Curiosity killed the cat.
Even with that saying running through her mind, Ash Phoenix continued to stalk the rather shady-looking man through the dark streets of Manhattan.
He gave off creepy vibes that could make Jeff the Killer wet himself. Most of his face was covered by a dark trenchcoat and the shadows of the night. He was so large she felt like she was looking up at a skyscraper. That's all she could gather other than the hilt of a dagger sticking out of his front pocket.
Ash knew it was really stupid and dangerous to follow a complete stranger with a deadly looking knife. Her father always told her when she was young that her overbearing sense of curiosity would be the end of her. Perhaps he would someday be right; but she couldn't bring herself to care much at the moment. All she knew was that something powerful was driving her to stalk the man through the treacherous night.
He made a sharp turn down an alley between two towering office buildings. Ash crept up to the corner of one of the buildings and peeked her head out from behind. She could hear voices, one male and another female. They were in a heated discussion with harsh whispers and exasperated sighs. Once her eyes adjusted to the alley's extreme darkness, she could just barely see the towering man and a curvy woman with stilettos.
"We caught another," the woman announced.
Another? If Ash were conflicted before, this was the icing on the cake. Maybe they were serial killers hunting down wealthy business moguls. Or...Ash had an overly-active imagination and was wasting her time on this wild goose chase. The latter seemed more likely; but still, Ash went with her gut rather than her mind and continued to listen in on the private discussion.
"Where is it being held?" The man spoke with a husky, smoker's lung voice.
"On the corner of 39th."
With a respectful nod, the man turned to exit the alley. Ash barely had time to duck behind a recycle bin before he emerged onto the sidewalk and began walking with a purpose. Ash yanked the hood of her over-sized sweater over her face and shoved her hands into the pockets of her dark grey skinny jeans. She maneuvered through perky tourists, businessmen and women, and families going on late night strolls. It was quite difficult to keep the man in her sights within the crowd of New Yorkers. Somehow, she managed to keep up with his quick pace and halted to a stop when she saw the man enter a small nightclub on the corner of 39th Street.
She whipped out her ID and flashed it at the bulky, tanned bodyguard at the entrance. He nodded and stepped away from the glass sliding doors. She was rather lucky that this incident had occurred now rather than a few weeks ago. If it had been before that time, she wouldn't be twenty-one. That would mean she'd be denied entry to the nightclub and would lose track of the large, creepy man.
It was like entering a mass of sweat and alcohol when Ash emerged into the crowd of party goers. There was a dark, sensual dubstep song blaring through the club that had her body aching to dance her heart out. There were people grinding and twerking and shaking their hips everywhere you turned. Almost every area with a corner was occupied by a couple making out so hard they were basically having sex with their clothes on. The bar was filled to the brim with passed out partiers and bottles of various types of alcoholic beverages strewn across the countertop.
It didn't take too long for Ash to spot the reason she was here in the first place. The massive man from earlier was on the other side of the club weaving his was through the dancers. Ash immediately took off in his direction with adrenaline creeping up into her heart. She could sense a change in the joyous atmosphere, and it wasn't a good one. It had every nerve in her body screaming at her to run and don't look back. If only her gut would agree...
She emerged from the crowd to a stage with a variety of half-naked men and women dancing seductively around the shiny metallic poles attached to the floor and ceiling. The strobe lights were more active in this area of the building. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the shady man slipping through a heavy metal door on the far right of the stage. She quickly followed suit, cracking the door a bit before entering the room.
At the last second she saw what appeared to be a wall closing in on itself. Now the room was just a simple vacant lounge area filled with deep violet couches and glass coffee tables. The only explanation for the moving wall was that it held a secret room behind. Her pair of emerald's glanced around and landed on the only possible source of trigger for the opening. A tiny bookcase with numerous copies of thick-paged novels. She recalled from a movie she once saw how a boy accidentally opened up a secret passageway by pulling out a magazine from a bookshelf similar to this one.
She rushed over to the bookcase and quickly began pulling out it's contents. Ash had yanked out almost twenty novels when she finally got it right. A hard copy of 'To Kill A Mockingbird' caused the canary yellow wall to slide out and form an opening about three yards wide. The opening revealed a cramped stone staircase that spiraled out of sight after a few feet. There were old fashioned torches lining the right side of the stone wall to light the way down below the nightclub.
With a deep breath she began her decent down the spooky steps. The stairs swirled 'round and 'round and just as she thought the steps would never end, she reached the bottom. The stairs had led her to a giant central room with a gruesome sight within.
The man from earlier and two slightly smaller inhuman things towered over a mangled girl. The inhuman creatures were a sickly yellowish color and had talons for nails, razors for teeth, and scales for skin. Their eyes were full blown black and there wasn't any hair in sight on the monsters. They had padded feet and were making low, sickening hissing noises.
The three figures were standing over what appeared to be a human girl despite her state of health. She had long white hair that ended at the start of her behind. She was closed in on herself; her arms covering her head and her legs pulled up to her stomach. This position made it impossible for Ash to see her face. No doubt it was etched in fear. Ash couldn't help but almost gag at all of the blood surrounding the young girl.
"Tell Ithuriel I send my regards," The man snickered.
Ash's blood boiled at the mockery he was making of her pain. Just how cold-blooded could someone get? He may not look anything like his sickening-looking companions, but he was just as inhuman.
The man reached down into one of his pockets in the trenchcoat and produced the dagger Ash had spotted from earlier. He smiled deviously at the deadly weapon and roughly turned the girl over. Still, Ash could not see her face because it was hidden behind the large man. He had raised the dagger high above his head, aiming towards the young girl's heart, when Ash made her presence known.
Ash emerged into the room and threw herself at the murderous man.
