Another bone-chilling scream quashed his thoughts and brought Vincent's attention to the bloodbath on the big screen. Flesh, teeth, eyeballs hanging from tendrils, all sparking squeamish cries from the crowd. He quickly dropped his eyes to the cell phone in his lap. Unlike Kailan, he'd never been one for horror flicks. Hated everything about them. And more than anything, he despised the jump-scares.
Just then, the entire audience erupted in a start. Gasps, screams, and then exonerating laughter. Everyone got a kick out of the startling scene but Vincent, who bit his lip, eagerly awaiting Jeff's reply. They'd been discussing a party, and Vinny was quick to jump on the topic of Gigi. If she was to show, it would give him the perfect opportunity to confront her. All he needed now was a text back from Jeff.
But slowly and surely, his thoughts were serenaded by the climactic music. His distraction ebbed away, his attention drawing closer and closer to the screen. And then there was a flash of lightning. A chainsaw was taken to the woman's neck, the blade tearing through flesh, flinging blood about like wet petals from a rose.
Vincent jumped as his cellphone vibrated against his thigh, all color flushed from his pallid face. God, he hated horror flicks.
"Gigi Dubois?" Jeff had responded, "Yeah, she'll be there."
It was a relief to step out of the theater thirty minutes later. The sun had gone down long before they'd even arrived, but Seattle was well lit with street-lamps and neon signs; rushing glow from passing cars, and light that seeped from apartment windows and saturated the lively city.
"I can't tell whether I liked or hated that movie," Kailan said as they gathered at the nearest wall. He rubbed the stiffness from his neck, and gave his muscles and overdue stretching. The movie was a mess, and he wasn't a picky person. But as far as horror flicks go, it was Hollywood trash.
"It was the best." April refuted, "You loved it."
"Actually, I think I hated it." He said, causing her to pout.
"You're just saying that to be an ass." Much like a child, April crossed her arms over her chest and smacked her boot against the pavement. Kailan couldn't help but grin at her moping expression. "See, you're lying," she accused, and Kailan's only retort was to place a hand over his chest as if the words had offended him. April giggled at his animated expression, and all was forgiven.
Vincent rolled his eyes.
He'd been clashing with April all evening, the two barking at one another like pugnacious lapdogs. Had something happened between them? Not at all. He just suddenly seemed to find her presence obnoxious. With her around, he was a third wheel. Third didn't suit him. If anything, he was usually the one riding the damn bike.
"Aw, my rides here," she seemed disappointed, acknowledging the text on her phone. She said her goodbyes to Kailan, and only stuck a tongue out at Vincent in her typical whimsical manner. Then she left to frolic across the street, towards a sleek car patiently awaiting her arrival.
"Well, that was fun," Kailan said, and threw an arm around Vinny's shoulder. He hadn't been paying attention, and the gesture made him jump. In a second flat, Kailan's signature Cheshire grin was slicing through his face, "Didn't get scared, did you?"
Vincent scowled and dropped his cellular into his pocket. Horror movies were never his thing. His excuse was always the same; they were the cheesy, low-budget trash. A waste of money—which was really quite a shitty excuse for someone like him. But in reality, Vincent scared easily. He always had, and it was a fact Kailan had unearthed at a young age.
He shrugged Kai's shoulder off with a grimace and walked on, "Pretty sure I slept through half of it."
Kailan practically giggled, "Sure, buddy." He caught up with his long strides, folding his hands atop his head. "You've always been a pansy for gore. But that movie was horrible. I hate cliché horror," his sigh hummed with disappointment.
"Also, what the hell is your issue with April?" It'd been a long walk to the theater with the two of them nipping at each other like coyotes over rotten meat. "You guys are like children, fighting all the damn time. Frankly I'm surprised you haven't tried pulling her pigtails," he watched Vinny, patiently waiting for an answer that would never come. Sometimes talking to him felt a lot like he had to stick a needle under his skin.
"Yanno, forget it. I'd rather just enjoy the night," Kailan said blithely, finding comfort in his jacket pockets.
But breaking his silence, Vincent forfeited with a shrug, "She's alright, I guess." That was the truth of the matter. He didn't mind April so much. But something about her set him off every time she hung around. The fact that he was out-voted on the choice of movie hardly helped his mood. Now they were gallivanting in the musty shadows of the city, and he wanted nothing more than to be home with Archibald.
