The Eyes of Fate (Currently in Rewrite)

Rescue Underway

Fang

Home Base

Lainey, OK

December 5, 2019

Fang felt his stomach drop the moment he could see the house. The door was wide open, and from what he could see of the inside it was wrecked. To top it off, Stellan's car and the spare truck were still there, so more than likely they hadn't made a run for it. That meant that either they had been taken, or...

He didn't want to finish that train of thought.

He hadn't even put the truck in park when the others started opening their doors. He heard the clicks of weapons going from safe to semi as he jumped out himself. The knife on his hip whispered as the honed steel cleared the oiled leather sheath. Two quick steps brought him to the front of the group, and he rolled his shoulders as he approached the door.

"Basement," he said as he stepped onto the porch. His jangled nerves were screaming at him to run inside and see if Stellan or Sentinel were still there. However, there could still be people inside waiting for them, and rushing in carelessly could get them killed. So they'd take it slow, and if anyone was lying in wait, Fang would tear them apart.

"Upstairs," Ranger's voice came from just over his left shoulder, exactly where he expected it to come from.

Over their time together, his family had fallen into a pattern with how they grouped up. Fang went first, both so he could rush in with his knife and get close, and so he could use his power to give make any immediate targets pause with a glance. Ranger went second, the sharpshooter needing a clear line of fire. Oracle sat dead center, using her laptop or phone to feed them intel when she wasn't fighting. Chesyr would go next, being far enough back that she could turn invisible and flank without drawing any attention. Vyper would go last, his enhanced speed and reflexes making him perfect for guarding the rear while also being able to rush to the front if need be.

If anybody ever asked, Fang would say he had planned it that way. In truth, they all seemed to do it on instinct.

"Going with," Chesyr said, leaving the ground floor to Oracle and Vyper.

Time slowed down as Fang stepped over the threshold and into the house. His let his instincts look for traps or enemies, while his conscious thoughts took in everything his lizard brain deemed unimportant.

The entire living room had been torn apart. The couches, TV, and chairs were overturned, their backs torn open as well. The door to the coat closet was open, but inside was completely empty. The kitchen was similarly wrecked as Fang went through it and the laundry room, and through the open garage door.

The garage looked like a tornado had blown through it. Tools and materials were broken and scattered all over the floor. Whoever had been in had known what they were doing, since nothing had been left in a usable condition. Their spare weapons that had been on the racks were broken into pieces or just flat out gone. The basement door was also left open, and Fang wondered for a split second how they could have opened it so easily.

Everything of use in the basement was gone. The bricks of plastique that Ranger had hidden down there were gone, and all the power tools were broken. The chains had been thrown through the window into the interrogation room, making it look like Pinhead had broken in.

"Fang!" Vyper's voice called from back inside the house. He didn't sound distraught, so Fang didn't feel the need to rush back up the stairs. Vyper was standing at the kitchen table holding a piece of paper, which he handed off as Fang walked up. "Looks like we got our answer."

The note was handwritten and surprisingly legible: "See you soon, after we've talked to our new friends".

Fang crumpled up the paper, a low growl coming from his throat. Whoever came here had clearly been looking for Sentinel and Stellan, and obviously they thought that Fang wouldn't be able to find them.