Crimson Ties

Deeper into the fog-shrouded park, they'd come upon two figures slumped by a bench. One was a haggard beggar in a threadbare coat, hunched and weary, his companion lying still beside him, seemingly asleep.

Chloe stepped forward, her voice gentle. "Excuse me, sir… have you seen anyone come through here?" she asked. The man barely looked up, uninterested. Flustered, she looked back at Vince, who raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly. "Sometimes, you've got to speak their language." He pulled out a few xents, letting them clink into the beggar's palm.

The man's eyes sharpened. Leaning in, he muttered, "Three men in dark clothes passed by, dragging something big… about an hour ago." His gaze flicked to the trees, his voice tense. "Didn't look like they were sightseeing, if you catch my drift."

Chloe's face paled slightly, and she glanced at Vince, who gave her a nod as if to say, That's how it's done.

The farther they went, the atmosphere deepened, almost swallowing them in silence. Chloe paused at one point, noticing a pair of worn shoes discarded beside a bench. She looked around, an eerie chill running down her spine. It was as if someone had left in a hurry, leaving a trace of their escape.

Then, ahead of them, a line of crows perched along the path, watching with unblinking eyes. Chloe whispered, half-joking, "Do you think they're... leading us somewhere?"

Vince shrugged it off, though he kept his eye on the dark shapes. As they passed, one crow cawed sharply, breaking the silence, almost like a warning. Further along, they found a battered wallet tossed in the dirt, cards still inside but no cash. Vince picked it up, flipping it over before handing it to Chloe. "Left in a rush, maybe?"

With each strange "sign" they passed, a quiet tension grew. Finally, they glimpsed the warehouse through a break in the trees, looming in the mist as if waiting for them, its dark shape barely visible in the dim light.

Unseen by either of them, a figure slowly stepped out from behind a nearby tree, lingering just at the edge of the shadows. In their hand, a blood-dried knife glistened, the blade still dripping with fresh blood that seeped from within their clenched fist. The snake tattoo on their neck slithered up, stopping just shy of the middle of the throat. The figure stood still, watching Vince and Chloe with a tense, silent intensity.

Chloe looked at Vince, swallowing her nerves. "Should we go in?"

Vince's gaze didn't waver from the warehouse. "It's the only lead we've got," he said, his voice steady.

They approached cautiously. The building was massive and worn, its walls lined with rusted metal and broken windows. Ivy clung to its sides, and the surrounding air felt heavy and damp. A single light flickered by the entrance, casting long, unsettling shadows across the cracked pavement. The scent of mildew hung in the air, mixing with something faintly metallic.

Upon nearing the entrance, Vince's gaze shifted to the ground. He frowned, his boots crunching over the gravel as he scanned the area. "There's been a struggle here," he muttered. A few overturned crates and broken boards were scattered across the ground, but it wasn't just the mess—it was the way everything was displaced, the footprints in the dirt that led in and out of the warehouse. The ground near the side of the building had been kicked up in a hurry, like someone had been dragged or forced to move quickly.

Chloe noticed the same details, the tension in the air thickening. "What happened here?"

Vince's eyes flicked to the scattered debris again, then to the faint, dried bloodstains on the pavement leading toward the door. He straightened up, his jaw tightening. "Looks like someone was trying to leave in a hurry," he said. "Maybe they were chased." His gaze lingered on the marks in the dirt, then he looked back at Chloe, his expression unreadable. "Whatever happened here... it wasn't pretty."

Suddenly, he quickly pulled Chloe behind the crumbling wall next to the warehouse, his hand lightly gripping her wrist. The sudden shift left Chloe startled, her heart racing as she found herself pressed against the cool stone of the wall, Vince just inches away. She felt her breath catch, a rush of heat flooding her face as she quickly regained her balance, the proximity leaving her flushed and slightly out of breath.

"What's happening?" she whispered, still flustered.

Vince nodded toward the rotating camera near the entrance, its lens swiveling back and forth in an almost mechanical fashion. "See that?" he murmured.

Chloe's gaze followed the movement of the camera, confusion in her eyes. "Why's there a camera on an abandoned warehouse?" she asked, the question lingering in the air.

Vince shrugged, his expression unreadable but his eyes sharp. "I don't know... but this is definitely getting interesting."

They circled the warehouse, moving from one shadow to the next, crouching low behind rusted walls and overgrown bushes. The night felt colder now, and every sound, even the faintest rustling of the wind, seemed to echo louder than it should. With each step, the presence of the cameras was undeniable—mounted on corners, swiveling overhead, always watching. Chloe could feel the weight of them, their cold lenses following their every movement like silent sentinels.

Vince glanced at each camera as they passed, his eyes calculating, always assessing. The rotating lens made it difficult to predict where they were being watched next, but he knew they had to keep moving. He gestured for Chloe to follow him, his silent command sharp and quick.

They moved again, crouching behind a bush near a broken window. Vince peered through a crack in the wall, observing the inside of the warehouse. It was too dark to see much, but he could make out vague shadows—some stacked crates, maybe a few abandoned tools. He didn't like the idea of going in blind, but there was no turning back now.

Chloe shifted beside him, her breath visible in the cold air. "What now?" she asked, her voice low, almost hesitant.

Vince took a moment to study the surveillance setup, the cameras all aligned, rotating on their set tracks. He exhaled sharply through his nose, weighing the risks. His mind worked quickly, piecing together the options. There was no way they could sneak in under the watchful eyes of the cameras for long.

Then, just as the tension seemed to mount, a sudden flicker. One by one, the cameras began to shut down. At first, it was subtle, almost imperceptible. The whir of the lenses stopping, the dimming of their blinking red lights. Chloe's breath caught, her eyes darting toward the cameras as they powered off.

"What the hell…?" she whispered, her voice a mix of disbelief and cautious relief.

Vince didn't hesitate. "Now's our chance."