Chapter 44: Miracles Do Exist

I had never seen these people, but they were Orion's men. Ursa and the twins fought again. I ran to the truck behind Max to get a gun. One of the EH threw one of the guys out with one blow and came out after me, catching me immediately and making me cry in shock.

As Sirius warned me so many times, my life could end just like that, but something hit us, and I fell to the ground. One of the brothers had rammed us and bit the EH, rolling on the floor.

I kept running. Max had already made it to the truck and pulled the gun that had the steel cable aimed at something behind me. I wanted to move off the way, but something hit me hard. I was screaming so loud that I didn't even recognize myself when I realized. The evolved man bit my arm, and it was the most horrible pain I had ever felt. Those four fangs were buried in my flesh, exerting intense pressure as he growled wildly, keeping me against the ground and knocking me out of breath with his weight.

Max hit him with the weapon to get him to let me go, but the evolved tightened the bite, making me scream and kick more. I could swear that those fangs grazed my bone and were about to break it like a stick. One of the twins fell on top, crushing me more for a few seconds, to bite the EH in the jugular, and he released me to turn and hit his attacker.

I squeezed my arm, crying; the pain was intense, and the wound was bleeding a lot. Max helped me to my feet while the evolved and the twin fought wildly. The EH managed to bite him on the side, making him scream while he pulled hard, ripping flesh.

"NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" I screamed.

I staggered, feeling like I'd pass out, but shook my head. I realized the tears of pain were running down my cheeks and cleaned them up.

Now more than ever, I could imagine the pain they felt. My guts had constantly been churning with despair when Sirius suffered such an attack. I took a gun and aimed at him, but Max held my arms.

"You won't be able to hit him. Leave it to me. Here..." He gave me the weapon with the electric cable. "Go with the others, now!" he ordered.

I ran as fast as possible, squeezing my arm, which hurt like hell. Ursa and the twin mercilessly attacked the other EH while Symphony watched, almost stunned. By God, this girl was doing nothing.

"Ursa, separate him from you!" I said as I readied the gun.

They both started trying to beat him, pushing him away, but that man was big and strong. He managed to bite Ursa on the forearm and was rammed by the twin, who bit his shoulder. The EH hit him, throwing him a couple of feet away. The boy crouched down quickly and lunged for the attack again. This would not work.

"Symphony, please help," I asked, going into despair. She looked at me, scared. We both shuddered at the cry of the twin who had protected Ursa from another bite. "Do what Sirius taught you! He taught you to fight, right?!"

The girl nodded. We heard a growl from behind, and soon, the other twin had come to help, too, although he was bleeding quite a bit. A few seconds later, Max appeared at my side with another weapon. To my surprise, Symphony went on the attack as well.

They coincided in such a way that they all ended up pushing and hitting the foe simultaneously, and the EH fell to a couple of feet. He wanted to get on his feet with a feline's agility, but I fired. Again, the gun made me take a couple of steps back. How useless I was being!

Luckily for me, the cable tangled around his neck, electrocuting him right away and making him fall before he managed to get awfully close to the others again. The boys were breathing a bit agitated. The stabbing pain made me squeeze my arm again. I hadn't noticed that it was still bleeding.

"Come on. We must stop that blood," Max suggested.

He ran to the truck to get the first aid kit.

"There is no time to lose," Ursa told the brothers.

They nodded. I didn't understand what they meant. Max began to wrap my arm as the boys entered the building. Perhaps the governor was there. I had just remembered that they had taken him that day, too.

As soon as Max finished, I got ready to follow them. At that moment, one of the twins came out, apparently looking for us.

"Come on!" he said hurriedly.

We entered quickly, following him through dark corridors, and a cry made me shudder. Did they have prisoners? Poor Governor. The scream was present again, and the twin ran, beckoning us to follow him. He came to an open door, pushing me in when I reached his side.

I froze.

Tears ran down my cheeks, and I had to cover my mouth to stop my sobbing. Sirius, it was him. It couldn't be true.

... Alive... It couldn't be... Was I dreaming?

Ursa was trying to speak to him, but he appeared unconscious or asleep, kneeling on the floor with his wrists tied high to two metal pipes embedded in the ground that led up to the ceiling. He was bare-chested and had multiple cuts on his skin, bruises, wounds, and blood.

