her hair.

When I straightened up, she just looked at me confused. I let go of her hand and took a few steps back.

"Lyssa, what are you doing? The elevator is over there." Nyx frowned.

"I'm sorry." I said looking at Killian and reaching for the wall where the panel to close the door in the hallway is. I pressed it and the thick glass door closed in front of me, separating me and them.

Killian immediately ran to the door and slammed his fist into it, but to no avail. I saw him yell my name but I couldn't hear him.

He turned to the others and Nyx immediately walked over to the panel on the other side.

"No." I hit the door with my fists. I shook my head as she looked up at me. "No, please."

Killian grabbed her shoulder and said something.

"Go." I said with a shaky voice and looked at Charles. "Save them. Please."

No. That's what Killian yelled as he pounded the door with his fists.

I looked at him with tears in my eyes and turned around. With every step I took, my heart broke more and more.

There wasn't a piece left that was whole before I got out of their sight.

I have to do it. There is no other option.

I finally stopped in front of the door of the main room, behind which Frederik should be, and with him the possibility to end all this.

It doesn't matter that there is management around the world. Without this building, they will have nothing. All the records and everything that makes the white snakes work, is here. When it is destroyed, nothing will remain.

Absolutely nothing.

I stepped in, with my finger on the trigger.

Frederik was sitting behind a huge table with his chin on his hands, looking at me impatiently.

Behind him was a full wall of screens with cameras or whatever.

"I was waiting for you to show up." He smiled. "I'm guessing my prisoners are long out of their cell. Am I right?"

"No more games. It's over." I came closer.

"Over?" He laughed. "You really look like you mean it. Haven't you learned anything in all this time?" He leaned back in the chair. "You really think this is the end?" He pointed around. "Hundreds of white snakes may die today, but at least one will always remain. One that will build this organization from the ashes. As I did it too."

"And now here you are. Spending your last minutes talking."

"My death will not change anything."

"I know that." I snorted. "There would be chaos for a few months before someone took your place, and then everything would be back to normal."

"And yet you stand here."

"You think I'm going to kill you and leave? I didn't think you were that stupid. You know, the thing is, you didn't think of something. Maybe whoever came before you didn't have that problem, but now is the modern age. Everything is on the servers and by sheer chance in this building. Every penny and piece of information. Absolutely everything."

"You won't get to that in thousands of years. It's..."

"Let me guess." I interrupted him. "Very well secured?" A winning smile appeared on his face. "Let me introduce you to modern technology a little more." I walked over to his desk and put the gun behind my belt. I leaned against the edge of the table and smiled. "This building has so much technology in it that it's indestructible from the outside. But from the inside? Not so much. Have you ever heard of a self-destruct protocol?" His smile dropped immediately, even as he tried to hide it.

"You'll never get to that."

"You forgot something. You taught us everything. And I may not have had the greatest talent for technology, but guess who loved it and thrived on it. I'll give you a tip. Her name starts with Lu and ends with Na."

"Nothing will change anyway."

"Then why are you so nervous all of a sudden?" I frowned with a smile. "You should never have gotten in my way." I drew Nyx's dagger and threw it into the right side of his chest, puncturing his lung.

While he was trying to talk or breathe, I don't know which, I walked around the table to him and pulled him away from the table. I directed the chair so that he could look directly at me, even though he probably didn't notice me anymore.

"And one more thing." I grabbed the handle of the dagger. "You should have never have shot my boyfriend." I ripped the dagger from his chest and cut his throat in one motion.

I looked into his eyes as they lost their lives, and I wasn't ashamed to say that I enjoyed it.

"I'll see you in hell." I pushed the chair and Frederik with it to the edge of the room, as far away from me as possible.

One man down and the whole building left.

As I stood in front of the screens at the table, my cell phone rang. It was Luna. Again.

"What are you doing? Why did Charles call me that you were still in the building? What's going on? Lyssa! Talk."

"Just tell me how to blow up this building."

"Lyssa, were you even listening to me? If that protocol goes off, all the doors will close. You won't get out of there."

"I know." My voice broke.

"Please, Lyssa..." She sobbed. "Please don't do this."

"It's going to be okay. I know it will be. And you know I have to do it. So tell me how to do it."

"But...Lyssa..." She took a deep breath. "You have to do this." She exhaled shakily.

She told me step by step how to start the self-destruct protocol and after a while, a countdown appeared in front of me.

"Just confirm and that's it. Every door and window will close and the three minute countdown will begin. And then..." She stopped.

"And then it's over." I finished for her with pain in my voice. "Do you think it hurts? Or is it like going to sleep? You just close your eyes and you don't even know when you fell asleep."

"I don't know." She sobbed. "I don't know."

"Okay." I breathed out hard. "It's been a good journey."

