Come Closer

Chapter 21

Burnbrook City

The clouds obscured the moon, drowning the streets in the depths of darkness. The silent stillness of the night got disturbed by the slight shuffling sounds coming from the alley. Is something…. Is something lurking there?.......

SHADOWS!!!......EVERYWHERE!

The black shapes moved forward. Swift!

The skinny stray cat looked up from its meal, wandering what the shadows were up to. But how can she know about the danger? Nevertheless, she crossed the street and went out of there.

The shadows settled in the dark corners. Watching….Listening….

Five black piles could be seen gliding up the stairs, in single file. Occasional sound of the screeching sand under their feet, informed the Shadows down, of their advance. Up and up they went, they learned to ignore it.

One shape…or a shadow…or a person…moved forward, ahead of the others. From one dark patch to another, it zoomed forward, like a ghost. And The Ghost, she was!

She peered around the wall, darting her eyes left and right, looking for any sign of danger…Nothing. She listened, straining her eyes, for a sound that gave the enemy away…again, nothing. Raising her free hand, she signaled the others to follow her suit, and advance into the seemingly empty, dusty, rusty hall. The Shadows spread around the hall, searching for something. What are they searching for? How would I know?

“Ghost! Here!” One shadow whispered, barely audible. And the woman strode towards him with quick, long steps and crouched down. She scanned the heavy box, filled with weapons, and nodded at him. Two Shadows lifted the box, and turned to the door to exit, and halted in their steps as they saw two of the Shadows were lying on the floor. A sniper? Here? How could this happen?

The box fell to the ground, as the three Shadows and the Ghost rolled across the floor to get into safety. But what safety could an empty old factory hall provide against twenty armed men with guns?

The Shadows and the Ghost withdrew to the end of the hall, unable to find an escape route. They exchanged glances. There was only one way out, ‘Guess this is going in the hard way’ The Ghost gritted her teeth.

The firing started without a warning, by the Shadows. A second. A second was all it took to down the numbers of the enemies to thirteen. But the element of surprise didn’t last for any longer. Bullets flew through the air, some burying themselves in their targets and some whistling past them. Bullets were running out. And one by one started engaging in physical fighting. Grunts and screams and shouts flooded the place with blood and bodies.

One Shadow kept fighting beside the Ghost. He got kicked on the shin and fell on the floor. The Ghost quickly turned to aid her subject, but got stopped by a sudden pull on her hair, and fell backwards. A tall figure stood behind her, tightly holding on to her hands by her sides, making them unable to move by wrapping his one arm around her and in his other hand, was a gleaming knife.

The Ghost gulped as the knife was pressed at her throat, but not with enough pressure to penetrate the skin. She forced herself to take slow, deep breaths, trying her best to not push her neck to the sharp edge of the knife. The person behind her sneered.

“Seems The Ghost is caught”, the raspy voice did not fail to carry the triumph the captor felt. “Let’s see who the beauty behind the veil is, shall we?” He signaled to one of his gang members to remove the black mask that covered The Ghost’s face. The piece of cloth was removed from her face roughly, making her wince when the knife cut her skin, leaving a trickle of blood dripping down her neck. “Hmm, a beauty indeed. But no worries! It won’t last long when you’re in our dungeons”, the voice spoke against her ear.

The Ghost darted her eyes and tried to take a look at her captor, but only managed to see a blurry figure from the corner of her eyes. Her eyes were snapped again, to her front, when one of her men fell to the ground with a grunt, as he could no longer stand with the blood oozing out of the wound on his leg. The Ghost’s eyes widened. Was it because of anger? Sadness? Or disbelief? She couldn’t understand. This wasn’t the first time they had failed in a mission, nor was it the first time they landed on some deep s**t. But she could feel that this time, escaping wouldn’t be a piece of cake. The men, the Shadows, were her team, and they had followed her into a trap. SHE was the one who brought them into a trap. A failed mission. All because of her. The men trusted her, and worked with her. Losing them would be her ultimate failure. A strong impulse to know her attacker shot through her veins. To say ‘hi’ later? Hell no. She wanted to remember the face, to make him pay for this. And this might be a chance to get the hell out of there.

She snatched one of her hands out of the anonymous’ grasp and pushed the knife away from her, all the while elbowing him in the stomach with the other hand. The other bent down, gasping at the impact. The sharp edge of the knife sank into her palm, but she couldn’t care less. She turned around, grabbed the other’s mask, and pulled it away. When the person looked up and met her eyes, she was in for a surprise. “Jayden?” A whisper laced with surprise and shock escaped her mouth.

In an instant, she was pushed backwards. A grunt escaped her lips by the impact caused by her back hitting the brick wall. Her attacker grabbed her neck, slowly tightening the grip around it. “How do you know my name?” He seethed, towering over her, his black eyes glaring at her. “Speak up!” he shook her roughly, as he didn’t get an answer. The Ghost started hitting his hands, squeezing her eyes shut, as she felt her lungs burn from the lack of air. Her captor loosened his grip, just a little, only enough for her to take shallow breaths. “Who are you?” he decided to take a different approach. The game of constant torture and denial of answers made him impatient. “A-Avelyn!” She croaked.