Chapter 24

"It's been four days… anything from Kyle?"

"He finally said something today. He thinks Rais is planning something big because he's been mostly ignoring him and out of sight leaving his thugs to watch over Kyle." Crane answered Brecken.

"Has he said anything else?" Jade inquired.

"No… he… he kept it short too, said all in one sentence…" Crane glanced away, worry and pain from Kyle's silence towards him chewing on his heart. Was Rais getting to him? Or did he feel guilty over Vulcan?

Rais snarled, eyes shifting around the room, anger boiling in his veins. Perhaps he should've paid more attention to Kyle, the men on watch during that time already shot for failure and his finger pushed the button.

Kyle bit his lips and swallowed the pain, silent tears shed as he tasted his own blood over and over again, claws out instead of hands scratching into the floor silently as he endured more pain with his throat almost unbearably sore. 'Crane… I… I bought time, I think… I'm hiding in the garrison… Rais is searching and making everyone else search too…' Kyle whimpered biting into his arm to muffle a cry at another jolt. He just had to hold out until Rais couldn't risk it anymore and that would be soon by how often he had been seared, no doubt having electric burns on his neck by now barely keeping control hiding under a bed. Four days had passed, four days laying low and playing to his guard's ego, keeping the prying of what Rais was up to a minimum so he wouldn't stop, four long days of feeling alone and abandoned despite knowing they tried.

"Guys, Kyle just reached out again! He's hiding in the garrison and Rais is searching for him along with almost everyone else, the defenses won't be as tight!"

"Get geared up, let's go!" Jade smiled, Rahim immediately declaring his inclusion and Brecken left the room to tell Lena to hold the reigns while he headed out with the group.

"Kyle, come out!"

"We turned over the entire first floor, nothing." Tahir informed.

"He can't have gotten far; a remote got picked up minutes after his stunt. Search the third floor. I'll finish up the second with the others here. And don't shock more than three times, can't risk the brat dying on me…" Tahir moved up to the third floor, Rais angry eyes landing on the next room being turned upside down.

'Hold on Kyle we're on our way!'

Kyle dared to peek out at the edge a little hearing footsteps and a mess being made in another room on the third floor. He hadn't gotten far, having even needed sheer luck that the route he blindly took on the floors was empty. Snatching the grenade one had in his hand and setting it off to cause chaos before killing the group surrounding him only brought so much time and he had barely managed to grab being shocked immediately as he dove for the grab tricking the guy closer first. His heart raced in his chest wondering if Crane would make it in time having told him to hold on awhile ago but his cries of pain became harder to hide, his arm well bitten into with his lower lip bleeding. The voices grew louder, Tahir's voice barking orders around as the man shoved away a table stepping into the very room the boy hid in. The shocks had slowed down, the danger of completely frying the kid coming too close. The blonde didn't move, stiff as a board as Tahir slowly prowled through the room, a chest flipped open to find it empty and his finger started hovering over the button as his eyes narrowed on the bed next. Kyle swallowed, closing his eyes feeling the man's eyes in his direction. Other footsteps moved past the room as the floor got sweeped moving past Kyle's location except for Tahir. Kyle's heart only sped up as he braced to try something he had never tried before, imagining the sound a few more times first before picturing Rais in his head. Kyle sneezed. At least he thought he did in his head hoping the telepathy idea had worked.

Rais whipped around unable to really pinpoint where but he could swear he could've heard Kyle and his lips pulled into a smirk as he pushed the button turning to a closet, calling his men closer and Tahir on the radio.

Kyle bit into his arm figuring that would come, shutting his eyes as he screamed on the inside. Tahir left and Rais opened the closet with a triumphant smirk having called his men closer and Tahir to bring his group to the next floor but his eyes narrowed finding no one in there. His eyes narrowed upon being played slamming the doors shut with a snarl and he quickly swiveled around to turn anything close by as his men swarmed the area.

With Tahir out of the room, Kyle dragged himself out ignoring the blood drop trail he knew he left wondering if he would get lucky as he didn't really know where everyone was. Ready to collapse from pain and fatigue even a small group by the entrance would be a pain maybe even impossible to get past. But he'd try anyway. The hallway seemed empty enough, Kyle pressing on.

Rais' eyes narrowed, the vicinity completely sweeped yet nothing turned up even though he was certain to have heard the scream nearby and the man snarled with a realization though once the anger subsided he'd be amused at the clever tactic. "You guys check two more levels, everyone else start heading back down, sweep the place again."

