5 Chapter 5: Into the Darkness

"Wh…what do you mean?" she asked warily.

Ly chuckled as he shrugged, "I mean…why do you have such an explosive temper?"

She caught her breath as she let out a nervous laugh. Those particular words weren't aimed at her secret, she had been too sensitive but once again she eyed him warily but he still had a casual smile on his face.

"Right…I want to ask the exact same thing," said Touya and his face suddenly popped up in front of hers, she didn't even see where he came from.

She pulled back instinctively and grit her teeth.

"Move out of the way," she said gruffly as she pushed past them.

She had no time for their foolish behaviors or questions. She skipped past the bodies she laid out in the alley and finally reached the door and therein lied her next problem. The door was locked and she had no idea where the key was. She looked around bodies strewn out on the ground but spotted nothing visible. It seemed that she would have to go through them one by one. She grit her teeth, pulled back her leg and landed a kick on the door but it did not budge.

"Do you need help?" asked the annoying man, Touya from the roadside with a grin on his face.

"No…I don't!" she yelled back.

She then proceeded to search the bodies on the ground starting from the one closest to her when she felt two presences bearing down on her. She looked up to see Touya and Quedell standing above her, both bearing grins.

"For the love of…stop bothering me," she said sighing.

"Oh no, not bothering," said Touya crouching down. "I'm helping here."

She let out another sigh and looked at him, if arguing with him was a hindrance then better to take the help.

"I need to get in," she said. "One of them must have a key."

"They could," he said shrugging and the nodded towards Quedell who let out a thundering laugh.

"I wanted a fight but if you want a door kicked in, who am I to complain."

"That's iron," said Katya. "It isn't going to break with a kick."

"Well maybe not just one," said Touya and they both watched as Quedell approached pulled back his leg and landed on one the door and whole frame of it shook.

She blinked in shock at the strength displayed, there was even a little curve on the iron door. Quedell let out an animalistic grin as he pulled back again. This time Katya moved back slightly unbeknownst to her sticking closer to Touya. The leg landed and the frame creaked as it bent, the door itself seemed to cave in.

"One more should do it," said Quedell with a laugh.

He pulled back to fire again and landed the third one and there was a ripping noise as the door and the frame flew out leaving bare concrete in its wake. She stared the man in shock, that strength surely couldn't be normal.

"They don't make doors like they used to, do they?" Touya whispered from behind her into her ear and she shivered.

She turned and came a lot more closer to his face than she intended. They kept eye contact for a moment as she froze.

"Touya…" Quedell spoke from behind her which broke her out of her trance.

Coughing she stood up and walked to the hole in the wall and peered inside. A stairway lead down into what she could only see as darkness.

***

"Quedell" said Touya approaching the beast of a man. "I feel strange."

Quedell turned around looking puzzled as Touya had a hand over his chest.

"What…what is it?"

"I don't know," he said. "But I feel strange."

"Unsurprising," said Ly coming up behind him and speaking suddenly.

"Ly…seriously!" gasped Touya turning around. "And what do you mean unsurprising?"

Kyler too who had walked up turned towards Ly curiously as they all looked at the only doctor amongst them.

"The junk you ate the last few days would make anyone feel strange," said Ly with a snort.

Touya's shoulders sagged and Quedell let out a booming laugh.

"I like chocolate rice pudding," said Touya lowering his head to sulk.

"Yes but nobody eats it for a week straight," said Ly with the disgust in his voice apparent.

"I ate my fruits…" said Touya quietly. "…and veggies."

Ly glared at him making him wilt, all the while Quedell was roaring with laughter behind him.

"You will stick to the diet I give you from now on," said Ly eyeing him with menace. "Because I will not follow someone obese."

Touya pouted looking away. "I've never even gotten fat."

"No but that can change quite quickly," said Ly. "If you keep going the way you're-."

Ly was suddenly interrupted by Kyler speaking over him in a quite but sturdy tone.

