12
T oo dark to see, too dark to breathe. And yet, as Angel turned swiftly on his heels, he shot who he hoped wasn’t a god's damned representative or anyone he knew. People around him scurried closer, making sure to maintain a close-knit circle that would ensure that they didn’t hurt anyone important.
Instead, in the dimly lit, almost pitch-black hotel, with their eyes adjusted to the darkness barely, they shot rats that rushed upon them. Bang! Bang! Came the sudden sounds of bullets ricocheting everywhere. Angel growled, cursing this stupid architecture for the first time in his life. Who the fuck created a hotel without windows?
He was hoping, praying, that the hooded figure behind Ray was dead somewhere and that she was on the other side of their circle.
“What kind of–” bang! “–fucked up horror film is this?”
Noah’s voice was like a whisper in the crowd, but it brought forth a sense of relief that made Angel almost dizzy,
“It’s an assassination attempt, you moron.” He snarled, as the circle shuffled, and Angel shot his last bullet. Noah did the same beside him and sighed. Both he and Angel looked at the hooded figures that were surrounding them. In the darkness, Angel turned to look at Noah,
“I’m out.” He said quietly and Noah scoffed beside him,
“Me too.” Was his response.
They both fell silent for a second. And then Angel was gripping the other end of the gun with a tired sigh on his lips. He didn’t have to look at Noah to know he was doing the same ,
“Like old times?” Noah said from beside him and Angel glared ahead, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his gun,
“We’re not fucking eighty,” he chose to respond, “So no.”
“Prick.” Noah laughed from beside him and they were about to step forward when they heard a loud curse from either of their sides.
Angel knew he had been standing next to Myra, and Noah was beside Irene Sinaga. Both girls were out of bullets as well, because Myra growled down at her weapon viciously from beside Angel.
From the corner of his eye, he saw a figure close in on Myra and he was about to yell out or do something when Myra’s leg rose in the air and she kicked him square in his chest, making him fly back. Beside Noah, Irene hurled her gun right at the figure in front of her and swore out loud. Angel blinked in surprise and then suddenly, both Irene and Myra were running right into the crowd with their fists raised, as they announced their names before killing someone.
“Seems like a good idea.” Noah said after a moment’s pause, “Let’s yell out our names before bashing someone’s head in.”
Angel just sighed.
He felt a figure prowl in closer and Angel’s hand snapped up without him looking up. He was rubbing his brow in exasperation as his fingers found the person’s throat and held him in a death grip there. The person in his hand let out a sick choking sound, making Angel roll his eyes.
Noah nudged him playfully, “Say it.” He spoke. Angel looked up at the ceiling but said it quietly.
“Angel Santos.” He murmured and Noah whooped from beside him .
And he hauled the figure in his hand away from him, and walked right in the dark crowd, cursing the Larsens for bringing him to this godforsaken place.
* *
“NOAH HASSAN INCOMING!”
Ray’s head snapped back, her eyes wide with exasperation and surprise as she heard him start a new sort of hell around . Bloody idiots, she cursed in her mind as she heard someone else say their name out loud before a sickening crunching sound filled the air. It was already foolish of them to be cornered like this and now–
Tick Tock.
Her eyes snapped back ahead, and she barely ducked before the knife flew from the top of her head. She couldn’t see the person in front of her but could vaguely make out the lines of the hooded figure. Ray relied on the tick-tock of their watch and made to grab the person’s hand. She felt the trickle of blood down her nose before she grunted and hauled the figure forward. Her fist connected with the person’s face, and he erupted into a wretched howl as she grabbed the back of his neck and bashed his head into the ground.
Did it two more times to make sure he wouldn’t get up.
Ray didn’t have time to pay attention to the blood that trickled down her nose or the knife that was buried in the side of her abdomen. Or the way her mind was suddenly losing all sense of focus. The ground swayed under her feet, bringing forth a dizzying sort of rage up her spine. She saw two hooded figures close in on her and growled at their presence.
“Such fucking idiots.” She spat as the first figure came at her with a knife raised above their head, “Couldn’t even use guns. ”
Ray caught the hand of the figure effortlessly and without thinking, her fingers grabbed the knife out of their hand before hauling it in the second figure’s direction. Ray’s aim was true because the second figure had already fallen on their knees with a soft gasp as her hands twisted the person in front of her and brought them down on their knees as well.
A dull sort of ringing began in her ears, making her almost lurch forward. She twisted the person’s hand behind their back, enough for him or her to feel the pain as she snarled dangerously in their ear,
“Who do you work for, rat?”
The figure– young – Ray realized, squirmed in her hands, and growled back, “I’d rather die than tell you .”
What was that supposed to mean? No one in their world really knew Raylene Walker, not after she’d disappeared for years.
“Oh yeah?” Ray whispered, twisting his hands further. The boy let out a scream, but Ray didn’t relent, “You’d rather die here? So brutally murdered that no one would ever recognize you even if they say the body?”
The boy shook below, letting out a pained whimper. Ray’s brows furrowed, at his height, his unseen figure, “How old are you?” she asked, suddenly nauseous, “And who the hell sent you here?”
The boy whimpered again, slumping down with his shoulders shaking. Ray swore viciously under her breath, no wonder it seemed easier to gain on them than she’d expected. She was still thinking when a blinding light flashed in her eyes. Ray flinched back, her eyesight wavering but a sudden sense of nostalgia washed over her.
It was the same light as that day.
Her head snapped up, her eyes glaring into the shadows as she knelt next to the boy and whispered in his ears ,
“You listen to me rat ,” she said softly, her voice dangerously low, “And you answer my question. Or I’ll fucking kill you with my bare hands.”
