Reborn Heart of Steel

The sound of gas filled my ears and in the next moment I was blanketed by darkness. This was close to being overwhelmed by panic, but Chase, holding my hand, brought me back to the real world. We had to move, had to come up with a way to get out of that house before the gas got in the way. “Breathe not a word!” I said to Chase in hushed tones. It was still very dark, and I could not even make out his face, but I could just feel him squeezing my hand as a response. The pulse quickened with the feeling of anxiety and adrenaline flowed through the veins and made me more sensitive. An explosion of some sort had destabilized our captors this might well be our only opening. I grabbed Chase’s hand and dragged us both down to the floor where perhaps the air was more breathable. After a few moments, I began to get my bearings and could start to distinguish different forms. The massive fellows who were guarding us from the back of the truck were falling to their knees, getting clumsy with coughs. A loud shout from Mr. Finch, who yelled to stay calm, ordering everyone to sit down, was immediately followed by another blast, this time closer to the window. The building vibrated and the muffled noise of the cracking of concrete on the deck above me could be heard. With this strategy, I dared whisper to Chase, who was crawling on his tummy and I hoped to look for an exit. Our hands were tied, meaning progress was slow and so agonizing, but one could not think of another alternative. We kept on moving slowly, and my thoughts were running wild. The Raven’s counter was still running. It was in such a maze that Zoe was in serious peril. And beyond us, the city was still, it was still failing to realize the tragedy that was going to happen to them. It obviously hadn’t been easy for him; the light of the beam made him stop for a moment. Had Finch regained control? But the voice that followed came like a wave of relief to me. Disaster Control Center : LAPD Everyone on the ground, now! Had the police officer not spoken in such an assertive manner, I never could have been happier to hear him. I was able to open my eyes a little and watch as a squad of fully armed police officers came in with their gas masks on, down the hallway. “Here!” I croaked out loud. “We’re here! Help!” The one that approached us was an officer, and he immediately looked at our well-being. ‘We’ve got the hostages,’ he said to whoever was at the other end of the radio. “Sending them up now. Be informed, there could be chemical agents in the air. ” I wasn’t scared to tell him anything as he was cutting through our restraints. “Well there’s our friend. .. Zoe. .. She’s in danger!” The officer nodded grimly. “We know. Zoe is with another team. They’re prepared. ” He supported us as we moved toward what I realized was an emergency stairwell, getting me on my feet. “It is high time that you two left the premises, the entire building could collapse at any moment. ” Every time we ascended the stairs, I felt each one of the kicks through my sore and aching body. Yet the higher we got with each floor, the more I smelled the fresh air and the feeling of hope started to come back. And when we emerged out of the darkness, we entered into a world that already had an order, even if it was now very apparent that those in charge of said order would not be very friendly to our presence. Nowadays, we discovered police cars were parked around the building a former office block in space far from the central part of the city. Several paramedics emerged from nowhere and came toward us. They carried Chase to an awaiting ambulance and me as well. As they started to inspect us, I managed to get parts of the conversations that were being made on the radio. “Numerous devices were discovered… evacuation in progress… presumed chemical agent VX”. It took me a few moments to process the information, and it hit me that it wasn’t over yet, and we had escaped, barely. I looked at the paramedic attending to me, “I have to talk to whoever is in charge here. I must talk now. ” She took a pause which showed conflicts between professional duty and the anxiety that was heard in my voice. Lastly, she agreed, and whistled for an imposing man dressed in a tactical vest. ‘Captain Reeves,’ he said roughly, extending his hand toward the other man.

“I get it that you have information?” I nodded, as my mind became more or less coherent. The Raven… he came up with something. Multiple targets around the city. . Now there is a timer, and we are running out of time the attack will start in less than fifteen minutes. There was barely any change of expression, but Reeves’ eyes opened wide. He shouted into the radio, then turned back to me, ordered, “Everything you know. ” I had to tell the best I could what I had witnessed in The Raven’s control room, the screens, the countdown, and everything in between. .

