Through the Ashes, We Crawl

Ariella's lungs burned.

Every breath was a struggle as she crawled through the narrow, dirt-lined tunnel.

The walls pressed in around her, rough and unyielding, scraping her arms and legs with every desperate movement.

She couldn't stop.

She wouldn't stop.

Her heart pounded in her chest, drowning out everything else.

The blast above still echoed in her ears, a terrifying reminder of what she had left behind.

Kael.

Her chest tightened at the thought of him.

The last look they had shared was burned into her mind—his eyes calm, resolved, ready to die.

She wanted to scream, to turn back.

But she kept crawling.

Because if she stopped now, all of it would be for nothing.

The tunnel seemed endless.

Her hands shook as she pulled herself forward, every muscle in her body screaming in protest.

The air grew colder the deeper she went, damp and thick with the scent of earth and stone.

Her mind spiraled.

Was Kael still alive?

Had the house collapsed?

Were the Raven soldiers dead, or had they survived?

She didn't know.

All she knew was that she had to keep moving.

Minutes felt like hours.

Somewhere between her gasps, old memories began to creep in.

She saw Matteo's face, cold and distant.

"You were never meant for this life, Ella," his voice echoed in her mind.

She remembered the garden back at the estate, where she and Giuliano would play under the olive trees, laughing freely.

Those days felt like another life, a cruel illusion.

Now, all that remained was blood and betrayal.

Tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them away, forcing herself to keep going.

Finally, she saw it.

A faint glimmer of light ahead.

Her heart leapt.

She pushed herself harder, crawling faster until her fingers brushed against cool stone.

A metal grate.

She gritted her teeth, using every ounce of strength to shove it open.

Fresh air rushed in, sharp and biting.

She pulled herself out, collapsing onto the cold ground.

For a moment, she just lay there, gasping, her body trembling from exhaustion.

When she finally looked up, she realized where she was.

An old, abandoned chapel stood before her, hidden deep within the forest.

Its walls were crumbling, vines creeping up its sides.

It was hauntingly beautiful, untouched by time.

And completely isolated.

Ariella forced herself to her feet, staggering toward the entrance.

She pushed open the heavy doors, the creak echoing through the empty space.

Inside, it was dark, the only light coming from shattered stained glass windows.

Her footsteps echoed as she moved down the aisle, every step unsteady.

Then she saw him.

Kael.

He was slumped against the altar, blood staining his shirt, his face pale but alive.

Relief flooded through her, followed quickly by terror.

"Kael!" she cried, rushing to his side.

His eyes fluttered open at the sound of her voice.

"You made it," he rasped, a faint, pained smile tugging at his lips.

Tears blurred her vision as she grabbed his hand.

"You're bleeding," she choked out.

"It's not the worst I've had," he muttered.

Even now, he tried to stay calm, to protect her.

But she could see the pain in his eyes.

She had never felt so helpless.

She glanced around frantically, spotting an old wooden bench nearby.

She helped him lean against it, her hands trembling as she worked to stop the bleeding.

Her movements were clumsy, but desperate.

Kael winced but said nothing.

"I thought I lost you," Ariella whispered, her voice cracking.

"You didn't," he replied, his grip tightening slightly on her hand.

For a long moment, they sat in silence, the weight of everything they had survived pressing down on them.

The chapel seemed to hold its breath with them, every creak and gust of wind adding to the eerie stillness.

Finally, Kael broke the silence.

"We can't stay here long," he said, his voice hoarse.

Ariella nodded, though her heart ached at the thought of moving again.

"Where do we go?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Kael's eyes darkened, a flicker of determination shining through the pain.

"Somewhere they won't find us," he said.

His words were simple, but the weight behind them was anything but.

Ariella knew the fight wasn't over.

It was just beginning.

She glanced at the stained glass above them, the fractured colors casting ghostly patterns across the floor.

In that moment, surrounded by ruin and shadows, she made a silent vow.

No matter what it took.

She would survive.

And she would fight back.

The real war was still coming.

Ariella's gaze remained fixed on the fractured glass above, but her mind churned relentlessly. The weight of Kael's bloodied body beside her grounded her in the present, but her heart was already racing toward the unknown future.

She glanced at Kael again, his breath shallow but steady. His wounds were still bleeding, but not enough to kill him immediately. She tore a strip from her own shirt and tightened it around his arm, whispering under her breath, "Stay with me, Kael. You can't leave me now."

Outside, the wind howled through the cracks in the old chapel, its eerie wail echoing through the empty hall. It sounded like ghosts mourning the dead—or perhaps, warning the living.

Ariella's body ached from the tunnel crawl, her knees bruised, hands scraped, but none of it mattered. Her mind flashed back to the explosion, the way Kael had thrown himself into danger without hesitation.

She clenched her fists.

"I won't let this be the end," she murmured, her voice laced with steel.

Slowly, she forced herself to her feet, moving toward the remnants of a wooden pew. She found a rusted lantern and a half-empty canteen tucked beneath it, likely left behind by whoever had hidden this place before them.

She lit the lantern, its dim light flickering but enough to chase away the overwhelming darkness.

Then she turned back to Kael, crouching beside him.

"We have to move," she whispered, though she knew he could barely stand.

Kael stirred, his eyes fluttering open once more.

"They're not done with us," he rasped.

She nodded, her throat tightening.

"I know. But we need to get you somewhere safe first."

Kael managed a faint, bitter smile. "Safe... doesn't exist for people like us."

Ariella's chest ached at his words, but she refused to accept them.

"It has to," she said firmly. "We just have to find it."

She helped him sit up, her arms trembling under his weight.

"There's a cart behind the chapel," Kael muttered, his voice fading.

"Good," she replied, determination setting in.

She shifted his weight onto her shoulder, dragging him toward the back of the chapel where broken doors hung crooked on their hinges. Outside, hidden beneath thick ivy, an old wooden cart waited, its wheels stiff but still intact.

With great effort, she helped Kael onto it, draping a tattered blanket over him to conceal his body.

She gripped the handles tightly, her body screaming in protest.

"One step at a time," she whispered to herself.

As she pushed the cart down the overgrown path, every crunch of leaves beneath the wheels sounded like a gunshot in the stillness.

But she didn't stop.

Somewhere beyond the trees, a new dawn waited.

And with it, a chance to fight back.

No matter what it took.

The real war was only just beginning