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“We won’t get far if you collapse.”
“Great. I’m not planning on collapsing.”
"I can see that," I responded dryly, but gave in to his stubbornness. At this point, there was no use arguing.
We continued on, our footsteps bouncing off the damp walls like hollow echoes. We were guided by instinct and the faint sound of trickling water, not knowing where we'd end up but driving on regardless.
Time lost its meaning as we stumbled onward. Minutes melted into hours, hours into an eternity. There was nothing to distinguish between night and day in this place; just an endless stretch of cold concrete and silence.
And then there was a door and a…kitchenette, illuminated by overhead lights like this was some sort of factory canteen in the 1970s.
There, sitting at the worn-out formica counter, was a man I didn't recognize. He was drinking coffee from an equally decrepit porcelain mug, his eyes impassively watching us as we stumbled into the room.
He was tall, broad backed, well-dressed, marginally older than Teo.
"Ah," the man said, casting his gaze up, his voice mellow despite our sudden intrusion. "I see you've managed to find your way out of the maze."
His presence was incongruous in this dilapidated setting. A tailored suit clung to his lean frame, and his steel-grey hair was immaculately groomed. He radiated an aura of authority and competence, though there was a hardness in his eyes that made me wary.
Victor tensed beside me as he fixed his gaze on the stranger. "Who are you?" he asked, his tone laced with suspicion. “Where’s the Viper?”
The man suppressed a smirk. “I keep telling him that the Viper thing is silly, but he doesn’t listen to me. Anyway, my name is Stephen.”
He raised his mug in salute before taking another sip of his coffee.
Before we could react, he stood up and grabbed a pair of mugs from a cabinet, pouring fresh coffee into each. "I'm sure you could use something warm to drink," he continued, ignoring the surprise written on our faces. He slid one mug toward Victor before looking at me, his gaze assessing.
"Eat something if you can," Stephen advised, gesturing towards the modest selection of packaged snacks on the counter. "Those are the only things I could find.”
Victor took a cautious step forward, taking the proffered mug. His eyes never left Stephen as he sipped the hot liquid. I followed suit, my body grateful for the warmth spreading through it.
But warmth or not, we were far from comfortable. Our minds buzzed with questions - who was this man? Where were we? Why had he captured us? Where were the others?
“I’m sure you have questions,” he said. “I’m sorry for the theater. That was all the boss.”
“The boss?” Victor asked. “As in the Viper?”
“Right,” Stephen said.
Looking at Stephen's calm demeanor, I felt a spark of fear ignite in my stomach. He was too collected, too nonchalant about the whole situation.
"Where is he?" Victor asked, his voice steady despite the rage simmering in his eyes. "What has he done with our friends?"
“I have no idea. I assume they’re all dead.”
My heart lurched at his words, a scream lodged in my throat. Dead. Everyone, dead. The thought was too horrific to process, too monstrous to accept.
Victor's hand clenched around the mug, knuckles turning white. "You lie," he spat, his voice brimming with barely-suppressed fury.
“I know as much as you do,” he said. “And right now, all I know is that I’m not supposed to let you leave.”
Victor scoffed. “What are you going to do if we try?”
Stephen's gaze didn't falter as he coolly met Victor's challenge. He took a nonchalant sip from his mug, eyes twinkling with an icy mirth. "I suppose that would depend on how eager you are to get out."
A chill of dread trickled down my spine at his vague response. His words were drenched in hidden threats, and I had no doubts that going against him would be a grave mistake. But our options were limited and the clock was ticking.
Victor must've felt the same uneasiness I did because he remained silent, weighing Stephen's words carefully. His grip tightened on his coffee mug, the only sign of the internal turmoil he was fighting against.
