Danger

"An Empty Room," Bianca said, looking at the words on the back of the paper. "A fitting title for what we found."

Carmen nodded, her eyes still wide with shock.

"What does it mean?" she asked.

"Where did everything go?"

"I don't know," Bianca said. "But I have a feeling we're not going to find out."

The two women looked around the empty room, trying to make sense of what had happened. But the more they looked, the more confused they became. In the end, they were left with more questions than answers.

Bianca and Carmen stood in the empty room, their minds racing. They had so many questions, but no answers.

"We should probably get out of here," Bianca said. "We're not going to find any answers in this room. And we have to run before anyone catch us here again." She suggested.

Carmen nodded, her eyes still wide with confusion. "I agree," she said. "Let's go back to our room and regroup. Maybe we can figure something out there." They turned and walked out of the empty room, their hearts still pounding in their chests.

As they walked down the hallway, they noticed something odd. There were no other doors on the hallway, except for their own. They had been in the building for hours, and they were sure they had passed other doors before. But now, there were none.

Bianca's heart began to race. "This is getting weird," she said. "What is going on?" She asked with great anxiety.

Carmen was starting to feel uneasy. "I don't know," she said. "But I don't like it."

They quickened their pace, anxious to get back to their room.

As they reached their door, they noticed something else that was off. The door handle was different than the one they had left. It was an older, brass-colored handle, not the silver one they remembered.

"That's not right," Bianca said, her voice shaking. "We need to get out of here."

She reached for the doorknob, but it wouldn't turn. They tried again and again, but the door was locked.

They both started to panic, banging on the door and yelling for help. But no one came.

As they continued to bang on the door, they heard a voice from the other side. "Please stop," it said. "You're scaring me." the voice spoke once again.

They both stopped and stared at each other. "Who is that?" Bianca asked.

"I don't know," Carmen said. "But the only thing I know is that we need to get out of here as soon as we can." Carmen said with tears almost falling from his face.

Suddenly, they heard a strange sound from the other side of the door. It sounded like something was being dragged across the floor.

The girls backed away, fear coursing through their veins.

Suddenly, the door started to shake, as if someone was trying to break it down from the other side. They could hear the doorknob rattling, and the wood of the door began to crack.

"We need to get out of here!" Bianca yelled.

"How?" Carmen asked, her voice quivering. "The window!" Bianca said, pointing to the small window in the corner of the room.

Carmen ran to the window and tried to open it, but it was stuck. "It's painted shut!" she cried.

Bianca looked around the room, trying to find anything that could help them. "There!" she shouted, pointing to a chair in the corner. "We can break the window with that!" She shouted.

Carmen ran to the chair and lifted it above her head. But before she could swing it, they heard a loud crash. The door had burst open, and standing in the doorway was a figure dressed all in black.

The figure's face was hidden by a hood, and they couldn't make out any features. They stood frozen in fear, not knowing what to do.

The figure raised a hand, and Bianca and Carmen saw a glint of metal. They realized it was a knife. "No!" Bianca screamed.

The figure began to move towards them, the knife raised above their head. The girls backed up against the wall, their hearts pounding.

Just then, they heard a loud bang. A gunshot rang out, and the figure fell to the ground.

Before they could process what had happened, a figure emerged from the shadows. A man dressed in a police uniform approached them. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

Bianca and Carmen could only nod, still in shock. The officer helped them to their feet and led them out of the room. "I'm Officer Jackson," he said. "Can you tell me what happened?" He asked trying to gather details.

Bianca took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice. "We were just trying to find a way out," she said.

Officer Jackson nodded, his expression serious. "It looks like you were being held captive," he said. "I need to know who did this to you." He brought out a note and a pen out of his cross bag.

"We don't know," Bianca said. "We've never seen that person before." Bianca managed to say and Carmen nodded in agreement.

"Do you remember anything else?" Officer Jackson asked. "Any details that might help us track down the person who did this?" He asked trying to be helpful.

Bianca thought hard, trying to remember anything that might be useful. "The only thing I can think of is the smell," she said. "The room smelled like...

"Cinnamon," Bianca said. "I remember a strong smell of cinnamon." Officer Jackson looked surprised.

"Cinnamon?" he asked. "That's unusual. Can you think of anything else?"

Bianca shook her head. "No, that's all I can remember."

Officer Jackson nodded. "It's okay," he said. "You've been through a lot. I'm just glad you're safe." He patted Bianca's shoulder.

"What's going to happen now?" Bianca asked.

Officer Jackson smiled. "We'll do everything we can to find the person who did this," he said.

As they spoke, another officer came over, carrying a clipboard. "These are some forms for you to fill out," he said, handing the clipboard to Officer Jackson. "They're just some basic information we need to get started on the investigation. Please write down everything you saw or noticed." He bowed and shifted back a little after handing over the clipboard to his master, officer Jackson.

