“That two can be one,” Blaze responds. “To be honest, they could have shifted their numbers.”
Just like Blaze suggested, that two did become one. Blaze did us both a favor by taking him out with ease. Before I left him, he wasn’t as good as he was now. He’s improved…drastically. It only took me losing Vartal to realize it.
We move forward as a unit, slogging through whatever tricks the opposition has in store for us, all while keeping our cool to the outside world. Even with the demons changing things up, we manage to stay ahead of them and stay on task. It isn’t long before we reach our destination.
We enter the building as carefully as possible. Abby showed us the layout, but that has nothing to do with who or what is inside the building. We barely got an accurate count on potential demons around the perimeter, since the recon was purely observational. No need to start a fight without looking to finish it.
“This way,” Blaze says as he leads the way with his gun. We creep down the halls, and stop at the edge of an opening to the central part of the building. “Nothing so far,” he says calmly before peaking his head out into the open. “It’s quiet.”
“Isn’t it always?” I respond. “What was this place again? The layout’s weird.”
“A meat-packaging plant…industrial outskirts. Focus.”
“I am. It was just on my mind for some reason.”
“…Okay, this is where we split up. Hit up the nooks and crannies and work your way back to the center. If you hear gunshots, same thing—work your way back to the middle, but be smart about it. Got it?”
“Yeah,” I respond.
“Abs, let the others know we’re inside, but something doesn’t seem right.”
“Roger,” Abby replies with a whisper.
“Stay sharp, guys.”
Blaze breaks off from the two of us and ventures deeper into the facility. I wait against the wall we’re up against, my feet, firmly planted. Abby looks to me and I return her gaze with a nod. Abby cuts in front of me, her eyes still affixed to mine.
“It’s like riding a bike,” she says softly. “You got this.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Abby breaks away in the same manner as Blaze, turning the corner quickly and with purpose.
I take a deep breath and pop out from the corner after her. From there, we go our separate ways.
Chapter 4: Turn Pike
“This place is seriously creepy,” I mumble to myself under my breath as I continue my search. I haven’t found any Sphinx yet, but this factory is virtually empty, and freezing cold. In a way, it brings me back to when I was hunting by myself. I had Vartal with me, so I wasn’t nearly as on edge. Just having him inside of me gave me a calming effect. Not that it was a good thing, but it led to good results. It was a quiet confidence that I’d fuck up whatever came my way, and I did. In the months that I hunted with him, I would have died so many times if it wasn’t for him healing me. Facing death as much as I did back then sort of made me feel invincible. I’m a good hunter, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t better when I had Vartal in my corner. I was unhinged. Untamed. It wasn’t good for me, but I got results.
Realizing what I’m doing, I push the thoughts of the demon out of my mind as I continue my search. There’s still nothing on Sphinx, which is crazy because Abby’s usually on the ball when it comes to this sort of thing. The place looks like it hasn’t been occupied in years, but I know that can’t be the case. There wouldn’t be demons staking out the surrounding blocks if this was just a random building.
I investigate further, slowing my pace to take in anything and everything that the environment offers. An awkward smell, a soft groan, a cough, some trash on the ground, all I need is a sign to crack up their ruse.
About five minutes later, I find something out of the ordinary. A curtain without the same worn-down look that everything else in the space has at the end of a hall, and there’s a light behind it. Several, in fact. “What the hell…?”
I peel back the clear curtains and find myself in a room lined on both sides with adults, incapacitated and bound on cots with IVs hooked into their arms, feeding blue poison into their veins. Shit. They’re mainlining them Sphinx from a drip. It doesn’t take me long to pinpoint the person responsible for the moans. A white female, late twenties, with tattered clothes and a dirtied face.
“What did you do with her? Bastards,” she says in a stupor. “She didn’t do anything to you! None of us did.” Her eyes roll to the back of her head as she fades in and out of consciousness.
