Chapter Eleven

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Rose woke up relieved that she had finally gotten a full night's sleep. She was starting to worry that she hadn't heard from Cat in over 24 hours. It wasn't like her to not even call or text to let Rose know she wouldn't be home. Once in a while, Cat would get tied up at work and crash at the office. But even then, her assistant would let Rose know that she wouldn't be home.

After preparing for the day, Rose wandered into the kitchen to start her coffee, but heard what sounded like a TV playing in the living room. She paused briefly, listening to the empty apartment, but the sound abruptly stopped. Perhaps it was the neighbors, Rose thought to herself. She turned to peek into the living room, but was immediately interrupted by the front door opening.

Cerberus ran up to Cat, giving her several kisses before running over to his bowl and staring at her. That's when Rose locked eyes with Cat, who looked like hell. Her usually flawless eyes were completely bloodshot with dark bags underneath them. Her hair was carelessly tied up in a messy bun, her makeup was smudged, and she appeared to be wearing the same outfit she had worn two days ago.

"Cat, where have you been? Are you all right?" Rose pulled her friend into a tight hug.

"I just need sleep." Cat filled the excited border collie's dish, and grabbed herself a shake before lumbering into her bedroom without another word. Rose considered following her to press the issue, but decided that wouldn't do either of them any good. They could talk after Cat got a little shut-eye.

* * *
"What is a Nephilim?" Church wondered out loud. Reading through the journal only seemed to cause more questions than it answered. The names in the journal all seemed to match well-known historical figures from Shire Bottom. However, the details seemed crazy, if not downright insane. From what he could gather, Giovanni had summoned something called a Nephilim and managed to make it his personal slave. BG seemed to be against the idea and felt bad for the creature. He had several plans to free her, but Claude or Giovanni always found a way to stop him. Before Church could finish his thoughts, a pounding on his door pulled him from the journal.

"Churchill, let me in, now! I won't ask twice," Bane's voice boomed through the door. Church quickly shoved the book into his desk and locked the drawer before rushing to let the taller man in. No one in town was stupid enough to ignore Bane Morningstar. He had eyes and friends everywhere.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Morningstar. Please have a seat and help yourself to some water, tea, or coffee. It's all decaf, unfortunately." Church smiled, trying not to let his nerves show through. It was well known that Bane could intimidate just about everyone, but had no respect for those who fell victim to it.

"I'm here to talk about the group trying to work on T.V. I know some of them have been here," Bane snapped.

Church didn't know much about the town dealings, but he did know that there was a group of people who had poisoned a kid named Matt. However, he'd survived. The town higher-ups had taken to calling the effects of the poison 'T.V.' Honestly, Church had no knowledge of who was involved, so he definitely was not hiding anything from Bane.

"I'll look through my records and see what I can find," Church said, heading for his office.
* * *
"Chelsea, get back here!" Rory yelled as the white furball streaked across the living room. Chelsea leaped onto the kitchen table and slid across the papers scattered in front of Matt. He quickly caught her before she went flying off the edge of the table and held the squirming puppy until Rory walked into the room. Chelsea's tail wagged frantically when she saw her. "Don't give me that look. You chewed up my good shoes," Rory insisted, holding up a high heel with tiny teeth marks all over it. Chelsea stuck out her tongue, and it looked like she was literally grinning from ear to ear.

"I think she enjoyed it." Matt laughed, ruffling Chelsea's fluffy hair. "Looks like we need to shut all the closet doors until she's done teething."

He set Chelsea down, and she ran into the bathroom. Seconds later, she bolted out, carrying a long strip of toilet paper in her mouth. She jumped effortlessly onto the couch, and Matt's eyes widened as he realized the toilet paper was still attached to the roll. Chelsea dove off the couch and practically somersaulted onto the rug, wrapping herself up in the toilet paper. Finally exhausted, she laid down and gazed at them both with her innocent puppy eyes through her makeshift cocoon.

Rory tried to stifle her laughter as she untangled Chelsea from the mess of toilet paper and picked her up. "Let's keep the bathroom door closed, too," she said, carrying Chelsea over to the gated area set up in the living room. They had her pink wire kennel, a potty pad, lots of toys, and her food and water dishes all inside the boundary of the gates, so she could be contained while they were busy. So far it was working out good, but they had to purchase extra tall gates so she couldn't climb over them. She placed Chelsea inside the kennel and closed the door. Chelsea curled up on her blanket and promptly fell asleep.

