Alone in the Dark - A Dark Ghost Sequel

EIGHT

"Absolutely nothing. You're staying here where you're safe. You just got your memories back, how do you know if you can control your powers properly?" Chubs gave me a stern look but I folded my arms and met it with a sharp glare of my own.

I reached out my hand and his keys flew into it, my fingers closing around them. "That proof enough for you?" By the time he had realised what had happened, I was already in the passenger seat of his car.

Sighing, Chubs leant on the side of the car, sticking his head through the window. "You didn't want to drive?"

"Considering I don't know where we're actually going, it would be counterproductive." I gestured to the driver's seat. "Are you coming, or are you just going to give me disapproving looks for the next century?"

Before Chubs had a chance to give the sarcastic reply he was so clearly thinking of, Liam had slid past him and into the front seat next to me. "Come on Chubsicle, in the back."

"Right, who's actually coming?" Vida got out her phone, ready to text Cate.

"Me, you, Chubs, Liam," I replied, reaching for the radio only to get swatted away by Liam as he adjusted it himself. Universal law.

"And me," Ruby had appeared in the back seat while we were too busy bickering to notice. Ignoring the looks of surprise she received, it was clear that her decision wasn't going to change. "Now what are we waiting for? Lee, drive." 

~

"How the fuck are we supposed to get in if the place is on lockdown?" Vida slammed the car door shut behind her.

None of the previous ideas had been good enough, so until we could come up with something better we found ourselves stuck just outside the affected part of the city. "With immense difficulty," I replied, wandering the area looking for a good vantage point.

"Hey!" Liam waved us over, "I've got an idea... but you're not going to like it..." He moved his foot to reveal a sewage access panel, and once he had lifted it up, a ladder underneath descended into pure darkness. 

Half of me instantly decided 'oh hell no', considering I'd had enough experience with long, dark, never-ending tunnels to last a lifetime. The other half of me? Cate and Nico were inside those walls, past that checkpoint, and they needed our help. I sighed, being a red would've come in very handy right about now.

Sensing my uneasiness, Chubs stopped Liam from going in first. "Wait, I have a flashlight in the glove box."

"It's the one I got you for Christmas! The one that has the ability to blind people!" Vida cheered, causing me to let out a small chuckle. "Nobody look directly at it— I'm not kidding."

Chubs handed the flashlight to Liam, who waited until he was just below the access hole to turn it on. It instantly illuminated the tunnel, engulfing his lower body in light. Something small darted out of view and I momentarily considered whether or not it would have been better to not know what was down there. Ruby followed Liam, easing her way down the ladder and taking a few deep breaths before she disappeared, before moving out of the way to allow Chubs, Vida and I to follow suit. This time it was Vida's turn to sense my hesitation, and she squeezed my shoulder lightly before starting to climb down. "I got you, do it for Cate and Nico."

For Cate and Nico, I whispered to myself each time I found the next rung of the ladder beneath me. For Cate and Nico. Damn, the shit you do for family— am I right? I focused on the light coming from the flashlight in front and put one foot in front of the other. Inside my jacket pockets, my hands clenched into fists and relaxed repeatedly, unable to stay still. Since Jude's death, I didn't think I'd be able to enter a space like this again. The only thing that got me through it last time on the way to the Ranch was... what exactly did get me through it last time?

The thought vanished upon contact with the outside world, as I emerged from yet another access hole onto an almost empty street. It was quiet. Too quiet. Unsure of what else to do, I broke the silence. "How much further?"

Barely acknowledging my question, Chubs slowly turned around 360, looking at the area. "Something's not right."

"We already know something's not right, that's why we're here." Vida sighed, kicking the cover back on the hole we'd come out of.

"No— Chubs has a point, look." Ruby took a few steps forward, just enough to see through a gap between two buildings. Things were definitely not okay. The dead giveaway? One, the couple dozen cop cars parked outside one tall building, their owners frantically making calls and sorting out weapons. Two, what appeared to be a walkway between said building and another smaller building, was on fire. 

"Maybe we should've brought backup..." Ruby trailed off, unsure of what to do next.

Vi sighed, cracking her knuckles. "Boo, we are the backup."

~

Thankfully, we were immediately able to make contact with Nico and Cate, who edged away from the scene to talk to us, laying out the situation. 

"There was supposed to be a big, important meeting today, but I was running late. It was scheduled for the morning, so once that was finished I planned to start the drive up to you." Cate started, her face pale with the shock of the situation. "The moment I step out of the elevator I stop to check my watch, and that's when I hear a massive bang outside. I rush to the window to see what it is, and the walkway is half-collapsed— one half hit the ground a good few stories below, and the other half still attached to the building. Straight away, I ran up to the meeting, but the door's locked and even with my access code I can't get in."

"That's when she called me," Nico cut in. "I was already at my laptop, and honestly my grandpa has better security than that lot—"

"Nico, didn't you build the firewall?" Vida raised an eyebrow.

"Built it with the sense to allow myself— and only myself— a way back in. But by the time I could unlock the door, everyone's gone. So I checked the security footage, and there are four people dressed in black escorting the eight board members out the fire escape and up onto the roof, where there's no CCTV. The helicopter appeared and they all vanished into it. By the time everyone else had heard about the attack, it was too late. Gone." He paused, sharing a look with Cate to allow us to absorb all of the information. She nodded, giving him permission to continue. "They took Cruz, and multiple members of the board in charge of children's welfare for the new boarding school they're trying to build. It's not a camp masquerading as a school this time, it is actually a school. But that's not even the worst part of it..." Nico trailed off, taking a deep breath before unlocking his tablet and revealing the security feed. 

"Holy shit..."

"The four kidnappers, they were kids. But they weren't just kids—" he zoomed in on the outfits they were wearing, black but with a red armband— "They were reds."