A Choice to Make

Kelechi's pulse thundered in her ears as the footsteps grew closer. Each step echoed like a countdown in her chest. Not yet. Not yet, she repeated to herself, her hand tight around the gun's grip, trying to steady her breath.

Ayo stood still, his eyes watching her with an unreadable expression. His presence made everything feel even more suffocating, as if the air itself was charged with something dangerous.

The footsteps drew nearer. Kelechi's grip on the gun tightened, her knuckles pale against the cold metal. She wasn't a stranger to danger, but there was something about this moment—this feeling—that unsettled her more than usual.

"Who's coming?" Kelechi's voice was low, steady, but the unease in her gut gnawed at her.

Ayo didn't respond immediately. Instead, he glanced toward the entrance, his face shadowed. When he spoke, his voice was eerily calm. "You should've stayed out of this, Kelechi."

The words hit her harder than they should've. Stay out of this.

What did that even mean? Her mind raced. Had she unknowingly walked into something much bigger than she realized?

The footsteps stopped. Kelechi's heart skipped a beat.

She didn't wait. She turned to the side, moving quickly but quietly toward a narrow hallway that led deeper into the warehouse.

She couldn't afford to be caught in the open. Not with Seyi barely conscious and the entire situation unraveling faster than she could handle.

Seyi shifted in her arms, barely holding on. Kelechi could feel her sister's weight, but her mind was already elsewhere, calculating her next move.

BANG.

The sound of the gunshot was deafening, echoing off the metal walls of the warehouse. Kelechi instinctively dropped to the ground, shielding Seyi with her body.

A second shot rang out, closer this time.

Kelechi's heart raced, and she moved faster, pulling Seyi with her into a small room at the back of the warehouse. She slammed the door shut, but it was only a matter of time before they found them.

This was a trap.

Her chest tightened, her brain working overtime as she calculated every possible escape route. She couldn't go out the way she came. The front door was compromised. The windows were too high to climb through. They were running out of time.

⸻

Ayo had followed her.

He leaned against the door, watching her every move. His expression was cold, as if he were waiting for something.

"What do you want, Ayo?" Kelechi snapped, trying to control her rising panic. She knew he was a part of something bigger—something dangerous—but this… this wasn't just a favor anymore.

"You should've listened to me," Ayo said, his voice dripping with frustration. He stepped closer, his eyes dark. "But now, you're all in. And so is she."

He gestured toward Seyi, who lay slumped in Kelechi's arms, barely conscious.

Kelechi's eyes narrowed. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Ayo's lips curled into a thin smile. "You think they're after you? They've been after her since the moment she made the wrong call. And now, you're both marked."

The weight of his words hit Kelechi like a punch to the stomach. Marked?

For the first time, she felt the full weight of her choices crashing down on her. Seyi had never been a part of this world, but now she was—and Kelechi had dragged her into it.

She couldn't afford to lose her.

"Who's after us, Ayo?" Kelechi demanded, her voice sharp. "Who are they?"

Ayo didn't answer. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder as if listening for something. His eyes flashed with something—anticipation, maybe?

The door shuddered under a heavy impact.

⸻

The silence in the room was suffocating.

Kelechi's eyes darted to the door. It was already splintering under the pressure. She didn't have much time.

Ayo turned to face her. "You don't have much choice anymore. If you want to live, if you want her to live, you have to make a deal."

Kelechi's hand tightened around the gun, her pulse hammering in her ears. "What kind of deal?"

Ayo's eyes gleamed in the dim light. "You work with me. You do what I say. And I'll get her out of here alive."

Kelechi felt a burning sensation in her chest, a mix of fury and desperation. She wanted to say no. She wanted to refuse, to tell him she could handle it on her own. But she knew deep down that she was running out of options.

She glanced down at Seyi, her breath shallow. She couldn't let her sister die because of her stubbornness.

"Fine," Kelechi said through gritted teeth. "But the moment you cross me—"

Ayo's smile widened. "I wouldn't dream of it."

The door splintered again, this time with enough force to send it crashing inward. Kelechi spun around, her gun raised.

They were here.