Chapter 6 - The Ambush
I collapsed heavily against the cold stone wall, a gut-wrenching scream of pure agony tearing forcefully from my throat.
Ethan rushed desperately over to the table and picked up the blood-soaked hat with incredibly trembling hands.
He examined the ruined fabric very closely under the harsh, flickering bulb hanging from the ceiling.
He suddenly let out a massive sigh of profound relief and turned the tiny hat toward me.
He quickly pointed out that the crimson substance smelled strongly of metallic industrial paint, not actual human blood.
Julian was intentionally playing a highly sadistic psychological game to completely break our spirits.
I aggressively wiped my tears away and felt a renewed surge of fiery determination to end this terrifying nightmare tonight.
Ethan nervously flipped the torn cardboard note over, discovering a faded corporate logo printed faintly on the back.
It was the distinct emblem for a decommissioned private medical facility owned by his family on the dangerous edge of town.
We raced frantically back to the car and drove recklessly toward the abandoned industrial district.
The decaying clinic loomed threateningly in the distance, surrounded entirely by high, rusted barbed-wire fences.
Ethan drove the stolen car straight through the chained front gates, shattering the heavy padlock into a dozen pieces.
We crept silently through the dark, sterile corridors, carefully shining our phone flashlights into completely empty patient rooms.
We finally reached a heavy set of stainless-steel double doors heavily marked for surgical procedures.
Ethan boldly pushed the heavy doors open, revealing a fully illuminated, pristine operating theater.
Suddenly, blinding halogen floodlights snapped on rapidly from all four corners of the large room.
Three heavily armed men in dark tactical gear stepped out smoothly from behind the massive surgical equipment.
They instantly raised heavy assault rifles and pointed the bright red laser sights directly at our chests.
Julian stepped confidently out from the shadows, clapping his hands together in a slow, highly mocking rhythm.
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He loudly ordered his loyal men to open fire on us without a single second of hesitation.
Ethan threw his body violently in front of mine just as the deafening, explosive gunfire completely erupted in the room.
