Kia's eyes widened in surprise. "Trouble?" he whispered back, faking a look of shock. Sofie, on the other hand, nodded in response, causing him to let out a loud scoff. He leaned back in the chair. "We are tied up in a creepy room, and by 'we', I mean myself, with three men who might be dangerous criminals or worse. I think trouble is an understatement," he stated.
"Who do you think those people are?" Sofie whispered, looking around the dimly lit room as if the answer might be hiding somewhere in the shadows. "They look like the scary pirates from my storybook."
"Sofie, I just told..." Kia looked at her with a furrowed and confused expression.
"What?" she asked, biting down on the corner of her lip.
"You know what... forget I said anything," Kia sighed and tilted his head back. He didn't have the energy to argue, especially with a child who didn't know any better, not when they were in this precarious situation. Instead, he had to focus on finding a way out.
The walls were bare, the floor was concrete, and the only furniture was the chair he was bound to. He began scanning the room, searching for anything that might serve as a tool or a weapon since his gun had been confiscated.
But just as he began, his stomach let out a loud, rumbling growl. The sound echoed through the room, as if taunting him, a reminder that he had not eaten all day.
He heard a rustling sound, causing him to snap his head in that direction. When he turned, he saw Sofie gently unwrapping the chocolate bar she had brought with her earlier, about to take a big bite when she paused to find Kia staring at her while subconsciously licking his lips.
His eyes widened as soon as he realized what he was doing. He stopped licking his lips and quickly looked away.
"Are you sure you want to eat that?" he asked, trying to sound as casual as possible even though his stomach was practically begging for food.
Sofie looked at him with a puzzled expression, bits of chocolate smeared on her lips. "Why wouldn't I? I am starving," she whispered and continued nibbling on the chocolate.
"We don't know how long we'll be in here, and that might be your only source of food. You should save it for when you really need it."
Sofie stopped chewing and again looked up at Kia with a slight frown. She hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. "Okay," she said softly, setting what was left of the chocolate bar aside. "But I hope we won't have to wait long."
Kia felt guilty for putting Sofie in this situation. He glanced around the room once more, his eyes landing on the door, which was the only exit out of here. He struggled against the rope tied around his wrist, but it was too tight.
He grunted in frustration, trying to loosen it, but it only seemed to get tighter. Annoyed, he looked over at Sofie, who was watching him with concern.
Unlike him, she wasn't tied up, so that gave him an idea.
"Sofie," he called softly, catching her attention. "I need your help."
Meanwhile, in a different part of the mall, two men were huddled in a corner while one held a gun, sitting with his legs crossed. The other stared outside the barricaded window, puffing out smoke from the cigarette he held between his lips. His eyes flitted nervously back and forth, scanning the desolate parking lot for any sign of movement.
"Do you think they'll make a move?" he asked in a low voice, his eyes never leaving the window.
"Not yet," replied the man with the gun, "but they will. They're just biding their time, waiting for us to make a mistake. But they won't have to wait long. We can't stay here forever, and they know it."
The sound of a growl drifted into their ears, but this time it didn't come from the barricaded door. It came from the stomach of the man with the gun. He shifted uncomfortably, his face contorting as he fought to ignore the hunger gnawing at him.
The other man, sensing his discomfort, took a deep drag on his cigarette and exhaled slowly, the smoke swirling around him in a thick, gray cloud.
Luckily, the sound of footsteps was heard, causing them to turn their attention in that direction.
The bearded man, who had carried Sofie to the room earlier, entered with a smirk.
"We have them locked up, what should we do with them?" he asked the man holding a cigarette.
"Nothing," came his response.
"What do you mean, nothing!" Another voice was heard, reverberating across the building. A voice that belonged to a woman. The sound of her approaching steps was loud and fast, her voice filled with urgency. "I just heard the news about the two trespassers. Where are they?" she demanded.
"They are just youngsters, and we already have the situation under control!" the man holding a gun spoke.
"Oh, do you?" The woman, who looked to be in her early forties, her blonde hair pinned to a bun with a few loose strands, had a more put-together look, like she had just stepped out of an office after a business transaction. She raised an eyebrow and smacked her lips together as she asked, "Then tell me how the hell they were able to make it past the barrier without anyone noticing on time." She said in a sassy tone, her eyes shooting daggers at the two men.
"We've spent all morning setting up this stronghold, and you're telling me that a couple of kids snuck in under your noses? That's pathetic. We're supposed to be an elite survival group, not a bunch of amateurs."
The bearded man bristled, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "We were just about to interrogate them," he argued.
"Interrogate?" The woman scoffed, shaking her head. "That's not good enough. You have to get rid of them."