Chapter 95 - Game of Audacity
After being told of the dead souls space that the townspeople retrieved the Charon's Gate, Selbith requested to be taken there. One of the mechanic men offered to be the escort and lead her to a hidden pathway. It was only accessible when he spoke in a strange tongue. She looked at the person with a strange look on her face. It was not something that she has heard before even though it seemed similar to heretics of older dark magic.
"The citizens of Darcol are all told about this undead place," he said after they entered the hidden pathway. "Though there are rules and requirements before going there, it has some interesting finds."
"...define interesting..." she asked scanning around her. The environment around the pathway gave off vibes of eeriness.
"This one time, I was with a group of two others. We were basically on a scavenger hunt looking for whatever was appealing to the eye or had potential for something. We continue forward for several yards till we spotted something," he mentioned while heading an opening up ahead. "The three of us hid behind one of the charcoal trees. To our surprise, there were white flowers in random places. One of the tainted wildlife ventured near one. It was about to eat it when the flower gassed out pollen or something. Hitting the animal, it shriveled up to a mummy with all of its guts gushing out."
"...?" Selbith responded with a blink.
"Needless to say, all three of us turned tail and got out as fast as we could," the worker stated looking back with a small smirk. "Interesting is just a word to cover all sorts of good, bad, and ugly findings."
"Makes sense."
"Being that you are...somewhat a demon...is there something here that you are looking for?" he asked curious.
"..." the gunslinger answered. Thinking about it, she could lead him on something without giving the details.
"...these lands are tainted with the essence of purgatory..." she began then looked slowly around. "A different form of Hell from where demons come from...usually there is a magic rune buried in ones with these conditions."
"Whoa...that would fetch a pretty coin or two. By the way...if you don't mind me asking. What kind of demon are you? A vampire?"
"..." Selbith replied with a small frown. Thinking about the answer, she relaxed her face and stopped moving forward. It caused him to stop as well.
"...sort of...anyways, this is far enough. You may go back."
"Really? The beginning of the undead souls are is just a few yards more."
"I will not need more assistance."
"S-Sure. Well, happy hunting then," he said. Walking back the direction they came, he passed by the shooter then stopped.
"I would suggest wearing something a bit more for defense. You don't want the creatures with long claws to rip you open," he mentioned turning his head.
"..." Selbith stated turning her head back. "...very well..."
Seeing him nod, he continued back to the town. Looking forward and seeing the opening up ahead, she looked down at her attire. Seeing that there was not much armor on her, she didn't feel the need for it. Shaking her head and heading toward the start of the open landscape, she felt something different than undead souls. A presence of bloodlust and fear seemed to emit from the large space.
"..." the gunslinger commented. Lowering her eyebrows a little, she did slow sweeps to the left and right. A window popped up in front of her that made her raise her eyebrows. It was the "Stalker" skill.
[Roamers aren't aggressive to those who can generate fear]
'...Blood Prowlers...how annoying...' she thought with a frown.
Instead of walking with caution, she walked forward at a moderate rate. Keeping her stern expression, she continued sweeping her gaze slowly. After a few yards, she could hear distant movement in the background. Narrowing her eyes, she could see faint yellow orbs clustered relatively close to each other. An outline of a large lanky body with various sharp points was only visible by a faint black silhouette.
'I'll give you a reason to fear,' Selbith thought looking at the creature with murderous intent.
The creature stared down the gunslinger that was many yards away. Watching the mortal slowly go behind a tree, it didn't see the person appear on the other side. About to move, the individual slowly poked its head out from the back of a tree. However, the human was closer. Blinking and continuing to watch, the female teen moved her head back slowly to not be seen. About to move, there was movement at a tree closer again.
Blinking and giving a low growl, the mortal was above ground when it poked its head out again. Seeing the person better, the Blood Prowler saw crimson eyes boring at it. Feeling a faint sense of apprehension, the gunslinger went behind the tree. Lowering itself to the ground and waiting for the individual's next move, the creature couldn't decide to flee or attack the human. Thinking the prey would appear at a closer tree from the same distance, nothing was happening.
