The rain didn't fall—it attacked the rooftop.
Each drop slammed against the metal sheets above the abandoned warehouse like a thousand frantic fingers tapping to be let inside. It was the kind of rain that drowned sound, blurred vision, and hid monsters in its rhythm.
Viviana sat with her knees drawn to her chest, her damp hair sticking to her cheeks as she watched the storm through a crack in the wall. Every flash of lightning carved her silhouette sharply against the darkness. Every rumble of thunder made her flinch.
Daniel noticed everything.
He always noticed everything about her.
But he didn't move toward her—not yet.
He was standing at the far end of the warehouse, staring at the massive rusted door where Emilio had installed temporary locks out of scrap metal and sheer desperation. Daniel's shirt was torn at the shoulder, his left hand bruised from punching a steel crate earlier out of pure frustration.
They were safe… but only for now.
And that kind of safety was worse than danger.
Because it gave hope—and hope could die.
Emilio paced quietly, his expression tight as he kept glancing at the windows. Diego sat on top of a crate at the corner, sharpening a knife slowly as if he enjoyed the quiet scrape of metal more than the storm itself.
He was too calm.
Too still.
Too observant.
Viviana never looked at him directly, but Daniel noticed how she subtly shifted her position each time Diego's eyes lifted. Daniel hated that shift. It meant fear. It meant she didn't feel safe—with any of them.
Diego flicked his knife once and smirked.
"We're boxed in. If someone wants us dead," he said casually, "tonight's the perfect weather to finish the job."
Emilio froze mid-pace.
Viviana's breath hitched.
Daniel didn't react—not externally.
But inside, something low and dangerous began to twist.
Diego chuckled at their tension. "Relax. I'm just saying the truth. Storms hide footsteps. Hide gunshots. Hide—"
"Diego."
Daniel's voice cut through the storm like a blade.
Diego lifted a brow. "Hm?"
Daniel didn't shout. He didn't move.
He just narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Enough."
The word wasn't loud.
But even the storm seemed to hesitate.
Viviana watched him carefully, something unreadable flickering in her eyes—like she was seeing Daniel differently than before. Not as the boy she met years ago. Not the man who saved her life twice. Something else. Something sharper.
Something she couldn't name.
Lightning cracked again—brighter this time.
In that blinding second, Viviana saw something outside the window.
A silhouette.
Tall. Still. Watching.
Her heart seized.
She blinked—another lightning flash—and the silhouette vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"Daniel…" she whispered, barely loud enough for herself.
But Daniel heard her.
He always did.
He moved instantly to her side.
"What did you see?"
Viviana pointed with a trembling hand toward the narrow window.
"I… I'm not sure. Someone was standing there. Tall. Like they were watching us."
Emilio reached for his gun.
Diego tightened his jaw.
Daniel turned off the single lantern Emilio had hung earlier. Darkness swallowed them instantly.
"Everyone quiet," he murmured.
And they were.
The storm roared louder outside, but inside the warehouse everything went still—like the air itself was bracing for something.
Daniel motioned for Emilio and Diego to take positions near the windows. He crouched near Viviana, speaking softly enough that only she could hear.
"I believe you."
The tremble in her breathing stopped.
Most people dismissed her fears.
Daniel never did.
Thunder exploded across the sky, shaking the entire building.
Then…
A sound.
Soft.
Barely a whisper through the pounding rain.
But unmistakable.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Purposeful.
Right outside the warehouse.
Diego's grip on his knife tightened slightly—not fear, but anticipation.
Emilio's stance shifted, ready to shoot.
Daniel exhaled calmly, observing everything in silence.
Viviana pressed her back against the wall, eyes wide and unblinking.
Another set of footsteps.
Then another.
Or maybe it was just the storm playing tricks.
Daniel didn't assume. He waited.
Thunder rolled again.
Then—
Tap.
A single, deliberate knock on the metal door.
No one breathed.
A second knock followed.
Same rhythm.
Same calmness.
Not frantic.
Not aggressive.
Just… controlled.
Daniel stood up slowly, positioning himself between the door and Viviana without drawing attention to the act.
"Who's there?" he called out.
Silence.
Daniel's muscles tightened.
Then a voice spoke—calm, deep, strangely unbothered by the storm.
"Open the door."
Emilio mouthed: No way.
Daniel continued, "Identify yourself."
Nothing.
No answer.
Only the storm screaming around the warehouse.
Then the stranger spoke again—
This time with a chilling softness.
"You don't want me to repeat myself, Daniel."
Viviana's blood ran cold.
Daniel went rigid.
Emilio's eyes widened.
Diego froze mid-breath.
Someone outside knew Daniel's name.
And said it like a secret they'd known for a long time.
Viviana whispered, barely audible, "Who… who is that?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
Another lightning flash burst across the sky—and through the window, just for a fraction of a second, they saw him.
A tall man in a long dark coat.
Hands in his pockets.
Face shadowed under the brim of a drenched hood.
Standing perfectly still.
Unmoving.
