Chapter 46: Mother
The blade slipped out of his grasp. The throw was poor. With a loud clang, it struck the distant wall after spinning through the air. The noise was merely a momentary diversion to buy him time.
He moved in that instant. He took Sophia’s mom’s hand. She gasped in shock, and her skin felt cold.
"Come on," he said, yanking her firmly.
Adam has to save Sophia’s mother at any cost or else he will have to go into another loop which he cannot tolerate at all. Adam is stuck in a loop for so long that he doesn’t know if he will be able to break free from it or not.
He pulled her into the long hallway from the Shop. In an attempt to regain her footing, she staggered behind him. The kitchen was at one end of the hall.
Sophia and Anastasia were locked in their room upstairs, where the alternate route led. The thought of them caused Adam to feel a sharp pain in his chest, but he ignored it. He couldn’t save everyone at once. The goal of this loop was to free the mother first. That was the only objective for now.
He has kept Sophia and her younger sister upstairs so that he can focus on Sophia’s mother first, but he is worried that Sophia might create some trouble again.
He drew her in the direction of the kitchen. He pushed her through the door as they arrived. He turned the lock and hurriedly closed the door behind them. The tiny kitchen echoed with the loud click. There was silence for a while. All they could hear was each other’s labored breathing.
The assassins had halted outside. They had paused at the sound of the knife. Adam then dragged the woman into the kitchen, which they witnessed. Telling the others to wait, the man in the front held up his hand. He shook his head slowly as he glanced at the closed kitchen door. The target had trapped himself, he was telling them.
The signal was understood by the other two assassins. They gave a head nod. They were aware of what to do. Lowering his body, the first man began to move down the hallway. He moved silently and slowly. He was prepared for anything with his gun aimed forward. With their own weapons at the ready, his partners trailed behind him. They weren’t rushing. They were approaching like hunters.