Next Up

Track 38

Before Zheanni had left the penthouse of those tied-up yuppies, her gaze fixed contemplatively on Stygian Tower looming in the distance. The events of the preceding days paraded through her mind. A wistful smile crept across her face as she leaned back, finding solace in the ethereal presence that had been her companion for the majority of her existence. With an eerie yet comforting assurance, she tipped backward, surrendering to the entity that held her close. 'My Dark Passenger, are you ready?' Nothing was said back, but she understood. A silent acknowledgement. Its intentions hung in the air with a soothing resonance.
 
Bryck and Culian arrived at the eastern side of Stygian Tower's property, still over half a mile till they reached the tower itself.
Their car slowed to a stop, seeing the wall of cars blocking their path. Behind that, were rows of people, all aiming their weapons at the two of them.
"Hands up, and get out!" The voice came from one of the hired policemen.
"No," one of the crime families' guard said. "Shoot em'!" He raised his gun.
The doors of the sports car flew open. Bullets rained on the crowd, killing most before they had a chance to fire back.
Bryck stood in the open, his flaming red aura danced around him wildly. His deep booming laugh grew louder as he shot recklessly at everything that moved in front of him.
Cullian stood back, taking his time, not missing a single bullet.
From the rear entrance, Wyrryr emerged into the sight of the guards. A formidable assembly of at least fifty personnel lined the back steps, adopting vigilant stances, poised to repel any potential intrusion. As he advanced, they swiftly raised their rifles and pistols, aiming, screaming at him.
All of them noticed the same thing at the same time. An eerie silence enveloped them, as if reality had lost all its sound. Bullets and shell casings, having just been expelled from their firearms, hung frozen in mid-air. In a surreal twist, each projectile abruptly reversed its trajectory, hurtling back toward the guards, ripping into them.
 
Autxmn tilted his head, looking through the scope. After a quick breath to steady himself, he pulled the trigger. A resounding 'whoosh' reverberated through the air, momentarily deafening him. Pungent smoke billowed as the rocket hurtled toward the entrance. Some guards had seen the young boy standing out in the open, but others didn't. The rocket hit the bulk of the guards, liquifying most on contact.
Even from the distance where he stood, the heat from the explosion was searing. Autxmn quickly checked his eyebrows and eyelashes, running his fingers along them to ensure they weren't singed off.
Those who lived screamed in agony. The contents of the rocket burned them away.
"You missed." Conor said, covering his nose. The smell of chemicals and melting flesh gave off a bad odor.
"Yeah," Autxmn frowned and huffed, disappointed. "I'll get it now!" He said eagerly, holding his hand out, looking at Conor with large expectant doe eyes. "Pleeeaaassee."
"Bruh, fine. Just hit the building this time." Conor handed him the last rocket.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Autxmn eagerly plopped to the ground, crossing his legs, loading up the other rocket. Conor watched him, waiting patiently as Autxmn went through the tedious process. "HAHA!" Autxmn yelled gleefully, once finished. He aimed once more. A long beat. "Hey, uh, Conor?" He asked, a bit sheepishly.
"Yeah?"
"Can you put your hands over my ears real quick? This thing's really, really loud."
"I...okay, fine," He grumbled begrudgingly, holding his hands tightly over Autxmn's ears, activating his energy so he wouldn't hurt himself from the discharge of the rocket.
The explosion tore through the front of Stygian Tower, rending it apart and sending smoke billowing into the sky like an ominous signal. As they closed in on the scene, they witnessed the emergence of an automated defense mechanism. Like metallic petals unfurling in response to an unseen threat, automatic metal sheets swiftly covered every entrance and window, cocooning the tower in a fortress of cold, unyielding steel. A robotic voice echoed through the chaos, sternly informing those inside that the building was now under a strict lockdown.
"Don't worry," A human voice boomed over the dining hall, coming from everywhere, though the person speaking never appeared. The chaos stopped in that moment, everyone forced to listen to the man's words. He somehow spoke in all languages at once, everyone was able to understand. The room had been upturned, no table or chair was left upright. "Whatever thug is causing this ruckus shall be put down by Stygian Tower's security force that is over five hundred strong. Attendees, you will be able to return to what you were doing, they won't be getting inside, because then, they'd have to deal with us." The building shuddered, and then the voice went quiet.
Zoe felt something deep within her, 'Am I feeling someone's energy?' It was that same feeling of darkness. The malice she felt when she was with Colson and Ivy, training their energy for the first time with Jashin. As if someone had placed a beacon on the top of the tower. Everyone who had energy felt the same thing, all looking to the sky simultaneously.
"I recognize that voice," Alder mumbled. Mitani glanced at him, seeing he looked almost more scared than before.
"Who is it?" Mitani hissed.
"The guy who built this tower. He lives on the top floor year-round."
The room erupted into nervous claps and cheers as Stygian Tower's security all began to walk toward the front of the building.
Mitani leaned into Zoe, whispering, "What are the chances this is KTA, and that John guy?"
"Definitely over eighty-seven." She said matter-of-factly.
"Well, it's up to you guys," Gemo said to the Parks. "You trust all these guards? It sounds like the event is continuing."
Alder stood tall. "I'm not worried. If they say we're safe, then we're safe." He looked down at Ayla, who looked slightly shaken from all the commotion. His eyes dared her to deny him at this moment.
"I'm good." Ayla nodded.
"Regardless, we should get off this floor..." Alder checked his watch again.
 
Stygian Tower is one hundred stories tall. On floor fifty is the surveillance center, where over seventy people monitor every room in the whole building.
Since they were all too busy watching the commotion outside, they never noticed the two girls walking out of the elevator, making a B-Line toward the CCTV room.
"They have it under control." One of them pointed. "I don't think we need to escalate this."
"We've locked down the whole building, and every room has been alerted."
The room became blindingly bright as a wall of golden light entered. "Now," Zheanni's commanding voice cut through the luminescent spectacle, "I don't know if any of you can understand me, but if y'all want any hope of seeing y'all kids grow, y'all are gonna turn around toward your screens and help us find someone."
Kholwa stood behind Zheanni, her wide eyes reflecting the screens that littered the walls. Thousands of thick heavy cables protruded from them like worms coming out of the earth after a heavy rain.
The man's hand was inches away from slamming a large red button on the desk. In a flash, Zheanni had grabbed a tuft of his hair and held his outstretched wrist. "You really thought," she cackled, twisting his arm backward. "I could fold your shit right here, bruh."
"Zheanni," Kholwa protested meekly before she broke it.
Zheanni stopped with an exasperated, "What?" The golden aura surrounding her flickered with annoyance.
"They were just scared."
She let the man go, and he fell to the ground in a sweaty, crying heap. "Okay." Glaring at the man, "You better get to steppin' real fuckin' quick." He didn't listen, so she dragged the man back to his seat by the hair. Announcing to the room, "Strike one and two right there. There will not-"
Several office phones began going off in the room.
"Ah!" Zheanni screeched, taking out a pistol from her pocket.
Everyone but Kholwa threw themselves to the floor as she started firing. Putting a hole in every phone that hung on the wall.
"Now," she sighed. "We are looking for a guy named Geo Amorew. He's the leader of the Amorew Dynasty. You will only speak if either me or her talk to you, or if you think you've found any traces...Oh yeah..." she walked across the room, turning off the lockdown of Stygian Tower.
Kholwa's gaze returned to the monitors. Seeing Conor and Wyrryr tear through the waves of guards coming from the tower. "Like a meat grinder."