Chapter 3
The abandoned warehouse of the old chemical plant reeked of rust and dust. Overhead, a swaying pendant lamp crackled with electricity.
Two coarse ropes dangled from above, each suspending a woman. On the left, Gillian was sobbing uncontrollably. On the right, Sabrina bowed her head quietly.
Directly beneath their feet, a red digital timer was flashing wildly.
00:29.
The countdown timer flashed beneath their feet.
Edgar kicked the door open and stormed in with the SWAT team, only to be met with a scene straight out of hell.
"Edgar! Save me! I don't want to die!" Gillian cried out, struggling even harder as the ropes bit into her flesh. Her screams were so piercing, they felt like they could shatter your eardrums.
On the other side, Sabrina was tied up in a dark corner. Eyes wide open, she watched the crowd rush in, but didn't react at all. The chaos—the pounding footsteps, Gillian's shrieks, the static from the walkie-talkies—was fading from her world, ebbing away like the tide.
Sound was slipping away from her world.
It was utterly terrifying. It felt like someone had hit the mute button on reality—everyone's mouths moved, their faces contorted with anxiety and fear, but all that reached her ears was a deafening silence, just a low, endless hum, like the static of an old TV.
Edgar was drenched in sweat, his eyes darting frantically between the two women.
15 seconds left.
He could only save one.
His gaze landed on Gillian, who was sobbing uncontrollably, her whole body shaking with terror—the kind of fear anyone would feel when staring death in the face. Then he looked at Sabrina—she was unnaturally quiet.
She remained perfectly still, staring straight ahead, her eyes locked on him. There wasn't the slightest trace of panic on her face, no plea for help, not even a tremor in her steady breathing.
In that instant, Edgar's judgment was misled by her unsettling calm.
'She's not scared... She must have a backup plan...' The thought flashed through his mind.
"Save Gillian first!" Edgar roared, his body moving on instinct as he rushed toward her.
00:10.
Edgar cut the ropes binding Gillian, scooped her up in his arms, and bolted toward the warehouse door.
As he passed Sabrina, he paused for barely a heartbeat.
He saw her still sitting there, looking like a discarded rag doll. Anger and panic made him lose control. Edgar yelled right in her face, "You're so calm—you must have some backup! Don't act like you're helpless! You're faking it, right? Get yourself out! Sabrina, get yourself out!"
His neck veins bulged as he shouted, spittle flying from his mouth.
But to Sabrina, it was all just a silent drama.
She watched as Edgar carried Gillian past her, his familiar face contorted with desperation, his mouth wide open as if he were shouting something at her.
But she couldn't hear anything.
The world had plunged into absolute silence.
Sabrina watched his retreating figure, feeling a hollow ache in her chest. She wanted to scream his name, to tell him, "I can't hear you," to beg, "Save me."
Sabrina opened her mouth, desperate to call out.
Her throat trembled, air escaped—but nothing came out.
Not a single sound.
In that moment, her voice was gone. The last sense she had left—her ability to speak—vanished, just like her hearing.
She became a dead volcano—utterly silent, all her fire extinguished.
00:03.
Edgar's silhouette disappeared into the glare by the door.
Sabrina blinked slowly.
00:00.
A huge fireball swallowed up everything she could see. The heat crashed over her, but she felt no pain; the blast thundered all around her, but to her, there was only silence.
The world vanished in a blaze of crimson, swallowed up by the brilliant red light.
A massive shockwave slammed into Edgar's back like an invisible giant hand. He and Gillian were hurled together, tumbling across the grass until they landed at a safe distance from the blast.
The deafening explosion hit his ears two seconds later. Searing heat, debris, and dust pelted them like a scorching rainstorm, crashing down from above.
Ignoring the ringing in his ears, Edgar propped himself up and turned to look back.
The chemical plant warehouse behind them had turned into a raging inferno. Orange flames burst through the roof, and thick black smoke shot up into the sky like a pillar of ink.
Gillian coughed, her voice shaky as she clung to Edgar, trembling with fear, her nails digging into his arm. "Edgar... it's so scary..."
Edgar pushed her away abruptly.
He fixed his gaze on the door swallowed by fire. One second passed. Then two. Then five.
No one came out.
The figure he was so sure would have a way out—the one he thought would definitely escape—never appeared.
"Sabrina..." Edgar muttered, his pupils reflecting the fire's glow, blood-red. The next second, he scrambled up like a madman, stumbling toward the blaze. "Sabrina! Get out! Sabrina!"
A few SWAT officers reacted fast, grabbing him tightly around the waist. "Mr. Herrera! You can't go in. It's already collapsing. It's too dangerous."
"Let me go! She's still inside. She didn't make it out!" Edgar roared, veins bulging in his neck, eyes bloodshot as he fought like a wild beast, desperate to break free.