Officer Jackson took the clipboard and began to fill out the forms. "Can you tell me your names?" he asked.

"I'm Bianca," Bianca said. "And this is my friend, Carmen." Bianca did the introduction as the shock from earlier hasn't released Carmen's voice.

"Okay, Bianca and Carmen," Officer Jackson said, writing down their names. "Can you tell me where you're from?" He asked as he stared at the both confused friends.

"I can drive you back home," Officer Jackson said. "I'll take you in the police van." He offered.

"Thank you," Bianca and Carmen said in unison. They followed Officer Jackson to the police van, still trying to process everything that had happened.

As they got in the van, they felt a sense of relief. They were safe, and they were going home. But they knew they would never forget the events of that day.

The van pulled away from the scene, and Bianca and Carmen looked out the window, watching the world go by.

As they drove, they began to feel a little calmer. The events of the day were starting to sink in, and they began to process everything that had happened. They couldn't believe that they had been taken captive, and they were grateful to have been rescued.

But something about the whole situation still didn't sit right with them. They couldn't help but feel that something was still missing. They just couldn't put their finger on it.

Bianca turned to Carmen. "There's something I can't stop thinking about," she said.

"I keep thinking about that smell of cinnamon, it was grievous and deadly," Bianca said. "It's like it's stuck in my mind. I just can't shake it off."

Carmen nodded. "I know what you mean," she said. "It's like it's stuck in my nose. I can't stop smelling it."

They looked at each other, both feeling a sense of unease. Something about that scent was troubling them, but they couldn't figure out why.

Suddenly, they heard a loud beeping sound from the dashboard of the police van.

The beeping got louder and louder, until it was almost deafening. At the same time, the van began to swerve wildly, careening off the road and into a field.

Carmen screamed, but the sound was lost in the chaos. She reached for Bianca, trying to hold on to something, anything. But it was no use. The van was out of control, and they were both tossed around like rag dolls.

Then, everything went black.

When Carmen opened her eyes, she found herself lying on the ground, her body aching. She slowly got to her feet, looking around for Bianca.

She spotted her friend a few feet away, also struggling to get up. As they both stood, they took stock of their surroundings. The police van was completely totaled, and the field around them was covered in debris. They were the only ones there.

"Where are we?" Carmen asked, her voice hoarse.

"I'm not sure," Bianca said. "But I think we need to get out of here." Bianca muttered before some people might come to attack them. They didn't even look for Officer Jackson and his servant.

As they tried to figure out what to do next, they heard a low growling sound. They turned to see a pack of wolves, slowly approaching them. Their eyes were glowing red in the darkness, and they looked hungry.

"Oh no," Bianca said, fear rising in her voice. "We have to run." She screamed while her legs ferried her to where only God knows.

Carmen didn't need to be told twice. The two friends turned and started sprinting, their hearts pounding in their chests. But the wolves were gaining on them, and they could hear the creatures getting closer and closer.

They had no choice but to run for their lives.

The wolves were getting closer and closer, their howls echoing through the night. Bianca and Carmen were both out of breath, but they kept running, not daring to look back.

They spotted a small cottage in the distance, and they both raced towards it.

The door was unlocked, and they ran inside, slamming the door behind them.

They were both panting, their hearts pounding. They locked the door, hoping it would keep the wolves out.

They looked around the cottage, trying to catch their breath. But then, they heard a growl from the other side of the door.

Bianca and Carmen exchanged a look of terror. The wolves were trying to get inside. They could hear the scratching at the door, the snarling, the low growls.

They knew they had to find a way to escape. They looked around the room, searching for an exit. But the only window was too small to fit through. And the door was still being pounded on by the wolves.

Then, Bianca noticed something on the wall. A painting, depicting a beautiful meadow. But what was odd was that the meadow in the painting looked different from the one outside the cottage.

Bianca got an idea. "I think this painting is a portal," she said. "We need to go through it." She said trying to believe what Carmen thought was impossible.

Carmen looked at her in disbelief. "You can't be serious," she said. "How would that even work?" She asked almost smiling to make jest of her, but she realized they were both in this danger.

"I don't know," Bianca said. "But we have to try."

She approached the painting, reaching out to touch it. But as soon as her hand made contact with the canvas, the scene changed. Suddenly, they were standing in the middle of the meadow, surrounded by tall grasses and flowers.

They both looked around in wonder, taking in the sight of the beautiful landscape. But then, they heard the howling of the wolves, and they realized they weren't out of danger yet.

"We need to find somewhere to hide," Bianca said. "And fast." She screamed in tears.

Carmen spotted a small cave in the distance. "There!" she said, pointing. "We could hide in there."

Bianca nodded, and they both ran towards the cave, hoping to escape the wolves. But as they got closer, they saw something else that made their hearts sink.