Author's notes:
2021-06-01: Hey, I would like to present a short preview of the upcoming chapter of the story. I would want to focus - at least partially - on the thread I have started in the 18th chapter. So, I would like to add a bit more depth to the story and develop side threads a bit more. How will it turn out in the end? I do not know :) 2021-06-09: I know, the chapter is not 10k words long; however I feel like I was able to show a bit more of the depth of the side threads. I hope you will like it; if not, please tell me what went wrong. As always, I would like to thank you for everything you have done so far. If you have not been there, I would have not continued posting. Thanks for everything, again. And... see you soon :) Changelog: Schedule for the nearest future: Bonuses' section: *bonuses will be worked on when I don't feel like writing the chapters pointed out in the schedule :D ** It is possible for me to change the schedule a little. Stay tuned for the upcoming information.
[2021-06-02]: A preview was released.
[2021-06-09]: The entire chapter was released.
1. Alone (next chapter)/(possibly rewrite).
2. Last Christmas (finishing up the story).
3. Prisoner of Your Eyes (next chapter).
4. Black Diamond (2 next chapters)/(possibly finishing the story).
5. The rise of the Blood Moons' servants (2 next chapters).
6. Alone (2 next chapters)/(possibly rewrite).
7. My home is where my heart lies (a long, possibly 10k + words chapter).
Sometimes it's just better not to know (possibly rewrite).
Kiss the rain (more than likely rewrite).
Whispers in the Dark (extending beyond 2 chapters story).
Story of one lost soul (translation of 2 of my old texts - previously written in polish).
Story of one lost soul: The war call: rewrite.
End of author's notes.
The final moments preceding an assault always last what would seem like an eternity. The team's preparation, devotion, and patience are being tested whilst someone above is having the time of their life, laughing at the struggles of mere humans. Honestly, they had been through this before – pff, not even once but multiply times – yet the uneasiness, uncertainty still would be present.
The storm was not planned for today. The forecasts had been checked numerous times to verify that crucial piece of information. Unfortunately, it appeared that they were, in fact, only mere humans with a bit of technology; their forecasts had little power over nature. An entire assault team was being drenched in the rain whilst waiting for the signal.
It came in the form of quiet, barely hearable alert of their watches. The operation 'Blitz' began.
It was 2:25 a.m. before they fully encircled the estate. From their perspective, the manor seemed so peaceful; possibly everyone inside was already sleeping.
"Are you read?" the commander's voice sounded through the earbuds. "I want this operation to be quick and clean; try to open fire only if needed," he stated in his usual emotionless tone.
After that, the team's members began announcing their readiness for action. 60 men, one by one, uttering the same single word; an utter waste of time. Truth be told, it was hard to believe that an entire mercenary group was needed to put down one family.
"Go, approach slowly," the commander ordered.
"Let's get inside as quickly as possible; my clothes are fucking soaked cause of this shitty storm!" Goat cursed through the connection channel.
"I do believe you are not made out of sugar; so, stop complaining, Goat!" Firefly replied.
"Why the fuck the HQ sent 60 of us? Can someone explain that to me?" Mouse asked. "It's just one man, not to mention he's the owner of an IT company; he can't be of any danger."
"I believe HQ had their reasons behind such a rush decision," Wolf stated calmly. "But for now… shut up and focus on the job!"
The mercenaries did as they were told. As quietly as they could, they were closing the distance to the estate. It must be admitted, the Winters' had a taste in architecture and a disgusting amount of money at their disposal.
A muffed shot pierced through the night.
"Perth is down; I repeat, Perth is down!" Goat announced. "The Winters' must have guards inside the villa. Push forward, or they will shoot us like the ducks."
"What are they using?" the commander asked.
"I believe it's some sniper rifle with a silencer," Wolf responded.
"Sam is down; Ralf is down!" other shouts sounded through the communication channel.
"Spider is down; Matt is down!"
Without wasting any moment more, they charged forward. Damned be the sneaking part; their cover had been already blown.
Present times:
"I believe you remember that night," the stone-cold emotionless voice sounded through the speakers.
"I do; I really do remember that night," the man responded with a heavy sigh. "What is the reason you are bringing this topic, right now?" he asked. "May I know the reason, commander?"
