Steadily, after the brief meeting with their potential manager, he found something shady. Abel brought his car to a careful stop in the crammed lot of student parking. Putting it in park as the heavy metal of the car shifted with the inertia, a rush of wispy spirits flew through his vehicle. Unbothered by the daily disturbance, he kept his focus to himself as he silently reached over to his glove compartment. From it, he pulled out the same black handkerchief from last night and a blood-box, since he’d started to feel a sense of hungry fatigue that no food or sleep could satisfy. This came from a growing period of time without blood, though he and every other non-murderous vampire got used to the feeling.
Held within his hand, he looked down at his make-shift mask as the scene of fire from last night came back to him briefly. But, unlike his two friends, the catacomb of death and decay didn’t linger with him. Abel understood what they saw was considered a travesty. With a lifetime surrounded by similar images of viscera in each waking moment, he became coldly desensitized to the severity of lost life and the pain that came with it. At times, he even worried that he’d remain distantly unreactive if he lost someone close to him like Baron or Dawn. All he could do was hope he’d be better than that.
Stepping out of his car, he locked it behind him as he tucked both items away into his spacious pockets. Luckily, the blood-box didn’t take up much space. To move on from that frightening concern, Abel began the short walk to the Bodega, which he believed to be some sort of mysterious multi-dimensional space similar to The Haven. Though no Cognizant he knew seemed to question it, or the owner's ability to seemingly work every location at once.
Toward the crosswalk, he began walking at an easy pace with the noisy drift of people and ghosts. His mind raced through a hidden bunker that he knew had a deeper connection to something unknown, and while it felt unlikely, a small part of him felt like it had something to do with the Government. Worse, he feared it may be related to the mythical FBC. Both were powerful entities that he’d rather his friends not anger or trifle with. But, except for the cover-up at the laundromat that Baron pointed out, he had nothing else to go on except theory and speculation. Both of them were considered powerful tools that he’d use to keep himself and his friends alive.
Crossing the street as the walking prompt lit up and brought the traffic to a soft halt, he did his best to think back for any details they could have missed. Returning to him, he could see the crispy skeleton that passed into the realm of death, and while it kept incoherently rambling about the scarred man. He believed it potentially helped link it to Baron’s fiery attacker. More importantly, it reminded him of the risk they could face if they got further involved.
Not taking long to travel through the illuminated blocks of glass skyscrapers and roaming spirits, he looked up toward the cloudy night sky. Able noticed the nearly full moon peering through the dense covering before cutting into the alley beside the rundown Bodega. Smells of greasy meat and butter, that seemed less and less appetizing the longer he went without blood consumption, filled the hidden space, but this was not nearly the longest he’d gone without eating. At least it covers the smell of garbage. In his friend’s voice. He could faintly hear Baron’s voice in an attempt to look on the positive side in the back of his head. It did seem like an improvement once he noticed that it covered the unpleasant aroma of sunbaked trash, but still, that type of thinking was foreign to his self-described nihilism.
Pulling himself up, he, in no rush, climbed the building’s fire escape while an indistinguishable glob of transparent flesh fell past him onto the floor below. It landed without an impact on the concrete below, and Abel normally would have paid it little mind. But he couldn’t shake off the feeling that the unrecognizable remains of that dead person could have been someone’s Baron or Dawn, though he didn’t allow his apathetic mind to linger on those thoughts as he ascended the building’s side. Besides, there aren’t any others like Baron or Dawn in this living world of stupid and unlikable people, or the deceased realm of decay and chaos. There was little Abel felt he could do about that or his underlying fears.
In the final bit of the climb, Abel did his best to remain in the present where the people he cared for were alive and together, although he believed it would end in death's unexpected touch sooner or later, as all things did.
Shaking his head, Abel let out a long, stressed breath as he made it to the shorter building's top. From his new position, he could hear the distant murmuring of a familiar voice. Safely assuming the squeaky male voice could only be Baron’s, he casually made his way around the large AC units and other metal building utilities that took up space as he slowly walked toward his distant friend.
As Abel made it closer, he started to pick up on what he was saying to his phone. He safely assumed it was Rose, since Baron rarely talked to anyone outside of their trio. Not announcing himself immediately, the prospect of ever so slightly embarrassing his friend, where he sat on the building’s edge with his back facing him, made Abel feel like it might alleviate the darkness of his realistic mentality that weighed on him since leaving Schism’s meeting earlier.
“Yeah, the three of us are gonna be out again tonight.” Only hearing one side of the conversation as he approached from behind, Abel turned around the big metal box to see his friend in his Spriggan outfit. His face remained round and approachable, while his hair stayed the harmless-looking mess of brown strays. None of it had been masked with the illusion spell yet. Not calling out yet, he made it closer to his soon-to-be disguised friend.
