The manager in charge of the haunted house acted quickly. He called the fire department and the police, and then proceeded to evacuate the staff and the customers who were still inside. The poor people covered their faces as they ran out of the haunted house.
One woman saw Charis standing by the entrance, apparently stunned.
“Don’t just stand there!” the woman yelled. “Run! The fire will be everywhere in a moment!” Charis grabbed the frantic woman and asked, “What happened? What’s going on in there?”
The woman was furious and snapped, “Don’t touch me!”
“My friend is inside!” Charis impatiently responded, “Tell me what’s going on inside.”
To her credit, the woman seemed a bit embarrassed after hearing this. “I really don’t know. I was running for my life, so why should I care about someone else? But as I was leaving, I heard that a woman was trapped in a room and the man who came with her hurried to look for her.”
Charis was stunned and speechless. He grabbed the woman’s hand and demanded, “And then? Where is that man now? Is he okay?” The woman threw Charis’s hand away and fled, cursing.
For a moment, Charis was rooted to the ground, his eyes clouded with panic and confusion. He never expected Brandon to risk his life to save Natalie in such a situation.
“Damn it! What just happened!” Charis took out her phone and quickly called the man she had hired. As soon as the call connected, she let out a litany of curses. “Didn’t I tell you?! You should have separated those two! Can’t you even do something that simple?” The man’s voice trembled slightly.
“We followed your instructions, Ms. Turner, we really did! But the halls of this attraction are dark and narrow. As soon as the fire broke out, everyone ran for the exit. You can’t blame us for losing that man in the middle of all the chaos.”
Charis anxiously walked through the entrance of the haunted house. She told herself to calm down and consider her options. After a moment, she asked, “Which direction did he go? Go and find him.” The man’s breath caught in his throat. “Ms. Turner, that’s impossible. There is no way for us to find someone in a raging fire. We are not firefighters, and we have no idea where the knight has gone.”
“Shit!” Charis screamed in frustration. She took her hand to her forehead, not knowing what else to do. She looked back at the flames that rose higher and higher towards the heavens, embodying the swift surge of her despair.
Brandon could be burned to death in the fire she had instigated. Unable to bear the thought, Charis took off her coat and put it over her head before rushing into the burning establishment. She couldn’t let anything happen to Brandon! A steady stream of people kept fleeing the scene. When they saw a woman running in the opposite direction, they naturally looked at her with dropped jaws as if she had lost her mind.
Fortunately, Charis had become familiar with the haunted house structure beforehand. As long as she made no errors, she could get Brandon out unscathed.
Charis squinted into the dark smoke and waves. It was as if she had entered a huge oven. She couldn’t even tell if her tears were from the heat or smoke.
Soon, Charis was gasping for air while frantically looking around. “Brandon! Where are you? Can you hear me?” Her voice was getting hoarse by the second, but she still couldn’t locate him. Suddenly, she saw a figure speeding across the sea of fire out of nowhere. The woman’s long hair was tied up in a bun, and her slender silhouette glided nimbly through the accessories on fire. It was Natalie.
Charis watched her run into a side room. Remembering the plans, she recognized that the room was a small cubicle used by the staff. It had only one barred window high up on the wall. The only way in and out was through the door.
“If Natalie got trapped inside, she would probably die in the fire.” Charis followed stealthily in Natalie’s footsteps, careful not to alert her. Once Natalie was firmly inside the small room, Charis hurriedly closed the door, slammed it, and bolted it from the outside.
Hearing the noise behind her, Natalie turned right around, just in time to see Charis’s face. She ran and banged against the door, yelling, “Charis! What do you think you’re doing?! Let me out!” But it was in vain.
Charis had no intention of opening the gate. She let out a sinister laugh and sneered at Natalie from the other side. “Shut up! Just stand there like a good girl and quietly await your death!”
Natalie banged desperately on the door, pleading, “Charis, open up!”
She tried the doorknob, but it wouldn’t budge. She realized she was trapped. Through the small glass window in the gate, she could see Charis smiling maliciously from the other side, saying, “You deserve this.”
Behind Charis, a sea of fire raged. Even the roof was ablaze and on the verge of collapsing. However, Charis seemed oblivious to the danger, continuing to laugh with joy, his eyes filled with absolute hatred. Natalie had never witnessed such a terrifying spectacle.
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“You’re the one behind all of this, aren’t you?” Natalie demanded.
“Do you realize the crime you’ve committed? And why should you worry when no one else will find out?” Charis scoffed, reveling in his sadistic delight. The thought of Natalie turning to ashes in that place delighted him immensely.
Natalie kept banging on the door, her throat parched and dry. She coughed violently, having inhaled too much smoke.
Charis momentarily stopped laughing to relish in his rival’s suffering.
“Finally, I get rid of you this time.”
Natalie realized that Charis would never let her escape. This was her opportunity to kill Natalie once and for all.
Clutching her throat, Natalie struggled to speak. “Charis,” she managed to say with a strained voice, “once I get out of here, I will make you pay!”
Charis swayed from side to side, eagerly awaiting Natalie’s demise. She couldn’t recall the last time she felt so animated. “Oh, I’m afraid that day will never come,” she taunted, as the heat intensified around them. Charis had no desire to spend any more time with Natalie. The fire was becoming critical, and she still needed to find Brandon.
Glancing at Natalie one last time, she sneered, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to take good care of Brandon.” With that, she turned on his heel, ready to leave.