Distress signals were nothing new to Bradford. One came along at least once a week. If it was from an established Resistance camp, there was no question that XCOM would be on the trail in a heartbeat. Sometimes though, the signals came and went, or they consisted of only a few words, or static, and as much as it pained all the senior officers, they couldn't afford to chase every stray call for help.
But this was different: the voice coming through on the message...it was hers. It was Annette Durand.
He didn't need to run this by the Commander, though he would. He knew what she'd say. Annette was as valuable as Zhang had been. Annette, while not as close as Zhang, was a friend.
And friends didn't leave friends behind.
So there he sat in his office, her message on repeat.
"This is Taymallat. I am alive-"
"This is Taymallat. I am alive-"
"I am alive-"
He kept pressing play. Pressing play. Hearing her voice hurt. Hearing her…
He put his head in his hands. Only for a moment though, then he stood, and marched towards the Commander's quarters.
.
.
"The signal came from Panay, an island in the Central Philippines." Bradford said as he paced around the Commander's desk.
"What province?" She asked. "Panay is a big island, Bradford."
"I've never been there, Commander, so I can't give you directions." He said. "But the coordinates read 10°52'59.1"N 122°29'48.9"E."
Senuna closed her eyes, like she was doing math in her head. "...Cabatuan, in the Iloilo province." She said confidently. "Not too remote, but I don't think anyone lives there anymore."
"The populations of the island nations were all evacuated to the city center in Central China." Zhang said. His voice was still quiet, but it was always quiet. His skin had fully lost that yellow, jaundice color and his gold eyes were bright once again. He still sat on the adjacent couch, as per Senuna's request. "If anyone is there, they are either in hiding, or ADVENT is expanding."
"Well we can't leave Annette in there." Senuna stood. "Call in the Chosen. We need our best."
"Are you sure, Sunny?" Bradford asked. "Darkstrider just returned from a mission."
"With the Hieromonk having healed him up? I'm beyond sure." She smiled. "Plus, you've seen how the three work together."
"Well." Jane said. "With that logic, Madam, will you be sending a medic?"
Senuna sighed. "This comes up quite a lot, now."
"I'm only asking."
"Malinalli-" Bradford barely got the name out before Senuna sent him a glare that made him freeze.
"Two missions she's been on in the last few weeks." Senuna snapped. "That's more than I ever wanted her out in the field. And right now, I want her on the ship."
"Why?" Jane asked.
"Because it's safe!" Senuna snapped, then righted herself. "She...she has duties here. And I want her to focus on her work on the ship."
"But what does she want?" Zhang asked.
"Don't you test me." Senuna hissed at him. "You're my friend, Chilong, you should know-"
"And as your friend, I am here to help you make the best decision." He stood up. "And sealing her in the Avenger like a princess in a tower is not the best decision."
Senuna slammed her hands on the desk and took a deep breath. Light was dancing at her fingers and, behind her eyelids, her irises were glowing greenish blue.
Zhang clasped his hands in front of him. "But it would also be wrong of me to force you to put her on the line with no insurance."
"Yes it would." Senuna's eyes dimmed. "...Thank you for understanding, Chilong. This means a lot to me."
"Of course." He clasped his hands. "At least, if you send her out, she should have some sort of protection. That being said, Commander, I would like to be placed on this mission."
That got everyone's attention, even Jane let out an audible gasp. Senuna met his gaze.
"No." She cried. "I can't risk you both, Chilong!"
"You forget the power I have in my hands." A smile brushed at his lips. "I may be old, but these old bones aren't yet brittle." He bowed. "I shall protect Malinalli, and the Chosen, and Taymallat when we find her."
The strain left Senuna's muscles, and she sank into her chair, seemingly pacified. "...Bradford…" She whispered "...call in the Chosen, and Malinalli Zúñiga. It's time we brief them for this mission."
.
.
Zhang stared at the Chosen with...curiosity. Almost fear, but not quite fear. They did not look like the officers who had cut him open and shoved tubes into his body, who had left him to rot in a cell, but they were still so alien, yet so human all at once.
