CHAPTER 5: COLD AIR
1062 Words
His hand closed around hers and he ran.
There was no warning, no explanation, just a hard grip around her wrist and a violent pull that dragged her away from the shipping containers and into the darkness behind the docks.
Gravel crunched under their boots as they cut through a narrow path between rusted fencing and stacked crates, the noise of the Skeletons fading behind them with every second.
He didn’t slow down.
The cold night air tore into her throat as she tried to keep up, her lungs burning from the sudden sprint. Her feet slipped on loose gravel, her shoulder almost hitting the fence, but his grip tightened and steadied her before she could fall.
The scent of salt water and gasoline still clung to the air, mixing with smoke from the burning barrels they had left behind.
They pushed through a broken chain-link fence and onto a dirt path lined with dry trees and cracked stone walls. The roar of engines and distant shouting faded completely, replaced by the empty silence of the countryside road.
Still running.
Her chest hurt. Her legs screamed with every step. The oversized hoodie stuck to her skin with sweat despite the biting cold, and her throat felt dry enough to tear.
"Wait—"
He kept going.
Her breathing grew rougher, uneven, and her feet dragged slightly against the ground.
"I can't—"
He slowed just enough for her to keep up, then finally stopped when they reached a long stretch of empty road surrounded by shadowed trees.
His hand dropped from hers.
He stepped forward a few paces and bent slightly, resting his hands on his hips as he caught his breath. The rise and fall of his shoulders slowed quickly, controlled, steady, like his body had already recovered from the sprint.
She stumbled slightly, trying to steady herself as her chest rose and fell in sharp, painful breaths. The cold air hit her sweat-damp skin and made her shiver immediately, her fingers tightening around the sleeves of her hoodie.
The silence felt strange after the chaos of the docks.
Too quiet.
Too empty.
He stood in the middle of the road with his back to her, shirtless in the cold night air, breathing slow and steady like nothing had happened.
Her thoughts started racing before she could stop them.
Why hasn’t he said anything?
Why is he just standing there?
Is he thinking about what to do with me?
The road stretched out in both directions with no lights, no cars, no houses—just darkness and the faint sound of distant water somewhere beyond the trees.
A knot formed in her stomach.
This place is empty.
No one would hear anything out here.
Her fingers curled slightly.
Is this where he kills me?
The thought slipped in quietly, settling deep in her chest.
He protected me back there.
But that doesn’t mean anything.
He had to.
Too many people were watching.
Now it’s just us.
The cold breeze brushed against her again, sharper this time, and her eyes drifted to his back without thinking. Broad shoulders, muscles tense under his skin, dark ink crawling down his arm like a permanent scar—he stood there like the temperature meant nothing, like the freezing air couldn’t touch him.
Was he insane?
Still shirtless in this cold.
She frowned and looked away quickly, annoyed at herself for even noticing.
Her throat tightened as she swallowed dry air.
Then she remembered.
Her phone.
Her eyes widened suddenly.
"My phone."
The words slipped out before she could stop herself.
He turned slowly, his expression hardening the moment his eyes met hers.
"What about it?"
Her chest tightened slightly as she stepped closer.
"You smashed it back there. Everything was on that phone."
He stared at her for a second, his face completely blank.
"You almost got dragged into a circle where people disappear, and you're worried about a phone."
"It wasn't just a phone," she shot back, her voice sharper now despite the dryness in her throat. "It had everything. Pictures, contacts, documents—my whole life was on it."
He took a slow step toward her.
"Your life was almost over five minutes ago."
"I know that."
Another step.
"You followed me to Pier 14."
"I wanted answers."
"You could have died."
"But I didn’t."
His jaw tightened slightly at that.
"You stepped into something you don’t understand."
"Then explain it."
The wind moved between them, rustling the dry leaves along the road.
His expression hardened again.
"You don’t go back there."
"I wasn’t planning to."
"You don’t talk about what you saw."
Her arms folded slowly across her chest.
"To who?"
"Anyone."
The word landed flat and heavy.
"No friends."
Silence.
"No family."
Her chest tightened slightly at that.
"No one."
His voice dropped lower, quieter but more dangerous.
"If you mention that place, those people, or anything that happened tonight, I can’t guarantee what happens to you after."
The warning settled heavily in the air.
She stared at him for a moment, her fingers tightening around her sleeves.
So this is it.
He saved me just to control me.
Of course.
That makes sense.
"You think I’m stupid enough to go around talking about illegal races and drug deals?"
He didn’t answer, and that silence irritated her more than any response would have.
"You destroyed my phone," she added quietly. "That was the only proof I had."
"For what?"
"So you couldn’t touch me."
That made him pause for just a second.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You think a video would protect you?"
"It would protect me from you."
A dry scoff left him as he turned away and started walking again.
"You don’t know what protects you."
She hesitated, then pushed herself forward and followed him down the empty road. Their footsteps echoed quietly in the night, the cold air biting harder now that her body had started cooling down from the run.
Her legs still ached, her throat still dry, and the silence between them felt heavier with every step.
Another gust of wind cut through her hoodie, making her shiver.
She looked at his back again.
Still shirtless.
Still walking like the temperature meant nothing.
Without thinking, she pulled off her outer hoodie layer and quickened her pace until she was close enough to tap his shoulder.
- Writer
