Chapter 204-2
Not A Small-Town Girl
----
âDonât 9 an eke onthe Xavier replied,
keeping an on their parents. "Iâve
got thermsovered. We wonât get ¢
separated But there are a few paths
up ahead. Which one do we take?"
He I8oked at the fork in the toad,
upgerainty on his face.
----
âDanielle wasnât sure where the paths led or what they
would run into next, but it felt like these forks in the road
were there to mess with them.
âStay here. Iâll check it out," she said, taking a step forward,
then quickly pulling back.
âWhatâs up, Danielle?" Howard asked,
noticing the Serious look on her
face. He knew when she was Ps
focused,and that usually meant ws
trouble, They had already run iato
danger at every turn since they got
indike they were moving through
checkpoints.
----
âCheckpoints? Maybe thatâs exactly what this is. Trying to
keep us out?â Howard thought but didnât say anything.
âSomethingâs off ahead," Danielle said, eyeing the fork. âIt
looks like a split in the road, but when I look closer, itâs like
a mirror." She pulled out her gun, aiming to fire a couple of
shots to test it out.
âNo way. If itâs a mirror, how come we donât see ourselves
in it?" Xavier asked, his face full of doubt. But no matter
what, he trusted his sister. If Danielle said something, that
was good enough for him.
âThe gunshot rang out, and a second later, the fork in the
road shattered with the sound of breaking glass.
âDanielle rushed to where the glass had shattered, and her
eyes widened.
----
"The fork was gone, replaced by a huge pit, at least ten
feet wide and several feet deep. There was no way to
cross it. They would be stuck unless they could fly.
âThe rest of them quickly ran up to her. Vivian went pale.
âHow is this even possible?"
âGood thing the glass was there,"
Xavier said, shuddering. "Or we
wouldâve fatten straight into that ~
thing. Itâs@so deep, and there are ws
rocks the bottom. We wouldwe
beemdead He grimaced at thre
YU
thauight of their bodies being never
f6und.
----
âHowardâs voice was cold and firm. "Do you think that glass
with the illusion was there just to stop us from falling? If
Danielle hadnât been sharp, we wouldâve never noticed and
walked right into it."
âWe wouldâve noticed when we hit the glass. Who would
just walk into it?" Xavier said, his voice full of disbelief.
----
âYeah, Dad is right. This glass is different from what weâre
used to. Super thin and breaks easily. If we hadnât seen it
and accidentally touched it, it wouldâve shattered, and we
wouldâve lost our balance and fallen," Danielle explained.
"She couldnât help but feel a little uneasy too. If she hadnât
trusted her instincts and stopped when she did, there was
no doubt she would be dead right now.
âThey all stayed alert. This place was full of traps, and one
wrong move could lead to disaster.
âDanielle, how did you even know the glass was there?â
Howard asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
âVivian and Xavier exchanged glances, both impressed by
how sharp she was. They were both proud of Danielle as a
daughter and sister.
----
âThe caveâs been dark this whole time, but this spot had
some light. I didnât need a flashlight, but something felt off,
so I fired a shot to check. Ended up wasting three bullets,â
she said, shrugging.
"She had gone ahead and used three bullets, no hesitation.
Danielle made a mental note to bring more next time.
âBut instead of focusing on that, they all wondered where
Danielle had gotten the gun and how she was so good with
it.
âThey couldnât help but think, maybe she had a past they
didnât know about.
âThey all came up with different possibilities in their heads,
with the final one being that she was some kind of killer.
That was the only explanation why she could handle a gun
âso well.
----
âIt was illegal to buy guns in Aleria, so they figured it might
be time to have a little chat with Danielle about the law
once they made it out of there.
âTheir sweet girl had some serious secrets, and it was
clear she hadnât learned about the law. She must have
picked up these skills from somewhere. The guilt hit them
both hard.
âIt was their fault for not protecting Danielle, and now she
had ended up in a dangerous situation. They promised to
send her money as soon as they got a signal. They
couldnât let her live a life of danger anymore.