The discovery of the cameras seemed to confirm Little Black's suspicions, making Glasses Guy even angrier.
"Damn it! That contract we took was a trap! The dark web's playing us like fools!"
Faced with Glasses Guy's outburst, Dark-Haired Sister could only try to reason with him.
"I'm telling you, I'm not the 'werewolf'!"
"Shut up, bitch! You want a bullet to prove it?"
At that moment, Big Guy put a hand on Glasses Guy's shoulder from behind.
"Calm down! I get that she seems suspicious, but that doesn't mean she killed Flat-Top. If you shoot now, there's no going back!"
Surprisingly, despite his rough appearance, Big Guy was the voice of reason.
Glasses Guy gritted his teeth, glaring at Dark-Haired Sister.
"Fine. Got any way to prove you're innocent?"
Dark-Haired Sister racked her brain, desperate to clear her name.
But the six kidnappers had all met through the dark web for this job. They didn't know each other, so there was no trust to lean on.
The more she thought, the more anxious she got, and the less she could come up with. Finally, she dropped to her knees, sobbing.
"I'm not the 'werewolf'! I just wanted to make some money to save my daughter. She has leukemia, and we need a fortune for a bone marrow transplant, but the insurance company won't pay. That's why I took this job! When I talked to that little girl, I was just thinking of my own daughter!"
Her confession stunned everyone.
The truth was, none of the six kidnappers were hardcore dark web mercenaries. They all had personal lives and had only taken this risky job because of their own problems.
Clarly spoke up.
"I believe her. She's not the 'werewolf.' Those words came from the heart."
"And you'd know, how?"
If anyone there had a heart of stone, it was Glasses Guy. The man was selfish to the core.
He wasn't happy hearing Clarly defend Dark-Haired Sister.
"I'm a psych major. Her emotions just now? No acting there. Pure, raw honesty."
Glasses Guy swung his gun toward Clarly.
"Then tell me, who the hell is the 'werewolf'?"
Before anyone could answer, something dropped in the middle of the group. Everyone instinctively looked down, and the object exploded in a blinding flash of white light, searing their eyes.
"My eyes!"
In a panic, Glasses Guy fired wildly. Another scream echoed.
Clarly, blessed with angelic blood, recovered her vision first. She saw Little Black was gone, and Blonde Girl was on the floor, bleeding heavily from her stomach.
As the others regained their sight, they saw the same scene.
Glasses Guy stared at his gun, disbelief written on his face.
"I shot her?"
Dark-Haired Sister rushed to Blonde Girl's side. The bullet had hit her abdomen, and she was slipping into critical condition.
Movies make it look like people can keep fighting after getting shot, sometimes even surviving dozens of hits. But that's just fiction.
In reality, a single bullet can incapacitate most people. A shot to the torso? You're done.
Only highly trained individuals can push through with adrenaline. Blonde Girl, with her punk vibe, clearly wasn't one of them. She'd probably stumbled into the dark web and this job by chance.
"Help me!"
Blonde Girl weakly begged Dark-Haired Sister, but there was nothing she could do. The villa was in the middle of nowhere—getting to a hospital would take at least an hour.
Furious, Big Guy punched Glasses Guy to the ground and disarmed him.
"If you can't control yourself, you shouldn't have a gun!"
Glasses Guy looked at Blonde Girl, a flicker of guilt in his eyes.
"I didn't mean to!"
In the end, Blonde Girl died in agony. Dark-Haired Sister and Big Guy were visibly shaken.
Clarly reminded them, "Aren't you forgetting someone?"
The other three froze. They'd been so focused on Blonde Girl that they'd forgotten Little Black.
Little Black: Am I a ghost now?
Glasses Guy hesitated, then suggested, "Maybe he ran off?"
There was no blood where Little Black had been standing, and he hadn't "lost his head" like Flat-Top, so it wasn't crazy to think he'd bolted.
Big Guy shook his head.
"No way. After the flash, I forced my eyes open and saw something drag him away fast."
His military training had clearly included dealing with flashbangs, so he'd caught a glimpse despite the chaos.
Clarly, despite her enhanced senses, hadn't seen anything due to her lack of combat experience.
Dark-Haired Sister looked at Big Guy.
"So you're saying the 'werewolf' isn't one of us but something hiding, waiting to pick us off?"
That theory flipped Clarly's Werewolf game rules on their head. The game didn't allow outside interference.
Clarly nodded.
"It's possible. Whether it's a 'Werewolf game' or an actual 'werewolf,' it's all just our speculation."
Thankfully, Big Guy and Clarly had stopped Glasses Guy from killing Dark-Haired Sister, or the mastermind behind this would've won another round.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I never should've taken this job! I never should've gone all-in on tech stocks! Why is the world always against me?"
Glasses Guy might look refined with his glasses, but he was the most unhinged of the group.
His rant gave away that he'd likely lost big in the stock market, forcing him to take this job to pay off debts.
Clarly knew about the internet bubble bursting in recent years. The Nasdaq crash had wiped out countless fortunes. Glasses Guy was probably lucky compared to those who'd already taken a leap off a New York skyscraper.
