Chapter 24: Silent Cries
891 Words
Panic was instant. The air was heavy, thick with the scent of old earth and decay. Lily pushed herself up, wincing at the pain. "Alina? Are you okay?"
Alina nodded weakly. "I think so. Just bruises. You?"
"My ankle... but it's fine. We need to get out of here."
They scanned the shadows.
The hole above them was too high, the broken planks jagged and unreachable.
They were stuck in a forgotten room, walls pressing close with suffocating silence.
Hours passed in agonizing silence.
Lily comforted Alina, holding her close, whispering reassurances she barely believed herself.
Thoughts of her family, of her mother and Clara, swirled in her mind.
She thought of Zain, of his unwavering friendship, and wondered if he would sense her absence. and how she was sure he would probably be the first to realize she was missing.
But most of all, she thought about Stanley. His smile. His touch. The memories of them together, fiery and intense, filled her mind. She remembered how safe she had felt with him, even when his secrets clouded their love. Would she ever see him again? Would she ever get the chance to understand him fully?
Regret gnawed at her—regret for leaving things unsaid, for pushing Stanley away, for choosing solitude over vulnerability.
But now... now she just wanted to be in his arms. To be free of the walls and the weight of decisions.
"We'll be okay," she whispered to Alina, though her voice trembled.
Alina managed a weak smile. "I know. We have to be."
But time stretched thin.
Hunger gnawed at their edges, thirst parched their lips, and shadows grew longer.
They screamed for help, but their voices were swallowed by the thick walls. It felt like the world had forgotten them.
Lily's mind spun. What if no one realized they were gone? What if they never made it out?
She leaned her head back, eyes closing as silent tears slid down her cheeks.
She thought about laughter and light, about quiet evenings and lazy mornings.
She thought about happiness, about the love she'd buried beneath pride and fear.
And she knew. If she survived this, she would fight for that happiness. She would fight for Stanley.
---
It wasn’t until four hours in that Zain noticed.
Zain barely noticed at first. It was his day off, he let himself sleep in, stretching and smiling lazily before reaching for his phone. He scrolled through messages, answering a few, his mind absent. It took a minute before he realized- no text from Lily, his gut twisting with an unshakable unease.
Strange. She always responded, even if just a quick ‘Busy. Later.’
He shot her a text. No reply. Thirty minutes passed. Another message.
Nothing.
He frowned, unease curling in his gut. Maybe she was busy. Maybe her shift ran late. But something felt… off.
He tried Alina. No answer there either. His heart pounded harder. Now it wasn’t just odd. It was wrong.
Panic flared. His mind raced, piecing together fragments of conversation from the night before.
Alina had mentioned a building—an old place she wanted to explore. His worry mounted, pushing him out the door. He traced their last known location, heart pounding, fear gnawing at him.
Without wasting a moment, Zain grabbed his keys and drove. When he reached the building, dread settled deep in his bones. The building stood solemn, towering and silent. His heart pounded as he scanned the surroundings, calling out their names.
No response.
Something was wrong.
He pulled out his phone, dialled the authorities, and explained the situation with urgency.
The authorities arrived swiftly, Minutes felt like hours as rescue crews also arrived, their presence a beacon of hope in the growing night.
---
Trapped in the shadows, Lily heard the muffled shouts above. Relief swept through her like a crashing wave, and she grabbed Alina’s hand, squeezing it tightly.
"We're going to be okay," she whispered. "They're here."
For the first time in hours, hope filled her eyes. She held onto it, to the promise of survival, to the promise of seeing those she loved again. Of finding her way back to happiness.
Back to Stanley.
---
Zain watched with his heart in his throat as they searched, calling out, carefully probing the depths of the forgotten structure.
And finally, a response. Weak, but there.
Lily.
Their faces grim as they assessed the structure. Cracks webbed the foundation, the roof bowed under unseen pressure.
“It’s unstable,” one officer said gravely. “Any wrong move, and it could collapse entirely.”
Hope dimmed.
The rescuers exchanged sombre glances; their hands tied by the fragile condition of the ruins.
Zain’s voice cracked with desperation, pleading for them to hurry, to try, to not give up.
But the fear was real—one wrong step could bury the girls forever.
Inside, Lily sensed the shift.
She heard the distant murmurs, the frantic tones. She clung to hope, to Alina, but darkness pressed close.
Tears pricked her eyes.
She thought of Stanley, of a future they might have had.
Her heart ached with longing, with love unspoken.
She whispered his name into the darkness, a plea, a prayer.
It left them suspended in uncertainty—two lives caught between hope and despair, their fates hanging by a thread.
- Writer
