CHAPTER 2 – NAMES IN THE DARK

Silence.

The music was gone. The engine hissed and spat, steam curling from beneath the hood like breath escaping a dying animal. Emily’s ears rang, the sound sharp and endless, as the world swam in and out of focus. Her chest burned when she tried to breathe.

She groaned softly and forced her eyes open.

“Hey,” she whispered, her voice rough. “Hey… are you alive?”

No answer.

Her heart began to pound. Slowly, carefully, she turned in her seat. The man in the back was slumped sideways, his head tilted at an unnatural angle, blood still spreading beneath him, dark and wet against the seat.

Sirens wailed somewhere far away.

Getting closer.

Emily stared at him, then down at her hands gripping the steering wheel. They were shaking. The metal bracelet around her wrist gleamed dully in the dim light, cold and tight against her skin.

Then the man groaned.

Her head snapped up.

His eyes fluttered open, unfocused, his breath coming in shallow gasps. “Told you…” he muttered weakly. “Should’ve left me.”

“Don’t talk,” Emily said, relief and fear colliding in her chest.

She glanced up through the windshield - and froze.

Headlights swept past them.

One car. Then another.

The vehicles that had been chasing them roared by the ditch, tires cutting through gravel, engines snarling as they sped ahead. For a heartbeat, Emily thought they’d missed them.

Then the brake lights flared. The cars slowed and stopped about a hundred meters away from the crash

Emily’s pulse spiked. “They saw us.”

The headlights began to turn.

“They’re coming back,” she whispered.

She shoved the door handle. Nothing.

“Come on,” she muttered, pushing harder. The door groaned, stuck from the impact. Panic clawed up her throat. She braced her foot against the floor and shoved again.

The door burst open.

Cold night air rushed in.

Emily scrambled out, her legs unsteady as she rounded the cab and yanked open the back door. “Hey,” she hissed. “Up. Now. They’re coming back.”

The man blinked at her, dazed. “Leave me.”

“Not happening.”

She hooked his arm over her shoulder and hauled him upright. He groaned, body sagging against hers, blood soaking into her sleeve.

As they stumbled away from the wreck, Emily glanced back.

The men were already out of their cars.

One of them crouched near the cab, shining a light inside. Another circled the vehicle. A third spoke into his earpiece, his voice sharp and controlled.

“They’ll soon find us if we don’t hurry out of here,” Emily muttered. “come on.”

The man leaned heavily against her. “You should still go.”

“Believe it or not I so desperately want to leave you.” she snapped quietly. “But my grandmother would rise from her grave just to scold me if I left you in your condition.” She tightened her grip around his waist. “Like it or not, we’re in this together. At least until we are out of danger.”

They moved toward a row of abandoned warehouses looming ahead, dark shapes against the night sky.

Behind them, a man straightened and pointed.

“They’re splitting up,” Emily said under her breath. “One of them’s coming this way.”

The man beside her swore softly.

“Hurry,” she whispered.

They slipped between buildings, shadows swallowing them as Emily guided him into a narrow alley. She lowered him gently onto a crate.

“Stay,” she said, already moving.

She tried the first warehouse door. Locked.

The second. Locked tighter.

Her pulse hammered as she moved to the next. She grabbed the handle and pulled.

Click.

It opened.

Emily exhaled sharply and rushed back. “Come on.”

She helped him to his feet again and half-dragged him inside. The warehouse was dark, dust thick in the air. Old machinery sat abandoned, rusted and silent. They ducked behind a massive metal press, crouching low.

Emily pressed a hand over her mouth, listening.

Footsteps.

Voices.

Flashlights sliced through the darkness.

“They’re here,” someone said. “Blood trail didn’t stop.”

Emily peered through a narrow gap in the machinery. She saw a man at the center of the group, issuing commands with precise, military gestures. The others spread out, moving with trained efficiency.

She leaned closer to the man beside her and whispered, “Now would be a really good time to tell me what you did.”

He swallowed. “I swear - I don’t know.”

She shot him a look. “They followed you through traffic. Shot you. And you have no idea why?”

“I was at a bar having a good time,” he whispered back. “They showed up. Tried to grab me. I ran.”

“And why would anyone want to abduct you?”

He stared at her, incredulous despite the pain. “Are you serious right now? Are you pretending not to know me, or is it the blood loss making me look different?”

“Should I know you?”

He laughed weakly. “That explains a lot.” He winced, then said quietly, “Damien.”

“What?”

“My name…. Damien.”” he repeated. “In case I die in your hands.”

“That’s not funny,” Emily whispered.

He smiled faintly. “It kind of is. Dying with a stranger who doesn’t even know who I am.”

She frowned. “Am I supposed to?”

“Damien Hayes,” he said. “Does that ring a bell?”

She stared at him. “Should it?”

He chuckled, then grimaced in pain. “You’re the first person I’ve ever met who doesn’t recognize me.”

“Congratulations,” she muttered. “I’m making history. First and last time, probably. I doubt we are coming out of here alive.”

A flashlight beam swept closer.

Emily’s breath caught.

“If you have an idea,” she whispered urgently, “now would be the time.”

He looked at her. “What?”

“I think this is the part where we die.”

She swallowed and added quietly, “I’m Emily. By the way.”

The footsteps stopped just a few feet away.

A beam of light crept toward their hiding place.

Then - darkness.

The flashlight flickered and went out.

A thunderous blast rocked the ground.

Emily clutched Damien as explosions erupted outside, fire blooming through the windows of neighboring warehouses. The air shook. Men shouted.

“What the hell was that?” someone yelled.

“I think he called for help,” another voice said.

“Move out!” the leader barked. “This isn’t worth dying over.”

Boots pounded as they retreated.

Just before they left, the leader paused near the entrance. “Get the vehicle details,” he ordered. “The girl was with him. She’ll lead us back.”

Then they were gone.

Emily and Damien stayed frozen until the silence settled.

Finally, Emily exhaled shakily. “Seems like the gods were on our side.”

Damien let out a breath. “Yeah. Something like that.”

He shifted, wincing. “Well. Now that that’s over, you should probably go. Give me your details. I’ll replace your car.”

She stared at him. “Just like that?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you hear what he said?” she snapped. “They’re coming after me now.”

He studied her for a moment. “What do you want from me?”

“I didn’t ask for any of this,” she said quietly. “But here we are.” She met his gaze. “You’re not leaving. Not until I know what’s really going on.”

Damien held her eyes, then gave a faint, crooked smile.

“Looks like we’re in this together.”