The boy shook violently but Ray’s hands were almost painfully tight around his hand, “Did you know who you were sent to kill?” she asked softly, “Did any of you know what you were going up against?”
He didn’t respond for a whole minute and Ray swore again, shaking him terribly before repeating her question.
“No!” the boy cried, and despite her expecting the answer, her breath left her. Shit, shit, shit! They were killing–
Bile rose to her tongue, but she willed herself past it. Focused ahead on a dark hidden figure who had flashed the same light in her direction. One day, she promised herself as she rose back up on her feet, one day she’d find out who that was.
That day wasn’t today.
“You saw that light did you not?” her voice was low, but the boy nodded, shivering as he did so, “Go to it. Grab your friends, people your age, and get the hell out of here.”
He made to run immediately but Ray grabbed him again, “Name.” she stated, and he let out a muted groan but Ray didn’t relent until he slumped back down and said softly,
“Micah Diaz.”
“Okay then, Micah Diaz, you stab me in the back, I’ll find anyone you love, and I’ll slash their throats in front of you. I don’t care if you’re a fucking teenager, you betray me, I murder you.”
He nodded and she let go of him.
Ray didn’t turn around to see him huff and scramble away from her .
Her eyes were wide in surprise when she turned to find Akash and Cameron not too far from her. Her eyes caught theirs in the dark and she saw the dip of his chin.
Heard Akash say, “I heard you.”
And relay the same message to everyone else.
Ray turned on her heels then, her hair swaying around her as she cupped her hands around her lips and roared.
“GET THE FUCKING LIGHTS BACK ON!” she roared above the chaos of the crowd. There should be someone, anyone , looking at the lights. Looking at getting the situation under control. Maybe fucking Sorin could do something about it now that he was inside the building.
Her eyes were narrowed when she felt Kyle’s presence slip beside her. His hand was around her wrist in an instant and those green eyes were wide in the dark, “What’s going on?”
“It’s a trap.” She said, her hands not lifting any weapon as the pain carefully started making its presence clear, “Someone sent children to come kill us.”
Her eyes snapped to his, ablaze before he could say anything stupid, “I will not murder defenseless kids, Kyle.”
She heard his exhale.
They were still staring at each other when the lights flickered back on, making them all jump in surprise. Her hand braced against her abdomen as she flinched at the sudden brightness of the room and wanted to keep her eyes closed. The pain was thudding through her, pulsing and raging like a goddamned animal. But Ray forced herself to open her eyes.
And what lay beyond them was a simple massacre .
She didn’t conceal her sharp exhale at the bodies on the ground, most of them injured but hurt enough to not move from the ground. As her eyes scoured the crowd, her eyes caught only a few people who seemed younger and all of them were still moving.
Her relief was so prominent that Ray swayed back, her heart thudding through the prison of her ribs. She grit her teeth as she searched for those who were still on their feet. Her gaze cut to Akash, who was standing beside Neera. They both had a sulking Cameron sandwiched between them and didn’t look like they were going to die anytime soon.
Her eyes swept the crowd, catching Myra Jelani wiping specks of blood off her face as she looked down at the bloodied man on her feet. She grimaced and took a step back, bumping into Irene, who was staring down at a squirming girl at her feet.
Her fists were tight, her shoulders taut as she raised her icy eyes from the teenage girl and turned to Kyle and Ray with a menacing look,
“What the fuck is going on?” She snarled in their direction and Ray saw Kyle step forward, a tremor in his hands as he laced them behind his back and looked at all of them.
“I think we were ambushed.”
Irene’s head snapped down at the girl as Kyle responded. Ray gulped as she saw the fury in her eyes, in everyone’s eyes as they stared at the bloody mess they had been forced to create. Ray was about to say something when her eyes caught the one she had been looking for since the beginning.
Noah Hassan and Angel Santos were heading in their direction when she finally saw them. Both of them had blood on their faces, the skin of their knuckles scrapped off as they hurried forward .
Ray inhaled once, knowing that his amber eyes were searching for her when he strode forward. But she was hidden by Kyle’s figure and Kyle’s words that rendered them all frozen,
“I think we have a vigilante group in our hands.” He said, his voice low as he looked around him. There had been no staff in the hotel when they’d entered, but that hadn’t been very surprising at the time. Not with the preparation of the event going on. But this?
This was a badly-planned murder .
Akash let out a harsh breath from beside them, stumbling away from Cameron and Neera, “There’s another game afoot here.” He said softly, attracting all their attention, “This could have been–”
“Enough.” Ray’s voice was subdued, but it was loud enough to echo through the bloody walls. Her eyes shut briefly as a wave of pain washed over her, “Go home. All of you.”
When her eyes snapped open, they were all looking at her, surprised at the calmness in her voice. She didn’t know how long she could maintain that for. Ray’s stance was hiding the knife acutely, making most of them miss it completely as she turned to them with practiced eyes and confident words,
“If someone meant to start a war with us,” she said and avoided Angel’s gaze as she turned to the others, “They chose the cowardly way of doing so. Bringing children to a war they cannot fight is a sign of their inferiority to us. They don’t have the manpower, but something tells me they have a way of luring rats into their traps.”
Her head turned, eyeing the people on the ground. Some unconscious, some listening. Her eyes rose as her face scrunched in disgust, her fingers curling into tight fists as she continued ,
“They might’ve started this. But we’ll be the ones to put an end to it.” Her voice was a warning, her words laced with cold, brutal threats to anyone who was listening, “And it’ll end the way it began.”
Her eyes caught Angel’s then, and she saw his chin rise with a dark flash in his amber eyes.
“In massacre.”