Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

Clearly, the key was right there.

After taking a sip of water and munching on a piece of candy, Carol began to relax.

Quinn let out a sigh of relief and collapsed on the ground. Tears streamed down her face as she hugged Carol tightly, crying, "Carol."

Once Carol regained her composure, she burst into tears.

Terrified, she sought refuge in Quinn’s embrace, trembling all over.

"It’s okay," Quinn whispered, trying to comfort her.

Dexter glanced outside indifferently. "Gotta hurry."

They had to leave this place immediately.

Everyone had been released. And soon enough, the lunatic orchestrating everything behind the scenes would make his next move.

"Do you fancy yourself a savior? Or perhaps a god..." That voice echoed again, filled with fury.

"They’ve harmed you. Yet, you’re bent on saving them. You’ll regret your choices sooner than you think."

The warning was clear. Saving those people would only result in them seeking revenge on Dexter.

Dexter stared coldly at the room’s speakers and cameras, a smirk playing on his lips. But, he remained silent. For some reason, I felt a chill down my spine.

Was Dexter genuinely trying to save these people, or did he want to watch them turn on each other? Just letting them starve to death? That was too simple.

Their sins deserved something more brutal. They should suffer in fear before being slowly tortured to death.

I startled myself with that thought and quickly looked down, clasping my hands tightly. "Let’s get out of here."

As we reached the dining area, those folks had devoured every last bit of food.

Juliet had set aside some extra food, and she had hidden away most of the weapons, only letting a few people have them.

After dinner, everyone remained relatively calm, and someone spoke up on their own, "What’s going on? Can anyone explain?"

I knew the guy speaking from the group photo at the orphanage.

Standing beside Howard, he looked like the oldest among us orphanage kids, named Mark Cruz. He was the last one adopted by a working-class couple from a small company.

He seemed decent now. But, I couldn’t shake the feeling. They were all wolves in sheep’s clothing.

"It looks like everyone’s done eating." The eerie voice echoed in the hallway.

"If you want out of here, you gotta head downstairs. This is the 18th floor"

"Now, the countdown begins, 30 seconds... The whole floor will be filled with carbon monoxide..." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The voice from the speaker sounded like the Grim Reaper himself, sending shivers down our spines. "30, 29..." The countdown started.

Panic spread as everyone scrambled to find an exit on this floor.

"Hey, lunatic! Who the hell are you to trap us here?" someone yelled in fear.

Some started to lose it, going mad.

I nervously glanced at Dexter.

He and Joel remained completely composed.

As for Juliet and Damien, they were nowhere to be seen when I turned around.

Had they already found the exit? And didn’t bother telling anyone? Damn it.

"Dexter... are we gonna make it out alive?" I nervously gripped Dexter’s hand.

Dexter glanced at me, his voice carrying a weighty undertone. "Sophia, you’ll get out... you’ll make it out alive."

My heart sank in that instant. If only one person could make it out alive. Did Dexter want me to survive?

"Oh... I forgot to mention." Suddenly,

the countdown stopped,

"20, 19, 18..."

I gripped Dexter’s fingers in fear. The murderer was among us, maybe me, maybe Dexter, maybe Joel, maybe anyone.

"15..." The eerie voice continued its countdown, mechanical and unsettlingly eerie. Suddenly, Carol went berserk, staring at the end of the hallway in terror. "Simmy..."

She broke free from Quinn’s grip, running uncontrollably toward the end of the hallway. Joel was stunned. Then, he chased after Carol without much thought.

"Dexter..."

Everyone dashed down the hallway, desperate to survive, like there was a way out at the end.

Dexter glanced back at me, reaching for my wrist. But, the crowd pushed between us and we got separated.

At that moment, the windowless hallway suddenly went dark, plunging into pitch-blackness.

Meanwhile, the mechanical countdown began its final numbers. "10, 9..."

I stood frozen in place.

"Dexter..." I yelled Dexter’s name in a panic, but with all the frantic people running around, my voice just got drowned out.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed onto my wrist in the pitch-black darkness. Then, I was pulled into a quiet corner.

I leaned against the wall, scared, breathing heavily. "Dexter?"

His grip on my fingers tightened slightly, and I could sense his anger.

"Are you dumb?" he spoke in a hushed tone, wrapping me in his arms.

My body stiffened instantly. It was Damien.

I was about to call out his name. But, he covered my mouth.

Damien wrapped his arms around me from behind, whispering, "Don’t scream... Listen, Juliet and Dexter are sketchy. Everyone around you might be sketchy too... But I won’t hurt you." He wanted me to get it. Everybody was just putting on an act, telling lies, playing a part.

He was the only one keeping it real. He wouldn’t harm me.

I bit him, and he finally released his grip. "You might be the killer too..." I muttered angrily.

In the darkness, I had no clue where we were. But, the countdown kept ticking away.

I was scared and just wanted to find Dexter. "Dexter..."

As death approached, all I could think about was about finding him.

Even I was taken aback by this thought.

Damien was clearly pissed off. He held onto me tightly, his jealousy evident as he pulled me close and spoke in a hushed tone, "This is the vent room. There are no windows on this floor. We need to rely on these vents for air. It’s safe here. But if you go in now... you’ll die."

"5, 4, 3..." As the countdown neared its end the sounds of people crying around inside grew louder.

"1... carbon monoxide released."

The air was filled with the sound of gas being released, mixed with the cries of many people.

I struggled to push Damien away. "Let go of me! Dexter’s still inside."

Joel, Dexter, and Carol, they were all still inside.

Holding me tightly, Damien said with a hoarse voice, "There are many vents in the building. He won’t die..."

"Sophia, how do I make you believe me? It’s only me... who really cares about you".

"They’re all using you, just acting their parts. Dexter won’t die. He’s the mastermind of this game."

As the gas began to seep in, Damien held me tightly in his arms, making sure I had the only vent, providing me with fresh air. He was basically giving me his life.

Even though we had a vent, I still felt dizzy and nauseous. What kind of hell awaited inside?

"Dexter..." I struggled to get out. But, my legs gave out, and I fell to the ground.