Novels by Victor Obi

INTO THE DARKThe lights went out. All of them. The shopping center plunged into darkness so complete that Ethan couldn't even see his own hands. For one scary second, nobody moved. Then—BOOM!The shot ripped through the darkness. Ethan winced violently."GET DOWN!" Blake yelled.Ethan dove to the ground. Another shot rang out, followed by the sound of breaking glass in front of them. People screamed. A table fell on the floor. And then Jake called out."Ethan! RUN!"Ethan didn't think. He just moved. He grabbed Blake by the arm and pulled him backwards as the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the food court."Where are we going?!" Blake shouted."I don't know!""Awesome!"They stumbled through the darkness, with Ethan stretching his arms in front of him. But then something grabbed him by the shirt. Ethan screamed."Easy!""It's me!"Ethan turned around. "Jake?!""I'm here!"He grabbed him and immediately felt the restraints on Jake's wrists. "They tied you up!""No crap!

THEU HAVE JAKEEthan stared at the photograph. His fingers were totally numb in the clasp of the phone. For a few moments, he did not say a word. He could hardly breath.Jake was standing in the photograph; he was facing away from the camera just a little bit. But the two men who were chasing him earlier were standing behind him. Something was not right about the photograph. Jake was not struggling, or running, or anything like that. It seemed that he was just standing there, as if he was oblivious to the fact that his photograph was being taken."That is not possible," Blake murmured.Ethan slowly looked at him. "What?"Blake pointed at the screen. "Check the timestamp."Ethan's gaze dropped. It was taken thirty seconds ago.Blake swallowed. "We are outside now.""Yeah.""So whoever took that picture was inside with him."Ethan's heart hammered. "Then we need to go back."Blake immediately seized his arm. "No."Ethan looked at him. "What do you mean, no?""We do not know who those gu

THE WRONG TURNJake was running. The shoes pounded on the floor, his breath becoming more heavy every time. But he didn't even dare to look back, because he could already hear the sounds of footsteps behind him."Fuck!" He suddenly turned to the left and crashed into the stack of boxes almost hitting the wall and glancing back to continue. Who the hell were these guys? Why was he the target? Everything was clear – the message, the drugstore, the commissioner, Aaron. But how it was related, he simply didn't understand.He finally reached the next door, opened it and found himself on a loading area where there were large delivery trucks parked under the concrete ceiling. Desperately looking around, he understood that he had nowhere to go. Then he spotted the stairs and ran towards them. The footsteps became louder."Jake!"Jake's blood froze. They knew his name.He rushed inside and began climbing. First floor, second, third. Reaching the roof access, Jake slammed his shoulder against t

THE CHASEJake pressed down harder on the pedal. The engine started roaring as the car accelerated, weaving its way through the afternoon traffic with the black sedan trailing several car lengths behind.Ethan turned around on his seat. "They're still after us.""I know!" Jake exclaimed.Blake peered into the rear-view mirror. The sedan switched lanes. So did they. Blake's fists balled up. "Jake, they're catching up.""I can see that!" Jake gripped the steering wheel with all his might. He turned his gaze to the rear-view mirror once more. The sedan was gaining ground."Who the hell is this?" Ethan asked.Jake shook his head. "I don't know.""But you said that you've seen that car before.""I said I saw it outside my place.""And that wasn't important?""I didn't know that they were following me!"Blake bent over, placing his head between the seats. "Could they be the commissioner's men?"Jake looked at him. "Maybe."Ethan frowned. "But why would the commissioner threat us?""Maybe he

THE PERSON WATCHINGJake held his cell in his hands. The last message was still on the screen.OR THE NEXT PERSON WHO DISAPPEARS WILL BE YOUR BROTHER.Ethan reread it once more, feeling his stomach turning upside down."That's not the police," Blake muttered."How do you know?""Because the police wouldn't threaten you like that."Jake stared at the screen. Blake was right. The commissioner was trying to arrest them — he would just wait until they made a mistake. Something else was happening here. Someone new appeared, someone who knew the drugstore and the situation well enough to scare the hell out of them. Someone who knew that Ethan was Jake's weakness.Jake switched off his phone. "We need to leave this place."Ethan frowned. "Where?""Somewhere public."Blake looked around their surroundings, noticing that there wasn't anyone else around. "Why?""Because whoever sent the message knows where we are."Blake's eyes grew wide. "You think they're here?"Jake didn't say anything. He s

THE MESSAGEBlake held the cell phone in his hands. The display had gone black, but the words were still imprinted in his memory.YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR BROTHER IS INVOLVED IN.And below it—ASK HIM ABOUT THE DRUGSTORE.Blake's finger lingered over the screen. There were several seconds of silence."Blake?"Blake turned. Ethan was staring at him from the opposite side of the desk. "You okay?""I'm fine."Blake quickly locked his phone. "Yeah."Ethan squinted. "You don't look fine.""I am."Tom shifted from his side. "And we've all heard this before somebody went completely crazy."Blake smiled. "Seriously. I'm fine."The teacher threw a book on the desk. "Could we please have one lesson without you guys whispering?"Tom instantly sat up straight. "Yes, sir."The teacher gave him a look before turning to the board. Blake hid his phone under the table. He still felt his heart racing abnormally. He shot a look at Ethan. Should he tell him? Maybe. But if Ethan knew nothing about Jake, t