Waiting and listening for several moments, nothing happened. Smelling the air, the monster became confused. The scent that the human had vanished. Hearing movement around it, they weren't of the bipedal. Almost becoming anxious and unsure, it looked side to side while taking a step back. A cold metal barrel suddenly pressed against the back of Prowler's head.
"Sleep for eternity worm," a female teen stated gravely then pulled a trigger.
Unable to react fast enough, a loud sounding blast echoed throughout the eerie and gloomy area. All the Blood Prowlers that were in the nearby vicinity heard one of its own give a death squeal that only they could hear. It was at the same time the creatures heard a boom. Turning their heads toward the direction of the sound, they rushed over quickly. Covering massive amount of ground like cheetahs, they reach the death scene in less than a minute.
The five that showed up, all of them saw the remains of a Prowler. From mid-torso down, the body was intact. The rest was blown off with gore smearing in the direction it had fallen toward. Not wasting any time, the monsters began to devour the corpse. Gnawing, ripping, and devouring the dead body, they were too focused on eating to see what was hovering toward them. All of them felt a sudden dark chill and froze.
Hearing a familiar hissing sound that was above them, all of them felt fear. Only moving their heads in the opposite direction of the sound, a scythe with a crimson blade decapitated them. The Blood Prowlers fell to the ground lifeless as their blood pooled out of their head and body. Retracting the scythe back into the cloak, black fire engulfed the reaper. Changing back into her human form, Selbith looked at the monsters with distaste.
"Disgusting maggots," she commented.
Turning around and walking away, she went back to sweeping her head left to right. After a few minutes of travel and hearing other Blood Prowlers in the distance, none of them approached her. Even when seeing one staring at the same distance as the first one, it turned around and ran away. Ignoring the creature, she continued going forward. More minutes passed by till Ami felt something relatively closer to the feeling of purgatory. In the distance, there were floating spirits going through trees aimlessly.
'So this is where the dead souls are...if that is the case,' she thought heading toward the center of the aura. 'Then there should be a Grim Reaper roaming near.'
After getting onto the main highway, Samantha pressed on the gas. Though Gene was with her which helped her not go full blown in her tidal wave of thoughts and emotions, her grip on the steering wheel started to make her knuckles white. If she was going faster than the speed limit, she would see movement to her right. Glancing at her son and seeing the look of concern, she checked herself and slowed down. Trying to keep focus on driving, she moved the front tip of her tongue underneath her right side canine teeth. Feeling herself getting overcome with emotions, she bit down hard but not enough to pierce through.
"...hey mom...?" Gene asked holding onto her phone.
"...yes dear?" Samantha replied blinking and easing off the gas again.
"The map says to turn right at the exit ahead."
"Thanks honey," she said calming down. Going on the off ramp, her second son continued.
"It says to turn left at the light next."
"Okay," his mother stated. Seeing that the traffic light was green, she followed the cars ahead of her through the intersections. Straightening out on the road, the boy reported what he saw.
"After a mile, the building should be on the right."
'Almost there Jin...I'm almost there,' she thought wanting to get there faster.
Calming down and trying to find patience, she went with the flow of traffic. After a few minutes, they entered a business park. Gene commented that the building should be nearby. Seeing a large sign with businesses listed, Mrs. Ainsley flicked the turn signal on. Turing into a straightaway, she saw the multi-storied infrastructure.
Turning into the large parking lot, there were many spaces to choose. Going toward one near the back, she parked the SUV and killed the engine. Gathering her stuff and her purse, she opened her door. Stepping out and seeing that Gene got out as well, both closed their door. Locking the vehicle, she walked around to see her son standing with a small smile.
"...?" Samantha reacted by flinching. Her cell phone was going off. Getting it out of her bag and looking at who the caller was, a frown grew on her face. Silencing the ringing, the woman put it back in her purse.
"Who was that mom?"
"It was your father...but I am not in the mood to talk to him right now," Mrs. Ainsley mentioned and began walking toward the building's entrance. Hearing quick striding feet, Gene got next to her.
"Do you think there is a theme park inside for the floor that Gamco owns?" the boy asked sounding a little excited.
