Chapter 2 - The Frost Beneath the Floor
The silence that followed Mark’s words was heavy and unnatural, broken only by the low, mechanical drone of the cooling units above.
Toby stopped kicking for a fraction of a second, his eyes wide with horror as he looked at the cold steel door. He didn't believe the man holding him. He had seen the green fabric of his mother’s jacket caught in the door frame two hours ago before the restaurant opened. He had heard the faint, desperate thumping from behind the thick insulation before Victoria had locked the outer latch.
Victoria took two steps toward Mark, her eyes flitting nervously toward the stainless steel handle of the freezer. Her tailored black suit was immaculate, but a fine bead of sweat had formed along her hairline.
"Get him out of here, Mark," Victoria hissed under her breath, her voice trembling slightly despite her best efforts to maintain control. "The lunch rush starts in twenty minutes. If the health inspector or the staff sees this brat throwing a tantrum in the kitchen—"
"I told you, I've got him," Mark snapped back, his hands digging into Toby's shoulders. But his grip loosened for a split second as he reached into his pocket for his car keys.
That split second was all Toby needed.
Driven by a surge of pure, primal adrenaline, Toby bit down violently on Mark’s thumb. Mark yelled in pain, involuntarily letting go of the child.
Toby scrambled forward, diving toward the floor. Instead of grabbing the iron pipe again, he reached out with his small hand, leaping toward the heavy mechanical handle of the freezer door. He threw his entire body weight onto the lever.
CLACK-HISS!
The heavy internal seal broke.
"Don't open it!" Victoria shrieked, lunging forward with her hands outstretched.
A thick, freezing plume of white vapor exploded outward from the crack in the door, rolling across the gray tile floor like an icy fog. The temperature in the hallway plunged instantly, turning the warm kitchen air into a cloud of mist.
The heavy steel door swung open, revealing the dim, terrifying interior of the walk-in freezer.
Huddled in the back corner of the freezer, sitting on the cold concrete floor beneath rows of frozen meat hooks and plastic strip curtains, was a young woman in a dark green jacket. Her blonde hair was matted with frost, her skin a sickly shade of blue-gray. Her wrists were tightly bound behind her back with thick yellow nylon rope, and broad silver duct tape covered her entire mouth.
Her wide, dark eyes filled with tears of pure terror as the light hit her face. She let out a muffled, desperate whimper behind the tape.
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Mark froze in his tracks, his eyes bulging as he stared through the white vapor into the freezing room.
"Lucy...?" Mark whispered, his voice completely devoid of air.
