Chapter 18 Blood in the Dark
Finished
The moment the first wave of rioters charged in, Kiara didn’t hesitate. She grabbed Joy and pulled her toward a corner of the pet supplies section
Screams rang in their ears, hoarse and piercing, thundering through the air like an endless barrage.
People shoved and clawed their way toward the doors, trampling others in their desperation to escape, while looters tore through the aisles like predators.
It was madness.
Pure, unbridled madness.
In a single night, the massive supermarket had turned into a vision of hell.
Using the tall shelving as cover, Kiara crouched low, her military–grade combat knife steady in her hand, eyes locked on the
chaos ahead.
Sure enough, few men with butcher knives strapped to their belts weren’t there to escape–they were robbing the place blind. They hurled whatever they could grab into shopping carts, and if anyone crossed their path, a single swing of the blade.
ended them.
Joy had thought last night’s events were the worst she’d ever witness, but today’s scene would haunt her forever,
Pressed tight against Kiara, she could feel sweat soaking through her own clothes,
Joy swore she could smell death itself.
Kiara noticed her trembling all over but made no move to comfort her.
This was only the beginning.
She knew from experience–when supplies ran out in a few years, people would eat each other. Compared to that, this was nothing.
Still, the main exits were now completely blocked by those knife–wielding men. So how were they going to get out?
Emergency exit! That was their only shot.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, movement caught the edge of her vision–a shadow slinking closer through the chaos.
Her eyes went cold. She shot to her feet, blade raised, and barked, “What do you think you’re doing?”
The man froze, startled by how fast she’d spotted him. His heart sank when he met her ice–cold stare.
Moments ago, Max had only suspected that Kiara might have had something to do with his brother’s death. But looking into those hard, unflinching eyes–eyes that had clearly seen blood–he knew.
Travis and his friends hadn’t just disappeared. She’d killed them.
The thought of his older brother–the man who’d raised him–sent a wave of fury through Max. His eyes burned red. “Tm. going to kill you!”
He yanked a machete from his belt, his face twisting into a mask of rage, and charged.
Joy screamed and scrambled backward on all fours. “Kiara, run!TM
Run
The idea never even crossed Kiara’s mind.
Just as Max had recognized her, she’d recognized him.
In her previous life, Max had been a petty but dangerous thug in Skyhaven.
Not as bold as Travis, not as ruthless, but just as vile. He’d seemed harmless enough at first–until the day he’d slashed her l
#10 AM
Chapter 18 Blood in the Dark
so badly she could barely walk.
Finished
Her eyes turned colder. Kiara would never consider settling that score. And here he was, walking straight into her path.
She would gladly oblige him.
Then the lights overhead flickered twice and went out.
The entire store was swallowed in darkness.
The power was gone.
Screams echoed through the pitch–black aisles, the coppery tang of blood thick in the air. The place had become a
Max blinked rapidly, his eyes straining to adapt to the darkness.
Kiara, on the other hand, moved with ease.
purgatory.
She had lived through the Eternal Night of the apocalypse–months of darkness without end–and had learned how to survive in it. In pitch black, she could still read the shape of the world and still tell what was moving and where.
Now, she moved without a sound, slipping up behind Max while he swung his machete blindly, peering into the dark. In one swifi motion. Kiara drove her switchblade into the artery at his neck. “Sorry,” she murmured coldly. “Guess I move faster.”
It was her answer to the threat he’d thrown at her moments earlier–I’ll kill you.
Around them, the supermarket roared with chaos, but Max heard her voice as clearly as if they were alone. Then came the pain–blinding, savage–pouring from his neck in hot spurts.
He clamped a hand over the wound, but it was useless.
Kiara watched as he stumbled back, eyes wide with disbelief, before crashing to the floor–dead, still glaring at her in frozen hatred
In the darkness, Joy saw nothing. Hugging her knees, she called out, voice shaking. “Kiara? Kiara?”
“I’m here.” Kiara stepped forward, catching Joy’s wrist with precision and hauling her to her feet. “We can’t stay here. We’re leaving
If this had been a normal riot, Kiara might have hidden until the police arrived.
But Max’s sudden appearance set alarms blaring in her head.
She hadn’t forgotten what one of Travis’s men had said–that they’d looked into her, that they knew she had 20 billion to her
Travis and his crew were dead, but Max’s reckless arrival was paired with the unsettling stare she’d felt outside the supermarket earlier.
Someone was hunting her.
The place was chaotic. If she waited for rescue, she might not live long enough to see it.
All around, the dark was filled with bloodcurdling screams. People crashed into shelves and into one another, running in every direction like headless flies.
