Chapter 7

Even though it had only been mid-morning by the time Chloe staggered back into The Hive, the end of the day hadn't been able to come quickly enough. She'd retreated to Ana's bed and curled up on it, afraid to move an inch or open her eyes. She didn't know how, but she somehow managed to stay like that until the following day. When she finally did dare to face the world again, it was to an unwelcomely growling stomach and an altogether much more welcome tray of food that had been left there beside the bed.

The food was cold, but that didn't matter in the least. She scarfed it down so fast she knew she was liable to get indigestion later. When it was finally done, she grabbed some spare clothes and the towels that had been given to her before heading out towards the showers. Time itself seemed to somehow be blurring past her, probably from the residual shock of the previous day. It was very likely to make for a dangerously unsettled stomach later on, but in that moment she didn't care.

The air outside was crisp and fresh, clearing her head enough that she actually felt a lot of the stress lift from her shoulders. As she started walking, she noticed Inchy making his way over. He raised his hand belatedly to get her attention as he reached her, his red hair sticking up in his usual finger-in-a-light-socket style. It wasn't exactly like he was easy to miss.

"Hey, Chloe!" he called out as he reached her and they fell into step. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Chloe nodded, realising how genuinely she meant it. "A shower will do me good."

"Cool." Inchy returned her nod as they kept walking. "I think Melody's in there at the moment. And while we wait for it to free up, I was hoping it would give us chance to talk."

"Sure." Chloe inwardly cursed that she wasn't able to jump in the shower and wash the last scraps of trouble from her aching body right fucking now, but decided to let it slide. Inchy's expression had shifted to one of nervousness. Whatever he wanted to talk about, it was apparently important. "What's on your mind?"

"It's about Ana." That made Chloe stop cold. What about Ana? Had something happened? Had someone gone after her in the hospital? "I got a call yesterday. She's out of surgery and she had to charge it to her family's health insurance. She's asked the hospital to wait until she's out before doing that and she'll be leaving today. We need to get her out and back here as soon as possible before her family find out. If they get a fix on her location, she's a dead woman."

"I take it she doesn't get on with her family?" Chloe knew it was a pointless question. If she had a family and was choosing to be at The Hive instead, then of course she didn't.

"That's putting it mildly." Inchy sighed. "Like she told you, everyone here has their story. I told the basics of House's to you literally because he's okay with us divulging the reason he can't speak so no one tries to hold a conversation with him that he can't keep up with. Other than that, it's the rule of 'I can't say.' It's no one's place but their own to say where they came from. This is an escape and a fresh start, not a group therapy session. What I will say, though, is that Ana used to be a rising star among her family. They all loved her. Then one day, they didn't. In terms of what happened, I can't say. But if they hear she's in the hospital and they get to her before we do, they will kill her."

"Is this your subtle way of asking me to hold off on the shower until we've picked her up?" Chloe asked.

"Nope." Inchy shrugged. "They'll let her go when she's ready to go and they won't even let her parents in before visiting hours. With a bit of luck, we can slip her out the back exit. I actually came to tell you that your truck is fixed and ready to go. We can leave as soon as your ready, but it does need to be soon. Okay?"

"Got it." Chloe nodded. Inwardly, she felt her spirits soar. She'd missed driving the truck and was looking forward to getting behind the wheel again. "Who's coming?"

"I'll be there to stand guard outside and I'll have Percy in the truck with a gun just in case things go really sour. He won't be able to come in though, so if it does get bad we need to haul ass to the parking lot so he can start thinning the herd. Not a perfect plan, but if we go in there and start bloodshed, they'll hunt us down. If this place gets demolished, we'll have nowhere to go."

"Okay." As Chloe was running through the plan in her head, she saw Melody walking past. She was shaking out her rich auburn hair and tying it back with her towel slung over her shoulder and her shower bag hanging from her wrist. That meant the shower was free. And Chloe didn't plan to waste another second before jumping in. "Got it. Well, good talk, coach. Thanks." With that, she turned and ducked through the plastic sheeting that walled the showers off. Now in the shower area, she pulled back the shower curtain that was inside, thankful for the extra layer of protection that was afforded by the outer sheet. Finally able to catch her breath, she hung up her own shower supplies before beginning to pull her shirt off.

