Underground Hatred - My Hero Origins (MHO)

15: Card of the Unknown Business Man

Word Count: 2734

(Kat)

 "There!" Kat exclaimed in a low tone, quickly pointing to a large, aged brick building as her and Davis turned the corner of a street. The exterior displayed an apartment set up, which conflicted with the old industrial buildings surrounding it; that was the location.

A huff came from Davis as the two continued their casual walk down the empty, ghost town street. His face scanned the targeted building, mouth drawn to a tight line. "Wh—Why would they have an apartment building here of all places?"

"It was probably a cheap building, especially with the other buildings looking like they're barely ever touched."

Davis's head swiveled, surveying the abandoned street. "No one's here..."

"It makes our work easier then," Kat shrugged. She glanced at Davis and asked, "Can you pick the lock like you did last night?"

"I—I'm pretty sure," he stuttered. "I—It doesn't take a lot of energy from my quirk."

"Cool, cool."

The two approached the building, the bricks cracking and the exterior decrepit. Each window was coated with one layer of dirt and a layer of dust. Some closer to the bottom floors of the five story building were cracked, like a rock had collided there originally. Dying weeds sat in the crevices between the building and sidewalk, the one fire escape on the building that Kat and Davis saw sprouting random, small plants. Pieces of the iron were rotting, disgusting, flaking rust left there to float into the breezes through the alley. The apartment complex was a place that Kat would never dare to go in alone.

The two young adults approached the door to the complex. It was a regular wooden door with a sturdy, faux gold lock and a door knob: nothing like a modern apartment would have. The bottom of the door that sat on the side of the knob—the left side to be exact—expressed slight splinters of wood to be erect from the exterior, as if someone had kicked the door in at one point. Scratches ran down the middle of the door, a singular hole imbedding itself at the top of the door. Kat's amber eyes grew at the sight.

"Th—That's a little concerning," Davis murmured, his visor glued to the hole that Kat was stuck on. Kat nodded, gulping slightly.

"Hopefully everyone's at work," she whispered. She reached for the door knob. "The apartment we're searching for is 4C. So that'll be on the—" As Kat went to test the knob in case of any type of alarms, her wrist easily spun the knob, which the latch unhinged from the door. She staggered back in frightened shock, watching the door sluggishly crack ajar, the hinges squeaking.

"Fourth floor," Kat finished her sentence in a breath, trying to catch back up to her convulsing lungs.

"L—Let's get inside," Davis nodded to the opened door. His head swiveled around to survey the empty street. "Be—Before anyone sees us."

Kat slipped into the building after Davis, the sun from the street disappearing. A pit formed in Kat's stomach screaming of uncertainty and fear. A glance at her fingertips, and they were trembling in their spot.

The door silently closed behind Kat as she placed it back into its original spot. A gag hit Kat with the stench of tobacco and a stronger scent that embedded itself in the walls. The yellow lights of the complex's hall casted ghastly shadows of the two's figures, a horrifying shadow theater on display. The walls were stained a deep orange color—perhaps a once close resemblance to the lights above on the ceiling back in the nineties. The past of smoke and history deepened the color, telling millions of stories, but some stories resonated in Kat as threatening, chilling. The floor below was a beaten up wood that appeared as if carpet had been ripped from the top of it to expose dust and staples. Entering the complex was just as dangerous as looking at the exterior.