CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE:Hostages--There is one thing that Althea hates the most ever since she was young. And it was unnecessary attention.In her younger years, she was constantly inside their home or their backyard, tending the garden. She sometimes helps with their shop and does deliveries, but talking and interacting with others more than that? No, she cannot remember doing that. But for the past two years, she learned how to socialize and talk with others. It was good for her, said her doctor. It was good talking with older people and strangers, but people from the past? She has to think twice before even making eye contact with them.Standing in front of a room that is full of familiar faces, Althea can feel her chest tightening and her breathing become ragged. Feeling their stares and gazes directed at her, she can feel herself drowning with hatred and disgust. It was as if she traveled back through time, 7 years ago.Although this is a high school reunion and 7 years ago was t
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR:Left Behind--Bomb?April paled after hearing the phrase. Even Tyler furrowed his brows. Dave looked at Aaron and the latter was thinking deeply. Sheryl gripped Tyler’s arm tightly and said, “Is that so? Then we should get going to the safe room. But—is that sturdy enough to protect us from exploding bombs?”April glared at her, “Do you think our building is made with cheap materials? Unless it’s nuclear, of course, it will withstand it.”Sheryl glared back, “If you’re that proud of your hotel, why did those even enter here?”April looked at her in disappointment, “Ha! You were pretty smart when we were in high school but for some reason, your personality and intelligence decreased at an alarming rate during college. Did you not hear what this guy said earlier? They killed the guards.” She snorted and rolled her eyes; absolute disgust was lacing her stares and voice. “Stupid. What can humans do with guns? Evade them in a super lightning speed like superheroes?”“Yo
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE:A Glimpse of the Past--Althea just realizes how stupid she was after arriving on the floor where the venue of that party was. She should have taken the elevator instead of the stairs since she was trying to escape. She was so stupid to take a path that would take her more time to get into the basement—the parking lot—and drive home immediately.She always does this whenever her mind is in chaos. Meeting familiar people and remembering unpleasant memories from the past because of it has never been good for anyone, especially if those memories are bad enough to engrave deep traumas on them.In her case, it was not them who gave it to her.‘But,’ the corner of her mouth twitched. ‘If I ever did decide to take the elevator, it would be more embarrassing since it is in front of them. If I suddenly turned my back on them and then stopped just to wait forever for the elevator to open while they stared at me from the back—isn’t that more embarrassing?’Yup, that would be
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX:The Man in Suit--Tyler tried his best to not cause any audible noise that may get the attention of the three-armed people down on the floor. He took his every step on the stairs fast but carefully. It was hard walking without making any noise because the floor was in complete silence, as if someone muted the whole place, or it was just his ears malfunctioning.He arrived at the floor, then he pressed his back on the wall, and slowly peeked his head out to see if anyone was there. No one was. He released the air he was holding for too long inside his lungs and got back into hiding. He wanted to get to her, fast, since she had no idea what was happening. But many questions and things keep on bothering him: is she still on the floor? Did she safely use the elevator to go down the basement? Is she gone? Did they catch her?Tyler furrowed his brows in frustration. “If only I followed her here…”Then both of them would be caught by the other three because none of them w
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN:Bang, Bang!--The bearded man, who was lying on the floor, began to regain his consciousness not long after Tyler hit him with the fire extinguisher. He groaned while putting his hand on the swollen part of his. His palm touched something wet. He tried to get up with the help of his other arm and looked at it. His anger flared up when he saw his palm bloody. It caused his head to bleed! His glare was directed at the two escaping figures."Hey!" His other companion shouted at him. "Are you okay?""That bastard!" He shouted, failing to hear the other. He angrily pointed at the one woman and man. "Chase them! Bring them to me and I'll kill them myself!"Their other companion heard it and fired the gun, but he missed them because Tyler suddenly pulled Althea into a corner. The other continued to follow them.He gritted his teeth and, when he finally couldn't endure it; he stood up. "That stupid guy! He can't even shoot them down with that distance!" He tried to fol
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT:Bang, Bang! (2)--Althea was relieved after knowing that there was someone who was listening to them and guiding them toward safety. Also, she was glad that she had someone to talk to about the fake bomb threats of these people.She didn't have her phone, and she was running, as well as did Tyler. She did not consider asking him about his phone earlier, since they had no time to dial someone's number while running. But to think he was already on call; it makes things convenient for them."That suffice-" she said between her breaths. "Tell her that they are only "She caught the man in the corner of her eyes running towards them with the gun in his left hand. The gun's muzzle was lowered on the floor and it swung with his hand as he ran towards them.He opened his mouth and Althea thought he would just shout for them to stop running again like he did earlier, but he did not. Althea's eyes widened when he pulled to a full stop and pointed the gun in her direction.
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE:Snap, snap--Inside a medium-sized room, the people who were evacuated to their floor were softly murmuring to each other. Some were seated, but most were not, since the seats were not enough to accommodate them all. Although it might not be time for it, some are resenting the people sitting on the couches secretly but cannot say anything since they have higher statuses than them. No matter how dangerous the situation is, it seems like the priority of the masses is those people with more power and higher statuses.In the innermost part of the room, there was another separate couch with a table. There seated the other four: April, Sheryl, Dave, and Aron. April was sitting in front of a laptop. She was sweating even though the room had an air conditioner. Of course, the sweat that was breaking on her forehead and sliding on her face was a cold sweat. Her right hand was on a mouse, and her forefinger was clicking on it as she kept on alternating from camera to camera.
CHAPTER SIXTY:No answer---Tyler slammed the door shut in front of the man who was chasing after them. It feels like his butt was on fire because his moves were very fast. He did not even care when he almost tripped on his way to a couch inside the room. In his hurry, Tyler almost threw Althea's body on the couch as soon as he got there and sprinted to the wardrobe and the bed to get enough clothes to press down on the wound and try stopping the bleeding. When he came back to the couch where he randomly tossed her, he saw her grunting and moving while clutching her bleeding abdomen. Tyler's eyes shone and trembled at the same time. He wasted no time and almost ran to get to her. Then, he kneeled next to the couch and stopped her from sitting."Don't," he said softly. He was trying his best to not anger and agitate her. "Don't waste your energy sitting, I just need you to stay awake. Stay awake for me, okay?"Gently, he guided her body to lay back down and immediately began stacking