Chapter 66

Chapter 66
The station plunged into darkness.

A sudden blackout swallowed every corner of the building.

Ariel’s breath hitched.

“Everyone stay calm,” she ordered, though her voice was barely steady.

Micheal moved instantly to her side.
“Ariel, I don’t think this was an outage. I think he has something to do with the the power.”

She already knew that. Her instincts screamed it.

The killer was close—closer than they ever imagined.

“But why would he come after the station?” Micheal asked. “What is his motive? What exactly is he after?”

Ariel shut her eyes, thinking.

Officer Mira called from the far end of the corridor, “Backup generators aren’t responding!”

Ariel’s eyes snapped open.

Mrs. Jones walked toward them, a torch in hand.

“What’s wrong, detectives? I was just about to take a bite of my sandwich and the power’s gone?”

Silence.

Mrs. Jones frowned. “Someone say something.”

Suddenly, the station structure creaked—like something… or someone… moving inside the walls.

Micheal lifted his flashlight slowly, sweeping it across the hallway.

“Do you hear that?” he whispered.

Ariel held her breath.

Tap.
Tap.
Tap.

Like someone lightly drumming their fingers on the wood.

Ariel’s jaw tightened.
“He’s really here.”

Officer Leon muttered, panicked, “There’s someone in the walls—”

“No,” Ariel cut him off. “There’s no space in these walls. Not here. This building doesn’t have crawl cavities except—”

She stopped.

Except the old archive wing.

A wing they barely used, one that had been under renovation months ago.

Micheal’s eyes locked with hers.
“Ariel, we need to—”

A sudden metallic clang made every flashlight whip toward the far hall.
A filing cabinet had toppled over on its own.

Ariel sprinted toward the sound.

“Detective!” Mrs. Jones called after her, but she didn’t stop.

Micheal followed instantly.

When they reached the end of the hallway, Ariel slowed.

Her flashlight hovered over the fallen cabinet…
then the wall behind it.

Words had been carved—deep, rough, like someone had scraped them into the plaster with a blade.

YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME.

Ariel’s throat tightened.

“He was here,” Micheal whispered. “He was right here.”

Ariel stepped closer, her fingers trembling as she traced the carved letters.
“The bastard is playing with us,” she growled.

She pressed her ear lightly to the wall…

Her heart jolted.

“Leon!” she called over her shoulder. “Get something to break this wall!”

But before he could reach her—

A faint sound came from behind the wall.

Ariel froze.

“Someone is behind the wall,” Micheal said.

Ariel’s heartbeat pounded in her ears. She pressed her ear closer.

Cries. Soft. Weak. Desperate.

“Help… please… help me…”

Ariel closed her eyes, listening.

Something was wrong.

The rhythm. The breaks. The forced tone.

Her eyes snapped open.

“That’s not a person.”

Micheal froze. “What?”

Ariel pointed at the wall, her voice low, trembling with realization.

“That’s a recording.”

“He knew we’d come here,” she whispered, a dry, humorless chuckle leaving her lips.

Leon arrived with a crowbar, confused. “Detective? Do we open it?”

Ariel lifted her flashlight and spotted it:

A tiny black dot near the corner of the carved letters.

A camera lens. Watching them.

Micheal cursed under his breath. “He’s watching us in real time—”

Ariel lunged forward and ripped the camera out of the wall.

The instant she did—

A phone began to ring behind them.

Once.
Twice.
Three times.

Ariel picked it up slowly, her breath shaking.

She answered, but there was only silence.

Followed by breathing.

“Ariel…” a voice murmured, “Wrong wall.”

Her blood turned to ice. Her eyes widened.

She spun around in horror and dropped the phone.
The killer’s laughter crackled through the speaker.

From the opposite end of the station—the unused storage hallway—a new sound rose.

A scream.

Micheal grabbed his flashlight.
“Ariel—GO!”

She sprinted toward the sound.

The scream came again—pained, desperate.

Ariel’s flashlight beam shook as she ran.

She reached the old storage room door and stopped cold.

The door was slightly open. Inside was pitch black.

Ariel pushed it open slowly… and froze as her flashlight landed on—

A girl lying on the floor, barely breathing, covered in dust.

Savannah.

Her eyes fluttered weakly.

“So…me…one… help…” she whispered.

Ariel’s heart stopped.

But before she could reach her—before Micheal could step inside—

The door behind them slammed shut.

The storage room shook with frantic movement as Micheal rammed his shoulder against the door.
“Ariel!”

They hit it together. Once. Twice.
The third slam cracked the wooden frame—

On the fourth, it burst open.

Ariel rushed in and scooped Savannah off the floor.

“Breathe. You’re okay. You’re okay. Stay with me.”

Savannah coughed violently, gasping, insulation dust clinging to her skin.

Micheal swept the room with his flashlight.

“Damn it. He’s gone. How the hell did he get in here without anyone noticing?”

Ariel tightened her arms around the trembling girl.

“We have you now,” she whispered. “He won’t touch you again.”



Later That Night

By the time Ariel finished her statement, reviewed the reports, and answered every briefing question… her body felt like a hollow shell.

Micheal insisted on taking her home.

He didn’t push conversation. He just walked beside her, letting the night wind do the talking.

When they reached her doorstep, she fumbled with her keys.

“Ariel,” Micheal said gently.

She turned.

“You okay?” His voice softened.

She hesitated, then nodded—small, mechanical.
“Yeah. I just… need some sleep.”

Micheal didn’t believe her, but he didn’t push.

“Call me if you need anything. Anything at all.”

She managed a tired smile. “Goodnight, Micheal.”

He waited until she entered and locked the door… then stayed in the dark street for another minute, staring at the house like he could protect it from the killer himself.

Then he finally walked away.