The night air was cold and brisk as the gentle wind broke through the looming trees around us, gliding through the branches. The leaves cut through the silence as the wind danced with the branches, swaying back and forth, to and fro. The sky above us was illuminated by millions of bright stars, each grouping telling its own story and legacy from years in the past. Up the way, I could spot the rooftops of large, high-class mansions. We were in the richest part of town: First Guardian Estates, and you could definitely tell with the perfectly trimmed trees and the freshly cut grass. But if there was one thing that kept bothering me, it would be the fact that it was remarkably quiet tonight. A little too quiet.
"Brrr!" I heard Megido shutter behind me. I turned to see her arms crossed over her chest and could see the goose bumps traveling up her arms.
"That's why you don't wear a t-shirt and a skirt in fall," I replied flatly, concentrating on trying to find any signs of the Felt, or even Tavros to get the Intel face-to-face. Boxcars, who was walking slightly in front of me, slipped out of his jacket and offered it back to Aradia, smiling a little bit with a twinkle in his eye, but she declined it. "I don't think it'll fit me, Big Guy. But I do appreciate the offer." She smiled back at him and I let out a slightly agitated sigh and unbuttoned my own jacket. I took it off quickly and handed it to her, the wind seeping through the thin fabric of the white shirt and sending a chill down my spine.
"Just take it. It's getting too hot for me anyways." I lied. She looked at me with almost a dumbfounded look but graciously put it on.
"Thanks, Droog," she murmured, crossing her arms again to keep as much heat in as possible.
"Yeah, yeah. No problem. Now, be as quiet as you can possibly be. We don't want to give ourselves away." They all complied and we walked in silence, passing each of the million-dollar homes one-by-one, each one a unique style and color scheme. Suddenly something caught my eye, making me stop in my tracks. I could see faint green suits and hats off in the distance. It was a blurred mass of green, but I knew it was them. It was the Felt. I reached into my pants pocket and pulled out my cell phone, quickly dialing Slick.
"What's the status, Droog?" He answered, the sound a chess piece hitting the board off in the background.
"We can see the Felt, but I have no idea what they're doing. We're too far away."
"Then get closer you idiot. What am I paying you for?" He growled in response.
"Actually, you don't pay us at all," I replied smart-assedly, which really set his fuse. I could hear a loud bang on the other line, which probably meant he must have pounded his fist on the table or something,
"Oh, shut up and keep your snarky remarks to your-fucking-self." I motioned for the group to continue forward, but quietly. Soon, we got around the corner of one of the neighboring houses and I peered over the side. I could see Snowman, Crowbar, Die, Cans, Clover, and Trace at the main gate entrance of the Scratch Manor. It was a 4 level mansion with solid white walls and a bright green rooftop. The Windowsills were also a bright green, as well as the lawn being trimmed to absolute perfection. It looked like a movie set the way everything was neat and organized. The Windows themselves depicted different legends and stories that were passed down through the generations with colored glass. The First level windows depicted four legendary kids who saved the entire universe from utter destruction with the help of twelve trolls, which were on the second level. The trolls were modeled after the twelve zodiac signs and having different colored blood, as well as corresponding horns depending on which zodiac they were. On the third level windows were the guardians who raised and guided the heroes through their journey to save the universe and led them to their destinies. Finally, on the top level windows depicted the denizens and the gods. Legend has it that the denizens were the blame for a lot of the perils the heroes went through, but they hoarded large amounts of treasure for those who visit their respected denizen. Each person had a denizen depending on their power and aspect, such as light or blood. Legend also tells stories of how the kids and trolls were brought forth and became gods after reaching a certain level of power, but they could only reach that title if they died on their "quest beds". Of course, these were all just stories. Around the house was a giant iron gate with elaborate detailing of the Zodiac signs and the kids' symbols before and after they reached God status. It was truly a remarkable sight.