It had already made Karim feel less than great from day one when Rais had dragged in the kid now staring at the man, both eye to eye in the hallway. He knew what defying Rais brought, knew that if he was caught helping he'd highly likely pay with his life. Lucky for both no one else was around yet and Karim turned away to the closest corner letting Kyle pass ignoring that he had seen the blonde. Kyle gazed after the man disappearing behind a turn. 'Thanks Karim.'

"Hey boss, I found something!" Rais came rushing to the other man and a smirk of sorts formed on in his lips with the bed tipped revealing the scratches in the floor along with the blood trailing out the door. "Must've hidden under here." Tahir joining the scene silently chided himself, if only he had stuck around a second longer bothering to check under there. Rais' eyes wandered down to his hand wondering if he should risk it.

Kyle crumbled, unable to really muff it wondering if he already had lasting damage pushing himself back on his feet after a minute. His eyes narrowed at the precious time lost hearing men above him on the floor no doubt following but trail but confusion after a while paced a smile on his lips, the bitten arm bandaged with a ripped off clothes scrap though Rais was quick to simply order an entire sweep working their way down. It was race of time, Rais and his men working their way down as fast as possible as while Tahir and Rais himself headed straight back down to the entrance steadily catching up to Kyle.

The guns pointed at the blonde while two brandished blades in the way. While Kyle could've gone for a balcony and climbing down, he didn't really want to fully aware that he was going to run into something like this. Five to one and he wasn't in good shape. "Don't think we won't shoot just because Rais wants you. We'll just not aim to kill you." Kyle didn't reply simply glaring at them and placing a bit of his cheek on the inside between his teeth. The boy bit down and dropped himself to his knees with a faked cry, sputtering out blood. The men laughed coming closer, one mocking Kyle for trying to flee while another reached to pull him up by the hair. Kyle didn't stop him or try to scoot away yanked up with his chin stained red and the men's smug attitude dropped as his hand turning claws to gain more reach rushed up to the one's wrist crushing it as hard as he could earning a few gut wrenching cracks as the man screamed yanked in front of the boy suffering the bullets as the other four jumped back. Kyle grabbed the guy's gun, kicking the corpse into one of the other gun wielders while shooting the other wincing at the bullet digging into his shoulder. Before the two with blades could try talking to buy time, Kyle shot them without mercy and continued out as fast as he could. The metal gate proved closed, though it opened suspiciously easy but he didn't care to give much thought to it as he heard Rais bellowed just out of sight behind him. The two guys on the platform guarding the entry point were treated with bullets as Kyle sprinted for his life with Rais and Tahir right behind him catching up as neither were a wreck like the kid. Kyle's eyes widened as one of the guards didn't get shot by him but by someone outside and Crane's voice in his head made his heart jump. The red flooded into his eyes as he prepared to jump into a crowd of zombies, Crane just a few steps away in the street with Jade, Brecken and Rahim and three others smiling at him rushing forward. Kyle jumped but didn't hit the ground as a strong hand grabbed him by the scruff and yanked him back up throwing him back inside and green eyes narrowed on Tahir smirking at him quick to duck and move out of bullet range as the blonde tried to get up. Rais removed his shoe pinning his arm and Tahir cracked his fist, boot pulling back. Rais showed himself on the platform, Rahim driven back with a shot barely stumbling back as two men flanked their boss and Crane felt his finger itch to pull the trigger. "You shoot me, he dies." Rais smirked, every tower resident glaring at him, soon enough forced to leave by infected unless a bullet caught them first.

"He tricked you already, he'll trick you again!" Rahim pointed out.

"He hates you, it's just a matter of time before he manages to kill you!" Crane shouted, a snarl on his lips as Kyle cried out.

"His stubbornness is rather a problem but I've been longer in Harran than you Crane, I know how to handle a monster. I have rather left him with too much freedom and too little attention from me, I will admit that. That will change. And you Crane, still believe you could take care of him? How long do you think your delusion that the Tower really accepts him would hold up? People are afraid of what they don't understand, Crane. They don't understand him. Eventually someone will snap and tragedy will occur only to set the kindling for more to come. But I'll understand you'll never stop; and he might never stop hoping unless you're dead or he has no chance of ever seeing you again."

