The blasing white headlights illuminated the mansion's front porch as
Trowa's navy blue Toyota truck made its path up the driveway, the shadows
and the dark, voidlike windows casted an eerie sensation over the four men.
Duo was halfway out the front passenger door when a fierce chill up his spine halted him in his tracks. There was something wrong, he thought to himself, and the braided Maxwell felt the heavy preminition of dread sweep over him.
Wufei climbed out and stood behind him, looking over Duo's shoulder at the seemingly empty house and its dark surroundings. Wufei knew Duo felt something was going on and the tense air permeating aound him created the rise of goosebumps on his skin. On the other side of the truck , Duo saw the shadowy figure of Heero as he stealthily pulled out a hidden thirty- eight caliber handgun from the pocket of his jeans and cautiously climbed up the three step stairs to the door. Ahead of the others and with his senses sharpened, he stood clutching the door handle , ready and poised to shoot should a threat present itself.
Trowa followed suit as Heero cracked open the front door, ignoring the rusted creek of the swinging door and let himself in. Heero, tense and on edge, disappeared from thier view as he stepped into the dark shadows of the mansion.
Outside, Wufei closed the truck's open doors and followed as Duo started up the front steps after Trowa. Before the silent male reached the door handle, Heero met the other three on his way out the door and stalked back to the truck , his hand gun switched from his right hand to his pants again.
" Lights and power's out." He stated over his shoulder calmly, answering Duo's and Wufei's confused looks. Heero quickly rummaged thoroughly through the truck, searching under the seats and in the numerous compartments for a light. Throwing one to Trowa at the doorway and tossing two to Duo and Wufei by the headlights of the truck, Heero silently hoped that the heavy duty metallic colored flashlights still worked.
*********
The shadowy figures that the mansion's adornment casted seemed to come alive as they walked by, the four men splitting up and taking their own way through the large house. Trowa searching upstairs for Quatre, Duo on the third floor looking frantically for Serena and Heero checking the east and west wings for any predators or burglars.
Finding his way through what seemed like a maze in the dark, Wufei felt his way to the kitchen in the rear of the large mansion, a trail of dried blood leading him through to a back door reserved for the forty tag- alongs and found it slightly open. No broken lock, nothing to indicate that someone used force to open it. He thought that was unusual. Rashid would always check every door every night to make sure it was locked.
The usually immaculate tile floor of the kitchen was soaked with blood. Wufei's oriental eyes widened at what seemed to be like something was dragged across the kitchen to a door adjacent that was the basement. The round copper handle was bloodied and the door slightly adjar, the bloody trail sloped down the basement stairs into the consuming darkness and out of view.
The wooden steps under his feet felt stable, and Wufei felt along the dirt crusted cement wall as he decended down into the basement. He was unarmed and he had no idea how he was going to defend himself should he run into something-or someone. He was skilled in the martial arts but he had no idea how he was going to compare to an armed burglar, or who ever was down there.
The now dark basement had been redone two years before, turning it into a miniture sized junk yard where Duo had spent hours toying around with old and broken auto and machine parts, often turning them into irrecognizible figures he would call 'art'. Every once and a while, Duo would actually create something that Wufei thought was worthy enough to be adorned in his own room. Although he would never tell the braided Maxwell this, he often appreciated his works and would spend time watching Duo construct his miniture statues with hieghtened interest, acting as if he was there only to supervise him. Making sure that he didnt do something that would blow up the mansion or the rest of the surrounding neighborhood.
At the bottom of the wooden stairs, the stench of the basement had almost threatened to make Wufei throw up. The rotting smell of death and blood filled his senses and he was forced to breathe through his mouth as he searched along the wall for the gray fuse box to ignite the back up power for the house.
" Finally." He muttered to himself, fumbling with the box to open it and pushed the lever towards the ceiling, wiping the spider webs from his hands on his pants.
