Gary Brandt delivers his most viscerally devastating and morally complex chapter yet in this episode from The Dimension Of Mind Dot Com when a pre-dawn assassination attempt transforms seventeen-year-old Ella from a reluctant warrior into a killer, forcing her to confront the brutal reality that saving the world sometimes requires taking lives with your own hands.
The brilliant terror unfolds at 2 AM when Ella's prophetic dreamâ'They're coming to kill us'âcollides with Helena's ...
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Three months had passed since Asherina joined their unconventional crew, and in that time, she and her family had been seamlessly absorbed into the Patel household like long-lost relatives. The marketing campaign promoting their revolutionary shelter designs was gaining unprecedented momentum, with orders flooding in from across the globe. The rapid success exceeded even Commander Beaker's most optimistic projections.
However, this success came with a bitter irony that gnawed at Ella's conscience. The buyers were invariably wealthyâthose who could afford private salvation while the masses remained vulnerable. She had been pushing relentlessly for legislative changes: mandatory reinforced basements in building codes, federal funding for retrofitting older homes. "Blame it on climate change," she'd argue during heated strategy sessions. "At least then we might save everyone."
The campaign had earned the derisive label "Fear Porn" from critics, sparking fierce pushback from various political factions. The military establishment, in particular, dismissed their narrative entirely. Yet institutional mistrust ran deep, and mounting concerns about solar instability, mass coronal ejections, and the ever-present specter of nuclear war continued to fuel demand for Asherina's innovations.
It was 2 AM on a Monday morning in late April. Ella had just finished what should have been her final high school assignmentâmost seniors were now focused on graduation trips and ceremony preparations rather than academics. She was finally drifting toward sleep when the vision struck like lightning. They're coming to kill us.
"Ella! Wake up! Wake up!" Helana's scream shattered the pre-dawn silence as Ella bolted upright, her heart hammering against her ribs. "I saw it in my dream," Ella gasped, still caught between sleeping and waking terror. "Someone is coming? Please tell me this isn't real."
"They're coming for us." Helana's voice was deadly calm as she reached for her service weapon. "They're coming to kill us. They have incendiary devicesâthey want to burn us all alive." She moved toward the window with practiced precision.
The Patel family's backyard stretched fifty yards to a fence line, beyond which lay dense forest thick with undergrowth. Through that green maze, five figures advanced with military precision, rocket-propelled incendiary grenades glinting in the moonlight. They were approximately 120 yards out.
"That pistol won't work," Ella whispered urgently. "They're too far away. We can't even see them clearly."
"You can feel them, Ella." Helana's training kicked in, her voice steady and instructive. "Use your mind. Trust yourself and trust your weapon. You don't need to see them."
Ella's hands trembled as she grabbed her own service weapon and positioned herself at the adjacent window. The weight felt both familiar and foreign in her grip. Pop! Pop! Splat! Helana fired first. At 900 feet per second, the bullet took nearly half a second to find its target. A quarter-second later came the wet, unmistakable sound of lead tearing through flesh. That soundâthat awful, final splatâwould echo in Ella's nightmares for years to come.
When Helana's weapon jammed, Ella took over, her psychokinetic abilities guiding each shot with impossible precision. Pop! Pop! Splat! She fired and re-aimed at her second target through pure instinct. Pop! Pop! Splat! The accuracy was superhuman, deadly, and absolutely necessary. The reality of what she'd just done hit her like a physical blow. Ella doubled over, retching violently onto the bedroom floor.
A rifle round splintered the house's exterior wall as one of the attackers returned fire. Suddenly, a blindingly brilliant green beam shown out from Asherina's window, illuminating its target in the forest before burning through flesh and bone with surgical precision.
A second beam eliminated the final threat. Helana had activated the panic button on her Navy-issued phone the moment she'd awakened. Special agents were already moving through the backyard before the last shot was fired. Local police arrived minutes later but were swiftly redirected by agents flashing FBI credentials. The cleanup crew materialized with practiced efficiency, ready to spin the narrative: escaped convicts with guns had been neutralized in an FBI operation.
Ella couldn't stop shaking when Commander Beaker entered the house. The Patels sat in stunned silence, struggling to comprehend the violence that had shattered their peaceful morning.
"We have to get you out of here," Commander Beaker announced without preamble. "Your new house is nearly readyâwe can secure the unfinished sections. We'll move your parents to another safe house while we handle the cleanup."