After venting, Glasses Guy looked up.
"I'm done with this game. Let's grab the girl and get out of this villa."
Clarly shook her head, her expression grim.
"No way. If you were running this game, would you let us leave before it's over?"
"I don't buy it. I'm trying anyway!"
Glasses Guy, stubborn as ever, marched toward the front door.
Suddenly, a metal gate slammed down, blocking his path. Iron bars dropped over every window too.
They were trapped. The villa had officially entered "snowstorm manor" mode.
"Told you," Clarly said.
Dark-Haired Sister noticed Clarly's eerie calm, as if she wasn't fazed by their situation.
"Ms. Frey, you don't seem scared at all."
Clarly wasn't scared because she knew Roy was nearby, possibly already inside the villa, just biding his time. She didn't know why he was holding back, but she trusted he had his reasons.
"I'm not scared because I know someone's coming to save me."
Glasses Guy's face darkened.
"You called the cops?"
He'd just killed Blonde Girl, even if accidentally. A manslaughter charge was inevitable.
No money, and now prison time loomed. By the time he got out, his butt might as well be a sunflower.
Clarly didn't clarify. To regular people, saying the cops were coming was scarier than saying a friend was. Unless that friend was Rambo.
Glasses Guy's expression soured further, but Big Guy had taken his gun, so he was powerless.
Dark-Haired Sister made a suggestion.
"Standing here talking won't help. Let's check on the little girl upstairs and look for tools to break these bars."
Big Guy nodded in agreement.
Clarly grabbed Blonde Girl's flashlight, and the four headed to the room where the little girl was held.
The girl was unharmed but looked terrified. The hidden "werewolf" hadn't touched her.
"Why'd you turn off the power?" she asked, voice trembling.
Dark-Haired Sister knelt and hugged her, soothing her.
"It's okay, sweetie. Just a power outage. Out here in the boonies, the electricity's spotty."
After some comforting, the girl calmed down.
Dark-Haired Sister's maternal instincts kicked in again.
"We have to take her with us when we leave."
Glasses Guy's eyes widened.
"Are you nuts? We can barely save ourselves, and you want to drag this kid along? Back me up here!"
He looked to the others for support, but Clarly was a softie at heart, and Big Guy, despite his tough exterior, had a gentle side.
Glasses Guy realized he was the odd one out.
"Fine! You wanna take her, go ahead. I'm not babysitting!"
He stormed out of the room.
The four adults and the girl searched the second floor but, unsurprisingly, found no way out or tools to break the bars.
"What are you looking for?" the girl asked, nestled in Dark-Haired Sister's arms.
Dark-Haired Sister gently patted her head.
"Tools to open those metal gates."
The girl tilted her head.
"Wouldn't tools be in a tool shed or the basement? Why look in a bedroom?"
The adults froze.
"She's right! We should check the basement!"
Big Guy slapped his forehead. The string of chaotic events had muddled their thinking.
American villas often have basements. The kidnappers had done a quick sweep of the place when they arrived, so they knew where the basement was.
As they reached the basement entrance, they heard cries for help.
"Help! Somebody save me!"
"That sounds like Little Black!"
None of them had expected him to still be alive, and judging by his voice, he sounded unharmed.
Big Guy moved to lead the way downstairs, but Glasses Guy grabbed him.
"Careful! Could be a trap!"
Big Guy glared at him.
"I know what I'm doing. I dealt with stuff like this in the Middle East."
Glasses Guy gave an awkward laugh.
"Can I have my gun back? I swear I won't shoot randomly this time."
So that was his real goal.
Big Guy hesitated but handed the gun back. With an unknown enemy lurking, an extra armed person meant more safety.
"Just make sure you look before you shoot."
The four filed into the basement: Big Guy in front, followed by Dark-Haired Sister holding the girl's hand, Clarly (unarmed) in third, and Glasses Guy, now rearmed, bringing up the rear.
The basement was as sprawling as the house above, with a long hallway and numerous rooms. It was hard to guess what this place was used for.
Following Little Black's voice, they found him in an empty room, tied to a chair with a black cloth over his eyes.
"Little Black, you okay?"
Big Guy didn't rush to free him, instead scanning the room for threats.
His Middle East experience had taught him caution in hostage rescues.
Hearing Big Guy's voice, Little Black's face lit up.
"You guys finally came! Thank God, I've been yelling for ten minutes. My throat's dry!"
His rapid-fire, rap-like delivery didn't sound dry at all.
Big Guy pressed, "What happened?"
"All I remember is the flashbang blinding me. Something tackled me, knocked me out. When I woke up, I was tied up here. Come on, when are you gonna untie me? This sucks!"
Little Black's voice was laced with fear. Being blindfolded and bound would make anyone feel helpless.
Dark-Haired Sister reassured him.
"Hang on! We're just checking for traps."
"Hurry up, please! I'm freaking out!"
Big Guy inspected the room. It seemed clear, except for the chair Little Black was tied to.
"No traps. I'll untie him. You guys stay outside."
Little Girl
(Chapter End)