Chapter Five: Blood Doesn't Lie
710 Words
The gunshot echoed through the cabin.
For a heartbeat, everything was silent.
Lena couldn't see.
She couldn't breathe.
Then—
A body hit the wooden floor with a heavy thud.
"Ethan?" she whispered.
No answer.
Her heart pounded violently.
A flashlight suddenly flickered on.
The beam cut through the darkness.
Ethan stood in front of her, his pistol still smoking.
At his feet lay the stranger.
Alive.
But bleeding from the shoulder.
"You shot him!"
"I missed his heart on purpose."
The stranger laughed weakly despite the pain.
"You're... still as fast as ever."
Ethan's face hardened.
"I should've finished you five years ago."
Lena looked between them.
"You know him?"
The stranger slowly pulled down his hood.
A scar stretched across the left side of his face.
His dark eyes locked onto Ethan's.
"My name is Gabriel Reed."
Lena noticed something strange.
Ethan's hands...
They were trembling.
"You died," Ethan said quietly.
Gabriel smiled.
"That's what they wanted you to believe."
Ethan tied Gabriel's hands and sat him in a chair.
The cabin felt colder than before.
Lena stood nearby, her camera still clutched tightly.
Gabriel looked at her.
"So..."
"You're Lena."
"How do you know my name?"
"I've been looking for you for years."
Ethan slammed his fist onto the table.
"Enough."
"You don't get to talk to her."
Gabriel's smile disappeared.
"You still think she's just a witness."
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"What are you talking about?"
Gabriel looked directly at Lena.
"Tell me..."
"Did Victor ever mention your mother?"
Lena froze.
"My mother died when I was four."
Gabriel slowly shook his head.
"No."
"That's what you were told."
The room fell silent.
"What...?"
"Your mother didn't die."
Lena's voice cracked.
"Stop lying."
"I'm not."
Gabriel leaned forward.
"She disappeared."
"And Victor Kane was the last person to see her alive."
Outside...
Rain continued to pour.
Unnoticed by anyone inside...
A tiny blinking red light was attached beneath Ethan's car.
The tracker.
High above the forest...
The helicopter returned.
Inside, Victor Kane watched a screen.
A blinking dot stopped moving.
"They've reached the cabin."
He smiled.
"Seal every road."
"No one leaves alive."
Back inside...
Gabriel took a slow breath.
"I worked for Victor."
Lena stared at him.
"Why tell us now?"
"Because he's planning something much bigger than killing witnesses."
Ethan crossed his arms.
"Talk."
Gabriel nodded.
"The assassination wasn't the mission."
"It was the distraction."
Lena frowned.
"For what?"
Gabriel looked at both of them.
"Tomorrow morning..."
"Victor is stealing something worth billions."
"What?"
"The Black Vault."
Ethan's expression changed instantly.
"No..."
Lena looked between them.
"What's the Black Vault?"
Ethan answered quietly.
"It doesn't hold money."
"It holds every secret the government has ever buried."
Gabriel nodded.
"If Victor gets inside..."
"He'll own politicians..."
"Military leaders..."
"Judges..."
"Everyone."
Lena whispered,
"He could control the country."
Gabriel looked at her.
"Exactly."
Suddenly—
BEEP.
Everyone froze.
A faint electronic sound echoed outside.
Ethan's eyes widened.
"The tracker."
He sprinted toward the window.
Too late.
Red laser dots appeared across every wall inside the cabin.
One...
Five...
Ten...
Twenty...
Snipers.
Lena backed away in horror.
"They found us..."
Gabriel laughed bitterly.
"I told you."
"They never lose."
Then...
The cabin speakers crackled to life.
Victor Kane's calm voice echoed through the room.
"Ethan..."
"You disappoint me."
"You were always predictable."
Ethan remained silent.
Victor continued.
"I'll make you one offer."
"Bring Lena outside..."
"And I'll let the other two live."
Lena looked at Ethan.
"No."
He didn't answer.
Victor's voice softened.
"You have sixty seconds."
"If you refuse..."
"My men will burn the cabin."
The countdown began.
60...
59...
58...
Gabriel suddenly whispered,
"There's another way."
Ethan looked at him.
"What?"
Gabriel smiled.
"A tunnel."
"You still don't know this cabin as well as I do."
Ethan frowned.
"You built this place?"
Gabriel nodded.
"With you."
Memories flashed across Ethan's face.
The tunnel.
He had forgotten.
But before anyone could move—
A loud crack echoed beneath them.
The wooden floor split open.
Dust poured upward.
Lena looked down.
Someone...
Was climbing out of the tunnel.
A gloved hand grabbed the edge.
Then another.
A masked figure slowly emerged.
Holding a silenced pistol.
The figure looked directly at Lena...
...and whispered just two words:
"Come home."
- Writer
