Unsafe

Alone in the office, Val's heart raced. She needed to find something, anything to defend herself. Her gaze scanned the room, eventually landing on her husband's sturdy, mahogany desk. She moved to it quickly, rifling through its drawers, searching.

To her surprise, she unearthed two small cannons, both with ice blue gems embedded into the handles. She allowed a sigh of relief to escape; she could work with these.

As the gravity of her situation continued to set in, Val quickly inspected the cannons, ensuring they were loaded and ready to use. Taking a deep breath, she muscled the weighty desk, knocking it over to create a makeshift barricade between her and the door. She then positioned herself behind it, both cannons trained on the entrance, her heart beating loudly in her ears.

Time seemed to stretch and distort, each minute feeling longer than the last. All Val could focus on was the soft ambient noises of the factory, her own shallow breaths, and the unmoving door in front of her.

Just when the weight of anticipation threatened to crush her, the doorknob began to jiggle. A wash of relief flowed over her. "You're back!" She exclaimed, eager to see her husband's familiar face.

However, the face that met her gaze was far from familiar. A blazing fireball shot past, missing her face by mere inches. The heat singed her cheek, leaving behind a trail of stinging pain. As the smoke cleared, the menacing figure of Travis stood in the doorway, a wicked grin stretching across his face.

For a moment, everything seemed to freeze as Val locked eyes with her adversary, knowing full well that she was in grave danger.

A surge of panic raced through Val as another elemental shot ignited from Travis's weapon. The dazzling bolt narrowly missed her as she dove to the side. The harsh crackling of the blast left her ears ringing.

Recovering her breath, Val scrambled behind the desk, her voice quivering with terror. "But how? Thomas has the only key!"

A malevolent grin unfurled across Travis's face. "Who do you think gave it to me?"

Val felt a piercing pain in her chest as the realization hit her. A cocktail of emotions surged within her. Disbelief, anger, betrayal, and sorrow. Tears brimming in her eyes, she managed to voice her most agonizing question. "But I'm preg—"

Her voice trailed off, the gravity of her circumstances, combined with the weight of her revelation, making it hard to form words.

Travis, his eyes cold and filled with disdain, fired off another shot. The brilliant arc of flame raced toward Val, exploding against the heavy wooden desk she was crouched behind. The force of the explosion propelled her backward, and with a crash of shattering glass, she was launched out of the office window.