Chapter 239 - 238: There is a werewolf among us...

Chapter 239: Chapter 238: There is a werewolf among us...

Julian Fletcher had fallen. Now, there was no one left to protect her.

Erin Whittaker was an extremely selfish person, but her love for Julian Fletcher had at least a sliver of sincerity. She was utterly dependent on him and terrified of losing him. She was jealous of Cecilia Caldwell, afraid of Cecilia Caldwell, and so she had tried everything in her power to destroy her.

But now, she had actually... lost Julian Fletcher.

In that instant, it was as if her soul had left her body. Everything had lost its meaning.

"You got him killed!" Madeline Quinn screamed. "He deserved to die, but you deserve it even more!"

Zeke Shaw also looked grim. He glanced down. "We need to get down there as soon as possible."

The entire seventh floor was like a raw concrete shell—pitch-black, with no apparent power.

There were no windows anywhere, making it impossible to tell whether it was day or night.

I sniffed the damp air and looked at Asher. "This floor isn’t being manually controlled. That means if we can find the emergency stairwell, we can head straight down. There won’t be any traps."

No power, no light. Finding the stairwell was going to be a problem.

I glanced around. It was so dark I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.

We had nothing left on us to use for light. In the suffocating darkness, we couldn’t see a thing.

"Follow the wall. I’ll take the lead. Stay close behind me," Asher whispered. He gouged a clear mark into the wall where we stood, then began to feel his way forward.

’This building must be an abandoned, unfinished office block. To avoid discovery, they left the lower floors untouched, while the upper levels were custom-built killing floors designed specifically for us.’

This floor was vast and empty, reeking of the raw concrete of an unfinished building. There was nothing else of note.

But after walking in a complete circle, we ended up back where we started, having found no exit.

"Where the hell is the stairwell?" Madeline Quinn asked.

I tugged on Asher’s arm, bringing him to a halt. "Asher..."

Asher squeezed my hand, telling me not to panic. "Don’t be scared. You all stay right here. I’ll go look. If I find it, I’ll bang on the floor. Just follow the sound."

I gripped the hem of his shirt, my breathing shallow and quick.

’I had to admit, I was worried about him.’

’What if... there were other people on this floor? The people behind this wouldn’t just let us walk out.’

’If something happened to him...’

"Don’t be scared," Asher whispered.

I clutched Asher tightly. "Why... does it always have to be you taking the risks? This time, it’s my turn."

Asher pulled me into his arms and whispered, "I told you... you’re more important than my own life."

Asher released me and slowly vanished into the darkness.

The rest of us leaned against the wall, waiting in silence.

In the vast, empty space, the sound of Asher’s footsteps grew fainter and fainter.

He was advancing step by step, probing the path ahead.

"Officer Lowell, are we going to get out of here alive...?" Claire Lawson sobbed.

Zeke Shaw comforted her. "Yes. We’ll definitely get out of here alive."

Lucas Grant, who was also terrified of the dark, clung to Felix Foster for dear life. "Bro, let your big bro hug you. I’m scared..."

"Get the hell off me," Felix Foster said, disgusted.

"No way... It’s so dark! What if someone jumps out and stabs me?" Lucas Grant hugged Felix Foster even tighter, his voice trembling. "I can’t, I’m terrified. Let’s count off and tap the shoulder of the person in front. I keep feeling like there’s someone behind me..."

Lucas Grant was at the very end of the line. In front of him was Felix Foster, who was behind the makeshift stretcher carrying Tim Zane. In front of the stretcher was Zeke Shaw, then Claire Lawson, then Madeline Quinn, and I was at the very front.

"Cece... are you scared?" Madeline Quinn whispered to me.

"I’m not scared." I was surprisingly calm. The darkness... didn’t really frighten me.

’I suppose I’ve just grown numb to my surroundings.’

"Silvia, you start counting!" Lucas Grant yelled from the back of the line.

I turned and tapped Madeline Quinn’s shoulder. "One."

’Since everyone was scared and bored, we might as well do it.’

"Two," Madeline Quinn called out.

"Three..." Claire Lawson stammered. Judging by her voice, her legs had gone weak and she’d crumpled to the ground.

"Four," Zeke Shaw called out.

"Your turn!" Lucas Grant urged Felix Foster.

Felix Foster paused for a long moment before speaking. "There’s still Erin Whittaker..."

Just then, Erin Whittaker’s voice came from near Felix Foster’s feet. "Five..."

Julian Fletcher was gone, and while Erin Whittaker seemed like a soulless husk, it didn’t diminish her powerful survival instinct.

