The Pain Inside

Chapter 8

The next thing Kat knew, she was standing on a sidewalk in what at first glance seemed to be some kind of metropolis. All around her were huge buildings and skyscrapers that were brightly lit even though it was the dead of night. But the architecture was incredibly weird, and she could faintly hear music playing in the distance, although she couldn't quite make out where it was coming from. She'd heard music similar to it before. It was what Matt liked to call Neo-Tokyo Trance. She was quite positive he'd made that name up himself and no one else called it that, yet it seemed to fit somehow. The city had a smell and a taste to it unlike anything she'd experienced before. It was metallic, not the coppery taste of blood but something sheerer, cleaner. And there was a faint current of electricity beneath it that could only be felt. It was... Technology. That was the only way she could think to describe it. Like raw technology had taken on sensory form.

She was still trying to make out the source of the music, of the sense of technology, when she heard the scream. It was sharp and shrill, a female voice, and it was coming from nearby. Kat didn't think twice, she took off running towards it. The length of a block passed by in a blur, and then she was turning into a narrow alleyway as a second scream sounded.

Two figures, bathed in shadow enough that she couldn't clearly make them out from behind, were slowly approaching a girl that had already backed up against a wall dead-ending the alley behind her. The girl was young, mid-teens at most. Kat couldn't make out any visible weapons on the two figures, but the girl's screams were enough to show that they were trouble, and the girl believed herself to be in danger.

"STOP!" Kat shouted into the alley, not quite sure what she was going to do if they didn't, but knowing only that she had to help the girl if she could.

The two figures rounded on her, casting just enough light over their faces for her to make them out. Two boys, maybe in their late teens, not much older than the girl herself. They were both rather pale, but the outline of their bodies showed well defined muscles. Their faces were rough, but sculpted enough to be quite attractive, the sort of guy she might have gone for once upon a time. Now though, both looked like they meaned business, and while their faces showed a little surprise at her shout and at the sight of her, leering smiles quickly broke out over both their faces.

"Look what we have here," one of the boys said, taking a step towards Kat. "Aren't you a pretty little thing. You want to join the fun, sweetness?"

"Stay back! I mean it!" Kat said forcefully, raising one hand in a gesture to ward them off.

"Or what? You'll yell at us again, girlie?" the second boy said with a wicked grin as the first boy took another step towards her. "Do you know what we are? The people who live around here sure do. This is our territory. Yell all you like, no one is going to come to help you. It was terribly nice of you to bring your sweet little ass right to us, though. Here we were thinking we were only going to have one toy to play with, and you hand-deliver a second. Twice the fun."

Kaitlyn started to take a step back when she saw the two boys' eyes widen, the smiles vanishing from their face. Before she could wonder why she felt a hand on her shoulder, pulling her gently but firmly back as someone stepped around her. It only took a quick glance for her to know who it was, she'd seen his profile so many times it was ingrained in her heart. Matthew.

"Trent, Craig, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Matt demanded. He was paler than usual, but otherwise seemed unchanged.

"We were just playing around," the first boy said resentfully, his eyes showing a sort of hesitant anger. The best Kat could guess, Matt was in some sort of authority position over the two of them, and the boy clearly didn't like it.

"You know the Goddess gave us specific orders not to harm the humans of the city," Matt said reproachfully, glaring at the two of them. The Goddess? Kat could feel her eyes widening, but Matt wasn't paying attention to her.