[Aldo]
We come to a stop at the start of a dirt driveway. The air is thick with dust, and the silence feels suffocating, like we’ve entered a dead zone where nothing exists beyond the headlights.
We’re in the middle of nowhere, far from civilization, off of the highway and down a farming lane that seems to stretch endlessly in the dark.
We’ve been crawling along for what feels like hours, scanning every twist and turn, looking for the path that supposedly leads to this warehouse.
But all we’ve found so far are the same empty fields, the same dark expanse of nothing.
That’s on top of the barrage of messages and texts that have been sending us all over the county, with no real direction.
“This has ‘trap’ written all over it,” Luca says, his voice low and edged with concern, his eyes darting around.
I glance at my phone again, the screen casting a pale glow in the dimness of the car.
No new messages since the last location drop. My gut twists. “I know, but that’s all we’ve got.”
The car idles in the quiet, its engine purring softly beneath us, and the weight of indecision presses down. We sit there for a few moments, trapped in the stillness,
the tension in the air almost tangible. My mind races, trying to come up with some kind of plan, but it feels like I’m missing something crucial.
“I don’t like it, but I think we should head along cautiously with our lights off,” I mutter, frustration leaking into my voice as I scratch a hand through my hair. “I don’t know what else to do.”
Luca nods, his jaw tight as he stares ahead, his hand resting on the dashboard. “We don’t know how long this road goes on before the warehouse-”
“Luca, if you want to get out now, you can. Just leave me to do this stupid crap. You’re already in enough trouble because of me,” I urge, my voice softening, laced with guilt. The last thing I want is to drag him into any more danger.
He smiles, the edges of it tight but sincere. “Thank you, but no thank you. You still swarmed a fully manned warehouse for me in a similar situation. We will proceed with caution.”
He glances back at the twin shotguns that we grabbed from a safehouse, the barrels gleaming faintly in the backseat. Those and the grenade.
“Okay,” I say, exhaling sharply. It sounds more like a sigh than anything else, the weight of it hanging in the air between us.
I turn the lights off, and the world outside seems to swallow us whole. The darkness is complete, enveloping the car in an oppressive silence.
I wait a few minutes for my eyes to adjust, feeling the tension coil in my chest. We roll the windows down, the air outside crisp and cool against my face as I ease the car onto the road.
We begin to move, creeping along the narrow trail, the tires crunching softly over the gravel. The shadows around us stretch like dark fingers reaching out from the trees.
The night is thick, but I’m thankful for the clearing-there’s nothing to obstruct our view, but it also means we’re completely exposed. The world outside feels like a vast, empty void, and my nerves hum with the awareness of how exposed we are.
The silence is oppressive, almost unnatural. There’s no rustle of leaves, no croak of toads, no chirp of crickets or distant calls of birds. It’s as if the entire forest has fallen silent, watching us, waiting.
The only sound is the low growl of the car’s engine, a mechanical beast in the quiet, echoing through the stillness.
As we move forward, the landscape around us feels unfamiliar and eerie. The trees close in, their silhouettes looming like dark sentinels.
The road twists ahead, its curve swallowed by shadows. My eyes scan the horizon, every movement outside catching my attention, my heartbeat quickening with each passing second.
Then, a light appears in the distance. It’s small at first, barely visible, but it grows larger as we approach. My heart skips a beat as we slow to a stop.
It’s the only sign of life, a singular light cutting through the blackness like a beacon. I tense, my grip tightening on the steering wheel.
“What do you want to do?” Luca asks, his voice barely a whisper, his words carried on the wind like a warning.
I frown, a knot forming in my stomach.
“I dunno. I guess I’d like to see-” There’s a slight movement, something in the periphery of my vision. I freeze.
I can see a man standing outside the door under the light. He hasn’t spotted us yet, otherwise, he wouldn’t still be standing there, absorbed in his phone.
My breath catches in my throat as I watch him, my heart pounding louder in my ears. “Maybe we should proceed on foot?” I suggest, my voice tight with uncertainty.
“Maybe the best plan,” Luca agrees, his eyes narrowing as he watches the man. The tension between us sharpens, but neither of us moves.
The man at the door stops. His head jerks up suddenly, his eyes scanning the road. Time seems to slow. He stares directly at us for a moment,
his gaze locking onto the car like he can see us through the darkness. My breath catches, and my pulse spikes in my throat.
Luca and I freeze. I grip the gear shift in my hands, my knuckles white, and I prepare to throw the car in reverse, ready to retreat,
but then the man simply continues his casual pacing. He flicks his cigarette away, the ember flaring briefly before it disappears into the night.
“I didn’t like that,” Luca mutters, his voice low and filled with a mix of caution and concern. “I think he knows things we don’t.”
My phone pings in my lap, breaking the silence. The message lights up the screen, casting an eerie glow in the dark car. I glance down at it, and my stomach drops.
“It’s a trap C.”
“Oh shit,” I utter under my breath. My body goes cold as I realize who it is. “That’s Andre… But that’s-”
The man whips his head up again, suddenly alert. He throws his cigarette away, and in one fluid motion, he wrenches the door open.
Another guy runs over, pulling up his zipper as chaos erupts inside. The sound of muffled shouting filters through the open door,
and it’s like a dam breaking-everything is spiraling out of control.
“Fuck it,” I growl, adrenaline flooding my veins as panic surges. I slam my foot down on the accelerator and flip the lights back on.
The car surges forward, tires squealing as I throw it into gear.
That’s when it happens. A blinding flood of spotlights slashes through the darkness from behind us, pinning us in place like a prey animal caught in the hunter’s sights.
A wall of light, moving with terrifying speed, closes in on us, and I barely have time to brace before the massive truck slams into us from behind.
The impact throws us forward, the jolt rattling every bone in my body. We’re sent crashing off the road, the car spinning out of control.
The sound of crunching metal and the screech of tires fills the air as the world tilts and spins.
Everything goes dark.