When Hannah and Axel got out of the forest, it was already raining heavily. They both got into the car and sat inside for some time to catch their breaths.
"Take this". Axel stretched his hand holding a tissue box to Hannah. "There is blood on your face. Wipe it off".
Hannah collected the tissue box from Axel, pulled out a tissue, and wiped her face and neck with it before returning the tissue box to Axel.
Axel turned to look out of the window and Hannah did the same. It was raining heavily and the wind was making it difficult to see. It was already very late and they could not go back home because of the possibility of the assassins following them. Going to a hotel was out of the question because they were both covered in blood.
He brought out his phone and saw several missed calls from Camden which wasn't surprising. He dialed Camden's number and he picked on the first ring.
"Why are you taking so long?" Camden queried. "You were supposed to be back before twilight".
"Something came up. I will tell you when I get back tomorrow". Axel said. "By the way, you still own a house in this city right?"
"Yes, I do. Why?"
"I need a place to stay tonight. Text me your passcode". He hung up without waiting for Camden's response. The next second, Camden had sent him the passcode along with a text telling him to stay safe and without saying a word, he turned on the engine and drove to Camden's house.
They arrived at a small house and axel turned to Hannah and said, "we will stay here tonight".
Hannah looked at the house from inside the car for some time before nodding. They both came down from the car and walked to the door. Axel typed in the passcode that Camden had sent him and pushed the door open.
Axel switched on the lights when they entered. Camden has been away for a long time so tarps were covering the couches and other pieces of furniture to prevent dust from getting on them. Other than that, the house looked neat.
He walked into the house leaving a confused Hannah behind in the living room. After some time he came back.
"There are two rooms in the house. You can take the one on the left and I will take the one on the right." He said. They were about to go to their rooms when the lights suddenly went out.
"What happened to the li…"
"THUD"
He stopped when he heard a loud thud behind him. "Hannah". He called but didn't get any response. "Hannah?" He called again but there was still no response.
He quickly brought out his phone and switched on his flashlight.
He was shocked to see Hannah curled up on the floor, clutching her chest and trembling violently.
He quickly bent down and helped her sit up. "Hannah". He called but she didn't speak and he began to worry. " What is wrong Hannah?" She was still trembling violently, making his worry increase. She mumbled something and when he listened closely, he heard her say, "it's so dark".
Axel's eyes widened in surprise. Was she scared of the dark? An hour ago, she was skillfully slitting the throats of those assassins and now she was scared of the dark?! He couldn't believe this!
Just then, his battery went flat. "Great!" He mumbled sarcastically. "Let me see if I can find a flashlight in one of the drawers". He was about to stand up when Hannah suddenly pulled him down and wrapped her arms around him.
"Stay…please". Hannah's voice was shaky and barely audible but because he was so close to her, he heard her clearly.
"I will be back soon. I just need to check if there is a flashlight in one of the drawers". He tried standing again but as if he wasn't close enough, she tightened her arms around him and pulled him closer.
"Don't go". Axel was surprised again. He stayed still for a while, blinking multiple times, trying to wrap his head around what just happened.
Slowly, he tried moving to get into a more comfortable position but when she sensed his movements, she tightened her hold on him, making it impossible to move.
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here okay?". He assured her and her hold on him loosened a bit, giving him just the right amount of space he needed to get into a comfortable position.
Now that he was so close to her, he could feel the tremors of her body and her breaths were shaky. He didn't know what made her so scared all of a sudden. Subconsciously, he also wrapped his arms around her to ease her fears.
Moments later, she stopped trembling and her breathing became even, so he assumed that she was already asleep but when he tried to live again, her hold on him tightened once more.
The night was dark and silent and the only sound was the rain hitting the rooftop and windows continuously.
He sat still, letting her rest on his body and use his chest as a pillow. He also adjusted her legs and made her seat in a more comfortable position so she wouldn't have an ache in her legs when she woke up.
Her hold on him didn't loosen one bit even when she was already sleeping so he had no choice but to stay in that same position. Taking a last look at her, he closed his eyes, and soon after, he also fell asleep.