"Come on Trace. You're supposed to be an expert at this shit," I could hear Snowman gripe at the little man with a red hat with a 3 on it. I could see a scowl on his face as he desperately worked to pick the lock to open the gate.
"I'm trying, I'm trying. It's like trying to break a brick wall with a plastic spoon or something." He spoke with a slight Mexican accent and he was a lanky fellow. He was extremely skinny man with a long green overcoat, the collar popped up and chocolate hair spiking out from below the crimson hat. His slender hands worked the lock-pick with utmost skill and determination, biting his lip as he worked. Snowman, who was watching over his soldier like a crow, was a curvy woman with a cigarette in her hand. She was lean and wore a tight-fitting black dress with a black belt around the waist and dark green detailing. The dress itself was shaped like an elongated tux jacket, traveling to about the mid of her thigh. She wore thigh-high leather boots with laces all the way up and tied in a crisp knot. She wore a black hat with a number 8 on it. The tail was split into two halves and blew in the gentle breeze. On her hip rested a long black whip, similar to Megido's. She had short black hair that framed her face perfectly and made her emerald eyes sparkle even in the darkest of nights.
"Well, hurry up. I got a price to pay with the little man," she sighed, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to her right foot.
"Yeah, yeah," Trace muttered. I slowly pulled back around the corner and began giving the report to Slick.
"Alright. Snowman brought Trace, Die, Clover, Cans and Crowbar with her. Apparently, she has a score to settle with Scratch. Know anything about it?"
"Not at all. Avoid conflict for right now, and just try to fiure out what 'score' she has to settle. When you figured that out, do whatever you want with her. Just keep her alive, because I'm going to be the one to finally send that bitch to hell." I hung up and turned back around the corner to find that the Felt had disappeared.
"Damn it! They've must have gone inside," I cursed aloud. "Come on. We gotta find out what they want with Scratch. Stay hidden and message me if you find out anything." We all nodded and ran inside, stopping one we were just inside the doorway. I motioned for Boxcars to stay downstairs ad Megido and I traveled upstairs. She took the right wing and I took the left wing. With a final nod, we parted and I was quietly roaming through the halls, the shadows casting their veil around me. It was like going through a graveyard with the silence that hung in the air. Along the walls were different paintings, some of which made absolutely no sense whatsoever, such as a horse attacking a football player. For a classy man, he sure does have bad taste in artwork.
I travelled throughout the house for what seemed like hours, hand squeezing my cane tightly since I had to stay on top guard now. We were in enemy territory and there's no telling where one of the greenbacks were going to pop out of. Behind me, I could hear a slight creaking of the wood floors, as somebody, or something was trying to sneak up on me. Under the protection of the shadows, I quickly opened up the door to my right, leading into an empty room and closed it, only leaving a small crack so I could see my follower as they walked by. It took a while and I could see a black figure walk in front of the door. I immediately jumped out, covered their mouth, and dragged them inside the room. A sliver of moonlight shone through the window and I could see Trace's red hat right in front of my nose. He began to thrash, trying to get out of my grasp, but I quickly put my hand on the chin and the top of his head, breaking his neck and killing him with a loud crack. He fell onto the floor in a heap of flesh and clothes, his body not stirring at all. I pulled out my phone and messaged Megido.
"Trace's down, but stay on your guard. I'm going to head up to the third floor."
"alright. i'll tell b0xcars."
With that, I began heading towards the second set of stairs when I heard a murmur of voices down the hallway. They were indistinct, but I wasn't going to risk being in the same area considering the fact that Trace was just down the hall. I ran upstairs, freezing in the middle as a figure with a wide-brimmed hat. She spoke in a smooth voice, as she looked down upon me, an obvious smirk on her face and smoke trailing from the long thin cigarette in her hand.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Diamonds Droog. Fancy seeing you here, especially at this time of night. Won't your daddy Slick be mad you aren't at home in beddy-bye?" Before I could answer, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my skull and my whole world descended into darkness.