She could only cling to the last straw she had left—us—and fight desperately to escape.

"Six," Felix Foster said in a low voice.

"Seven..." Lucas Grant stammered, still clinging to Felix Foster.

"Eight..." Suddenly, an eerie voice from behind Lucas Grant called out the number.

In that instant, everyone froze. The hair on our arms stood on end.

There were eight of us in total, counting Tim Zane. But Tim was unconscious and couldn’t count. So where did the eighth voice come from?!

"AHHH!" Suddenly, Claire Lawson shrieked, and everyone scattered in a blind panic.

Lucas Grant’s shriek was so high-pitched it practically cracked. He scrambled around blindly in the chaos until he slammed into a solid chest, which he clung to for dear life. "Help me! A ghost!"

"Heh heh heh..." An eerie cackle suddenly erupted from the solid chest.

"AHHH!" Lucas Grant bolted like a chicken with its head cut off, scared half to death.

"Help me! There’s someone else here!"

Lucas Grant ran for his life, screaming and darting about. No one could get ahold of him.

Just as he was about to fall over an edge, Felix Foster grabbed him and slammed him against a wall. "Stop screaming!"

Lucas Grant was scared out of his mind. He was truly terrified. Hearing Felix Foster’s voice, he let out a loud "WAAAH!" and started sobbing.

A man in his late twenties, crying as if the world were ending.

"Stop wailing..." Felix Foster’s ears were ringing and his head was throbbing.

Lucas Grant clung to Felix Foster for dear life, all sense of decorum between men forgotten as he hung on him, bawling. "Just now... I ran into a ghost!"

"Just cheap theatrics," Felix Foster said in a low voice. He didn’t push Lucas Grant away, instead staring coldly at a shifting shadow in the darkness.

"Cece..." In the darkness, Madeline Quinn called my name in a panic.

"Cece?"

"Madeline Quinn?"

We had all been scattered. Now, no one could find anyone else.

"Madeline..." Claire Lawson also called out, crying.

Erin Whittaker, not knowing who to call out to, just kept crying. "Help..."

I frowned and called out to Madeline Quinn, "Madeline, stay right where you are! Don’t move! I’m coming to find you."

Madeline Quinn stopped, crying. "Zeke Shaw..."

"Don’t be scared..." Zeke Shaw coaxed softly.

We all started moving in Madeline Quinn’s direction.

"Ngh..." A sudden, muffled grunt.

Zeke Shaw and I both caught Madeline Quinn at the same time.

Her body went limp, slumping to the ground. Her breathing became heavy and ragged. "Cece... Cece..."

My nerves pulled taut. I fumbled frantically at her stomach.

’Someone... had used the chaos and darkness as cover to stab Madeline Quinn.’

"Zeke Shaw..." At the moment of being stabbed, Madeline Quinn probably didn’t feel much pain. Blood gushed from the wound, and her breathing grew heavier. "Cece... Run... run..."

I trembled all over as I found the wound, my voice choked with sobs. "Don’t be scared, don’t be scared... I won’t let you die. I won’t let you die..."

"Madeline Quinn..." Zeke Shaw panicked too, his voice filled with shock, terror, and the verge of tears.

"Madeline Quinn..."

"Ngh..."

Suddenly, someone else grunted and fell to the ground.

"Erin Whittaker?" Lucas Grant called out her name.

"Help me..." Erin Whittaker cried out weakly.

Clearly, she had been stabbed as well.

’It wasn’t out of the question that the killer had people mixed in with us on this floor. But I had been right beside Madeline Quinn. I’d heard everything clearly, and there were no extra, shuffling footsteps.’

’One of us was using the darkness to kill.’

"AHHH!" Suddenly, Claire Lawson let out a piercing scream and slumped against the wall, sobbing. "Help... save me... I... someone... someone’s here!"

Claire Lawson’s voice grew fainter and fainter.

Every one of us was on edge, our nerves stretched to the breaking point.

Soon, both Claire Lawson and Erin Whittaker fell silent.

Suddenly... I felt someone slowly approaching from behind.

Frowning slightly, I spun around and grabbed the blade. It sliced into my hand.

As my attacker tried to pull the knife back, I instinctively tried to wrench it away, my nails digging into the back of their hand...

’As long as there’s light, I’ll be able to see who it is—who’s been hiding in our group, trying to kill us.’

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! Suddenly, the sound of something striking a steel pipe echoed from the distance.

It was Asher! He’d found the exit!