"We have left work only partially done. The girl survived; the Winters' daughter is alive," the commander uttered. "We have work to do."
"No… we don't," the man replied. "We're no longer part of that team, that organisation; we can live our lives without bothering about the past. Or… quite frankly, trying to forget about what we did."
"I do not believe you, sergeant," the commander responded. "You are perfectionist, the pedant in many ways; you were always making sure that work is done. What happened that night that it is no longer the case?"
"I'd assume it was a slip off; Everyone can make mistakes. It wasn't my first; it wasn't my last," the sergeant explained. "I've sealed that part of my life; it's over, and I want it to be over."
"Alright," the commander sighed heavily. "I will not force you to do the job; I will do it myself. Wish you the best of luck in your new life then, sergeant," the man added before ending the call.
"Fuck!" the man cursed. "Why must it come back to me? Why after all these years?" he asked the question, yet the answer was not provided as expected.
Present times:
Akali's POV (5 min later):
"But honey, he's already paid for what he had done," Evelynn said, coming closer. "I mean… I don't know whether he faced the consequences of his actions; however, you didn't allow him to have the last word in that matter," the woman tried to explain.
"I know that I have messed him up a bit, yet I would want to see him pay. I want to see them punishing him, not just me," the raven-haired girl uttered, slightly raising her voice.
"Understandable, honey," Eve whispered. She tried to hug the girl; however, the teen was still holding the guitar, successfully preventing her from doing so. "Would you mind… putting down the guitar? I'd love to have you inside my arms."
"Ok," Akali responded with a heavy sight. "Give me a moment then," she said whilst standing up.
Without uttering anything more, she took the instrument by its neck and headed toward its case. Unfortunately, she was still limping; her right leg was being dragged forcefully. But, on the brighter side, the progress could be seen with just a single glance. It was an utter mystery for everyone how the girl managed to recover so quickly. Evelynn suspected that the current situation was rather the outcome of Akali's stubbornness than speedy recovery. Unstraping the guitar took the young woman a moment or so; then, the item was tenderly put into its own container. None-existing dust was being swiftly wiped off using a slightly moistened piece of cloth. After that, the raven-haired teen returned to her previous seating, waiting for her guardian's action.
"Can I?" the magenta-haired woman asked before sitting next to the girl.
A slow nod was provided as an answer.
"How's your leg, honey?" Eve asked whilst slowly sitting next to her protégé.
"You know, there are better and worse moments; however, I feel like I will be able to return to regular training soon. I feel like it will be much sooner than the doc assumed," the raven-haired teen responded, trying her hardest to hide the grimace of pain that ran across her beautiful face.
"I'd assume so, dear; it takes a hefty amount of time to recover from such an accident," the magenta-haired lawyer responded, trying to pick her words carefully.
"Yeah," Akali whispered, lowering her gaze significantly. "Still, I can bear that; I do not like to be of a nuisance. I hate to be just an extra weight put on someone else's shoulders," she added.
"It's perfectly understandable; however, I feel… I know… that you're trying to overcome what happened to you, Akali. So, please, give yourself time… to heal properly," the oh-so-great diva pleaded.
"Fine," the black-haired teen sighed heavily as a sort of response. "I will try to take it as slowly as I can," she added, not really sure whom she wanted to convince herself or her guardian.
"That's all I can really ask for," the siren murmured under her breath. "I appreciated it, honey," she told Akali. "I really do."
"What do you expect of me?" the girl asked.
"Are you ready to talk about the accident day?" Eve asked, lowering her voice to a barely hearable whisper.
"I suppose so," the ninja replied with yet another sigh.
"Please, do tell me," Evelynn allowed herself to use a pleading tone once again.
"Fine, fine," the raven-haired teen responded.
"Would you mind if I hold you a bit closer?" the diva asked, yet she did not wait for any sort of response, pulling the girl closer.
Akali did not protest, allowing the older woman to wrap her slender arms around the teen's frame. The pleasant warmth radiated from Eve's body. The raven-haired girl allowed herself to sink into it.
Flashbacks
Matchday (final moments of the match):
The rain was only getting worse and worse. Numerous heavy droplet were pouring down from the greyish skies, washing over the grounds below. The light was dimmed, the temperature was going down, yet the match was continued.
