Fear the Night

Chapter 3: The Next Day

Isabella hurried down the street she assumed Maverick had gone down and came upon a group of people gathered around something. Yukio hurried behind her as the sun hung high in the sky.

“What is it, Izzy?” Yukio asked when she stopped at the edge of the crowd.

“I don’t know,” she replied, standing on her toes and craning her neck to see ahead of the people in front of her.

She sighed and finally pushed through some of the people. When she reached a place where she had a clear view, she gasped, her hands flying to her mouth as she stared at the gruesome sight.

A body lay in the center of the crowd, mangled with huge chunks of meat missing from its bones, blood pooled and dried beneath it. The long black hair was chunked, partially scalped and rigger mortise had set in, posing the corpse like a dead spider, curled into itself. Yukio placed a hand on Isabella’s shoulder and she immediately turned into him to sob.

“It’s not him, Izzy,” he assured her in a whisper. “It doesn’t even look…” he swallowed. “…human.”

“I know,” Isabella shuddered.

Yukio knew it would do no good. He knew she hated suffering and death. She’d never really seen a corpse before, and she felt ready to throw-up.

“Let’s go,” Yukio murmured and led her out of the confinement of the growing crowd. Isabella suddenly gripped his collar and he looked down at her in wide-eyed worry.

“We have to find Maverick!” she breathed and Yukio nodded in agreement.

“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”Maverick sauntered down the street, hands in his pockets and whistling until he came to a group of people crowded around something. He saw Suits and froze immediately as they gathered around the crowd, shoving people back and away from the body. He spun on his heel and headed the other way but he stopped when a pair of faces he’d glanced at registered in his mind. He hesitantly turned his head enough to look over his shoulder and saw a figure running toward him, making him spin fully around in time to catch her.

“Maverick!” Isabella shuddered as she hugged his chest and he looked up at Yukio as he hurried after her.

“Why is she sobbing on my shirt?” Maverick blurted to Yukio.

“She thought that body was you,” Yukio replied, gesturing at the dispersing crowd.

Maverick glanced up and suddenly remembered there were Suits all around.

“Let’s go somewhere else to talk,” he suggested, then looked down at Isabella who hadn’t let go of him. Yukio moved to pry her off of Maverick, but he placed an arm around her shoulders and turned them both around.

“You comin’, Yukio?” Maverick called as Yukio stood in shock for a moment before hurrying after them.

“Hey, Mave, where’re we going?” Yukio wondered, catching up to the two as Maverick turned down an alley.

“Out of earshot and eyesight of the Suits,” Maverick replied, not looking at him.

“How did you escape last night?” Isabella shuddered, looking up at him. “If Drones are everywhere at night, how did you—?”

“I’ll explain everything right now, Isabella,” he interrupted. “Just stick close.” He pulled her a little closer and looked to Yukio to say, “You too.”

He nodded as they headed farther into the alley then stopped under a broken street lamp. Maverick lifted his arm from Isabella’s shoulders and pulled Yukio a little closer to whisper to both of them.

“That was a Drone I ran into last night,” he began and his new friends’ eyes grew wide in disbelief.

“Did you do that to it?!” Yukio breathed.

“No,” Maverick chuckled with a smirk. “But I did kill it. Other Drones made a meal out of him.”

“Oh, God,” Isabella breathed, placing a shaking hand to her mouth. “How did you manage to get away?!”

“Once one Drone attacks, its buddies will step back for it to make the kill,” he explained. “When prey turns out to be too much of a challenge to take down, they’ll let it go to look for something weaker. It they’re hungry enough, they’ll eat their own.”

“Why did you leave last night?” Yukio asked, eyeing Maverick suspiciously. “How do you so much about these Drones?”

“I left last night to protect the both of you,” Maverick shot back, defensively. “Which is the same reason I’m not gonna answer that second question and the same reason you’re gonna go home and forget you even met me.”

He turned to walk away but a hand gently gripped his forearm making him stop and look at Isabella as she pulled him back to her.

