Chapter 54

(IVY POV)

I rushed after my kids, my heart pounding as I chased them toward the gate.

They moved so much faster than I could, their small legs barely touching the ground as they sprinted ahead.

My own legs, weakened by fear and exhaustion, struggled to keep up.

The running about in the last few minutes, the panic that gnawed at my insides, had sapped my strength.

I could feel the burn in my muscles with every step, and unlike Ethan and Lily, who seemed oblivious to the terror that still hung in the air,

I was painfully aware of how fragile I had become.

By the time I reached the gate, panting and desperate, I saw them both there Ethan and Lily…standing on their toes, arms outstretched, trying to reach the keys hanging just out of their grasp.

Their fingers curled and stretched, but they were simply too small to reach it.

“Stand back,”

I muttered, my voice strained but firm. I ushered them away from the gate, still cautious, the acrid smell of dust and gunfire lingering in the a