“Please don't worry. I wouldn’t ever forget about tomorrow,” Baron said before taking a bite from a wrapped sandwich, likely from Dirk’s Bodega below. “We’ll meet at six in front of your place, then we'll go out together,” Baron excitedly confirmed.
“A date? Yeah, you’re right, I guess we’re going on our first official date now,” Baron giggled, the smile on his face audible to Abel from behind.
Finally interrupting him before he had heard too much, he sat down beside his friend on the high ledge. In the distance, the heavy clouds lit up with lightning before the clap of thunder caught up to their eyes.
“O-oh, Abel!? When did you get here?!” Baron squeaked before his nerves made him bounce in place. The dark cloak that hung to his thighs and helped him cling to the shadows at night flapped with his brown hair. Amused by his expressive reaction, Abel, while exhaling from his nose, amused, could hear a faint giggling through the muffled phone speaker.
“Tell her I said hi.” With a humor that weakly pulled at the edge of his lips, Abel struggled to truly express the entertainment he felt from his friends' harmless embarrassment.
“She says hi.” Out of earshot, he could hear the indistinguishable speaking as Baron keenly listened. “Sorry, Rose, I should put the phone down now that they’re here.” There was more talking through the speaker. “I’m really excited for tomorrow too, but I’ll have to call you back later if that’s alright,” Baron asked nervously. Again, Abel could hear Rose’s murmurs through the muffled call. “Yeah, talk to you soon!” He finished before hanging up the call.
Abel, with their fresh handshake, reached out to effortlessly dab him up. Amused by the interaction he overheard, Abel was by no means a fan of ‘love’ or things he’d consider sappy like romance. But Abel would be lying if he didn't admit that he found their bond endearing in their own way, not that he’d want that sort of relationship himself.
“Seems like you’ve got a fun day planned tomorrow,” Abel mentioned. Leaned back as they spoke, his arms propping him up while on the tall ledge that sat over the noisy city streets below. For a moment, he could see the flying whale’s colossal tail dip down below the thick darkness of clouds, and while it was far out of range, its large size made it feel closer than it really was.
“We’re really excited. I've been saving the money Hugo earns for me to take her somewhere nice.” Baron’s infectious happiness helped lift the weight of his worrisome thoughts. Something Abel hadn’t felt from any person he’d met before, except for this good-hearted goofball he may have written off as lame in High School.
“I’m happy for you,” he congratulated him tonelessly. Unlike himself, Abel raised his hand to place it onto Baron’s sturdy soldiers to squeeze embracingly - something he surely picked up from their other friend’s touchiness. “Nothing from Dawn yet?” He asked before returning his hand to the warm comfort of his pocket.
“Nothing yet, but you’re also here earlier, and we both know she’s always a bit late. I don't think she’ll take too much longer, though,” Baron said optimistically. To be expected, unfortunately. On the other side of the coin, Abel knew how terrible Dawn could be when it came to making it on time; so generally speaking, he had little faith in her to arrive promptly.
“Damn. Guess we’ll have to wait her out like always,” Abel commented. The two comfortably sat back in relaxation after believing the third to their trio would take a fair bit more time to get there. Suddenly feeling a hand on both of their shoulders, Abel whipped his head back at the same time as Baron.
“What was that I heard?” Dawn questioned with a raised eyebrow toward the two, who both turned their heads toward her with startled expressions. Stood in old-looking sweat pants and a plain long-sleeved shirt, the final part of their trio stood with a raised eyebrow. Baron’s, as always, was much more notable than Abel’s own reaction, though he definitely felt that momentary jolt of fear all the same.
Amused by the cycle of scaring each other, Abel weakly conveyed it with a smirk as Dawn pressed between them to create a spot for her to sit. “Nothing, just us talking about how late you are to everything,” he teased dryly, his arm growing tense for a predicted retaliation. As expected, she hit the side of his shoulder lightly, which still had a sting to it.
“Dickhead,” she, as a thin-lipped smile crept up her face, mischievously laughed along with Baron’s more innocent giggle. “Alright, alright, I’m done being a late distraction,” she spoke unseriously, though her energy calmed and grew more serious after; even if her playful smile never faded.
“Then are you guys ready to head over?” Baron, with a bold spark of determination in his eyes, glanced between him and Dawn. I am now, I guess. Not something he’d mention out loud, Abel found the willful drive that pushed him through adversity motivated him in a way he found unexplainably childish for himself.
