Black Labyrinth

It's an Ugly Deal, But it's an Ugly Life

"We're here," Allen announced. He poked his head back around to face us. His smile quickly changed once the force of the van pushed him against his seat.

"You missed it," Lauren declared in confusion, checking the window as the car drove past our original destination.

"We have company!" Quincy shouted as he made a hard right turn. I looked behind us and tried my best to see past the sun's glare, using my hands to shield my eyes.

"I don't see anyone," I said as Quincy glanced at me through the mirror before making another hard turn. The force from the turn propelled Lauren to my side of the car, squeezing me up against the door.

Quincy readjusted the car before saying, "I'm not sure how long they've been tailing us for, but I almost missed it myself. They were a few blocks behind us. I caught them at the top of the last hill. It's a bike and a van. They made a turn right after I spotted them. They've been running parallel to us for about three blocks." Lauren and I reached behind our seats and started to pull out our bags from the back.

"We need to split up," I said as Lauren and I carefully put our bags on.

"There's an alley up ahead, tell you when to turn," Allen proposed. I caught glimpses of the van through the cross-section of each passing street, but no bike.

"Turn right!" Allen yelled out. It was a late turn. The rear of the van slid across the corner of the sidewalk. It slammed into a pole before bouncing back and readjusted for the turn.

Quincy yelled, "Why couldn't you have just told me which block to turn on!?"

"They can only see us for a few seconds while we cross a street," Allen said with a satisfied grin.

"They think we're still driving forward," Quincy took his eyes off the road momentarily to look at Allen's stupid grin.

"Exactly," Allen responded.

The van busted through the locked gate, through a small passage that led into a parking garage behind an apartment building. Without hesitation, we slid open the van doors and jumped out. I walked over to the driver-side window and told them, "Go back to where we took the last turn and park the van facing south. When you're sure they've spotted you, drive around for fifteen minutes, then lose the van. Don't leave anything behind. We'll meet you at the spot."

Allen and Quincy both nod in acknowledgment before driving off.

Lauren and I waited five minutes before heading out, hoping to give Quincy and Allen a head start. We took the long way back, trying to avoid getting spotted. The overpowering smell followed us as we ran through the backstreets back to our original destination. The boarded-up windows and doors along the way hid stories of those left behind, their lives, and their final moments. I had always wondered how many people hid in those abandoned houses, too scared to come out, endure, fight.

The windows we could see were either stained or boarded up, but the awning by the entrance looked untouched. The entrance lobby was in pristine condition. The marble floors looked like they'd been waxed recently. The security desk, although empty, looked new.

"What is this place?" Lauren asked as she unholstered her pistol and checked the surrounding hallways. I pulled the bag from my back and got down on one knee, opening it to check my supplies.

"How many of these do we have?" I lifted what looked like a small brick over my head for Lauren to see. It was a remote-detonated explosive, C-4.

"We each have one. Don't use it if you don't have to. They're not easy to get," Lauren said as she knelt beside me.

"Alright, let's go," Quincy announced as he and Allen rushed into the building. We grouped by the elevators and drew our guns for the coming fight.

"The gang's all here, so how about you tell us what's so special about this place," Lauren asked in what seemed like an irritated voice. I moved over to the elevator on the far right and pressed the button to go up.