Chapter 29

The chill of the evening air bit into my skin as we chased after the shadowy figure. He moved fast, darting between the buildings with an agility that suggested he knew the layout of the town better than we did. The abandoned streets blurred around me as I struggled to keep up with Jake, Caleb, and Marcus. My lungs burned, and my heart pounded, but adrenaline kept me moving.

"Split up!" Jake barked, not breaking his stride. "He can't outrun all of us!"

I hesitated for a second, unsure of leaving the group, but Marcus veered to the left, cutting down a narrow alley, and Caleb peeled off to the right. I followed Jake, my legs pumping as we dashed through the streets. Every corner we rounded, the figure was just ahead, slipping out of sight before we could close the distance.

We turned another corner, and the figure disappeared into an old, crumbling building, the door slamming shut behind him. Jake motioned for me to stop, and we crouched low, catching our breath.

“He’s trapped,” Jake whispered. “We’ve got him now.”

Something about the whole situation felt wrong. This town was too quiet, too eerie. The figure had led us here too easily, almost like he wanted us to follow.

“What if it’s a trap?” I whispered back, the doubt creeping into my voice.

Jake shot me a look, his face hard with determination. “We don’t have a choice. We need answers.”

Before I could argue, Jake was already moving toward the door, his gun drawn. I followed reluctantly, gripping my knife tightly in my hand. The silence around us was suffocating, every creak of the floorboards beneath our feet echoing loudly as we stepped inside.

The building was dark, the windows boarded up and the air thick with dust. We moved cautiously through the room, scanning the shadows for any sign of movement. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, every instinct telling me we weren’t alone.

Jake motioned for me to follow him as he crept toward a staircase leading to the second floor. The boards groaned under our weight as we ascended, our steps slow and deliberate.

As we reached the top of the stairs, a flicker of movement caught my eye. The figure stood at the end of the hallway, his face still hidden beneath the hood. He was motionless, as if waiting for us.

Without warning, Jake surged forward, charging toward the figure with his gun raised. But just as he reached him, the figure sidestepped effortlessly, grabbing Jake by the arm and twisting it behind his back. Jake cried out in pain, his gun clattering to the floor.

“Stop!” I shouted, lunging forward to help, but the figure moved too quickly. He shoved Jake into the wall, sending him sprawling to the ground, then turned to face me.

For a split second, our eyes met, and I froze. There was something familiar about him, something unsettling. But before I could process the thought, he was gone, disappearing into the darkness once again.

I rushed to Jake’s side, helping him to his feet. He winced, clutching his arm, but he waved me off.

“I’m fine,” he muttered through gritted teeth, picking up his gun. “We need to find him.”

The tension in my chest tightened as I glanced around the empty hallway. The figure had vanished again, but we couldn’t afford to give up now. Whoever he was, he had answers, and we were too close to let him slip away.

We moved deeper into the building, searching room after room, but each one was empty, filled only with decaying furniture and dust. My frustration grew with every step, the feeling that we were being toyed with gnawing at me.

Just as I was about to suggest we regroup with Caleb and Marcus, a loud crash echoed from the floor below. Jake and I exchanged a glance, then bolted down the stairs, our footsteps thundering through the building.

When we reached the ground floor, we found Caleb and Marcus standing in the center of the room, their weapons drawn. The door to the building had been thrown open, and outside, the sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon, casting long shadows across the empty street.

“He’s gone,” Marcus growled, his eyes scanning the darkening town. “We lost him.”

Caleb let out a frustrated sigh, lowering his gun. “Who the hell was that guy?”

“I don’t know,” Jake said, his voice tense with anger. “But he knew we were here. This wasn’t an accident.”

The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. We had been led here—deliberately. The figure had drawn us into this empty town, but for what purpose?

As we stood in the fading light, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched, that there were eyes on us from every corner of the abandoned buildings.

“What now?” I asked, my voice shaky.

Jake’s jaw tightened as he holstered his gun. “We stay the night. Set up camp inside. Whoever that was, he’ll be back. And next time, we’ll be ready.”

The thought of spending the night in this ghost town sent a chill down my spine, but I knew Jake was right. We couldn’t leave without figuring out what was going on.

As we gathered our gear and found a relatively secure room to set up camp, the unease only grew. The town was too empty, too still. It felt like a place where time had stopped, and we were intruding on something we couldn’t understand.

As night fell, the temperature dropped, and the wind howled through the cracks in the walls. We took turns keeping watch, the hours stretching out in tense silence. Every creak, every gust of wind made my heart race, my eyes constantly darting to the shadows.

When it was my turn to watch, I sat by the window, staring out into the darkened streets. The moonlight cast long shadows across the ground, and for a moment, I thought I saw movement in the distance—a figure standing at the edge of the town, watching.

But when I blinked, it was gone, leaving only the empty streets behind.

I shivered, pulling my jacket tighter around me as the feeling of dread settled deeper into my bones.

Whoever that man was, he wasn’t done with us yet. And whatever he wanted, I had the sinking feeling that we were walking right into his trap.

Tomorrow, we’d search for answers. But tonight, all we could do was wait.

And pray we made it through the night.