They all heard the footsteps at the same time.
Ryan, Maya, and Aiden turned their heads in unison toward the sound coming from the side corridor. The light in that hallway was weak, a single bulb hanging from the ceiling, leaving most of the passage swallowed in shadow. The steps were calm, unhurried. Not like someone running away or charging in to attack.
Even so, Ryan's shoulders tensed. After everything that had happened so far, his body was ready to move at any second.
They stood there, watching the darkness.
A shape slowly formed at the edge of the light. First the outline of shoulders, then the line of a jaw, then the faint shine of eyes under messy hair. The shadow stepped into the glow of the bulb.
Arthur.
Ryan let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. His chest relaxed a bit. For a moment, he had thought another enemy was about to appear and they would have to fight again, right here.
