The rain battered the alleyways of Sector 7, hiding the footfalls of two fugitives.
Amara and Kade moved like ghosts, slipping through the ruined city, blood on their hands, freedom in their hearts.
They had once been the Black Sun's finest assassins. Now, they were its most wanted traitors.
---
The world they had known was built on shadows and death. Emotions were forbidden. Attachments were punishable by execution.
And yet, Amara had broken the cardinal rule. She had fallen in love with Kade.
The night they ran, they left everything behind—except each other.
Bullets hissed past them as Black Sun agents closed in. They didn't stop. They couldn't.
---
"This way!" Kade shouted, dragging Amara through a shattered market.
Their lungs burned. Their muscles screamed. But they ran.
In the distance, a Black Sun insignia burned on the skyline. They had hours—maybe minutes—before Luther Kane found them.
And Luther Kane never forgave.
---
They crashed into an abandoned building—a burned-out hotel, reeking of smoke and mold.
Kade bolted the door behind them, breathing heavily.
Amara leaned against a cracked mirror, blood trickling from her temple.
"You hurt?" Kade’s voice was rough, urgent.
She shook her head. "I'm fine. Just a scratch."
Kade’s sharp green eyes flicked over her anyway, checking every inch.
"We can still make it," he said, pressing a stolen map into her hands. "If we reach Sector 9 before sunrise, we're out."
Freedom.
---
Amara wanted to believe it. She wanted to grab it with both bloody hands and never let go.
But deep inside, fear gnawed at her. They weren’t alone.
"He knows," she whispered.
Kade stiffened. "Who?"
She didn't have to say it. They both knew.
Luther Kane.
The man who had trained them. The man who had broken them. The man who would kill them both.
---
Suddenly—
CRASH!
The side wall exploded inward.
Gunfire erupted.
Kade yanked her down behind a broken table. He fired back—two quick shots, fast and precise.
A scream. Someone dropped.
More shadows moved through the dust. Black Sun operatives, armed to the teeth.
"They're cutting us off!" Amara hissed.
"We move NOW," Kade barked.
They burst onto the roof—rain slashing at their faces.
Across the gap: another building, another alley, another chance.
And they jumped.
---
They landed hard.
Amara rolled, came up shooting.
Two agents dropped.
Another lunged at Kade—knife flashing—
Kade twisted, broke his arm, drove his own blade into the man's throat.
No hesitation. No mercy.
"Truck’s two blocks east," Kade growled. "Move!"
They sprinted through the rain, slipping between wrecked cars.
For a moment—just a moment—Amara allowed herself to hope.
Maybe they could do it. Maybe they could be free.
And then—
From the mist, a black SUV roared toward them. Doors slammed. Boots hit the pavement.
And out stepped Luther Kane.
---
He was older now, hair flecked with silver—but his eyes were the same: sharp, cold, hungry.
"Going somewhere, Amara?" Luther asked softly.
Her hand tightened on her gun.
"Let her go, Luther," Kade said, stepping forward.
Luther smiled, almost pityingly.
"Oh, Kade. Still so noble. Still so stupid."
The Black Sun agents flanked him—eight, maybe ten. Too many.
Amara knew the math. They couldn’t win.
But that didn’t mean they would surrender.
"You trained us," Amara said. "You should know better."
And with that, she opened fire.
---
Chaos exploded.
Gunshots ripped through the air.
Kade and Amara moved like one being—covering each other, killing with ruthless precision.
But numbers mattered. One by one, they were cornered—pinned against the wreckage of a burned car.
Luther stood beyond the chaos, untouched, smiling.
"This isn’t personal," he said. "It’s survival."
Amara fired until her clip ran dry. She dropped to reload—too slow—
A bullet grazed her side. She cried out, stumbled.
Kade caught her.
Blood soaked his shirt—she didn’t know if it was hers or his.
"Go," she gasped.
"Never," he said fiercely.
But she knew.
If he stayed, they both died.
If he left—maybe he had a chance.
Only one of them could make it out.
And it wasn’t going to be her.
---
She grabbed his wrist. Forced the gun into his hand.
"Run, Kade."
"No—"
"RUN!"
Tears blurred her vision.
She shoved him hard, turned, and threw herself into the enemy.
Bullets tore through her.
Pain blossomed like fire.
But she kept fighting—every shot, every second, buying him time.
Buying him life.
Through the chaos, she saw him hesitate— Saw the agony in his face— Saw him turn and vanish into the mist.
Gone.
Safe.
Free.
---
She collapsed to her knees. Blood pooled around her.
Luther walked toward her, slow, deliberate.
"You could have had everything," he said.
Amara smiled through bloodied lips.
"I did."
Behind Luther—movement.
Fast. Silent. Deadly.
Kade.
He hadn’t left. He couldn’t.
Gun raised, Kade moved like a ghost through the rain, eyes locked on Luther.
He reached her side—caught her as she fell fully into his arms.
"Amara, stay with me, please—" his voice cracked.
Her eyes fluttered open. A tear slid down her cheek.
"You came back," she whispered.
"Always."
He kissed her forehead, trembling.
But Luther was already lifting his own gun.
---
The shot cracked like thunder.
Kade jerked.
Blood blossomed across his chest.
Amara screamed—a ragged, broken sound.
Kade fell beside her, hand still clutching hers.
"I'm sorry," he gasped, voice thick with blood. "I couldn't...leave you."
She shook her head weakly. "No regrets."
Their fingers laced together—bloody, broken, unbreakable.
Luther stood over them, face unreadable.
"Love is a weakness," he said coldly.
But they didn’t hear him anymore.
Their world was only each other.
One final breath.
One final heartbeat.
Together.
And then—silence.
___
In the end, they didn’t win. They didn’t escape. But they didn’t die alone.
Ashes of Forever.
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