'No. This is absolutely necessary...'
Zoe Sawyer stood at the entrance of the department store, which was having a massive sale, her expression twisted.
It had been over a week since she'd gotten out of the police station, and she hadn't run into this kind of trouble again.
Things had been quiet, and she hadn't heard anything about disappearances or murders.
So, for a little while, Zoe Sawyer had allowed herself to relax.
The consequence of relaxing was running into this kind of situation again, right at the entrance.
Now, the situation was this: in front of her was the door handle of the department store, which she was gripping, and behind her was a crowd of middle-aged women, eyeing her like predators.
She wanted to let go and step aside, but she was completely surrounded by people, unable to move an inch.
The crowd was clamoring for her to open the door, anxious to get inside and shop.
Zoe Sawyer's shouts for them to let her move were completely drowned out by the din of the crowd.
Just then, a huge shove came from behind, and people from the side also pushed in her direction.
Her hand, which had just let go, was forced to grip the handle again. She was jostled forward, opening the door, and then pushed into the department store by the people behind her.
Zoe Sawyer closed her eyes in despair. 'I really shouldn't have left the house today!'
Swept along by the crowd, Zoe Sawyer opened the door, and the moment she stepped inside, she found herself in an unfamiliar room.
The people right behind Zoe Sawyer froze for a second. Had they just seen a room? And where did that girl go?
When they looked again, all they saw was the crowd surging inside. There was no room.
'That girl must have been pushed to the front.'
Thinking they must have seen things, the crowd put the image out of their minds and continued to push their way inside.
The room Zoe Sawyer had entered wasn't large, and there was no one inside.
'I need to find a place to hide first, then look for a chance to escape.'
The moment she entered, Zoe Sawyer dropped into a crouch and scanned her surroundings.
She finally spotted a table in the corner, surrounded by several large, humming freezers.
She estimated the space under the table was high enough for her to hide in. There was also a pile of junk in front of it that would block the view.
The small gap next to it wasn't large, but it was more than enough for her to squeeze through.
Without a moment's hesitation, Zoe Sawyer scurried over to the table in a low crouch and stuffed herself into the space.
The space was just as she'd expected. It wasn't big, but it was just enough to hide her with a little room to spare. There was a wooden board behind her, which she was now leaning against.
The instant she was hidden, Zoe Sawyer switched her phone to silent, turning off all sounds.
Next, Zoe Sawyer turned on her phone's flashlight, covering half the lens as she prepared to inspect her surroundings.
Just then, the sound of a door opening came from nearby.
It was followed by several heavy footsteps, and then the creak of something heavy being placed on the table.
"So damn heavy. Why is there so much cargo today?!" a man's voice complained from right above Zoe Sawyer's head.
Zoe Sawyer clamped a hand over her mouth and curled into a ball, not daring to make a sound, terrified of attracting the attention of the people outside.
"Stop complaining and hurry up and bring the stuff in. The heat is on lately, and this haul has to last us a good long while," another man's voice cut off the first one's complaint, urging him to get back outside.
Just as the footsteps reached the door, Zoe Sawyer saw something dangle down from the tabletop.
She didn't even need her phone's light. The overhead room light was enough to see it clearly: a pair of slender hands.
The nails were painted with red polish, and the fingers twitched slightly, as if their owner was still conscious.
Zoe Sawyer, hand clamped over her mouth, accidentally bumped the wooden board behind her. It made a dull thud that sounded unnervingly loud in a room filled only with the hum of the freezers.
The two men, who had almost reached the door, whipped their heads around.
"Tiger, did you hear something?" one of the men asked, sounding puzzled.
The man called Tiger nodded, his expression grim. The two of them had been guarding the door, so it should have been impossible for anyone else to get in.
But, just in case, they still had to do a thorough check.
If something really went wrong, it would be more than they could handle!
"Come on, Linus. Let's go see if a rat slipped in." Tiger's voice held a vicious edge as he started walking in her direction.
Despair filled Zoe Sawyer's heart. 'If I move now, I'll make even more noise!'
'But am I supposed to just sit here and wait to die?!'
The next second, Zoe Sawyer heard a series of loud THUMPS from above her head.
It sounded like someone was viciously slamming their head against the wooden tabletop.
Zoe Sawyer didn't dare hesitate. Taking advantage of the noise, she quickly moved the wooden board from behind her to in front of her, shielding herself.
As if aware of her actions, the movements above her grew more violent and the sounds grew louder, completely masking the slight noise Zoe Sawyer had made.
The man called Tiger walked over to the table and slammed his hand down, pinning the person on it. "Damn it, you scared the hell out of me just now!
If I didn't need to keep your body intact, I'd gut you right now!"
As the person on the table struggled violently, the man named Tiger pressed down with even more force. "You'll be the first one I gut later!"
Zoe Sawyer didn't dare make a sound, keeping her mouth clamped shut, terrified that even the slightest noise would mean the kind person helping her had acted in vain.
She didn't know how long it was before the movements on the table finally stopped.
Tiger shook his hand, annoyed. "Damn it. I was thinking of keeping this one for a bit, so it'd be fresher. The big clients like that. Now look, we have to go find a new one!
Our workload is already huge, and now we have to go scout for a new candidate. It's even more trouble!"
"Let's go. There are still several more outside."
Linus waved at Tiger, signaling him to hurry up now that he'd dealt with it.
"I know, I know," Tiger said as he walked toward the door.
Zoe Sawyer pressed her hand desperately against her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. Her heart was filled with remorse.
Because of her carelessness, an innocent girl had just lost her life.
'I have to get revenge for her!'
Just as she was about to move the board, Zoe Sawyer's heart began to pound like a drum. 'Wait, no!'
'This is all wrong!'
'If they were really walking out, there shouldn't have been just a few footsteps!'
'Those two haven't left. They're still by the table!'
If Zoe Sawyer could have seen what was happening outside, she would have seen two faces pressed against the crack under the table, peering in.
Two pairs of eyes darted around, scanning the small space.
If she hadn't been quick enough to block herself with the wooden board, Zoe Sawyer would have undoubtedly become their next candidate!
After staring at the wooden board under the table for several minutes, Linus couldn't take it anymore. He tugged at Tiger's side. "Come on, let's go! The job is urgent!
We've been staring for minutes and haven't seen a thing. We should get back to it!"
'Getting yelled at later would really suck!'
Tiger reluctantly let Linus pull him away. But after just a few steps, he suddenly dropped into a crouch again and peered inside several more times.
Seeing nothing, he finally, grudgingly, left with him.
He didn't know why, but he kept feeling like something was off, like something was there.
But their guys guarding the door hadn't seen anyone.
And they hadn't found anything just now either. In the end, Tiger could only chalk it all up to his own nerves.
Even though she heard their departing footsteps, Zoe Sawyer still didn't dare to move.
An unknown amount of time passed. The sounds of footsteps coming and going outside finally ceased. After a long silence, Zoe Sawyer carefully took out her phone, intending to text Sean Hughes and report the situation.
"Looks like there's really nothing here."