Several minutes later, Chloe was reluctantly stepping from the welcome torrent of cascading water as it shut off behind her. After drying herself off, she dressed quickly and headed to the repair bay. House had just finished refilling her truck and was screwing the cap back on the fuel can. He saw her approaching and flashed her a thumbs-up as he headed off. Inchy was in there and turning the engine over experimentally while Percy loaded up and jumped into the cargo bed. Chloe was stunned. She'd assumed he was bringing a pistol with him. Not so. It seemed that with the recent increase in trouble, they'd been stepping up their game. The rifle he carried was clearly home-made but looked reliable enough. The outer shell was 3D printed and the barrel was made of a length of steel pipe. But the scope itself looked almost military-grade. She didn't dare guess where they'd got that from.

"Budge up, short stack." She waved him over to the passenger seat as she climbed in and took the wheel, feeling the truck itself seeming to adjust to her presence as though it was welcoming her home.

"Don't you want to dry your hair?" Inchy asked.

"On a day like this?" Chloe scoffed as she went to wind the window down. "I'll just let it air dry." She gripped the window winder and went to turn it only for it to hold fast. That was when she realised it couldn't turn. There was no window to wind down.

"Ah." Inchy muttered sheepishly. "Yeah, that happened in the crash. It's the only thing we haven't gotten around to replacing."

"Well, that's something I'll have to do by Fall." Chloe muttered as she shook her hair out and grabbed the key, starting the engine and gripping the steering wheel. "You're navigating. What's the fastest route to this hospital?" At this, Inchy brought out the local map and opened it out to a specific chunk of streets while Chloe started to roll the truck forwards towards the main gate.

"I'll feed you directions as you go." Inchy told her before poking his head out through the other window- which Chloe noticed was also missing- and called out to House. "Hey, can you get the gate?" House nodded and pulled open the gate for them, the truck rolling through seamlessly. It amazed Chloe how much smoother it was to drive already in the short distance she'd covered. She couldn't deny she'd had her doubts when Inchy said they'd take care of it, but they'd really done a great job on it. Eager to see what else it could do, she followed Inchy's directions as she pulled out onto the main road and angled in the direction he indicated.

By the time they pulled up at the hospital, she was thoroughly impressed. As amazed as she'd been at herself for getting it running off the junk heap, she'd never once dreamed it could run this smoothly. It practically glided into the rear parking lot and settled across two parking bays because it could. Chloe and Inchy jumped out and went to head in as Percy got set up, hiding the rifle under a tarp he'd brought with him while being ready to spring up at a moment's notice. They left him to it, heading through the automatic doors and Inchy pulled out his phone, calling Ana as they moved.

"Ana? Hey, we're here to get you. Where are you?" There was a pause as she rattled off directions to him. He took off in the direction they needed to go and Chloe followed him, her heart thudding in her chest as they made their way through the winding maze of corridors. Having directions made it easier. Chloe knew for a fact she'd be totally lost on her own. She always was in hospitals. Fortunately, the slowest part of it all was the elevator ride up to the third floor. They got out and from there the room they needed was pretty much right in front of them.

Pushing the door open, they headed in. Ana was in there, trying to pack her stuff as best she could with only one hand working properly. She had her hoodie sleeve rolled up and Chloe could see an ugly scar on her wrist where that spike had gone through it. As soon as she looked up and saw Chloe, her face lit up in a grin.

"Hey, you're a sight for sore eyes! Come help me with this zipper! I'm struggling with one hand." Chloe nodded and made her way over, grabbing the bag and closing it properly for her.

"Inchy's standing guard outside. There's a chance your family are on their way."

"Big surprise." Ana scoffed. "I literally went from the golden child to top of the hit list overnight. Why do you think I started The Hive?" That stopped Chloe cold.

"Wait... You started all of that?"