“Let’s just run over some things before starting.” As Abel continued to speak, he stood up on the ledge. “Obviously, no bold uses of magic out in the city, and remember, we’re here to gather information on the fire mage or anything with these bunkers that could link us back to him. Though, honestly, I’m nervous that all of this is something we don't need to be involved in,” he warned them; unfortunately, this attempt to quell his gnawing anxieties of potentially losing his friends failed.
“Sounds good.” I’m not sure I’d use those same words, but we’ll see. While Baron nodded along silently, Abel watched him before quietly. Blinking and opening his eyes for a split second, Baron’s hair became jet black, inches longer, and parted in the middle for a sharper look. Most notably, he chiseled the baby fat on his cheeks for a more refined jawline and face. This alter ego, with Baron’s insistence to hide himself behind a more idealized version of himself, made him feel the insecurity he picked up from his bold friend. The apparent insecurities made Abel sad.
“Bet, let's get this shit going,” Dawn bolstered, before she teleported to her feet as Spriggan bounced up to join her. “Wanna lead the way, Spriggan,” she said with an emphasis on his codename. Abel assumed it was to not only mess with him, but also confirm to him that she’d not slip up and say his real name.
“Just keep up if you can, then,” Spriggan taunted with a dauntless leap from their building. Abel watched as he, while performing a flash and unnecessary flip, easily cleared the distance before he began silently rushing across the next rooftop, not wanting to be left behind by their quick friend. Dawn ran after him with Abel in tow, though she was faster and more athletic than he was.
Second to surge across the gap was Dawn, who did it in a single uninterrupted stride of power, and behind her, the least physically gifted of them, Abel, sprinted as hard as he could before jumping from the gap’s edge. Not truly feeling the fear of dropping, he had no problems with committing to clearing the distance. He only narrowly cleared it, though thankfully, there was no real risk of falling for them due to their mana fuel abilities.
Ahead of Abel, Baron rolled his back across an air duct to land on his feet lightly into a smooth running pace. Mostly caught up already, Dawn easily hurdled the same obstacle without losing speed. This left Abel to anticlimactically vault over it with his arm, and while not as flashy or quick, it got the job done as he slowly caught up. For a moment, he allowed himself to appreciate the free thrill Spriggan must feel while doing this stuff before the tiring idea of running long distances settled in.
In their own unique ways, each of them continued to clear whatever happened to end up in the path of their journey ahead without expending noticeable effort. Abel, with Spriggan and Dawn still ahead of him, followed as the humidity in the air turned into a light sprinkle; thankfully, he never had much issue with the cold due to his Vampirism. Pitter-pattering over the concrete structures and glass windows, it slowly came down harder on them until, ahead of him, both of his friends came to a stop at the ledge where they ducked.
Sliding across the wet ground, Abel struggled to halt, though he managed to stop before he accidentally hurled himself off the edge. Abel stood on the ledge of the multistory drop, pulled back, and saw a damaged building that looked like it had suffered recent fire damage, though it was mostly intact.
“Damn, be careful and stop being so reckless,” Dawn commented with a shit-eating smirk. He did agree, but something about her smugness irritated him in the exact way she intended for him. Not giving her the reaction she wanted, Abel instead focused on the laundromat across the street. The business looked closed with plywood coverings over the damaged windows, but it couldn’t cover up the scorch marks along its exterior walls.
Luckily, there weren’t many people below in this outer part of the city; the rain likely contributed to that as it poured harder. Above them, a crack of lightning illuminated itself with a mighty clap of thunder that lightly shook the structures of the rooftop they stood on.
“We should probably get in there, or at least do something before we get soaked,” Dawn mentioned. As she spoke, Abel and Spriggan silently peered toward the burned business across the street.
“True, we should probably get down there…” From behind them, interrupting Spriggan at the end of his sentence, Abel and the other two could hear the closing of a door. Abel was on edge himself, so he swung back with his sketchbook ready to bring life to The Swarm. Before he could pull on the pages with a tug of mana, Spriggan threw up both his arms in front of him, and Dawn, who had both fists up in an instinctual guard.
Thankfully, due to his interference, both he and Dawn avoided defending themselves against a child. She stood in the rain with a pink rain jacket next to a closed door that must have led down into the building. Unsure what to think, he looked between the pig-tailed girl, who couldn’t be out of elementary school, and his two friends. All of them shared a confused expression before looking back at the young girl. In her small hands, she swung the heavy flashlight into Abel’s sensitive eyes in an uncontrolled movement.
“A-are you the real Spider-Man from that fire?!” the young girl asked excitedly. This is bad. She may be a child, but she's a mundane child they were supposed to avoid. Who knows who she’ll tell about this. Unsure what to do or think in this specific scenario, despite his diligent planning, Abel looked to Spriggan. At least he was the only one of them who not only happened to be at the laundromat's fire, but also swung around like the iconic superhero.
