Chapter 77: EX 77. Who Are You?
The moment Nikko’s blurry vision cleared and she looked up at the figure standing over her, her heart seized in her chest.
Her instincts screamed, Run! Her breath caught, and she bolted upright, trying to throw herself off the bridge again.
But she barely got a step in before strong arms wrapped around her waist, locking her in place like steel chains.
"You’re not going anywhere," the voice growled, low and familiar.
She thrashed against him, kicking, elbowing, trying anything to break free, but he was stronger. Much stronger. With a grim expression, he shifted his grip, one hand coiled around her throat, cutting off her breath. Her eyes widened in panic as the world around her started to fade, the moon above smudging into haze, the wind into silence. The pressure on her neck intensified.
Then, darkness.
****
When Nikko awoke, it was to the chilling scent of blood.
Her limbs were bound, wrists and ankles secured tightly to the cold frame of a wooden chair. Her breath quickened as she realized what she was sitting in. It was the center of a massive eight-sided star-shaped octagram, crudely etched onto the concrete floor in thick, dark lines.
It was drawn in blood.
She jerked against her restraints, panic spiking in her chest. The warehouse around her was abandoned, the walls rusted and covered in peeling paint. The only light came from flickering fluorescent bulbs high above, buzzing faintly like insects of decay.