Earlier that night, Michael had heard a disturbing resonance in his head where Craven always talked to him.
Katie had been with him and known something was wrong from his expression.
Michael had no way of knowing what it meant. He did know it meant he had to find Craven, and fast.
His long strides took him across town much faster than any other vehicle could.
The old hideout was completely empty, he could feel that before he even stepped foot inside.
Chairs were over turned, and there was fresh blood on the floor.
Not Cravens'.
Whomever surprised him here probably didn't make it out alive themselves. Craven did not like being surprised.
Another oddity was in the form of a note; of sorts. Bold letters, all capitalized, across one wall. They were in Craven's hand and addressed to Michael.
It read:
LAST STAND BEFOR THE GREAT FALL, MICHAEL
….as if Craven was finishing a sentence they had already started.
What it meant, Michael could only imagine, and Kate was always better at that.
Speed was of the essence now. There were far too many places to look. He would have to risk being spotted and take to the sky.
Bending close to the ground, Michael could feel the power building beneath him. Like an explosion he split from the earth.... he was airborne. Soaring as only the birds were designed to do.
For one brief moment he allowed himself to enjoy the sensation. The feeling of being detached from anything solid, completely free from restraint. It reminded him of how he felt when he was with Kate.
Allowing himself to feel like that was a luxury he couldn't afford. Not when he had to focus on Craven. He quickly turned his mind to the matter at hand.
Michael searched every stomping ground he knew of. Every hunting territory Craven had savaged in the past. Every place he'd holed up in.
There was no sign of his blood brother.
Even Cravens brainless followers didn't seem to know where the mad man was at. The ones Michael could find, that is.
There were a few Craven always kept by his side. The ones just as insane as the man they blindly followed.
They flocked around him like vultures on carrion. Craven being their very own symbol of vengeance.
Of course, that was it. Revenge.
There was only one place he could be, if it was revenge he was hunting tonight. But why now?
'Oh right,' he remembered, 'the blood.'
Could it be that Evelyn Blackwood was coming after them at last?
Did she finally venture out of her secure Lab to clean up her mess?
To finish what she started so many years ago?
If so, Michael might inadvertently be entering a war. And he didn't know which side he would find himself on.