“I think I may be,” Spriggan said as he took charge of the situation. Toward her, he began walking slowly as he reached into one of his many hidden pouches within his fancy, and most definitely expensive, suit. Luckily, the long collar that hid his face didn't seem to scare her; Abel believed that his hidden face may have added to the idea that he was a ‘superhero’.
“Were you fighting a super villain?” The excitement in her eyes sparkled at the idea of meeting a real superhero. Spriggan, before he responded, pulled out a vibrant blue flower from his pocket to hand to her. It was unrecognizable to Abel, but with its slim green stem and its small blooming of blue petals, thought it was painting worthy.
“I was! But that’s a secret now. You can keep that secret, right?” Spriggan seemed to gently persuade her, to Abel’s surprise. The girl without words and the flower in hand, nodded with a silent reverence for him. “Well, there’s one more thing.” She was already nodding along. “I need you to head home to where it's safe, since I’m on a super secret mission, and we wouldn’t want your parents to worry during that,” He looked back and forth like someone might try to eavesdrop on their conversation. It really seemed to sell the effect to her.
“Uh huh!” She enunciated with a smile that had been missing teeth, and before they could say anything else to her, the young girl ran off from where she came from. Slamming behind her, the door shut tightly, and the three turned back toward their objective, though there was a foreign sense of tingling warmth in the back of his mind from Spriggan’s mundane act of softness.
Not letting that mushiness get in the way of his focus, he pointed toward a window without boards on the building’s base level. Assuming that was the only part related to the laundromat, Abel watched as the two leapt the distance of a wide street to make it to its roof. Spriggan committed to a series of gainers and twists unachievable to him, while Dawn also cleared the distance in a powerful leap off her two feet.
Show-offs. Sighing, he felt slightly annoyed by their physical greatness. He made the jump all the same; it just took him a bit more effort, no thanks to the growing length of time without consuming blood.
On the shorter rooftop, Abel landed before following them down the side of the building’s wall. Easily climbing down after anything he could get a solid grip on, Abel landed in a puddle within the dark alley. On the floor now, they lurked within the shadows unseen to the illuminated street. Standing next to the building, Abel grabbed onto Dawn’s shoulder as he pointed toward their faces, before he securely tied his black bandana around his face. At the same time, Dawn made her face long and draconic with her stubby horns, though she left the rest of her body normal for the moment.
“Guess we can add kid-wrangler to your list of unique skills,” Dawn jested in a hushed whisper.
Appreciative that she wasn’t loud, Abel, turning toward Spriggan as well, was also interested in that previous interaction. Mostly, while unsure if it would be socially acceptable to say, he wondered why Spriggan didn’t just ignore the stray child. After all, it wasn’t his responsibility to watch over someone else’s snot-nosed child. But from his six and a half months with the friends he felt like he’d known for years, he knew that Baron, or Spriggan, depending on the alter ego at the time, tried to take the gentlest approach. Although it made no sense to Abel since it almost always seemed to make his life harder without benefit.
“I don't know, she just reminded me of one of the orphans at the soup kitchen.. Not to mention, we couldn’t just let her run around in this weather. She’d catch a cold,” Spriggan said. Never even crossed my mind. And to Abel, he sounded like the lovable dork they’ve known without the disguise. As they whispered, they crept through toward the window.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“I mean... I guess,” Abel responded, unsure that he cared to consider that at all, actually. As they whispered, he led them toward the glass opening that was lit up by the lights from inside. Hidden in the darkness, he could peer over the edge of its seal to get a good look within the damaged laundromat. Seeing inside of it, Abel could see the lined remains of burnt washers and destroyed dryers. Part of the room near the broken windows in the front was covered in a blackened scorch mark.
“Don't be embarrassed, dude, Rose would probably find your parental side kind of hot. She seems like the type to like the responsible type,” she teased him, as they both saw Abel to peer in as well. But nothing immediately came to their attention.
“Shut up,” Spriggan silently giggled alongside her, though Abel could feel the heat emitting from his red cheeks that remained hidden beneath his illusionary face. The paleness of his white eyes still conveyed the expressiveness Baron had.
Interrupting Abel before he could add his two cents, a movement from the corner of the room caught his eye. Abel quietly hushed down his joking friends, as he squinted to get a better look at the shadowed figure - their large stature and broad shoulders evident from their framed silhouette.
Unable to make them out from their corner in the room, Abel could at least see the opening of a panel, one similar to the secret entrance they found in the motel. From their distance, he was sure that he saw this person slowly lower down an unseen set of stairs. Unfortunately, his view was blocked by an obstructive wall of white washing machines. Out of sight, it appeared that whoever it was had closed the hidden passage behind them after entering. Seemingly, without noticing them peering in.