Wufei had to squint as the basement light came on full power, flickering twice before the light stayed steady.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
" Oh SHIT, Holy mother of Hell!!!! "
Trowa and Heero, the ones nearest the basement, had heard Wufei's screaming curses and sprinted towards the basement. Trowa, having the longest legs and remarkable speed, reached the kitchen first and was nearly rammed as Heero ran in two seconds after.Gun in hand, the perfect soldier barged into the basement with Trowa behind him, both jumping the steps three at a time.
Wufei had slumped down to the cold cement floor, scalding tears running down his cheeks and his hands bloodied. He had retched, and spit hung from his quivering lips.
" Guys......" He whimpered, and could not say anymore. His body quaked with silent sobs and he pointed to his right to the middle of the basement.
Heero's eyes stayed transfized on Wufei Chang. Never had he seen the justice-loving Chinese man so pathetic before,never. Trowa, however, let his eyes stray away from Wufei to where he pointed..... his usually stoic emerald eyes widening.
Behind them, Duo slammed open the basement door, his breath hard and quivering. He raced down the stairs, jumping down to the floor on the last four steps and ran up behind Trowa, staring openly at Wufei and then to where Trowa's attention was held.
" Oh, no. Oh God, Q-Man."
With a sharp and loud metal clang, Trowa's flashlight dropped to the floor next to him.
Above the stainless steel table where Duo worked, hung Quatre. A thick rope tied above his adam's apple held him above the surface of the table. Dark bruises formed sick patterns from the rope where he was hung. Underneath the rope, Quatre's neck was slashed roughly. Both wrists were also slit and his blood pooled underneath him on the table, the steady drip was the only sound in the damp basement other than Wufei's occasional low sob.
Trowa knew when he first saw him that Quatre's neck was broken, and it stung him inside to think that he had an option of coming home sooner and maybe preventing all this. He couldnt look at his lover's eyes. They were open, Quatre's hollow and lifeless eyes haunted him, accusing him. They looked into his soul and Trowa had to look away, his vision becoming clouded with unshed tears and he fell to his knees.
Duo was halfway out the front passenger door when a fierce chill up his spine halted him in his tracks. There was something wrong, he thought to himself, and the braided Maxwell felt the heavy preminition of dread sweep over him.
Wufei climbed out and stood behind him, looking over Duo's shoulder at the seemingly empty house and its dark surroundings. Wufei knew Duo felt something was going on and the tense air permeating aound him created the rise of goosebumps on his skin. On the other side of the truck , Duo saw the shadowy figure of Heero as he stealthily pulled out a hidden thirty- eight caliber handgun from the pocket of his jeans and cautiously climbed up the three step stairs to the door. Ahead of the others and with his senses sharpened, he stood clutching the door handle , ready and poised to shoot should a threat present itself.
Trowa followed suit as Heero cracked open the front door, ignoring the rusted creek of the swinging door and let himself in. Heero, tense and on edge, disappeared from thier view as he stepped into the dark shadows of the mansion.
Outside, Wufei closed the truck's open doors and followed as Duo started up the front steps after Trowa. Before the silent male reached the door handle, Heero met the other three on his way out the door and stalked back to the truck , his hand gun switched from his right hand to his pants again.
" Lights and power's out." He stated over his shoulder calmly, answering Duo's and Wufei's confused looks. Heero quickly rummaged thoroughly through the truck, searching under the seats and in the numerous compartments for a light. Throwing one to Trowa at the doorway and tossing two to Duo and Wufei by the headlights of the truck, Heero silently hoped that the heavy duty metallic colored flashlights still worked.
*********
The shadowy figures that the mansion's adornment casted seemed to come alive as they walked by, the four men splitting up and taking their own way through the large house. Trowa searching upstairs for Quatre, Duo on the third floor looking frantically for Serena and Heero checking the east and west wings for any predators or burglars.
