Amidst the intimate confines of a warm and inviting home, a voice fraught with desperation, shattered the tranquil atmosphere as he implored his unseen tormentor.
"Hey! Look at me! It is me that you want! Take me and leave them, you idiot!"
A discordant laughter, piercing the warmth of the room, emanated from an unknown source. From the hidden recesses of the room, a voice slithered forth, cloaked in malice, taunting the very essence of bravery within Adams.
"It is quite funny to see you, Adams, a brave officer, being so soft when knowing that I could blast off your wife's head with just a bullet. Oh wait! If this is the reaction for your loving wife, what if... what if I just blast off your son's head?" The voice resounded with cruel mirth, shattering the idyllic ambiance.
Adams and Lily, their figures bathed in the comforting glow of the room, yelled out in a heart-wrenching chorus.
"No!"
Within the heart of this familial sanctum, Adams confronted a paralyzing choice, a decision that would etch its mark upon his soul for eternity. His hesitation hung heavy in the air, a tangible manifestation of the weight of his decision. But a father's love, fierce and unwavering, propelled him forward.
Without a second thought, he rushed back into the room, his trembling hands clutching a platinum-coated suitcase, a symbol of the unspeakable bargain he was about to strike.
"Take it! This is what you wanted! Now leave my family alone!"
The man's face twisted into a maniacal grin at the sight of the platinum suitcase. His expression, oddly intense, bore a passion more fervent and genuine than the embrace of newfound love. He raised the menacing gun barrel but then, with chilling certainty, lowered it. There was no need for him to dirty his hands with the act of murder. Instead, he casually hurled the weapon towards Adams and sauntered away, his demeanor akin to a carefree boy navigating the uncharted territory of a lost forest.
In a curious alignment of thoughts, Adams raised the gun, offering a fragile smile to his wife before casting one final, anguished glance at his son. Before Lily could react, the house was engulfed by a deafening cacophony, and she crumbled to the floor, her emotions spiraling out of control. Before the bewildered boy could respond, the scene dissolved into nothingness.
Bryan awoke with a start, his breaths ragged and labored, his heart hammering within his chest. The remnants of the haunting dream clung to him like a sinister specter, refusing to relinquish their grip. He sat up in bed, his sheets drenched in sweat, and his gaze fixed on the ceiling. Reality slowly seeped back into his consciousness, yet the disconcerting echoes of the nightmare continued to reverberate in his mind.
"This is just a dream, a stupid dream that keeps haunting me! I'm alright," he reassured himself, though the chilling imagery of the platinum-coated suitcase and the man's maniacal laughter lingered, an unsettling reminder of the darkness that had infiltrated his slumber.
He reached out to pick up the sleeping pills beside his bed but quickly caught the clock, stating that it was too late for that. As if on cue, the doorbell rang, and Bryan immediately knew who that was. After all, being an orphan, the only two visitors who visit him are the newspaper boy and, worst of all, the building owner to collect his monthly rent.
He grabbed the newspaper, but it held nothing but the usual grim headlines: murders, burglaries, wildfires, and more. Yet the sight of a particular article ignited a surge of anger within him. He threw the newspaper away and started rubbing his forehead and temples.
Ever since he was young, Bryan had harbored an inexplicable hatred for police officers. It stemmed from a distant memory, one he could never quite fully recall. Perhaps it was an encounter with an authoritarian figure during his childhood, or maybe it was something deeper, a suppressed trauma that had festered over the years. Regardless, every time he saw a police car or uniform, a surge of anger and unease washed over him, making his skin crawl.
As Bryan rubbed his temples, he couldn't shake the feeling that something significant was about to happen. His phone, resting on the bedside table, remained ominously silent. Little did he know that within moments, it would come alive, heralding an unexpected turn in his life.
YOU ARE READING
Dungeon
Mystery / Thriller{Featured ×4} In the heart-pounding world of 2082, where laws bend and twist like shadows in the night, seventeen-year-old Bryan Adams is thrust into a whirlwind of mystery and danger. Tormented by relentless nightmares of his father's tragic demise...