"I'm tired. Let's take a short-cut," he walked ahead as he spoke, to lead Kailan down his own preferred path. Of course a cab would have worked just as well, but bailing out now meant dealing with Kailan's insufferable taunting.
Instead, he walked on into a darker path. It wasn't the usual course back to the dorms, but he had taken it once. It would cut their walking time in half and spare them from the ungodly night traffic. Granted, it did require traveling between alley ways, and scaling a fence or two. A decision he would regret just seconds later.
Kailan had been watching the back of his taller friend. He was a prankster who never gave up opportunities, and Vincent was leading him right to the holy grail. He waited a bit, the sound of the city and their footsteps the only thing around. Once they'd ventured into the dark, musky realms of a vacant backstreet, he made his move. Quickly, Kailan jumped in front of Vincent, cupping a hand over his mouth and shoving him against the brick wall.
"Boo." He lingered there for maybe a second too long, laughing as he withdrew his hand and backed away.
Vincent stared with wide eyes and a winded pant, before giving Kailan a firm shove backwards. "Asshole." He tugged on the collar of his jacket, reinstating his composure. Even so, his heart drummed wildly against his rib cage. He leaned against the brick wall, clenching his chest and puffing in a fresh breath of air. "You just think you're so damn funny."
Suddenly, his scowl was washed away as a loud screech ripped through the night, silencing everything in its deafening contrast. Vincent leapt back, grabbing hold of the closest thing to him.
Once he saw the source of the noise—two feisty alley cats hissing and chasing one another through a battered chain-link fence—he withdrew an alleviated sigh. All this time, his hand had attached itself to Kai's arm, and he was clinging to the fabric of his sleeve like a frightened child. He released, cleared his throat, and ran a hand over the side of his neck as if he could rub the embarrassment away.
Kailan's eyebrows rose high in amusement, "Need to take a breather? I'm sure you're pretty shaken up by those... alley cats," he hesitated before saying the last two words, then Kailan brushed by his shoulder as he took the lead. A laugh followed, leaving the empty alleyway a little less desolate. And far more ghoulish.
He turned around, watching Vinny with an impish snicker. It was dark shadows cast over his expression, blackening it spare for the white glint of teeth.
Vinny shook his head and wiped the chills from his arms, but he didn't say a word as he carried on. He followed Kailan to the end of the alley, where the moon had broken through cuts and fissures to bathe the view in front of them in a placid blue light. It wasn't much, but it was better than tripping blindly over loose bricks and strewn trash.
"Wait," Vinny ordered, throwing out an arm to stop Kai just sort of a shambled clearing. He could hear something. The faint, hysteric whispers of men. He took a quiet step forward, just enough so that he could make out the dark silhouettes of bodies a few yards away. Three of them; two towering over the third, who looked nearly petrified as he balled himself helplessly in the corner.
"Just slit his fuckin' throat. I'm tired of dealing with it," the first man grumbled. His features were no more than a fleck of glowing red as he sucked a lungful of air through his cigarette.
"Don't, please," the man cowered, holding his head in fear.
"Then stop bullshitting us, Tony," the third man hunched over, palming his knees to look the frightened one in the eyes. "Where the fuck's your money?"
"I—I don't have it," the man was nearly one with the wall, sweat tumbling down his forehead in a nervous tell. "If you let me go, I'll wire you both money. I swear."
"Six figures a year and you don't have your wallet on you? Doesn't that seem a little convenient?" the first figure snarled, pressing a boot to the man's skull. His face met the bricks, crushed between the wet stone, and the filthy heel of his shoe. "We ain't that stupid, Tony."
"They're gonna kill him," Kailan whispered, nearly hanging from Vinny's arm to take a gander at the scene.
"Wait," Vinny ordered again, his arm a steel rod between Kailan and the men.
Just beyond the wall, the frightened man sobbed, "Please, I promise I'll get you the money," Hands over his face, he laid on the ground. A whimpering and bloody mess.
Then his head was snapped back by the same muddy black boot, kicked square in the jaw. Kailan tensed as they kicked him once more. And again. And again.
