Chapter 34: Unyielding Fury.

The cold air cut like a blade as Talon stood over Sarah’s lifeless body, his heart a swirling storm of grief and rage. His eyes, darkened by the weight of loss, stayed fixed on the ground where her blood stained the snow. Every breath he took was a struggle between grief and the overwhelming need for vengeance.

“I’m going to fucking kill him for this,” Talon growled, his voice thick with fury. His fists clenched tightly, his knuckles white as he fought to contain the tempest within. His words weren’t a threat—they were a promise.

Ava, standing beside him, her own grief barely hidden beneath a mask of cold, lethal determination, knew there was no time to waste. “We finish this,” she said, her tone flat, every syllable honed like the edge of a blade. Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed their gear from the nearby ADF members, tossing weapons and supplies into the back of a nearby vehicle.

“Let’s move, Talon. We don’t have time for anything else,” Ava ordered, her eyes hard and sharp, burning with an icy resolve that mirrored the snow-covered landscape around them.

Talon didn’t respond with words. He merely shoved past her, vaulting into the driver’s seat, and slammed the vehicle into gear. The tires spun wildly for a moment before catching traction, kicking up a spray of snow as the vehicle lurched forward. Its roar echoed through the frozen woods as they raced into the unknown, disappearing into the blinding white of the storm.

Eli and Miko arrived just in time to see the vehicle vanish into the distance, the fading rumble of the engine lingering in the air like a death knell. They skidded to a stop, their breath coming in sharp bursts, the realization of what had happened settling in like a dark cloud.

Miko, eyes wide with fear and disbelief, grabbed the nearest ADF soldier by the arm. "What happened? What the hell is going on?" His voice was edged with panic, his usual calm shattered by the gravity of the scene.

The ADF soldier, his face ashen, nodded towards Sarah’s still form, now covered with a blanket of snow-stained fabric. “They... they got her. It’s bad, Miko,” the soldier stammered, his voice trembling.

Eli, his voice strained with a mix of grief and dread, stepped closer. “It’s Sarah,” he said softly, his throat tightening around the words. "She... she didn’t make it."

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Miko’s heart dropped into a cold pit, his mind racing. He suddenly remembered who Sarah was supposed to be with today. He grabbed Eli by the arm, his eyes wide with realization. “Jess! She was with her at the new center!” Miko’s voice was a mix of panic and urgency, his mind already racing ahead.

Eli’s eyes went wide, the weight of Miko’s words sinking in. “Jess... and the baby...” he whispered, his face draining of color.

Without another word, Miko turned and sprinted back towards Green Arbor, his legs pumping furiously through the snow. His heart pounded in his chest as fear clawed at his insides. He had to get there—he had to find Jess and baby Talon. The world around him blurred as he raced against time, every second stretching into an eternity. Snow crunched beneath his boots, but all he could hear was the rapid thumping of his own heartbeat.

Back in the vehicle, the air between Ava and Talon crackled with the tension of their shared fury. Talon’s grip on the steering wheel was so tight it seemed like he might snap it in two. His knuckles gleamed white, his jaw clenched in a silent scream of rage.

“I told her what to say,” Talon muttered, his voice barely audible over the roar of the engine. “I thought... I thought keeping her off Holts’ radar would keep her safe. I told her to stay quiet...”

Ava’s eyes flickered toward him, her expression hard but with a hint of sympathy buried deep beneath the surface. “You did what you could,” she said softly.

“Now it’s too late,” Talon spat, his voice raw with pain. His eyes never left the road ahead, his mind filled with dark thoughts of retribution. “They took her from me. They took everything.”

Ava checked her weapons with methodical precision, her voice cold and detached as she reloaded her pistol. “we’ll finish this. Holts, his men... everyone.”

“Holts is mine,” Talon said, his voice flat, filled with cold, merciless certainty.

Ava nodded, her smile grim and fierce. “No arguments from me.”

The vehicle roared through the snow until, up ahead, the dim outline of an abandoned jeep came into view, half-hidden by the swirling white. Talon slammed on the brakes, the tires skidding as the vehicle came to a hard stop. The two of them exchanged a look, the unspoken understanding between them clear.

“So, Blondie,” Talon asked, his voice dark with anticipation. “How do you want to play this?”

Ava’s smile was razor-sharp, dangerous. “We circle around, take out the guards, and then find Holts. Anyone in our way...” She paused, her eyes gleaming with blood-lust. “We put them down.”

Talon’s lips curled into a feral grin as he revved the engine one last time. “Let’s finish this.”

With a final, determined look, they surged forward into the storm, their hearts cold with fury, ready to unleash their wrath on anyone foolish enough to stand in their way.

* back at Green Arbor *

Meanwhile, Miko’s breath tore through his lungs as he sprinted towards the medical center, his legs burning from the exertion. His mind raced, praying that he wasn’t too late, praying that Jess and the baby were safe.

But as he neared the building, dread settled deep in his bones, and he ran faster, fear overtaking every other thought.