C8

By the time Maya stepped out of the elevator at the basement level of their building, her stomach had begun churning painfully at the thought of having a conversation with anyone. Her palms felt sweaty as she pressed the buzzer on the intercom located directly beneath it, listening intently for a reply. Fortunately, one of the doors inside opened up shortly afterwards when a middle-aged woman answered the call. She looked tired and worn-out as she led Maya down the stairs until they reached the main lobby area.

"Hi, Mrs...?" the woman asked Maya curiously.

She cleared her throat uncomfortably before answering hesitantly, "Szewczyk... My name's Szewczyk."

The woman stared at Maya oddly while tapping her index finger on the top of her left hand against the palm of her right; clearly trying to recall what Maya said earlier during their brief encounter upstairs. "I'm sorry; I didn't quite catch your last name...?"

Maya hesitated before shaking her head lightly while giving the woman a sympathetic smile in return. "You can call me 'Mrs.'... Although my friends usually do..."

The woman's gaze softened a bit when she noticed the young girl's discomfort, allowing her to relax somewhat; even though she still continued staring at her strangely. "That makes things easier..."

Maya's smile grew wider while nodding. "Thank you..."

Before the older lady could ask any more questions, another person appeared out of nowhere. He gave Maya an inquisitive look before smiling broadly in response. "Hello again, miss..."

She nodded silently without saying anything in return before stepping aside so that he could enter through the door. He waved hello to her politely before taking off his suit jacket and placing it gently on top of his black leather shoes before entering the living room. Maya closed the door behind him before glancing around the room curiously, noticing that the furniture had changed ever so slightly. Instead of the large brown recliner that occupied most of the space in the previous living room, a comfortable-looking sofa had been placed in its stead. It was also positioned closer to a small coffee table that was set up next to it while a long oak dining table was situated in between them. Several framed photographs hung on the wall beside the fireplace, including several family portraits featuring various members of the household.

After staring at them for several seconds, she turned away and spotted a small kitchenette on the far end of the room, along with a staircase leading down to the lower level where the bedrooms were located. Since she knew nothing else about this house yet, she decided to check out its interior instead; hopefully, she wouldn't run into anyone else while exploring. While walking over to the kitchen, she peeked inside at the refrigerator; finding nothing but a few bottles of water, juice, milk and soda inside. It didn't seem to have much else apart from food either; probably because none of the occupants lived there regularly. She wondered why they never bought groceries to fill it up then realized she had no clue as to whom these people belonged too. That thought alone brought back a lot of unpleasant memories from her past, making her cringe inwardly. She hurriedly pushed them down deep inside her mind before moving on to examine the rest of the home... But she had hardly taken five steps in her exploration when her footsteps came to an abrupt stop.

There was someone else present in the hallway... Or at least, that's what it looked like because he was wearing a black hoodie and dark sunglasses that concealed his face completely. She could barely see his outline since he was standing behind a corner near the staircase, but she was able to make out some features that were visible through the fabric: His facial hair and chubby cheeks... They almost resembled those of a child, which made her wonder what he was doing in the middle of such a dangerous neighbourhood... Especially considering how quiet and secluded the place seemed. There was something vaguely familiar about him, but she couldn't remember exactly where she'd seen him before. Perhaps she saw him on TV or read about him somewhere on social media, maybe...? After briefly wondering where she would've heard about him before, she dismissed it and moved on.

A moment later, she found herself walking down the hallway toward the bedroom she assumed belonged to her husband and son. As soon as she stepped foot into the room, she stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed a pair of men standing outside of a large wooden double door. Both wore similar attire and carried the same weapon each of them wielded in their hands. One of them had a handgun in his hand while the other used an assault rifle to point at Maya. "Halt!" the man holding the pistol barked out sharply before gesturing his partner to take aim.

Both of them took a step forward while aiming their weapons at her simultaneously; causing Maya to freeze up in terror. The second gunman fired first, sending a single round of bullets flying towards her before hitting the ground next to her feet. Instinctively, she raised both arms protectively overtop of her body as the bullet dug itself into her leg before shattering against the hardwood flooring with an impact loud enough to echo throughout the entire room. "Get on the floor NOW," one of the gunmen ordered calmly. When Maya did as instructed, he aimed his weapon upwards before firing several rounds into the ceiling above him. "On your knees and hold your head down! Keep your hands on top of your head... Don't move unless I say so..."

"Yes... sir..."

"Don't speak, don't make eye contact and DON'T MOVE... Got it?"

"Got it, sir..." Maya replied obediently after nodding several times. Even though she tried remaining perfectly still and silent, she couldn't help shivering with fear as she listened closely to what the two armed intruders said to each other; hearing every word clearly despite not having the courage to turn around and look at them directly. "I need you to open the door... If you're smart, you'll listen to what I'm telling you... I don't want to kill you... So let me know when you hear it creaking open... Understand?"