The female among them was the easiest on the eyes: Kon-Mai Mordenna. He had seen her only once before, and she had been on the screen of an officer's data pad: a video of her cutting down defecting soldiers, eyes glinting like a cat's in the low light. But even though his picture of her had been blurry at best, he could still tell she was now different. Her hair—he had not even realized she had hair—was much longer, reaching to just below her shoulders. She wore it back in several thin braids, similar to the tubes she had possessed in ADVENT. Her armor was adorned with XCOM's colors, and her sword's hilt had been dyed a dark navy blue instead of the ADVENT red. She bowed to him as she saw him, a gesture he never expected from this woman. Her posture was straight and stiff and her eyes were focused.
"It is good to see you well, Colonel Zhang." She said. That raspy voice sent a shiver through him.
Zhang nodded. "Well met...Shrinemaiden. I...apologize for my behavior last time we spoke."
"There is no need, I did not take any offense." On her lips, he saw the tiniest hint of a smile. She seemed both young and old at the same time, with a youthful complexion, but noticeable wrinkles around her eyes and cutting into her mouth.
Behind her, a dark shadow loomed and pushed past the door, and that was when Zhang had to take a step back, as his panic was beginning to overwhelm him. He knew the being before him; he'd encountered him more than once before his capture. But more importantly he knew the story behind him, who he was, and it all made Zhang want to weep for the boy he had lost.
The Hieromonk stood two inches taller than his sister, a giant among giants. He turned his gaze on Zhang, magenta eyes boring into the Colonel, before he, like his sister, bowed before his superior. No, not bow. The Hieromonk sank to one knee, lowering himself to Zhang's height and keeping his head down.
"It is an honor, Great Chilong." The beast's voice was deep and sent a wave of force through the room that only a trained psion could feel. This man was bathed in psionic energy, and he spread the seed wherever he went.
Zhang could only nod, trying to steady his breathing. The Shrinemaiden was respectful, and would not harm him, and the Hieromonk made it clear he respected Zhang. "...Where is the third?" He asked.
"Gur-Rai?" Kon-Mai turned to the door. "...He is coming, slowly. Brother, hurry along."
"So then I said, 'I'm not sure how you're supposed to find a vein in there.' And that was when he took out a-" As the Darkstrider stepped through the door, he stopped mid sentence and turned his gaze, and Zhang truly reeled.
He had forgotten the terror the Hunter commanded when he stepped into a room. Kon-Mai held sway over the shadows, but also maintained an air of calm, and the Eldest brother was violent and chaotic but could be seen coming. Yet Gur-Rai Madron was the best of the two: as silent as his sister and as crazed as his brother. And as the Chosen saw Zhang, he smiled.
"Shaojie Zhang!" He cried, his arms spread wide. "Good to see you up and about! How's your...well, everything? Still sore?" He chuckled. "I won't ask for a thank you: saving you, it's all in a day's work~"
Zhang felt numb. He had not forgotten who had freed him, although he very much wanted to. He only nodded in silence towards Gur-Rai, and turned his gaze to the only human to enter the Commander's quarters.
Malinalli Zúñiga, the one solace in this. She had grown so beautiful since he'd known her: her dark umber skin and black locks were a stark contrast to the three she accompanied. Her smile was bright and kind and friendly. It pacified him, just a little.
"You're all here." Senuna gestured to the couches. "Sit, please! Don't be shy."
Zhang took his seat again, balking as, beside him the Dakstrider plopped down and spread out as wide as he could. The Shrinemaiden sat politely, only taking up as much space as she had to, and the Hieromonk took up a lot of space anyway, the giant he was.
Senuna looked over the group and nodded. "I've already briefed Zhang. You'll be doing another rescue mission."
"Oh? Who's the poor bastard this time?" Gur-Rai chuckled. "No offense, Chilong."
"Not a bastard." Bradford was quick to say. "Annette Durand: callsign Taymallat. Another of our old partners from before the war."
"She had been briefly involved with a radical group called EXALT, and by involved, I mean they kidnapped her." Jane stood, narrating as though she had read this from a file. "XCOM saved her in the early days of the invasion, just after the first Ethereals descended unto the world." She took her seat again, beside Kon-Mai this time, the both of them as silent as petals on the water. "She did a lot for XCOM."
