Rise of the Dark Heroes (BOOK #1)

Chapter Twenty-Three

A//N: Thank you so much to those who have read/voted this far!

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STEVIE

I DIDN'T move nor breathe once I spotted the pair of Fire Wielders browse into the alleyway as they strolled by. Darkness concealed me in my position above ground. I waited for them to pass, relieving short, steady breaths through my nose. The area was still other than their shifting, ghostly figures. The silence was ringing relentlessly in my ears. Once they passed, I rested against the railing.

Dark was wise to hide, or they would have noticed him in half a second. I poked my head over the fire escape rail, wondering if Dark knew that they had gone. After a few minutes, I grew concerned. Calling out to him would have been stupid, even in a whisper. A part of me believed that he had run into trouble, and another hoped that he was hiding; I prayed for the latter.

Before he vanished like a ghost into the blackness, Dark told me to go on. I wanted to do as he said, but it felt wrong continuing without him. Being split up made me apprehensive. Yet, I could leave to find him just for him to come back and see me gone. I was utterly torn.

"Jerry, do you have eyes on Dark?" I asked quietly into my earpiece.

The tedious echo of clicking, clacking, and typing tickled my ear as I awaited a response. "He's nowhere on my screen. He's probably around back; there are no security cameras back there."

I was fearful he would say that. "I'm going to go find him."

"He wouldn't want you to do tha-a-at," Jerry cautioned in melody.

"Oh, so I should just do nothing?" I sassed. "What would you do in this situation?"

"I wouldn't even be in that situation, sis," Jerry clapped back.

I rolled my eyes. "Just tell me if I'm clear or not."

"You're clear. In fact, I don't see anyone around the front. Be careful," Jerry said.

"I will."

I leaped off the fire escape, flipping before landing graciously. Had I been in gymnastics, I would have done a little bow for the audience. Thank God I didn't have an audience at the instant. I ambled in the path I last saw Dark, peeking around the corner to find the south side of the warehouse and nothing else, not even a roach scurrying on the pavement or a rat burrowing in the garbage. Not one soul. Silent as a corpse. I'd expected at least one Deviate to be guarding this side, leading me to more questions than answers.

"Jerry, you said no one's guarding the entrance?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I came around the corner, feeling brave enough to stroll out of the shadows. "Well, no one is around back either. Something's wrong."

"Maybe you just missed them," Jerry said.

"Then you would have seen them leave," I said.

If the Fire Wielders had packed up and departed for the night, then where was my partner? The anxiousness I sensed earlier grew and manifested as a soft glow under my skin. I had to calm myself, or I may as well have been a beacon for the enemy. "Hey, guys, I'm right here!"

Gingerly, I approached the south entrance, pressing my ear against the door and holding my breath hostage. If Fire Wielders were indeed occupying the warehouse, I would have overheard their obnoxious chatter and laughter. Maybe they did leave, but that didn't explain where Dark ran off.

Through the small square window on the door, I snuck a peep of the inside. It was mostly empty. The only illumination the inner, large room possessed was the moonlight scintillating through the many windows throughout the graffiti walls. The expansive floor that once probably filled many shipping crates and shelves looked caked in dirt and dust. In the far corner, I noticed a fire extinguisher half-buried under rotting debris from the roof. Although none of those details compared to the first thing that my eyes fell on. In the center of the room, I found Dark.