“Seems like this place has something going on, too.” Really now? Pointing out the obvious, Dawn stood up to attempt to open the window from the outside. Unfortunately, as Abel guessed, it was locked from the inside to keep people like them from breaking in. Rising from the shadows with Dawn, he got a closer look at the window with Spriggan on his other side.
Crammed together shoulder to shoulder, they all looked through this window. Abel felt a little ridiculous and hoped no one saw them acting so suspiciously. Though he doubted anyone would venture into this alley. Still, he hoped that no one saw him in such an uncool position. The things I do for these goofballs. Abel smirked to himself as the ground shook with thunder, and the sky flashed with lightning.
“Look. It's got some sort of protection ward on it,” Spriggan pointed before leaning in closer to get a better look. Through the window, on the frame within the building, there were etchings hidden within the seal. “I’d guess it casts some abjuration barrier,” he finished, noting with his greater understanding of magic than he or Dawn. But even Abel knew that it was considered common for Cognizants, both in The Haven and outside in the Mundane world, to layer their property with wards to protect it or make it more durable.
“You can’t dispel it?” Abel asked, despite already knowing the answer. And as predicted, Spriggan shook his head while he looked toward him insecurely. Shaking his head, Spiggan glanced down toward a large rock that kept a trash can’s lid secure. While that idea could be loud, Abel thought their bunker would be soundproof, except that a part of him feared that this protection ward had some sort of alert function to it.
Considering it, he thought hard of the possibilities as he stared at the rock that was perfectly sized to smash the window’s glass.
“What’re you guys doing out there?” Dawn, from within the locked laundromat, asked with a humorous smile as she fully opened the window. And despite her long, scaly features as a Dragon-Dimidiae that jumped out of the darkness, he could still recognize her as Dawn. Still, he slowly blinked at her from outside the open window before Spriggan climbed in after her. “Guess runes and wards don't have shit on someone who can teleport with her reflection,” she joked while offering him a hand.
Sighing lightly, he accepted her help up as he crawled through the window before Dawn closed it behind him. Within the building, Abel, while the stuffy smell of fabric softeners and detergents choked his breath, scanned the room for cameras. Thankfully, it appeared that the one in this room had been turned into a metal husk of exposed wires.
Silently, Spriggan led him and Dawn toward the trap door in a crouched stride. Despite the compact stance to remain hidden, he moved flexibly and stealthily compared to Abel. Dawn also moved smoothly, but didn’t have the same quietness to each step. As they made it to the hidden panel on the floor, Abel did well to keep his presence to a minimum while they lurked through the shadows of the room.
From behind his two friends, he carefully peered over the cover of cheap washers. Whipping his head around to scan the empty room, he was careful to make sure the coast was still clear. One of them had to after all. Who knew what would happen if he didn't. With him watching their backs, Spriggan began running his fingers around the floor to search for a way to open it.
“Got it.” Thankfully, with the seeming use of his observant Manifest, Spriggan whispered a warning to them before the hatch clicked through the room’s silence. Slowly, the panel began rising to reveal another concrete tunnel that led downwards. Unlike the last one they found before, this one didn’t seem to experience an inferno of heat with the functioning lights over the staircase. The unscorched grey walls, and cool air that was circulated through it, instead of the stuffy smokiness that filled their lungs yesterday.
Not as much of a trek down as the other bunker, the three swiftly and quietly made it to the bottom of the empty stairs. It led to a short hall with three closed doors. No longer able to hear the rumbling thunder, Abel could still feel the light quaking that the soundproofed walls couldn’t hide as he crept toward the passage on the right. The spirit of swarm ushered toward it with its hovering body of many, though the lack of other spirits and empty halls was immediately noticeable.
He waved for the other two to follow before confidently stepping toward one of the three doors. Specifically, the one that happened to not have an illumination escape from the cracks on its edge. Notably, they weren't metal vault doors, unlike the one before. Unable to think about that currently, he took in a tense breath while slowly cracking the door enough for him to peer through. While he got no warning from the Swarm, Abel worried about what could be on the other side. But Able remained confident and decisive. After all, his friends needed him to get through this.
Looking into the room from the crack in the door, it appeared to be an empty locker room with the lights off. Abel took the chance to step inwards and wave the other two in. After they rushed in, he silently closed the door behind them. From their crouched position in the darkness of the small room of rows of lockers, they remained quiet while creeping inward. The smell of a soapy shower filled their nose, as they felt the warm humidity of a recent shower. Luckily, though, they hadn’t heard anyone, seen someone, nor had his spirit indicated that people were coming. So, with a weak sense of reassurance, he made it past a towel-covered bench to one of the rows of tall metal containers.