Matt grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, hoping the noise wouldn't wake Chelsea up. She was a real handful, but they wouldn't trade her for anything. She just needed a lot of training. Rory was going to enroll her in puppy training classes at the pet store next week. Apparently, the store owner, Isabelle Honi, had trained dogs for over twenty years.

On the TV screen, a news report was in progress. A blonde woman stood in front of the Mania and Me Apartment Complex, recounting the events of the night before.

"As you can see, many of the residents here are still visibly upset about the brutal abduction of twenty-one-year-old Drusilla Karr," the reporter, Rory and Matt's old classmate Lanette Adams, spoke into the camera. A young man stood beside her, clutching an orange tabby cat. His eyes were bloodshot from crying. Lanette edged away from him, probably because there was cat hair literally falling off the guy. "Officers are still waiting on analysis of blood found at the scene, but there seems to be no doubt that this was a calculated, vicious attack. Stay tuned for more updates. I'm Lanette Adams for Channel 6 News."

The scene cut back to the newsroom, but Matt was no longer listening. He had experience with kidnapping before, but nothing like this.
* * *
The lobby of Crimson Inc. was silent, except for the soft clicking of Icelene's keyboard as she finished entering appointments into the monthly calendar. With all of the different projects going on, things could get really hectic. Komazzi and Bane had their big interview with the Shire Bottom Gazette coming up. Work had already started at the ruins, but after the containment department disaster, the interview had to be rescheduled twice.

Icelene glanced up from her computer when the intercom beside her desk crackled. Most of the employees had left for the day. Cat had gone home, exhausted, and Bane was off looking into something.

"Is someone there?" Icelene spoke into the speaker. "Can I help you?"

Through the intercom static, Icelene heard a familiar voice. "Icelene, can you call Matt for me? I'm ready to talk."

It was Edwin. She could hear weariness and defeat in his voice. Only a handful of people at the company knew that Edwin had been sitting in lockup for the last few days. Bane had instructed her to notify him at once when Edwin decided to talk, but he was busy right now, and Edwin had specifically asked for Matt. However, she also knew Komazzi wouldn't like it if she allowed an unauthorized employee to speak with Matt.

"You know I can't do that, Edwin," Icelene said. She had seen the wrath of Komazzi and Bane. She wasn't stupid enough to go against a direct order. "Komazzi will be available soon, and I can send him down."

"No, I'll only talk to Matt," Edwin whispered. It sounded like he might be crying. "He's the only one who will understand."

"I'll see what I can do." Icelene sighed, before hanging up on him. She pondered whether or not it was worth going behind Bane's back if it meant getting answers. Then again, she liked her job and didn't want to risk losing it. She picked up the phone and dialed Matt's number.

"Hello?"

"Matt, it's Icelene. Edwin just called me and wanted to speak with you right away. I've got orders from Bane to wait for him or Komazzi first," Icelene explained. "Komazzi's on his way here, but Edwin was very insistent he wanted you alone."

"He wants to talk now?" Matt questioned. "Something must be wrong."

"He sounded kind of upset," Icelene said, recalling Edwin's tearful voice. She hoped the solitude of lockup had finally cracked the young man, and they could put an end to the uncertainty that had gripped the company for weeks. After what happened with Evan and Frank, Edwin's future with the company was dangling by a thread unless he was able to regain Komazzi's trust.

"I'm going to come in," Matt insisted. "But don't worry, I won't say anything to him."

"Thanks, Matt, I'll see you in a moment." Icelene hung up. She sat back in her chair and gazed out the window at the dark forest outside. She had a bad feeling about this, but there wasn't anything she could do until Komazzi arrived.

* * *
The road leading to Crimson Inc. was veiled in darkness, the light of the moon obscured by thick clouds. Rory saw glowing animal eyes illuminated by the car headlights, and a fox scurried across the road. Matt hadn't said much since they left their apartment. She recognized the distracted look in his eyes and knew he must be thinking about Edwin.

"You okay?" Rory asked, noticing Matt's white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel.

