Chapter 8

"Stay here!"

Ryder lets go of my arm, walking cautiously towards the hallway.

I'm still seething when I walk to the bed and sit down. Why Ryder leaves the room is beyond me. Electricity goes out due to storms all the time, and either Fallon or Margie screamed due to fright. That's all!

Walking into the bathroom, I sigh heavily. Maybe I need to be away from Ryder. After all, we are always together, even on business trips.

Wait a minute! Why am I feeling suffocated when Ryder doesn't suffocate me at all? Maybe Ryder is right. Have I been on edge lately?

I am about to remove my shirt when I hear another scream. I turn, facing the door. The hairs on the back of my neck stand. What the hell is going on out there?

I reluctantly walk into my bedroom. I don't want to be dealing with this right now. How pathetic does someone have to be to scream when the lights go out? I shake my head and walk to the hallway.

Once I'm in the hallway, I notice Joe run by me and down the staircase. He stops midway when he sees me.

"Sam, stop!" Joe yells at me. He grips the railing when he looks down to the foyer.

What is going on?

I slowly walk towards the staircase. Looking over the railing, I see it. My heart and mouth drop at the sight of her.

Thirty feet below me, Fallon is lying on the foyer floor. Her eyes are wide open, looking straight up, right at me. A look of horror plastered on her face.

She isn't moving, and there is blood on the side of her mouth and nose. I take a shaky breath as I look straight ahead through the window. The storm is still raging outside.

I can't hear anything or anyone. It feels like time has stopped, and for a moment, all my worries and fears disappear. Like inside the eye of a hurricane. Why do I feel a sense of calm in the middle of pure terror?

The tears that are now hitting my chest bring me back from my reverie. I look down at Ryder. He checks for a pulse and looks up at me, shaking his head.

She's dead?! My eyes grow wide in horror.

The entire household is in the kitchen. I am comforting Margie, who is still sobbing.

"What happened to her? Did she fall?" Joe asks, visibly shaken. "Freddie told me you guys never involve the police. So what happens now? What do we do?"

Joe's right! We can't call them. It will put Ryder at risk. I am still mad at him, but surely I don't want to see him put away.

"What do you mean don't involve the police? She fell! It was an accident! We need to call them now!"

We all forgot about Darryl. He doesn't even know precisely what Ryder's profession is. Or the fact that no one can speak about anything that goes on in here.

"Joe, where's Freddie?" Ryder asks, ignoring Darryl.

We all look around. He's right! Ryder, Joe, Margie, Darryl, and I are the only ones in the kitchen. Freddie isn't here! Panic starts to sink in!

"He was napping the last time I saw him," Joe whispers as he pales.

"Ryder..." I whisper. Oh, God, I tell myself!

"Joe, stay with Darryl and Margie! Don't let them out of your sight," Ryder says.

Joe nods as Ryder takes Margie by the hand and walks with her to the hallway.

"Margie, I'm sorry. I know this is hard, but I need a huge favor," Ryder says, putting his hands on Margie's shoulders. His face is inches from hers, and he looks serious at her.

Margie shakes her head as she wipes her nose with the sleeve of her shirt. "I know, Ryder. I know what you want me to do, and I'll do it. I'll tell Darryl the truth and keep an eye out."

Ryder hugs her. Margie makes her way towards Darryl and Joe, telling Darryl to sit, that she has to talk to him.

"Sam, come on," Ryder says.

We both run upstairs and make a right at the staircase. Freddie's suite is the last door on the right. The hallway is dark, but we manage to get to the room.

His door is wide open. We walk into his suite and notice his living room is intact—nothing out of place.

I go into his kitchen and see he isn't there. Ryder kicks the bedroom door open and bursts into it, not bothering to knock.

"Sam, he's in here!" Ryder calls out. Panic fills me as I run into the bedroom.

Freddie is lying on his bed. His upper torso and arm are draping over the bed, touching the floor.

He isn't moving!

I stop breathing as my mouth opens wide. God no, not Freddie!

Ryder quickly places two fingers on his neck, looking for a pulse. Suddenly, Freddie stirs and fixes himself onto the bed. He then begins to stretch.

Ryder looks at me and breaths a sigh of relief. I do the same.

"Freddie!" Ryder yells, annoyed. Freddie jumps up. His eyes are bloodshot red.