She glanced down at her hands and found that they were trembling violently from nerves, making her shake her head vigorously. "No..."

One of the men growled angrily while pointing his gun at her temple. "Say it! SAY IT OR WE SHOOT YOU IN THE HEAD RIGHT FUCKING HERE AND NOW!!"

Maya trembled with dread but didn't respond verbally. Her heart thundered loudly inside her chest as she stared blankly ahead of her; terrified by how close the barrel was to her head. Finally, the sound of wood creaking slowly filled her ears, making her tremble violently in response.

"...open..."

Without hesitating, she nodded rapidly in response, forcing herself to remain motionless even though she wanted desperately to curl into a ball and cover her eyes. "...the...door..."

She could feel the cold muzzle of the gun pressing against the base of her skull as she remained completely still. A few seconds passed before the second gunman lowered his weapon slightly, allowing her to finally breathe normally again; only for them to raise their guns once more a short while after. They both kept their guns trained on her for what felt like forever before the man holding the rifle finally spoke up.

"What is going on here?!" he shouted angrily while shaking his head. "How come there's TWO OF THEM?! Where's Mr. Maxwell...? Is HE alright!?"

The man with the handgun glared at him fiercely before responding firmly. "He isn't in there... He doesn't live here anymore!"

The other man scoffed in disgust. "So? Who does!? This has got to be some kind of sick joke, right!?"

Maya gasped audibly at the statement and looked up in shock at the two men; immediately recognizing the voice she had heard just moments ago... But she quickly shook her head and forced herself to remain calm; reminding herself that she needed to focus on keeping herself alive and unharmed right now. She forced herself to remain silent and continue listening attentively to everything else the gunmen had to say; hoping beyond hope that they weren't planning on killing her right there in the living room. But judging by the way their voices sounded, she knew that they were deadly serious about taking her life if necessary... Which meant that they wouldn't hesitate in pulling the trigger at any time. "Who are you talking about, pal?" one of them demanded impatiently before waving his gun around menacingly to intimidate him further. "Speak up already! What's your name? How do I know you're telling me the truth!?"

"I'm Danial Maxwell's son..." Maya whispered softly, praying that the two men would believe her words.

The one holding the assault rifle narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the girl's reply. "Your dad didn't give you a name?"

"No..." Maya replied quietly.

The man who had been speaking with the handgun sighed heavily and holstered his gun without a single word to explain himself; leaving him to stare down at Maya in silence. For several minutes, he simply sat down and watched Maya carefully without saying anything while she continued trembling under his gaze, unable to think of anything else to say that might convince the men to spare her life. Eventually, he rose to his feet and walked over to the fireplace mantle where he picked up a photo of his mother sitting inside a hospital bed, surrounded by various nurses and doctors. "You must've known my mom well... She died three years ago, didn't she? She worked here as an administrator until she retired last year."

When Maya nodded nervously in response, he returned to the sofa and leaned back onto it, placing the photograph gently on top of an empty glass case. He gazed at her silently for several seconds before leaning down to retrieve a pack of cigarettes from within his jacket pocket and removing one from the box; lighting it with the lighter he withdrew from another pocket before offering it to her.

"Cigarettes are bad for you," Maya stated while shaking her head.

"Do you want to smoke it?"

"Why?"

"Because you can't tell me that you haven't noticed it yourself yet," he said nonchalantly while blowing a stream of white-grey smoke into her face before exhaling it out through pursed lips. "Smoking makes you smell horrible. It gives you ugly stains on your teeth. And worst of all, it kills you slowly. That's what your dad told you in order to keep you away from it, wasn't it?"

Maya nodded weakly while watching his fingers as he lit another cigarette; noticing the intricate tattoo that covered most of them, including his palm and wrist. "My father... Had many tattoos..."

"Yeah, I guess he was pretty rebellious when he was young... But that changed a long time ago... Probably when I was born and I became part of his life." The man grinned while looking back at her curiously. "So... Why did you decide to follow in his footsteps anyway? Did you find smoking enjoyable enough to become addicted to it like him?"

She stared at him blankly for several seconds before shaking her head slowly. "It was a mistake... I was stupid... I regret doing this now..."

He laughed at her words but didn't say anything else to her. Instead, he reached out and grabbed a bottle of whisky off of the coffee table in front of him before pouring himself a shot of liquor and taking several small sips; letting the burning liquid slide down his throat smoothly. "You seem to have a lot of regrets..."

"I made mistakes," she admitted while averting her eyes.

His lips curled up into an amused smirk as he turned to lean against the side of the couch opposite of hers. "Is that so? Then why don't we talk about your past instead?"