"...I wouldn't know honey...maybe."
"...maybe Jin is inside playing a game..." Gene wondered out loud.
'I doubt it if it is anything like the last time. If he is playing, they forced him to again,' she stated in her mind with irritation.
Both walked down the parking lot and onto the sidewalk. Heading toward the front doors, there was a sign posted. Stating it was open to the public, the emphasis was for business purposes only. There was no loitering allowed and if done so, security will escort them out of the facility. Reaching out and grabbing the handle, she opened the door.
With both walking inside, Gene looked like he was anticipating something of an adventure. Walking forward, Samantha looked for a directory. Finding one and seeing it state which floor the gaming company was on, they went to an elevator. Hitting the call button, the lift was already on the first floor. Stepping inside and selecting the level needed, the doors closed.
Hearing the lift slow down to a stop, it reached the level they wanted. Giving a soft bell sound, the doors opened. Walking out, Mrs. Ainsley saw the sign to where the entrance was. Calming down and trying to keep her emotions in check, she saw the look of growing interest on her son's face. Blinking and looking at the doors, she took a deep breath in and out.
Feeling ready, both headed toward it and entered after opening the doors. Entering the receptionist area, there were not many chairs. The person behind the counter seemed to be doing something on the desk. Approaching the attendant, he looked up and was a little surprised. The sight of a mother bringing her child to a gaming company small office was not new.
"Hello. How can I help you?"
"Hi. I was told that my son was brought here. I am here to take him back," Samantha stated in a neutral tone and expression.
"...uh...I don't think we employ teenagers that are under the age of 16 ma'am."
"My son was kidnapped and brought to this building roughly two weeks ago. He is missing again."
"...oh...I'm sorry to here that," the man said apologetically. At the same time, she could see he was getting uncomfortable.
"Have you called the police to report your son is missing?"
"..." Mrs. Ainsley replied with narrowing her eyes at her. "Do you want me to call the police and have them come here? I can guarantee they will be more probing than I will be. Especially in regards to the world wide crisis of gamers unable to log out of your company's VR headsets."
"..." the attendant responded with opening and closing his mouth. Seeing the unsure look on his face, Mrs. Ainsley blinked and frowned a little.
"I suggest you call your supervisor before I start getting out my phone."
"Y-Yes ma'am," he stated and picked up the desk phone. Dialing a number, it rang twice before it picked up.
"H-Hello Phil...um...I have a guest here to pick up her son...she claims he is here...she has stated she'll call the police...okay," the young man said with a small head nod. Putting the phone down, he nervously turned to the woman.
"My supervisor will be out shortly."
"Thank you," she spoke relaxing her face. Waiting a minute, the door to the inner office spaces opened. A man in a typical relaxed business attire came out and closed the door. Gene was able to get a small glance of inside and did not see anything spectacular.
"Hello," Phil stated and putted out his hand.
"Hello," Samantha replied back keeping her hands to her side.
"..." he said retracting his hand and forcing a small smile. "My name is Phil. I am the supervisor for this department. Can you tell me what seems to be the problem?"
"...in case you did not listen to what your employee told you over the phone, let me repeat myself. I was told that my son was brought here. I am here to take him back."
'...this bitch...' Phil reacted forcing himself to keep the small smile.
"I am sorry to hear that...Mrs.?"
"Mrs. Ainsley...my son is Jin Ainsley. The one that was kidnapped and found here in this building roughly two week ago," she mentioned with an impassive tone and expression.
'...you got to be shitting me...' the supervisor thought clenching his teeth together.
"I'm sorry to say Mrs. Ainsley that we don't have any teenagers in the building. I wouldn't allow anyone in here unless they were employed here."
"That including kidnappers?" she asked still remaining cool.
"Heh heh...no. Why would I do that? If your son is missing, why not report that to the police?"
"I see you really don't listen to your employees and are a pretty lousy liar," Samantha commented crossing her arms over her chest. The attendant's eyes widen seeing his supervisor showing more expression than the woman was.
"Excuse me!?"