"Please don't do it, I don't want to say goodbye."

"Well then, see you in the next life." I said with a smile but with teary eyes. "Luna West, it was my pleasure."

"The pleasure is all mine, Lyssa Laurent."

I hung up and placed the phone next to my hand near the keyboard.

I looked up at the screen and the big red confirm button.

I pushed it with shaking hands.

A deafening alarm rang out around the room. The metal wall fell on the door and all the windows, and the only light was red from above me, because of the alarm.

The screen started to count down from three minutes.

So this is it.

This is the end.

I slipped alongside the table where the keyboard was, with my cell phone in my hand. I scrolled through my contacts and stopped at Killian's second number.

I dialed it, knowing he wouldn't pick up, but I could still leave him a message.

And I also don't want to spend my last moments alone.

"You have reached me, please leave a message after the beep..."

"Hi Killy. It's me Lyssa. Which you probably know." I laughed nervously. "You probably hate me. And I don't blame you. I would probably hate you too."

I looked up at the screen and saw big numbers showing just over two minutes.

"I have almost two minutes before this building blows up and I'll be gone. There are things I need to tell you before...."

I stopped and swallowed hard.

"I love you." Tears welled up in my eyes. "I love you, and I don't even know when it happened. It just happened. It's like it was always there, but I just didn't see it. And I wanted to tell you because..." My voice broke. "Because you make me feel something as strong as love. I will never be able to thank you enough for that. You gave meaning to my life and I will never forget that.

We made each other better. You opened up to me and started feeling too, and that's good. Promise me you won't close yourself off again. Promise me you won't push everyone away after I'm gone. Because I know I would." Tears streamed down my face.

The timer showed the last minute.

"Killian, you're my home." I said with a shaky voice. "It took me a long time to figure out that home doesn't have to be a place, but can also be a person.

You are the person for me. "

I wiped my tears.

"I wish I could relive last week. I wish I could meet you again and have a relationship like two normal people.

But that's not who we are, is it? We're not normal." I laughed through my tears. "Can you take care of Lucy? Tell her I love her so much, and that she's going to be okay. Even if I won't be there.

She can't sleep without a small lamp and she hates the crust on a bread. Give her a kiss for me."

Ten seconds.

"I love you."

Nine seconds.

"In this world" eight seconds, "and in the next."

Seven seconds.

"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you." I laughed. "I like the sound of that."

Three seconds.

"I fucking love you Killian James Acker."

I almost whispered and hung up, a smile spreading across my face.

"Fuck you asshole." I looked up at the ceiling before I felt a wave of heat and then nothing.

Absolutely nothing.



"Let me go. Let me the fuck go!" I screamed at Charles as he dragged me away from the building, away from Lyssa. "She's still there! We can't leave her there."

"You have to shut up or you'll kill us all." Nyx stopped by me, Lucy in her arms. "We're almost out. We need to move."

No. No. No. This is not happening.

What does Lyssa think? She can't stay there.

"How could you leave her there?" I said between my teeth to Charles.

"She wanted me to get you out of there, so I did. She would hate me even more if something happened to you."

"Bullshit."

We got out of the territory of the building, and already beyond the fence, out of sight of people, I stopped.

"We'll wait for her here."

Charles and Nyx exchanged glances but said nothing.

After a moment of silence, Nyx's cell phone rang. "What?" She frowned. "But..." She stopped and looked up at me. Slightly surprised, she handed me her phone.

"Killian?" I heard Luna's shaky voice.

"Luna, Lyssa is still inside. She closed the door behind her and we couldn't get to her. We're only a short distance from the building and..."

"Killian stop it." Her voice broke.

"What is it?" I asked looking at Nyx who was looking at me with concern and pity. "What's going on Luna?"

"She...I'm so sorry, I begged her but she didn't listen."

"Luna where is Lyssa?" I looked behind me at the building, and before I could do or say anything else, it exploded.

There was fire, smoke, screams, wails, blasts of heat and deafening noises, but I didn't care.

The phone slipped out of my hand and hit the ground before I heard Lucy's scream.

My knees buckled and sank into the wet soil as I stared at the crumbling building. "No." I whispered, tears welling up in my eyes. "No, no, no."

She got out. She definitely got out. She couldn't stay there after all. She wouldn't do that.

"Lyssa." A tear ran down my cheek as I felt the emptiness.

The pain in my leg was nothing compared to the pain in my heart.

Pain.

Anger.

Sadness.

Regret.

Fear.

Helplessness.

Every emotion hit me at once and I didn't know which was which.

But then...there was silence everywhere.

As if the world around me did not exist. As if nothing existed.

*****

So :/

You probably didn't enjoy this chapter very much.
What can I say....

Oh, I know. I will break your heart even more in the next chapters. ;)