Prologue (edited)

"Come on, we need to hide," Karen said, her voice tremulous with fear.

"I can't. I need to go to my mum and dad," Lindsey replied, her gaze fixed on the direction of her parents, her whole body shivering with dread.

"I'm sure your parents would want you to hide," Karen murmured, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Do you know a safe place to hide?" she whispered.

"Yeah, yeah," Lindsey stammered as she finally moved away from the door. With timid steps, she made her way to her closet. Her hands shook as she hastily pushed aside the clothes, revealing a locked door. Fumbling with the keypad, she typed in the password.

"Isn't this place obvious?" Karen asked, exhaling sharply.

"Mum and dad always said that the most obvious place is the most secure, because people rarely look there," Lindsey replied, her voice tinged with resignation.

A thud echoed through the room, followed by indistinct muttering as footsteps drew nearer. Hurriedly, they squeezed into the hidden space, locking the door behind them as they waited in tense silence.

"Come on, we need to search the girls' room; the boss said leave no stone unturned," said a masked man.

"And you think she would still be in her room after hearing the gunshot?" asked his companion. "She can't be that stupid," he grumbled, following the other into the room. "The five of you go this way," he ordered, pointing to his right. "And you six go that way," he said, motioning to his left. "The rest, come with me," he said, and they immediately dispersed, kicking down doors and searching every inch of the cottage.

"I guess she's not stupid, then," mumbled the masked man with a laugh. "Come on, guys, let's search the rest of this place," he yelled, motioning his men out of the house.

"But what about the closet?" asked one of his men, pointing towards the hiding spot. Karen and Lindsey's hearts pounded with fear as they stifled their cries, holding onto each other and praying for a miracle.

"You can't think they would hide there, do you?" the leader yelled, pointing his gun at his men.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the man said fearfully, his hands up in the air, trembling in fright.

"Amateur," spat the leader as he turned and left the room. Karen and Lindsey let out a breath of relief when the room finally fell silent. They waited a few more minutes and then cautiously emerged when they heard the screeching of tires as the men left the area.

"Mum, dad," sniffled Lindsey as she ran out of the room, down the stairs, and into the parlor where she saw her dad lying lifelessly in a pool of his own blood. His fingers were cut off, and there was even a bullet in both of his knees, but the shot that finished him was a shot to his head. "No," she yelled as she fell to her knees with a thud, tears streaming down her eyes.

"Lindsey.. your mom," Karen said in a shaky voice.

Lindsey slowly looked in her direction, and her heart sank as she saw her mother's lifeless body on the floor. She crawled over to her, holding her close as tears streamed down her face.

"Come on, Lindsey, we need to leave. Those guys might come back," Karen said, trying to steady her voice. Mr. and Mrs. A****n meant a lot to her.

"You're right, but I need to bury my parents," Lindsey replied, wiping her eyes as she stood up.

"We can come back in the evening, but for now, we need to go," Karen said just as the sound of tires screeching got nearer.

"They are here," shivered Karen, grabbing Lindsey's hand as they ran out of the cottage.

"I see her," yelled one of the men coming out of the car. "Come on, we need to chase her; the boss wants her alive," he shouted as he and some of the other men quickly got into the car and gave chase.

"Oh no, they are onto us," gasped Lindsey as she increased her pace. "We need to get off the road," she said, panting heavily as she looked at Karen, and they veered off into the fields. They kept running, but then heard a gunshot, freezing them in fear.

As they ducked down in the tall grass, they could hear the sound of their pursuers drawing nearer. Lindsey held tightly to Karen, her heart racing as she tried to come up with a plan to ensure their safety.

"What the heck is wrong with you? I said the boss wants her alive!" Yelled one of the men angrily.

"Do you want to tell the boss that we lost her?" The shooter yelled back as he kept on shooting.

"Come on, Karen, we need to keep moving," yelled Lindsey, tugging at her friend.

"I can't, I'm tired," Karen replied with heavy panting, and then a gunshot was heard.

"Noooo!" cried Lindsey as blood splattered all over her. Tears kept flowing from her eyes when she saw the hole on her best friend's head.

"I think I got one," yelled the shooter with a smirk. "Hopefully the Amazons' daughter."

"Yeah, well, we need to be sure," yelled another voice as his footsteps got closer.

Lindsey took off as she heard the sound of dry grass being stepped on. "I'm sorry," she whispered softly as more tears poured down her face.

Lindsey ran as fast as her legs could carry her, her heart pounding in her chest. She knew she had to keep moving, regardless of the pain and fear that consumed her. She tried to push the gruesome image of her friend's death out of her mind as she focused on escaping. The only thing she could do now was survive and hope for a chance to seek justice for her parents and friend.