CHAPTER 174: CH 174: THE DARE

"What the fuck did I do, you bastards?!" Tasha screamed, her voice raw and ragged. Her eyes could be seen burning, not just from the wind and dust kicked up by the beasts, but from the sting of helpless tears she hadn’t realized were welling up.

She shouted at the creatures as if her fury could reach them, as if her words could claw past their monstrous instincts and strike something human. But they didn’t falter. Not even a blink. Just endless growls and snapping jaws, like wolves mocking a rabbit for squealing.

Mid-scream, her voice cracked, splintered into a jagged sob that caught in her chest before tumbling out, uninvited.

The fury in her tone faltered. It thinned out, like a fire running out of fuel.

It no longer sounded like rage.

It sounded like someone begging the world to stop.

It sounded like fear given shape.

Then, out of the creeping hush that followed her broken cry came a voice, calm and cold, dripping with control.

"Will you do as I say now?"

It slid from the shadows like a blade in the dark.

It was Dave.

He stepped into the light, unfazed, with both of his arms crossed like a patient warden watching a prisoner finally break.

And it was only then, when the adrenaline haze lifted, that Tasha realized the beasts were no longer breathing down her neck. Instead, she was somewhere else.

She blinked with her chest heaving heavily as she realized that Dave had moved her from her position to a different area. Yet the echo of distant snarls could still be heard rolling in from far off, as if reminding her that the nightmare wasn’t quite over.

She clutched her stomach, which was still aching from the earlier blow, and then stared at Dave. Tasha wasn’t sure what terrified her more, those beasts... or Dave’s calm expression.

Tasha’s eyes squinted against the gloom, adjusting to the faint, flickering glow of the torch Dave held. The light cast long, dancing shadows across the earth walls and arches surrounding them.

In that halo of light, she could make out his posture, relaxed, almost leisurely, like someone on a late-night stroll instead of a man who’d just plucked her out of danger with impossible ease.

But it wasn’t just his calm that made her stomach churn. It was the fact that she had been moved from her position, to this place, when a moment ago, she had been somewhere else entirely, face-to-face with snarling monsters and certain death.

How? When? She hadn’t even blinked.

She couldn’t understand how it was possible. Same for how she had ended up here in the first place. It seemed almost magical, or should she call it supernatural?

Her mind scrambled to piece together what had happened, but it was like trying to hold smoke in her hands. She was disoriented, and she could hear her heart thumping loudly in her ears, she could only stare at Dave with a mix of disbelief and unease.

It was at that moment that Dave had spoken, his voice cutting through the silence. "So, what do you think?" he asked, his tone far too casual for the circumstances.

Tasha narrowed her eyes, already snapping back into her guard. "I told you," she bit out, "I’m not going to do whatever silly thing you ask me to do."

But Dave only gave a slight chuckle, like her resistance was the punchline to a joke he’d heard too many times. "Oh, I wasn’t talking about that," he said, tilting his head slightly as if amused by her misplaced defiance. "I meant here, this whole place. It’s nice, isn’t it?"

His voice echoed softly off the walls, bouncing around the hollow space like a whisper with too many ears.

Tasha blinked, thrown off by the shift in topic. Her gaze fixed on his face, mostly in shadow, the torchlight barely licking the edges of his features. She couldn’t make out his expression, but somehow that made it worse.

All she could do was stare at him, blankly, silently, unsure whether he was taunting her or just that detached from everything happening around them. Whatever this place was... it doesn’t seem to bother Dave. It’s almost as if he was in control of the place.

And as if to verify her thoughts, Dave had spoken up. "This isn’t just a random place. I’m in control of it. I can take myself, and anyone else to anywhere I wish," he said, his words floating lazily into the still air, yet weighted with unspoken power.

"All it takes is a thought. A flick of intention. If I wanted, I could drop you right back in front of those beasts... no matter how far you try to run." His gaze lingered on her, unblinking.

"I’m not doing that, though," he added, his tone softening into something almost... gentle. "I’m offering you a chance. A chance to redeem yourself. To live freely. Like someone who’s innocent. Or you could just choose to stay here."

For a long moment, Tasha said nothing.

Instead, her fists were clenched at her sides, nails digging into her palms as her mind raced through everything that had just happened. The impossibility of her sudden relocation, the chilling truth in his threats. It doesn’t seem like Dave was bluffing.

But it was his second statement that clung to her like a splinter beneath the skin. Live freely? Like someone innocent? Could it really be that simple? Just accept Dave’s offer and be free?

She studied his face, or what little of it the fire revealed. He was younger than her, clearly. Too young to be this composed, this calculating. And yet... he hadn’t hurt her or tried to kill her despite what she had done to him. Instead, he wants her to confess to the rest of the executives.

Dave had every opportunity to get rid of her. Even right now like he said, he could just place her in front of the beasts for devouring, but he hadn’t. And maybe, just maybe, that made it easier to believe him.

His voice lacked malice. His eyes, in the flickering light, didn’t hold cruelty. There was something else in them. Justice, maybe. Or something deeper.

For the first time in a long while... she hesitated. And that, in itself, was terrifying. But Dave’s offer stood out to her like a sore thumb. If there was even the slightest chance to escape this twisted, suffocating nightmare of a place, Tasha knew she had to take it.

Somewhere beyond this eerie ruin, beyond the reach of Dave’s cryptic games and those unnatural beasts, were people; her people. Allies waiting to protect and save her, even if Dave tries to attack her, at least till she had almost gotten to where they will be meeting with the rest of the executives. And if she could just survive long enough to reach them... she could tip the balance back in her favor.

She hadn’t forgotten her own plan. It was risky, fragile, but it still existed, tangled in the back of her mind like a thread waiting to be pulled. And maybe, just maybe, going along with Dave’s challenge would be the only way forward. Not surrender, not defeat, just a detour in the war.

Her jaw tightened. A breath left her lips, shaky but resolute.

"Fine," she said at last, her voice low but steady. "I’ll do as you say."

She met his eyes, and then continued. "You want me to go to the other executives and tell them the truth? I’ll do just that."

For a moment, there was only silence, before it was later broken by Dave who chuckled under his breath. A quiet, almost amused sound, as if he’d been expecting her answer all along.

But when he spoke, there was a shift in his tone. A subtle edge.

"How should I believe you?" he asked, voice as soft as a knife being drawn across silk.

Tasha lifted her chin, refusing to flinch. "You’ll be coming with me, won’t you?" she countered, trying to read him through the dim glow.

But Dave only smiled. And it wasn’t the warm smile of reassurance, it was the kind of smile that made your stomach twist a little, because you realized you’d just walked into a trap that felt like your own idea.

"Actually," he said lightly, almost playful. "That’s the most interesting part of this little game."

He took a step closer to Tasha, his grin deepening. "It’s a dare, Tasha. And you accepted it. That means you walk the path alone."

Her eyes widened slightly.

"But don’t worry," he added, almost kindly, "I’ll be right behind you. Watching."

He tilted his head, voice dropping to a whisper that brushed against Tasha’s skin like the wind before a storm.

"If you try to stray... even a little... I’ll catch you."

At that moment, Tasha has swallowed hard on her spit. It wasn’t a challenge anymore. It was a game of trust, with a leash made of silence and a handler who smiled too easily.

But she nodded, slowly. Because what choice did she really have? She stood still, her face unreadable, listening as Dave laid out his conditions like a master of ceremonies unveiling the final act of a twisted performance.

Outwardly, she was silent, composed. But behind her calm eyes, her mind churned with a deep smile.