CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

At first, no one spoke and I could hear my heart beating rapidly against my chest in the silence… I was scared. Though I have been scared before, this time, it truly felt different with my life on the line. I could see death flash before my eyes and Alistair’s hesitation, added to my anxiety.

“Very well then," the man in the video declared, and a searing migraine overwhelmed me. On the verge of collapse, the grim certainty lingered that a barrage of bullets would soon pierce my skin. The imminent threat intensified, hanging heavily in the air.

Temptation to scream at Alistair about his perceived selfishness welled up within me. In this dire situation, whether I lived or died seemed inconsequential, for there was no escape for him either way. The ominous reality was that he remained at the mercy of these dangerous circumstances, and the choices he made would dictate whether I lived or succumbed to the impending threat.

“Don’t shoot.” He finally said as he glared at the them.

They a