Zia Scott eyed the man guarding the room as he disappeared past the corner of the tunnel-like path. She scanned the area. There were rusty pipes clustered together on all corners of the room, crawling all the way up the high ceiling. The room was dimly lit, not because there were dim lights but because only about 2 to 3 bulbs were working. Some bulbs were eerily flickering as if fighting to fulfill their job while other sockets were already missing bulbs. Staring at the ceiling, it felt like a horror movie. There were no windows. The only entryway was the one path in front of her, the tunnel. And she was curious. Curious as to what laid beyond the tunnel.
She looked down on the concrete floor, staring at the dust on her shoes. “Is this an abandoned factory?” she thought to herself. “There’s about a hundred and thirty-four abandoned factories in the city though.” She glanced back at the pipes on the walls.
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“Hey!” Gray Stewart abruptly ducked right under where Disgustington was standing. Luckily, since the lights were dimmed, he was unable to notice her. Disgustington, on the other hand, abruptly zipped his zippers up and caught himself. “Fuck!” he yelped. While he was still preoccupied with his own problem, Gray took this opportunity to hide among the machinery, stealthily crawling her way in. She didn’t even bother to check who it was that shouted earlier. Whether the “hey” was directed at her or not, she would find out in a few seconds. Hiding herself behind the machines, she heard approaching steps. “What the hell are you doing, leaving your post?!” a man said furiously. He
“The mommies on the bus say shush, shush, shush,” sang Zia Scott along with the other kids, swaying their bodies back and forth harmoniously. “Shush, shush, shush. Shush, shush, shush.” “The mommies on the bus say shush, shush, shush,” they all sang in chorus. “All through the tooooown. Yeaheeeeey!” The kids became hyped and enthusiastic as the song ended. They were unable to clap their hands nor jump in joy; however, their gleefulness was expressed through their wide grin and crescent shaped eyes. Zia’s attention was shifted to the approaching heavy footsteps, and her eyes guarded the tunnel. And as she suspected, it was the man who was keeping watch of them coming back. When she saw him walk in, she noticed the pinkish color of his right cheek. His steps were heavy and noisy
Gray Stewart silently listened in on the two men’s conversation beyond the other side of the room, kneeling on the floor with her right ear planted on the door. “I thought they’d be coming tomorrow?” said a man with a hoarse voice. “That’s what I thought too,” intoned another man with a deep voice. “We’d get our money early then.” The hoarse-voiced man snickered. “I don’t know, man.” The deep-voiced man seemed hesitant with his words. “What?” “I got a kid, man. She means the world to me. I’m not really on board with this trafficking thing.” “Oh?” thought Gray to herself. And while listening in on them, she named the hoarse-voice man Evil and the other man Half-evil. Evil sneered. “You gettin’ cold feet now? We smuggled drugs and bombs, robbed banks, counterfeited and laundered money. We even trafficked women before. You still tryna be a saint, man?” “Man, a bachelor like you will never understand me. I have a fa
Gray Stewart studied Evil and after ascertaining his sincerity, she decided to trust him. She tucked the pendant inside her jeans’ front pocket. “This is what we’ll do,” she started. “You’ll have to---” Gray’s sentence was interrupted when they heard approaching footsteps. Realizing that she was out in the open, she reached for the door and hid once again on the other side of the room. She locked the door and listened intently with bated breath. “What are you still doing here? I told you to get rid of it already.” It was Ronald’s voice. “Are you that stupid, huh? Can’t you do one simple order?” His voice rose, almost shouting. THUD! Gray jolted as a thudding sound hit the door.
Gray Stewart’s complexion turned pale as her eyes met Fakey McBaldy. Likewise, he was also just as surprised when he saw her. “T-there’s someone here!” he shouted, pointing his trembling hand to her. While he was still under confusion, Gray pulled out her stuck foot so hard, her shoe fell off. With one less shoe, she squeezed her body out of the set of tanks and sprinted on the side aisle. She had only one way to go; the door. As she sprinted without looking back, she could hear clamoring and the breaking of bottles, as well as vehement footsteps. “Catch her! Shoot! Faster!” were the words she could pick up in the middle of escaping. Almost reaching the knob of the door, she heard a gunshot promptly followed by a hole on
BANG! BANG! BANG! The children held captive together with Zia Scott had started throwing a fuss to the series of gunfire heard from beyond the tunnel. “You stay here. Guard the kids,” said a man with a strange mohawk hairstyle and went away. “What is happening outside?” thought Zia to herself. “Nooooo! So noisyyyyy! Mommyyyyy!” cried a little boy behind her. “I’m scaaaaared! Dadddddyyyyy!” bawled another one. “Shut the fuck up!” roared the guard seated on his chair with the gun on his hand, resting on his lap. Zia anxiously glanced at him who seemed to have tightened his grip on the gun. She looked behind her.
