Panic

The bomb timer wasn't one to slow down, nor one to off. It will blow soon.

Mr Ivan furrowed his brow as the numbers counted down, he never knew how to stop a strange complicated bomb ever.

"I'm off," Mr Fred who has soon entered said, as he packed up a briefcase, "I love you all, and remember to take care of the cake shop if you are still alive by then"

"Mr Fred! Drop the attitude!" Janice gave him a death glance.

"Yeah Mr Fred!," Jace also added, "If we die, you too should be among us."

The words made Mr Fred's limbs numb. Of course he wouldn't have gone to safety without his employees.

"Fine, fine I get it" With this, he threw the briefcase away, then burst Into panic, "We are all dead!."

"We aren't dead," Mr Ivan said, bringing out a phone, "At least not yet."

As he made a call, the guests were led away from the mansion. This would have been a good night with no nightmares of being blown up soon, but no! There must be a commotion here or there every time and anytime a social figure wants a peaceful gathering.

"Mr Fred, we all need to get to safety" Lydia urged the panicked man.

"Yes, that's right…. But why should we go to safety, when we aren't in safety, far from safety" Mr Fred's voice was panicked and that was the only simple explanation why his words were disordered in a confusing sentence.

"Sir! We need to go now!" Janice didn't waste any time again, as she dragged Mr Fred into a car, alongside Jace. Shutting the car door, they all relaxed as it speeded away.

"Wait a minute!," Jace looked around, "Where's Lydia?"

BACK AT THE MANSION….

Lydia passed through the alerted security men as they carried the bomb away, the area was busy and no one payed attention to their surroundings, the only thing they knew was to stop the bomb from exploding.

"Clear the area, all of you get out of this place!" A man with a thick voice shouted, he had in his eyes seriousness.

"Jace…. Mr Fred…. Janice," Lydia looked around but couldn't see any of them, "Where are you guys? And why must I be the only one left behind?"

As she lamented, a part of the mansion exploded with a loud blow.

"You only told me the bomb were in the sculptures," Mr Ivan who was closeby screamed to the man on the call, "Do you know how much that mansion was? I need to build a new one Jimmy!"

Lydia listened to him in awe, as she has never ever heard or seen his expression and voice so complicated. Knowing he was more of a billionaire, she waved away the idea of hardship on him, because this man will build the mansion again in no time.

"I'm so sorry Mr Ivan, but at least you are alive" she overheard the man on the call say.

"And I just hope you will be alive to see me!," Mr Ivan sounded angry, making Lydia wonder why, "In the meantime, I'll go watch my father's mansion burn into ashes!."

"Now it makes more sense, that is Mr Ivan's father's mansion not his, although people think it belongs to him, this is confusing also!" Lydia whispered as another part of the mansion exploded.

"Oh my God! Little Ryan is in there" a woman dressed in a robe cried out.

"Please Mrs Elean, i'm sure he would be okay" another man, seemingly her brother or close relative said with his finger crossed.

"I don't want my husband to skin me alive! You know he doesn't love me!" The woman again burst into tears with a visible fear shivering down her spine.

'Then why marry him if you know he doesn't love you? And you don't love him?' Lydia thought as she looked at the burning mansion. Saving this woman's son would be a lot and it might end her tears sooner or later.

Without thinking, Lydia dashed into the burning horror with a naive skill and prayer in her heart, she actually didn't know why her legs entered this mansion in the first place.

******

The air was thick, filled with smoke and suffocating. Lydia covered her nose with a watery eye.

"Ryan!," She called out in the intense smoke, coughing in the process, "Ryan! Where are you?"

"I'm Here" a tiny voice answered as Lydia entered into an unrecognizable room, caused by the effect of the fire.

"Ryan?" She looked under a table as she saw a little boy trembling in fear.

Ryan looked at Lydia with his rich peacock blue eyes, already red and puffed from the tears he cried out.

"W–Who are you?" He innocently asked.

"My name's Lydia and I'm here to save you Ryan, I overheard your mother's cry and she needs you"

"I…. I don't want to go back home, I rather DIE!" Ryan moved backwards, crying intensively. His action made Lydia's heart melt, this little boy was crying from a traumatic past and she could sense it.

Knowing a child's psychology, she went under the table, sitting beside the crying boy.

"Why don't you want to go home?" Her voice; smooth, easy and calm.

"Because I don't wanna see Father! I hate him! He's a devil! An Ungrateful heartless beast!" Ryan fired at the thought of his father with hate in every word spoken.

"Oh I see, is there any reason for this hate?" She asked with her knee towards her chest.

"Well, he's a wicked man!" Ryan answered, curling his black hair.

"W–"

"Miss Lydia, My father is a Mafia Boss!" The little boy cried as Lydia hugged him tightly.

Now, she knew why he hates his father so much and also why those curses were upon the man from his own son.

"I feel how much you hate your father, but please consider your mother, she said your father will skin her alive if you don't come home…."

"She's right, my father would skin her alive," Ryan looked at Lydia with a sad glance, "he also doesn't love her! Sometimes he uses the whip on her for no reason…. But because of my mother and to save her from an abusive contract marriage she is in, I'll go home."

Lydia smiled as they both left under the table, escaping a mighty brick which destroyed the poor table.

"Okay, let's get out of here before we become minced meat" Lydia carried Ryan in her arms running away from the fire and different objects falling from every direction.