Keep Off!

Eve

I should have known the day would turn disastrous the moment my alarm refused to ring. By the time I checked the time, I was already running late. I practically jumped out of bed, dragged on the clothes Mia laid out, and rushed downstairs while she scrambled behind me, asking if I had eaten. I hadn’t, obviously. I didn’t even have time to breathe properly.

I grabbed my bag, snatched my keys, and hurried outside only for my car to start acting like it picked the worst moment possible to betray me. I turned the key once, twice, thrice, and nothing happened. Instead of the roar of an engine, all I got was silence and my own rising panic.

“Perfect,” I muttered angrily before abandoning the useless car and calling a taxi. 

The taxi arrived ten minutes later, and by then I was already pacing. I entered quickly and told the driver the address, praying silently that I wouldn’t show up late enough for Sage to make good on any of his threats. The ride felt too long and too fast at the same time.

My heart was pounding for reasons I refused to acknowledge. When the driver finally slowed down near an unfamiliar turn, I leaned forward to check the GPS myself, only for unease to crawl up my spine.

The place didn’t look right. The path narrowed into a deserted stretch of land with only one structure ahead—an old, abandoned-looking building with cracked walls and a bold, red warning sign that read: KEEP OFF!! TRESPASSERS WILL BE FINED.

My stomach twisted. “Are you sure we’re at the right place?” I asked, gripping the door handle as if that would magically change the answer.

“Yes, ma’am,” the driver replied calmly, tapping the GPS screen again to show me the blinking location pin. It matched exactly with what Sage sent. “Says we’re here.”

I stared at the screen, my heart sinking. He really did send me to this place. Why? What kind of meeting location was this? I reluctantly paid the driver, stepped out, and watched him drive away until the red taillights disappeared around the bend. Suddenly everything felt colder—colder and too still, like the air itself was holding its breath.

It was dark and silent. Not a single car in sight. The wind felt sharp against my skin, and the old building creaked in a way that made goosebumps rise across my arms. I wrapped my hands around myself, swallowing hard as I looked around helplessly.

“Where are you?” I muttered under my breath as I pulled out my phone and dialled his number. It rang, but there was no answer. I called again. Still nothing. By the fourth try, panic turned into anger. By the seventh call, I was already trembling from cold and frustration. On the tenth call, it hit me—he was ignoring me on purpose.

“This is bad. Oh no. This is really bad,” I whispered, pacing in small frantic circles in front of the fenced-off building. Fear made my breath uneven. Why wasn’t he answering? Why did he bring me here of all places?

I sent him a message, hoping he would at least reply to that.

“Where are you?”

No response.

“Please come out. Don’t keep me waiting.”

Still nothing.

“Alpha Sage? Please reply. Where exactly am I supposed to go? It’s dark here.”

Not even a delivered mark on some of them.

My chest tightened painfully as I typed again, this time much faster.

“You’re online. I can see it. So respond to my message, I beg you.”

My fingers were shaking so badly I almost dropped my phone. Cold wind brushed against my neck, making me spin around as if someone was behind me. But the place was empty. Completely, terrifyingly empty.

I was alone. In the middle of nowhere. Because of him. I typed one more message, completely losing patience.

“Don’t do this. Where are you?!”

His reply finally came after what felt like an eternity: one short message with no emotion in it at all.

“What?”

Just that. What? As if I hadn’t been panicking for the past fifteen minutes. As if he hadn’t dragged me into this cold, abandoned nightmare and acted like it was nothing.

My heart dropped straight into my stomach.

“What do you mean, ‘what?” I asked. “Where are you?”

This could not be real.

My phone vibrated, and I jumped like a frightened goat. It was a message from him.

“Enter.”

My breath caught. I blinked at the screen, hoping it was a joke.

So… he wanted me to go inside that thing?

I quickly typed, my fingers trembling.

“Alpha Sage, please. I’m scared. This place is dark. Why not come out and pick me?”

I stared at the typing bubble… nothing. It disappeared.

Then his message arrived.

“Stop keeping yourself waiting.”

My mouth fell open. “Me? Keeping myself waiting? Is this man insane?” I muttered under my breath.

Another message came in immediately, sharp and final. “Enter the building, Eve.”

I shut my eyes, inhaling deeply. This could not be happening. I looked at the signboard again, hoping it would magically give me courage. Nothing. My legs felt weak, and my heart was beating so loud it echoed in my ears.

“Fine,” I whispered. “Fine. Let me just get this over with.”

I shrugged my shoulders, wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans, and forced my feet forward.

The moment I stepped inside, the darkness swallowed me whole like a mouth closing around me.

I quickly turned on my phone’s flashlight, the little beam shaky in my trembling hand. Carefully, I took a few steps, eyes darting everywhere. Broken bricks, empty cement bags, scattered wood… and spiders.

Dozens of spiders clinging to the half-built pillars.

“Jesus Christ!” I screamed, stumbling back in horror. My skin broke out in cold sweat. I hated spiders. I absolutely hated them with all the living being in me. My legs wobbled as I tried to step away.

And because life loves me so much, I tripped.

My phone flew out of my hand, hit the ground hard, and the screen went black.

“Oh no… No, no, no…” I whispered, panic rising in my throat. Without the light, the darkness felt like a living thing squeezing around me.

Tears stung my eyes. My heart pounded painfully. “Please, nothing bite me. Please, nothing touch me. I beg,” I muttered, crying silently as I crouched down, trying to feel around for my phone.

Then, I heard footsteps. More than one. Heavy… definitely male.

Voices drifted inside, rough and careless. The sharp smell of cigarette smoke mixed with sweat made my stomach twist.

Voices followed, deep and rough. The strong smell of cigarettes drifted in, choking the air. My heart jumped to my throat.

“Oh God…” I whispered, freezing in place. I forced myself to crouch behind a half-built wall, covering my mouth with my hand so my breaths wouldn’t give me away.

I needed my phone. I needed to leave. Where was it?

And then, as if the universe hated me—

My phone rang. It sounded so loud and clear and even echoed. Something that has never happened before. From somewhere close by.

I gasped silently, eyes widening in absolute terror. No, no, no…

The men immediately turned.

A flashlight clicked on.

“Who is there?” One of them barked.

Another cursed under his breath, the sound low and rough as he pulled something from his pocket. The metal glinted even in the weak light. It was a dagger. A whole fucking dagger.

My heart dropped like a stone. Tears spilled down my cheeks before I could stop them. I pressed both hands over my mouth to stop myself from screaming.

This was bad. So, so terrifyingly bad.

I pressed myself deeper into the darkness, my breaths shaking too hard to control. The smell of cigarettes drifted closer, heavy and choking, and their footsteps spread through the building like they were searching… hunting.

My phone rang again.

I froze.

The sound echoed through the unfinished walls. It was loud, sharp, and impossible to ignore. The men whipped around instantly, flashlights slicing through the darkness like blades.

“There!” one of them shouted.

And then a beam of light landed directly on me.