Underground Hatred - My Hero Origins (MHO)

12: Blue of a Comet and an Iris

Word Count: 2528

(Kat)

 Davis's hand snatched out towards his smartphone on the top of the filing cabinet, and the light on the back ceased. The darkness of the back area ate Kat's being up, leaving only her sense of hearing and feeling in place of her sight. The warmth that drifted around her and Davis fell flat, almost as if she was alone, wallowing in fear and uncertainty. The lack of communication separated her mind from her soul, but was yanked back with the whisper of Davis's voice.

"Hide and try to get out," was all that made it to Kat's ears before his presence was completely wiped from the face of the planet. Her body stood erect in place for a brief moment, attempting to recover her panic into something more organized.

Kat followed Davis's command: a large industrial shelf slammed into Kat as she tried to wander to a safe place in her blind state. Instead of stumbling back with the impact, she forced her whole figure against the shelving and crouched down to the floor. The leggings underneath her skirt allowed her to slide along the smoothed and polished concrete floor, feeling her surroundings with her hands to avoid any more collisions. A corner of the shelf met her hand, leading her around. Her other hand that was splayed out on the floor to the other side of her contacted the wall with the fingertips. Her hand reached upwards, taking in the sensation of the painted concrete bricks that held a smooth coating.

The new hiding space was the best that Kat could retrieve without any source of light to aid her. She pressed her back against the wall with the tips of her black boots propped at the base of the shelving. Her brain racked itself to know where she was: the filing cabinets she escaped from were in front of the shelf, ultimately leaving her to the back of the room—the opposite side of where the escape route sat. A dreadful, heavy weight settled itself across her chest, her teeth tearing up her bottom lip anxiously.

She was cornered—quite literally at that.

Each breath was held in to avoid breathing too loudly. Kat's head settled itself against the wall, her mind running miles at a time: up, down, here, there. There was never one true straight line. Her ears listened closely, trying to pinpoint where the intruder stood. Either her ears were playing tricks on her or the person walked slowly—almost leisurely—throughout the shopping area portion of the store. Not only was her safety on her mind, but also the safety of Davis and where he was centered. How was he going to get out?

Her fingers tapped against her knees to a nonexistent beat, keeping occupied. The electricity that was cut from the building held no ability to light a way for her escape; hell, she knew the room was a cluttered mess because she glanced at it for a brief moment as Davis's phone scanned the area. The route she took to the files was the only path she knew in the mess. Going back that way meant being spotted easily, the way through the cleanest of the place. The rest of the room was a mystery to be felt out by her hands and the sight of the door that allowed the slightest of light to project—enough to create a silhouette, shrouded in shadows but a way of escape.

The footsteps that echoed through the facility made it to where Kat imagined the door to be. Her amber eyes widened, her heart picking up. The shot of adrenaline that coursed through her veins opened up her nose to take in more of the musty smell of the storage room, the shelf in front of her barely visible with increased sight. Her fingers twitched and trembled, begging to run with her knees that turned into jelly. All the hairs on her neck were up, on edge just as the rest of her was.

Whoever was at the door stopped, a thick pause settling in Kat's lungs. She gulped silently, her brain scrambling for a way of escape; nothing. Her lips mumbled a curse, but the sound of an unfamiliar voice bounced in a low rumble across the contents of the room: "We know you're in here somewhere. You can't hide forever. Show yourselves or we're gonna have to do this the hard way—and I'm positive you don't wanna witness the hard way."