"Huh!? What?! What happened?" He looks around, disorientated. "Why are you yelling at me?" Freddie tries to stand, falling onto the bed again. Ryder helps him up.

Is he drunk?

I walk closer to them. "Didn't you hear the commotion?"

"No. What commotion?" Freddie says as he yawns and stretches again.

"It's Fallon. She fell from the second floor. She's dead," I say, trying hard not to cry.

Freddie instantly looks at me and falls to the bed. There is panic written all over his face.

"No," Ryder says as he walks past me and closes the now broken bedroom door. "Fallon didn't fall. She was shot in the back and pushed off."

"What?!" Both Freddie and I yell. How is that even possible?!

"Who-?" Freddie chokes out, looking at Ryder. His eyes glaze over.

"I don't know. We need to check the cameras."

"Ryder?" I ask as something dawns on me. "Why hasn't the backup generator kicked in?"

I look out of the window as the storm continues to dance around the house angrily. The winds make the windows shake, and it is impossible to see more than a couple of feet away.

"What do you mean?" Freddie asks me as he wraps himself with his hand. He is confused and in shock.

I walk to his window. The wind and rain have no intention of letting up anytime soon. "The storm. Everything went out."

"What?! It's physically impossible for them not to be on right now. Our system relies on those generators in the event this happens. We won't be able to get into the office either," Freddie says in a panic.

"Or even the weaponry," I whisper.

Ryder clears his throat. "Lucky for us, I had already packed the car up for my trip. I have my metal cases in the garage."

He looks at me, but I turn to Freddie. I am still upset with him.

"So how do we get into the office, Fred?" I ask.

"We have to see what's wrong with the generator first. Without the electricity back on, we cannot get into the office. Remember, those palm scanners and heavy doors are meant to keep people out," Freddie says as he scratches his head.

"Can't we burst through the door? Grenade?" I know that last part sounds idiotic, but the idea popped into my head.

"No. It's reinforced steel, Sam. Why do you think all the handleless doors in the house are bigger and heavier?" Ryder crossed his arms, his brows furrow.

Oh.

"Okay, who is behind all of this? What exactly is going on?" Fred asks, looking at us both. "It can't be a coincidence that Fallon is dead, and the generator hasn't kicked in."

That should've been the first question asked.

"I don't know," Ryder states, looking pensive. "When I made it to Fallon, Margie was coming out of the kitchen, and Darryl was coming in the hallway, where your office is."

"And when I went to the hallway, Joe ran by me. He came from in here," I say, looking at Freddie, and he nods.

"Yeah, we were both taking a nap."

"It doesn't make sense! We have to get into one of the offices," Ryder says, walking to the door.

"Wait! Darryl's tablet! Can't you get into the system from there?" I look at both Ryder and Freddie.

Ryder turns and looks at Freddie. Darryl carries that thing everywhere with him. It was given to him when he first started working here. They both nod.

Freddie walks up to me. "Yeah! We can look into the surveillance videos from there. Darryl has a child lock, but I can bypass that."

Ryder goes to our bedroom closet and grabs his holster and guns from the safe. We then go back downstairs.

Joe is in the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of water. He opens it and turns to Margie, handing it to her. She is still visibly shaken but looks a lot better.

"Woah!" Joe panics as he sees Ryder's holstered guns. "Is that necessary?"

"It is," Freddie says, as he walks into the kitchen with a box full of candles and flashlights.

"Are you okay, honey?! Where were you?" Joe asks as he makes his way towards Fred, grabbing the box of candles from him and placing it on the counter. They both hug one another.

"I am. I was asleep. How are you holding up?" He grabs Joe's hand.

"Confused and scared. What is going on exactly? And I thought this place was a fortress. Why haven't the lights come back on?"

"We're going to check that right now," Ryder says, pulling the flashlights out of the box.

Margie stands up and grabs a lighter from a drawer. There is still some light coming in from the outside, so it isn't dark.

I take the candles out and hand them to Margie. She begins to light them. Tears are still coming down her cheeks.

I wrap my arm around her shoulders. She pats my hand and smiles.

"Alright, Darryl! We need your tablet to view the surveillance video," I ask him as I walk up to him.

Darryl pales. "Oh," he says, looking at everyone. "I left it in the office. I was working from there when the lights went out, and I heard the commotion in the foyer."

"What?!" Freddie yells, causing me to jump. "You take that damn thing to the bathroom with you, and you suddenly leave it behind the minute we need it?! How convenient!"