“Hey, hey… I’m not one of them,” I say as I move towards her, “I’m one of the good guys and I’m going to get you out of here. All of you. I just need you to sit tight until my friends get a hold on the situation. We’re going to kill them.”
“T-they’re…shipping us away. Don’t let them ship me away. They’ve got Janelle.” I study her leather bindings and the needle planted in her arm, at a loss of where to start. “Please,” she groans. “I can’t live like this,” she rasps in a slurred panic.
Damn. We weren’t prepared for this. I can give her some of my Holy Water, but—
She tenses against her restraints and continues to squirm.
“Listen I—” A man’s voice registers in my ear and I turn to trace the sound. It’s faint, but as he draws closer, I’m able to make out what he’s saying.
“Told ya. It’s her again. That bitch hasn’t stopped crying since we got her last week. I say we kill her. They know the rules. Keep quiet or take your punishment.”
Shit. I turn back to face her, my emotions hidden behind a cold facade.
“I need you to stay calm, okay? I won’t let them hurt you,” I say to her softly.
“Please, don’t go. Please.”
I break away from her and go to the corner near the entrance of the room, my gun loaded and ready as I squat to hide myself from my enemies’ potential line of sight. I just hope she doesn’t give me away.
Two demons enter into the room in male bodies; one with a syringe, the other with a handgun. Together, they meet in front of the girl’s bed.
“She’s weak. She may not survive, and we aren’t killing her. She’s worth more alive than dead. It’s just wasted resources if we kill her. Gonna dope her up instead. Put that shit away.”
“You’re a lucky bitch. John’s going to give you another shot…fix you up real good. An upgrade.”
“Please, don’t. No. Please! I’ll be good, I promise. I swear!” She thrashes for survival, but she’s not strong enough to break her restraints. I could have gotten one earlier, but the second one would have easily taken me down before I had a chance.
This self-doubting shit is really starting to bite me on the ass.
“Ha, yeah, I bet. Don’t act like you don’t crave this stuff. You ain’t foolin’ anyone.” The woman squirms defiantly as I steady my aim their way. “Hold her down,” the demon huffs. “I don’t want to miss. Quit moving. You’ll only make it worse.” He presses on the plunger of his syringe and a stream of Sphinx squirts into the air.
My grip tightens around my Beretta as I look on in disgust. I can’t let them go through with this, even if it isn’t a perfect opening.
“No, don’t. Please! Help me!” She screams and continues to thrash at her restraints while the demons laugh at her, tickled by her feeble attempts of defiance.
“Hell, what do you think we’re trying to do?”
“Hey.” Both of the demons twist their heads my way in a stupor. “I don’t think she was talking to you, Ass-hat.” I pull the trigger once, and then a second time immediately after. My first shot pierces straight into the demon’s face, killing him before he can put up a fight. The second shot isn’t as fortunate. It hits the second demon’s shoulder, but he’s able to push through the pain and grab for his gun. “Shit.” I squeeze the trigger again in a panic as I move towards the exit and he fires back. Both of us, failing to hit each other. Wary of my weapon, he hesitates on pursuing
me while I backpedal to the nearest bend, desperate for cover. He fires again as I retreat behind the wall, but all he manages to do is riddle the interior with bullets. “Blaze, Abby! We’ve got hostiles!”
I hope they heard me. They could be anywhere.
“Hunters!” the demon yells.
I tap the back of my head against the wall I’m posted against and forcefully exhale through my mouth. Come on, Sailor…you can do this. It’s just like before. You got this.
I emerge from the corner, ready to blast, but I can’t—my trigger finger jams, and rightfully so. The fucker’s using the space between the beds as cover.
“Shit.” The demon pokes his gun over the woman’s legs and begins to fire blindly. I pivot back into cover, but not before witnessing a few strays bury into the body of his captives on the beds between us. They’re so drugged up, they don’t even make a sound. I press my body against the wall again and manage to steal another glance. He fires again and I retract my head behind cover. “Damn it,” I hiss. I take a second to refocus and pop out from a different angle—just fast enough to witness him lay cover fire as he retreats to the exit. I go back into cover, crouch, and reload, all the while shaking my head. “I’ll be back for you,” I yell without looking back into the room.
Gunfire erupts throughout the facility just as I close my mouth and I instantly try to pinpoint the sound. The woman on the table’s crazed screams pound at my ear drums, adding a blood-curdling accent to an already nerve-wracking situation. “Don’t leave me! I don’t want to die like this! Don’t let them take me away.”
I don’t respond to her, instead, I push my nerves to the side, stand to my feet, and make my way towards the gunfire, desperate to meet up with the others. I’m at too much of a disadvantage over there. I have to draw him away from everyone else.
“Blaze? Abby?” I quicken my pace, my gun leading the way as I trek through the halls.
We have the jump on them. If we thin them out before they regroup and strategize, our chances will be better.
Crap.
I abruptly stop at the sight of a burly built demon who locks eyes with me, a syringe loaded with Sphinx in his hand. I stand my ground and shoot him in the knee as he charges my way. He howls and lurches forward in agony once his weight settles on his damaged joint. Before he can do anything else, I follow up by unloading a round in his chest and another in his head before he eventually hits the ground, slides, and stops not even a foot away from me.
The syringe that was in his hand skips across the floor and rests at my feet.
I eye the blue concoction and feel a scowl emerge on my face. I can’t help it after all the shit that it’s been tied to. I press my foot against the base of the syringe, crushing it under the weight of my combat boots before grinding it into the ground.
I hear a set of pattering feet rushing my way, but by the time I turn to face the sound, it’s too late. I lift my gun to fire but the rampaging demon tackles me into the wall. My shot fires towards the ground, misguided by his brute strength crashing against my body and causing the back of my head to slam into the wall. The kick from my gun combined with the demon’s momentum causes my Beretta to fall to the floor, stripping me of an immediate way out.
“Fucking hunters!”
The demon presses his weight against me before creating some space to throw a right hook. He launches his fist and I slip his punch. I then grab my knife and go for the kill.
“Ah!”
I’m not fast enough. He grabs my wrist and promptly shoves his other hand around my throat. I try to force the blade into his chest, but he twists my wrist, causing it to drop from my hand as I yelp in pain.
“Let. Me. Go!” I repeatedly strike my forearm against the bend of his arm, but it does little to free me from his hold on my neck. Instead, he smirks cockily at my distress.
“You made a mistake, coming here.” He pulses his grip around my neck and I gag. “It’s gonna cost ya.” His grin widens.
Before his grip can get any tighter, I torque my hips and go into a flying armbar. My momentum breaks his center of gravity and I’m able to flip him on his back and reverse his hold. From there, I draw my second Beretta with my free hand and shoot him twice in the space between his collar bone and neck. The demon screams in agony, but still has some fight left in him. He swings his other hand my way, but I pump another round into his head, ending him completely.
I scoot away from the downed demon and another person registers in my field of view. I raise my gun on pure instinct, ready to fire at a moment’s notice, my breaths coarse and ragged.
“Sailor! You okay?” Blaze. My snarl fades and I lower my hand to the floor before breathing as deeply as I can to restore the oxygen to my lungs. “I saw the whole thing.”
He rushes over to me and hoists me up, but I do the majority of the heavy lifting, insisting to stand on my own.
“Then why didn’t you shoot?” I rasp. “I almost got my neck broken.”
“He was too close to you. Didn’t want to shoot you on accident… And it’s not like he couldn’t use you as a shield if he had to.”
“Yeah, I guess,” I huff. “Good call.” Blaze reaches for my gun and knife on the ground and hands them to me.” We have to move and wipe these guys out.” I cough and wipe my mouth with my sleeve. There’s a faint taste of blood when I swallow. “The product isn’t just Sphinx. It’s people. They’re trafficking them. Sex trafficking.” I clear my throat and get another taste of bitter iron.