"Yeah, this whole thing has just got me on edge," Matt confessed. He wondered if Komazzi was going to fire Edwin. The thought made him a little uneasy. If Edwin lost his job, there was no telling what would happen. At least if he stayed working at Crimson Inc., they could keep an eye on him. Evan was dead, and Frank was still in the hospital last Matt knew, so that just left Edwin to worry about.

Suddenly, Matt slammed on the brakes, causing Rory to jerk forward. Her attention was quickly drawn to the Buick Century blocking the middle of the road. The lights were still on, and the driver's door was wide open. A trail of blood stretched from inside the car into the darkness of the woods. Rory wondered out loud, "What the fuck happened?"

"Wait here. I'm going to go check it out," Matt whispered. After flipping the interior lights from Auto to Off, he slipped out of the car. "If shit hits the fan, get out of here and go to the office."

Inching up on the car, Matt noticed Frank's badge hanging from the rearview mirror. The trail of blood seemed fresh, but this couldn't possibly be Frank's car. He should still be in the hospital. A scream from the forest quickly drew his attention. Matt could already hear Komazzi telling him to call for backup, but curiosity got the better of him. He headed toward the forest and could see a figure in the distance.

As he started toward the figure, he heard a scream that was unmistakably Rory's.
Matt turned to look at the car, but someone grabbed his arm. He shoved the person, only to realize there was more than just one man. One of which was Frank Jaleski, still in his hospital gown. A sinister grin spread over the injured man's face. "Long time no see, Mattie Boy."

"Fuck you!" Matt growled, taking a swing at the obviously demented man. Somehow, Frank managed to duck out of the way. The man broke out into crazy laughter.

"I was so hoping you would do that." Frank snickered.

Before Matt could move, the other men tackled him. Matt swung wildly trying to grab, break, or injure anything he could get ahold of. Feeling bones break between his fingers, Matt couldn't believe that they weren't relenting.

After what felt like forever, Matt managed to scramble away, running toward the road. He had to save Rory. That's when he heard the unmistakable sound of a gun behind him. A sharp pain shot through his leg, and another through his shoulder. One more bang from a pistol behind him and he felt a bullet pierce his chest through the bulletproof vest.

Matt once again hit the ground. Gasping for breath, he tried to put pressure on the hole in his chest. Who were these people?

"Leave him alive, the boss will want to talk to him," an unfamiliar voice said.

A searing pain began to fill Matt's bloodstream. He howled in agony, arching off the ground as what felt like tiny explosions shocked his nervous system. Suddenly, his body went limp. He willed himself to speak or move, but couldn't muster the strength.

Before everything went black, he could have sworn he heard Bane's voice and saw a head roll in front of him.

* * *
Rory's eyes filled with tears as Matt emerged from the forest in Bane's arms. He looked lifeless, his body completely limp. Cat pulled her into a tight hug. Corpses covered the street around them. Rory thanked her lucky stars that Cat and Bane had shown up when they did. She would have been dead in seconds. The men who attacked her moved too quickly and were too strong to be human, but Cat and Bane offered no explanation.

Bane had rushed off to find Matt while Cat had stayed behind to protect Rory should the now-dead men have backup. Bane gently laid Matt on the ground, and the faintest of movement in his chest confirmed to Rory that Bane had found him in time. Bane's voice broke her thoughts. "Call Komazzi, NOW!"

"He needs a doctor," Rory said, her voice barely above a whisper. Bane shot her a deadly glare.

"You can call Komazzi, or you can watch your dumbass boy toy join the ranks of the dead," Bane spat, as Matt began convulsing uncontrollably.

Rory took out her phone and dialed Komazzi's number with shaking hands. He answered on the first ring. She usually never called him, so he probably knew something was up. "Rory? What's going on?" As soon as she heard his voice, words failed her and Rory broke down sobbing. Bane impatiently wrenched the phone from her hand.

"Komazzi, something's happened to Matt. You better get here, and fast," Bane commanded. He heard the other man swear on the other line. He didn't bother to give details over the phone. There was no time. "And bring the cleanup crew, we've got bodies to dispose of."
"I'm on my way," Komazzi said.

They waited for what seemed like an eternity to Rory. When Bane finally stood up to survey the body count, she grasped Matt's hand in hers and squeezed it. With a sinking feeling, she realized it was ice cold.

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