HE SAID I WAS JUST A BET

Chapter 54: Trapped In The Maze

Maria’s legs felt like lead, but she pushed herself harder. The narrow alleys twisted and turned like a maze, each corner revealing another stretch of shadowy darkness.

“Emeka, where are we going?” she gasped, struggling to keep pace.

“Somewhere they can’t follow,” he muttered, though his tone carried no real certainty.

Behind them, the sound of pounding footsteps was getting louder — deliberate, relentless, like predators closing in on prey. The whistle they’d heard earlier echoed again, this time answered by another from a different direction.

Maria’s stomach dropped. They’re surrounding us.

They reached a junction where three alleys met. Emeka froze, scanning left and right. His eyes narrowed. “We take the middle one. It’s a dead end, but—”

“A dead end?” Maria’s voice pitched high with panic.

“Trust me!” he snapped, already dragging her forward.

The alley was darker than the rest, the smell of rust and damp cement thick in the air. At the far wall, Emeka crouched down and yanked at a loose iron grate. The hinges groaned in protest, but finally gave way, revealing a narrow opening just big enough for them to crawl through.

“Hurry,” he urged, motioning her inside.

Maria hesitated only for a moment before dropping to her knees and squeezing into the darkness. Cold metal scraped her skin as she wriggled forward. She could hear Emeka climbing in behind her, sealing the grate.

But before they could move further, a shadow appeared at the mouth of the alley. One of the pursuers stepped forward slowly, tilting his head as if he could smell them hiding.

Maria froze, barely daring to breathe. The man didn’t speak — he just stood there, scanning, until another whistle pierced the silence. Then, without warning, he turned and walked away.

Emeka let out a breath. “That was too close.”

Maria swallowed hard. “If this is the start of the hunt… I’m scared to see the end.”