The moment they finally reached home, a sense of unease settled upon them. The weight of their situation, the looming threat of the police, made it impossible to relax. Their eyes darted constantly, scanning the street, searching for any sign of danger. Every rustle of leaves, sent a jolt of fear through their bodies. Daniel was the one who hosted them on his home believing that was the safest place to stay.
"We can't stay here," Tina whispered, her voice tight with anxiety. "It's not safe. We need to go somewhere else, somewhere they wouldn't expect us. Your place, Daniel staying in your place here is not safe, we all know they will come after us! we have to desert this place immediately."
Daniel shook his head, a grim smile playing on his lips. "Don't worry, Tina. This house is secure. I know what I'm doing. You saw the blood on the wall when we came back. That's the price of trying to break in here. My security system is top-notch, and the layout of this place is a maze. No one gets in without me knowing."
"But what if they have someone watching you?" Tina pressed, her voice laced with worry. "What if they planted something, a bomb or something in here, to get to you? and eventually they will get all of us"
Daniel's smile faltered for a moment. "I understand your concern, Tina. But we need to stay together. We need to be strong. We can't just run blindly, not knowing where we're going, not knowing if we can trust each other. We have to be smarter than them, outsmart them, outmaneuver them. That's how we survive."
He looked at her, his eyes filled with a mixture of determination and vulnerability. "This is our best chance, Tina. We have to make it work, we might even run into their trap running out there, here is not safe, same as it's not safe out there also."
"Come on, everyone, just relax. It's just us here, and this house is isolated. It's the best we can do for now. Whatever comes our way, we'll face it together. If you know a better place, I'm all ears. But we have to be realistic. The police have probably turned everyone against us. and people will believe the story without even hearing our side."
Daniel's voice held a note of weariness, but also a steely determination. "Going out there is like walking into a trap. We're all marked. But if you have a better plan, I'm open to it. For now, this is the safest place we can be."
Castor nodded in agreement. "Tina, I know you're scared, but trust Daniel. You've always trusted him, haven't you? Ever since you first met him, you've seen something in him. Look I'm not here to say anything good about him because I don't even know him before, but I think he's making sense, trust me on this."
He paused, then continued, "We've all got skills, Tina. We're good at what we do. We can handle ourselves. No ambush is going to take us down. We'll find a way out. But staying here, for now, is the best option. We don't know what's out there, and we need to be prepared. We'll wait for them to come to us. And I'm sure they'll be scared to even try. they know that all of us here are force to be reckoned with"
Tina's fear was palpable. Her eyes darted nervously, her breath coming in short, shallow gasps. The others couldn't understand why she was so terrified. She seemed to be the only one truly gripped by fear, her face a mask of anxiety.
She couldn't bear to stay in the room, surrounded by their worried gazes. Taking a deep breath, she excused herself and walked out onto the veranda. The fresh air and the sight of the trees swaying in the breeze offered a momentary respite from the suffocating tension inside.
Daniel, meanwhile, was trying to be practical. He went inside and came out with a bag of food, his expression grim. "I know we're all hungry, but I only have a little bit left. I was trying to ration it, but I'm not trying to be greedy. We need to share it."
He placed the bag on the table, and the others gathered around. "Just one piece each," he instructed. "We'll have to hunt for food at night. That's the best time to get food without attracting attention. It's not ideal, but we have no choice."
Their hunger was undeniable, and Daniel's generosity was a welcome relief. They quickly emptied the bag, each grabbing a piece of bread, an egg, or a bit of chicken. Castor, ever the quiet observer, approached the table and took a piece of food, his eyes meeting Daniel's in a silent acknowledgment of their shared predicament.
"Thanks, bro. I'm glad you're seeing things my way. Sometimes, we have no choice but to do what we have to do. We were supposed to go out there, beg them, instead of stealing. But you're right, we have to aim for our target. We have to go through the darkness to reach the light. We're doing this because we have no other choice, and we have to stay alive to save theirs, if we stay dead, they will suffer forever."
Castor's words were laced with a quiet intensity. He tapped Daniel on the shoulder, his gaze unwavering. Daniel watched him in silence, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.
There was something about Castor that intrigued Daniel. He seemed like a man who had seen too much, experienced too much darkness. Daniel sensed a hidden depth, a past that had shaped Castor into the monster he was now. He wanted to ask Castor about it, to understand what had made him the way he was. But now wasn't the time.
Right now, his focus was on Tina. She was the one who needed his attention the most. Her fear was palpable, her vulnerability obvious. She seemed to be carrying a weight that was heavier than the situation they were all facing. He needed to help her, to ease her anxieties, to make her feel safe.
Daniel didn't believe Tina's fear was simply about her own safety. There was something deeper, something more profound in her eyes. He saw it in the way her shoulders slumped, the way her gaze drifted away from the others, the way she seemed to shrink into herself.
He knew he had to do something. He couldn't just stand there and watch her crumble. He grabbed the chicken he'd been saving for himself, and walked over to her.
"Here," he said, offering it to her. "Have some food. You must be starving."
Tina shook her head, her voice barely a whisper. "No, I can't. That's the only food you have left."
Daniel didn't argue. He simply held out the chicken, his eyes meeting hers. She swallowed hard, her gaze flickering between the chicken and his face. Finally, she accepted it, her fingers brushing his as she took it.
"Thanks," she murmured, taking a small bite.