"Did you forget that not only did the police interview the security team of this building, but the employees of this department...hmmm?" she questioned only blinking. "That would mean even you were asked about why were kidnappers bringing in a teenager that was wearing a VR headset."
"..." Phil reacted turning red with irritation.
"And I bet the boys in blue even asked why you didn't do jack shit about it," Mrs. Ainsley continued then lowered her head to give a glare. "Let alone even calling the police."
"I'll have you know that I-!" he stated in a loud voice then stopped.
"Oh? What was that? Were you going to say you were just following orders from your higher ups?"
'...holy shit...' the man behind the desk thought and stayed where he was at. Gene stayed behind his mother and watched with attentive eyes and ears.
"...no...I was going to say..."
"..." she replied just blinking. Keeping the glare, the corners of her mouth went down slightly.
"...go on...I'm listening..."
"First of all, I did nothing to your son," Phil declared holding a hand up.
"Yeah. You did absolutely...nothing for him."
"Second...your fight is with my superiors. Not me," he continued holding the other hand up.
"Let me tell you something...Phil..." the woman stated still having the even tone. "You will take me to my son right now...or you can talk to the police again."
"If you were listening ma'am, your son is not here," he defended with annoyance.
"...is that so?" Samantha stated not moving from her spot. She did see movement to her right and turned her head a little. Staring at the attendant, he looked back at her with apprehension. He glanced at his supervisor once then looked back at something on his desk.
"Yes. Please leave or I will call the police for you harassing my employee and threatening me," he mentioned with an unfriendly expression and tone.
"I see...maybe I should ask Mr. Adam or Mr. Bennett about the two intruders that broke into my home again...and took my son...again," she stated with scary face. "One is dead...the other seemed able to get away."
"..." Phil responded with keeping his expression. However, his eye and hands twitched a little. The receptionist looked up with a shocked look on his face.
"If you want to play this game...fine by me," Mrs. Ainsley continued.
Opening her purse and pulling out her phone, she began searching for a number. Finding a specific number, she saw the supervisor throw his hand at the mobile phone. Pulling her phone to her chest, Phil's hand missed. Quickly putting her hand on her son's shoulder, she and him backed up a couple of steps. His actions only made her more certain of who was here.
"I suggest you leave Mrs. Ainsley. I have no time for your bullshit and ridiculous accusations. If you do not, I will have you trespassed by security," he threatened. Straightening up, he stood by the inner office door and crossed his arms over his chest.
"..." Samantha responded with putting the phone to her ear. "Hello. Police? Can you get me in touch with Sargent Dent please? It is regarding the Ainsley case."
"Fuck this. I quit," the attendant stated out loud. Removing his name badge and getting around the counter, he walked to the door and pointed at the supervisor.
"You can deal with the copers you fucking asshole."
"..." Phil responded seeing the young man walk out. Not saying anything else, he looked back at the mother and child. Both of them were staring daggers at him and slowly headed toward the entrance door. Exiting, they stayed outside and watched him with scorn. Not moving from his spot, he walked to the counter and paged security.
"Security. I need two to escort two people off the premises and be trespassed."
[There are two already heading down there] the reply came. However, the person did not sound friendly.
"Good," he said.
Heading back to the door and standing in front of it, he waited. A few moments later, two security guards came and approached the mother and child. Smirking to himself as they conversed, neither of the two were pointing the woman to the elevators. Instead, all three adults and one child walked into the receptionist area. His expression changed to confusion as Mrs. Ainsley put her phone back in her purse.
"What is going on?"
"Mr. Phil, open the door," the first guard said standing in front of the small group.
"Excuse me?"
"I said, open the door."
"I paged earlier and told you to escort them out," he stated in irritation.
"I do not wish to constrain you Mr. Phil...but I will if you will not cooperate," the security person stated with a blank expression.
"You'll be fired if you put your hands on me," he threatened. The second guard standing behind Samantha and Gene moved her hand to the walkie that was clipped to her shoulder.
"Team. I need backup on Floor 3. Gamco Inc. department. We have a code yellow. I repeat. We have a code yellow."
[Rodger that. One in route. ETA 1 minute] the response came back then buzzed off.
