Glitches

Chapter 21 - A temporary home

The first floor wasn't much different from the parking cellar. Graffiti was sprayed on every wall, covering the old wallpaper completely. Thick pillars, also covered up in colourful paintings, were holding up the unstable roof, water dripping from the cracks in it. The floor was rotten, several boards missing, giving a you perfect look down on the water pipes underneath. And a thick smell of mould filled the air. Some of the windows were broken, giving you free access to the view of the rain. A few of them had been poorly repaired by knocking a pair of wooden planks over the holes.

It surprised me that it wasn't cold in the room. The radiators must still had worked, warming up the place. And I could see a few barrels placed in different corners, fire coming up from them.

It was a woeful place to look at, but after everything we had been through, it was good enough for me. The room was kind of empty, only few people sitting under the warm light of an old dusty lamp, playing poker or bridge. I guessed the someone must've been on the roof, looking out for enemies, while others were asleep in other rooms.

"Awesome," Sam breathed beside me, sounding like a little boy in Disneyland.

"Yeah, it is quite awesome," William chuckled, gently pushing us forward, "if you don't think about how much this place needs to be cleaned."

The floor creaked under our feet, as we walked towards a dark silhouette in the corner of the room.

"Hey, Paul. Did Miranda pass by, or did she go directly to bed?" William greeted as we made our way to the man.

The dim light from the ember of the fire in the barrel lit his face up just enough so you could make out his features.

Paul was quite tall, almost being a head higher than Sam, He had exotic features. His short dark brown hair stuck out to all sides, hiding one of his dark blue eyes, their colour shining in the dark. In his hand, he held a half-smoked cigarette.

"I didn't see her. She must've walked upstairs without me noticing. I hope everything went smooth?" Paul asked William, dropping the rest of his cigarette in the barrel, where burned rubbish were dumped as well.

"Eh. It didn't go as smooth as we thought, but we're all back, safe and alive, so it doesn't matter." William rubbed his hands, when he suddenly remembered me and Sam presence.

"Oh. And we picked two of their machines up as well," he said, gesturing us. But his face fell when he realised his choice of words.

"Sorry mates. Didn't meant to say it that way. It kind of just slipped out," he apologised, his face twisted in embarrassment.

"Ah yeah. You're the kids Miranda chose to pick up," Paul said, his face showing no hints of emotions.

He took a step forward.

"Now tell me, what did Miranda promise you when she found you?"

I stood in place, my heart beating rapidly, and my gaze burning into his.

"Who are you people?" I asked, forcing myself to keep my voice steady, as looked at my surroundings.

The people who was playing had now gotten into a heated argument one of them harshly tapping the guy beside him with his index finger.

"I ask the questions Girly," Paul said coldly, making turn my head back to our conversation, "and you better answer them. When I'm done, It's your turn. Deal?"

I felt my blood boil, but before I could come with a snarky remark, Sam quickly took a step in front of me.

"Deal," he quickly said, giving me a warning glance.