“Check out the area.” Whispering it beneath his breath, he turned back to watch as they separated to investigate different areas to cover more ground. Surprisingly, the one he checked wasn’t locked. And more surprisingly, it was filled with all sorts of weaponry. In hushed awe at the excess, he looked from an automatic rifle to a short sword, to a matching pair of gold-plated pistols, a black baton, what appeared to be a set of grenades, an old wooden mage staff, and more, filling what appeared to be a small armory. Abel, while only taking a moment to consider it, snatched up the expandable baton before folding it up and hiding it on his person.
Unsure what to think yet, except understanding the dangerousness of whatever Spriggan got them into, Able moved onto another unit to examine the contents of it, and unlike the last one, this one was empty. With a step backwards, he left the locker door open to get a wide view of the room, and while unhindered by the dark, he noticed that most of them seemed empty or unattended. From the looks of it, to Abel, they weren’t going to get much from this room, so he turned to gather with his friends, who were both distracted by their own silent searches. That was until the ethereal Swarm abruptly phased through the door in a vibrating pattern of panic. Seconds later, the doorknob turned.
“Hide!” Within the brief seconds before the two could react, he quietly called out in a hushed shout. Goddamn it. Abel, only left with a moment to figure out his next move, spun his head around the room until it came back around to the open locker. Lunging toward the space just big enough for him to fit within, Abel crammed himself into the metal box. Behind him, Abel snapped it shut before they could open the door. And from the three slits on its front, he watched as Spriggan, stealthy and without seeming to need much assistance from the call out, had already turned the corner on the lockers to a spot hidden from the door.
Only able to watch from his concealed spot while Dawn, who wasn’t as intuitive as their vigilante friend, appeared to use the reflective surface from one of the metal lockers to teleport under a bench in the rear of the room. On its end, it had a set of towels draped over its end, where she crawled to for shelter. And with only a pair of white towels concealing her, all he could do was hope that they didn’t look too hard in that room’s direction.
Fortunately for Abel and the other two, they managed to hide before the door swung open. Entering, a conversing pair walked through, and while obscured from his sight, he could hear they steadily approached his position.
“Do you really think you can handle the target that easily? Because I imagine we were sent as a team for a reason,” an unseen person mentioned. Abel noticed his deep voice that could potentially match the large frame they saw through the window earlier.
“Of course,” the other person said confidently. With a scratchy voice, the two made it to the locker beside him. The one that happened to contain all those weapons. “Their lackluster abilities won't be able to handle the unstoppable decay of my Manifest,” he finished before opening it to grab something from it - Abel taking note of his matter-of-fact way of speaking and confident tone.
“I guess it's reassuring to have someone like you here, since she’s putting a lot of pressure on us to complete this job,” the deeper-voiced one responded with a tangible caution.
Remaining quiet while they had talked, Abel practically held his breath in hopes that they’d not happen to notice his proximity. Though he was thankful, it appeared that neither of them had noticed Dawn’s shallow hiding spot, nor did it seem likely that they’d find Spriggan, since even he had no idea where he currently was.
“Don't worry. This may be harder than snatching up targets or finding Cognizants of interest for her, but there’s never been a foe to best me.” Bragging, with a steady confidence that worried Abel, it sounded like he was finished rummaging through the locker. Then he stepped back, and there was a tense silence. “Have you seen my baton?” he asked suspiciously.
Hoping to remain unseen, a bead of sweat rolled down his pale forehead and soaked into the cloth of his bandana covering as he continued to hold his breath. Unfortunately, in this spot that kept him trapped yet hidden, Abel knew that he was stuck. And now he needed to get lucky since his one piece of gear in his plethora to choose from was missing.
Silent, he could hear the clinking sound of metal weapons colliding. Frantically, he searched on the other side of the locker’s thin metal wall. The Swarm, while all of this happened, remained out of sight and their location unknown, which meant he couldn’t command them or summon anything to help himself, at least not without making some sort of noise.
“Nah, man, why would I go through your shit?” Breaking the silence, the bigger dude blew him off before making his way toward the entrance they came from.
His response made the person slow their search before closing the locker door with a hard slam. Though Abel almost jumped out of his skin at the sudden sound, he managed to remain calm as the other person walked toward the exit as well.
“Well, it's not there, and I know for sure it was there when I put it there when we moved into this base,” he argued with him. Then Abel could hear the sound of them closing the door behind them as they continued to argue.