"Sirius," I managed to mutter through tears in a cracking voice.

All these days, living a hell believing that he had died, and here he was, in front of me. But seeing him like this was another new torture. What had they done to him?

He flinched and started to want to run away from something, as if he was having a horrible nightmare.

"No, no, no!" he yelled.

He let out a loud cry, and my heart nearly stopped. I was just able to see a substance entering his body through an IV injected into his left arm. I followed the track quickly to its source and found a strange machine that the twins and Max were trying to stop.

Sirius screamed in pain, tearing me inside. Maybe they had had him like this all these days, in a constant nightmare. However, his injured body indicated that he had also been hurt.

"Please stop it!" I squealed as I brought my hands to my head.

"Sirius, you are dreaming. Wake up!" called Ursa.

Sirius tried to stand up while breathing, agitated, but being tied up, he couldn't, and apparently, his dream worsened as he fell to his knees and let out another scream, throwing his head back. He was suffering too much, and I couldn't bear it.

"I'll cut it!" Ursa warned as she prepared to break the line.

"NO!" the brothers stopped her. "That could kill him!"

No, not my Sirius dead again. I couldn't resist it. I would die right here, too, if that happened.

"It's an antique that we humans used," Max said. "I can't believe they made it work! They must have modified it or something..."

Max ran out, and I saw Symphony crying by the door frame. Sirius screamed again, and I covered my ears, distraught. There was nothing I could do. How come I didn't recognize his screams when I walked in here? What the hell was Orion planning?

Max came in and yanked a cable, pulling in one of the evolved men who had attacked us. He gave him a shove and a kick in the legs, causing him to fall to his knees.

"Speak. How do you disable that!" Max demanded to know. "They were permanently disabled. How have you made it work?!"

The EH grinned sinisterly, and Max pressed a button on the weapon, one he hadn't shown me. The man let out a cry and fell to the ground. Apparently, the cable passed voltages that didn't leave you unconscious.

"Tell me!"

The EH growled, and Max shocked him again. The man tried to hold back the scream, but it was useless, as Sirius kept screaming behind me. This was never-ending.

"We'll be like this all day if you like," Max warned him.

The man began to laugh softly. Ursa took a dagger out of Max's pants and stabbed it into the EH's leg without hesitating for a second, and I jumped at the loud scream he let out.

"I won't tell you...!" He screamed again from another stab.

She withdrew the dagger, ready to stab it again for the third time at some negative response. The evolved looked at her defiantly and smiled sinisterly. Ursa growled at him and stabbed the dagger into his arm, making him scream again, but to our surprise, the scream turned into a sick laugh.

"Shut up!" Ursa ordered as she stabbed the dagger back into his other leg furiously.

The EH was still laughing in the same way after screaming again. Sirius was still suffering, too, and I was already squirming in a nervous breakdown.

"Ready!" announced one of the twins.

I turned to look at him with relief.

"Good, smart boy!" Max said and pressed the first button on the gun.

The electricity shook the EH and knocked him unconscious. I looked at Sirius. He was gasping for air with his head down, staring at the ground. I realized the tears were still running down my face, and I tried to wipe them away.

"Sirius," I whispered.

Saying his name and seeing him alive was almost a lie to me. Maybe this was another dream, but not that I knew. I wanted to throw myself at him to hug him tightly. I approached, doubting if it was appropriate. Maybe seeing us would shock him. How to know?

"The effect of the substance is over," the twin warned.

I carefully approached Sirius and took the IV out of his arm, feeling my heart leap when I touched his skin, something I thought I would never have, and here it was. I couldn't help but shed more tears. Here he was. I breathed deeply.

Sirius reacted and growled savagely, scaring me.

"Sirius, it's us!" Ursa clarified.

But he kept growling, glaring with anger and hatred.

"Sirius..." said one of the twins as he approached.

"Go away!" Sirius growled at him.

I was scared. Maybe Orion had done something to him. Perhaps Sirius had forgotten us... He had forgotten about me.