"After Senuna was captured, she took a squad with some of the more powerful psions and led an assault on a nearby train station, hoping to get transport to EXALT's headquarters. That was when we lost contact." Bradford sighed, holding the silence for a moment. The mention of Annette seemed to hurt him, but he carried on. "When we lost the base, we also lost hope of ever seeing her again. It's a big world out there."
"She must have heard you took the Avenger." Dhar-Mon said. "It is known throughout ADVENT."
"Well, that's not good." Senuna said. "But, if it led Annette to us, then I'll take the good news over the bad!" She smiled. "We recently received a transmission from the Philippines, more specifically the island of Panay in the Central Visayas. She's alive, and calling for help."
"Do you have coordinates?" Kon-Mai asked.
"We do." Bradford said. "Pretty remote area, nothing nearby that we've seen. I feel a bit nervous sending you out there alone but..." He looked over the group of them. "...This mission holds a lot of...personal importance to me. I'll do anything I can to help from here."
"We shall find her, Central Bradford." Dhar-Mon stood. "And like Colonel Zhang, we shall return her home."
.
.
The sky was clear, and the wind was warm, and the Skyranger flew freely and happily, bobbing lightly on the breeze that carried them along. Under the feet of the four soldiers, though, the dark trees swam like the rolling sea, waiting to swallow them whole.
"This is where y'all get off." Firebrand called back.
"There is nothing but the sea of trees." Kon-Mai looked out the door and then back at her brothers.
"Well I hope you know how to swim." As Gur-Rai stepped forward, the Skyranger shuddered and swayed a bit. "Bryni?"
"Sorry, Sugar!"
Dhar-Mon stepped forward, as though he was about to jump down, when the Skyranger jolted forward and then dropped a full foot. Kon-Mai whirled around, glaring towards the cockpit.
"She's still mad at me for last week." Bryni could be heard straining with the steering. "I need ta put 'er down."
"Land the Skyranger?" Malinalli called back. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah…" Bryni did not sound sure. "We ain't near ADVENT, what's the worst that could happen?"
"You will bring death upon us with your words." Dhar-Mon sighed as the Skyranger began to descend into the trees. The road that cut across the forest was empty and dirty and provided a nice spot to set the helicopter down.
"Well at least we don't have to jump." Malinalli said, gathering up her medkits and stuffing her tools into various pockets. She hopped out first, followed by Kon-Mai, then Dhar-Mon and Gur-Rai respectively. Zhang went last, his body still stiff but his steps strong and determined.
Bryni opened the cockpit and leapt out, removing her helmet and tossing it back onto the seat. "Mind if I walk with y'all up to the gate?"
"I do not mind." Kon-Mai looked to her brothers.
"Well, I'd appreciate the lovely company~" Gur-Rai winked at her.
Zhang sighed. "You are not human, Darkstrider, I doubt you could fit between the legs of one."
"You'd be surprised, Colonel." Gur-Rai smirked. "And plenty of men can say they fit inside me."
Zhang was unfazed as they began to walk. "Don't thinl the Elders intended that."
"Well then they shouldn't have left my balls intact." He shrugged.
Now Zhang raised a brow. "Your point being? You can't possibly father children, Darkstrider, especially not with a human woman."
"Don't worry about me, Chilong. I have no intention of 'siring any offspring' if you will." He shrugged. "One might come back and kill me!"
"Then what is the point of lovemaking?" Kon-Mai scoffed.
"It's fun. It feels good. It stimulates connection between two people, and you get to know someone in a way you never would otherwise." He winked at her. "Try it sometime, you'll see."
Kon-Mai turned purple as she blushed and looked away, drawing her sword in order to begin hacking away at the increasingly thick undergrowth. As the group traveled up the dirt road, the trees growing in their thickness, branches reaching out to brush against skin, the air around them grew thick and heavy, and seemed to be charged with static.
Dhar-Mon brushed down some of his flyaway hairs. "There is a psionic presence here."
