♡ STAY CLOSE ♡
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♡ MARIAN ♡
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I trailed behind him as he made his way towards what looked like an underground bunker hidden beneath the building. Every step we took seemed to pull us deeper into the place until it felt like the rest of the world had disappeared behind us. The corridor was unnaturally quiet, the kind of quiet that made every tiny sound seem ten times louder than it actually was.
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Somewhere in the distance, water dripped at uneven intervals, the echo stretching through the empty passage until it sounded like someone else was walking a few steps behind us. The air was damp and smelled faintly of rust and old concrete, and I couldn't shake the feeling that we weren't supposed to be here.
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Another metallic sound echoed somewhere ahead of us, sharp enough to make me flinch. Before I could stop myself, my fingers twitched toward the sleeve of Damien's suit, almost grabbing onto it for dear life. I caught myself at the last second, curling my hand into a fist instead and shoving it deep into my pocket.
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He didn't even notice.
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Or maybe he did and simply didn't care.
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His attention stayed glued to the phone in his hand as if whatever was on the screen deserved more of it than the terrified woman following behind him.
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"I don't like this one bit," I murmured, intending to keep my voice low, but the words bounced off the walls louder than I expected. The sound of my own voice startled me enough that I instinctively moved closer to him and reached for his hand before immediately thinking better of it. I awkwardly clenched my fingers into a fist and slipped them back into my pockets as though the movement had never happened.
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"Shush, Marian," he commanded, his voice quiet but edged with enough authority to make it sound final.
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No, you shush.
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The words stopped just short of leaving my mouth. Instead, I scooted a little closer to him. If he suddenly decided to murder me down here, nobody was ever going to find my body.
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Not that anybody had exactly been looking for me before.
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"Be careful when you step closer," he said without looking up. "The floors are extremely slippery."
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Was that supposed to be comforting.
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I instinctively gripped the insides of my shoes with my toes, convincing myself that it would somehow keep me steadier even though I knew that wasn't how balance worked.
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After what felt like forever, we finally stopped in front of an enormous set of double doors that looked like they had survived several wars and were waiting patiently for another. Rust covered the handles in uneven patches, and the thick metal had dark stains running down its surface that I didn't particularly want to identify. Everything about the entrance screamed abandoned, neglected... and possibly haunted.
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Damien reached for the handles.
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The moment the latch shifted, the old metal groaned loudly enough to send another shiver racing down my spine. The doors protested every inch they moved, creaking and grinding until the sound filled the entire bunker. It genuinely felt as though the ceiling might collapse on top of us before the doors finished opening.
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I didn't even bother asking why we were here anymore.
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Every question I had asked since we'd entered this creepy place had been rewarded with the exact same answer.
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"Stay close."
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That was it.
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Apparently, communication wasn't part of today's itinerary.
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The doors finally opened just enough for us to step inside, and I had barely managed to process the dark room beyond them when an explosive bang thundered through the bunker.
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The sound slammed into the walls so violently that I actually yelped before grabbing Damien's hand and yanking him closer to me, practically wrapping myself around his arm without a single ounce of dignity.
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"You're surprisingly strong, Piccolo," he muttered, looking first at the death grip I had on his hand before slowly raising his eyes to my face.
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Heat rushed to my cheeks.
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I let go so quickly it was almost embarrassing and laughed awkwardly, pretending I hadn't nearly climbed him like a tree.
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His phone rang before I could think of anything else to say.
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I nearly jumped out of my skin.
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Honestly, these jump scares were getting fucking old.
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While he answered the call, I cautiously leaned forward and peered through the narrow opening of the room. At first, everything looked exactly the way it should.
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Empty.
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Silent.
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Still.
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Then Damien spoke.
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"Si. Everything is intact, and I wouldn't be here right now if you guys hadn't been royally fucking up for a while now."
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God.
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He sounded so freaking sexy with that accent.
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And that anger.
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I was still trying to appreciate both when another loud groan echoed through the bunker. This one was followed by something else.
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Water.
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I frowned and looked down.
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Dark water was slowly creeping across the concrete floor, swirling around my shoes before steadily climbing toward my ankles.
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"Uhh..." I started, pointing downward. "I think we should focus on the sound. Everywhere turned dark after that and, more importantly..." I swallowed. "The water level is rising."
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I forced the straightest smile I could manage, silently hoping he already had some ridiculously expensive billionaire emergency plan ready to go.
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Instead, he remained completely calm.
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Too calm.
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"Potremmo essere intrappolati qui dentro. Mandate Boris!"
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The call ended before he could finish the sentence.
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Silence settled between us.
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I looked at him.
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He looked back at me.
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"We're trapped in here, aren't we?" I asked quietly, already feeling my breathing becoming uneven as my chest tightened with every passing second.
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This is fucking stupid.
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I quickly patted every pocket I had, desperately searching for my inhaler.
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Nothing.
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My stomach dropped.
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"Fuck," I choked out as the water reached my ankles. "I forgot my inhaler."
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My lungs suddenly felt too small for the air I was trying to force into them. I fanned myself with one hand while blinking rapidly against the sting building behind my eyes.
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Finally.
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A death I never saw coming.
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Without a word, Damien stepped closer and gently pulled me toward him. The sudden movement made me look up just as he reached into his pocket and held something out between us.
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"Here."
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My inhaler.
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I snatched it so quickly I probably would've taken his fingers with it if he hadn't let go in time. I took a long drag, clinging to the medicine like a junkie getting her next fix.
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Technically...
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I was a junkie on drugs.
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My breathing slowly began to settle.
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"Thank you," I said quietly, my voice steadier now as I looked around the room again.
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It was completely empty.
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No furniture.
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No equipment.
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Nothing except a single old bench sitting against the far wall.
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"Hold on," Damien said.
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Before I could ask what he meant, he bent down and effortlessly lifted me off the floor.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC4NGEwuoGC
and then Add to home screen.