I started crying again. My world had not finished rebuilding, and it was already falling apart again. But no, surely that would also want Orion. It was not all bad; I had begged my beloved to return to me, and here he was. Maybe he didn't remember me or would never do it again, but here he was. I could live calmly, knowing he continued his life in some part of this world. Everything was better than him dead, everything.

"Sirius," I whispered.

He directed his eyes towards me. I didn't know if it was because he recognized me or recognized the name or because he just wanted to know who had spoken. I didn't care. Seeing those beautiful eyes again was like a miracle, and even though he was looking at me with a grudge, I felt fulfilled somehow.

"We won't harm you," I continued. "Be calm..."

He growled at me, but he stopped to catch his breath after a few seconds.

"You lie," he growled, calmed down again, hung his head, and closed his eyes. "You will soon try to kill me..."

"Of course not..."

He growled wildly again, and I knew he would have thrown himself at me if he hadn't been stopped by the tubes where he was tied.

"What are you waiting for? Come and kill me. I'm not going to do it," he ordered.

It seemed that the nightmares they produced consisted of that prolonged torture caused by us... by me—damned Orion.

"Please, it's me... I'm not going to hurt you. I never would," I tried to explain, but he growled again, trying to make me walk away. "My love. My beloved..." I insisted.

"Why..." he mumbled lightly. "Why do you call me that?" he continued, gazing back at me.

"Yes, why do you call him that?" Ursa asked, obviously uncomfortable.

I looked at everyone. The twins and Symphony were also looking at me, confused. I wiped my tears and took a deep breath.

"Can you give us some privacy?" I asked.

"What?" Ursa claimed.

Max backed away from the wall.

"Move," he ordered. "Quick, quick, get out," he insisted as he led them out.

The twins pulled each of the girls out.

"Sure... Then, they will come one by one and stab me with something... right?" Sirius muttered, looking at the ground. "This is new, but I know how it will end. How ingenious."

I tightened my lips to contain my pain and approached him. He immediately looked up and growled, warning me, but I didn't back down.

"It's me... my love... I would never hurt you; I love you."

He had stopped growling but was still looking at me the same way. I took one more step, inches away from him, and knelt to be level with him. He started growling at me again.

"I won't hurt you," I insisted softly and tenderly. "Let me show you."

I slowly raised my right hand to let him know I wanted to touch him, but he growled louder and tried to back away.

"No... no...!" he begged.

"Easy," I whispered. "It's okay..."

I cradled his face in the palm of my hand while his intense eyes nailed his fury in mine. His beard was the same as when they separated him from me. This couldn't be a dream. My heart hit my chest again. I was dying to throw myself at him and hug him, but he could end up biting me if I did. The tears ran down my face again. My eyes already hurt from crying so much every day, but this time, I felt my heart was expelling the pain that had afflicted me all these days, cleaning me.

I withdrew my hand.

"You see?" I whispered again.

My lips curved into a small smile as he scowled at me.

"Don't cry," he asked.

I was surprised, and my smile widened. Although, of course, I couldn't stop crying.

"Sorry, I can't help it..." My voice broke, but I continued speaking, "I spent many days believing that you had died."

His eyebrows barely loosened.

"Until now, you hadn't mentioned that before attacking me."

I shook my head.

"It's over... I found you. The machine has been turned off. This is not another nightmare." I raised my hand and showed him my ring. "It's me..."

I returned my hand to his face, and he shuddered again, but he no longer growled. He kept looking at me suspiciously, but I didn't care; he did remember me. I gently stroked his face.

"Do you remember when you joined me, and they gave us these rings?" I asked almost in a whisper.

He didn't look away. I slowly raised my other hand, and he tensed again, growling low, but I continued until my palm touched his face.

"Do you remember when we had our date in my city?" My right hand slid up to his neck, and I kept caressing his face with my other hand. "You tried the ice cream. We got married. We went to the movies, and you kissed me there... and the hotel..."

His eyebrows dropped again.

"Yes..." he finally answered.

I smiled. My left hand also slid up to his neck, and I slowly approached. He tensed again, but I didn't stop until I managed to hug him. The heat of his body and his scent began to surround me. I couldn't help but sob against his neck, this time because of happiness. I felt that with his touch, I was finishing expelling the pain that had been in me. The world was shining again. It was reborn.

