Chapter 17

“How do you want to do this?” Agent Johnson asked, slipping the brass key back into his blazer pocket.

“Hand over the key and let us all go,” Logan responded, knowing he’d never agree to that suggestion. That wasn’t his goal. He just needed to stall, buy time for the others to find the exit.

“I already told you, I cannot do that.”

“Then how about this, Agent Johnson? Why don’t you call me by my name for once?”

Agent Johnson remained silent for a few moments before bursting out laughing. “What a ridiculous request. I have always called you by your name, Mr Russell.”

“No! It’s Logan. I told you that from the start. You never once called me that.”

Agent Johnson smiled.

“I’m sorry about that, Mr Russell.”

Logan hovered his finger over the trigger, not responding. He was waiting for the slightest movement. He didn’t want to shoot a man, but if it meant Grace would be safe, he’d do anything.

A sudden jerk by Agent Johnson forced Logan’s hand. The two guns fired. Logan felt a stinging in his gut, realising immediately he’d been hit. He gripped his stomach, trying to staunch the bleeding.

He looked up at Agent Johnson, who was standing with his gun still drawn. But the gaping wound in the agent's side suggested Logan hadn’t missed. The agent dropped his gun and stumbled backwards a few steps before collapsing. Glass shattered as the agent’s glasses hit the concrete.

Logan staggered towards the fallen agent, staring down at the defeated man.

“How do I look, Mr Russell?” Agent Johnson asked before coughing up some blood.

“Honestly? Your face looks like a pig's arse.”

“Ha,” he laughed before coughing up some more blood. “Well, I hope you know, there is no escape. The government will hunt you all down.”

“I don’t give a rat's arse, I’ll never let you lot hurt my daughter.”

“Oh, how much you’ve changed.”

“What do you mean?”

“So you don’t even realise it, Logan.” Agent Johnson laughed as he slowly closed his eyes, body going limp. Logan stared at the man lying in a pool of blood.

He reached into the unmoving man's blazer pocket, the action causing excruciating pain as he continued to bleed. He retrieved the brass key and the agent's identification card. He flipped it over.

“Farewell, Agent Doug Johnson,” Logan replied, dropping the ID badge on the man. He turned around and shuffled down the hallway. A trail of blood dripped with each step down the echoing concrete corridor. The sirens continued to blare as Logan staggered to a room with a lock.

There could’ve been thousands of locked doors. But Logan figured the room with “Control Room” painted in large red text was likely the one with the security system inside.

He turned the key as the door clicked open. The room was dimly lit by a single fluorescent yellow light dangling from the ceiling. Much in the same manner as the interrogation room. In the corner of the room stood a series of monitors displaying the entire fort.

Logan glanced around the screens. Empty rooms. Agent Johnson hadn’t lied about the base being deserted. Logan flipped through the feeds until he found the exit. Madam Esmeralda, Rebecca and Grace were standing outside the locked door. Rebecca was nervously pacing back and forth.

He was glad they made it. All that was left was to activate the electronic door. Logan flicked the switch and saw on the monitor that the door began to creak as it slid open.

Madam Esmeralda was the first to exit, not waiting for anyone else. Rebecca glanced back, down the empty hallway, before grabbing Grace’s hand and turning to leave. But Grace refused to budge.

Logan didn’t even need the audio to know why she was refusing. A parent could tell. She was waiting for him.

Logan glanced around the control room, which was seemingly getting brighter by the minute. He spotted a microphone with a conspicuously red button. He picked it up and pressed the button.

“Kiddo, can you hear me?” he asked.

Grace's head shot up as she began to look around for the source of the noise.

“Daddy?” she asked confused, unable to find him.

“Your old man defeated the bad man.”

Logan watched as her lavender eyes lit up on the screen.

“Really?”

“That’s right, no one will hurt my daughter.”

“Yay!” she jumped up and down on the spot. “When are you coming to join us, Daddy?”

Logan felt a tightness in his chest. He couldn’t tell her the truth.

“Grace, you have to go with Rebecca and Madam Esmeralda. Your Daddy won’t be leaving with you.”

There was a horrified look that flashed across her face. Her mouth peeled back, and her hand split into tendrils.

“Why? Does Daddy hate Grace?”

Rebecca took a step back, shocked by the sight of Grace’s transformation.

“Of course not, I want you to know that I love you more than anything in the world. You are my precious little girl…” Logan’s vision was blurring. A combination of blood loss and the tears that had formed in his eyes. “You are the prettiest little angel in the world. Daddy loves you so very much. Daddy has some business to do here. Go for now, I hope to see you again. Take care.”

Logan cut the speaker and turned away. He felt the tears rolling down his face. He briefly glanced back at the screen to see a teary-eyed Rebecca carrying the confused girl, who had reverted to normal, out of the facility. The moment she passed through the door, Logan reactivated the switch, shutting it.

Once the door had sealed, he aimed his shotgun at the machine and fired. The machine exploded into shrapnel of wires and metal. The screen flickered momentarily before going completely black.

That should slow down anyone pursuing them, he thought as he fell backwards, landing flat on his back.

He knew he was dying. But surprisingly, he wasn’t worried. He no longer cared about his own well-being. He was just relieved. Because he knew Grace was safe.

A smile formed on his lips as he closed his eyes. The darkness grew deeper. The only image he could form in his mind was that of his precious little girl. The happiness she would find now that she was free. Free from this cursed town.

Even if he couldn’t be there to see it. How could a father be any happier than knowing his daughter was safe?

୨⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯❤︎⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯୧

The End