“Is what you’re protecting us from the same reason those Suits were after you?” she asked, not letting go of his arm and Maverick only nodded.

“We’ve helped you this far,” Yukio said, slinging and arm over Isabella’s shoulders. “Aiding and abetting a ‘bad guy’ makes us accomplices.”

“No,” Maverick said flatly, shaking his head. “Not if they don’t know. Thank you for your help, but it’s best if you get as far away from me as possible.”

“Why,” Yukio smirked slightly with a shrug. “Not life threatening, is it? Danger could be my middle name.”

“Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?” Maverick wondered, glaring at him.

“You obviously need help,” Isabella tried, drawing his attention. “Let us help you. Three minds are better than one.”

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourselves into,” Maverick warned. “Being around me is dangerous.”

“As far as we’ve seen, being your enemy is dangerous…we’re your friends,” Yukio observed.

“Damn! What is with you?!” Maverick snarled. “You two wanna get killed, is that it?!”

“With a fighter like you, we don’t have to worry about being killed,” Yukio replied.

“I can barely keep my ass outta trouble!” Maverick shot back. “I don’t have time to watch out for a couple of greenhorns!”

“Greenhorns?” Yukio echoed in amusement, raising an eyebrow.

“I can’t keep an eye on the both of you along with myself!” Maverick growled.

“You won’t have to,” Yukio shrugged and Maverick only looked at Isabella who stared back at him with wide eyes.

“Yeah, I would,” he murmured then looked at Yukio again who was frowning at him in wonder. “Go home, you two. It’s better if you forget about me.”

“Too late,” Yukio shrugged. “A guy like you is pretty memorable. With Suits after you, you’d need all the friends you can get.”

“Let us help you,” Isabella insisted before Maverick could respond. “You need help. I can tell. We’ll stick with you, no matter what. Even if I can’t help with fighting, when you get hurt, I can help with that.” She turned to Yukio and shoved him in front of Maverick. “Yukio is an excellent cook, too! You could teach him to fight!”

“Whoa, whoa,” Yukio chuckled. “Do I get a say in how I help and what I learn?”

“No,” Isabella retorted.

“And neither do you,” Maverick told her before she could go on and the two looked to him in surprise. “I work alone.”

He turned to walk away but once again, he was caught by a hand, on his wrist this time, and firmer. He knew which of the two it was and went to yank his hand from Yukio’s grip, but when his hand was free, Yukio gripped his shoulder.

“We may not be very persuasive,” he began, “but we’re damn stubborn.”

Maverick stared into Yukio’s golden eyes and tried to see what it was this kid really wanted. He was determined to help, but why, Maverick had no clue. He’d only met these two last night, and they wanted to help him? They didn’t even know him!

He looked to Isabella. She looked determined to help too, and the reason for that he wasn’t sure about either. She was a nice girl, he could tell. What would a nice girl like her want to help a renegade…a criminal like him?

Glancing between them, he knew he wouldn’t be able to shake them, as much as he wanted to protect them with distance. But if they were going to be with him all the way, he had to tell them everything, and show them everything.

“Alright,” Maverick nodded, reluctantly then glared at Yukio. “First off, you’re gonna get your hand off of me.”

Yukio yanked his hand away as if burned.

“Second, there’s some things you’ll need to know,” he continued. “Once I show you everything and tell you everything, there’s no going back. Third, I can’t stand back and hold your hand. We get into some sort of situation, you gotta take care of yourselves. Understood?”

The two nodded in unison and he sighed, inwardly. He couldn’t believe he was even thinking of going through with this.

“Follow me, and stick close,” he ordered, turning down the alley. “These stupid Suits are everywhere.”

Maverick continued down the alley but jumped with a start when he felt gentle fingers wrap around his right arm. He looked to his right to see Isabella sticking close by looping her arm around his and he swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. He didn’t have to look to his left where Yukio came up next to him.

“Where is it we’re going, Maverick?” Isabella asked.

“My pad,” he replied, then looked ahead again. “It’s the only safe place where I can tell you everything and there’s someone you should meet.”