Sacrificial Love

Due to a ton of unexpected craziness in the writing world, I ended up completely forgetting about this blog event.

*Insert many facepalms.*

And… as I am currently working to finish WtSSA as fast as I can, I don’t have the time to finish writing the four stories I had planned out. I could probably scrape something together, but not without losing a lot of quality and the themes I really wanted to portray throughout the stories.

So… unfortunately… this event as to be scrapped for the time being.

But. I won’t completely cut it.

I am rescheduling it for sometime this coming spring, and plan to include some of the original flash-fictions I had plotted for it, as well as an extra new story as a bit of a compensation for the wait.

And as I don’t want to leave everyone without anything to read, here is the one story I had finished before I forgot about the event. 😂

To Save the World

The sky was falling, but only she knew it.

Hanah Skylark peeked out from under her black umbrella, watching the wet drops fall from a sky as dismal and grey as her heart. 

If only I had known it would all go wrong. 

If only she and Micheal had known it was a trap. Then perhaps he might still be alive that day.

Hanah bit her lip, blinking hard before ducking back under her umbrella. If anyone saw her, she would blame the rain for the water dripping down her cheeks.

I have to keep it together. She took a deep breath, shoving one hand into the pocket of her dark trench coat. She had a job to finish. She had to keep her composure until it was over. Then, and only then, could she allow herself to  feel.

Walking quickly, she crossed the street and onto a crowded side walk, angling her umbrella so no one could see her face. Even if she wasn’t trying stay in hiding, she didn’t want anyone to see her red eyes.

Weaving her way through the crowd, she ducked into a dark alleyway.

  Tall, worn down brick walls rose up around her, rain water mixing with crumbling mortar to plaster the buildings in a dingy red mud. Trash tumbled out of rusty cans, piling up in all corners and spilling out into her path. An old green door stood in the middle of the wall, strips of paint peeling off it’s thin paneling. The matching greenish sign swinging above it stated in dim letters:

Forest apartments. Cheapest rooms around!

That sure is true. Unfortunately, these had been the only rooms Hanah and Micheal had been able to afford for any length of time.

They had been so sure of success when they had arrived in Boston. So convinced that they could pull it off, and nothing would go wrong. 

Hanah blinked, bringing a hand up to her eyes. Just finish this. She told herself. Then you can leave, and forget these past months ever existed. Swallowing hard, she closed her umbrella, hanging it off her arm and reaching up to make sure her shoulder-length blonde hair was covering the right half of her face. 

Wiping the rainwater out of her face, Hanah flipped her arm and tossed her umbrella up, catching it by its top, before stepping forward and pulling small key out of her pocket. Inserting it in the tarnished brass keyhole, she gave it a quick twist and reached for the doorknob. 

Stepping inside the dim lobby, she closed and locked the door behind her. As always, the flickering lights were dimmed and no one sat behind the low front desk. Musty green carpet covered the floor and faint music floated through the small room—the only bit of cheer in the entire building. 

Hanah quickly crossed the darkened room, shoving open the door to the stairwell. She ran up the old wooden stairs, only wincing once when they creaked beneath her.

The stairs opened up onto a long hallway, clad in the same dingy paint and musty green carpet as the lobby. Wrinkling her nose at the dank smell she would never get used to, she made her way down the long hall and stopped before the brass numbers declaring this door as her room. 

Another key brought her access to this door, and locking it tightly behind her, she made her way into the dark room she now called home.

Flipping on the flickering lights, she dropped her closed umbrella on the small kitchen table and dropped down into the one of two chairs next to it, burying her face in her hands.

She had to do this, but she didn’t think she could.

Three years ago, Micheal had accidentally come across information linking the very organization he worked for with some of the greatest cyber disasters of their time. Her older brother’s sense of justice had instantly been awakened, and he had started digging as deep as he could into the Chickadee Central’s past. At first, Hanah had dismissed the idea, and warned him that his crazy ideas might get him fired.

That was until he showed her what he had found.

Hanah sighed, pushing herself out of the uncomfortable chair and towards her bedroom. She had to get this over with.

About six months ago Micheal had come to her with news. News they didn’t realize would change both of their lives forever. Her big brother had found a path to information that could mean exposing Chickadee Central. But he had found it at a price.

His boss had started asking him questions about his search for information.

She had never seen Micheal so shaken. He decided, for their safety, that he would quit that evening. 

But they already had a plan in place. A plan that could mean exposing the corrupt organization to the world. And somehow Micheal had convinced her to still go along with it.

Hanah could still hear his voice from that day.