The path ended in a clearing, the trees making almost a perfect circle around the large, black gate that stood at attention in front of the party. Behind said gate, a house—no, not a house, it looked more like a castle straight from a Gothic romance, stone and wood walls blending and creaking under the tropics weighty air—stood at attention, blocking what sun remained and casting a lengthy shadow over them. Around the gate was a flimsy, rusted chain, held in place, though there was no lock around it.
"What is it with us and creepy forests?" Gur-Rai chuckled.
"Maybe there'll be ghosts." Bryni giggled, leaning into Zhang's ear to annoy him.
"Do not be silly." Zhang sighed. "There is no such thing; if there was I would be more than haunted."
"You mean you aren't already?" Gur-Rai shrugged.
"I am haunted by other things. Not ghosts."
"Okay, big man." Gur-Rai walked up to the gate and gave it a hard shove. "Huh. Not coming loose."
"We could easily climb the fence." Kon-Mai sheathed her blade and walked up to the bars and put her hand on one, hauling herself up. Within seconds she was on top, and dropped onto the other side.
"Hey no fair!" Gur-Rai bounded after her, joining her on the other side within seconds. Bryni was next, stepping up to the gate and taking the bars in her hands. It took her a few tries, but she was soon over.
Zhang crossed his arms and stared at the gate, exchanging glances with Dhar-Mon and Malinalli.
"I can hoist you over." Dhar-Mon suggested.
"I don't know about that…" Malinalli clasped her hands. "I don't want to break my legs before we even get inside."
"The ground is soft, Molly. I did not break a leg, see?" Kon-Mai assured her.
Malinalli looked over at Zhang. "What do you think? Your stitches are still-"
"They have been removed by now. Even so, I'm going to find another way around." Zhang pointed to their right. "It looks like there's a path down there."
"Then I shall accompany you." Dhar-Mon said. "Better three together than two."
"Brother." Kon-Mai gripped the bars in worry.
"Never split the party." Gur-Rai echoed her worry.
"I am the Eldest Chosen." Dhar-Mon chuckled. "I shall be fine. Will you two behave while I'm gone?"
Kon-Mai scowled. "I shall make you eat those words."
"I am sure. Carry on, we shall rejoin you shortly." Dhar-Mon and Malinalli followed Zhang down the path.
Gur-Rai, Kon-Mai and Bryni exchanged looks, and Bryni pulled her gun off her back. "Well, after you!"
"Weren't you just supposed to walk us up the path?" Gur-Rai raised a brow.
"Maybe." Bryni smiled, her white teeth slightly crooked. "Come on, Darkstride, it's been four score an' seven years since Sunny let me pick up a gun."
"Well then, lets fix that." Gur-Rai said with a smile and a wink.
.
.
Inside the house, a shadow shifted out of the light. The kinking of chains, the turning of a lock could be heard.
She moved to the window and gasped when she saw them. One was human but the others…
"Mga taga labas."
She reached above the mantle to where Father hid the gun.
.
.
It would not have been a challenge to get inside: the large double doors were half rotted off their hinges. But the front of the property was just as intriguing, and the three decided to explore a bit there first.
Overgrown vines and bushes sought to hold them back, but Kon-Mai's sword could cut through steel; this was no trouble for her to clear away. Gur-Rai went around to what looked like it used to be a greenhouse. He felt the static of psionic energy brimming from the overgrown plants, whose flowers had opened up to reveal petals glowing purple and white and green. Touching one flower sent a little jolt down his spine, and he swore something under the ground moved.
Kon-Mai was picking around the front of the house, by the large wooden steps that led up to the main entrance. The house was strange in it's architecture, seemingly baroque in it's inspiration, but at the same time, the roof and some walls had been replaced with wood, most likely cut from local trees. It gave the house a Frankenstein's monster feel, like it had once been a different person but was not cobbled together into something...else.
Bryni put her hands on her hips and whistled. "Well, she's a bit of a fixer upper."
"I'll say." Gur-Rai came over. "Any sign of our target?"
"None." Kon-Mai climbed the steps slowly, the rooting wood creaking and almost splintering under her weight. "Take care on the steps."
"I always take ca-" The second Gur-Rai put his foot on the first step, his foot went through it, splintering the step into pieces and sending him tumbling face first through the rest of them.