"I don't understand any of this," Alisha Patel said through tears, her voice breaking. "Why would someone want us all dead? We have a baby here. Who tries to kill a baby?" Her gaze fixed on Ella with bewildered hurt. "And where did my girls get guns? When were you planning to tell me about that?"
"It's complicated," Commander Beaker replied, his usual diplomatic tone strained. "We must have struck a nerve somewhere. Elements of our operation are leaking, and certain political and military factions see us as a threat. The brazenness of this attack is... surprising."
"Seriously?" Asherina interjected, still cradling a now-crying Chessa. "A military-style assault on a family home isn't exactly subtle."
"The RPG ordnance they carried is essentially a molotov cocktail with an undetectable accelerant," Commander Beaker explained grimly. "Designed to burn completely in the resulting fire, leaving minimal evidence. This was sophisticatedâthey wanted it to look like a tragic house fire where no one escaped in time." His expression hardened. "As soon as we identify the source, we will eliminate them. They've started a war they cannot win."
Several unmarked vans arrived to transport the Patels to secure locations. Ella walked toward one of the vehicles but suddenly broke away, running back into the house. She emerged clutching her diaryâher most precious possessionâwhile Melanie gently guided her still-shaking form toward safety.
Though trained as a special agent, seventeen remained a tender age, and taking a life left trauma that would shadow Ella forever. Asherina is unphased, her motherly instincts to save her baby kicked in and killing someone wasn't even a question in her mind. Helana appeared contemplative, more concerned about Ella's emotional state than processing her own actions.
Assessment
"This reminds me of the food court attack," Melanie observed during the post-incident briefing. "Once again, we find bodies with tight groupings of bullets placed precisely in kill zones. This time from 120 yards away with handguns. That level of accuracy shouldn't be possible without significant psychokinetic enhancement."
"We have laser-guided ammunition that precise, but those require rifles," Commander Beaker mused. "We'll need to adjust the narrativeâsay the agents engaged at much closer range. These girls are already intimidating enough without advertising their full capabilities."
"Do we know who orchestrated the attack?" Melanie asked.
"I have suspicions," Commander Beaker's voice carried a dangerous edge. "If I'm right, we'll need to arrange a little accident."
"You're going to kill them?" The question hung in the air.
"As far as I'm concerned, they died the moment they planned this attack," Commander Beaker replied with cold finality. "I'm done with this nonsense. Anyone who threatens my girls better have their funeral arrangements in order."
"What the hell was Asherina using?" Melanie pressed. "It burned through the target and several feet into the ground beyond."
"I've never seen anything like it. She claims it's powered by vacuum energyâthat's heavily restricted technology. Those weapons can theoretically burn through planetary crust if mishandled." Commander Beaker frowned. "We need to train her on more conventional weapons. She can't be caught with exotic tech like that. Given her natural telepathic abilities, I suspect her psychokinetic potential matches Ella and Helana's."
"Are the girls settling into the new house?" he asked, shifting focus.
"Yes, though Ella is struggling emotionally. Her parents want to stay temporarily to help her through this. She's always been so resilientâit's heartbreaking to see her this vulnerable. I think it's the combination of this incident and Remmick's death." Melanie paused. "Oh, and Roxanna wants her own room. Patricia wants to move in permanently too."
"Is there space for everyone?"
"Six bedrooms would be occupied, and we'll convert the SKIFF into offices and a computer room. Since the girls will be studying remotely, we'll set up a classroom environment there. Essentially, it's becoming a small compound."
"The security perimeter is nearly complete," Commander Beaker noted. "Until then, we'll maintain additional agents in the area. We're renting neighboring houses for round-the-clock surveillance. The contractor and bank have been briefed to maintain operational security."
"Sounds like we've hardened the target appropriately," Melanie concluded. "If someone wants a war, it'll be brief."
Home Sweet Home
"The truck is here!" Roxanna called out excitedly. The girls watched with barely contained enthusiasm as furniture delivery teams moved through their new home, positioning tables, chairs, beds, and other essentials. A second truck arrived bearing kitchen appliances, televisions, audio equipment, laptops, desktop computers, and office supplies. A third vehicle delivered bedding, area rugs, curtains, and decorative touches that would transform the house into a home.
"Wow," Alisha Patel breathed, surveying the organized chaos. "You girls better appreciate all this. The cost must have been astronomical."
