The air in the underground cell was thick with the smell of old blood and damp concrete. A single, bare bulb flickered overhead, its erratic pulse throwing long, dancing shadows across the stained walls. Chained to a heavy steel chair, Tobias felt the cold of the metal seep into his bones. His wrists were raw and bleeding, the iron cuffs grinding against them with every slight tremor. He kept his head up, a mask of defiance over the fear in his eyes.
The heavy iron door groaned open. Valerie entered first, her heels clicking a precise rhythm on the filthy floor. The man who followed her moved with a predator's silence. His presence seemed to swallow the feeble light, his eyes reflecting nothing back.
Tobias summoned a sneer. "Back again? If you think silence scares me, you've lost."The man said nothing. He pulled off his leather gloves with deliberate care, laying them on a grimy table. The silence became a weight, pressing down on Tobias's chest.
