Chapter 8: The Escape

The doorknob turned.

Once.

Twice.

Then it stopped.

No one breathed.

Samuel motioned for us to stay still.

A loud bang shook the front door.

"Maya," he whispered, "take the key."

"I already have it."

"No. Hide it."

Without thinking, I slipped the small brass key into the pocket inside my hoodie.

Another bang.

The frame of the door cracked.

"They'll get in," I whispered.

"They won't," Samuel replied, though his voice lacked confidence.

My mother suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Come with me."

She pulled me down the hallway towards the kitchen.

"What are we doing?"

"There's another way out."

She opened a narrow wooden door hidden behind the pantry.

A staircase disappeared into darkness.

"I never knew this was here."

"You weren't supposed to."

We hurried down the steps.

The air smelled of damp earth.

The tunnel was old, barely wide enough for one person at a time.

Behind us came another deafening crash.

The front door had finally given way.

"They're inside!" someone shouted.

My heart raced.

Flashlights swept across the house above us.

"Hurry," Samuel urged.

We reached a rusty metal door at the end of the tunnel.

Samuel pushed it open.

Cool night air rushed over us.

We were in the middle of an abandoned farm behind our house.

For a brief moment, I thought we'd escaped.

Then headlights flooded the field.

A black SUV rolled to a stop a few metres away.

Its engine died.

The driver's door opened.

A tall man stepped out, dressed entirely in black.

He wasn't in a hurry.

He smiled.

"I've been looking for you, Maya."

I had never seen him before.

But somehow...

He knew exactly who I was.

Then he looked at the pocket of my hoodie.

"The key," he said calmly.

"Hand it over."

I instinctively stepped back.

His smile faded.

"You have no idea what you're carrying."

Before anyone could react...

A gunshot echoed through the night.

Everything went silent.