Marcus

"Don't follow me," Sitara grumbled angrily. She pulled away from me and stomped off, leaving a trail of curses in her wake.

"Hold up," I shouted, following after her. "Don't go. Let's talk about this."

"There's nothing more to say Marcus. Leave me alone."

"Sitara, c'mon. Don't be like this."

"Screw you," she snapped.

"Will you just slow down for a second and hear me out?"

In the center of Gary's Games and Glory, she about-faced, glaring daggers into me. "Didn't you hear me the first time?" She shouted, capturing the attention of all the nearby shoppers. The space grew awkwardly silent as everyone gawked at us. "I said leave me alone, you lying sleazebag."

The heat of everyone's eyes on us was a bit unnerving, but I did my best to push aside my embarrassment and focused on the issue at hand. Sitara was all that mattered right now. I wasn't gonna let her walk away and ghost me again. I just got her back. If I convinced her to see things from my point of view, maybe she'd understand why I lied. Maybe she'd forgive me. It was worth a shot.

"I'm sorry," I pleaded. "I made a mistake, okay? I fucked up. I knew the restaurant was shady, but I didn't think you'd get snatched right under my nose. I'd never, ever intentionally put you in harm's way. You know how down I am for you girl."

"I thought I knew…" Voice choked with emotion, Sitara paused, her chin trembling. The fury smoldering in her beautiful, luminous eyes faded away, and was replaced with a sad, bleary stare. "I-I trusted you," she wept, tears rushing down her cheeks.

A sharp pang of guilt tore through me. It hurt to watch her cry; to know I was the source of her pain. I hugged her close as she struggled to stifle her sobs and remain strong. Hands curled into fists, she pounded against my chest frantically, desperately trying to free herself from my embrace. I refused to let go however, and continued to hold her. Eventually, she stopped fighting and grew still, her slender fingers clenching my jacket tightly. She buried her tear-streaked face in my chest, hiding her grief.

I shot a glare at a group of nosy spectators nearby. They reluctantly dispersed once I laid eyes on them. Thank the Lord they did, it was much easier to relax without everyone and their mother fucking watching.

I returned my attention to Sitara. "I'm sorry baby," I muttered, caressing her back soothingly. "I'm so sorry."

She sniffed and stepped away, wiping at her swollen, bloodshot eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. "I'm tired of fighting Marcus," she said flatly, her expression blank. "I don't care anymore."

I furrowed my brows. "You don't care?"

"No, I don't. I'm over it, we'll talk about it later or something. Let's just go to the hackerspace." She brushed past me.

Dumbfounded, I watched her straggle away and disappear into store's back corridor. I wasn't sure whether to be relieved, or worried. There was no way she had gotten over everything already. She was still upset, she had to be. But she decided to hide it, for some reason. What's the point of that though? Keeping emotions bottled up inside was more trouble than it's worth.

Or maybe she was trying to avoid conflict, some people couldn't handle the heat. Nah, that couldn't be it. She usually tackled her problems head on. Although, this was different than all the other problems I've witnessed her solve. There were no instructions, manuals or logic approaches she could use to find a solution. She wasn't dealing with code or algorithms. It was a delicate situation, matters of the heart were messy and complicated.

I sighed and forged toward the hackerspace. I wish I knew what was going on in that big, gorgeous— yet frustratingly stubborn head of hers. Sitara was so hard to read sometimes. Well, women in general were hard to read. I couldn't keep a steady relationship to save my life, something always went wrong. I wasn't sure why my love life was so screwed. Did I have commitment problems? Or what if I was too clingy? Maybe I was too nice? Hmm…

Love and relationships were too complicated for me. I wanted to fall in love, get married and settle down one day, but at this rate, it wasn't gonna happen anytime soon. Which was cool with me, I was still young, there was no need to rush.

One night stands were more of my thing anyway. The walks of shame afterwards didn't even feel shameful anymore. Waking up in unfamiliar surroundings after getting blackout drunk, without any recollection of where my clothes may have gone, was a pretty normal occurrence for me. I was used to it.

Although, it wasn't something to be proud of. It was actually kinda sad. Damn, I needed to get my life together.

