ARIEL POV
We instinctively followed the sound of the person. Our senses heightened, we closed in on the faint whispers coming from the backyard. We did not rush but calculatedly removed our shoes-one by one-the soft thud of their removal resounding in the stillness.
Our steps became deliberate, silent tiptoes, as if we were afraid of raising a sleeping giant. We were moving with the stealth of ghosts, driven by a heartbeat in unison, fueled with the same burning desire to catch the perpetrators of this in their guilty game.
We snuck behind the house, where the darkness swooped around us like a shroud. But then our eyes started to adjust to the dim moonlight filtering between the trees. And far off, we saw a figure, bound and helpless-its silhouette against the night sky etched vividly