"We do," the girls chorused. Roxanna added, "Melanie did an amazing job choosing everything. I absolutely love my new room."
The final delivery truck brought groceries to stock the kitchen. Ella preheated the oven for frozen pizzas while Mr. Patel gathered empty boxes and packing materials into large trash bags.
It had been an exhausting, frightening day. After a simple dinner, the girls retreated to their respective rooms, snuggling under crisp new bedding. Asherina fed Chessa and placed her gently in the new crib before settling into the master bedroom that accommodated her small family. For tonight, at least, all was well in their carefully constructed world.
Hello Diary,
It`s me, Ella
I don`t know what to say.
Too much to process.
I got a new house today.
And yes, I killed two people this morning.
My brain feels like mush.
Melanie is helping me work through it, trying to make sense of everything.
I just don`t know anymore.
Is this even me? Who am I really?
Good night, my diary.
Maybe this will all make sense tomorrow.
Maybe I`ll wake up and none of this actually happened.
Episode 57 â âDeadly Awakeningâ â is one of the most **intense, morally complex, and emotionally disturbing** chapters in *Ellaâs Story* so far. In a shocking early-morning attack, the girls are forced to face the harsh reality that sometimes, protecting those you love means taking lives â and the psychological cost of that choice stretches far beyond the physical violence of battle.
--- ## đ **Story Arc Summary**Three months after Asherina and her family integrated into the Patel household and helped boost global demand for their shelter designs, the groupâs campaign begins to attract powerful enemies. At **2 AM on a Monday**, Ella is jolted awake by Helanaâs scream and a prophetic sense that **âtheyâre coming to kill us.â** Moments later, five attackers armed with rocket-propelled incendiary devices emerge from the forest, intending to burn the girlsâ home and family alive.
Ella and Helana, acting on training and instinct â and with psychokinetic aid â fire back with service weapons. The sounds of bullets tearing through flesh haunt the scene, and Ella is physically overwhelmed by the realization that she has just taken human life. The assault intensifies until Asherina defends the house with a **blinding green energy beam** that incinerates the remaining assailants.
Federal agents quickly take control of the aftermath, constructing a cover story that escaped convicts were neutralized. Commander Beaker arrives to relocate the Patels to a safe house and secure the unfinished compound. In the emotional fallout, Ella clings to her diary, wrestling with the psychological trauma of killing and the profound question of who she is after this experience.
--- ## đŹ **Favorite Lines**âTheyâre coming to kill us.â
This prophetic sentence sets the chapterâs emotional and narrative tone â part nightmare, part war cry â and stays with you throughout.
ââŚthat awful, final splat â would echo in Ellaâs nightmares for years to come.â
A line that doesnât shy away from the **psychological reality of violence** â unforgettable in its bluntness.
âUse your mind. Trust yourself and trust your weapon.â
One of Helanaâs most grounded directions â a perfect blend of training and trust that defines their survival.
âIs this even me? Who am I really?â
Ellaâs diary confession captures the **identity crisis** at the heart of this chapter â the emotional core that follows the action.
--- ## đ˛ **Unsuspected Plot Twists**What makes *âDeadly Awakeningâ* stand apart is not only the **adrenaline of the assault**, but the **emotional fallout** that follows. This chapter doesnât glamorize violence â it shows how deeply killing affects a young personâs psyche. Ellaâs physical reaction (retching uncontrollably) and her emotionally fragmented diary entry make her **terrifyingly relatable** in a world of extraordinary events.
The familyâs shock â especially Alisha Patelâs raw confusion and fear at the sight of guns and violence â grounds the supernatural and tactical parts of the story in a **very human response**. Itâs the contrast between the worldâs chaos and a motherâs desperate concern for her children that gives this chapter its emotional weight.
Commander Beakerâs determination â that âanyone who threatens my girls better have their funeral arrangements in orderâ â channels love through fierceness, transforming protection into something both comforting and frightening. This kind of emotional layering, mixed with tactical strategy, was powerful and immersive.
--- ## đŻ **Final Thoughts***âDeadly Awakeningâ* is a chapter that made my heart pound *and* linger afterward like a shadow. Gary Brandt doesnât hold back: the violence is real, the psychology is raw, and the emotional truth of a teenage girl forced into lethal self-defense is explored with **sensitivity and nuance**.
Overall Rating: âââââ â A gripping, devastating, and unforgettable episode that asks big questions about identity, survival, and the emotional cost of defending what you love.
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