A Night of Bullets and Fire

Gia looked at the fake ID in her hand and put it into her suitcase along with the rest of her fake documents. Her heart drummed in her chest and the reality of everything started to sink in. She looked around to commit to memory the very room she spent her teenage years redecorating. Her room. She zipped the suitcase and lifted it from the bed. 

Theo walked in with Omar behind him.

Omar said nothing to her. He just picked up her suitcase and left. He was always like that. He was difficult to understand most of the time. He barely spoke or showed much emotion. He was reticent by nature but it got worse since an incident that occurred five years ago.

"This will be over before you know it. Very soon you'll unpack your stuff, settle down and continue with kicking Darius' arse," Theo assured her.

Gia gave him a watery smile and embraced him, , I'm scared, Leo," she told him honestly. He was the only one she could ever talk with so openly.

"Every thing is going to be fine. I won't let any harm come your way. I promise," Theo rubbed her back to soothe her anxiety.

She pulled away from him to wipe her tears before it ruined her makeup.

"That's it girl. Imagine worsening the already terrible makeup on your face. I fear for the other guests at the gala," Theo crossed his arms and smirked at her.

Gia stumped on his foot with her heels. 

He groaned and bit the walls of his cheeks to stop himself from cussing at his sister.

"Gia Salvatore! Get your arse down here this minute!" Darius yelled from downstairs.

"Language, Darius! There's a child in the house," Zara warned referring to Bella, Leo's ten year old.

Gia could only imagine what was going on downstairs. She was going to miss all of this.

"Come on, we should get going," Theo said to Gia.

Zara walked in. She was wearing a fine dark green long sleeve A-line dress with a black hijab that stopped barely past her shoulders.

"You look lovely," she said to Gia with a smile.

Gia twirled in her grey silk dress that outlined her delicate curves and flared out from her waist to the floor. The long slit on her left thigh was even more visible as she moved. Her gold wedge shimmered in the light emphasizing a long tone legs.

Theo held her shoulders gently and steered her out of the room and assisted her down the stairs in her high shoes. Because of the uncertainty of the events of the night, she settled for a pair of 4inch wedge.

The Salvatore boys including Capri were all clad in black suits and grey dress shirts with black shoes. None of them had a tie on them. Each of them had a chrysanthemum in their pocket patches.

Gia and Bella had chrysanthemum hair clips on their hair while Zara had hers on the side of her hijab. It was their family emblem.

"You look almost as dashing as I look," Darius said smugly.

Gia was about to flip him the bird when Zara's glare stopped her halfway. 

Theo extended his arm for Gia to take, which she did. She looked at the lounge one more time and walked out with Theo.

"Leo and Darius will stay in one car, Omar, Theo and Gia will stay in another while Bella stays with us," Capri instructed.

The siblings nodded and carried on with their father's instruction.

"Stay safe," Leodis said to Gia. He kissed her forehead and kissed Bella's forehead too.

She sighed nervously but managed a smile. She had never done anything like this before. Faking her own death was really scary for her. For all she knew the plan could go wrong in so many ways.

"Happy Death day," Darius shouted and grinned at her from the car he was assigned to. 

Theo grabbed Gia's hands before she reached for something under her dress. Darius ducked as soon as he was done speaking because Gia was very unpredictable. She had the habit of throwing daggers whenever provoked.

"No daggers," Theo chided her.

She shrugged his hands off, flipped Darius the bird and hopped into her designated vehicle.

The ride to the gala was eerily quiet. There was a driver, Theo was in the passenger's seat while Gia and Omar sat in the back seat.

Omar's hands trembled in his lap all through the ride to the gala. 

"You've done this before, Omar. It is not going to be any different," Gia said.

He shook his head, "No." He sighed and spoke again, "It is different. I have never faked my sister's death before. What if something goes wrong?" he looked at her, uncertainty in his eyes.

Gia was tongue tied. The same thought had crossed her mind only a few minutes ago.

She gulped and moved uneasily in her seat.

"Nothing will go wrong," Theo turned in his seat to face Omar who was behind the driver. "Besides, we are not doing this now. You have the whole gala to review the plan in your head. Calm down so that things don't actually go wrong when it's time," Theo tried to soothe him.

Omar opened his mouth to warn Theo of the underlying danger a few seconds away but he was cut off by an explosion. One of the black cars in front of them tumbled in the air due to the explosion and was ablaze.

"Papa!" Gia screamed and reached for the door but Omar held her back.

"Get yourself together!" Theo yelled at her. "Leo, what the hell is happening?" Theo asked through his earpiece.

The driver quickly reversed and another car exploded behind them.

"Leo, do you read me?" Theo yelled through the earpiece.

"Follow the path on your right," Leodis simply instructed and the three cars remaining swerved into action.

"What is father's status?" Theo asked.

"Father is fine. He is calling for backup," Leodis replied. "I'm going to stay with father. Omar, separate Bella from mother. Theo, get Gia out of here at all cost. Darius, stay with mother," he instructed.

Another car on the line exploded and tumbled in the air. A sharp piercing sound could be heard through the earpiece and all the others wearing one had to rip it off their ears.

"Leo!"

"Darius!"

Another explosion and Theo's car somersaulted landing on the roof and wheels in the air. Gia screamed as she hit her head hard against the window and shattered glass scattered in the air. The dizziness hit her with full force and she felt warmth on her face. Her eyelids felt heavy as lead, her head hurt, her neck was in an odd position. Her whole body screamed from the pain within and on her. She was slowly slipping into the darkness. 

Bella's screams jolted her awake.

"Bella," Theo gasped weakly.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and fell on the roof of the car with a thud. He nudged Omar. Gia stared hazily and horror washed over her as her eyes settled on the blood dripping from his mouth down his chin. The driver had glass piercing through his chest. Gia watched him die slowly. Omar was unconscious but still breathing. Gia helped Theo drag him out of the car.

Bella's screams filled the night air. The chaos was unsettling. The strong smell of burning flesh and fuel was strong.

A shiver ran down Gia's spine as she saw the scene before her. Warm liquid ran down her nose, she touched it with a finger and stared at her own blood. The dizziness was strong. She wiped the liquid from under her nose with the back of her hand.

She turned to Omar and Theo and saw that Omar was slowly gaining consciousness while Theo was at the brink of passing out.

Strong arms picked her up and she felt fear like never before.

The sound of a gunshot made her dizzier. She was sure she would pass out even before her body started registering the pain from the bullet.

The arms around her loosened and Darius caught her before she fell down in a pile with the man he had just shot at.

"You okay?" he asked.

She just nodded her head. She did not dare to look at the body behind her. She staggered and managed to stand properly on her feet with Darius' help.

"They've taken Bella," he told her.

"What?" Gia, Theo and Omar exclaimed.

"How can they? She's just a child!" Gia said in shock.

"Papa went to get her. We are outnumbered," Darius said and stared into the darkness.

"Dar, Gia, take cover!" Leodis yelled.

Immediately they ducked, bullets rained in their direction only missing them slightly. The only thing separating them from the bullets was the wrecked car she had been in few minutes ago. The loud sound of bullets suddenly ceased. 

The smell of petrol and burning flesh was thick in the air. The adrenaline rush and smell lessened her focus. Her body still hurt from the impact of the car crash.

She was paralyzed with fear.

"Change of plans. We defend ourselves. Back up is ten minutes away," Capri said firmly.

Gia closed her eyes and braced herself for what was to come. She took in deep breaths as she reached under her dress for her dagger but Darius thrusted a gun to her instead. She used her bracelet as a scrunchie to hold her hair away from her face now fully ready for action.