"Are you treating me as a threat!?" Phil questioned angrily.
"Given that you are not cooperating and potential battery charge for hitting a civilian, you are threatening the safety of the people in this department."
"What a load of shit!" he shouted then headed toward the inner door. The guard that was in front put his hand out to the side and backed up. The others responded and moved backwards.
"That's right! You better get out my way! I'll make sure you can't find a job after getting canned here!" he yelled at them.
Opening the door, he walked in and slammed it shut. It caused a loud echo and boom in the room. Hearing a latch sound at the door, the supervisor locked it. The one behind the mother and child walked around to stand next to her partner. After a couple words passed between them, they both faced the other two.
"Are you alright?" he asked with a somewhat irritated expression.
"Yes. I'm fine," Samantha stated though her body looked tense. Her child had a combination of looking scared and agitated.
"You okay sport?"
"Y-Yes sir," Gene answered and backed off his expression.
"One of our security personnel was monitoring you when you entered the ground level of the building. In watching and listening, when you stated you were Mrs. Ainsley, we were sent down to potentially calm you down," the female guard stated. "However, that has changed now."
"...I see...will I be able to see if my son is in there?" Mrs. Ainsley asked trying not to let her emotions explode.
"We will find out in a minute," the male guard answered walking to the desk phone. Picking it up and paging a number that was not to Phil's office, it rang once before it was picked up.
[Greg speaking?]
"Hello. This is Robert from security. Is your supervisor still present in the main office spaces?"
[...no...he went into his office and slammed the door...is something going on?]
"Yes. I need someone to open the door from the inside to get in. Can you do that?"
[Yes. I will be there in a couple of seconds]
"Thank you," he spoke then hung up the phone. Waiting for a few moments, there was the sound of soft sounding footsteps. Hearing the door unlock and open, Greg stepped out. Robert approached him.
"Thank you for getting the door Greg," he stated then gestured to the woman and child. "This is Mrs. Ainsley and her son. She stated that her older..."
"..." the tech stated with a sigh and pinched his nose. "This way."
"...?" both security personnel blinked then looked at each other.
Seeing the employee turn around and walk inward, the four followed him. There were a couple of other employees that came closer to them and looked surprised. Greg lifted his hand at them and gestured them to be quiet. He went directly to one room. Stopping and turning around, he pointed to the door.
"This is the room that the teenager was placed in from one of the "contacts" from higher ups. Phil was the one that let them in. I helped set up the monitoring equipment and computer towers so that your son would be playing the VR game without being affect by what is currently going on," he explained then held up his hands. "The person that brought your son looked to be one of the two kidnappers that brought him in the first time. The guy threatened to hurt me if I didn't set everything up. Once done, he kicked me out and told me to lock the door. I haven't gone in there since."
"Why didn't any of you call security or the police?" the female guard asked shocked and appalled.
"Phil threatened us. We had to keep quiet or he would fire us on the spot."
"Sounds like a tyrant that needs his butt kicked," Gene piped in not liking the guy. The comment seemed to lighten the mood a little.
"Go ahead and unlock it."
"Okay," the tech stated. Getting a key from his desk drawer, he came back. Unlocking the door, Robert tried to open it. However, it didn't budge. Trying harder, it rattled but still wouldn't move. Looking for the hinges, they were on the inside.
"Any locks or mechanisms on the inside?"
"N-No. This is just a studio gaming room. There isn't anything in there except a couple of tables, chairs, a large monitor, and a center throne seat."
"...possibly a chair was placed under the door knob..." the male guard muttered to himself when the shoulder walkie came on.
[Robert, you copy? Stan here. Where is your location?]
"Copy. We are inside. The door should be unlocked."
[Copy that] the third guard responded. The group saw the door to the reception area open and another security personnel came in.
"Alright. Help me with ramming this door open. It swings inward," Robert stated and the other male guard nodded. Standing close to the door, both began to shoulder ram it at the same time. Each time the did a slam, the door would rattle more but didn't open.
'...I'm almost there Jin...just hold on,' Samantha thought feeling anxiety building from what was behind the door.