The Corner Store

Chapter 36-He, who? Kristoff? Your dad? Satan? We're not exactly popular

My head throbbed, the ache pulling me out of the darkness. I tried to blink, but my eyelids felt heavy, like they'd been glued shut. The sharp, metallic smell of blood filled my nose, forcing me awake. Everything around me was hazy—shadows and dull light smearing together like a bad dream.

Where the hell was I?

The cold, unforgiving concrete pressed against my cheek, grounding me just enough to realize how much my body hurt. Every muscle felt like it had been torn apart and stitched back together wrong. Somewhere in the background, I heard muffled voices, heavy boots scuffing against the floor, and the slam of a door. I wanted to run, to move, but my body refused to cooperate, pan eating at me from every bone and joint.

Flashes of memory stabbed through the fog. The window. Viktor's voice. The pain.

And then it hit me.

I wasn't free anymore. He had me.

It took all the willpower in the world to lift myself up. I looked around, and my eyes took a while to adjust to the dark room I was in. There was a door, and a bed yet somehow they threw me on the floor. I could make out Spencer and Landon, but I couldn't see Sophia or Lara.

"Sophia? Soph?" I slammed the door again and again, ignoring the pain that was eating at me. "Open the door! Hey!"

"Wha...What happened?" Groaned Landon.

"Yes mom. One more second mom." said Spencer, clearly still out of it.

"Guys! Guys, get the hell up. We're screwed." I said, my head still throbbing, and my ears ringing louder than a bullhorn.

Landon helped Spencer up, and put him on the bed.

"My head feels like it's been run over by a pack of wild hippos." Said Spencer, holding his head in his hands. "Where the hell are we? Last I remember, we were celebrating getting out of that cabin of nightmares."

"He found us..." I started.

They both froze for a second, looked at each other, then at me.

"He, who? Kristoff? Your dad? Satan? We're not exactly popular you know." Said Landon, tearing a part of his t-shirt to use as a make shift tourniquet.

"What could they possibly want from us though? Don't they already have the flash drive?" Said Spencer.

"We're just collateral damage. Sophia was the one they really want because she was the witness to his crime. We just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time." Replied Landon.

I dragged my hands through my hair, pacing the small room like a caged animal. Every second that passed felt like fire under my skin, pushing me towards the edge.

"They took Sophia," I said, my voice low but trembling with anger.

Landon's head shot up. "What about Lara? Did you see her?"

I shook my head, jaw tight. "No. But if they have Sophia..." I trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

Spencer, still unsteady, pushed off the wall and took a shaky step forward. "Okay, let's think this through. If Viktor wanted us dead, we wouldn't still be alive, right?"

"Unless he's planning something worse," Landon muttered, adjusting the torn piece of his shirt he'd tied around his arm.

"Don't start," I snapped, sharper than I intended. The room fell silent, the tension thick enough to choke on.

Spencer leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms. "We can't just sit here and wait for whatever happens next. If they have Sophia, you know what that means, Axel. She's their bargaining chip. And they're using her to get to you."