Magic Tricks 🔮 Book 2 || gxg

Burn It to the Ground

The ground sloped gently upward toward the buildings. As nervous as she was of their approach, of what was to come, Ada was giddy. This wasn't exactly where she had planned on saying those words, but she had said them all the same. Of course she had loved Sam for ages, almost from the very beginning. She thought the words every time Sam curled up in her arms at the end of a long day, every time she refilled Ada's coffee when she was distracted. They said 'I love you' in many ways without words, a thousand times before, but nothing compared to the warmth, the pure contentment speaking them brought. There was an undeniable verity to it.

Ada forced herself to focus as the dark, massive buildings came into view. A whitewashed farmhouse sat lifeless at the end of the driveway. Shutters hung limply from their hinges over foggy panes. It took only a quick peek to tell that this building was vacant and about as hospitable as a cave. Wildlife had clearly made their home within over the years. They left it behind, heading for the old wooden barn off to the left. There, Ada held up a hand to halt the others.

"Wait here."

Ada knew from Aidan's brief reconnaissance that the people patrolling were closer to the larger building to their right. He assured her there was no one nearby. Ada kept to a crouch and moved as quickly as she could manage around the front of the building. There were large doors for the animals to use—back when there were animals here—and a rickety people-sized door to the side. It was risky, but there didn't seem to be another entrance, Ada had no choice. Aidan had already checked for a ladder to the hayloft, but it had long been removed.

The door swung inward with a soft creak that made her freeze against the wall outside. No sounds came from within. Ada sighed, dropping back to a crouch. Though she couldn't see the others from there, she smiled in their general direction before dipping inside. The lights were out inside, and peering in was essentially useless. Ada sucked in a deep breath and crept in. The stench of cannabis was overpowering within and only grew stronger the deeper she went. She kept her palm against the wall, fingers bent back to keep distance between her exposed fingertips and the rough wood. Her eyes were wide, the darkness pressing against them as she strained to see anything at all inside. Two micro-steps later, she froze. There was a pillar before her, or something of the sort, which was blocking the very thing she was trying to avoid. A pinprick red light was the only anomaly in the sea of black. When she leaned back, it disappeared, and forward it reappeared.

Ada couldn't take the chance and made her way back to the exit. Considering there were no shouts or running footsteps, she probably hadn't been seen in the brief moment she had been in view of the camera. Considering the lights were off, she could only assume the cameras had night vision enabled. They would have to find the control room first.

Outside, Ada dashed into the darkness and stumbled upon Sam and Aidan a good distance away. Noah was nowhere to be seen.

"He went to find a place to watch from." Sam took her hand for a moment and squeezed, then stuffed hers back in her pockets. "What did you find."

"Cameras inside, total darkness. We need to-"

Their radios hissed static for a second before Noah said, "You need to move, you have one heading your way. Head straight back then cut toward the house."

Aidan, who had his radio out already, responded for them. "Got it, thanks."

They did as instructed. After only a few steps, a flashlight beam became visible. They were already far away from him. In the shadow of the dilapidated house, they were far enough away from the patrol to speak.

"Okay, we need to find the control room if we're going to have a hope in hell of navigating this place without being spotted." Ada sighed, gazing off toward the largest building.