Heyyy.

good morning.

I have a job interview!

wish me luck and enjoy this chapter.

Kasia

Latara frowned. "Their mother watched this happen?"

I nodded. "Yes."

Yana wiped a tear. "How could she do that to her own children? Starve them? Beat them? All as she watched."

"She's worse than that, but I fear it's their story to tell." I said.

Navi frowned. "Rune and I have been married for ten years, yet he refuses to tell me anything of what happened. Everytime we argue that is what we argue about. Why can't he trust me?"

I wiped my tears. "When he tells you it will haunt you too. The level of..." I felt another tear run down my face. "Sickening acts that have happened...it's too much." I said as Yana hugged me.

Navi sighed shakily, wiping her own tears. "I want to share that pain. To know what causes his nightmares, to help him and hug him but he won't let me. I don't know why he can't trust that my love will not break so easily."

Latara drank from a wine bottle and bit her lip. She was quiet, frowning. I knew she didn't really cry; she'd rather drink it away.

"Do you think they're ok?" Yana asked. "Do you think that they're able to actually kill their own mother?"

"After what she did?" Latara spoke up. "Of course."

"It isn't that easy," I said softly. "Silver was very close with his mother." I frowned, picking up Zaire when he started crying.

Latara exhaled. "Nothing can happen to them. Nothing. I can't lose another person in my life." She squeezed her eyes shut. "I just can't."

Navi's gaze softened as she sat next to Latara and hugged her, surprising Latara. "Aeros will be ok." She whispered.

Yana nodded. "They all will–"

"Mommy!" Meliore, Mahi, and Analia ran down the stairs. "Mommy, someone's here!" Meliore's soft voice whispered once she realized she was yelling.

"There are people outside, I–I saw them through the window," Analia had tears in her eyes, and so did Mahi as he hugged his mother. "They killed all the guards."

"What?!" Yana stood up.

"They're coming for us," Meliore cried.

Navi's eyes expressed panic as she held her children. "What do we do? We have no weapons."

Latara looked around. "Do they have a basement?"

Analia nodded. "Yes, there is."

"Ok, we need to hide there,"

"But," Analia hesitated. "It's not a hidden basement. They will find us."

I looked at Zaire and bit my lip. "Let's still try," I said, barely managing to speak.

What happened to Silver?

Analia nodded, and we followed her down the hallway near the living room, the last door in the middle. That was the basement. It had a sign that said basement.

Navi ripped it off. "Why is this here?"

Analia frowned. "My mom couldn't tell which was which. So she labeled all the doors."

"I have an ide–" She yelped as a loud knock came from the door. "I–I have an idea, give it here." Navi gives her the sign, and Yana quickly switches the signs. She placed the bathroom on the basement door and the basement on the bathroom door. "Ok, let's go."

We quickly ran down the basement stairs and looked around for a place to hide. Though the basement was beautiful and cozy, we needed a place to hide. We soon realized that maybe Analia was right. There was nowhere to hide, and it was only a matter of time before they realized we had switched the signs.

"We have nowhere to hide," Latara whispered, her breath shaky.

Navi sighed. "Turn off the lights," her voice was almost gone. "All we can do is hide behind the chairs before they find us."

I turned off the lights, and we all huddled together, Analia hugging me close. "I'm so scared." She whispered.

I nodded. "So am I, but we'll get through this." I said, hopefully. The tears on my face called my bluff. I thought we were going to die. I thought Silver was dead, and I was going to watch my newborn son die. I was going to watch a pregnant woman die, or maybe I might die before them. I was scared.

"They're dead," Latara sobbed quietly. "We shouldn't lie to ourselves."

Yana shook her head. "No," she was also crying. "We're not going to think like that,"

Navi nodded. "Don't worry, children, they will come and save us," her voice was laced with fear, but she kept on smiling.

"Right," I added. "They're still here. They're on the way."

Our bodies trembled as we heard the heavy footsteps upstairs and the faint voices. They were looking for us, and they were getting closer. The children were lightly crying, and we tried to remain calm to make it seem like we weren't going to die.

The suspense was killing us, and I rocked my baby, praying hard that he wouldn't cry. I put my shirt over his eyes so that the lights won't cause him to go berserk.

When the door opened, my eyes squeezed shut, the stairs creaked as the person came down, and I could hear Yana's breathing hitch as the lights turned on. I covered Analia's mouth so as to not make a noise, and Yana did the same for Mahi. Latara gripped Navi's hand, looking down at her lap as her body trembled, and Navi just closed her eyes, holding her daughter with her free hand.

I was wondering where Silver was. I hoped that he wasn't dead, that I wouldn't lose him this early. I was lying to myself as hard as I could; I imagined us together. No harm, no pain, no death.

Just happiness.

Is this what it feels like to be so close to death? So much fear and, not only for myself but for the kids, my kids, my friends. We can't die like this.

"Why hide?" A woman's voice asked. "I mean no harm, I only want to see my grandbabies and beautiful daughter-in-laws."

A hand touched my shoulder, and I gasped, pulling away, causing Zaire to wake up and cry softly. When I looked up, I saw her eyes, and I knew who she was.

"Giana Moretto," Navi whispered.

She smiled. "Oh no, heavens," she giggled. "It's Giana Gallo. I would never use that evil man's name."

"Oh shit," Latara whispered.

Hehehe

byeee