Finding his way through what seemed like a maze in the dark, Wufei felt his way to the kitchen in the rear of the large mansion, a trail of dried blood leading him through to a back door reserved for the forty tag- alongs and found it slightly open. No broken lock, nothing to indicate that someone used force to open it. He thought that was unusual. Rashid would always check every door every night to make sure it was locked.
The usually immaculate tile floor of the kitchen was soaked with blood. Wufei's oriental eyes widened at what seemed to be like something was dragged across the kitchen to a door adjacent that was the basement. The round copper handle was bloodied and the door slightly adjar, the bloody trail sloped down the basement stairs into the consuming darkness and out of view.
The wooden steps under his feet felt stable, and Wufei felt along the dirt crusted cement wall as he decended down into the basement. He was unarmed and he had no idea how he was going to defend himself should he run into something-or someone. He was skilled in the martial arts but he had no idea how he was going to compare to an armed burglar, or who ever was down there.
The now dark basement had been redone two years before, turning it into a miniture sized junk yard where Duo had spent hours toying around with old and broken auto and machine parts, often turning them into irrecognizible figures he would call 'art'. Every once and a while, Duo would actually create something that Wufei thought was worthy enough to be adorned in his own room. Although he would never tell the braided Maxwell this, he often appreciated his works and would spend time watching Duo construct his miniture statues with hieghtened interest, acting as if he was there only to supervise him. Making sure that he didnt do something that would blow up the mansion or the rest of the surrounding neighborhood.
At the bottom of the wooden stairs, the stench of the basement had almost threatened to make Wufei throw up. The rotting smell of death and blood filled his senses and he was forced to breathe through his mouth as he searched along the wall for the gray fuse box to ignite the back up power for the house.
" Finally." He muttered to himself, fumbling with the box to open it and pushed the lever towards the ceiling, wiping the spider webs from his hands on his pants.
Wufei had to squint as the basement light came on full power, flickering twice before the light stayed steady.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
" Oh SHIT, Holy mother of Hell!!!! "
Trowa and Heero, the ones nearest the basement, had heard Wufei's screaming curses and sprinted towards the basement. Trowa, having the longest legs and remarkable speed, reached the kitchen first and was nearly rammed as Heero ran in two seconds after.Gun in hand, the perfect soldier barged into the basement with Trowa behind him, both jumping the steps three at a time.
Wufei had slumped down to the cold cement floor, scalding tears running down his cheeks and his hands bloodied. He had retched, and spit hung from his quivering lips.
" Guys......" He whimpered, and could not say anymore. His body quaked with silent sobs and he pointed to his right to the middle of the basement.
Heero's eyes stayed transfized on Wufei Chang. Never had he seen the justice-loving Chinese man so pathetic before,never. Trowa, however, let his eyes stray away from Wufei to where he pointed..... his usually stoic emerald eyes widening.
Behind them, Duo slammed open the basement door, his breath hard and quivering. He raced down the stairs, jumping down to the floor on the last four steps and ran up behind Trowa, staring openly at Wufei and then to where Trowa's attention was held.
" Oh, no. Oh God, Q-Man."
With a sharp and loud metal clang, Trowa's flashlight dropped to the floor next to him.
Above the stainless steel table where Duo worked, hung Quatre. A thick rope tied above his adam's apple held him above the surface of the table. Dark bruises formed sick patterns from the rope where he was hung. Underneath the rope, Quatre's neck was slashed roughly. Both wrists were also slit and his blood pooled underneath him on the table, the steady drip was the only sound in the damp basement other than Wufei's occasional low sob.
Trowa knew when he first saw him that Quatre's neck was broken, and it stung him inside to think that he had an option of coming home sooner and maybe preventing all this. He couldnt look at his lover's eyes. They were open, Quatre's hollow and lifeless eyes haunted him, accusing him. They looked into his soul and Trowa had to look away, his vision becoming clouded with unshed tears and he fell to his knees.
