Tobin's POV
"This is it, Eli" I say, taking a deep breath, but then gagging. It smells like shit out here.
Eli chuckles, and I roll my eyes at him. I put my shirt over my mouth and nose.
"Lets get in there and find my friend" I say, and Eli nods, fingering his gun. He's nervous, I can tell.
We walk in, and instantly I get the impression something is rotting. Or has been for a while now. I look around, and see body bags everywhere. Eli vomits, and it makes me gag. I rub his back.
"Eli, go upstairs and check for a tall and scary looking woman that has a build of a goalkeeper" I say, and he nods, wiping his mouth. "I'll be in the basement, if you need me" I say, and he nods agin, getting up and starting to head to the stairs. There's probably only three floors left of the empire state building, so he doesn't have to cover much.
I examine the downstairs, checking each room, and looking at each body to see if its Hope or not. I don't find any bodies that could be Hope's.
I find the door to the basement, and look down. Its all dark. I take one step, and recoil from the stench. I turn the light on, and feel the room swirl around me.
Bodies.
Hundreds of bodies.
Decomposing bodies, some new, some half gone.
I can't take it. I throw up, and drop to my knees.
I groan and cover my eyes, turning the light off and closing the door.
No.
No way am I going down there with all those bodies.
I roam around the first floor, trying to get the image of all those bodies wrapped around each other out of my head.
It really was a massacre.
I go to the front desk, and open up an aluminum filing cabinet.
Nothing interesting, unless you count ashes interesting.
I then hear a bloodcurdling yelp coming from the stairs. I start to sprint toward the stairs, hopping up three at a time.
I get to the next floor.
This time, its a yell I can decipher.
"ELI!" I call out, searching frantically. "Eli!"
"I'm here" Eli's strangled voice yells from behind me. I turn and head into the room the sound is coming from, and then begin to launch at the person who has their hand around Eli's neck.
"Freeze!" The person yells, and I stop. I see a gun pointed at Eli's back.
"Release the kid" I say, mustering as much strength as I can.
"What are you doing here?" The person asks, and its a scratchy voice. One voice I know, but its a little mangled. I study the face. Its covered in blood and dirt, making the person look like a bloody african american. I grimace.
"We're looking for someone" I say, and the person releases their death grip from around Eli's neck. I loosen up, but I can tell the gun is still pressed to Eli's back, because he doesn't move an inch.
"Well, they're probably dead in the basement or downstairs" The person scoffs.
"Can you tell me if you've heard of her? She's really important for someone. And that someone really needs her back" I say.
"Okay, but if she's so important she wouldn't be dead. She will probably be in the Red Army or the Bloody Americans" The person says.
"Her name is Hope Solo, legendary goalkeeper for the USWNT. Have you heard of her?" I ask.
They pause. "I've heard of her. What do you want with her?" They ask.
"Someone back at my...camp, really needs her. Is she alive?" I ask. This person really makes me nervous. So mysterious.
"She is more alive than dead, I can say that. But for how long she'll be alive, I don't know" They tell me. What does that mean? My mental brain can't decipher that secret code.
"Where is she?" I ask.
The person laughs. "I can't tell you that. Its classified"
"Then can you tell her that Kelley O'Hara is missing her? That Kelley is safe, and that she needs her? Kelley is starting to become like JJ and me. Unstable" I say. They grit their teeth.
"Kelley is safe?" The person asks. I nod.
"Will you deliver that message to her?" I ask.
"No need. She already heard it" The person says, putting their gun away. Eli leaps to my side.
Then, reality strikes me.
I know who this is.
Alex's POV
"Drive faster!" I growl, and the driver shakes his head.
"Sorry, too dangerous" He says, and I look to Marc for help. Marc shrugs.
"Why didn't you say she was missing when you saw she was missing?" I ask the Marc.
"Hey" He turns to face me. "Tobin has become my friend over the time I've known her. If I knew she was missing, I would've said something" He takes a deep breath. "This came as a surprise to us all"
"Is it safe to be out here?" Kelley asked, and that received a snort from Ryan. He has become something like a delinquent.
"Just about as safe as it was in the empire state building when we went in" Marc says.
"That doesn't sound safe" Kelley says, and I feel bad for her. I told her she didn't have to come with us, but she insisted. She said that it was her fault Tobin was missing, so she would help get her back.
I don't think its her fault. No one could have seen this coming. Tobin is despicable now. I'm afraid she has totally lost her mind.
"I can only go this far. You have to drive the rest of the way" The driver says, slowing the car to a stop.
"We're more than halfway Alex" Marc said, just as I opened my mouth to protest.
I clench my jaw, and get out, almost slamming the door on Kelley.
"Sorry Kells, I didn't see you there" I say, and hug Kelley to show that my apology is sincere.
"Its okay Lex" Kelley pats my back.
Embarrassed, and angry, I follow everyone down the broken roads.
"What is that smell?" Ryan covers his mouth and nose.
"That, my friend, is the smell of rotting bodies" Marc said, tearing part of his shirt and covering his nose and mouth.
"It is terrible!" Kelley gags, and it makes Marc chuckle.
"Get used to it ladies. This isn't the regular world anymore" Marc says, and then we head inside.
My mouth drops in disbelief of how many body bags there are. Could be around eighty, maybe seventy. But that stench, is excruciatingly painful for my nose and mouth, as well as my stomach.
"What happened here?" I ask.
"Death. War." Marc lists, and I still can't believe it. "Lets find Tobin"
I nod, and decide to check upstairs with Ryan.
I see blood thats still wet, smeared on the wall. I shiver, and look around.
Nothing. Not in the whole damn building. Nothing. Not a trace of Tobin, but the blood on the wall, and I hope its not hers.
I just stare at the bloody wall.
"We'll find her, Alex. We will" Marc said, putting a hand on my shoulder.
I hope he's right.
