Alpha's and Eiffel towers [On Hold]

-||16|| a dark fall

Reading off of Max's reaction, I could make up that this welcome wasn't close to whatever he had planned. Yet somehow these figures looked to be of some importance. Dressed like they expected to meet the CEO of some demented company. A dangerous, yet daring gaze growing over their features which made me add following Max into the unknown onto my bad ideas of the century list. So they stood there, blocking our entrance. Their hands were neatly folded behind their backs as if they were meant to stand in our way.

I met Max's eyes multiple times, traveling from the men to him and back again. For the first time, a clear emotion had manifested on them, a feeling of impotence.

"We've expected you," the front male said with a rasping French accent. Turned his back towards us, making it clear his accomplices had to follow. I stared at Max, who was clearly trying to fight his way out of this situation mentally. "Max?" I said under my breath, but he shook his head, nog daring to make full eye contact," please Jane, do as they say."

My breath got crushed out of my lungs when I heard his voice almost choking on his words. I didn't understand how he could affect me like this, I felt myself becoming smaller, feeling unsafe. Although Max was able to get that emotion out of me before, now it was coming back, stronger than ever. A pure, quivering fear was taking over me, yet I still managed to pass the threshold of the secret door.

The atmosphere behind the passage, especially after it was closed, felt different, yet heavy was the wrong word for it. A stronger aura of fear hung here, like in a sports stadium where you know you will be losing. Max had come to my side after closing off, whispering:" N'avoir pas peur." His voice was so silent I doubt anyone else heard it. "Do not be afraid," he translated shortly after and looked at me, knowing what I was feeling at that very moment.

I shouldn't have meddled in all of this, I should have let him go when he crashed into is. Left him ignored in the lobby, triggering a burning wonder in him to what that girl's name could have been. Now, I'd dug my own grave.

A deep, deep one.

Behind the door, we were still in the open air, yet vision was obstructed by four ice-white walls where even the most uncommon trees wouldn't be able to reach above. The next doorway led to a courtyard, laid with tiles more graceful than those of the Louvre. We seemed to have entered a kind of maze, leaving you blind towards your surroundings.

I felt Max's eyes upon me while we made our way further, but at this point, I was scared to do anything but take a step. In the middle of the space stood a fountain, surrounded by the circular tile pattern which was encased in similar walls, yet overgrown.

"What kind of place is this?" I whispered towards him, feeling my fear slowly flip into tears ready to come. "My home," he responded with a deep breath," and everything surrounding it." I faced him for a second, feeling a wave of calm when meeting his eyes once again, yet losing that sense quickly. "But what is this all, is this some sort of Mafia?" I asked confused and I heard faint laughter come from one of the men walking in front of us. Said male turned around, a grimace plastered onto his face:" Oh no, we're worse." After he turned around again, I tried to get an elaboration from Max, but he could only tell me in a soft, almost silent voice, "It's complicated," without intertwining in eye contact; still walking to God knows where.

We'd passed onto another space, yet this one missed a wall. An open-air patio laid in front of me once again, yet it ended in a wide, deep staircase descending into the darkness of the underground. "Max, I don't think I can do this," I whispered, fear taking control of my entire body. He took a second to respond, struggling with what to respond. "I'm sorry, Jane," he responded, his words feeling like thin glass to my ears, capable of breaking when making one wrong move. Slowly I followed into the men's footsteps and walked onto the steps, Max a little in front of me. Slowly I was losing track of the men's heads while we descended further, sunlight not reaching wherever that may be. My only sense of reality I could rely on was hearing the rest go down step by step, not knowing when I'd reach solid floor once again. Yet before I could worry about that, I felt something graze my hand, but placing what just happened was impossible in this ink-black darkness. A fast, cold wind passed me, feeling rather similar to the touch I'd just felt. "Max?" I asked quietly, but no answer was ever received. "Max?" I repeated, pure panic now taking over my mind.

I felt something throwing me off balance. I couldn't even place from where it hit me but I felt myself fall into nothingness, the step slipping from underneath the soles of my shoes, losing consciousness before I could hit anything.

"Tu l'as poussé elle dans l'escalier!" A booming voice echoed through the room I was in. I didn't know where I was, I couldn't open my eyes. Whatever force was holding me back to do so was unknown to me, but a massive headache was breaking my thoughts down to a pile of rubble. "Non, elle est tombée," a calmer voice responded, speaking almost rhythmically. A silence fell, which gave me time to try and locate my surroundings. I was laying on a soft of sort material, my mind not being able to go into detail. My head was resting on a pillow, which must've meant I was moved here. The last thing I could remember was still flashing through my head, walking down the staircase with Max and his not-truly-friends into some sort of sacrifice basement.
"Oh, ca est noveau," the second voice spoke once again. A questioning sound came from the other, whereafter someone started pacing the room. "Tu ne fais pas d'échange de ta voix du Alpha," those words seemed to have been my wake up call since my mobility had been restored. I slowly opened my eyes, soft light welcomed me into the new space. 

An enormous room laid in front of me, the floors shining as smooth as a pristine ice skating rink. The light fell upon it through a glass dome, placed in the middle of the high ceiling. A wide staircase, which ended at a platform from where it split in two, smaller stairs leading upwards, opposite of each other. The wall adjacent to those was painted and sculpted in a detailed manner, displaying a rather eclectic vibe. "Jane," Max intervened with my house tour, now successfully being uncovered as one of the voices from earlier. He came towards me and crouched down to my eye level, worried. "Are you okay?" he asked and I nodded, trying to push myself up from the antique lounge I had been laying on. "I hope you are because that's the least pain you'll be feeling," I slowly moved my gaze, my body wanting to go into shock. In the middle of the hall stood two of the three men, one holding a stern focus locked on me. "What do you want from me?" I asked, fear boiling my vitals alive. That was easily the most daring talk-back I'd ever achieved. "Oh, I'm not here to physically hurt you," he responded in an oddly nice manner," but mentally, I bet you'll feel something." The elder male standing beside him raised his hand, silencing his partner immediately. My breathing had become more apparent to my consciousness, I didn't seem to get any air with my heavy intakes. Max had stood up again, standing partially in front of me in a protective manner. Yet he didn't seem to notice I could still see everything, like the hallucinating visual of his fingers becoming longer and ending in a sharp spike.