Page 159 of Promises in the Dark

We regrouped in the main hall, all of us on edge. The silence was deafening, broken only by our labored breathing.

“Anything?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

Viper shook his head. “Fuck all. Place is clean as a whistle.”

“This is bullshit,” Raven spat. “It’s like we’re chasing fucking ghosts.”

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to think. “Okay, let’s go over this again. Viper, you saw someone with a knife coming at Raven, right?”

Viper nodded. “Yeah, clear as day. But now... I don’t know, man. It’s like the fucker just vanished into thin air.”

Raven let out a dry, bitter laugh. “What if... what if there never was anyone?”

We all turned to look at her.

“What do you mean?” I asked, though a part of me already knew.

She gestured around us, her movements sharp and agitated. “Think about it. Only you and ponytail heard the gunshot. Viper saw someone that no one else saw. Our comms are dead. What if this whole thing was staged? A way to get us all worked up, paranoid?”

She was always like that—cautious, always watching. Smart. I should’ve listened.

“But why?” Viper asked, his usual bravado nowhere to be seen. “What’s the endgame here?”

I felt a chill run down my spine as realization hit me. “To split us up. Make us doubt each other. Fuck, we were already halfway there, weren’t we?”

Viper let out a low whistle. “That’s some next-level psychological warfare fuckery right there.”

I nodded grimly. “Yeah, and we almost fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker.”

We stood there for a beat, letting it sink in. Whoever was pulling the strings was smart. Cunning. And they knew us well enough to play us against each other.

“So, what now?” Viper asked, his hand unconsciously tightening on his weapon.

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could get a word out, a scream split the air. High, terrified. Red.

“Red!” I yelled, my blood turning to ice.

We all took off running, following the sound. How the fuck had she gotten separated from us? I cursed myself for taking my eyes off her even for a second.

We ran as one, racing towards the sound. It had come from somewhere near the back of the mosque, an area we thought we’d cleared. But as we rounded a corner, I saw it. A door, half-hidden behind a fallen tapestry. A door we’d somehow missed.

I didn’t hesitate. I kicked it open, gun raised, ready for anything.

Except for what I saw.

The room behind the door... it was a fucking graveyard.

Red was there, backed against the far wall, her face pale as death. And surrounding her were... fuck.

Bodies.

Stacked like cordwood. Our team. Faces I recognized. People we fought with. And right on top? The woman who’d given us shelter, eyes wide open, staring, like she was accusing us with her dead, glassy gaze.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Raven breathed behind me.

We just stood there, like a bunch of dumbasses, frozen in horror. The implications were staggering. If these were our people, then who the fuck had we been working with?

Viper walked forward, crouching next to one of the bodies, inspecting them. “Looks like they didn’t go down easy.”

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