Kon-Mai hissed and grabbed Gur-Rai by the hood, hauling him to his feet. "What did I just say?! Are you hurt?!"
"I'm fine, I'm fine, cut it out Mom." Gur-Rai grumbled. "Not a scratch, see? The legwarmers aren't that stupid after all."
Kon-Mai rolled her eyes, looking down to assess the damage. "Are you certain you're fine?"
"Yes, why?" He looked down. "...That's a bone."
"What?!" Kon-Mai looked like she was about to have a conniption until she looked down and saw that both of Gur-Rai's legs were intact, and that the bone under his feet was not his.
Bryni came over and let out a yelp. "Think you mayhaps stumbled on a burial ground!"
Gur-Rai raised his foot as Bryni got down on one knee and began sifting through the bones and dirt. "Looks like someone here was trying to hide a body."
Kon-Mai peered up at the castle again. "Something sinister took place here. I can feel it in my bones."
"I don't think your bones are the ones feeling it." Gur-Rai picked up a wide-eyed skull that was missing it's jaw. "Sorry for stepping on you, friend." He put the skull on the stone entryway and patted it gently.
.
.
The three walked in silence for a while, Malinalli and Dhar-Mon hanging behind at the back while Zhang led them forward through the dusty trail. To their left, the forest opened up into what appeared to be marshland, with stagnant, bubbling water circling the tree roots as far as the eye could see.
Finally, Malinalli spoke up. "Have you ever been out here before, Zhang?" She asked. "When you were with XCOM?"
"...Not with XCOM." He admitted. "When I was young, and still part of the Triad."
"Oh." She smiled awkwardly. "I bet that was cool."
"It would have been if not for the job." Zhang admitted. "I was sent to kidnap the children of a Filipino man who owed us over 2 million in US dollars."
Malinalli fell silent, but now Dhar-Mon spoke. "Your kind assigned such value to something as fleeting as a slip of paper or a pressed bit of metal."
Zhang turned and stared blankly at Dhar-Mon for a moment, and Malinalli was worried he'd angered him.
Then Zhang chuckled quietly. "Yes. It is...it was silly. That we were willing to torture and murder for something that, ultimately, did not save us." He sighed.
"...What happened to the kids?" Malinalli asked.
"I took them to a safehouse in Manila and held them there for four months until we were delivered ransom." He replied. "From them I learned a decent amount of Tagalog, and I'm sure they picked up some Chinese from me."
"That's kind of cute...aside from the whole 'being held against their will' thing." Malinalli looked around. "Is it just me or is the air getting kind of heavy?"
"There is much psionic energy here." Dhar-Mon said, looking around. "More than there should be."
"Annette is a powerful psion." Zhang said. "It makes sense. There. Over this way." He pointed forward. "That looks like a back door."
"Let's hope it's not locked." Malinalli said as she slid down the embankment after Zhang. The three of them landed on a ravine that seemed to contain an old shed, another, much rustier gate, and lots of glowing flowers.
Dhar-Mon approached the shed first. The door was tilting off its hinges and he pushed it away with barely a shove. Inside, he saw a menagerie of insects, spiders and cockroaches the size of his own hand, that all seemed to be staring at him with glowing eyes. His skin crawled and he stepped away, but not before looking down and feeling the cold sensation of fear run up his spine. "There is a body here!"
Zhang immediately turned away from the gate and ran towards Dhar-Mon, Malinalli following close behind. When they got to him he saw the fear on Zhang's face dissipate. "...That's not a human."
Dhar-Mon looked at the body again. At first, the tiny skeleton resembled a child's corpse, but then the structure of the bones became more familiar as he stared. He got down on his knee, still maintaining distance.
"That's a Sectoid." Zhang clarified.
"But it's so small." Malinalli said. "All the Sectoids I've seen were taller than me."
"Early invasion, the Sectoids were the size of children, sometimes smaller." Zhang inched closer, careful not to disturb the spider webs. "The skull has no teeth either, see how it is fused where the mouth should be. And the eyes are far too large."
Malinalli saw the insects and took a step back. "So...why is it here?"
