"Have you found the girl?" Darius asked, sitting cross-legged on his seat with a phone on his ear.
"Yes, we have found her. She is heading back home now," a voice said from the other side.
"Good!" Darius exclaimed happily. He uncrossed his leg and crossed it again. "This is what I want. Get her, bring her to me. Immediately!"
"Yes boss, will do!"
Darius ended the call with a hearty laugh. "Hahahaha.... Yes. Little punk, I'll make you pay for all the humiliation you have caused me earlier. I'll love to see if you'll continue to be arrogant."
After what seems like hours, Darius receives a call as soon as he walks out of the bathroom.
"Is the job done?" He asked the moment he picked the call.
"Yes, boss. We are there right now," the caller replied.
"Good. Very good! I'll be right there now."
Darius quickly got dressed in one of his most-expensive clothe and boarded his sleek black car, the engine humming low like a predator preparing to pounce. His lips curled into a cold smirk as the streetlights flickered past his windows.
The abandoned hospital loomed at the edge of the city, a decaying monument to forgotten lives. The place reeked of rot and rust, its walls crawling with vines and shadows.
He couldn't contain his excitement as he came down from the vehicle and make his way towards the entrance.
In the center of the room sat Mia—tied to a rusted chair, her head low, breathing fast.
Darius whistled as he approached, his leather gloves creaking as he flexed his fingers. He stopped in front of her, studying her face for a moment, then crouched to meet her terrified eyes.
"Well, well… the little sister. How are you doing," he said with a grin. "Allen would be furious if he saw you here. That's kind of the point, though."
"Boss!" A man standing by the corner bowed at Darius.
"Hope she was alone?" Darius asked him.
"Yes. As ordered!" The man replied.
"Good," Darius smirked, glancing at Mia.
Mia in return glared at him. "What do you want from me? What do you want from my brother!"
"I want to see the both of you destroyed, I'll make your brother pay fro what he did to me!" Darius roared.
"You won't get away with this," Mia said, tears dropping from her eyes. "My brother will hunt you."
Darius chuckled, leaning closer, his voice low and mocking. "You think this is about getting away with something? No. This is about sending a message."
He stood and began to pace slowly around her, his voice light and cruel. "Your brother made me look like a fool in front of everyone. Do you know how that feels? Being laughed at behind your back by people too scared to say it to your face?"
He stopped again, pulling a small glass vial from his coat. A single pill rolled inside—a deep, blood-red sphere with a thin black swirl at its center.
"This," he said, holding it up to the dim light, "is something special. A relic from the old times. Red Widow. Puts you under in seconds. And the best part? No known cure. Not even a slightest."
He popped open the vial with a click, then turned back to her. "You won't feel pain. Not right away. Just… silence. Darkness. And when Allen comes running, he'll see what helpless really looks like."
Mia's lips trembled as she struggled against the ropes.
Darius tilted her chin up gently, mockingly. "Relax. You're just a message. Nothing personal."
Then, without hesitation, he pressed the pill past her lips, covering her mouth until she swallowed. Her eyes widened for a moment… then fluttered… then closed.
Darius stepped back and smiled.
"Sweet dreams. Let's see if your brother still thinks he's a hero when he sees you like this."
"Boss, what actually is that pill you gave her?" The man standing there for a while now asked Darius.
Darius laughed for a moment and then replied. "I actually don't know," he said and grinned widely. "Just something I found during one of my raids, I actually don't know what it is or how it works."
"Boss, you only said you wanted to bring the girl here so that we can use her to lure the boy here. You never made mention of doing any of these to her," the man said.
Darius got angry immediately and facing him, he began to shout. "You. Who are are you to tell me what to do and what not to? You are a servant and you will remain one, don't forget that!"
"Yes, boss. I am sorry," the man bowed.
"That's better, now let's call that bastard."
------
After Allen returned home last night, he took his bath and went straight to bed, ignoring the fact that he hadn't eaten any tangible something since before he left for the raid. But that did not matter — He needed to rest than to eat.
As soon as he finished taking his bath, he put on his shorts and immediately climbed into bed... He dozed off the moment his body made contact with the bed.
Throuithe night, he slept like a log of wood, unaware of the storm that was brewing.
The next day, he didn't wake up early and only did when it was approaching noon — that was the time Mia usually returned from school... Part of the reason he woke up by that time. He wanted to make up for coming back late the other night.
After taking his bath, he prepared something that he and Mia would eat. After he was done having his, he decided to do some exercise outside of their pavement while still waiting for his sister.
5:00Pm.
She wasn't back. This got him worried but sometimes she would come back around six; that is if something holds back in school so he sighed and decided to wait for some time.
7:00pm.
And she wasn't back yet.
Something was definitely not right. Allen was beginning to feel uneasy so he picked up his phone and was ready to leave the house when his phone suddenly rang.
He checked the caller ID.
Unknown caller
He frowned on first sight but then went ahead to pick it up.
"If you want to see your little sister, come to this location."
And the call was abruptly ended. Immediately after the call, an email came in.
Allen's grip tightened around the phone, veins popping beneath his skin. He stared at the screen, the address glaring back at him from the email like a bloodstain. His heart hammered against his ribs.
He didn't need a second to think.
His mind screamed with questions.
Why Mia? Who sent that message? What do they want?
But one thing was clear. This wasn't random.
There could only be one meaning to this — Darius.
Allen didn't bother locking the door. He sprinted through the streets, his breath sharp and rapid, thoughts spinning out of control. Images of Mia's face flashed in his mind—her smile, her warmth, the way she always nagged him to eat properly. She was the only family he had left. If anything happened to her...
He couldn't let that happen.
There was no way he would.
By the time he reached the outskirts of the city, the sun had vanished, leaving only a bruised sky and creeping fog. The abandoned hospital loomed ahead like a corpse that refused to stay buried. Its broken windows were the eyes of something ancient and waiting.
Allen's pace slowed.
He clenched his fists and took a deep breath.
His chest burned. Not from the run but from rage.
"I'm here," he muttered to himself. "Now give her back."
He stepped into the building. The scent of decay hit him like a slap—metallic, foul, cold. Every footstep echoed like a scream.
The hallway led to a room faintly lit by a flickering overhead bulb.
And there he was.
Darius stood at the center, grinning like the devil himself.
"Welcome, Allen," he said with open arms, like a host greeting a long-lost guest. "Glad you could make it."
Allen's eyes scanned the room—then froze.
Mia.
Tied to a chair. Slumped forward and unmoving. The sight was unforgiving.
His breath caught.
"What... what did you do?" he asked, voice low, shaking.
Darius chuckled. "She's not dead, if that's what you're worried about. Yet. But she's taken something... special. Let's say... she's asleep in a way that science can't fix."
Allen took a step forward.
"You'll pay for this."
"I already am," Darius said with a mocking bow. "In broken pride—all thanks to you. But tonight, Allen... tonight, you lose something too."
Allen didn't speak again.
He rushed forward.