The girl's breathing was ragged, shallow. Then, another foul committed by some opposing team member gave her a couple of precious seconds to stabilise her breathing. But, deep down inside, she knew she was only lying to herself that these moments were enough to cool down. She was beyond exhausted; Akali had been playing the best she could since the match had started. But, funnily enough, it was still not enough. The score favoured the opposing team, and the time was running short, only a couple of minutes left before the end of the match. But, truth be told, the lead was not overwhelming; only one goal was scored throughout the game. So all her team really needed was one quick counterattack; scoring the equalising goal was not out of place quite yet. Unfortunately, the problem was Akali's strengths, or to be precise, their near depletion.
"One more rush, Akali, just one more rush," she was murmuring to herself. By now, it was evident that if her team were to cause the tie, she needed to be the catalyst of it. Even worse, she would have to fight against her limits to succeed.
"Miss Smith," the main arbiter called her. "Your team wants you to perform a free-kick," he informed her. "That's being said, Mister Yang receives a yellow card for that foul; one more incident like that, and you will see a red box. Am I clear, Mister Yang?" the old referee reprimanded the incident's perpetrator.
She approached the referee, sighing heavily; the scenery around her was looked upon whilst doing so. The teen tried to develop a plan, trying to foresee what would happen in the nearest future. Every detail seemed to be important in the greater scale of things. Quite frankly, she felt overwhelmed by the number of details that could impact as it seemed not-so-clever plan of hers.
An extra, deep breath-in was performed to clear her mind, or frankly, it was the goal; however, it was not achieved with any margin of success. The time was fluid; it seemed to be running out far too quickly, becoming the matter of essence in just a few heartbeats.
The decision was made; the time for action proceeded it, yet the girl was not entirely sure whether the plan would work out in the very end. However, it would have to be a discussion for the latter part of the day. Now, she was to give everything she got to fulfil the plan into reality.
A short pass was played toward Trey; the game was resumed. From the beginning of the match, she was the difference-making player. That aspect did not change even now when the teen was near her limits. The raven-haired girl was gesturing intensively, trying to inform her teammates to play through her, to enable her to pressure the opponents. To her dissatisfaction, her team decided to play passively for a couple of prolonged moments, exchanging passes whilst trying to penetrate the defence of their competitors. To be perfectly honest, Akali did not think fondly of such an approach; however, she could do little to prevent her team from doing so.
The raven-haired striker tried to play with her teammates; however, the passing of time became more and more noticeable. They had little time left to turn the tides of the encounter in their favour. Finally, Matt noticed her and told her to run deeper into the enemy field. A long pass was an extremely daring try, yet their options were severely limited.
Somehow, Akali managed to lose the player who was supposed to cover her. With quickly depleting reserves of her energy, she knew she got only one last try. Truth be told, there was only enough time for them to finish this action. So she sprinted forward to the open field where the ball should fall. By the slimmest of margins, the teen succeeded in controlling it, allowing herself to run even faster toward the gate. She was in an excellent position; the defenders were at least a dozen meters away from her, allowing her to think about the approach.
The raven-haired girl knew that football is a team game; however, she much rather prefered to have the matters in her own hands. Instead of passing the ball to the Sev on her left, she opted to go all in. She went through the opponent's defenders with little to no problems, leaving her with just a short straight passage toward the gate.
Overconfidence is – in most cases – the prelude to downfall. And… Akali's case was not different. With just the final step to take, she allowed herself to relax. Unfortunately, it was a severe mistake. She did not even hear the player sprinting after her. The immense pain brought her back to reality. She could feel her muscles aching, yet thanks to the adrenaline pumping through her veins, she managed to continue running.
She remembered the feeling of satisfaction when she scored a goal, earning her team a draw. It was immediately followed by the last prolonged whistle of the referee, marking the end of the match. Then, the stadium started to chant loudly, showing their support – which she deeply appreciated. But, unfortunately, the rush of adrenaline faded away quickly, leaving her in a state of agony. She could easily tell that her calf was severely injured; the pain radiating out of it was unbearable.
The girl fell onto the ground, clenching her teeth to ease up the pain.
