Chapter 10 - Plunge into Darkness
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Before Brandon could tear the bracelet away, every single light in the sprawling suburban house instantly went out.
The pounding bass of the music died in mid-beat. The hum of the central air conditioning faded into absolute silence. The sudden, suffocating darkness swallowed the living room whole, leaving the thirty guests completely blind.
Gasps and muffled shrieks rippled through the crowd. Someone dropped a champagne glass, the crystal shattering loudly against the hardwood floor.
"What happened? Who hit the breaker?" Melissa’s voice pitched high with sudden panic.
"Everybody stay calm! It’s just a power surge!" Brandon shouted, releasing my wrist as he stood up in the dark.
But it wasn't a power surge. Seconds later, a blinding wash of brilliant white light exploded through the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the street. The intense beams cut through the darkness of the living room, casting long, terrifying shadows against the back wall.
It wasn't the headlights of one car. It was a dozen.
They had surrounded the property in complete silence, their high beams illuminating the manicured lawn and the terrified faces of the guests trapped inside my home. Brandon froze, the hammer dangling uselessly at his side, his silhouette outlined by the harsh headlights piercing the glass.
Outside, the heavy, metallic thuds of car doors slamming shut echoed through the quiet suburban neighborhood. They didn't slam haphazardly. They closed in perfect, disciplined, militaristic succession.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
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Melissa crawled across the floor, her red dress rustling as she huddled close to Brandon's legs. "Who did you call?" she hissed into the dark, her voice trembling.
I almost laughed, but the agonizing pain in my shattered knees crushed the sound in my throat. "My father."
