but somehow I still felt it wasn't enough. They would catch me. I was damn sure about it yet I refused to give up as I urged both of my legs to move.

Not now. No. Not today. I didn't want to die yet. Not when there were so many things I wanted to do in life and there was one person I wanted to share the rest of my life with. To put it frankly, I couldn't afford to die now.

All of these are bullshits!

I had never wanted to be the last Stavros alive. I had never cared whether I was just a regular nobody. At least no one wanted me dead if I were one.

Fuck!

My heart was pounding as I raced through the tall pine trees surrounding the area. It was dark and there was no star in the sky to light up my path.

Ignoring the sound of footsteps that showed how close my pursuers were, I changed course and turned to my right. At last, I saw a spark of light and sprinted toward it without knowing what it was. Well, having an aim was easier than running around with no direction.

I was so close. I was just a few feet more when I suddenly caught a movement out of one corner of my eyes and my whole body froze. There were at least a dozen people surrounding me. More were coming out from behind the trees.

"This turns into a mission impossible so damn fast!" I muttered to myself, clenching my fists. "And I am all alone. No badass Tom Cruise here with me. Fuck!"

No way I could escape them.

I'm so screwed. Shit. Shit. Shit!

They inched closer, taking their time in doing so because they knew I had nowhere to go. I could see how ready they were to capture me and probably drag me to Zeus-knows-where. The air felt thick despite the coolness of the December air.

Swallowing proved to be hard when my throat felt like it was on fire. I had no strength left. And quite frankly, I was running out of options. With my whole body drenched in sweat, I tried to calm my thundering heart.

I am Avery freaking Montgomery, damn it! I will not show them how scared I am. Even if this, perhaps, is how my story ends. The last page of the book of my life.

I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the worst.

I love you.

The flame flickered as if it was dancing and following a rhythm no one could hear but itself while at the same time threatened to devour everything in its path. The next thing I knew, it pulled me inside into its core, the center of its heart if it had any. I closed my eyes, surrendering to its mercy because no fight would save me, anyway.

Guess that's how I die.