“This could mean everything, Hanny,” he had said, his green eyes as bright as when she would surprise him with his favorite meal. “Who knows!” A mischievous grin crept into his voice, the same tone that came when he used to try and convince her they could become spies and enter the world of espionage. “Maybe we’ll end up saving the world.”

She had agreed. And they had moved here. To this tiny apartment building in Boston. And they had started preparations for what he had jokingly called: “Operation World Saving.”

Hanah stopped in front of her doorway, leaning on the flimsy frame, her eyes burning as the horrible moments of the week before started replaying through her mind.

Micheal squeezed her arm, flashing her a quick grin. “When this is over, we’ll celebrate,” he said, “we’ll have a party celebrating how we saved the world.”

Hanah snorted, his infectious spirit leaking into her as she followed him towards the news station.

Hanah dropped onto her bed, burying her head in her hands. “It was supposed to be so simple.” She whispered through the lump in her throat. “We just needed to drop off the USB, and the station would have done the rest.”

But no. Somehow, Chickadee Central had known. And it was all a big trap.

Hanah glanced in the small mirror hanging above her bed, staring at the long, not-yet-healed gash across the right side of her forehead. Her wide eyes stared back at her, tears brimming in their green depths.

He had sacrificed himself for her. He had whispered: “Don’t look back!”

So she had listened. She had ran, as fast as she could. She didn’t even look back when his yell had echoed through her ears.

Now he was gone. 

And she needed to finish this before she broke down.

Standing, she stepped over to the small dresser beside her bed. On top of it sat a small pile of notebooks, each filled from cover to cover with the information her brother had been able to find.

After drenching the books in oil, she lit a match and flicked it onto them. Even if it left a scorch-mark on the dresser, she didn’t want to risk leaving any trace behind, not after she had seen what’s Chickadee Central would do if they found she had them.

After watching the papers burn down to a pile of ashes, she looked around for anything else she needed to be rid of before she left Boston, her gaze settled on a small rose. Its small, blood-red petals spread open delicately, releasing a faint sweet scent.

Micheal had given it to her in the minutes before they had left for the news station, thanking her for sticking with him through the crazy last three years. He had whispered that he couldn’t have done it without her.

Hanah reached out, her fingertips brushing against the velvety petals. Tears streamed down her face, no matter how hard she fought them. An empty ache filled her, a hole that couldn’t be filled by anything left on earth. 

She picked up the rose, falling onto her bed and hugging it close as her tears turned to sobs. 

Micheal had always been the one to comfort her when something went wrong. When she felt  inconsolable. But now… there truly was nothing to console her. Nothing to comfort her. 

She lay there, so drawn into her thoughts that she didn’t even hear the footsteps thudding unevenly towards her. Or the floorboards beside her bed creaking as if a heavy weight stepped on them.

But she did feel the hand settling on her arm. And the gentle whisper: “Hanny?”

A jolt shot through her and her eyes flew open, her gaze landing on a dim form kneeling beside her bed.

“How…?” She gasped, sitting up, her hands rising up to cover her mouth. “It’s not…”

“It is.” The form chuckled, the sound something she thought she would never hear again.

“Micheal!” She screamed, lunging forward and into his open arms. How?! 

Her brother wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him as she burst into tears again. “Hey, Hanah.”

Hanah laughed, her voice choked. “I thought… I thought you were…”

Micheal nodded, his chin brushing against her shoulder. “I thought so too. But the Lord had different plans than those of my old boss.” He stood up slowly, helping her up. “Here, I want to show you something.”

He stepped across the room, limping heavily. Hanah winced as the dim light of her room revealed the grimace on his face. 

She rushed over to him, slipping an arm under his shoulders and shifting some of his weight off his apparently bad leg.

Micheal grinned leading her out into their small living room. “Thanks.” He motioned to the antique television. “Turn it on to channel 4.”

Hanah nodded slowly, reluctantly stepping away from her brother to grab the remote. She glanced at him before turning it on, tears filling her eyes again. He looked a good bit worse for wear… but he was here. Alive.

She flipped on the TV, turning it to channel 4 and stepping back lean against her big brother. 

“Watch.” He whispered, excitement filling his voice.

“Okay…” Hanah turned towards the TV, confused on why the first thing he wanted to do when coming back was turn on the television. He never liked cartoons that much.

But as soon as she focused on the small screen, her gaze running across the news headline, her eyes widened. She turned to her brother, deciding that after this day, nothing could surprise her anymore. “Is that…?”

Micheal nodded, grinning. “It’s our information incriminating Chickadee Central.” He glanced down at her, his eyes bright. “Congratulations, Hanny. We saved the world.”

The End