The next morning, the warm sun was shining brightly. 🌄
The three of them quickly got ready and returned to the old building to somehow fix this and finish it.
They had barely advanced fifty feet into the main hall when a sudden click echoed, followed by the sharp crack of gunfire. 🔫
Feriha screamed as a bullet whizzed past her shoulder. Eric grabbed her instinctively, pulling her behind an overturned crate. Ravihan dove to the other side, heart pounding.
"Everyone okay?" Eric shouted, scanning for the shooter. 🔊
Feriha's breath was rapid. "I… I think so… but she's armed!"
Ravihan's fists clenched. "Stay down! We move together — now!"
The three of them scrambled, bullets ricocheting off metal beams, sparks flying. Feriha ducked, covering her face, trembling.
Eric grabbed her hand again, tugging her behind a solid support pillar. "Feriha, stay close! Trust me!" 😣
Ravihan moved to flank them, glancing at Kian with barely concealed frustration. "You're not the only one who can protect her!"
"I know!" Eric shot back, tone sharp. "But we survive better if we work as a team!" 📌
Feriha felt both of them pressing close, almost on top of her as they maneuvered together, their combined presence both comforting and overwhelming. She couldn't tell whose protective instincts were stronger, Eric's steady calm or Ravihan's raw intensity.
Another volley of shots rang out, forcing them to duck simultaneously. Feriha's heart hammered, adrenaline surging.
"You two… calm down!" she shouted, partly in panic, partly in frustration. "We move together, now! Otherwise… we die!" 🔊
Eric and Ravihan exchanged a tense glance, then nodded, synchronizing their movements instinctively.
Bullets flew, sparks danced, shadows twisted ; but for the first time, Feriha felt a strange certainty: 🌋
No matter what Selene threw at them, they would survive ; together.
And deep inside, she knew the closeness she felt to both of them wasn't just for survival. It was something more… something that made her stronger, braver, and yet, terrifyingly vulnerable. 🔥