"Of course." Ana shrugged. "You didn't think all that shit was set up for us when we arrived, did you? I set up a living area and the showers, Inchy and House arrived one after the other and set up the repair bay, Melody and Percy arrived after that. We've made the place our own. And then there was you. It's taken us about five years all told, but we've done everything ourselves. But my family... They would tear all that down in a heartbeat." In truth, Chloe hadn't really had chance to think about it. But the venom Ana's voice carried was shocking.

"Okay, you don't have to answer this, but I have to ask what happened." Chloe said, stunned at the hatred in her words. "I know David and I hated each other on sight, but he's just some guy my mom dragged home when she was desperate and he managed to stick around. I'm not related to him. Thank god. Even I've never seen anyone at such odds with a blood relation." That caused Ana to burst out laughing. But it was a bitter laugh as she shouldered her bag onto her back.

"Simply put, I wanted a bit of a lifestyle change. And to my parents, that meant I wasn't their son anymore. And not only did I refuse to change my last name, but I made damn sure everyone knew that the Nagakawa family didn't have a daughter." Chloe was struck dumb. That made so much sense! The pieces had been there in front of her, but she'd been too snowed under with everything to put them together. It explained so much. She opened her mouth to reply, only for a strangled shout to sound from outside before the unmistakable mess of Inchy's red hair was slammed against the door hard enough to crack the glass and leave a bloody smear down the window. The embedded chicken wire meant the glass held out, but the point was made and both girls were instantly on the alert.

"We're out of time." Chloe muttered, reaching for her knife only to be met with the empty edge of her back pocket. "Ah, fuck!"

"Please don't tell me you came unarmed." Ana sighed as the intruder started slamming their weight against the door.

"Inchy has Percy outside with a rifle." Chloe told her. "He didn't want a literal orgy of blood and bullets in the hospital in case it brought the authorities down on The Hive."

"I would say that were smart if we weren't in so much trouble now." Ana grit her teeth as she and Chloe worked to flip the heavy hospital bed onto its side. With the bottom of it being solid metal and a lot of padding up top from the specialised mattress, there was a chance it could stop a low calibre bullet. It wasn't perfect, but it was all they had. That and the hope that whoever this was wouldn't risk bringing in anything higher than a .22.

"What's the plan?" Chloe asked as the door slammed again. The wood sounded like it was holding but the lock was making a very audible threat to give out. That was when Chloe remembered: the door wasn't even locked! Thank god whoever this was seemed to be dumb as a house brick. If he'd thought to try the handle at the very start, they'd be dead already.

"Looks like it's Hail Mary time." Ana grimaced. "I was hoping not to have to use this in a built-up area." Chloe felt a raw wave of terror sweep over her. What, did she have a tactical nuke stashed on her for something?

"You want to let me in on the secret?" she asked shakily as the person slammed into the door again. There was no doubt about it, that door couldn't hold much longer.

"Bitch, I'm about to let everyone in on the secret." At that moment, the sound of rending metal and splintering wood hit the air as the door crashed to the floor. Ana closed her eyes gently, seeming totally calm as the first two gunshots rang out, the bullets making visible dents in the bottom of the bed.

"Step out!" a man's voice ordered. "Hands in the air or I shoot the ginger! You've got nowhere to go and nothing you can do! Just give up!" But Chloe could hear a gentle hum starting in Ana's throat. Her voice was insanely powerful, but in this moment she realised she'd only seen a glimmer of what she could do. The raven-haired woman stood up slowly and turned to their attacker. As Chloe peeked out, she was shocked to see that it wasn't a member of Ana's family at all. It was a scrawny white guy with a snake tattoo just like the ones Darnell Simmons and the guy from the previous day had.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of." Her voice was deadly calm in that instant and Chloe felt like ice water had been poured down her back. Then Ana sprang the big reveal. Opening her mouth, she unleashed a note so deep and devastating that it carried a physical force. Chloe would never have believed that something like that could come out of Ana's mouth, but she reassessed that sentiment in that moment as the man was lifted straight off his feet and slammed into the elevator doors across the hall hard enough to buckle them. Before he could recover, another note started up in her throat. This one was much lighter and more delicate, but just as powerful. Her feet started to lift off the ground and everything that wasn't nailed down in the room joined her in the air, swirling around her as she started singing.

"Listen to my voice,

Calling you...

