My Life was a Game

chapter 23

It was a peaceful night. The street was barren and quiet, a complete contrast of the street below the ground. This was a part of the city that had the underground nightclubs and bars. The guests usually hidden from the eyes of the world for the exclusive services. That night, Quartz had a meeting with his business partner and about to head home.

Coming out of the multi-storey parking lot, he passed the stores in the street when his eyes caught a sight of a woman with mahogany hair. She walked into one of the stores with two men. Quartz didn't think much and pulled over in front of the store. Onyx's words came into his mind. He warned all of them about the particular woman but he wasn't sure if she was the same one. But that guy had worried him since that day. If she could help his friend then, he would be grateful to her.

April, June and Grail were looking around the street as they waited for Alabaster's flight to arrive. They came out soon with cakes and drinks. It supposed to be a quick shop for foods but Quartz stopped the group outside the bakery. April frowned as she recognized him immediately. Grail was on guard when he saw Quartz come up to them, while June stood between the two.

"April, I know we aren't in a good term, yet. But I need to ask you about Onyx. He's gone missing. We can't find him anywhere or get any words from him. So if you know something, can you tell me?"

'Onyx is missing?', she thought. Alabaster informed her that he was missing under their radar but for him to be missing around his friends too, she had bad feelings about this. 'Why's no one knows his whereabouts?'. The group didn't respond to his inquiry but only glared at him. Quartz wouldn't back down just yet and waited for her words anxiously.

"I didn't know anything about him. I'm sorry but we need to go now."

"No, wait! Here. This is my contact number. If you got something from him, please hit me up. Anything..."

April looked at the business card. Quartz hadn't mentioned anything about their affair from before, so she gladly took the card from him. However, Quartz held her hand with his other hand, locking her in place. The group was taken by surprise. June tried to push his shoulder but he was unmovable. Quartz continued his speech.

"April, please. Just this once, help my friend. He might be in danger."

"I get it! Now, let me go!"

Quartz froze for a moment when he realized his hand had held on hers. Sometimes, he wondered why his body and mind went out of control whenever April popped up in his thoughts. This time, it freaked him up a little. He should be concerned for his friend, not obsessing over a woman. He let go of his hand when he felt a stinging pain on his left leg. His knees fell on the floor as blood pooling on the surface.

"I've warned you, Quartz. You shouldn't come closer to her."

A chilling voice came from his behind. The man with the darkest hair and an abyss like pupils stared down at him with a gun in his hand. Quartz wanted to scream but the sight of his friend met his eyes. A smoke still sizzled from the silencer. He couldn't believe it. He just shot him. Onyx just shot him.

"Oh my god! Onyx, what the hell are you doing?! Put down that gun now!", June screamed anxiously but he wouldn't dare to move his feet. April was behind him. She also froze, shocked with a sudden scene. Where did he come from? How did he find them? All questions ran through her mind. The danger felt surreal when her eyes noticed a red liquid from the corner of her eyes.

Red blood... The image of the horror suddenly came to her. She staggered as she remembered the burning red flesh surrounding her little body once. Grail quickly held her from behind. He was careless but his team should've been aware of the situation. They should move out now but his focus changed when the gun was pointed at him this time.