The Countdown
444 Words
Chapter 15: The Countdown
10...
9...
8...
The beeping echoed through the hidden chamber like a heartbeat.
Tife froze.
"We're not going to make it..." she whispered.
"We are," Umar said firmly, gripping her hand. "Move!"
Idris rushed ahead, scanning the tunnel for another way out.
"There!" he shouted, pointing to a narrow passage hidden behind a collapsed wall.
The three of them sprinted toward it.
7...
6...
Dust rained from the ceiling as the ground trembled beneath their feet.
The tunnel groaned, ancient stones shifting with every passing second.
"Hurry!" Idris yelled.
They squeezed through the narrow opening just as part of the tunnel collapsed behind them.
5...
4...
The blast came.
A deafening explosion shook the underground passage.
The force threw all three of them to the ground.
Heat and dust filled the air.
For a long moment, no one moved.
"Tife!" Umar called, coughing through the smoke.
"I'm... I'm okay," she answered weakly.
Idris pulled himself to his feet, blood trickling from a cut above his eyebrow.
"The chamber is gone."
Tife looked back.
The iron door had disappeared beneath tons of rubble.
"My father's diary..."
Umar slowly reached inside his jacket.
"I grabbed it."
Tife stared at him in disbelief.
"You... you saved it?"
"I knew it was more important than anything else."
Relief washed over her, but it lasted only a second.
Idris frowned.
"Someone wanted to destroy that diary."
"Which means whoever planted the bomb is terrified of what's inside," Umar added.
They hurried through the tunnel until they reached an old exit hidden behind thick vines on the edge of the family estate.
Cool night air greeted them.
Police sirens echoed in the distance.
The mansion stood far away, lights flashing as people rushed around in confusion.
Tife looked down at the diary in her hands.
"We need answers."
She carefully turned the next page.
Her father's handwriting continued.
"If you have reached this page, then Umar has chosen to trust you with the truth. Listen to him, because he once risked everything for our family.
But there is one person you must never trust...
His name is—"
A gunshot rang through the night.
The diary flew from Tife's hands.
She screamed.
Idris pulled her to the ground while Umar spun toward the trees.
A shadow stepped out of the darkness, lowering a sniper rifle.
Slowly...
The stranger removed his hood.
Umar's face turned pale.
"No..."
Idris stared in shock.
"It can't be."
The man smiled.
"I told you the past would catch up with you."
Tife looked at the stranger, confused.
"Who are you?"
His smile widened.
"I'm your uncle."
End of Chapter 15
- Writer
