[ON HOLD] BlackCat's The Wailing Moon

8. Search Party Trio

   Oric followed his brothers quietly as they strolled down the city streets. They were heading to the homeless shelter Nichole had reportedly been seen last. Oric doubted they'd find any traces of Nichole anywhere. He even doubted that picture in the news was even really him. He doubted but the picture was clear and unobstructed, it was Nichole. It wasn't as if there weren't look-a-likes running around pretending to be their idols. But no that person in the picture was Nichole.

   "We'll take a left up here." Ciro said as he followed Rico along the crowded streets. They kept an eye out for checkpoints and steered clear. They weren't about to get anywhere near a place that had high grade silver being used on unsuspecting citizens.

   "How much further is this place?" Rico asked in annoyance as he glanced back for the millionth time to make sure Oric was still following. Oric quickened his pace again when he noticed Rico's gaze trained on him but said nothing to his brother. Rico looked away after Oric had fallen into step with him. He was used to his brothers treating him more like their Omega then their younger brother. So he kept his pace equal to Rico but stayed behind him, even if Rico most likely would have thought nothing of it he still kept his gaze down and acted like a subordinate.

   "We're almost there." Ciro explained as they took the left. Oric hated large cities, not to mention cities that still had so much destruction from the attack on it; Rubble and fallen buildings could still be seen in plain view of people just wondering around. Power outages and homeless camps were running rampant and it seemed almost as if the threat of whatever attacked could come back at any moment with how high security and paranoia were on the streets. Oric didn't understand why the city was repopulated after the attack. In fact he was surprised to learn people flooded back in willingly. He remembers someone saying the city was the only place they could go but Oric found that hard to believe.

   They turned the corner Ciro pointed out and came across a familiar building, the one in the background of the picture Nichole was in. "It looks shitter in person." Ciro mumbled under his breath and even though Oric had heightened hearing he was sure if he didn't he would have still heard his brother's comment.

   The crumpled building was standing but it looked patched together with duct tape and wishful thinking. Tents and lean-tos were set up outside on the cracked street, blood stains could still be seen in some places, in fact the whole city stunk of old blood and death. Oric didn't like the smell of death, but he was used to it. He worked in a hospital after all; it was something he was always surrounded in.

   Rico and Ciro walked over like the owned the place with Oric following behind at a slower pace. He kept his eye on the guards standing not far off, chatting to each other and joking around like they were on break. Even if they were they still had their rifles on hand and it made Oric nervous.

   "Hello, may I help you?" A sweet looking woman wearing a volunteer vest stopped the brothers.

   "Yeah, actually we could use some help from an angel like yourself." Rico spoke up; the suave womanizer, smiling that flirtatious smirk of his. Oric noticed the look Ciro gave his older brother and wondered what the dirty glare meant. Oric wasn't aware of any feud the two were having and it made him a bit nervous.

   "Oh, I hope I can help." The woman said with a flattered smile, but it seemed she was going to be a tease; though honestly Rico wouldn't care, he enjoys the chase.

   "We're looking for this boy." Ciro stepped in then and handed a picture of Nichole over to her. Her face lit up at the sight and nodded.

   "Oh yeah, this is Nichole. He just left like two days ago. He was so great this everyone he talked to. Everyone just glowed when he was around, it's a real shame his mom called him home." She said as she handed the picture back.

   Rico frowned and crossed his arms, "Come again, his mom?" The girl looked at him and nodded, with a serious look on her face.

   "Yeah, Nichole said his mom called and he had to bail. He said she was dying and that she wasn't going to last much longer. He promised to come back when he could." She explained. Oric opened his mouth to ask her if Nichole had mentioned where exactly his mother was supposed to be or where he was headed but she gasped, "Oh, actually you're not the first people to ask about Nichole, those guards over there asked one of the other volunteers about him. They got pretty rough with him too; I had to chase them away with a baseball bat." The three brothers looked over to the guards who'd been watching them and talking in hushed tones.

   Ciro quickly looked back to the volunteers and smiled brightly, shaking her hand. "It's been lovely meeting you but we really should be heading off." The girl stumbled out a few words but Oric wasn't paying attention as Rico grabbed his arm and shoved him along.

   The guards called out to them then. "Hey, you three hold it right there." They didn't listen, they paused for a moment, glancing at each other than bolted. The guards called after then and then were soon following close behind. They shouted orders to stop and freeze as well as warning that they'd shoot if they didn't listen.

   "Split up!" Rico hissed and let Oric go before taking a sharp turn. Ciro agreed simply by vaulting over a car and taking a flying leap onto the fire escape. Oric cursed under his breath as he darted into a crowd and shrugged off his jacket.

   He glanced back as he ducked behind a news stand and offered the first man he saw fifty bucks to switch jackets. The man readily agreed and Oric hurried away as the other man caught stopped.

   Oric slipped through the crowds glancing back as the man he'd traded jackets with got into a fist match with the guards. He breathed a sigh of relief; luckily he'd thought to blend in and hoped his brothers would have similar thoughts. He was certain neither would call for a good long while, at least until the danger of a ring tone giving them away was over so Oric had time to waste.

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Holy Flying Fuck! It's been nearly a YEAR! A YEAR!!! I hope you guys enjoyed this cause DAMN. I'm not going to even discuss the horrors I went through...So many horrors... Anyway let's hope I can update again soon but expect not.

I would not hold it against you if you didn't vote and basically ignored this...I've been really mean for leaving a cliff hanger for almost a FREAKING YEAR!!! And the Dedication goes to a fan who literally commented last chapter back in SEPTEMBER that they wanted to see more and wished me luck. It's long awaited.