Unafraid of the storm.
Unafraid of them.
Then darkness returned.
Emilio whispered, "What do we do?"
But Daniel wasn't listening to him.
He was studying the door.
The stranger spoke again—lower this time.
"You're running from someone."
A pause.
"You're not running from me."
Viviana's heart hammered against her ribs. The stranger's voice didn't sound threatening. It didn't sound kind either. Just… certain. Too certain.
Daniel called out, "What do you want?"
The stranger's reply was instant.
"To talk."
Diego scoffed quietly. "In the middle of a storm? At a warehouse nobody knows we're hiding in? Sure."
Daniel ignored him.
"Talk about what?" he asked.
Silence.
Daniel took one small step toward the door.
Viviana clutched his sleeve instantly, fingers trembling.
"Daniel… don't."
He looked at her.
Not with softness.
But with a calmness that grounded her—like even if the world fell apart outside, Daniel would still remain immovable.
"I won't open it," he whispered.
"But I need to know who we're dealing with."
Her grip loosened, but she didn't step away.
Outside, the stranger shifted slightly—the first movement he had made since appearing.
"You're in danger," the stranger said simply.
"And the people chasing you aren't far behind."
That hit Daniel like a punch.
Emilio swallowed hard.
Diego's hand paused over his knife.
Viviana's breath caught.
The stranger continued, voice steady, almost bored:
"I'm not here to hurt you.
If I wanted that, the door would already be open."
The storm, almost on cue, screamed violently against the building as if answering him.
A soft metallic click came from outside.
Daniel tensed.
Viviana grabbed his arm again.
Emilio's hand shot to his gun.
Diego leaned forward.
But the stranger didn't break the door.
He didn't try to force entry.
He dropped something.
A small metal object clinked against the floor just inside the gap under the door.
The sound echoed—sharp, cold, final.
Daniel approached cautiously while the others watched with held breath.
He crouched.
Pulled the object closer.
Held it up.
Viviana leaned in to see.
Emilio's eyes widened.
Diego actually stood up.
It was a bullet.
But not a normal one.
On its shell, engraved with precise markings, was a symbol Daniel recognized instantly—even though he hadn't seen it in years.
A crescent made of three horizontal slashes.
His stomach dropped.
Viviana saw his expression shift.
"What is that?" she whispered.
Daniel didn't answer for several seconds.
When he finally spoke, his voice was tight.
"It's a warning."
The stranger outside must have heard him, because he spoke again—almost gently:
"You're not ready for what's coming."
Another lightning flash—
and Viviana saw something at the stranger's feet.
Two shadows behind him.
Not human shapes.
More like… silhouettes of people lying on the ground.
Emilio saw it too.
His voice cracked slightly.
"Daniel… those are—"
Daniel finished the sentence quietly.
"Bodies."
Viviana's hand flew to her mouth.
The stranger spoke one more time.
"Three minutes. Leave the warehouse. Do not stay.
They'll be here soon."
Daniel stepped closer to the door.
"Why should we trust you?"
The stranger paused.
Then said the one thing Daniel never expected to hear.
"Because your father once trusted me."
Silence.
Viviana's lips parted in shock.
Emilio froze like stone.
Diego finally lost his smirk.
Daniel went pale.
Before anyone could react—
Before anyone could ask a single question—
the stranger's footsteps retreated into the storm.
One.
Two.
Three steps.
Then nothing.
No silhouette.
No figure.
No trace.
Only the rain.
Only their fear.
Emilio exhaled shakily. "Daniel… what do we do? Was he telling the truth? Did your father know him? Was that symbol—"
Daniel cut him off sharply.
"Get ready to move."
Viviana grabbed his arm. "Daniel—"
He looked at her—eyes darker than the storm outside.
"I don't know who he is," he said quietly.
"But someone else is coming."
"How do you know?" she whispered.
His jaw clenched slowly.
"Because that symbol…"
He held up the bullet.
"…belongs to the people who killed my father."
***
Viviana's breath came in shallow bursts, the storm outside swallowing her heartbeat. Every shadow in the warehouse seemed alive, stretching and twisting in the rhythm of the rain. She knew she wasn't alone—someone, or something, was moving just beyond her vision.
A soft scrape echoed across the metal floor above, then silence. Her mind raced: Was it the stranger? Or something worse? She forced herself to stay still, ears straining.
Then came a whisper—low, deliberate, almost a caress:
"You shouldn't be here."
Her heart froze. The words weren't angry, not exactly—but they carried a weight that made the hairs on her neck stand on end. She wanted to run, to scream, to vanish into the storm—but every instinct told her that any movement would reveal her.
The shadows shifted again, closer this time, and a faint glint caught her eye. Something metallic, cold, precise. Whoever—or whatever—was out there, they weren't playing games.
And just like that, the warehouse fell into an eerie stillness. The storm raged on outside, but inside… there was only the threat, waiting, patient, watching.
Viviana's hand brushed the edge of a crate, steadying herself. Somewhere in the dark, eyes were locked on her.