Wrench's elated, synthetic voice filled my ears the moment I entered the hackerspace. He had Sitara trapped in his sinewy arms, her feet lifted off the floor. "Sitara, you came back to me! I knew you couldn't stay away for long. God, I'm so happy, I could kiss you!"

She grinned, hugging him back. "Jeez, missed you too Wrench."

"Josh!" He called out. "Get over here dude! It's group hug time!"

Josh sprung from his computer seat and whisked over to them, embracing Sitara from behind. "I'm glad your back," he mumbled. "I like your hair."

"Thank you," she said as Wrench set her down. "I know I've been gone awhile, so can one of you get me up to speed on everything I missed?"

"Allow me," Wrench said. "So, after that night when you were, you know…" He paused and glanced at me.

"Kidnapped," Josh finished his sentence. "You were kidnapped while on a date. Pretty bad timing."

"Is there ever a good time to be kidnapped?" Wrench asked.

"No, but if I could choose a preferable time and place to be abducted, it wouldn't be during a date. Too embarrassing. If I suddenly disappeared, she'd think I stood her up. It'd ruin things."

Two exclamation points appeared on Wrench's mask. "A family gathering!" He exclaimed. "I would so not mind getting kidnapped from one of those. I'd be begging the kidnappers to take me from that fresh slice of Hell, you guys have no idea how lame my family is—"

I cleared my throat loudly. Everyone knew Josh and Wrench were insensitive at times, but this was bordering on malicious. They haven't realized how badly the experience traumatized her yet. "I'm gonna need y'all to tone the insensitivity down just a little bit alright? This shit is serious."

"Sorry," Josh and Wrench said in unison.

"So Marcus filled you guys in on everything that happened that night?" Arms folded over her chest, she glared at me. "Did you just tell them or does all of DedSec know too?"

"Just them," I muttered.

The space became uncomfortably silent. I retreated to the couch, crumpling into the padded cushions. My cheeks burned. Was I not supposed to tell them? Josh and Wrench were our two closest friends; they were like family. She never told me to keep it a secret from them. I wasn't a mind reader, how the fuck was I supposed to know?

"Uh so yeah," Wrench muttered, his gaze on Sitara. "As I was saying before. While you were on hiatus, Marcus and I scouted six possible spots these kidnapping fucks could have set up shop at. All of them were a total bust. No kidnappers, no suspicious evidence or leads. We planted hidden cameras at each location just in case though."

"I've been monitoring their live feed ever since," Josh added. "There's one problem though."

"What's the problem?" Sitara asked.

"One of the surveillance feeds went haywire. It's all static."

"What?" Wrench asked. "Which camera went down?"

"The one you guys planted inside the creepy abandoned house near Pioneer cemetery," Josh said.

"Say what now?" Sitara blinked.

"You heard right Sitara," Wrench said. "Marcus thought it was a good idea to go on a perilous adventure into this spooky abandoned house on a hill, which happened to be right next to a cemetery."

"You've got to be joking," she replied.

Wrench shook his head. "I'm serious. It was the creepiest house I've ever been to. Too bad it didn't have ghosts. That woulda' been awesome."

"What makes you think they're hiding out there Marcus?" Sitara asked.

"Ain't too many places in Elmhurst secluded enough for a psycho to go torture and murder crazy on someone without anybody knowing," I said. "Most people tend to stay away from cemeteries, especially at night. It was worth investigating, if anything."

"As ridiculously cliché as it would be for murders to be hiding out near a graveyard, I think Marcus is onto something." Josh said. "Losing the surveillance feed was no coincidence. I think someone found the camera and smashed it."

"I dunno dude," Wrench said. "The cameras are like pea-sized, there's no way someone coulda stumbled upon it, unless they were looking for it."

Josh frowned. "Maybe they're onto us. Someone had to tamper with it."

"When exactly did you lose the live feed?" I asked.

"Approximately fifteen minutes ago, shortly before you and Sitara arrived."

"Alright," I stood. "Chances are, whoever fucked with the camera might still inside, or lurking nearby. I'll check it out."

