Beneath The Blackwood Sky | ✓

Chapter Thirty-Three: Game Of Survival

"DAD?"

Shay stared at Nick, open-mouthed. The blood drained from Will's face as he stumbled, placing his hand on the wall for support. Nick, who seemed to hear Will's faint voice, straightened up and frowned. He looked around, and all of them ducked. Nick placed a hand over his heart, "No. He's safe at home, sleeping. Both of them are. All of them are." Nick had muttered to himself, but his voice was carried to them because of the wind. Shay stared at Nick, first with disbelief, then with shock, then with cold rage.

Shay's heart clenched tightly, she felt as if she were witnessing everything from a distance or like she was watching a movie. She had encountered too many shocks in a span of less time, and she felt numb and distant now instead of feeling horrified or shocked.

"Dad?" Will called out again in disbelief, his voice cracking with emotion. Nick froze again, shaking his head. "I'm imagining it, I miss him. He likes adrenaline rushes, adventure, and crime stuff, but I doubt he likes them that much to wind up here," He spat the last word, half muttering to himself.

Nick looked at the building carefully, scanning every bit of it, then steps out.

He looks around and his eyes widen in shock as they fell upon them, "Or not," He muttered, not taking his eyes off all of them. Nick stopped in his tracks, looking at them as if his worst nightmare came true. He paled remarkably as he looked at his son for a long time. His gaze then moved from Will to Shay, then to the others.

Nick staggered back with disbelief as he stared at them, his lips forming their names but no sound coming out of them. Will strode towards his father with a straight face, and Shay made a move to follow him. She looked back at others whose faces have gone white and nodded.

As Shay took a step towards Will, searing hot pain climbed up her ankle like fire. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the pain as she walked. Her ankle had swollen up, and looking at it worsened the pain somehow.

Nick and Will stared at each other in the darkness and among the trees. They joined them reluctantly, worried that they might invade their privacy, but privacy was a luxury none of them could afford now. Besides, Nick owed them an explanation.

They stood among the shadows, away from prying eyes. "What are you doing here, dad?" Will finally asked in a cold voice. Nick's eyes widened at Will's tone as he answered, "I might ask you the same, Will. Do you even know what this place is? How dangerous this is? Where is Rose? Please don't tell me you guys split up."

Will looked straight into his dad's eyes, green meeting green, "Did you lie about what your boss said? About him threatening to fire you both. What else have you lied about?" He asked in a whisper, his voice laced with barely contained anger and betrayal. Shay doesn't blame him for his anger. If Nick was there, her mom might be there too. And she doesn't know how to feel about that, it feels like she was watching herself in a dream, distant and numb with too many emotions.

"What? Why would I lie about that, Will? All of you look so... detached. You especially look really bad, what's going on here? Why did you come here?" Nick asked, taken aback by Will's question. His voice was gradually morphing from disbelief and shock to confusion and anger.

Shay looked at Will, his clothes stuck to his body like black paint, his cheeks had a reddish flush and his face is pale. He looked like he might pass out any second. But he had a determined look on his face, not letting his emotions take over control and desperate to find out why his father was here.

Before any of them could answer, they heard someone approaching. Shay recognized those footsteps, confirming her worst fear. Jessica Anderson stopped mid-sentence when she realized someone was there, her breath hitching in her throat when she saw who they were.