The Air Out Of [Wattys2018 shortlist]

37

BREA KNEW THAT SHE HAD RECOGNIZED JESS FROM SOMEWHERE, SHE JUST DIDN'T EXPECT IT HERE. Especially inside a figment of her past, she's tried so hard to erase and that has been buried for so long that even she nearly convinced herself it never existed.

It wasn't easy being the daughter of the biggest enemy of a country she was supposedly loyal too. In fact, in wasn't easy being under the radar. Everywhere she'd get stares, aggravating responses about her father, and the worst part, they were right. They were completely justified to be doubtful about her intentions.

But she didn't know how she missed it, that burning resemblance she now sees. The eyes, the hair, the personality, how did it fly under the radar for so long. She mentally smacked herself, actually open your eyes next time, the voice in her brain spoke.

She declared, "So, Avine's daughter. My sister." she spat in an even tone, an eyebrow raised.

Jess looked at her suspiciously, smooth Brea, real smooth there. "Yes, apparently so. This supposed sister and father were reported to have drowned, although it all makes sense now. You never drowned, you just found Covia and got stuck. Earth couldn't find your bodies for a reason. You were never dead."

Brea sucked in a breath. "I think about that day. Every single time. It sucks, you know. I thought I'd never see my best friend of a sister ever again or my mother."

"There's not much of mom left, honestly. She's drinking her sorrows away. But I guess, there's not much of Avine left either." Jess shakes her head, "Still perfect for each other, no matter how messed up it gets." A small silence sifted through the air.

Aspyn coughed, "This is sweet guys, really, and I hate to break your moment but Avine is on the move. It's our cue, I suppose." Brea nodded reluctantly. She and Jess have gotten to know each other over her stay at Covia, but now, she sees Jess in a whole new light. The sister she was looking for, had also been looking for her, and now, they had found themselves - each other.

Avine was still out there. Determination coursed through the room.

She told Aspyn. "We can still make it."

**

His room, a sacred location for thinking, was hidden past every other area. It almost seemed as if the entire room disappeared as a whole until of course, Brea saw the familiar oak tree lineup distraction. It was placed as a strategic diversion, but actually, there was a stone path in between two trees which made it appear like a dead end.

She knew she had found it. Avine had shown her the entire Avinian territory once when he thought she was going to follow in his footsteps as a narcissistic dictator, but she had chosen not to leave him, she thought what she chose was right, and stood by her decision.

The layout was generally the same, but Avine's room was so unusually hard to find, Brea had probably only stumbled upon it by chance.

Screw the plans. We are ending this now. "We're close," she muttered bitterly. Jess slipped through the crevices beside her, the two led the entire pack, approaching the doorway with caution.

"I think he's come equipped," she whispered to Brea as they snuck around it.

Leo nodded, "Jess is probably right."

Brea looked around, Avine rarely brought company into his own room, a place where he would find himself meditating and only, but Aspyn beat her to it, "Doubt it. He's hardly ever brought anyone there."

Scar nodded, positioning himself. "I see."

Leo unsheathed the dagger and held it tightly in his palm before slowly handing over it to its rightful owner, Ellie, who took it with ease and offered a reassuring nod. Leo opened the door, "Duck." he yelled, as a thousand bullets were shot in their direction once the door was fully open.

Jess jumped before the door knowing she couldn't be killed. Not yet, at least.

Everyone and essentially ducked it, and Jess had absorbed the impact of the rest, but a few of the bullets had made through. Two bullets of the lot went through. If not for the pain Brea felt at the moment, she would've called it a success. One had hit Leo on his left side, and the other went through Brea's chest, she couldn't breathe, and found herself collapsing within the next second.

Her vision was fading, but she could see Jess wrapping herself around Leo, who stood in the most vulnerable spot out of everyone preventing any more bullets coming through.

She was gasping for air as Leo fell backward, into her grasp, and together, the two sat stiffly on the ground with Jess desperately trying to patch up their wounds. She didn't know if it had been time Avine finished her for what it was worth, but all she could think off was ending him off.

She pushed Jess off her whilst Ellie put her hand above Jess' subtly slipping the dagger into her grasp. Jess has no other choice but to offer a stiff nod in vain and leave to attend to her own fate. "Go finish this," Brea's weak voice spoke, as she coughed up blood.

Ellie had been working on the two, as the others charged forward trying to remain as strong a front as they wished they were, she hoped that Aspyn and Jess wouldn't find themselves at the losing end of the fight, they carried the biggest targets. Then the thought had hit her.

"El," she whispered, "They shot me on purpose." blood was spurting everywhere and was very effectively wasting Ellie's usefulness in battle. It was a massive and an ingeniously fabricated hoax. Avine was smart, she'd give him that.

"What?" Ellie wondered this had made absolutely no sense. "What about Leo? Why you though, no offense, but I think they'd rather take Jess down more than anything."

Brea let out an empty laugh, "I have the necklace."

"Oh," she whispered slowly.

"Ellie, they're just waiting. Take it, please." The last thing Brea notices before the Avinian warriors empty out and point a gun against her head while dragging her away is that the necklace is safe with Ellie. The shot through her heart was enough to stop her, and they wouldn't have much more leverage that that.

Her life was worth the sacrifice. After all, she was trapped here for eternity. At least Jess and the others still had the chance to escape. But knowing Avine, he'd probably make sure that would never happen.

Another spurt of blood, she felt light-headed, now, and could hardly move.

Actually, she remembered more than handing Ellie the necklace, in fact, a lot more. She had remembered the warriors angrily ripping a crying Ellie of her and kicking the handicapped Leo, thinking he was dead, and that Ellie would be done for in good time. Then, she had been taken to a room where she had come face to face with Avine.

She was already half dead and had accepted the fact that the bullet in her heart wasn't going to last very long. And at last, she would soon breathe her last breathe.

Brea had been gasping for breathing since, quite a while back. She kept coughing, unable to take in a decent amount of air. This is the end.

But then, the thought occurred to her. If Aspyn and the others were at his room supposedly fighting him and his warriors, then why was he standing right in front of her. Who were they fighting, exactly?

"Hello, Brea." Avine's voice was nowhere near compassionate, his eyes were frozen in place, jaw stiff. "Daughter." he spat out bitterly, almost viciously.

She lifted her hand weakly in the direction she had entered, then whispered.

"Goodbye."