"Oh, take me!" Wrench exclaimed. "I would love to take another trip to the haunted house."

"Cool, let's roll." I retrieved my gear and headed up the stairs with Wrench at my heels.

"Wait up guys," Sitara called, following behind us. "I'm coming with."

I turned to face her. "Nuh-uh girl, stay here."

She furrowed her brows. "What? Why?"

"It's too dangerous."

She stepped up to me, and stared directly into my eyes. There was a gleam of determination in her flinty glare. "I don't care how dangerous it'll be, I wanna help take these assholes down," she grumbled angrily. "It's personal now."

"Fuck yeah it's personal, but Wrench and I can handle it from here. You need to take it easy and relax. You're in no condition for fieldwork."

"And who's fault is that?"

I frowned. "Please, just stay here alright? I refuse to put you at risk again—"

"Whatever," she swatted my hand away and stormed off. "I'm not a fucking child Marcus," she muttered between clenched teeth. "This is such bullshit…"

Sighing, I turned away and continued for the exit. A boiling rage began to build in the pit of my stomach, begging to be released. But I choked it down, teeth clenched from my strenuous effort to remain silent. I was the bad guy for putting her at risk, which made sense, but how could she perceive me as bad guy for trying to protect her too? Now that's bullshit. Damned if I do, damned if I don't. I just couldn't get a break tonight.

"Women, right?" Wrench asked, as we emerged from Gary's Games & Glory storefront entrance and into the cool night air.

"I'm parked across the street," I mumbled, beckoning him to follow me. We ventured to my car with haste. I peeled off onto the road, Wrench in the passenger seat and me at the wheel.

"Do you think Josh is right? That someone had the balls to enter that super creepy abandoned house, only to conveniently stumble upon our hidden camera and smash it?"

"I have a feeling that abandoned house ain't as abandoned as we thought."

"Maybe they are on to us. What if they knew we were on their trail all along? What if they have spies? What if they're watching us as we speak dude?"

I shrugged my shoulders. I was curious about what happened to our surveillance feed, but my mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Sitara. I was worried about her. If only I could go back in time to our date, I'd do so many things differently. We would had avoided the restaurant and everything would have turned out fine, she would have never been kidnapped in the first place. I'd be down to just chill in the park like she wanted to. I should have listened to her.

"You're awfully quiet dude," Wrench said.

"My bad," I replied. "I got a lot on my mind."

"I noticed. You've been in a shitty mood lately. Mind telling me who pissed in your cornflakes, M?"

"Don't sweat it man. I'll be alright."

"It's Sitara, isn't it?"

I sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

"It's totally obvious, no offense. There's some serious tension between you two. Give me the details, M. I may be able to help you through your lover's quarrel if you let me."

"I appreciate the concern, but I don't think there's anything you can do. She's going through a lot right now."

"Of course she is. All jokes aside, getting kidnapped must suck. I don't blame her for being cranky, but she seemed really pissed at you. Maybe you should have let her tag along with us. Telling her what to do, it never sits well with her. When she sets her mind on something, it's best to stay out of her way."

"I know, but she's not in the right mental space to be running ops right now. And her body is in rough shape, she needs time to heal. It's for the best."

"I guess. Well, even though she's all cranky and snappy, I'm glad she's back. I never thought I'd say this, but I hope things between you lovebirds go back to normal soon. The constant flirting and teasing is gross and annoying most of the time, but I'd choose that over you two being angry and depressed all the damn time."

"No doubt man."

"Now I'm no expert on this type of thing, but wanna know what I think the core issue is?"

I grinned. "Sure, please enlighten me."

"I think all these bad vibes between you and Sitara is just built up sexual tension reaching its breaking point. You guys have liked each other for the longest, yet you've never sealed the deal."

"For real? You think sex will fix all our problems?" I raised my brows. "You are trippin'."

"Dude, good sex goes a long way. Well, it can go a long way, assuming you are good in bed. I wouldn't know." He leaned in close, his mask blinking with question marks. "Are you good in bed? You can tell me, I won't judge… too much. Just a little."

