Chapter 6 The Night The Stars Wept!!!

Author’s Point Of View :

"Stay inside!"

Alaric ordered, his hand moving to the door handle.

"Lock the doors. Don't come out!"

"Alaric, no! Don't go out there!"

Elara cried, but her husband’s eyes were resolute.

"I have to fix that tire so we can get out of here. It’s the only way to save you and the kids. Stay with them, Elara. I’ll be fine."

Alaric stepped out into the rain. Inside the car, Elara chanted prayers under her breath, her eyes darting toward the shadows. Alaric worked with frantic precision, his hands slick with rain and grease. He managed to secure the tire, but as he moved toward the driver’s seat, Elara’s eyes went wide.

"ALARIC! BEHIND YOU!"

The panther was there, a shadow against the night. Alaric knew he couldn't outrun it.

"Lock the doors, Elara! Now!"

The beast lunged.

"DAD! ALARIC"

Orion and Elara screamed in unison.

Alaric fought like a man possessed. He reached for his gun, but it slipped into the mud. In a final act of desperation, he pulled a small blade from his boot, wounding the beast. The panther retreated for a second, but then turned its predatory gaze toward the car.

"Orion, stay with Astra!"

Elara commanded, her hand on the lock.

"Mom, no! You can't go out there!"

Orion pleaded, but Elara was already moving.

"Your father is in danger! I have to help him!"

"Then I’m going!"

Orion stated, his voice suddenly sounding years older. He handed the sobbing Astraeus to his mother.

"I’m the oldest. I’ll find him. You stay here and protect Astra."

Orion stepped out into the rain, his heart hammering against his ribs. He found his father's gun in the mud and gripped it tight. He pushed through the bushes, calling out.

"Dad! Dad!"

He found him in a clearing, lying in a pool of blood that the rain was trying to wash away.

"DAD!"

Orion collapsed beside him. Alaric’s face was shredded, his life force fading.

"Orion..."

Alaric stuttered, his eyes glassing over. He gripped Orion’s arm one last time.

"Save... Astra..."

With those final words, the sun of the Empyrean family set. Alaric went motionless. Orion let out a scream of pure agony that echoed through the trees. But his grief was cut short by a second scream. One that made his blood run cold.

"ORION!"

It was Elara. Orion scrambled up, gripping the gun, and ran back toward the car. It was empty. He searched frantically until he saw them. Elara was running through the mud, Astraeus in her arms, the panther hot on their heels.

Elara tripped on a wet root, and Astraeus was thrown from her arms.

"NO!"

Orion yelled. Astraeus hit a jagged stone head-first, blood instantly blooming across his forehead. His small body rolled down the slippery embankment, ending with a splash in the dark, freezing waters of a nearby pond.

"Astra!"

Orion screamed.

"Save him, Orion! Go!"

Elara yelled, even as she faced the beast.

Orion threw the gun to his mother for her protection and dove into the pond. The water was black and icy. He swam deep, his lungs burning, until he found the small, blue-clad figure sinking into the depths. He hauled Astraeus to the surface, the boy's head lolling back, eyes closed.

"Astra, wake up! Baby, please!"

Orion begged, patting his brother's cold, bloody cheeks. He carried him back toward the shore, his voice breaking.

"Open your eyes. Your Big brother is here. I’ve got you. I’m taking you to the hospital."

Orion reached the clearing, his heart shattering as he saw his mother, lying helpless on the wet earth. The massive black panther was closing in, its golden eyes fixed on Orion and the unconscious Astraeus in his arms. The beast coiled its muscles, preparing to launch itself at the two brothers to finish what it had started.

It leaped into the air, claws extended like daggers, aimed straight for Orion’s chest.

BANG!

The sound of the gunshot ripped through the forest, followed by the heavy thud of the panther’s lifeless body hitting the mud. It slid to a halt just inches from Orion’s feet, a single bullet through its heart.

Orion looked up, trembling. His mother was standing or rather, swaying a few yards away. Her stomach was a mess of crimson where the beast had shredded her flesh, and her face was ghostly pale from blood loss. She was barely conscious, her legs limping and ready to collapse, yet she held Orion’s gun

with a grip of pure iron.

Even as her own life was draining into the soil, her motherly instinct had forced her body to rise. She had defied death itself just long enough to ensure her children wouldn't be the panther's next meal.

"Mom!"

Orion screamed, rushing to her side.

As the danger passed, the adrenaline that had kept Elara upright vanished. The gun slipped from her shaking fingers as she collapsed. Orion caught her, settling her head into his lap while still holding the bleeding Astraeus against his chest.

"Mom... please, stay with me! Don't close your eyes!"

Orion begged, his voice a frantic sob.

Elara’s breath came in ragged, wet hitches. She looked at her son with eyes full of a fierce, eternal love.

"As…tra?"

she stuttered, her gaze drifting to the small, pale boy in Orion's arms.

"He’s here, Mom. He’s alive! I’m taking you both to the hospital!"

Elara let out a weak, pained cough, blood staining her lips.

"No, Orion... Save your younger brother. My time... is done. I am going to meet your father."

"Mom, please! Don't leave us orphans!"

Orion cried, his world crumbling.

"I am never leaving you."

She whispered, her voice fading into the rhythm of the rain.

"I will be the breeze... the moonbeams... the stars that guide you home. Promise me, Orion. Be his shield. Give him the love of a father and the warmth of a mother. Promise me you will never let him feel the cold of our absence."

"I promise, Mom! I promise with my life!"

Elara smiled, a look of pure peace settling over her tired face.

"I love you, Orion... Take care of... our star..."

With one last shuddering breath, her hand fell limp. The mother who had fought a monster to save her children finally found her rest.

“Mom”

Seeing Elara’s body going lymph, Orion screamed in agony. In just one day he lost everything. He sat in the center of the dark forest, drenched in rain and blood, holding the two people who meant everything to him. One gone forever, and one he had to save at any cost.