Chapter 5 - Echoes of the Past
Nathan grabbed an iron boat hook resting against the outer wall. As the mercenary turned the corner, Nathan swung the heavy wooden pole, striking the man across the shoulder and knocking the handgun out of his gloved grip. The mercenary grunted, tackling Nathan into a snowbank.
The two men tumbled through the icy crust. The mercenary, larger and heavier, managed to pin Nathan down, his hands closing around Nathan’s throat. Nathan struggled for air, the world beginning to dim as the icy wind howled above them.
Reaching blindly into his thermal coat pocket, Nathan drew a pre-filled syringe of fast-acting paralytic from his medical kit—a precaution he had packed before leaving the house. With his remaining strength, he drove the needle into the mercenary’s thigh and plunged the plunger down.
Within seconds, the man’s grip loosened. His muscles slackened, and he collapsed sideways into the snow, conscious but entirely unable to move.
Nathan scrambled to his feet, gasping for the freezing air. He retrieved the mercenary’s dropped weapon and secured it, then rushed inside the pitch-black boathouse.
"Sarah!" he called out, his flashlight beam scanning the damp, frozen interior. "Sarah, it’s Nathan! I have the children! They’re safe!"
A low moan echoed from beneath an overturned wooden skiff near the rear of the boathouse. Nathan sprinted over, lifting the heavy boat aside.
There lay Sarah. Her skin was a terrifying shade of blue, her clothes stiff with ice, and her consciousness fading rapidly. She had wrapped herself in an old canvas sail to retain whatever small amount of body heat she had left.
"Nathan...?" she whispered, her voice barely a breath. Her eyes, those vivid green eyes, struggled to focus on his face. "Lily... did she... make it?"
"She made it, Sarah," Nathan said, tears welling in his eyes and freezing on his cheeks as he wrapped her shivering body in his thermal jacket. "Lily is a hero. She got Owen and Ethan to the gate. They are warm, safe, and alive."
Sarah let out a shaky, sobbing sigh, her body trembling violently. "I’m sorry... Nathan, I’m so sorry... I should have listened to you... seven years ago..."
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"No, Sarah. I’m the one who should have fought harder for you," Nathan said, pulling her into his arms and carrying her out into the storm. "I let my pride get in the way. But I am not letting you go tonight. Do you hear me? Stay with me!"
He began the grueling walk back to the mansion, carrying his sister through the blinding snow, every step a brutal battle against the elements and time itself.