“Are you lost, darling?” Even though Gray Stewart could not see the face of the person behind her due to the utter darkness embracing the room, she was certain as to whom the voice belonged to. It was Undertaker’s. Winter was still a few weeks away, but her body was already frozen. There was adequate air for her to breathe in, but she felt suffocated. It was dark, but she could clearly see death waving its hand toward her. It took a few seconds for her horrified bones to finally move. However, as she attempted to move, he had already gripped on her wrist. “Fuck,” she thought to herself as she looked behind her, to her wrist who had been caught by a shark’s mouth. His long nails were slowly drilling deep into her skin. Her face contorted as she silently whimpered.
As Gray Stewart boldly announced herself, she turned the heads of the five remaining adversaries. The four were glaring daggers at her while Undertaker, in the far back, looked relaxed with a mysterious sneer planted on his face. As soon as she met their eyes, they altogether charged towards, pointing their knives to the unarmed Gray. Fakey McBaldy was leading the three. Gray maintained her composure and remained unfazed. And right when Fakey was already in front of her, she lifted legless wooden table lying on the floor beneath her with the use of her right foot. She lifted it the same way she would lift a soccer ball before juggling it. As she lifted it, it was surprisingly lighter than she thought so she was able to do so successfully. When the top of the table was already lined with her eyes, she used one of the kicking techniques she learned in taekwondo
Zia Scott kept the rim of the glass on her lips to cover the fact that they were trembling from uneasiness. “And the things you know about Azriel,” Edward added. “It’s like you know him the way I know him.” “W-what,” stuttered Zia with her hands tightly clutching the glass covering her lips. “Sophia d-don’t understand.” Just then, the microwave dinged which stole his attention. “For a minute there,” he continued as he opened the microwave and took out the bowl of butter noodles. “I thought I was talking to Zia.” SHATTER! The shattering sound immensely echoed throughout the apartment. “A-are you alright, Sophia?!” prompted Edward as the glass Zia was holding fell on the floor. “I–uh,” she stuttered with quivering eyes, flabbergasted. The scattered broken pieces were surrounding her feet. “Don’t move, okay?” He gestured his palm forward. “You might step on a broken piece and hurt yourself.” He took a kitchen towel and squatted down. He started picking up the shards of glasses m
“Give me ten reasons why I should go with you,” said Gray who was sitting on the dining table with her cheek leaning on her palm as she listlessly yawned, staring at her empty plate. “One, you’re my guardian,” said Zia, cooking in the kitchen. “Two, you’re the only one who knows about my situation. Three, you’re my best friend. Four, you have nothing else to do---” “Excuse you but I have a jam-packed schedule today,” countered Gray. Zia sneered. “Really? Like what?” “I have a three to five hours schedule of resting after breakfast, five-hour nap after lunch and ten to fifteen hours of sleep after dinner.” Gray leaned back on the chair, still yawning. “How rude of you to assume I have nothing else to do.” Zia brought a cedar planked salmon on a wooden plate to the table with oven mitts over her hands. “Five, a child like me can’t go alone,” she continued, ignoring what Gray just said. “Six, you won’t be spending a penny because it’s my card.” She went back to the kitchen. “Seven, I
“I wonder where we should be eating tonight.” A look of puzzlement crossed Edward Bartlett’s face. He turned to her. “Excuse me?” Belinda continued scrolling down her phone. “I mean, that last restaurant was good too but I think it’ll be more fun to explore other restaurants as well.” “Uhmm…” He paused, staring off into space, thinking. “Did we decide to go eat out together tonight?” She chuckled. “Oh, would you rather we eat in your apartment? I can’t cook so I just figured we’re eating out, but if you say you’re cooking then let’s.” “No.” He lightly chuckled and softly scratched his cheek. “I’m sorry but…” He looked at her with an awkward expression in his eyes. “What I meant was that I don’t remember talking to you about having dinner together, b-but did we?” He approached her. “I might have just forgotten although I don’t think I’ll forget something like that.” The corner of her lips slightly twitched and her jaw half-dropped. “O-oh, I…I’m so-sorry. I just…I just thought we’r
In a highly respected suburb on the outskirts of the city stood the two-storey house of Theresa Scott. A vintage house in calming shades of wood with a spacious front lawn surrounded with waist-high wooden gates. In the early waking of the sun, Theresa was mowing her lawn. She was a woman in her late forties, medium size with an average height of 5 foot 4 inches. She had shoulder-length straight blonde hair and ocean eyes. She wore a vintage clothing style and stood like a mighty oak. And even as her age was evident in her facial features, it could be agreed that she was an attractive woman in her youth with oozing charisma. As she was pushing the lawn mower, a sedan pulled over at the gates. Her attention shifted to the person who climbed out of the car. “Sweetie!” exclaimed Theresa as she saw Gray approaching the gates. She walked toward her and opened the gate and pulled her in for a tight hug with a big smile across her face. “Hi, Theresa,” said Gray monotonously. Theresa pull