As I related all these to him this serious expression plastered on the person of the captain captured the gravity of the situation. “Sir!” An officer came up breathless holding a tablet in front of him. “We have something here. The traffic cam recorded several suspicious cars coming out of this place just a few minutes before our arrival. We are on their trail. ” Reeves nodded. “Good. Pass that information to all units. I want those vehicles off the road. ” He looked at me then and said, “You have done a good job kid; you must let the medics do their work now. ” Constant barking of more orders, and then he walked away. I can already feel the weakness in my body, as the adrenaline wears off. I began searching for Chase only to find him in the next ambulance after arguing with the paramedic. I could only hear him saying rather irritably, “I’m fine!” And so, they said to themselves and each other several times: ‘We must give aid and there has to be something that can be done!’ Despite everything, I couldn’t help but smile. Chase was always eager to pull up his boots for another fight again. I became aware of a sound close to the entrance of the building. My spirits rose when I saw Zoe coming out, on two officers’ support. She was so white and hysterical but moving, they watched her breathing, then turned her on her side and held her until the writhing stopped. Huge relief washed over me and then a resurgence of another type of motivation to continue immediately with the battle that we were fighting. The Raven was still out there, and his plan was going on nonetheless. And we had very little time in which to make our plans for battle. I was planning to scream out Zoe’s name when a very loud sound of an explosion captured the silence of the night. I saw a huge fireball rise above the dots of the buildings in the city in the distance. Mannered screaming and shouting filled the air as everyone tried to come up with a response to what had just happened. It was Captain Reeves that silenced the confusion of the group. ‘It’s begun!’ ordered the commander, mobilizing all the units ‘We have several cases of emergency situations in different parts of the city. ‘ As the flashers on all the emergency vehicles faded and disappeared, I got a shiver down my back. This was only the start of it. What was to come next? I looked at the paramedic pleading with my eyes to allow me to go home. “I need a phone. Right now. ” She paused for a second, and gave me her hand, the one with the ring. Trembling, I took the phone that was given to me in my hand and dialed the number I had in my memory.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Dad? I began as soon as he answered the call, ‘Listen carefully. ‘ You have to take Mom and flee from the city. Now. I’ll explain everything later. ” I didn’t get a chance to turn around before Chase caught my gaze as I was putting the phone back on the hook. He nodded and looked at me and I saw that he understood me without either of us having said a word to the other. Perforce we intervened as we couldn’t sit idle watching for the worst to happen. Whatever was coming, we had to meet it. But regardless of the medical workers’ protesting, we alighted from the ambulances. Zoe saw us and was able to extricate herself from the officers who were surrounding her to come to us. “You two okay?” she questioned them or maybe questioned him, she said what was on her mind in a blunt way. But her tone was rough yet politically correct. I nodded. “We will be,” “What’s the plan?” Zoe’s eyes hardened. “We brought this crazy person, no matter the cost. ” She was able to speak no further when there was suddenly transformer noise coming from her hand-held radio. The caller was barely coherent and screamed several times in the background. It was possible to hear voices yelling ‘alarms,’ ‘fire,’ ‘evacuation’. “All units… city hall… hostage situation… mayor…” Zoe’s face paled. “He has captured City Hall. The mayor… the entire government of the city…” There was another blast and, because it seemed closer this time, the sky was brightly illuminated. There was an earthquake-like experience felt by all of us on the ground. It was only from the safety of the rooftop as we all watched our city turn to a place of destruction that I fully understood what we were up against with The Raven. It was not about destruction alone but the annihilation of every person and the progress of civilization, every institution that forms the basis of society. Only, to us, the bigger picture was quite clear, as if we were the only ones privy to the information. I glared at Chase and turned to look at Zoe. My determination was reflected in both their eyes. There we walked straight towards Zoe’s car without saying anything. And then I thought about Alessandro who was still in Coma in the Hospital. Then my heart skipped a beat as I heard

“Ladies and gentlemen units. Listen closely… the elephant compromised’s reports just came in… police headquarters, your base of operations, has been compromised… Unknown hostile forces, fully equipped and very hostile… There is no backup, no backup at all… Every officer is now on his own. ” With the loud screech of the tires, the radio cut off and was replaced by a static noise. As we sped towards the heart of a city under siege, one thought echoed in my mind: