by Lucy Rains
We began moving forward slowly, resuming our progress. As we walked toe first to keep our sounds low, my eyes regarded the guys in a different way. I saw them as they truly were. Experienced. Strong. Lethal. The experience in the yard with the band of angry men wanting their blood should have been a warning. These guys were hired killers. Digesting this realization humbled my inner obstinance towards them. There had been so much more to them than I had realized. Or that they had allowed me to see this far.
At the intersection everyone lined up single file along the wall behind Pierce, watching him and his next move. Waiting for the signal to proceed. Pierce checked around the corner, then moved forward to check out the car. We walked forward to join him. He opened the driver door, the rusted hinges protesting. I was about to move forward and look inside when Gavin stepped in front of me suddenly, blocking me with his body. I looked up into his face and was met with a stoney expression.
“No,” he said firmly. I tried to peer around his shoulder, catching a quick glimpse of Kyson removing a large rifle from the car, and Pierce holding a silver phone, but he moved into my line of view before I could see anymore. I raised an eyebrow at him, debating whether to force my way through or not.
His face lowered to mine and he whispered “Walk away, princess,” in a tone that was more condescending than anything else.
I was in the middle of taking a step closer to Gavin, ready to pulse a shot of energy into his groin when a hand wrapped around my arm and pulled me backwards. Without turning around, I glared at Gavin’s hard dark eyes as I tried to shake off the arm and continue with my plan. But it was pointless. Alex was stronger than I was.
Kyson and Pierce were beginning to move forward again. Gavin gave my rear a firm smack to propel me forward and I let out a hiss of anger.
After one more block, a couple dark alley ways, and a few stray cats, Pierce signaled for us to halt again. He walked in closer to the group and spoke in low tones.
“Target is just around the next block. We need to go in slow.”
Following his orders, we moved slower, with more caution. My heart was loud in my chest, and I resisted the urge to hold someone’s hand. The closer we got to the location, the more nervous I felt. All these nerves I couldn’t control, made me realize I had no business being in this operation. But it was much too late now.
As we neared the end of the block, I felt a presence again. I grabbed the back of Kysons vest and steered him up on the sidewalk and by a stone wall. The rest of the guys followed. All four giving me curious looks.
“There is someone right around the corner,” I whispered to four sets of questioning eyes. “Whoever it is, they’re aggressive.”
“How do you know that,” asked Gavin.
My mouth opened but nothing came out. I shrugged, shaking my head with my own confusion. I couldn’t explain how I felt it. It was like the same ability of being able to feel the guys emotions, but now others as well. Like a second presence in my mind. It was unwelcome but unfortunately also helpful.
The guys nodded. I was then pushed behind three of them and Alex held up the rear. We moved forward slowly, as Pierce peered around the corner. He held up his hand and raised one finger, I assumed it meant there was one person. He then leaned a bent knee, braced his shoulder on the wall, brought his silenced pistol to shoulder level and aimed. He fired one single shot and brought the gun back down. He got up and began moving again.
The rest of the guys pulled out their own guns and now held them with both hands as we rounded the corner. About 20 feet in front of us, a chubby, bearded man dressed in black lay sprawled on the ground. Dark red liquid oozing from the side of his head. His eyes were still open, a small gun was lying close to his chest. Gavin couldn’t stop me from seeing this time.
I didn’t stare long though. I knew better then to start analyzing the dead. Already my limbs were feeling heavy and a weight sat on my chest. Not the bullet proof vest, but a dark cloud that hung heavy in my mind.
I looked at the poorly painted, dented door that the man had apparently been sitting by, on a metal stool. I did not want to go through that door.
The guys regrouped and positioned themselves around the door; ready to enter the large warehouse structure. Pierce looked at me and motioned for me to get behind him. I held up a finger to signal for him to wait.
I pushed my new empathic senses forward, trying to feel what was behind the door. There was more than one presence. I tried to search the best I could, and get a feel for what they were walking into. But I was to new with this ability and I wasn’t skilled at using it on command or projecting it forward.
“There is one, close to the door,” I whispered. “And others are nearby.”
“We figured this,” said Pierce, “any idea how many?”
I shook my head.
The five of us took our positions as Pierce opened the door slowly. He moved forward, staying low, coming up to a crouch and firing off 2 shots. I heard a thumping noise and knew he had hit his target. My first reaction was to worry that someone nearby might have heard the body fall. But I realized with relief there was a nearby television, set at a high volume with a commercial drowning out our noise. Competing with the noise of the TV were male voices talking loudly. They bantered casually, laughing and yelling at each other.
“Clear” Pierce whispered loudly, and the rest of the guys filed in. I stayed in the rear with Alex. Wishing I could just stay by the front entrance for the rest of the time.
The door we entered opened up to a dark narrow hallway. As we stepped over the newly dead body, we began moving forward down the hall, towards the noise.
I peered over the guys tall shoulders, seeing a door up on the right with light and cigarette smoke filtering out into the hall, creating a haze. Alex put an arm around my shoulders to keep me still. I saw Kyson pull something out of his front pocket and pull a pin, then rolled it into the room. After several seconds the haze thickened and the men inside began coughing. Kyson, Gavin and Pierce simultaneously bounded into the room and began firing off shots to the unsuspecting men. Silencers were on all the guns, to keep our presence unnoticed as long as possible. But there were shouts of alarm as the men saw that they were under attack.
I let my body shrink back into Alex, wanting to distance myself from the mass killing. I swallowed hard, letting out a heavy breath. After a minute the guys came out and declared it clear. Alex pushed me forward and we began moving again. As we passed the room I told myself not to look, nothing good would come of it. But I couldn’t help myself, my head turned at the last minute, catching a glimpse inside. Blood spatters, still bodies, blank eyes. I tried to breathe deeply and keep focused on the task. But the more the dead piled up, the harder it was becoming.
“Keep your head up, Jade. Still more to go.” Alex commanded from behind me as he sensed my unease.
I wanted to reassure him that I was fine, but it would be a lie, and he would know it. So I just moved forward slowly.
Everything around me disappeared for a moment as I searched the building. Trying to use my newly obtained ability, I pushed forward and out, searching for life. Like fingers stroking the air around me.
My breath choked in my throat at the first presence I found. Terrific fear pulsed into my mind. I paused and a hand went to my head as I found a second presence in the same state.
My knees shook, I felt an arm around my shoulders. I held up a shaky finger, not wanting to lose my concentration. I pulled away and kept pushing around the building. I found one other hostile emotions. Aggression and frustration. When I felt like I had searched my best I pulled back and opened my eyes.
Pierce and Kyson were standing in front of me, Gavin and Alex held positions on the sides.
I swallowed, “I’m sorry, I needed to check. No one else on this floor,” I said softly. “A few people on the second. A couple victims, and one threat.”
“A couple victims?” asked Pierce.
I nodded.
&nbs
p; Pierce looked to Kyson, “We’re going to have to call Jason.”
Kyson swore under his breath. “Not yet. Lets secure everything first, then get Jade out of here.”
Pierce nodded and pulled away from me. He ejected his magazine and replaced it with a new one. “Let's move.”
We went into our single line formation again and moved quietly through the dark halls. Dim light from a couple empty rooms filtered out into the hall. Paint was peeling, water damaged lined the ceiling creases, and some walls had holes in them. We knew the rest of the floor was empty, but the guys checked every room anyways.
The building smelled of mold, dust, and other scents I couldn’t name. Some sort of rotting smell was thick and stood out above the rest. It had obviously been vacated from official use for many years. My hands shook harder the farther we got into the building, away from the the door that led to the outside.
Our hallway opened up into a large common area room, that had a stairway leading to the 2nd floor. The stairs had no railings, only metal steps that ascended upwards. The 2nd floor was visible from our position, with banisters that wrapped around the walkways. I could see four doors, one was open wide, one was closed and two were cracked.
As our formation started to move up the stairs we all froze at the sound of intense whimpering that filled the silence. A gruff voice began speaking in a language I didn’t recognize. Our pause was broken at the sound of a heavy smack of flesh on flesh. The whimpering turned to crying. Pierce began moving quickly up the stairs and we followed. The helpless fear I had felt earlier intensified.
As we moved towards the room it was another smack and the crying turned to sobbing. The guys moved in a flury, Pierce and Gavin taking up position outside the door. The gruff voice began talking faster, and the small sound of rustling fabric, metal and zipper, made my heart skip a beat. My eyes widened, realizing what was happening. My foot took a step back and I pushed my back up against the wall, dark emotional memories pushing into my mind.
I gasped and closed my eyes. I tried pushing them away, but they swarmed in against my will. Grey empty eyes, a bald head, hands on my wrists, the sound of a zipper.
Suddenly the gruff voice vanished, and a body hit the floor. But the sobbing continued. Someone whispered loud enough to hear, “Clear.”
White noise clouded my hearing. My eyes remained closed as I tried to fight against the images that flashed into my mind, paralyzing me against the wall. I couldn’t handle this right now, I screamed inside my head. I grappled for control, trying to push the noises and images away.
Hands gripped my shoulder and I cringed in fear, bringing my hands up to shield myself instinctively.
“Jade,” Kyson’s voice was urgent, anxious.
I opened my eyes, Kysons head was dipped low trying to fill my line of sight.
I shook my head, my breathing shallow, my mouth unable to form words. Kyson unzipped the top of my vest and I pushed myself back harder against the wall instinctively trying to get away from him.
I had tried so hard to get away. Branches tangling in my hair, scratching the skin at my neck. The dark clouded sky loomed over as I had struggled.
Suddenly a warm hand was on my chest. The pressure intensified my internal hum to spread through my body, pushing out my trauma. The memories receded and I was able to take a deep breath. I looked into Kyson’s eyes, his face mere inches from mine.
I swallowed. “I...I’m okay.”
Kyson’s mouth was pinched into a frown. “What was that, Jade?”
Alex stood behind me, his face just as tense. His eyes darted to Kyson’s hand on my chest and then back to my eyes.
“Jade?” Kyson called my attention back to him. His dark eyebrows furrowed at me, waiting for an answer.
I cleared the thickness from my throat, trying to straighten. “Memories,” I uttered in a low tone.
Kyson dropped his hand, and his frown deepened. I zipped my vest back up and gave a small nod.
Kyson and Alex both gave me looks that promised future discussions before walking into the room where Gavin and Pierce waited for us.
Sitting on a bare stained mattress on the floor were two girls. Their knees were pulled up tight, close to their bodies. Tears streamed down their young make-up streaked faces, their hands were tied in front of them. They looked to be around 16 or 17, wearing party dresses, now ragged and hanging from thin bodies. Their feet were bare, their once polished toes, now chipped. Bruises dotted their arms and legs, with various scratches on their faces. One girl had welts on her cheek. Their eyes were panicked at the sight of us, their slim frames trembling.
I turned from the girls to examine the room. It reeked of urine and stale food. My sensitive nose crinkled at the pungent intensity. Plastic bags were scattered around on the ground filled with garbage and rotting food remnants.
As I surveyed the room, my eyes landed on a body in the corner. Another girl, in a sparkly gold dress, kitten heels still on her feet. Her head was facing the wall and her hair covered her face. But something wasn’t right about her. She too still. Bent in half in a manner that would be too uncomfortable to sleep in.
My hand flew up to my mouth, my stomach rolling in disgust.
“Oh shit,” Alex mumbled behind me. “This is bad.”
“We can’t stop yet,” Pierce commanded. “Let’s help the girls and then find the target.”
“How do you know one of them isn’t the target?” I asked in a whisper.
