The siege
786 Words
Chapter 14
Three black SUVs stood outside the farmhouse.
Their headlights cut through the darkness like searchlights.
One by one, the men stepped out.
Each wore a black suit.
Each carried a weapon.
Amora’s pulse quickened.
“They found us.”
Ethan closed the curtains immediately.
“They didn’t find us,” he said quietly.
“They followed us.”
His uncle locked the front door.
“There are too many of them.”
Ethan counted through a gap in the curtain.
“Eight…”
He frowned.
“No.”
“Ten.”
Amora felt her stomach knot.
“We can’t fight ten armed men.”
“We’re not going to.”
He turned to his uncle.
“Is the cellar still connected to the old tunnel?”
The older man nodded.
“It hasn’t been used in years.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Ethan looked at Amora.
“We’re leaving through it.”
⸻
Outside, the leader of the men adjusted his gloves.
He looked toward the farmhouse.
“Search every room.”
“If they resist…”
He smiled coldly.
“You know what to do.”
The men spread out.
Two moved toward the front door.
Three headed for the back.
Others surrounded the house.
There would be no easy escape.
⸻
Inside the farmhouse, Ethan pushed aside an old rug in the kitchen.
Beneath it was a heavy wooden trapdoor.
His uncle pulled it open.
A damp, narrow staircase disappeared into darkness.
“I haven’t been down there since I was a boy,” the old man admitted.
Ethan switched on a flashlight.
“It’ll have to do.”
A loud crash echoed through the house.
The front door splintered.
“They’re inside!” his uncle whispered.
Ethan handed the Raven Files to Amora.
“No matter what happens…”
He looked directly into her eyes.
“Don’t let them get this notebook.”
She nodded.
“I won’t.”
Another crash.
Heavy footsteps filled the hallway.
The attackers were searching room by room.
“Hurry,” Ethan urged.
The three of them descended into the tunnel.
He quietly pulled the trapdoor shut above them.
Darkness swallowed everything.
⸻
The tunnel smelled of damp earth and old timber.
Water dripped steadily from the ceiling.
Amora held the flashlight while Ethan led the way.
“Where does this go?”
“It comes out near the old railway bridge.”
“How do you know?”
“My father used it years ago.”
She looked at him curiously.
“You’ve never mentioned your family.”
Ethan was silent for several seconds.
“I don’t have much family left.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So am I.”
His voice carried a sadness Amora hadn’t heard before.
Before she could ask another question…
A distant sound echoed through the tunnel.
Footsteps.
Not theirs.
Ethan stopped walking.
Someone else was underground.
⸻
Back inside the farmhouse…
The attackers tore through every room.
Furniture was overturned.
Drawers emptied.
The leader walked calmly through the destruction.
One of the men approached him.
“They’re gone.”
“No.”
The leader noticed muddy footprints leading toward the kitchen.
He smiled.
“They’re below us.”
He reached for a radio clipped to his belt.
“Seal both tunnel exits.”
“They’re walking straight into our hands.”
⸻
Meanwhile…
The tunnel finally opened into a large underground chamber.
Rusted mining equipment lay abandoned beneath thick layers of dust.
Broken wooden carts rested along old tracks.
Amora swept the flashlight across the room.
“What is this place?”
Ethan looked around.
“An old silver mine.”
His uncle nodded.
“It closed decades ago.”
As they crossed the chamber, Amora’s light landed on something unexpected.
Fresh footprints.
She crouched beside them.
“They’re recent.”
Ethan examined the ground.
“They’re not ours.”
A voice echoed from somewhere ahead.
“You shouldn’t have come here.”
All three froze.
The voice belonged to an elderly woman.
She stepped out from behind one of the old mining carts, carrying a lantern.
Her silver hair was tied neatly behind her head, and although age had bent her shoulders slightly, her eyes remained sharp and alert.
She looked directly at Amora.
“You have Noah’s eyes.”
Amora’s breath caught.
“You knew my brother?”
The woman nodded slowly.
“I knew what he was trying to protect.”
She looked at the Raven Files in Amora’s hands.
“And I know why they’re trying to kill you.”
Before anyone could ask another question…
A gunshot echoed through the tunnel.
The lantern shattered.
Darkness swallowed the chamber.
Someone had found them.
- Writer
