"Chris?" Dave asked, his voice filled with surprise. "What are you doing here?"
Chris gave a small, knowing smile. "You were right," he replied, recalling one of their earlier conversations. "The mall is definitely the easiest place. So I figured, why not take a little stroll? And here I am."
Dave shook his head in disbelief and laughed, unable to believe Chris was joking around in the middle of all this. It almost felt surreal.
But Chris wasn't alone. Behind him, the three teenage boys, the ones assigned to his group had followed him into the room. They shut the door behind them, their presence heavy in the air.
Without hesitation, they began working to release the binds that held Dave and the others to their chairs. As the ropes were cut, Eric's eyes briefly flickered to Gab, a look of confusion crossing his face. He could have sworn he saw Gab smirking at him, as if he found some sort of satisfaction in the situation.
