Silence.
Silence was all Naib could hear even though he was screaming his lungs out. The black vans had already disappeared down the road, heading to god knows where. The sirens were blaring right around Naib, but it sounded more like they were far away. He grabbed onto the lamp post and swallowed the lump in his throat. No way this is true right? This has to be a hallucination!
He had received a text in the morning. It was from a contact "Jack" It was a location and the face of a man. Below it was a message saying the man had a debt that hasn't been paid off for months, and they needed Naib to take care of it. He'd found it a little strange since Norton would normally be the one who took care of these issues. But he had gone to that location anyway.
He waited there for hours, and lost track of time. By the time he realised there was no man who was in debt, three hours had passed by. He made a dash to the office, preparing to explain why he was so late to work. When the first hints of dark grey smoke showed in the sky, expanding, he knew something was wrong.
Now he stood in front of the burning remains of the building. Glass lay everywhere on the floor along with bodies and blood. The area was surrounded by people, some taking photos, children crying, whispering. Police were surrounding the area, keeping everyone out. Naib crawled under the tape, ignoring the police trying to hold him back. Eventually they moved back to crowd control, leaving Naib alone to wander through the front.
He bent down to pick up a gun, one with Bi'An's initials engraved on the side. The bullets were all spent, a rare sight. They'd never required a full mag to take down their enemies. They'd really put up a fight for the company's sake. Tears dripped to the hot concrete as he continued on to the ruined lobby doors. The scorch marks were clear as the day on the marble walls and floor. Scraps of paper, probably Joseph's, were littered around near the reception desk. It was a plan for one of the secretary's birthday party.
One that would never happen now.
He wandered down the halls and the staircase. The staircase was scorched and barricaded by debris. He couldn't even go to the upper floors. The elevators would definitely not work, he could only wander around the lower floors. He heard footsteps behind him as an officer approached him tentatively. However his silence was enough to say. Naib clutched the shreds of paper tightly as he fell to his knees. His shoulders shook with the tears. Tears he never cried out on the day he left for military, the day he saw his companions die.
He let them fall now as this became the day he lost the people he'd formed such close bonds with. The people who let him forget all about his past. They gave him a whole new identity and purpose to live. Without them, he would've probably shot himself with the rifle he held in his very own hands years ago. But now they were gone, and he hadn't been there to do anything.
"WHY?!"
The police man behind him startled and scrambled out of the building. Naib pounded the floor with his fists until they were numb. He openly cried, letting out all the pain he'd pushed and shut away for years. There was no need to hide away now.
--------------------------------------------------
In his office, the phone rang a few times before a gloved hand picked it up.
"Carl residency. Who's speaking?"
"Uhm... May as I speak to Mr Carl?"
"Sure, please hold a moment."
...
"Andrej Carl here. To whom do I owe the pleasure of speaking with?"
"...This is Jack."
"Oh? It's been long. What is your reason for this sudden call?"
Behind Andrej, his wife Rosalee Carl, snuck up and listened in.
"Your son, Aesop Carl, is in the hospital."
----------------------------------------------
Never had Damien Andrej Carl driven this fast. It had been years since he last did, and never had he thought he would have to again. His wife was also panicking beside him, gripping onto her seatbelt for life. They sped down the streets to the hospital, where Aesop now lay, unconscious.
The hospital lobby was empty as the two walked down. If Andrej Carl was worried, he did well on not showing it. Rosalee Carl on the other had, was whispering prayers while clutching her husband's arm. A nurse passing by tried to stop them, saying they needed to register by the reception desk before visiting. Andrej shot her a glare, and being quite a tall man, he looked intimidating. She backed away silently and the two continued to the elevator.
The steady sound of his leather shoes and his wife's hurried heels echoed around the hallway as they passed by the doors. When they reached the eighth room, Andrej knocked on it and pushed it open, his wife immediately tearing away from him. She stumbled to the hospital bed, where her son lay. Jack stood up when he saw Andrej and Rosalee, and with old habits stuck, put his hands behind and bowed.
"My son... My poor son..."
While Rosalee pushed Aesop's hair away to the shock of bandages under it, Andrej pulled up another chair and sat by Jack.
"Are you injured?"
"Hm, oh."
Jack lifted his sleeves slightly.
"Just a few cuts and bruises here and there, not that bad compared to Aesop."
Andrej was silent for a moment.
"Sir the building-"
"The building doesn't matter. But where's everyone else?"
"That..."
"Rosa?"
"Hm?.."
"We'll be at the cafeteria downstairs. Call me if anything."
Rosalee nodded, never tearing her eyes away from her son. The two men left the room and went down. Andrej got himself a coffee as they sat in a corner. Jack watched as the other took a slow sip, exactly the way Aesop would. Like father like son much.
"Disgusting. Anyway, tell me about the whole event. The news never reveals much anyway."
They spent fifteen whole minutes there, Jack explaining every single detail. He had to pause a few moments each time he remembered the terrified faces of the employees, the way the building had shook, the loud cry Aesop had let out before he went unconscious. Andrej listened intently, eyes closed with his hands in his lap. When Jack finally finished, he snatched Andrej's coffee and downed it in a big swallows before wiping his mouth.
"Disgusting."
"Freddy Riley hm..."
The other male seemed deep in thought. His eyebrows furrowed.
"Freddy's been there before Aesop took my place, but when he joined the Abyss... Had he already been a part of it since the beginning?"
The sound of heels on the floor approaching them brought their heads up as Rosalee approached. She herself also had a cup of coffee, but a cold one. Wordlessly, she dragged a stool over and sat down, taking a sip out of the cup.
"Disgusting."
She grimaced. Andrej smiled a bit.
"We all agree hospital-grade coffee sucks then."
