ling up Harley's boots and into her bones. She stood in the dark, trash-fi
ice door. The smell of stale beer, s
n. She dodged two drunk men in expensive suits who were stumbling out of
nside. Where is
d: VVIP 9. It's in the unfinished
ition in an unfinished, abandoned section of a club? A cold prickle of unease ran down her s
ack into her pocket an
r, the deafening music instantly vanished. The silence was jarring. Th
lway. At the very end, standing
oth hands. She kept looking over her
Where is the director?" Ha
Harley in the eye. She stared at Harley's s
hands were shaking. The alarm bells
heavy, self-locking fire door to
ameras, no crew. Just a massive, empty warehou
spun
way. She grabbed the heavy metal handle of th
" Harley
ed to lock automatically from the ou
n the dark room. H
fists against the cold steel. "Brenda
choked with tears. "I'm sorry, Harley. Alyssa threatened tos footsteps quickly
her phone. No service. The thick concrete walls
wn. Panic would only waste oxygen. She turned on her
oden pallets, and discarded sofas littered
own and shoved the pin into the keyhole, trying to pick the lock. She twisted it, bhe broken piec
a sound. It was faint. A
The sound was coming from a dark corner of
y, rusted steel pipe from the floor. She held it tightly in her r
d the edge of the plastic, and ripped it a
toppe
y. He looked about five or six years old. He was wearing a mini
paralyzing terror. He looked like a trapped animal. He bit down on
clattered loudly on the floor, making the boy
ing her empty palms. She slowl
ropping to a soft, soothing tone. "I
d with rapid, shallow breaths. He wa
ly reached her hand out. The boy squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating
n was burning hot. It felt
he looked into his terrified eyes. "Wha
kept his lip tightly between
If they stayed locked in here all night, a fever t
ashlight and point
ceiling, was a large, rusted metal gr
d threw it on the floor, leaving her in just a tight black
hardening with absolute resolv
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