Pulling you out of darkness.

Hear the Devil's cry of sin...

Always turn your back on him."

The Man staggered to his feet, raw terror gripping him as he took in the sight in front of him. Chloe didn't know where security was, but they were far enough away that this guy felt safe to raise his gun and start firing again. Either that or he was too dumb to run away. Then again, this was the guy who didn't even think to try the door handle. Probably both. But the mattress from the hospital bed had lifted off the ground too, flying up and taking the bullets with just enough force to stop them. Chloe could feel the air in the room cycling around them into a raging maelstrom as she fought to keep her own feet on the ground.

"With the wind you go,

Still I dream of your spirit

Leading you back home.

I will give my gifts to you,

Grow your garden

Watch it bloom."

The man kept firing. With each bullet fired, there was some random object moving in the way to intercept. Somehow, the mini tornado wall that was being created in the room seemed to be weakening the power of each of the gunshots. Because of that, the defensive power of every random thing in the room was more than enough to keep both of them protected. And upon making impact, the crushed husks of the bullets were then whisked away into the storm blazing around Chloe and Ana.

"A light in your eyes,

An angel up high,

Fighting to ease the shadow's side...

Hearts will grow

From having to bend,

Leaving behind all things in the end..."

A hollow click sounded an empty clip. It was over. One look at the guy's face told them everything. He had no time to reload and they both knew it as Ana's voice somehow intensified in power. Chloe didn't know how it worked, but she seemed to be switching from defence to attack.

"Listen to my voice,

Calling you...

Pulling you out of darkness.

Hear the Devil's cry of sin,

Always turn your back on him."

The spent bullets were ripped from the mattress, joining the other spent slugs whirling lethally around in the air and working their way towards the eye of the storm. At Ana's last note, they hit the inner storm wall and used the energy from it to slingshot around Chloe and Ana's position. All fifteen of them smashed into the man at the same time like a buckshot blast. He was dead before he hit the floor, blood pouring from him in rivers and soaking the tile floor underneath. Ana's feet touched back down on the floor as she let out a breath and stretched to click the tension out of her back like nothing had happened while everything else in the room dropped to the ground with a resounding crash.

"You're a Warsinger." Chloe knew her voice carried a note of awe, but she couldn't help it.

"A what?" Ana asked as she practically vaulted over the bed to check on Inchy. He was starting to come to and sit up of his own accord, but there was no denying he would have a hell of a concussion and possibly a black eye by tomorrow.

"A Warsinger." Chloe repeated, moving over to join the older woman. "I used to play D&D with the local nerds at my school. Before I got kicked out, that is. There were these enemies that Steph would sometimes throw in called Warsingers. They could do... Well, your powers literally mirror theirs."

"Well, I'm sure you can tell me all about it when we get back." Ana shrugged as Inchy shook himself back to lucidity. "Right now, we need to move. I don't know where the hell security are, but I have a sinking feeling that the next thing around that corner is going to want to kill us as bad as that guy did." Chloe nodded, moving over to check the body. As much as the sight of him- living or dead- sickened her, she could see something poking from the top of his pocket so she grabbed it in case it was important. It appeared to be his phone and so she pocketed it. With that, she moved over and helped Ana by taking Inchy under the other arm. She was right. Whether it was one of Ana's family members or one of Seattle's gang members, they'd managed to royally kick the hornets' nest. And played catch with it. And worn it like a hat. They were totally out of time now. They had to move now or not at all. Knowing the elevator could be stopped if they took it, they headed for the stairs and braced for the worst.

Author's Note: This chapter was definitely a fun one to write. And with this, we're into the next act of the story. From this point on, things will really be getting serious. We'll be seeing more characters, both old and new, entering the fray and may wild twists and turns up ahead. Just to give you a little teaser of what's to come. And for anyone curious, the song Ana used in this chapter was called Out of Darkness from Devil May Cry 4. It's a great game and if you haven't checked it out already you really should. If only the opening segment. Although good luck looking away when that finishes and you get into the main game. And for anyone with Xbox One or Series X it can be picked up second hand on 360 for a pittance and is totally backwards compatible at last check. It's totally worth checking out.