AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But this place smelled like blood and rot, and just being in there made me want to throw up.
We slowly made our way through the first room, my steps silent and Jace’s and Teo’s heavy footsteps echoing off the walls. None of us wanted to make a sound and draw attention, but our eyes darted around looking for any signs that something menacing was waiting in the shadows.
As we approached a door on the far wall, a shiver ran down my spine. I knew we were getting closer to the Viper’s domain, and my instincts were telling me to turn back. But we had come this far, and we couldn’t let him get away with what he had done to Teo and Miranda.
Teo pushed open the door, and we stepped into a barely lit room, candles flickering in the darkness. In the center sat a large desk, where a man sat, his back to us. It would have been funny if it wasn’t so ridiculous, if his very presence didn’t fill me with a dread that made me want to scream.
The man turned around, but before he said anything, before any of us said anything, he was flinging something at us.
Something flickered for a second in front of my eyes before one of the guys grabbed the back of my head and pushed me towards the floor. I hit the ground hard and scrambled back up, my eyes locking onto the Viper who was now standing in front of us, his gun trained on us. He wore a mask that obscured all his features except his eyes and he was impossible to see in the darkness of the room anyway.
“What is that?” I asked aloud.
Teo fired his gun before he answered me, and the room was blasted with a flash of light. The Viper fired in response, and I screamed, diving down again for cover as the flashbang grenade went off, sending bright orange sparks shooting through the entirety of the room. The Viper was shouting something over the sound of the gunfight, and I realized that he was probably asking us to surrender.
I thought. It was too hard to hear a fucking thing.
The Viper disappeared behind a wall that seemed to move by itself and Teo and Jace tried to follow him. I was still coughing , still crouching down.
“Stay here, Sofia!” Teo said.
I nodded, too scared and disoriented to do anything else. I watched as they disappeared around the corner, their boots pounding against the hardwood floor. The sound of gunshots echoed through the cabin, making me flinch every time they went off.
The air was thick with the scent of blood and gunpowder, and I could hear shouts and gunfire in the distance.
And then I smelled it.
Smoke.
This wasn’t just gunpowder or guns, this was fire; I could feel it in my throat and in my lungs, and I knew we needed to get out of the cabin, and fast. I stumbled to my feet, coughing and wheezing as I struggled to see through the smoke. Teo and Jace were still fighting, but the flames were spreading rapidly, licking at the walls and ceiling with a fierce hunger.
“Guys!” I screamed, my voice lost in the chaos.
My eyes burned and my sinuses felt like they were filled with sand as I rounded the corner and saw the flames licking at the walls.
Through the smoke, I could see shapes moving in the distance. I knew that Teo and Jace were out there fighting, and I couldn’t let them do it alone. Not when they had risked everything to save me.
I coughed again, using my sleeve to cover my nose and mouth as I stumbled towards the sound of their voices. The smoke was thick, and my eyes couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of me. It was like walking through a nightmare.
And then I saw him. The Viper was standing there, his gun aimed straight at me. For a moment, we just stared at each other, both of us frozen. Even if he hadn’t been wearing a mask, it would have been hard to see his face.
Then Teo appeared out of nowhere, slamming into the Viper and sending him sprawling to the ground despite his barely perceptible limp. Jace was right behind him, grabbing me and pulling me towards the exit.
We burst out of the cabin into the cool night air, the flames roaring behind us like a beast. I collapsed to the ground in a coughing fit as Teo and Jace exchanged words in low voices.
As we stumbled outside, the harsh reality of our situation hit us hard: we were trapped in the middle of the Everglades, miles from civilization, with a ruthless killer still at large.
“Over there!” Teo shouted, pointing to a sleek black car parked behind the cabin. “One of the Viper’s men must’ve left it here!”
“Let’s go!” Jace urged, grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me toward the car.
Teo was already hotwiring the car, his fingers moving swiftly over the exposed wires. Jace opened the back door and pushed me inside before climbing into the driver’s seat.
“Drive!” Teo shouted as he climbed into the passenger seat. He slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, and we peeled out of the clearing, leaving the burning cabin and the Viper behind.
My heart was hammering in my chest, and I could still feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins. We had made it out alive, but the danger felt like it was far from over.
I turned to Teo, still coughing as I tried to catch my breath. “What do we do now?” I asked, my voice shaking with fear.
