We Have to Split Up

Alec and his men all came out of the sixth room with frustration on each of their faces. "I don't get it. Why is there not a single soul here?", Daniel asked worriedly. Even Alec could not help but frown also. This does not make any sense if one thought about it.

Let's say that the mafia boss was absent for example, the mansion would never be left unguarded for any reason. Alarm bells are going off in his mind. Alec doesn't know what these people were planning, the only viable solution on the table was to keep moving forward. Going back might be suicide, maybe.

"Hold up", Alec ordered, and his men stopped and looked at him intently. "I don't think it's best we continue moving forward together", Alec said, looking around.

"Boss, what do you mean?" Mateo could not help but feel anxious. He prayed it was not what he was thinking. "We have to split up. Mateo and I would go this way, and three of you would go the other way" Alec thought this was the best idea.

"Boss, I don't mean to disapprove of your orders, but please, do you think this is the best idea? I mean we are inside the mafia's residence without any clues as to what they were planning to do. Do you think it's best to divide ourselves?"

Alec nodded positively. "It's the best option I can come up with as of now. Follow me", Alec said and gave the signal to move. The group split up in an intersection.

The three men moved stealthily to the next room and pushed it open. Seeing no one, as they anticipated, they moved out and headed to the next room. "Do you think Santiago would be better than our former boss? I'm just asking though", one of them, whose name was Matias asked.

"I don't know yet, but whether he performs better or not is not up to ours to decide. For now, he's doing great, even if he's grieving his brother. The way he gives orders amazes me, unlike the frivolous child he was literally two months ago", another of Alec's subordinates interjected.

"Yeah, that's very strange if you look at it. He appears very different from the person we knew him for. According to our former boss, Santiago had this disability that made him behave like a child, so he has always been protecting him ever since. It's not the same person that is currently bossing us, don't you think it's unusual?" Matias asked curiously.

The second man shrugged, "Meh, let's just assume it was his brother's death that caused him to change. At least he's cured of his problem", he added. Just then, they stopped at a door. They naturally kicked it open and entered the room. There was no one, just as they expected, but unlike the rooms they'd visited, there was a television in this room. It was somehow turned on.

It was displaying a rocket launching event in 1969. "There it is, the first rocket destined to land on the moon, will this succeed, we'll never know. One thing we do know is that NASA had prepared for this day to come, so we'll feast our eyes on the upcoming events".

Matias frowned deeply on seeing this. No matter how he saw it, this TV was turned on not too recently. With the volume the TV was playing at, it was impossible not to have heard it before coming here.

​_"Isn't this a little strange?" Matias was dumbfounded. "Maybe the room owner forgot to turn off his TV before leaving, I don't know. It happens to me all the time", the man nearest to Matias said.

"Nah, I doubt this. This TV was turned on before we came in. It was like someone was expecting us here". The program began a countdown. "Ten... nine... eight..."

Matias sensed something was amiss. He was already suspicious of this program being displayed on the TV, and now, it's displaying a countdown number. "I think we should leave here. Something's wrong", Matias ordered. They immediately approached the door but realized it was locked.

Matias suddenly became on guard. He brandished his gun tightly as his eyes darted across the room. "Try and kick the door open", Matias said. The two men kicked the door with all their strength, but it appeared it was locked tightly. This was a door they easily flung open just moments ago. How it locked without their notice baffled them.

"Is the door open?" Matias became nervous. "No sir, it's not opening", the man said with a tone of despair. Just then, the countdown reached four. "Three... two... one... " Matias opened his eyes to the extreme so that nothing in the room might escape his notice.

"Here we go", the announcer said cheerfully as the rocket launched upward, with bright flames shooting out of its base. Matias has never been this tense in his life. He looked around as he retreated to the door and attempted to open it.

After an excruciating ten seconds, nothing happened. Matias slowed down his heavy breathing but didn't let down his guard. With his gun facing the empty room, he used his other hand and attempt to open the door with its handle, but the handle didn't budge.

"Do you have any hair clips with you two?" Matias probed. The two men quickly ruffled their bodies to check for any item that looked like a clip. "Sir, would this work", the second man asked as he took out a safety pin. "Give it to me", Matias collected it and picked the lock, listening to the clicks as he pressed his ear on the door.

Then, there was a click. Matias's eyes lightened and withdrew the safety pin. This was good news for him and the two men. Matias felt very much relieved. He withdrew his rifle and turned around to open the door.

However, just as he touched the handle, the TV suddenly turned off. As Matias turned around to check what was wrong, he started hearing a hissing sound. Suddenly the room appeared foggy. "Jesus", Matias mumbled solemnly and pushed the door with his might, but the door didn't open.

Amidst the fog, he noticed two humanoid outlines at the very end of the room, but as a result of the foggy atmosphere, Matias could not fully discern what those figures are, but now it's no time to be curious. He raised his gun and attempt to fire at the figures. The figures didn't react at all. Instead, they raised their arms which both held a flamethrower, and poured seas of flames on the room.

It turned out the gas that filled the room was inflammable as the flames quickly expanded, rapidly increasing the temperature of the room. The furniture caught on fire, and the TV's frame began to melt.

Matias's group wasn't faring well either. The two of Alec's subordinates produced shrill cries as the red flames ravaged their bodies, sizzling their skins. "Arrgh! Matias!"

Matias' situation wasn't different from theirs, but his mind was still firm. With excruciating pain he was feeling in every part of his body, he still managed to notice the two figures accessed a compartment at a corner and exited the room.