55
Zenith Franklin cautiously scanned the stairwell and was the first to step through the door.
Chris followed.
Anne and I held the fire extinguishers, bringing up the rear.
The door closed behind us.
The stairwell was as dim as ever. The smoke wasn't as thick as on the platform.
"Sizzle—"
I thought I heard a faint electrical sound.
However, when I stopped to listen more closely, the sound disappeared.
Was I mistaken?
Seeing me stop, they looked at me in confusion.
"Sizzle—Sizzle—"
"What's wrong?" Anne mouthed to me.
I gestured for silence and began searching the stairwell.
"Sizzle—"
I took the flashlight from Chris and eliminated each possible source.
The steps were normal.
The ceiling was normal.
The corners were normal.
Finally, the light landed on something wrapped in tape above the iron door.
Anne tiptoed to remove it.
It was a tape recorder.
The tape inside was making a "sizzle" sound as it spun.
Suddenly, I felt cold sweat run down my back.
Zenith immediately pressed the rewind button.
"Impossible."
"If you don't want to be accidentally injured, you better make a decision soon."
"I'll be waiting downstairs."
Louis Westwind's voice echoed faintly.
No wonder.
No wonder he could talk to us so calmly.
No wonder his voice always sounded ethereal and distorted.
He...wasn't outside the door at all!
At that moment, we also identified the traitor in our midst.
This kind of monologue would easily give him away since Louis couldn't predict our reactions.
To make us believe he was just outside, he needed someone's cooperation. And only with this person's help could his act be convincing.
That person could only be Emily.
Looking back, her abrupt interruption of Chris's question was likely due to her fear of making a mistake.
"Why?" Zenith stared at the recorder in disbelief.
He slammed his hand on the door. "Why?"
"Captain...I'm sorry." The voice behind the door sounded pained.
"Everyone stay back. Ethan...step back!"
Then, a gunshot echoed from the rooftop.
She had fired.
"Captain, I don't want to hurt anyone; Uncle Grant's death was truly an accident." Her voice trembled. "I should have figured it out earlier. I should have known."
After taking a deep breath, her tone became firm again.
"But...I can't turn back now."
"So, your target is us, right?" Chris suddenly asked.
"You're a resident of our complex, aren't you?" He continued, "That's why you're so familiar with the layout there."
The other side remained silent, not denying it.
I immediately grasped the issue.
"You misunderstood, we didn't seal the building, we..."
"No one will admit it." She interrupted softly. "Whether it's sealed or not, no one will admit it."
"Even if you're telling the truth...even if you were victims too. But after you escaped, what did you do?"
"Even knowing there were other survivors in the complex, knowing those people were struggling between life and death, you still didn't open the door, did you?"
"Just removing the wires...would that threaten your lives?"
Her words left me speechless.
I admitted, we didn't open the lock because we feared encountering a situation like this.
David Stone was dead and couldn't testify, and survivors' suspicions would only escalate.
But this couldn't excuse us.
She was right.
I foresaw deaths and then watched them happen.
"After the door was locked, my mother began to starve herself, even refusing water."
"She left all possible means of survival to her child, but as that child, how was she supposed to live?"
Her voice was still soft.
"Eventually, the corpse started to bloat and stink, and she had to drag it outside."
"She drank the last bit of water. The houseplants were as hard to swallow as dry grass, but she ate them all."
"With the house out of supplies, she even turned her attention to zombies...luring them in and killing them with a kitchen knife."
"Bleeding them out and eating the flesh."
"For a long time, she survived on those... So, what were you doing then?"
I had no response.
"Emily, you did nothing wrong," Anne didn't argue.
"I understand your position, and I completely accept this punishment."
"But you should know, carrying too many burdens won't allow you to move forward easily. From now on, live your life for yourself."
Anne placed the recorder back where it was and shrugged at Zenith. "Looks like we've dragged you into this."
Suddenly, her gaze sharpened. "Where's Chris?"
I turned around at her words.
Chris, who had been standing behind us, was gone.
The narrow stairwell now held only the three of us.
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