OFFER

💀CHAPTER 32

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ-ᴛᴡᴏ
~~❍~~

We approached the next door and entered it as well. "Wow! Now I'm completely sure this place is amazing," James said, his mouth open in awe as he looked around.

"Let's be quiet," I said again. "Sorry," James apologized.

In the middle of the room, we heard a loud bang from behind us. Everyone turned around, but there was no one in sight. "Shh... Let's hide," Gian instructed, and we all quickly took cover in different spots.

Gian and one of his friends hid behind a brown cabinet. William and Brianna crouched behind a sofa, while I hid behind a small table. Gian's other friend concealed himself behind a TV, and Natalie and James hid beneath a table. We waited in silence, listening for any signs of someone approaching. After a while, I decided it was safe to move. I left my hiding spot, and Gian followed me. "Let's stay here for a while," I suggested. "This place might be dangerous," James said, his concern evident.

"It could just be something that fell on the ground, causing the noise," Gian reassured him. "Maybe we should head back to the first room," one of Gian's friends proposed. "No, don't worry. As long as we stay quiet, we should be safe here," Gian said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Hey, I'm thirsty. I'll go get some water and return," James said, starting to move. I stopped him immediately. 

"I'll get the water for you. Stay here, and everyone remain quiet. Hide if you hear anything. I'll be back soon," I said, signaling Gian to keep an eye on everyone before I left the room.

I moved quickly through the main hallway to avoid keeping my friends waiting too long. My mission to save them was crucial. As I navigated the hallway, I spotted a guard. We locked eyes briefly, but I maintained a neutral expression to avoid suspicion.

"Hey, where did you go?" a boy asked Elijah. "I was just roaming outside," Elijah replied. The boy nodded, so Elijah continued on his way to grab three bottles of water. As Elijah was about to leave the room, the same boy approached him again.

"What are the three water bottles for?" the boy inquired. "I'm just thirsty," Elijah answered. 

"Three water bottles for yourself?" the boy asked, still confused. "No, my friends and I are all thirsty. I'm taking these back to share with them," Elijah explained. "Ah, okay," the boy said, though he remained obviously puzzled.

Elijah left the room and hurried back to where his friends were waiting. When he arrived, he saw them resting. "Here you go, guys. I could only get three water bottles, so we'll need to share. We're eight people, so three people will share two bottles, and two people will share one bottle," Elijah said.

"I can go back and get three more bottles. I'll take James with me so we can get two additional bottles," Natalie offered. "No, we need to share these. We can't go back there," Elijah said, causing everyone except Gian to look puzzled. "Why?" they all asked. Elijah and Gian exchanged a look. "Because, as Elijah said, we need to stay silent," Gian explained.

Everyone glanced at each other before drinking the water. Gian and his friends shared one bottle, while James, William, and Elijah shared another. Natalie and Brianna shared the last bottle.

After they finished drinking, they heard a loud bang similar to the one they had heard earlier. They quickly took cover in their previous hiding spots.

***

As Elijah left the room, the boy who had asked him about the water watched Elijah until he was out of sight. Just as the boy was about to re-enter the room, a guard stopped him.

"What are you doing here?" the guard asked. "I... Sir, I was just... just watching that boy. He seemed confusing," the boy stammered. "Confusing?" the guard questioned.

"He took three water bottles, and when I asked him why, he said it was for himself and his friends. I wondered why his friends couldn't get their own bottles, so I followed him and saw where he went," the boy explained, pointing in the direction Elijah had gone.

"Alright, go inside now," the guard said, pushing the boy gently into the room and closing the door behind him.

***

(Elijah P.O.V)

I wondered what that sound was. It was similar to what we heard before. I took a step forward to see if the door was indeed closed, but it was still firmly shut. I stepped closer to check again and confirmed that it was really closed. I quickly retreated to my hiding spot when the door suddenly opened.

While the five guards were still focused on the area near the door, I signaled everyone to follow me. We hid in a place where I knew we could stay concealed. Gian and William hid on the left, Natalie, Brianna, and Gian's friends took cover in the middle, while James and I hid on the right.

"Did they see us? Are those the boss's guards? If they're here, it means they saw you entering this room when you went to get drinks for us," James asked, his voice tense.

"I don't know, maybe," I replied.