Life Changed Forever

Jonathan screamed, squirming from her clutches—Of her hands, one immobilized both of his with conjured handcuffs of ice while her other choked him.

His clothes were rather shredded and threadbare, revealing the ripped body, which had several lacerations and reddish bruises from his fair skin.

"What robust lot." Mystique drew her face close to his chiseled jaws and sneered in pleasure, seeing how his now pale face was in agony.

Unfortunately, tears were seen as he coughed hard, which had the witch laughing.

"I'll suck the damn out of you, be grateful!"

Nathalie was livid. Thoughts began to surge into her mind when her head boiled out of rage.

But only one word registered in her mind and uttered nonetheless.

"Violeta!"

A mere word that struck the witch and caught her off guard. She stared blankly, letting go of Jonathan.

This was an opportunity for him, which hurled her away from him.

To his surprise, it turned out like a shift of strength in which he gained the upper hand. She rolled several times before laying flat on the ground.

Now, Jonathan had no time wasted when he reached for his gun and pulled the trigger several times.

It was in no vital areas; nevertheless, blood bloomed on her legs and torso.

Withal, he dropped on the ground, panting hard with the sweat all over him.

"Jonathan!"

Helpless, Jonathan groaned while Nathalie rushed to him, slinking his arm to her, and both trudged as soon as possible. This time, she had to tend his wounds.

"We need to get you first aid."

"No, go on. I—can handle—" Jonathan hissed in pain.

"Don't move."

Though it was just a quick patch as they were still not in a safe place.

Jonathan panted between grunts from Nathalie's first aid, he had no choice but to accept, then urged her to move along as time ticked.

"Let's go."

Nathalie nodded, then they trudged for few minutes.

For a while, both of them had their faces brighten when they spotted the car they parked a while ago.

'I can't give up. We're almost there…'

But dread washed their spine when Mystique stood at the other end of the street.

The witch was in dire shape, her beautiful dress draped with crimson hues, and her face looked grim and ill.

"Fucking hell, how is this possible?!" Jonathan uttered in disbelief.

Instead of having another mental breakdown, Nathalie's mind geared and turned fast.

'Mystique Blackwell, did she just—?'

Mystique's fingers moved with eloquence, revealing a bright blue light in her palms, which greatly alarmed them.

But Nathalie caught a glimpse of her lips.

With each step the witch took, Nathalie dragged Jonathan, moving backward.

"Jonathan, listen," she whispered. "A witch can only cast so much in a day..."

"...Another gimmick?"

"Remember this distance," she murmured. "It's clear enough how exhausted she got. Shoot when her eyes gleam the brightest, the only window time to stop her spell."

Jonathan was clearly perplexed in this situation, but he had no choice but to believe in her as they had come this far.

When the glint was seen, Jonathan already locked his target. His eyes filled with no remorse.

This time, he aimed at her gut, head, and heart.

Before the witch could cast, she plopped on the ground without any signs of life in her eyes; Nathalie was on her knees, trembling so much.

Jonathan clenched his jaw, seeing her broke down like this was the worst of all she had.

He cooed while patting her back. "It's alright now. You're safe, don't cry—" but then he hissed out of pain from the wounds that seeped on his waist and his arm. "I'm alright."

They hurriedly got to the car afterwards.

After which, Jonathan pressed the pedal and drove them off at speeds that weren't allowed within the village.

"Miss Quinn, she holds—great resemblance to you... Who was that—?"

"Mystique Blackwell…"

"Who?!"

"Mystique—I don't know!"

"You mean that villain?!"

"It's crazy, I know!" Nathalie retorted while scouring over the neighborhood.

"Impossible!" He let out a growl, gripping hard on the steering wheel. "It even has some crazy magic."

"Will she be able to catch up?" She turned around, looking by the rear window.

"I have no idea! She just appeared out of nowhere! All we had to do was move to a remote area where reinforcements would arrive."

She snapped back at him, with her voice turned hoarse from the reply, "Y—You did a contingency plan?"

"Yes, I called my girlfriend the code, and she's on the way."

'Girlfriend that's also a bodyguard? Off-duty at that?' Nathalie began to fidget her fingers, unable to be at ease in her seat with thoughts that swirled in her mind.

However, her palpitations went worse as her limbs trembled from the sudden numbness. There was no way she could describe further prompts as her thoughts only hoped for her family's safety.

"What—about my family?"

Jonathan didn't say a word as his gaze locked onto the dashboard momentarily. When there was a blue light beaming from it, he sighed in relief. "Affirmative. They are in there now, with the reinforcements."

"Thank goodness… Mom, Dad, Brothers, please be well, please be safe....'

Nathalie shut her eyes and thought about Mystique's strengths and weaknesses known to her. This moment was the only thing she could make use of to counter her further until she got to a safe place.

'How was she able to find me? Relocation? But isn't that only if…'

Nathalie began to recall the events the moment they got in contact back at the Cafe Evergarden.

'This can't be!'

She snapped out of her senses and realized they took the wrong path.

"We need another route—Detour! Turn around!"

"What?"

"Relocation works when she establishes the endpoint, that's in my hometown! She will be able to traverse at any point, given the distance!"

"But—"

Even with the manuscript on her hands, now crumpled, she tried to take over the steering wheel, which Jonathan retaliated. "We can't go this way!"

" Oh no! Miss Quinn, I think she's over there!"

It was as though goosebumps surged all over Nathalie. Mystique stood several yards with her body turned as a bloody scarecrow and eyes gleamed.

Never did she look at blue so horrifying...

Then, with such a blizzard befell them, Nathalie roared at Jonathan.

"Jonathan, turn around. NOW!"

"No! There's a—!"

A sudden flash of light, about five beams, and a loud buzzing horn blew them.

It was at that point, Nathalie's life changed forever.