Ducking under Vinny's arm, he stepped out into the light. "Hey, Tony, these guys giving you a hard time?"
"Kailan—" Vincent cursed under his breath as every eye turned to his friend. "Son of a bitch." It was a stupid move, confronting muggers in the backstreets. But the same way he'd done since they were boys, he followed in Kailan's footsteps.
"You know these guys, Tony?" one asked, pointing his cigarette in their direction.
"No, I have no idea who they are," Tony stuttered, shaking his head twice, three times over.
"They know your fucking name," the gruffer of men growled, pressing the heel of his boot into Tony's hand. A crack bounced from the brick walls, and Tony howled with a long, rippling cry.
Kailan raised his hands up in a shrug, the men watching him like he had a self-destruct button between his eyes. His expression was hardly friendly, and as he took a step closer, the thugs seemed unnerved. They stood on end, reaching to their sides. For a moment, Vincent feared they may have guns.
"He said he'd give you the money, you should have some faith in him." Kailan tilted forward some, his body language contradicting his expression.
Within Vincent, an anxiety built. But he would do nothing to stop Kailan. They'd been in this situation before. Many times. Even back before he left for military camp, Kailan was the best fighter he knew. Fast, agile--and most importantly, smart. He knew what he was doing.
"You have no fucking clue what's going on, so I suggest you and your friend leave. Before you get yourselves hurt, kids," one of the men threatened.
Kailan barked out in laughter.
"Kids? I'm no kid, though you guys seem pretty childish."
Childish. Childish like that prank you pulled five seconds ago? Vinny scoffed at the comment. But his subtle murmuring caught the attention of one of the men, who flicked a shiny metal blade around in his palm.
"Got something to say, wise-ass?"
Vinny narrowed his eyes at the weapon, then he read the man's appearance. Dirty cracked skin, week old stubble, and a nervous tick in his left eye. If drugs weren't involved in his squalid appearance, god be damned. He was even holding the blade wrong--fingers twisted around the thing like he was learning to ride a bike. This guy didn't know jack about wielding a weapon. So Vincent replied simply, "Eat shit."
They dropped their attention on the bloodied man in the corner and instead stalked closer to the boys, both of them now spinning that shiny little toy in their hands.
Vinny rolled his head back slowly and shot an impatient glare in Kai's direction. "I really need to stop taking you places."
"And make me miss the fun?" Kailan asked, his expression now nearly elated. He wouldn't lie, there was always something enjoyable about getting into a fight. He never really cared about the end result, but staring into the glint of those silver blades, losing didn't seem to be an option.
As the men closed the distance, Kailan chuckled to his friend, "Hopefully this won't end up like your last fight."
"You tell me, hot-shot." Vincent stepped aside, and with a subtle cock of his head, gestured to the man with the glowing red bud between his teeth.
In seconds, the guy was lunging at Kailan, eager to dig that pretty little blade between his ribs. Kailan managed to turn in time, the stranger brushing past him, the knife snagging on his shirt, ragging apart the thin cotton. Then Kailan turned and used the momentum to land a quick strike to his chin. The cigarette flew from his lips and he surrendered he blade to the ground with a clatter. Normally, a hit would stun a bull, but Kailan was met with a fist.
He staggered a bit, touching at the blood that saturated his split lip. But he had little time to breath; the goon was quick on his toes, angry and spewing unintelligible jargon. With only a second to respond, Kailan kicked out rather foolishly to defend himself, but he was caught by the ankle like a fox in a bear trap. A foul breath tainted his intake, and when Kailan looked up, he was greeted with the kernel-toothed grin of his rival. The boy whipped his head forward, cracking skulls with the stranger. In the time that he spent buckled over in pain, Kailan brought his foot forward, greeting him with a hard kick to his stomach. He belted out a hacking grunt and tottered backwards, and again Kai took the opportunity to snap another kick behind his knees. Just as planned, his opponent sunk to the wet cement.
He was reaching for the knife and Kailan stomped a foot down on his hand, plucking it up by the hilt. "Sorry, it's mine," he said, and sent one last kick to his face; the rubber groove of his shoe leaving a pocked red pattern from his ear to his temple; a shameful mark of defeat.
