The sound of the gunfire was terrifying, but it was the sudden silence that filled Josh’s veins with ice. A deathly stillness now engulfed the underground shelter as everyone held their breath. Only a single dim emergency light shone in the far corner, casting shadows on the rear walls. The front half of the enclosure was swallowed in blackness, increasing the sense of claustrophobia.
Josh clutched the little girl, Valentino, to his chest, struggling to stay calm in the suffocating tension. Everyone was totally still, afraid to move. He cut a glance ahead at Oliver, who stared up at the trap door that led to the emergency shelter that had been built at his father’s insistence. The end of the firefight meant one of two things. Either Sparkle and the others had eradicated the threat, or the
