Max threw the flash drive into his cabinet, together with his badge and licenses which are the things that bear his job as a Detective, without looking back, he slammed it close and exhaled sharply. He phoned the Chief as he glanced on his watch that was ticking near already to one in the morning.
The Chief picked up at the third ring. “What the hell do you need in this godforsaken time, Carter?” he mumbled in a croaky, annoyed voice due to his interrupted sleep.
“I need you to get a team ready, Chief. I’m going in to the Nightcrawlers’ den and I’ll be calling you once I secured the place. Tell them not to ring the sirens and bring a regular car, we’ll be raiding that place nice and quiet, are we clear?” Max shove his gun behind his back and went straight to Georgia’s room.
“What?” the Chief yelled from the other line, sounding
A deep sigh gone through the Chief’s mouth as the sirens of police cars filled the whole church place. The report stated there were no one actually inside the church and was actually put up for demolition just eight months ago, if Max had speculated it right, the priest and the church people flew away as soon as the Nightcrawlers invaded them and occupied the bunker.“Why would they kill one of them and just leave him here?” the Chief asked frustratedly. “I have been working as a Chief for years, Carter. But the Nightcrawlers are really a tough job. I might get retired still not solving this one.” Max couldn’t look him at the eyes, because for the nth time, he had failed to capture them. “He is Damien Torento, he’s not from this country. The phone on his pocket has already been unlocked, and…” the Chief trailed off from his words. “…you might want to check it yourself.”
Iris woke up to the sound of utensils clanking against the ceramic plates. She groaned when a piercing pain immediately enveloped her whole body, her inner flesh felt as if it was beaten inch by inch and then grind into a pulp. She tried to move slowly, bringing herself up and felt every bone in her body screaming in pain. When her eyes darted to the ajar door, her heart almost jumped from her chest when she realized she didn’t know the place she woken up to. Racking her brain as she tried to familiarize the room, she swiftly shifted to defense mode when she heard the door creak.Max pushed the door slowly, his hands occupied by the tray of food. His lips immediately curled into a small smile when he saw Iris’ bulging eyes and her hands holding on the vase from the bedside table. When their gaze met, Iris’ mind immediately went blank, losing herself in the process of believing that Max really was in front of her. She blinked
Claire rushed to her room. She couldn’t handle the boiling pain in her chest anymore, as if a scorching hot liquid is being poured all over her body. Her breathing became rigid as she glided against the door, fidgeting in her shaking hands. Black dots filled her vision as it swirls in unsteady motion. She blinked several times, hoping to at least lessen the dizziness she feels but it was useless. Scurrying on her feet, she reached for the cabinet to support her balance. When she finally had a sight of her reflection on the mirror, only then that she realized there was thick blood dripping from her nostrils. She quickly opened the faucet and wiped the blood with it.Agentle knock on the door made her startled. “Claire?” Max called. “Are you alright? Is your stomach upset?” he continued to ask. And then mumbled ‘there must be something from the food that I cooked’.Claire brea
“Are you sure you really don’t want me to come with you?” Iris asked for the third time. Swinging the door open, Max looked at her with a small smile on his lips. His lips parted to refuse Iris once again but she was quick to cut him off. “Okay, okay. I’ll just be here because it’s still dangerous for me outside and you don’t want me to get hurt or to be captured again,” she blurted out with a twinge of sarcasm on her tone.In that morning, Max had woken up with his mood in sync with the sunny day outside. He started to once again for the past year to wake up with no heavy feeling, and with Iris finally laying by his side.“That’s right,” Max agreed, poking the tip of her nose. “And Claire still needs company, she still hasn’t gone out from her room?” he asked, shooting a glance on Claire’s door.“Not yet,” Iris answered.
If it wasn’t for a knock on the door, Iris knew that Claire would kill her in an instant when she finally was able to rose from her feet. The anguish still hasn’t left her eyes and when her lips curled into a smirk, she knows that she just got more tougher. Both of them turned their heads on the door and then came back staring at each other. It was then that Iris just realized that there might be a couple of bodies to be found dead if she ran towards the door and open it. She contemplated on what she should do, every move seemed and felt fatal. The door was already out of the option. The window was still, an option, but taking the risk to run would steal her time and Claire would only block her way with anything. And attacking her would only cause them to hurt each other.“Aren’t you going to answer your door?” she asked, stalling time to think of an escape. She kept her eyes roaming around the room, but her mind could
Out of dizziness, Claire staggered back and front upon trying to walk towards Iris. She landed on her arms when her knee gave up with her stepping a foot. “Are you alright?” Iris asked, wondering if her craziness had already worn off. She looked pale as a white paper, and her hands felt icy on Iris’ arms.“N-No, obviously,” Claire answered weakly, she pulled herself back up and held Iris by her shoulders. “Are you alright?”Iris nodded at her. “Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for you. You just almost took the air out of my lungs, lunge at me and threw with everything that your hand can touch, elbowed me, kicked me, and pulled—”“I know I didn’t pull your hair,” Claire stopped her, her lips curling into a small smile. Despite the dark circles and the swollen eyes, Claire didn’t feel anything like her awhile ago, Iris th
Claire and the boys had managed to reach their destination, breathless and all sweaty after climbing for about an hour with such a narrow pipe of the building’s ceiling. It was not long when Lance decided to go for the door of the storage room full of bleach and bags of detergent for cleaning. Ahand immediately stopped his arm from twisting the knob, feeling the grip of refusal. When he turned around, Hoon was looking at him dead serious in his eyes. “What are you doing? We haven’t heard the sirens recede yet.”“I just want to see if Iris has been caught,” he answered, shrugging the hand away. His eyes darted back to the door. “She risked herself for us.”“She’ll be okay, Lance. You also said so yourself, Max is with her,” Hoon persisted.“Then why did Max brought the police in your place? He knows you’re already a fugitive
The Chief started to feel a lump on his throat, small as a marble, slithering against his flesh and feels like its popping big and growing long until it reached his lungs. He fell back to his chair, eyes bulging and his hands shaking in fear as he reach for Max who was also stunned at where he stood. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t utter a word, and the only left for him to do is to look back at Iris in his pleading eyes. Iris remained calm, staring at the Chief as he struggle to gasp for air. “You should have researched more about me. I have so much many secrets that I am keeping, and they are way bigger than you can ever imagine.” She leaned forward to throw her glares directly at the Chief who can’t even part his lips to speak and starts to sweat beads trickling down his neck and soaking his perfectly ironed baby blue shirt. “This is one of them.” The Chief finally was able to part his lips, but it was because something had locked up