As through mist, she spotted some player approaching her. He had a really dark complexion which meant he was a member of the opposing team. His thick, long, dark dreds were pulled into a ponytail, allowing him to play with disregard of his own hair. A quick glance informed Akali that the player was not happy with the end result of the match.
"Who the fuck allowed a bitch to play a game of men?!" he spat venomously. "You bitch should wait for men like me to fuck you, not stealing my victory," he added, preparing himself to attack.
There was no dignity in what he did later.
Akali could not have stood up; she physically could have not. So the only thing she could do was to prepare her abs for a beating; cowards such as this boy would always aim where the least evidence of a beating would preserve. As she expected, the dark-haired man began repeatedly kicking her; each kick only enhanced the previous ones, causing more and more damage. Even though the pain was immense, the raven-haired girl was only gasping whilst dealing with the initial impact of the strike. It must have enraged the man even more. He quickly opted for a different strategy; to be more precise, he started to aim for Akali's already wounded leg.
He only managed to kick her once, yet the pain was so intense that the girl could not muffle a piercing scream.
"You're not that tough, don't you, bitch?!" the dark-skinned player allowed himself to mock. "You're just a piece of shit that should have never entered a pitch. But, don't worry, I'll make sure you won't be able to do so in the future," he added with a mischievous, sadistic smile.
He was not allowed to strike again. Someone pulled him back slightly, preventing the kick from reaching its target. Through the tears, Akali saw that it was, in fact, Evelynn. How had she reached them as quickly? It was the question she could not have found an answer for. Her guardian was barefooted; she must have left her stiletto behind.
Flashbacks
Evelynn's POV (at the same time):
"Whom do you think you're?!" the enraged lawyer uttered in a stone-cold tone.
"Oh… hey cutie," the dark-skinned boy replied, winking at the magenta-haired woman, then scanned her from feet to head. "I'm dealing with a minor problem of mine; however, I can forget about this loser for you. Damn, you're hot," he added, inappropriately starring at Evelynn's bust.
"I'd strongly recommend you getting out of my sight right now!" the diva growled. "But, make no mistake, I'll have your head served on the silver plate for what you've done," she made a clear threat.
"Oh, man!" the dark-haired man exclaimed. "Hot and crazy girl, I must have won today," he added with a stupid smile nearly engraved all over his face.
"Agghh!" the boy groaned a moment later.
Flashbacks
Akali's POV (at the same time):
She had had enough; it was one thing to attack and disrespect her, but talking like that to her guardian was unacceptable in her eyes. Even though her entire body was aching, she somehow found the strengths to proceed with her plan. First, the girl used her elbows to slightly lift herself up from the ground. Then, she reached out with her right hand toward the dark-skinned man's calf. It was decently built, muscular; she must have admitted that; however, she knew that she would have little to no problems with crushing it. Without an ounce of hesitation, the raven-haired girl squeezed the tensed muscle hard, sinking her nails into the man's flesh.
The result was immediate; the boy gasped, groaned, then screamed in pain. Without a moment to waste, Akali chose her next target. The soft, vulnerable muscle behind the right knee would not stand a chance against her grip. Instead of squeezing the flesh, she opted to punch it with all she could muster in that very moment.
As she expected, the player fell down after just a few short-lived moments. It was the moment she had been waiting for. She pulled the man toward herself; then, her hands wrapped around the left elbow. With just one powerful push, she broke the man's limb. For her effort, she was rewarded with a loud scream.
The last thing she remembered was the hit in the face. Then, the only thing that remained was darkness.
Current time
Evelynn's POV (a couple of moments later):
The burst of emotions connected with telling the story left Akali slightly trembling. The siren reacted immediately, enforcing her hug.
"You're so brave, honey," the magenta-haired woman whispered into the girl's ear. "You've put up a fight in the face of unfavourable circumstances. I'm proud of you; I really am," she added. "I'd want to ask you for one thing, can I?" she asked.
"Of course, Eve," the raven-haired teen responded.
"Please, don't put yourself at risk so often; my heart can't stand seeing you hurt," the siren told Akali, then planted a sweet kiss on top of her head.
After that, there was only silence and the comfortable warmth found in each other's arms.