“Yeah, I was just about to tell you. I saw a room with a bunch of people stretched out on cots, hooked up to IVs. I figure you saw the same.”
“Yeah, I did.” I nod before stashing away my knife and beginning to reload. It was sick. “I don’t know how many of them are going to make it. There’s the drugs, sure, but some of them got caught up in the crossfire. They were so gone that they didn’t even realize that they’d been shot.”
“Shot?”
“They were wild shots…fired off just to keep me at bay.” I honestly don’t want to think about it, but it’s hard not to considering the circumstances. They’re most likely going to die without medical attention. “Where’s Abby?” I voice coldly, trying my best to distance myself from the events that had just transpired.
“Alive.” Blaze breaks away from me and begins to walk back towards the gunfire. “We should make our way to the rendezvous to regroup. She should be on her way there…or trying to,” he says, his voice trailing behind him. “Let’s hurry.”
“Yeah.”
With Blaze leading the way, his brisk walk quickly transforms into a jog as I follow him through the facility. It doesn’t take long for us to meet more resistance. Four demons. We get the jump on them, shooting at them from behind as they rush parallel to us from the opposite side of the columned, dead space within the facility.
We both nab the same target, tagging him in the back multiple times on the way down. The other demons turn back and whip out their guns.
“Cover!” Blaze yells as he runs towards the nearest available column, I press my shoulder to the one beside me and fire safely at an angle, buying Blaze some much-needed time. With the help of my suppressing fire, Blaze makes it to a pillar just in time for me to switch guns. “Thanks!” I waggle my eyebrows and smirk before popping out and unloading my fresh Beretta. Blaze pops out a second or so later and picks them off while their focus is on me.
“Good shooting.” We mutually reload our weapons while remaining watchful of any coming threats.
“Do you think backup’s on the way?”
“Yeah, of course. Abby probably sent out the signal the second things went south. I saw about a dozen people on IVs. How many did you see?”
“About the same. Male and female, our age. Early twenties.”
“I only saw women.”
“How many do you think they have in here?”
“People? Not sure. We need to get them out of here, though. Safe. I bet being in this place is like H
ell on earth.” Blaze begins to step out from cover, but the sound of guns firing keep him at bay. “You heard that?” The sounds stop as quickly as they start and the immediate area falls silent. Blaze looks my way and then juts his head in the direction of the now nonexistent sounds. “Give it a second,” he whispers. I nod and press myself as flat as I can against my column, ready to support Blaze through his play. “…Abby?”
Guess not.
After Blaze calls her name, I emerge from cover and watch her as she approaches our way. She looks relatively healthy. Her forehead is bloody, her left cheek is slightly swollen, and her gait is off a tad, but around here, it’s considered a success when nothing on you is broken, punctured, or severed. She nods at Blaze as she walks past him and gives me a quick hug before breaking away. “Backup should be coming soon. They’re using this place as a hub to traffic people…get them strung out on Sphinx and ship them off for who knows what.”
“Slavery...ritual fodder...vessels. The possibilities are endless,” Blaze says bitterly, his back still to us as he scouts the area. My eyes narrow at the thought of Gareth and how he bragged about the ‘parties’ he used to throw. Glad he’s dead…glad I killed him. Fuck him and fuck the fact that other places like this still exist in the world. “Sailor and I each came up on a set of people. The ones I saw were incapacitated…hooked to an IV drip.”
“One of mine wasn’t…she was screaming…probably still fresh. That’s how I found out where they were. Her voice led me to them.” I pause. “It’s actually how everything popped off.”
“Did you find any drugs?” Abby asks.
“No,” I respond. Blaze glances back towards us, but only to shake his head.
“Nah.”
“I did…upstairs. There’s a lab going.”
“Good. So the intel we got wasn’t that bad after all.” Blaze presses his back against the wall of the column.
“It never was,” Abby responds while checking her guns. “It’s a package deal. They were just discreet.”
Sailor Ray and the Beginning of the End Page 2