Through the flames *MMG REVISION-COMPLETED✔️*

Chapter Thirty-Three: End it all.

A/N Edit: in case any of you are interested, I'm looking for Beta Readers for a big manuscript of mine that I personally think is leaps and bounds better than anything I have written on Wattpad.
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The hot, humid air of the carnival mingled with the sickly sweet scent of cotton candy and fried food. If I opened my mouth, I could taste it on my tongue.

Around me, screams rang loudly through the air as the ground beneath my feet shook.
Such joy and thrill in such a small area, yet I found none of that in me at the moment.

I examined the silver bullet-shaped cylinder in my hands, a comical red button on top. My conversation with Issac rang fresh in my mind.

"So I just press this, and the police will come?"

Issac had nodded and explained that it was Leo's deal to them. If I can manage to press the beacon bottom, that would mean I won or my father was in a compromised position. Then, he reassured me, they would swarm the basement - the meeting place.

Around me, people I recognized from school moved through the carnival in groups, talking and laughing like they didn't have a care in the world. I touched my hair and glasses, reassuring myself that I was indeed in disguise.

We had gone over the plan ten times. A thousand times. A million times. I knew it like I knew the voice in my head, but I still found myself looking for my friends through the sea of faces.

Jay and Jonas had arrived separately with Noah and Stacy. Leo had supposedly told my dad they didn't know I was here and just were just at the carnival for fun.

CJ was at an attorney's office down the block going over details for adopting Savanna and Samantha, and Rachel had gone with him for moral support and to keep up the appearance of not knowing what I was up to.

I checked my watch. It was almost noon.

Swallowing down my tight, dry throat, I started to walk across the fairgrounds. I passed rides, food stands, laughing faces, and crying kids. I passed them like a ghost, seeing but not truly understanding.

They went on with their lives unknowing of the danger that lurked just underneath them. Like a monster in his lair, the fairground basement would be where this ended.

I entered the main building and smiled at the woman standing behind the counter. I waited until she looked away before ducking into the dim side hallway.

It was quiet, now. No laughter or screams could be heard from this small hallway. I took another breath and held it, slowing my footsteps until they made no sound at all.

The basement door loomed before me all too soon. My heart in my throat, I gripped the handle and turned. It was unlocked. Wow. Such a shocker.

The stairs leading down to the basement were lit and I inhaled a shuddering breath. My fingers shook just the slightest as I dug them into my pockets, prepared to press the button at the first sight of my father.

My father... for years I thought about this moment, never dreaming of meeting him as an enemy - as a prize to be won.

My shoes tapped softly against the steps as I descended into the basement, dragging my free hand along the wall as I went.

The stairs ended in darkness. I paused, straining my ears to hear something - anything.

"Hello?" I called. My voice bounced back to me and I hesitated. "It - it's Hanna. I'm alone." I took a few more steps, my breathing shallow in my ears. "...Dad?"