"I do not know…" Zhang looked at the house. "But something tells me the answer is inside."
.
.
Kon-Mai pushed the door open easily, the old wood creaking as it swung open. The inside of the house was eerily quiet, but her sensitive ears picked up the sound of footsteps.
"Firebrand, on overwatch." She hissed, crouching down and cloaking herself. "We are not alone in this house."
"Oh sure, go invisible and leave me." Gur-Rai grumbled as he pulled Darklance off his back and took up position behind Bryni. "How come you get all the fancy toys?"
"Because I practice." She hissed, and because of her cloak her voice sounded as though it was coming from everywhere.
"I don' hear anything, Sugar." Bryni whispered. "Sure it ain't this old house creakin' you heard?"
"I know the sound of footsteps." But even so, Kon-Mai let her cloak down. Perhaps she had imagined it.
"Maybe it was the ghosts~" Gur-Rai chuckled, twiddling his fingers as he put Darklance back on his back. "They're coming to get you, Konnie~"
She scowled. "Firstly, Brother, that movie is bad and you know it."
"Oh fuck you, Night of the Living Dead is a classic."
"And secondly." She crossed her arms. "There are no such restless spirits, at least not in a place like this."
"What are you talking about?" Gur-Rai raised his arms. "This is exactly the type of place ghosts hang out!"
"Don't tell me you're one of them skeptical types." Bryni giggled. "Ain't your brother got that special power that lets him summon psi zombies?"
"Yes…" She bit the inside of her cheek. "But those apparitions are under his control. They do not wander about on their own."
"What about the Lost?" Gur-Rai asked.
"They are technically still alive."
There was a thunk from upstairs and all three of them flinched.
"A spirit could not have made that noise." Kon-Mai drew her sword confidently. "There may be squatters in this house."
"Hey!" Gur-Rai called up the stairs. "Whether you're just here for a warm place to sleep or you're haunting this place from your eternal damnation, come on out with your hands up. I have a big gun that I'm sure will hurt you either way."
Silence. Bryni looked around at the both of them. "Maybe it was the wind."
Then, the singing started. A tiny, childlike voice floated down the echoing hallway, down the staircase towards the three.
Ili-ili tulog anay,
Wala diri imo nanay.
Kadto tienda bakal papay,
Ili-ili tulog anay.
.
.
Zhang shoved the gate open: this one was unlocked and gave easily. Malinalli rubbed her shoulders, not from the cold (in fact it was actually growing pretty hot out here), but from that prickly feeling that something was watching them. She reached out and latched onto Dhar-Mon's hand, and he looked down in surprise.
"Sorry…" She said. "I just...wanted to feel like I'm not the only person alive out here."
He nodded and gave her hand a squeeze. "All will be well. We shall find Taymallat inside and leave swiftly."
Malinalli nodded, repeating that sentiment to herself. Somehow though, she didn't believe it.
Zhang hopped up the steps to a large, stone door that looked more like it was part of the wall. "...Huh…" He ran his hand over it, then stepped back, his eyes wide.
"What is wrong, Colonel Zhang?" Dhar-Mon asked.
"...Nothing." Zhang shook his head. "Nothing important." He felt around, then pressed a stone on the door that made it slide open. "...Follow me."
"How did you know…?" Malinalli let the question die on her tongue.
The back entrance of the mansion led them through a cold, damp hallway that was guarded corner to corner by spiders, roaches and other bugs none of them recognized. Malinalli could duck down easily but Dhar-Mon had to bat the bugs away with his hand, a sensation that was not the least bit thrilling.
The hallway ended in another door that opened up to what appeared to be the kitchen. The smell hit them first, must and mold and rotting food. Dhar-Mon covered his nose and Malinalli gagged. Zhang, however, looked around with an expression of disturbed familiarity.
"...This way." He said, becoming them to follow.
"How do you know that?" Malinalli asked. She was still holding tight to Dhar-Mon's hand.
Zhang didn't answer, but he jogged out into the hallway and looked around. Above him, a derelict flight of stairs that entered darkness. To his right, it seemed to stop at a dead end, but Zhang knew that behind the wall tapestry, there was a secret door.