“Not missing any ears,” Alex responded.
The girls had stopped crying as they eyed Kyson moving towards them. They cringed in obvious fear, turning away from him and bringing their hands up. I recognized their behavior, could feel it in myself.
“Stop Kyson,” I moved in front to block him from going any farther. “Let me.”
I didn’t wait for his approval. I turned around and walked across the room to the girls and knelt in front of them. Once in front of them, I realized I couldn’t free them without a knife. I looked up at Kyson and held out my hand. He knew what I needed and placed a sharp blade on my palm.
I turned back to the girls, and thankfully the knife in my hand didn’t seem to alarm them. Their brown eyes were wide, cautious, but less fearful.
I got close in their personal space and tried to talk to them. “We aren’t here to hurt you. I’m going to cut your ropes, but you have to stay quiet, okay?” I asked softly.
They nodded frantically, holding their fists up to my level to make it easier for me to cut them. As I sat by them, I realized the freshly dead body by my feet had blood pooling too close for comfort.
The distraction was too much, “Can someone please move him?” I asked over my shoulder.
“No can do,” replied Gavin with no remorse. “Need to leave everything as is for the follow-up crew.”
My eyes rolled as I brought the knife up to the first girl with long stringy black hair that hung down to her waist. I sawed through her ropes careful not to catch any skin. As soon as she was cut loose, she began crying softly again. I set her friend free and she reached over and hugged the other girl, sobbing in relief. They began talking rapidly to each other in Spanish, looking at the girl in the corner and sobbing harder.
“Hey,” I called softly, getting their attention, “Do you know where another girl is?” They stared at me and I tried again in what little spanish I could manage, “Otra Persona? Otra chica? En aqui?” I motioned behind me to signify the building.
The girls shook their heads silently.
“I doubt they would know,” said Pierce. “If they’ve been holed up here, its likely they haven’t seen anything else.”
“I felt two people, two fearful emotions. That’s obviously these girls. So, what does that mean?”
“Let’s keep moving,” Gavin urged.
I nodded and stood up. “Someone needs to stay with them.”
“Kyson,” said Pierce, “Stay in the room, and check them over with your hands-off approach. Then w
e can brief the medics on what they will need. Stand guard, keep an eye on them.”
Kyson nodded and moved out of the way as the rest of us exited the room. We began moving down the hall towards another door when I felt a new presence suddenly enter the building. Anger, rage...Before I could warn the guys footsteps sounded from downstairs. The person was more than jogging.
“Find a room, take cover,” whispered Pierce quickly.
Gavin latched an arm around my waist, hauling me backwards with him into a room on our right side. We disappeared from view to the lower floor. Once inside, Gavin pushed me behind him and kept an eye out the door.
The room he had chosen smelled horrid. Worse than the girls room. Worse than anything I had every smelled. Putrid and rotten. I was about to complain when a voice shouted loudly in the same foreign language of the rapist. My body froze, my breath stopped. The man downstairs seemed to be looking for someone. His tone was impatient, alarmed. I realized he had seen the dead men. The footsteps started moving up the stairs when another voice answered him. Another person had come into the building with him.
Gavin shrank back as he pushed the door farther closed, moving me backwards slightly. I took a step back to give him some room when my foot bumped into something.
I covered the lower half of my face with my shirt, desperate to block the smells that were muddling my brain. My head turned to look for the offending source. When I began to examine the room my heart literally stopped and I could feel the blood drain from my face. I backed up quickly, knocking into the wall by the door. My hands went to my face, my eyes locked on the horror in front of me.
Gavin turned to see what had spooked me and cursed colorfully. He moved in front of my line of sight, but not touching me. “Jade, breathe, you have to breathe.”
I couldn’t hear him, his voice was muffled. I couldn’t see his beautiful dark eyes or his thin lips moving. The images of the carnage laid out on the metal tables in the middle of the room was seared into my mind. Forever to haunt my dreams.