"Rahim!" The shot rang out, Rahim having pushed Crane into cover and catching the bullet with his own body dragged into cover by Crane and Jade.

"It must burn to have come so close to him." Rais turned away with a smirk.

"We have to get him to Lena." Jade supported her brother still conscious, the bullet somewhere below his chest but seemingly having missed any organ or they simply didn't see it yet.

Tahir paused as Rais topped him looking down on Kyle dropped into the grass as Tahir let go of his shirt. "Bring him inside, we need to talk."

"I'm sorry, Crane."

"It's not your fault Jade, let's just get Rahim to Lena without becoming zombie chow."

"We'll get him back." Brecken tried to comfort Crane.

"I know. And if I have to kill every last fucker of them." Crane replied but deep down he was scared. Scared that maybe they couldn't while what Rais had said slowly became a whispering voice. He had seen it in their faces here and there. The fear. Not that it would ever push him away from the blonde.

"You still have a problem with realizing where you belong now." Rais waited a moment for a reaction, given none from a silent Kyle sat down a crate, one of the man tasked to dig out the bullet and take care of it while Tahir had a hand on his other shoulder. "You are a monster. Monsters like you don't belong anywhere. You just have a master. And that's me." Still no response. "Today you got that kid… what they say his name was…right, Rahim, you got him shot." Rais smirked. Kyle didn't lash out stopping himself from doing so but it had flashed in his eyes and the gang boss had caught it. "How many more will you have sacrificed? You could tell them to stop bothering with coming. Perhaps if Crane heard it from you, he'd be willing to accept your fate."

"You know he wouldn't. And you know I'd lie. Hey, do you think by a ratio of seven of your men versus one tower resident you will run out of mutts first?" This time Kyle smirked.

"Perhaps a reminder to look at will help you learn where you're supposed to be." Rais turned away, grabbing a knife, the blade glowing hot from having been heated and the rather tattered shirt got ripped off revealing the dirty bandages. Tahir's hand slightly moved giving more room on the shoulder but not much tightening his grip. Rais turned back to Kyle further hurt as the bullet hole got leveraged against him. "Karim, get over here and hold him down too. Not so smug anymore, are you? Well, just so know, begging won't change my mind." The knife dug in, Rais carving his self-chosen name into the flesh.

"Lena, Rahim got a bullet wound, be ready when we get there."

"Got it. I guess Kyle…?"

"We couldn't get to him in time." Jade answered with a sigh glancing to Crane with his expression darkening with silent trapped rage.

"By the way, three men arrived, friends of Kyle. They came to help."

"Man I'm freaking bored!" The man sighed leaning back on the couch, the corpse of the former resident having holed up in the apartment before on the floor. "I freaking loved the yellow and black from Rais and now we can't even freaking wear that…"

"Just keep sitting tight, it'll be soon. Everything is done planned and they have theirs ready too." The thug gave the smoke he had a puff sitting on a chair, a small crate with them in the room. "Just think how fun pulling this off will be, think of their faces back to square one."

"Why do you guys think the boss wants it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we have the kid, he fucking can't turn and still got all the antizin. And I heard the kid can stop you from turning too. Should just burn the place to the ground. Or the Tower already."

"You questioning the plans of the boss now?" One of the currently five in the room raised an eyebrow taking a swig from a bottle.

"Nah, this waiting is getting to me too."

"I'm back suckers, bored to death yet?" Another thug entered carrying supplies. "People are getting fucking nosy, I tell ya."

"We'll move soon. One or two days, there was a slight situation with the kid getting cocky. Had to be schooled."

"Fucking finally!"

"Embers still blind?"

"Yeah, the others too. Think we're just some more unfortunate survivors, fooled and about to be schooled. Can't wait to rule the streets loudly again and kick the crap out of those fuckers."

"This permanent reminder should help with where you belong." Rais smiled, Kyle curled up on the floor in aguish, hand over his hot seared skin. The man tossed him a new top, more or less a replica of the first and fresh bandages receiving a withering glare. "While you were asleep, I would love to hear a detailed account if you feel like sharing. You can confide anything in me, you should get used to the idea as this is your life now."

"Never." It had barely come out with his voice weak and hoarse. His hand shakily reached for the bandages anyway, his limbs moving before he could even think as Rais slightly moved cleaning the cooled down blood crusted blade causing the blonde to cower in fear.

