Page 27 of Darkness Falls

Just as I'm about to walk through the gate unscathed, a guard steps in front of me, blocking my path. "I don't remember seeing you before." His head tilts curiously.

I nod at him. "Name's Ethan Emory. I don't make it to the compound as often as I should."

Soren gave me the name to pass along to anyone who questioned me. I guess the Emory family is known enough for being distant from the society,but it’s also prominent enough to be recognized.

He eyes me wearily, glancing down at the brand on my wrist briefly before nodding and stepping aside. "Just have to be safe; you never know."

"It's part of the job, man. I get it." With that, I slip past the front gate and walk toward the fourth house on the left.

Soren said this house used to belong to the Stone family and has been vacant since they left the compound and died in the fire. It was the perfect place for the two of us to meet without anyone bothering us before we go get Callie.

There are still a decent amount of people strewn about talking to one another. Thankfully, nobody tries to stop me. When I reach the house, I sneak around back and wait for Soren. I bring my phone up to cover any evidence of me potentially talking to myself and slide the earpiece back into my ear to give Barrett an update.

"I'm at the spot waiting for him to show."

"Have you seen her?" he asks.

"No, but I'll have eyes on her soon. I'll get her out, Barrett. You know I will."

"Don't mess this up, Seb. I’ll never forgive you."

A figure appears from the corner of the house, and instantly, I'm on edge. I don't know what Soren looks like, but this man is carrying a gun, and he looks more like he is a member of their guard. I swear, if this was a setup, I’ll find a way to slit Soren's throat myself.

"Hey!" the man calls out to me. "Are youlost or something? Nobody’s supposed to be back here."

I have to play it cool. I open my mouth to respond, but another man with long blonde hair appears at his side and slaps him on the back.

"Hey, Jones, I see you met my cousin," the blonde-haired man says.

"Your cousin?" the guard questions.

“Yeah, I figured I would show him around. He's new, just got his brand last week."

I hold up my wrist to show him the fresh brand to corroborate the blonde man's story, even though I'm not positive he is Soren.

"Fine, Soren, but don't fuck with the house."

"Noted. Beers on me later?" Blonde hair makes his way toward me as the guard nods and disappears from sight.

"You're Soren?"

"Indeed. You have what I need to ensure my wife's safety, right?"

"It's all in the SUV with Barrett. Once we get out, you'll have everything you need to disappear."

"When they find out Callie's gone, all hell's going to break loose."

"We have a plane on standby. All you have to do is drop us off, and you and your wife can be on your way in the SUV. We will be out of the state before anyone even notices."

"Gabriel leftthis morning to meet up with Damien. The job I fabricated last night turned out to be more successful than I thought it would. I paid a few people off, and it worked in our favor. Can't have talks of a secret society out in the world. I'm not sure how much longer they will be gone, so we need to make this quick." He takes a look at his phone and then looks back at me.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just hoping we have enough time to make this happen. Damien had a guard bring Callie to Gabriel's house last night because he didn’t want to leave her alone. It's across the compound, let's go."

I nod and follow closely behind him as we walk through the center of the compound. A few people eye us, curious as to who I am, but when they see me walking with Soren, they go back to whatever they were doing before. It takes about five minutes to walk from one side of the compound to the other. We stop just before the house to talk to the guard posted outside.

"Hey, Perry. I need inside."

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