A tight breath remained tightly held in his chest shortly after the silence followed their exit. Abel quietly released it, and as he carefully opened the locker from within. Outside of it, he immediately was hit with a refreshing wave of cool air that cooled the sweat on his face from the stuffiness of the metal coffin. Second to pop out after him, Dawn appeared in the space beside Abel, where she stood beside him with wide eyes and a surprised face. Lastly, Spriggan skulked from around the corner of lockers, where he must have skillfully kept himself in their line of sight. And now together they crouched down with their heads close.
“You guys alright?” Spriggan asked below his breath. Quiet enough for him to barely hear him despite their intimate distance, Abel still felt a restive energy in the still room.
“Yeah, just happy to not get us caught yet,” Dawn whispered with a sense of humor in this stressful environment. At the same time, Abel nodded to convey a false sense of sureness. He believed, like his band needed during their performances, his friends needed his intelligent confidence to guide them through the situations they ended up in. Even if it feels a bit egotistical to think.
“We haven't found anything interesting yet, so what's the next move then?” Their friend in his tall collar asked in a hushed tone. Unable to make out anything from the brief information gathered, other than that the person he eavesdropped on was a threat. Still, Abel had to carefully plan out and think of their next move while accounting for factors both controllable and out of his hands. Filled with unsteady belief in a quickly concocted plan, he stared toward the Swarm that passively monitored the exit.
“Let’s go check out the next area to see if we can do something better before we get out,” Abel suggested to them, though he figured they’d go along with whatever he said. The pressure of the situation felt elevated, oddly by their faith in him.
“Bet,” Dawn responded as Spriggan nodded in agreement with the plan. Toward the closed door, Abel, now with a newly acquired blunt weapon, peered out of the exit to check the area.
Luckily, the two that just left weren’t there, and it not only seemed empty, but the Swarm didn’t indicate to him that anyone would be there in hiding. Withdrawing from the room, he looked between the two remaining doors to hopefully make the safest decision for them. Even with the aid of the Swarm, he struggled to figure out which path would be best for them. Not that he was afraid of them needing to defend themselves. But he didn’t like the idea of any parties in this situation knowing that they were involved. Either way, though, they needed to decide, and Abel would much rather that he handled this decision instead of Spriggan or Dawn. So he decided to open the door across from them.
Slowly, he cracked it open without a sound, and unlike the last room, this one not only had the lights on, but he could hear the faint whispers of a conversation from further inside. Raising a finger to his lips, he turned back toward the other two to emphasize the importance of being quiet. But in case they didn't and things went poorly, Abel had luckily prepared something to protect them.
In the lead of the other two, he peered through again to get a clear look inside of this obscure operation.
Managing to get a clear enough view through the door’s crack, they thankfully hadn’t noticed it ever so slightly open. Abel could see what appeared to be a break room of sorts. In the same rectangle of grey concrete, the first thing he noted was the lack of spiritual activity, not unlike the rest of the place. Grabbing his attention, there was an electrical humming from the metallic fridge in the corner. Then he scanned across the room to hear the faint sounds of explosions that were barely distinguishable over the TV, and saw five people scattered about the room. The room had an odor of microwaved leftovers and fast food. None of them was paying attention to this side of the room. Nor did he think they’d notice if they slipped into this part of the room that had enough covering from the cabinets, and awkwardly scattered furniture that didn’t match the room’s cold minimalism.
Not committing to entering, Abel would rather have them look into the other room before committing.
That was until the reliable Swarm frantically flew around the door they had yet to check.
Understanding what this meant before he could truly react or warn the others, the door handle clicked moments before it suddenly swung open. Fortuitously, in this uncalculated incident, the door faced them and happened to give them a few more seconds to react while in the passageway's blind spot. Through the partially cracked door, Abel blew past the threshold in a silent rush toward a sofa for cover. In the shadows behind the couch, and blocked from the busy room that obscured him and his pale skin, Abel was safe for the second.
Abel watched with a clenched jaw as they funneled in behind him. Shit. He worried that they didn’t have the time or the ingenuity to follow him. Thankfully, he underestimated them.
The first to catch up, Spriggan seemed only a step behind. And while he came to the same spot for cover, it appeared he found somewhere better. Hiding in an awkward secure space formed by empty bookshelves in the room's corner, there was little reason for Abel to worry about him, though he couldn’t help but stress. Unlike their dark-haired friend, Dawn, with her tied-up ginger hair and reptile-like face, was carried through the passage in a clumsy haste. Just as he’d worried, she picked a much worse place than him or Spriggen.
Within the weak shadows below a table and its chairs, Dawn slid beneath them without teleporting. Abel thought, most likely assuming there was nothing for her to bounce her reflection off of at that moment. And thankfully, with the distraction of the loud TV, no one in the room paid attention to this side of the room or their hushed movements. Otherwise, she’d surely have been seen and gotten them all caught.