"One more thing. You should know if you choose to scratch over your new… tattoo… so badly, which would be extremely painful for you, that it's unrecognizable I'll carve out a new one. It'll numb the pain and eventually you'll be proud you see it, even smile. Karim, make sure everyone is ready." Rais voice faded out as Tahir suddenly whipped him, knocking out the blonde.

"He'll be fine. But he's not going on any rescue mission anytime soon." Lena assured Jade, everyone a relieved barely having made it to the tower.

"I'll go talk to Shakkur, Omar and Nazim." Crane said leaving the group huddled in front of med bay.

"Any news from Troy?" Brecken asked.

"Camden's lab is untouched, no trouble over there so far." Lena answered.

"It's finally go time!" The thug cheered, all eyes moving to the box with the red sticks.

Rais smirked, his men leaving with the boxes out into the burning midday sun of Harran. "Make sure to be seen and draw attention."

"Hey, Brecken called a meeting to try come up with a plan." Jade leaned against the doorway, Crane sitting on the bed holding the picture of Kyle and him at a fountain both smiling.

"I fucking hate him and I'll kill him for what he's done but it feels like he's right when he said I can't raise him. Jade, I don't even know what the fuck I'm doing anymore how did I think I could ever raise Kyle? I don't know the first thing about raising a kid by myself and Kyle isn't normal."

"Stop blaming yourself. It's because Kyle is that special that only someone who has been here and seen this place for themselves could raise him."

"How, he trusted and I let him down! I keep failing him damn it! If I hadn't dragged him off the streets then maybe Rais would've never noticed him. Anyone here is probably more qualified to care for him than me." Crane felt like crying, eyes so focused on the picture, he didn't notice Jade stepping forward and delivering a stinging slap.

"You saved him from his own guilt, he was drowning himself in loneliness! Kyle, you have to let go of any mistakes you think you did. He needs you, we need you and him. You can raise him and maybe you're the only one that can."

"Doesn't feel like it lately…" Crane glanced away rubbing his cheek. "Jeez Jade, if that's a slap from you I don't want to get to know your punch…"

"Well then you better get off your ass and stop wallowing in self- pity, you have a kid to save and raise."

"Can I ask for help on the parenting?"

"Let's get him back where he belongs." Jade smiled.

"We have a problem!" Rocket rushed down the hallway, the duo quick to follow up to headquarters.

"Rais' thugs were hiding in Old Town and they got dynamite to bring down their tower with. And one of our runners spotted another group here preparing to attack the tower. And they have explosives too." Brecken explained.

"Can Troy cover their end?" Jade asked.

"It'll pull away all protection from the lab."

"Well, stopping those bastards is a bit more urgent now."

"I'll head over to Old Town and give Troy a hand and everyone else can help here in the slums." Crane suggested. "Do we know where those assholes are over here?"

"Spotted there." Brecken replied.

"Fuck that's close."

"All going to plan, boss."

"Move in." Rais smiled.

"Move in where?" The gang leader turned around to Kyle hardly cleaned with his clothes still bloody and face bruised, eyes holding all the hatred in the world with a calm cold edge completely familiar with trickery and lies. Rais smirked amused to see the blonde still have a threatening glare even though just a shove would send him stumbling, his breath heavy with hurt but kept steady like a hunter waiting for all odds to slip into his favor before striking.

"We both know I won't tell you this one but I'll happily fill you in later to give you an idea of what you'll soon do for me."

"Thought I'd roll the dice anyway since your ego is so bloated, it stinks more than any fucking zombie. But just sticking it to you makes me happy." Kyle bit with a smile only receiving a smirk back.

"You should save your energy for following orders." Silence spread save for the men moving about following the given orders, Karim one of the ones heading out while Rais sat down on a chair. "Surprised I'm not leaving? The last incident proved to me I neglected you far too much, now I can't leave my prize I paid so much for in potential incompetent hands."

Kyle's eyes narrowed and shifted over his shoulder just to see the butt of the gun come down on the head knocking him out.

"Hey Crane, did Kyle mention dynamite?" Rahim asked, everyone on the move stopping the man just before he could jump down the ledge.

"He didn't, Rais probably kept him in the dark."

"We should let him know maybe it can help somehow."

"Good call, kid. Gotta run." Crane hopped down rushing out into the streets, focusing his thoughts on Kyle. 'Hey Kyle, Rais is trying to blow up both towers.' Crane leapt to the next roof, worry quickly whispering louder as no response came. 'Kyle?'