The second man stammered, his mouth gaping in protest of his friend who sprawled unconscious on the cold black pavement. When his eyes met Vincent's, he boy shrugged with a wry smirk.
Vinny himself wasn't all that interested in getting his hands dirty. Violence came to him easily when he was angry, but in the moment he was rather collected. That's why when the man turned sharply on his heels to run away, he only extended one leg to trip him and send him tumbling against to the ground with the rest of the scattered trash. As he squirmed into a sitting position, Vinny took a squat at his side.
"Well? Are you going to put up a fight, or are you alright with making your friend look bad?"
The man grimaced, sending his knife slashing at the air between Vincent and himself. Vinny held his hands up in surrender, but he was rather amused by the feeble and frightened attempt. The guy was like a dog who'd come chasing after them, biting and nipping at their heels until the moment they turned around. Now he was retreating with his tail between his legs. Kailan's little tussle scared him stupid.
As his hands rested idly in the air, Vincent could feel the soft prickling of his fire scurrying up his fingertips, and it wasn't long until the icy thorns on his skin had increased ten-fold, his fingers smoking in contrast with the chilly night air.
"Get up," he gestured, standing tall in front of the stranger. The thug scrambled to his feet, his knife a permanent extension of his arm, as he held it straight out in front of him. He was panicking, shifting from one foot to another, ready to fight or fly. By the look on his face, he was eager to grow a pair of wings and vamoose.
"It's not our fault," the man quivered, his shoes scuffing against the gravel below him. "He owes us money. My family's in debt because of him."
"Well that was a stupid decision on your part, wasn't it?" Vinny cocked a brow.
His sarcasm struck a chord and the knife was suddenly launched at his throat. A quick hand came up to cage the man's wrist, and like flesh to a frying pan, the grip was accompanied by a gruesome sizzle.
He let out a wail, dropping the knife from his hand and desperately working to free himself from Vinny's grip. Vinny only squeezed tighter, and the man dropped to his knees with a writhing expression and an inaudible croaky scream. Once the scent of burning flesh became too overwhelming, Vinny released the man and covered his nose with his arm to evade the scent.
His flesh was red and cracked, the burns resembling a perfect handprint on his wrist. He looked up at Vincent with an expression of pure terror and teetering to his feet, he took off running. They watched, bemused as his silhouette vanished behind the frame of an abandoned car.
Vinny blew on his palms to relieve himself of the heat, and slung an arm over Kai's shoulders, wrinkling his nose at the lingering scent of burning skin. He was careful not to touch the boy with his dangerously hot hands, and instead let his fingers dangle in the air just over his chest.
"God, I hate that smell," he grumbled, his features paling. He really shouldn't have used his abilities, but it felt so natural. A primal defense mechanism, like a rush of adrenalin--but one so molten hot, it could turn flesh to ash with only a touch.
"They hardly knew how to fight, or wield a weapon. I'm a bit disappointed." Kailan said, wiping at the blood that dripped from his lip. His head was throbbing, but it was an easy win.
He tossed his gaze over to the only one who didn't get involved, Tony. A grin stretched over Kailan's bloodied face, and he gave a friendly wave, "Hi, Tony."
But Tony looked more frightened than before. He pressed back against the wall, and pulled himself up from the bricks with tattered breath. He only gave them a single glance before he left, limping from the shadows with a sort of urgency. It didn't matter that they'd just saved his life. They were wickeds, after all.
"That could have gone better," Kailan sighed, peeking up at Vinny, "You okay? You look a little sick."
Vinny ran a warm hand over his face, letting off a weary sigh. His stomach was churning, but he was perfectly fine otherwise. Good, even. "Come on," he tugged Kailan into his side, "We should get out of here."
It had been well over a week since they had been chased by the syndicate, and though they hadn't seen another group of men in black suits, the caution remained dormant inside of them both. They still knew nothing about the organization, and they had no idea just how dangerous those men were.
Still, there was a relief, extinguishing the flame inside of Vincent. It was almost like a drug—having the ability to change the fate of a night. It made him calm, relieved him of his anger. He looked to the unconscious man lying among the rubble, and a smirk graced his lips, "We should take shortcuts more often."
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