"He's gone," said Kyler pointing towards the hole.

"What?" Touya lost his child's pout and turned to the doorway to indeed see that Xander had disappeared. "Oh bloody hell."

"Quedell get in there," said Touya. "Ly, Kyler, follow after me."

Quedell moved in with Touya following into the darkness. They quickly took out their phones to light up the dark room.

"What do you know about this building Kyler?" Touya asked as they navigated their way through the maze of what Touya could only tell to be crates.

"It's owned by the Forest Snakes and it's one of their warehouses for illegal stashes of weapons and drugs, there's also a chop shop attached to this building so I assume it also houses stolen vehicles," Kyler said, numbering of the list of information he had.

"That's not a pleasant party to be a part of," said Ly.

"No…it isn't," said Touya trying to find a light switch to bathe the whole warehouse in light so that they could move easier.

"Where the hell are the light switches?" asked Quedell grunting in annoyance as he appeared to have kicked a crate.

Suddenly the lights flickered on above and the whole warehouse was thrust out of the darkness.

"Someone found the lights?" said Touya questioning and then he looked up to see people looking down at them. "No…people found us."

"Where's the guy?" asked Quedell whispering into Touya's ears whilst still eyeing the six people atop the platform standing in front of a booth.

"You're asking me…how should I know?" whispered back Touya.

"How did sh..he suddenly disappear?" asked Ly looking around. "We both came in the same way didn't we?"

"Yes," Kyler replied the obvious tone in his voice.

"Do we fight?" asked Quedell cracking his knuckles, grinning.

"Maybe we can talk them down," said Ly hopefully.

As they were chatting amongst themselves trying to find a solution to their problems, one of the men above came to the forefront of the platform, he had excessive scarring on one side of his face, and the eye on the same side of his face was pure white, most likely blinded.

"Who the hell are you people!?" he called out, his voice contrary to his appearance coming out in squeaks. "Why did you break in here!?

Touya felt Quedell next to him shaking as if he was about to burst out into laughter. Truthfully he was halfway there himself but if there was to be any hope of a peaceful resolution then they needed to maintain decorum.

"Quedell, for the love of all that is worthwhile, don't laugh,"said Touya trying to conceal the smile on his face.

Suddenly he heard a sound next to him akin to air coming out of a balloon. He turned to Ly who shook his head and then set his eyes on Kyler only to be exposed to an event that was one of the rarest moments in human history. Kyler's impassive face had a trace of a smile as he was struggling to control his feelings. He had somehow controlled Quedell but never had he expected this from Kyler. He pushed Ly aside and moved to Kyler's side.

"Why…?" he asked with a pleading tone.

"It's funny," he replied in the same monotone voice despite how his face looked, he then proceeded to turn around to have his back facing the platform and booth.

"Goddamn!" hissed Touya. "Quedell, go on then."

"With pleasure," replied the giant.

Just as he was about to sent Quedell up the stairs to crash into the men up there he heard loud voices coming from behind the men.

"Oh thank god, that place was extremely unhygienic," came a woman's voice.

"Just walk," spoke a gruff voice which Touya recognized to be Xander's.

"I have a feeling we screwed up somewhere," said Touya and turned towards the source of the voices.

Up on the platform, side door to the booth opened and out came three figures, one of which he recognized and it seems that recognition was mutual because the figure froze as well as soon it saw him.

"Get them Quedell!" shouted Touya as he saw the scarred man pulling out a shiny black metallic object which he had rightly predicted to be a gun.

The look of enjoyment vanished as Quedell rushed up the stairs and part way up jumped onto the platform in a feat of acrobatics that belied his size. He watched as Xander too sprung into action by drop kicking the person nearest, sending them tumbling like a bowling pin into the next one. The man that had taken out the gun fumbled dropping it onto the floor below and a shot fired off, following this shot was a scream as the action all paused.

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