Back at Mira's mother's place.
She was fast asleep in her room, taking a break from all the hard work , for a change.
Suddenly her eyes shot open.
There was something hovering over her and she jumped from the bed to avoid a mishap. Whatever was hovering, moved as well. It placed itself right over her head as she couched, her hands covering her ears and head. Her eyes were actively searching for an escape and then she noticed the open window beside the dining table.
She ran as if her life depended on it and jumped out of the window without even checking what awaited her beyond that.
She fell with a thud in the community trash can straight from that open window. There were several bruises and scratches. She was bleeding at spots. But it seemed like she didn't have time for that. She sprang out of there and began running again.
As she ran on the empty street she kept looking back, staring at the blank space after her. Nobody knew what she saw but she kept running faster.
The sweat drops from her forehead flew away as her speed kept increasing.
After what felt like hours, in some unknown land, she finally stopped. She pulled her phone out and dialed Mira's number after looking here and there, cross checking if she had really outrun her pursuer.
" Hello, Mamma, what's up? "
The sweetest melody in all the universe made her smile as her daughter greeted her from the other end.
"Where are you Mira? Are you alright? "
She knew she had no time for chit chat.
"What happened Mamma? Why are you so worried? I am at a party with my friends. What's wrong?"
Guess, Mira didn't miss the anxiety in her voice that she tried hiding.
"Mira, there... there was an attack. I don't know if they are back... Mira, you must be careful baby. Do you understand? "
Lucky that she was able to squeeze that amount of information because at that moment there was a change in network.
A very high frequency blast made Mira's mother drop her cell phone and it shattered into a million pieces as it fell down the slope.
She was standing at the edge of a small cliff that led to the beach, leading to the ocean.
She must have run really fast. This place was outside the city limits and was uninhibited.
Mira's mother was about to turn and run again but then she stopped and turned back.
Her head flipped a hundred and eighty degrees backward and she was levitating above the cliff.
" You will never get her. Never. I will make sure of that! "
Her lips weren't moving but she was speaking nevertheless. The sound of her voice was a little muffled and it was high pitched.
" Isn't the fact that I could get through you enough to make you shut up and surrender? "
The voice in her head roared as her entire body shuddered. She clenched her body as her spinal cord bent backwards further. It was as if someone was stretching her and she looked like an inverted 'U' floating in midair.
Her veins contracted and expanded at an alarming rate and her muscles tensed as she forced her mouth open.
" You cannot control me. You have no power over me Calex. "
As if an entire force field erupted from around her, Mira's mother pulled herself back up.
The trees shook around her and the birds flew away from a distance of several miles.
It seemed like the sky itself was changing color as she spoke, her eyes were still closed shut. But it seemed like she was able to sense or see things around her.
The voice in her head had stopped. It wasn't talking back anymore.
Her chest was heaving heavily as she slowly turned around.
She positioned herself at the edge of the cliff and slowly slid down.
The fall was too rugged and anybody would have suffered a heavy scalding at the back if they slid down that slope like that.
But she stood up at the end of it as if nothing had happened.
She dusted herself off and slowly opened her eyes.
Her eyelids batted as if adjusting to the new light setting.
She walked towards the ocean as the waves touched her feet and ran back, like a child teasing her and urging her to play.
She unbuttoned her shirt and let her dress fall on the sand.
Her body looked beautiful. Nobody would say that she was a mother to a teenage daughter.
She ran towards the ocean. But this time her run was much less paced. She submerged herself in water and sat on the sand, feeling the ocean water wash over her.