"There's a way into the main foyer through here…" He said, looking up the stairs.
"Hold up." Malinalli said. "...Do you hear something?"
"It's probably the wood." Zhang said.
"I don't think so, it's coming from up the stairs…" Malinalli let go of Dhar-Mon's hand and looked up into the darkness.
Zhang grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him. "Do not go up there."
"Why?" Malinalli asked. "Why do you know where to go?!"
"Molly, he may be right." Dhar-Mon said. "I sense something from the darkness…"
A childlike voice floated down from the steps.
Ili-ili tulog anay,
Wala diri imo nanay.
Kadto tienda bakal papay,
Ili-ili tulog anay.
.
.
"Fuck it." Gur-Rai said. "Ladies, behind me. I'm going up there."
"No." Kon-Mai said. "I shall lead."
"No WAY, little sister." He snapped. "If someone attacks, I'm the one taking the brunt of it. No ifs ands or buts." He drew his gun. "Follow me."
Bryni sighed, taking up rear while Kon-Mai held the middle position. They carefully ascended the stairs, these ones seemingly holding their weight better than the ones outside.
Bryni held out her hand. "Hold up. Somethin's up ahead."
Gur-Rai cocked his gun, which seemed to echo. "You wanna come out? Or should I just shoot until I hit you?"
Silence for a moment. Then…
Footsteps. From the darkness emerged a figure. The figure of a girl, no older than 18. Her black hair was long, and looked like it might have been well kept if it wasn't so dirty. Her white shirt had sleeves that were puffed at the shoulders, and her blue plaid skirt was full of holes and covered in something...black.
She stared at the for a moment, examining Bryni, then her eyes moved to the Chosen.
And from behind her back, she pulled out a shotgun.
.
.
The scream sent the three of them into fight or flight mode. Malinalli froze, ducking down in the middle of the hall, while Dhar-Mon summoned up his power in each hand. Zhang ran for the tapestry hanging on the wall.
It was a shame; it was a nice tapestry, a weaved picture of the moon with a woman standing behind it, wreathed in shadow. But he couldn't take the time to admire artwork when his teammates were possibly in danger.
Zhang ripped the art away and flung open the secret door. "Hieromonk, stay with Malinalli."
"What about you?!" Dhar-Mon called, but Zhang had already disappeared into the door.
Malinalli hung onto Dhar-Mon's robe, pressing her face into the cloth. "I'm okay." She said as he lifted her to her feet. "I just...was startled."
"Would you like to remain here?" Dhar-Mon asked.
She shook her head. "Our friends need us don't they?" She grabbed his hand. "Let's go."
.
.
Bryni's scream was the first thing they heard. The second thing was the gunshot.
Kon-Mai and Gur-Rai both dove to the side, unfortunately leaving Bryni wide open. The bullet whizzed past her, just barely missing her shoulder. She cocked her gun and tried to shout a warning, but the girl shot again, her black eyes crazed with anger. She looked around, seemingly searching for the Chosen.
"Nandito ka para sa kalaban!" The girl cried out, catching sight of the Darkstrider and pointing her gun at him. "Narito ka upang patayin ako!"
"I don't understand a damn-" He dove for the ground, and the banister behind him splintered as a bullet ripped through it.
Kon-Mai jumped from her cover and grabbed the girl by the arm, trying to wrestle her to the ground. At first it was no contest, in a move that shocked everyone, the girl's eyes glowed purple and she vaulted Kon-Mai over her shoulder, throwing her to the ground. She cocked her gun, and Kon-Mai rolled away just as she fired into the floor, causing part of the rotten wood to fall away, taking the three of them down.
Zhang ran in in the midst of this, just as Gur-Rai and Kon-Mai were pulling themselves from the wreckage of the second floor walkway and Bryni came careening down the stairs. "We ain't alone in here, Colonel!"
"What the hell was that?!" Zhang asked, looking around. "And who did this?"
Dhar-Mon and Malinalli joined him, and upon seeing the wreckage, Dhar-Mon ran in and began helping his younger siblings to their feet.
"A girl." Kon-Mai said. "She was nought but a teenager...I don't understand how she was so strong…"
"Where is she now?" Zhang looked around. "Maybe that was Annette."
