The streets feel so wrong at 7:45 PM. Way too quiet and way too empty...Almost like a movie set waiting for the actors to take their places...Every step towards that old mill echoes off abandoned cars and darkened storefronts...All their windows sealed up with metal shutters....My earpiece rings with emergency broadcasts..."Eighteen minutes until the Purge begins...All citizens are advised to seek shelter immediately. This year's prize money will only be awarded if proof of survival is verified thro-"...More bullshit that's not worth me hearing...The rules don't matter. They never matter..Only my daughter matters..That old mill looms ahead of me...perfect sight lines in every direction...No cover approaching the main entrance...If Michael's setting me up...I'm walking into a deathtrap...A movement in the building catches my eyes...a movement from someone inside the house across the street..there and gone just like that...I'm used to being watched...They're always watching. I slipped into the shadows and behind an abandoned delivery truck...The old mill's entrance is a couple of yards away...My plan is doable if i time everything right...My phone vibrates and i freeze....I slowly reach for it...It's meaghan..Good to know Molly isn't bringing our daughter into any of this...My phone buzzes again...."Dad..Mom's being weird again...She locked herself in her room with you know who...I think they have weapons dad....I'm so scared"...My heart stops for a moment..."Where are you kiddo??" I reply...It's a long pause before my phone buzzes again..."In my room...Mom said I have to stay in here until the morning. The purge has basically already started...I don't know what to do", she replied...Damn you Molly...It's only typical that she would use Meaghan as her scapegoat..."Are your windows locked?" I reply...My hearts racing with every second of me waiting for Meaghan's reply..."Yeah..Everything is locked...But how do I know I'll be--"...The message cuts off. My signal bars disappear and my phone shuts off...Of course. They always cut communications just before commencement. I fight the urge to sprint to Molly's house right now. That's what she'd expect. That's probably what she wants...She wants to see me crumble under her...She always has...A distant explosion makes me flinch. Early starters. There's always a few who can't wait for the sirens. I check my watch: 7:49 PM. Close enough to start that the cops won't bother responding....The mill's side door creaks as I ease it open. The smell hits me first...oil and rust and something else. Something metallic. Fresh....I whisper Michael's name and my voice echoes through the mill...A fluorescent light flickers to life overhead. Then another. And another. Like falling dominoes, they illuminate a path through the machinery graveyard toward the former assembly line.8964 copyright protection236ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UHPYcsqJM 維尼

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