"Where is it again?" Zia Scott mumbled to herself as she glanced around the doors on the corridor. While looking around as she walked aimlessly, she fell flat on the floor as she bumped into what felt like a hard pole. When she looked up, it was a bald old man, perhaps a teacher. The old man crouched down and helped her stand up. "I'm so sorry, little girl. I didn't see you there. Are you alright?" "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, sir," she replied as she dusted off the dirt on her frilly white skirt. "Where were you going, little girl?" He crouched down and looked at her. "Uhmm." She hesitated. "I'm looking for Sir Bartlett." "Oh!" he exclaimed. "Another one of Edward's pupils." He chuckled. "Look here, little girl." He moved beside her and held her shoulders. "If you turn that corner over there," he said as he pointed out his finger. "His room is in the third door you see. He's probably there." She turned around and smiled from ear to ear. "Thank you, mister." Then she did as he inst
After taking off the blood stained shirt with the hole on it, Gray Stewart hung it on a hook behind the door of a toilet cubicle she was in. Rummaging inside a paper bag, she took out a black buttoned shirt, identical to the one she took off. Tearing off the tag, she then changed into it. When she raised both arms slightly over her shoulders to slide in the sleeves, she felt a pang on her stomach.“Damn that woman,” she mumbled to herself as she slowly buttoned her shirt, all the while glaring at the blood stained shirt in front of her. “Well, it’s not like she asked you for help.”However, even having said that, she could still not be mollified.She took out her long hair that had been tucked in the shirt on her back. “Has she always been like that?”And with that thought, her head refreshed the day she first had an interaction with her. It was at the time when Edward had been hospitalized after his car accident. Gray and Zia were both in the hospital, substituting Martha. A knock on
Gray Stewart casted her trembling eyes at the man who also bore the same expression as her—just as stupefied.After meeting her eye-to-eye and seeing her pained expression, the man lowered his gaze and finally noticed his hand still gripping on the hilt of the knife impaled on her stomach. Although the oozing blood was not apparent through her black buttoned shirt, when the warm blood touched and imprinted itself on the edge of the man’s gripping hand, it made him let go in trepidation. He finally realized what he had done.“I…I…” the man cried, his wobbly legs slowly stepping back.Gray, on the other hand, just followed him with the orbs of her eyes, her mouth gaping in unutterable pain.Unable to notice the rock behind the man, he tripped over it and fell down as he continuously stepped back. “I-it’s not my fault!” he barked as he crawled his way out of their sight.Belinda, who was hiding herself behind Gray, finally spoke. “God,” she sighed. “That was really scary just now.” She s
This was the time when Gray Stewart had just left the apartment building. Having impulsively decided to go out just to get away from her obnoxious brother, she actually had no destination in mind. Dawdling in front of the building, she heard footsteps coming from the elevator and when she looked back, it was Azriel on his way out.She immediately hid a certain distance beside the building, hoping to conceal her presence behind a tree while eying the main door.“Why am I even hiding?” she thought to herself, furtively looking, locking her eyes at the door. “I don’t know.”A few minutes later, a silver Aston Martin Rapide pulled over in front of the building. A man wearing a suit came out from the driver’s seat, turned from behind the car and opened the back passenger’s side door.Just as well, Azriel came out of the door as if waiting for the man and after exchanging words with the man in a suit that appeared to be his chaperone, Azriel finally went inside.The man closed the door and
“E-edward?” stammered Zia Scott when her eyes met with Edward’s bemused facial expression.His eyes swiveled in between the two kids in front of him, then he turned to Zia. “Is he your friend?” He approached them in the kitchen. “What happened to him? Why is he crying?”She fiddled with her thumbs as her lips would go back from closing themselves to parting again, contemplating on what right words to say so she wouldn’t look bad in front of her fiance—not that Edward knew it was Zia he was talking to and not Sophia.He turned to the little boy sobbing across from Zia. “Are you okay?” he said delicately.Instead of answering, Jeffrey merely glared at him then stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door hard behind him.Edward glanced at Zia, bewilderment flitting across his features. “Who was that boy?”“Uhh..” In order to avoid making contact with his eyes, Zia kept herself preoccupied with transferring the mashed potatoes in a serving bowl. “He came here looking for Azriel but wh