"Didn't look like her." Gur-Rai said. "Too young. And I don't suppose Annette spoke Tagalog?"
Zhang sighed. "No...no she did not."
Kon-Mai looked at the stairs. "Is there another way to the second floor?"
"We saw some stairs back this way." Malinalli said. "Come on."
"We shouldn't go up there." Zhang said.
"Why?" Malinalli snapped.
"Finding a homicidal teenager isn't part of the mission."
"Yeah, but finding Annette is." Bryni pointed up. "And if she's upstairs? Good fuckin' luck."
.
.
Now rejoined, the party crept through the dilapidated house on careful feet, breathing quietly between them. The stairs, the ones Malinalli pointed them to, led down another dark, narrow hallway that Dhar-Mon had to struggle to fit through. Malinalli made it through first this time but as she stepped forward, Zhang caught her arm.
"Let me." He commanded her, and stepped in front while she grumbled. He came to a stop in the middle of the hall, and ran a hand through his short, white hair. "Ó tiān nǎ, bùshì nǐ."
"What's up?" Gur-Rai said as he emerged, rising to his full height once again.
"Nothing. Come on."
Malinalli looked back at the group, stopping dead in her tracks and keeping her voice low. "Zhang isn't being honest."
"I had noticed." Dhar-Mon crossed his arms.
"He is an old veteran." Kon-Mai said. "His memories might bring him pain. Leave him be."
"I don't think it's that. I think he knows something about this house." Malinalli insisted. "And he shouldn't be keeping secrets like that from us."
"Well, if it helps us…" Bryni shrugged. "Whattya wanna do about it?"
As Malinalli opened her mouth, from the floorboards below, there came a rhythmic thumping noise.
Zhang jogged back over to them. "Do you hear that?"
They nodded, and Kon-Mai pushed forward, crouching down and feeling along the floor. "...The boards are thin but...this floor is thicker than these boards."
Malinalli looked to Zhang. "Did you know that?"
"Not that." He followed Kon-Mai as she moved, one foot before the other, down the hallway. She stopped, stooped, then stood again and kept moving until she came to a crack between the wall and the floor. "It's from here."
"It's probably a cockroach." Gur-Rai said. "I can shoot it."
"No." Zhang stooped low, feeling along the ground. Then, he laid his hand against the wall, and felt it give a little under his touch.. "...Shrinemaiden, move to your left and put your hands where mine are."
Kon-Mai did as he asked. Zhang waited, gave her a nod, and the two wiggled at the wall until a patch of the wood slid away. The room this secret doorway gave way to was nearly pitch black, and dust coated nearly everything, flying into the now open air. They heard panicked footsteps rushing toward them, and the two jumped back just in time.
A woman burst from the room, stumbling on the floorboards and falling to her knees, gasping for breath, her grey-brown hair hanging in her face. She saw Kon-Mai, screamed, and then in her scramble to get away, saw Zhang. Her eyes grew wide. "...Chilong?"
"Taymallat…!" He pulled Annette Durand into a tight hug. "You're safe now. We're going to get you out of here."
"No!" She cried. "You shouldn't have come."
"Huh?" Gur-Rai raised a brow. "You called us here, bitch. We came all this way-"
"I know I did, I didn't know! I had no way of knowing…" Annette pulled away from Zhang, looking around at the group. "...Chilong, what is...it doesn't matter!" She grabbed his hand. "We must go. Maybe there is still time!"
"Time for what?" Zhang asked. "Taymallat, you aren't making sense."
"If you're worried about the girl, don't be." Gur-Rai crossed his arms. "We can take her."
"Is she alive?" Annette asked. "If she is, then-"
The house let out a groan, then what sounded like a woman's scream.
"...She knows you're here." Annette gripped Zhang's shoulders. "There's no escape now. Not unless you can find a way to kill her."
(Dun dun dun! Hate to leave you on a cliffhanger but this chapter was pretty hard to write. Hopefully now that we're in the action, next one will go much more smoothly. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go nap away the afternoon!
Song used: Ili Ili Tulog Anay, a Filipino Folk Song.)