In the meantime, as he worriedly mapped out his surroundings and tried to come up with something to get Dawn out of that situation, the thought of being followed gave him fear in their position. So, without many options other than engaging, Abel silently pressed himself against the back of the couch’s worn-down and fuzzy fabric.
Keeping his presence to a minimum, it seemed that they weren’t found by the guy. Lucky. They must have gone up the staircase or locker room. And none of them were spotted by the distracted group of Cognizants. Yet.
Now that he could get a good look at them, it appeared that there were three human-shaped people. The first one was a lanky individual with straight white hair and pale skin. The ghastly features made Abel believe he may have vampiric ancestry like himself, but it wasn’t immediately apparent to him yet. The other two were surely human with the peachy flow of life that kept them warm, and their skin reddened with an alive fervor. Neither stood out beside that, except for one’s fragile, almost sickly looking build. The woman standing on his left had a buzz cut and a heavy-looking coat that was too large for her. Notably, it made her look smaller than she probably would without it.
Other than those three, there appeared to be a fiend-Dimidiae. Appearing mostly human in shape and tone, they stood out from mundane society with their infernal eyes that burned with a hellish red. They also had demonic-looking black nails that had the sharpness of short daggers.
Lastly, it was clear that the last person was a werewolf with their hulking stature and an exposed layer of dense fur that stuck out of an ill-fitted red tracksuit. While it wouldn’t normally be easily distinguishable except for the houndish cut to their features, a majority of the moon was out. Of interest to their survival, Abel kept in mind that full-blooded Lunar Enthralled tended to be more animalistic, more powerful, and a much bigger threat during this time of the month.
The three were exceedingly lucky, Abel thought. And it wouldn’t last much longer. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone in this group turned off the loud TV they all watched while eating. Unable to communicate with the other two, uncertainty ate at him. But he continued to think of what move needed to be made next, or what plan he needed to come up with to regain control of the situation. Damn it, we’ll never make this worthwhile while these dumbass goons are around. Especially when Dawn gets caught sooner or later, then they’ll be forced into an altercation they weren't prepared for.
That’s when it came to him, an idea that seemed inevitable now that he truly considered it. And all it would require is for him to distinguish one of these people from the rest. The one he’d shamelessly stolen from. All he had to do was distinguish his voice from the others, which he didn’t think would be hard. He just needed to listen to them speak, and that just required him to eavesdrop a little longer until he figured it out.
Immediately eliminating the werewolf as the person with him, he also quickly took the woman off the list of possibilities. Which left him with only three, and from hearing their brief banters back and forth, he didn’t need long to know the nervous one, nearest to the TV and furthest from them, couldn’t be him. He looked too gentle, anxious, and physically weak to own that many tools of destruction.
That left him with only two options: the unarmed Fiend-Dimidiae that quietly sat by himself at a short distance from the others. Or the pale one who loudly boasted of his brutal success during his last job, and the lethal efficiency of his manifest during it, though it felt as if no one paid any attention to him. That has to be him. Unless they keep more annoying people like that here. It took no time at all for him to recognize him as his target.
With a short glance between both his friends, he looked between their confused faces as he slowly drew the baton from his jacket. Giving them a brief warning, one he hoped they understood, he pointed toward that same guy. The one who just so happened to be the furthest back in the room, and closest to them.
In a low position, Abel took no time to clear the distance without making a sound. Glancing back again, Abel saw both Dawn and Spriggan watch him with unsure, yet boldly ready, looks. Focusing, he rose behind the unsuspected foe. And before anyone could register his presence, he lifted and swung down the clubbed weapon onto the back of his skull.
Loudly, the devastating sound of his skull cracking rang through the room. It created a deafening silence as each of them turned back toward the noise.
The four remaining people all stared back, jaws agape and confused looks across their faces.
Disruptively, the one struck began to bleed from his head. He then fell forward onto the table they sat around. His weight toppled it, causing them both to crash onto the concrete flooring.
None of them could react in time. But these were likely trained killers, so they’ll recover quickly. Within the same seconds of shock, Dawn violently stood from below the table as her body grew taller and changed to match her draconic face. Easily, she threw the heavy wooden furniture aside, where it shattered into splintered pieces against the wall. After fully changing to her draconic form, Dawn confidently strode toward Abel, though she kept going to stand in front of him.
No time passed at all before their faces shifted from shock into violent purpose. One they’d have to deal with. Ranging from a revolver, a pair of brass knuckles, two daggers shaped from blood, and a wooden mage’s staff, they each drew their weapons in unison before they steadily began to advance toward them.
