Page 43 of No Quarter

Boxes and medical supply crates were stacked up so high on top of each other that she couldn’t see if anyone was hiding behind them.

“Show yourself!” she yelled again, but there was no response.

Valerie began to search the room, her gun still held out in front of her. She moved boxes and crates out of the way, checking to see if anyone was hiding behind them. But there was no one there.

The killer must have gone another way,she thought. She pulled out her cellphone to call Charlie and Will, but there was no signal down there in the depths.

She was about to leave the room to see if the signal improved when something caught her eye. In the corner of the room, half hidden behind a stack of boxes, was a door that she hadn’t seen before.

It’s probably just a utility closet or something, she thought.But what if it isn’t?

Her heart racing, Valerie approached the door cautiously. Her hand shaking, she reached for the handle and slowly turned it until it clicked open.

Peeking inside, she saw that it was a small janitor’s closet. There was nothing out of the ordinary inside. Just some cleaning supplies, a mop, and a bucket.

That was when she heard a new noise. The sound of something banging and rattling at the back of the basement.

Maybe it’s the furnace,Valerie found herself thinking.

She took a step back and looked behind her, then turned and looked down the hallway. She thought she saw something move at the end, but when she looked again, it was gone.

She braced herself and slowly walked down the hallway and stairs heading toward the furnace room. Every step was like a miniature leap of faith, and each one brought her closer to her doom.

She had to fight the urge to run, but she knew she had to do it now. The killer could be waiting just around the corner, waiting to strike as soon as she turned.

Valerie approached the furnace room slowly and carefully, gun held steady in her hand.

She reached out and turned the knob of the door until it opened, then entered. But there was no one there.

The rattling and banging were coming from a window next to the furnace. Valerie approached as silently as possible. She reached out her fingers and pulled at the window.

It’s open, she thought.

Pulling the window back and latching it open in place, Valerie looked out to the night. The grounds of Elmwood were dark and moody. Trees roared in the wind. Valerie strained to listen through the noise. She thought for a moment that she could hear footsteps scrambling around somewhere nearby.

She peered into the darkness, searching for any sign of the killer. But there was nothing there. Just the howling wind and blowing trees.

With a trembling hand, Valerie reached for her gun and lifted it up to take aim at the woods.

Determined to find the killer once and for all, she took a deep breath, steeled herself, then stepped out into the night. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she ran through the woods, following whatever sounds she could hear in hopes of finally catching her prey.

But as she sprinted deeper into the pitch-black forest, losing her sense of direction in the process, Valerie realized that maybethis wasn’t such a good idea after all. Maybe this had been a mistake.

But it was too late to turn back now. She had to keep going until she found whoever it was that was responsible for all this madness—even if it meant risking her own life in the process.

Where are you?she thought as she looked around her at a maze of trees. She wasn’t sure which way to go. Using her flashlight, she looked at the ground for signs of tracks. That was more Charlie’s department, but she thought she saw some impressions in the ground that could have been human footprints.

She followed them for a while, but they eventually disappeared into a mess of soil and undergrowth. She stopped and looked around, trying to get her bearings. It was then that she heard the sound of twigs snapping as the wind roared around her.

Someone’s here, she thought.

Valerie spun around, gun at the ready. But there was no one there. Just more trees and darkness. She shone her flashlight around, but the beam only served to illuminate how alone she really was out there.

Then, she heard it again. The sound of twigs snapping, but this time it was closer. And it sounded like it was coming from multiple directions. Valerie knew she had bitten off more than she could chew. As she reached for her phone to call for backup, she sensed at the last moment that someone was close, but before she could ready her aim, she felt something hard hit her on the back of the head. A blinding pain ran through her entire body, and everything went black.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Dazed and groggy, Valerie slowly opened her eyes. She was in another room at Elmwood, her vision fuzzy and unclear. Suddenly, she felt a hand grasp hers tightly, and she looked up to see Will Cooper staring down at her, worry etched on his face.

---