The windows of the mountain mansion flickered with the red and blue lights of police sirens. The rain had intensified, as if the heavens were anticipating a catastrophe. Abir Khan led Arisa through a secret tunnel behind the mansion. Though her bandaged hand and leg caused her to limp, the strength in Abir's grip gave her an unnatural energy.
"Are you scared, Arisa?" Abir asked, stopping for a second to look into her eyes. "Once we reach the end of this tunnel, a new world begins for us. A world with no laws and no barriers."
"I'm not scared, Abir," Arisa whispered. "But I feel like we may never see the end of this darkness."
Abir smirked with demonic certainty. When they emerged from the tunnel, a sleek black helicopter was waiting, its rotors already spinning. Abir's guards stood alert with rifles. Suddenly, from the shadows of the woods, a police commando unit shouted— "Surrender, Abir Khan! There is no escape!"
Abir ushered Arisa into the helicopter and jumped in behind her. Just then, a police bullet struck the side of the chopper. Arisa screamed in terror.
Remaining calm, Abir stood by the open door and grabbed an automatic rifle. He began firing back at the police, the muzzle flashes illuminating his face through the rain. He looked like a god of the underworld.
"Tell Aryan," Abir roared over the sound of the engine, "Arisa belongs to Abir now. And Abir Khan has never learned how to lose!"
As the helicopter ascended, Aryan could be seen below, screaming in vain. Arisa watched as the mansion grew smaller. Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the mountain—Abir had rigged his own palace with bombs. His entire past was turning into ash and fire.
Abir sat down beside Arisa, his fingers smelling of gunpowder as he touched her cheek.
"We have no past anymore, Arisa. From today, we walk through fire, and the sky will be witness to our reign."
Arisa realized she was a passenger in a storm with no return. Abir Khan had led her onto a path of fire, where love meant nothing but beautiful destruction.
---