"Nah, I ain't answering that. The premise of your argument is so fucking flawed; I won't even entertain it. Sex doesn't magically make your problems go away."

"It certainly helps you feel better, there's no debating that M."

"Of course. Sex is like a drug, Wrench. Both can be used as a fleeting escape from stress and the difficulties of life. The problem is, the high only lasts for so long. For example, you get laid, craving for that rush of pleasure and much needed distraction from your dilemmas. You finally reach your climax, the dopamine levels in your brain spike, and everything feels amazing, right? All your problems just melt away."

"Right."

"Except the afterglow is only temporary. You eventually come back to reality and realize every single issue you had beforehand is still there. So, what's the point?"

"The point is, it feels good— not only for you, but for your lady too. Haven't you heard of makeup sex? It's a real thing."

I shook my head. "Communication is how problems in relationships get solved, not makeup sex. Good sexual compatibility and performance will only keep a relationship afloat for so long—"

"Did you even kiss her yet?"

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."

"M, c'mon, you gotta tell me," he pleaded, clenching my jacket sleeve. "I need all the juicy details."

"And why do you care? I thought our flirting and teasing was gross and annoying."

"I take it back, okay? You and Sitara's love affair is the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed. The lustful coy glances, the innocent touches, the witty remarks— it's all truly a delight to the senses. Not annoying or gross in the slightest, promise."

"Mhmm. I ain't convinced."

"You're killing me, M. I thought we were best friends!"

"We are best friends man. But I don't kiss and tell."

"Best friends don't keep secrets from one another."

"Don't even go there. You know everything about my epic failure of a love life, but I don't know shit about yours."

"That's because I don't have one."

"Is that right?" I raised my chin and sniffed, taking in a whiff of air. "I dunno man, it smells like a huge load of bullshit up in here."

"Dude, have you seen my mask? It's like natural chick repellent."

"That ain't necessarily true. What about the waitress from 10 Donuts?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't change the subject, my friend. This is about you and Sitara, not me."

"Let's save this discussion for later, alright? We're almost there."

We were nearing the cemetery now. I pulled off the main street and onto a bumpy dirt road. The path was rather dark without the aid of the city's street lights. Gravel cracked beneath my car's tires as we coasted along the empty trail. I remembered there was a long, stone driveway that carved a path up a grassy hill to the abandoned house, which was just before the cemetery's wrought iron fence. If there was someone inside, we didn't want to brazenly roll up to their door and alert them of our presence. So we parked the car on the side of the road and ventured the rest of the way on foot.

Wrench and I carefully scaled the rear end of the green, verdant hill. The old, decaying house stood at the top on it's lonesome, surrounded by a field of tall, untamed grass, seeded with wildflowers. It was a bitch to navigate through. The structure's wooden, rotted exterior was heavily obscured by the night's shadows. The windows were cracked and layered with grime, making them nearly impossible to see through from a distance. A strong, cold wind whipped against our skin as we struggled to reach our destination. Wrench skipped behind me, taking cover from the harsh breeze.

"When the heck did it get so windy?" He asked. "The weather has been so bipolar lately—"

A raw cry of agony pierced through the wild terrain, echoing into the chilly night air. I froze, my blood ran cold. It was a feminine scream, yet it was hard to tell whether it came from inside the house or somewhere nearby.

A creaking noise followed the scream. The shoddy cellar door behind the house slowly began to open. Limbs locked in place and pulse quickening, I anxiously waited to witness the figure emerging from the cellar.

A wiry hand clenched my wrist and tugged me down onto the ground, within the shelter of the tall grass.

"Don't move," Wrench whispered, lying prone on his stomach beside me.

It was impossible to see a thing due to the thick greenness blocking my sight. However, I could just barely make out the sound of muffled footsteps in the grass. They were distant, and seemed to be travelling farther and farther away with each stride. It wasn't long before the noise of hushed steps waned completely.

"Think we're in the clear?" Wrench asked quietly.

"I think so," I slowly rose into a stance, scanning our surroundings. Thankfully, the coast was clear. "Nice save man. I froze up there for a sec'."

