•𝑶𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑰𝑫𝑬•【√】

ღCHAPTER 26 ღ

The warehouse is a dreary building, even in the bright summer sun. At night it's a desolate, depressed place. The huge, bare corrugated metal walls have no windows on its street-facing side. The horrid beige color of it seems to sadly state that it accepts its ugliness. Its only decoration is a disproportionately small white sign with simple black lettering that states, "Might As Well" and that phrase just about sums up the place.

The huge warehouse is on 2nd Avenue, and no matter how many times I've driven past, I've never seen so much as a single car parked in its fenced-off lot. No one I've asked knows what it is, or what happens inside. For all intents and purposes, the place has been functionally abandoned for years, though someone probably still owns it. Functionally abandoned works for our needs. We needed to find a space large enough to accommodate a portal to Hell. We need it to be inside so random passersby don't get caught up in things. Might As Well is the only place to fit the bill.

All seven of us are jam packed into the Explorer, and the silence of seven breathing, fidgeting people in the confined space is deafening.

"Almost there," Jiwon's quiet voice snaps through the tense air. Up ahead on the right the giant structure looms high above the surrounding buildings.

"Listen up," Joon clears his throat, "If everythin' works out, we'll be back home in less than an hour. Everyone knows what they're supposed to do, so I'm not gonna lecture y'all," He turns off the headlights as we approach the warehouse.

Yoongi  is already waiting at the gate for us, giant bolt cutters slung over his shoulder and a wicked grin on his face. For a ghost, he sure does get a kick out of breaking in to places. He swings the short gate wide, and we swoop in. The tires crunch over a length of chain that until tonight had held the gate closed. Joon drives past what looks like a loading dock and parks with the back end of the vehicle pointed to the door, the front end angled for a quick getaway. As he shuts off the engine he sighs heavily and takes hold of Jiwon's hand. He turns in his seat to look at all of us. His blue eyes seem tired, and the dim glow of a distant streetlight deepens his crows feet. For the first time since I've met him he genuinely looks his age.

"Be smart. Be safe," In those words he says so very much. We all take a collective breath and hop out of the Explorer. We need to move fast. Joon knocks out the closest streetlights with carefully aimed blasts, plunging the parking lot into absolute darkness. We're very close to the Unit, so the more secrecy we can manage, the better. Unfortunately, the now pitch dark parking lot makes for a very difficult walk to the door. I trip on the uneven pavement, and wind up face-to-asphalt.

"Blind Seer. Very useful," Jeongguk sounds nervous as he walks over to help me up.

"Shut it, Dude," Taehyung is already at my side as I sit up, wiping gravel debris from my cheek and shaking dirt from my hair, "You alright?" He speaks in an undertone as he offers a hand to help me up, but I'm a little too proud for that.

"Grace is my middle name," I grumble, pulling myself off the ground with as much dignity as I can muster.

"Whatcha doin' on the ground, Pony Girl?" Jin opens the door to the building from the inside. We could rob Fort Knox with these ghosts. Luckily for the local banks, we're a little tied up with the demon problem.

"I'm prospecting for gold, can we move on please?" Being nervous makes me snippy, but Jin takes it in stride. He steps back to let us in.

Once we're all inside, I start fumbling in the pockets of my jeans for my phone. It's dark as shit in here.