Chapter 7 Take Her Away

At the foot of the hill, I found Vicky covered in blood.

"Vicky, I'm here, I'm right here. Don't worry," I said in a shaky voice, struggling to hold her up. "Let's go home, Vicky. I'll take you back home."

At her last gasp, Vicky said weakly, "Just go, love... Just go. I'll only slow you down. Leave me here..."

I shook my head desperately, tears streaming down my face. "No, we're going to get out of here together. I'm not leaving you!"

Vicky's mouth parted slightly. She seemed to want to say something, but only a mouthful of blood came out.

"Vicky, trust me. We'll make it. Together."

Just then, it started to rain. Before Leonel could catch up to us, I ran past the border with Vicky and hid in a shabby, abandoned car by the side of the road.

I could see the light in Vicky's eyes dimming gradually.

"I'm sorry, Debra..." Her voice was weak, and her face twisted with guilt. "I failed your mother. I wasn't able to take good care of you."

I shook my head. I wanted to tell her that she didn't fail and that she had raised me well, but the words got caught in my throat.

It turned out that crippling sadness could silence a person.

Vicky looked at me lovingly. She stretched out a shaky, bloodstained hand and wiped the tears off my face.

"Kid..." She took out something from her pocket and pressed it onto my palm. "Take this."

I looked down and found that it was my mother's necklace.

It turned out that Vicky had managed to fix it, just like she said she would.

But now the necklace was covered in Vicky's blood. It was stained a deep red, still warm from her touch.

"Keep going north. Don't give up. Maybe there's still hope..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Vicky slowly closed her eyes and lowered her outstretched hand.

I fell silent. A wave of grief washed over my entire being, and tears could not stop falling off my eyes.

I lost someone who was as important to me as my mother. Vicky would no longer be there for me.

"They were headed that way! Come on! Hurry up!"

Leonel's cold voice sounded from not far away, pulling me out of grief and back to reality.

If I didn't leave now, I would be captured soon.

I gritted my teeth and quickly wiped away my tears.

Without Vicky, I could only rely on myself.

I carefully tucked Vicky's body into the trunk of the car and fled to the north before they found me.

Unfortunately, the rain stopped at this time. It didn't take long before Leonel's men tracked me down.

Desperate and at a loss, I ran into the nearest bar.

Leonel followed my scent to that bar.

I ran around the bar like a madwoman. Vicky's blood had stained my clothes, rendering me a horrific sight to behold. The people in the bar screamed in horror. I ran so fast that I accidentally knocked down a stack of wine bottles on the bar counter.

A symphony of clatters and glass breaking sounded as the wine bottles smashed onto the floor. The bar erupted into chaos, but Leonel's men managed to surround me, leaving me no chance to escape.

"Help! Help me, please!"

Seeing Leonel approaching me like the grim reaper, I turned to the onlookers for help. "He's going to kill me! Please help me!"

The music in the bar suddenly stopped, and everyone's attention was on us.

Leonel noticed the tension in the air. He quickly raised his head and said loudly, "This woman is a traitor. We're taking her back for her trial."

There was a threatening undertone in his words. Punishing traitors was reasonable. No one dared to come forward to help me; they even made a path for Leonel to approach me.

My heart was filled with despair. "Please, help me... Anyone..."

No one moved, but all eyes were on us.

I closed my eyes in despair, waiting for my impending doom.

"Take her away!" Leonel barked.

Then his men swarmed toward me, ready to grab me and take me away.

Just then, a familiar voice sounded. "Who said you could take her away?"