Chapter Nine - Lost Cause

Tyler pulled out his phone and searched through his contacts, landing on Danni's phone number; hitting call, Tyler left the safe house, Roxy by his side, and locked the front door.

"Hey, Danni? We just left. What time do you guys think you'll be there?" Tyler asked.

"Should be another twenty minutes. William is just getting in the shower now." Danni replied, annoyance in her voice.

"Of course he is!" Tyler remarked, "We will see you in there if that's okay with you?"

There was a pause before Danni answered, "Yeah, we will meet you there, Tyler! See you in a bit!"

Tyler hung up and took Roxy by the hand as they made their way to the nightclub. The town looked much different in the night sky; the hustle and bustle of the busy streets turned into an empty playground for tracers and criminals. The two took the scenic route, hiking up a steep hill and passing an old worn church, whose age was shown by the cracked stone that made its walls and the hole-filled spire that sat up top.

"I wonder if they are ever gonna fix up the old church? For years it's been crumbling down more and more." Tyler exclaimed.

"It's been in that state for years, Tyler. If they were going to do anything with it, they would've." Roxy claimed.

"Well, it sets apart the whole town. Kinda makes it seem like the dark ages." Tyler explained, mockery in his voice.

"I think it looks nice! Plus, it's out of the way, so only those who are more looking for it can see it." Roxy replied, almost in an attempt to compliment the old building.

"Well, maybe someday it will be revived. I'm surprised the Hunter's never used this as a safe house or something."

Roxy turned away, hiding her face from Tyler, and walked by his side.

Club Nightmare was a colossal building covered in neon lights; heavy music crept through the glass doors to the dance floor. From across the dark, Tyler could see Danni, William, Thomas, and Robert as they made their way toward the building.

"Hey! Tyler! Roxy!" Robert called, making his way over.

"God, it's so good to see you guys!" Tyler exclaimed, offering a group hug, trapping all of them in his grip.

William looked at his watch; "Well, it's 8. Looks like we are just on time. Shall we head in?"

The group walked to the bouncer, a large man who radiated confidence like heat, fishing for their IDs.

Bouncer looked at the group, scanning them as each one handed their id to him, before letting them into the club with a generous smile stretched across his face. As the group entered the club, they were blinded by the bright pink and purple neon lights that filled the room. Thomas, raising his voice to be heard over the blasting music, asked, "First rounds on me! What do you all want?"

Robert was the first to respond, "I'll have a Heineken, bud!" Trying to sound cool, William replied, "a whiskey and coke for me, please. Single though."

Danni asked simply for a vodka and cranberry before turning to Tyler and Roxy.

"Nothing for us, please, Thomas," Roxy told, greeted by the astonished faces of the rest of the group.

"What do you mean nothing! Nah, you'll both have a Strongbow. That's Tyler's favourite!"

Thomas ran away before they could get another word in; whilst they waited for Thomas to return, they began walking to the dance floor and dancing to the music.

Thomas returned shortly with all the drinks in his hands, passing them to each person; Tyler pulled out his phone: 8:12 pm.

Neither Tyler nor Roxy knew how long they'd need to wait before they had to make their move. So instead of staring at their phones for the entire night, they decided to enjoy themselves, limiting themself to a single drink. For now, both spent hours dancing and joking with their friends.

Roxy's phone began to buzz. Looking at her phone, it read "X". This was the sign that the transfer had not taken place, meaning she and Tyler were to take him out.

Roxy pulled Tyler to the side; "Tyler, it's time. We need a distraction to get out of here. Are you sure ready to do this?"

Tyler nodded, seeing an opportunity whilst his friends were talking amongst themselves - "Let's go now. Whilst they're distracted."

Roxy didn't like this plan but knew she didn't have a choice. So she snuck through the crowd to a staircase that leads to the balcony overviewing the dance floor, leaving Tyler, who was stopped by Danni before he could escape.

"Where do you think you two are going?" She questioned with anger in her voice.

"Roxy doesn't handle alcohol well. " He began, "She didn't want to be rude about it, so she took the drink. We're gonna cool off." Danni looked him up and down; "Do not lie to me. She looked at her phone and then grabbed you. So suddenly you must dash because of some bad reaction to the alcohol? Tell me the truth, Tyler. Or we are finished. The whole group."

Tyler took a deep breath. He couldn't tell Danni the truth or even part of the truth. None of it made any sense, and even if she did comprehend it, he knew it would put her and himself in danger by the Hunters. "All I can say is that we asked someone to do something. But, unfortunately, they didn't deliver on it."

Tyler began to walk off towards the staircase, noticing Roxy watching from the balcony.

"Tyler, if you walk away from me, do not expect us to be here when you return. Do you understand?" Tyler looked at Danni, almost considering turning around, before walking up the staircase and joining Roxy.

Danni watched the pair as Roxy placed her hand on Tyler's shoulder before running across the balcony and through a set of doors.