"No problem dude, it happens." He scrambled to his feet. "I'm surprised hiding in the grass worked. We got lucky he didn't see us."

"It was a he? What did he look like?"

"It was some big dude wearing an apron, kinda like the murderer from the video Josh found." Wrench's mask flashed with two large exclamation points. "Dude, that guy could be the murderer!"

I shivered. "For real? Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't joke about this."

"H-he didn't have a saw too, did he?"

"I don't think so. I saw him go inside the house, but the screaming came from the cellar. You should check it out. I'll scout the house—"

"Are you crazy? Haven't you seen the horror movies? You are never, ever supposed to split up. We have a higher chance of surviving this if we stick together."

"Valid point. I really hope this doesn't go like a horror movie script though, for your sake M."

"I know," I frowned. "The black person always dies first."

"Fuck that dude. We're rewriting the script today. Let's check out the cellar together, and then we take it from there?"

"Sounds good."

"Awesome. I'll lead the way."

We cautiously proceeded to the cellar. The sturdy double doors were secured with a bulky padlock.

"I don't recall the cellar being locked last time we were here," Wrench said.

I grimaced. "Who the fuck uses padlocks anymore?"

"You can't install electronic locks without power dude." Wrench dug into his back pocket and retrieved two bobby pins. "Luckily for you, I came prepared. Watch and learn, M."

"Do your thing man." I stepped aside.

He crouched before the door and began fumbling with the lock. I wanted to watch him work his magic, but it was difficult to focus. I kept looking over my shoulder, my body flinched at every subtle noise. I couldn't shake this feeling that someone was watching us.

"Looks like ctOS hasn't sunk its teeth into this place yet," Wrench said. "This is probably the only property in San Francisco that's truly off the radar. It's a miracle, I thought ctOS had set up shop everywhere."

I gazed up at house's grime caked windows. I was dying to know what's inside, but my instincts were begging me to get the fuck out of here. It would have been easy to turn around and leave, but I didn't come this far to turn back now. I had to see this through.

"Surprised they haven't demolished this place yet," Wrench continued. "Who knows what kind of evil stuff ctOS could cook up with all this open land at their disposal."

Another round of frigid wind overwhelmed the hill, lashing against my skin. "Can you go any faster?" I asked, teeth chattering. "I feel so exposed out here."

"I'm going as fast as I can. I don't wanna be out in the open when the crazy saw murderer comes back around."

The memory of that poor guy getting his dome sliced in two flashed through my mind. "I-I'm too young to die man," I stammered. "I got so much shit left to do on my bucket list—"

"Calm your man-tits, M. You're making me nervous. If there's any bad guys around, we'll hear them coming."

"How the fuck are you so relaxed right now?"

"Deep breaths, and pleasant thoughts dude. You gotta find your happy place. When I'm feeling anxious, I think about meat puppets, explosions and mosh pits. You should try it."

"My happy place is at the hackerspace, where it's safe."

It seemed like forever before he finally popped the lock open. "Voila!" Quietly, he pulled the door open, revealing a path of concrete stairs descending into the darkness underground. The murmur of soft cries and whimpers rose from dense darkness within. "There's someone in there," Wrench mumbled.

My muscles tensed. I hated the idea of going down there, it was pitch fucking black. But I didn't have much of a choice. If someone was suffering, we had to do something to help. I grabbed my phone and swiped on the flashlight, shining a beam into the cellar's depths. "Keep close," I said, warily pressing on into the darkness.

The air within was cold, musty and reeked of mold. The weathered brick walls were covered with cobwebs and dust. Small insects skittered across the dirty cement floor, taking shelter from my light. There was an army of ants swarming an exposed airflow pipe overhead. They must have been after something in there. Food most likely. Ants were known to feed on corpses, maybe a critter got stuck in the pipe and died—

Slam!

The cellar's hefty double doors had slammed shut the moment we reached the bottom of the stairs, completely blocking out the soft rays of moonlight above. I cringed, my heartbeat racing. Wrench jumped and clenched my shoulders tightly.

"Sweet baby Jesus," Wrench stammered. "How the fuck… please tell me those doors closed on their own, M."