I slid my hands down his chest without detaching myself from him and wrapped him around the waist. I kissed him softly between his neck and shoulder while my tears wet his skin. I noticed that he was also injured in the back. Long cuts marked his skin. Damn Orion and his men, how they had dared to hurt his body.

"Marien..." he murmured.

I kept crying; I couldn't stop myself.

"You don't know the hell that I have lived believing I would not hug you again," I sobbed.

He tried to free himself but couldn't.

"Don't cry..." he asked again. I tightened my arms around him and took a deep breath. My injured arm ached excruciatingly, but I held it. I nodded silently and rested my face on his shoulder, bringing my hands to his shoulder blades. "Who hurt you?" he asked coldly.

He had already noticed my wound.

"One of those who had you here... But it doesn't matter. They're already under control."

He growled under his breath. I pulled away without letting go and stared into his eyes. He was still frowning.

"You're pale and haggard," he murmured without changing his expression.

I nodded.

"I told you," I whispered weakly because of my crying. "I've been living hell."

He tried to free himself again, looked at his right fist as he forced himself free, and groaned in frustration at not being able to.

"I'll call the boys to release you." But he growled again. "Relax, everything will be fine. We won't hurt you, I swear."

I slowly approached his face, and he shuddered, looking at me suspiciously. I gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and left my lips against his skin for a few seconds, refusing to let go.

I tilted my face and went to his lips, covering them with mine, enjoying his texture. I couldn't help but gasp with happiness. I hugged him again and buried my nose down his neck, sighing.

"I'll be right back."

"No, if you go, you won't come back," he murmured, anguished, surprising me.

"Hey," I tightened my hug, wanting to calm all his fears. I'll be back. I'm not going to leave you here. I love you." I approached his ear. "I love you," I insisted, whispering. I'm coming back..."

I stood up and hurried to look for the boys since the look of desolation that Sirius had given when I walked away had once again broken my heart. It was as if he still believed it was some other dream.

I saw them near the truck, and they came running to me even before I called out to them.

"Is he ready?" the twins asked somewhat excitedly.

Ursa and Symphony looked at me with some resentment.

"We have to release him, but... move slowly," I warned.

We went back inside. Sirius focused his gaze on me as soon as I peeked through the door and returned to him.

"Everything will be fine," I whispered to him.

The twins prepared knives to cut the ropes that tied him. Sirius stared at them, still suspicious. However, it seemed that he was more aware of the blades than of the boys. I touched his face, and he fixed his eyes on me.

"It's okay," I whispered again.

The ropes came loose, and he expressed pain at putting his arms in a normal position.

"Move away just in case," suggested the one on the right.

Sirius growled at him, implying that he disagreed, and I caressed his face.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not leaving," I assured as low as I could.

"Come on, Sirius," encouraged the other.

I stood up. Sirius looked at us and got to his feet with some difficulty.

"Good," said Max. "Come on. There may come more evolved men. I don't want to stop until we get to your town."

We left that place, and Sirius took one last look at that dark room. He still didn't believe it. I took his hand, immediately drawing his attention and urging him to follow me.

He frowned further at the impact of daylight. We continued walking toward the truck, and he was still looking around with suspicion and disbelief, especially at the car.

"Do you remember it? It's Max's from the training camp."

He continued to watch it warily. I realized we didn't all fit in now, and Max didn't take long to say it.

"We all don't fit; does anyone want to go in the back?"

"I'll do it," Sirius replied immediately and looked at me. "Come with me..."

His solemn gaze kept disarming me. I couldn't say no to him and didn't think to do it either. I nodded right away. Feeling him walk by my side was transcendental. Everything made sense again. The world had been rebuilt and reclaimed. At last, it was spinning again.

He jumped into the cargo part and held his hand to help me. I sat leaning against the edge, and he sat across from me, staring at me.

We left.

I saw him before me and still didn't assimilate all my happiness. At what point did someone think that I deserved to be so happy? I immediately assumed that he didn't feel completely safe entering the truck's cab and that perhaps he didn't trust the rest very much, even though if this were another dream, I would also be part of it.