เข้าสู่ระบบTHE 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
THE COMMISSIONER'S MOVEHayes paced behind the big window of his office and looked down on the town. From his height, the place seemed peaceful. Cars were driving along the streets. Pedestrians crossed the roads. All businesses were starting to open their doors for the morning work. There was nothing in the city suggesting that just a couple of hours ago, two young men came to his station, defied the law, and went out laughing.Hayes' jaw tightened. He turned away from the window.The report of the drugstore case was lying on his desk. Two suspects – Aaron Thompson and Jake Sanders. Murder, drug trafficking, assault, and plenty of evidences against them. Yet they were free.Hayes grabbed the report and threw it on his desk. "Unbelievable."Morris stayed silent behind him. He was standing there for nearly five minutes already and watched his superior pacing around."They didn't even try to hide it," Hayes continued. "The sheriff takes an envelope, makes a phone call, and all traces of
A WARNINGThe following morning, the Sanders house seemed quiet in an unusual way. Ethan was sitting at the kitchen table with an open textbook in front of him, however, in the last ten minutes, he hadn't read a single page. His eyes kept moving towards the clock. 8:17. He needed to start preparing for school, instead of being lost in the phone. There wasn't any message from Jake.He frowned and tried calling his brother once again.CALLING…The phone rang several times until the call went straight to voicemail. Ethan sighed and put the phone on the table. "Come on, Jake." He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face.Since the day of the visit from the police, things started to change. He knew that Jake had something to do with Aaron somehow – he was aware of the drugs, the midnight meetings and the strangers who sometimes appeared, demanding something from his brother. However, murder was another matter entirely.The memory of that day still echoed in his mind: Aaron raising the
LEFTOVERSThe class buzzed with almost instantly. The moment Dr. Keller said they should pick their partners, the sound of chairs scraping across the floor echoed across the room as students began turning toward “Calm down," Dr. Keller shouted over the noise, slamming his palm against the desk. “G
UNDER THE BLEACHERSThe heavy grunts of the footballers practicing echoed across the field as Ethan dropped down on the grass beneath the bleachers. He spread his notebook across his laps, flipping through the pages as he sipped his soda. The metal beams above him rattled occasionally whenever some
THE HOUSE DOWN THE STREET 2The name hit Ethan like a brick and he found himself choking on his own breath. His head snapped up instantly to Tom standing a few feet away. “…Huh?” was all that slipped past his lips as his eyes widened. Tom just shrugged again like it was nothing. "He met me after
THE HOUSE DOWN THE STREETThe glass door slid shut behind Ethan as he stepped into Tom's lawn. Thin sprinklers scattered lazily across the grass sent arcs of water glistening in the late afternoon sunlight, and the air held a faint smell of wet grass and mud. Somewhere over one of the fences, a dog