"I-I don't know," I fumbled.

Wrench sped up the stairs and attempted to push the doors open. However, they didn't budge. "Fuck!" He shouted, repeatedly shoving his shoulder against it, desperately trying to force his way out. "Someone locked us in here!"

"Aw shit," I grimaced. This just keeps getting better and better. "Wrench! That door ain't gonna budge man."

"Fucking fuck, shit, fuck…" Consumed by rage, he ignored me, continuously spewing random swears as he shouldered the door again and again.

I scrubbed a shaky hand through my hair. My first thought was to contact Josh and Sitara, but my phone couldn't pick up a signal down here. Shit, we had to find a way out of here. But I couldn't think straight with all the God damn shouting. "Wrench, will you calm that shit down? I can't fucking think—"

"H-help…" A weak voice stole my attention. My eyes darted in the direction of the whimpering. There was a woman in business attire restrained to a splintery chair in the corner of the dark space, rope tied around her narrow ankles and wrists. Her frame was shrouded by shadows. I focused my phone's flashlight on her, being mindful to avoid shining the beam in her face and blinding her. Her dark pencil skirt and blouse was torn and spotted with dirt. There were dozens of small cuts and lacerations carved into her pale skin.

"Good Lord," I muttered under my breath. I hurried to the woman's aid. "Don't worry, you're gonna be okay," I knelt before her and began untying the rope around her arms.

A drop of blood trickled down onto my hand. Curious of where the blood was coming from, I paused and peered at the woman.

There was a hollow, gaping hole where her right eye used to be. Blood oozed profusely from her eye socket, trailing along her high cheekbone and down her neck. I recoiled away from her, a shriek of terror escaping my lips. Dazed, and rendered speechless from the gore, my phone slipped out of my hand and tumbled onto the floor. Without any light to repel the darkness, the space was overwhelmed by blackness.

I crouched onto all flours and frantically felt around the pavement for my phone. During my hectic search, I ended up bumping my head against a solid surface. The surface became unstable due to the force of the bump, and various items came crashing down around me. Luckily, nothing fell on me, and I recovered my phone after a few moments longer of searching.

I rose into a stance, flashing my light over the fallen objects. Shards of broken glass and clear liquid laid at my feet. Within the cluster of sharp fragments were circular shaped, white gooey things… I couldn't tell what they were at first, until I leaned in for a closer look.

A bunch of detached eyeballs— some blue, some brown, a couple were green. "Oh fuck," I groaned, my stomach churning. I squeezed my eyes shut, struggling to suppress the urge to vomit. They were torturing people and collecting their eyes as trophies. The same was gonna happen to Wrench and I if we didn't get the Hell out of here. Please, Lord have mercy. What did a brother do to deserve some shit like this?

"Marcus," Wrench appeared beside me. "I can't get the fucking door open. Did you find another way out?"

"We're gonna die," I mumbled, holding my nauseous stomach.

"Don't talk like that M—"

"T-there's a lady up in here missing an eyeball man."

"What?"

"I said, there's a lady up in here who ain't got no fucking eyeball. She's still alive and sitting over there, chillin' like it's all good— like her face doesn't have a giant, gaping hole in it." My breathing began to quicken as I strained to keep what little composure I had left intact. "This is some sick shit man…"

His hands smoothed over my quaking shoulders. "Deep breaths M," he instructed softly. "Find your happy place, alright? Think about the hackerspace. Oh, better yet, think about Sitara. She might be pissed at you for now, but you need to stay strong so you can make it back to her man. She needs you dude, more than she realizes. And as of right now, I need you too. You're a master strategist Marcus, your plans are always flawless. But you gotta pull yourself together first, so you can think straight. Then we can find a way out of this shitty situation as a team."

I nodded, swallowing deeply. He was right. If I didn't get a grip soon, we were fucked.

The cellar door began to shake. Someone was on the other side. There was a clicking noise, it sounded like the person was working on releasing the lock. I drew my pistol.

"Don't hesitate to shoot M," Wrench whispered. "It's either him or us."

Uh-oh, things are getting pretty intense, huh? Leave a comment, let me know what ya think!