The Lady in Waiting

. . .

Outside the dark alleys of the pub, a beautiful lady sat on the passenger's seat of a fancy car. She's been fiddling with her phone for quite some time, waiting for her companion for this evening. In the middle of playing for a high-score on her favorite game, a knock interrupted her achievement.

She brought her gaze up to see someone standing right outside her door. She squinted her eyes to see better. What she saw was the silhouette of a man who was holding something close to her window. It was a gun, she could guess. The man started banging on her door and she took off her earphones to negotiate.

"Step out!" the man said in a muffled hiss, "Or I'll blow your brains off!"

Without a second thought, she stepped out of the car. The man then grabbed her hands before dragging her into a dark alley. When they finally stopped, everything smelled horrible. There were broken shards of glasses and bottles scattered all over the ground. Rotten garbage was piled over the whole place, being the source of this place's naturally disturbing aroma.

On the farthest side of the alley, a small table was set up; sitting on the small stools surrounding it were five men. They greeted the lady with skin-crawling stares while downing their bottles—licking their chapped lips.

"Look what I found! Ahahahahahaha," the man holding her laughed, jingling the car keys in his hands, "Such a lucky evening this is!"

All the men on their seats stood up, surrounding the lady in an instance. They threw their alcohol bottles to the ground, as if changing their favorite shirts. They found something more thirst-quenching, their eyes said.

"Would you look at this fine lady right here..." One of them said before attempting to caress the lady's soft skin. His attempt however, was halted within a second. In a quick snap, a loud shriek echoed around the dark alley.

"ARRRRGHHHHHHH!" The man screamed before crouching on the ground to cradle his broken finger. His partners-in-crime had to let the situation buffer before jumping on the lady all together. They all went to grab her arms, but she was fast enough to slide off their movements, making them bump into each other instead.

Again, a series of loud agonizing calls filled the silent night.

Upon recovery, the men looked at her; enraged. This time, they spread out into a circle, determined to corner a prey. Like fools thinking they can defeat such a delicate looking lady, they attacked one at a time—kissing the ground one after the other.

That dark alley with all the garbage lying around, now had an even more filthy lowlifes piled in a neat stack. The lady clapped her hands together as if shaking off dust from her effortless pursuit. She grabbed the car keys on the ground before heading out of that alley, complete aware that there was another pair of eyes watching her from a distance.

As if nothing happened, she started the car once again, stretching her arms before continuing her game.

After playing the game for ten minutes, she slowly rose up the world rankings. She managed to get back to her place. The first place. Feeling satisfied from her feat, she gave herself some rest and turned on the music. At its full volume.

Within few seconds of her carpool karaoke session, her long awaited companion came out of a local pub. She unlocked the doors and the man went to sit on the driver's seat.

"Did I make you wait long?" The man asked and she shook her head, "No, I had a good rest, Babe."

She put enough stress on the 'babe' that he had to maintain a straight face instead of a grimace.

"That's good."

They both buckled themselves up before speeding through the empty streets.

. . .

Back to the fiery situation...

Just when the show was about to start, the television screens turned black.

Miura Takumi had his eyebrows furrowed because of this, eyeing Willy on the side. Willy bowed in front of him before excusing himself out of the room to ask for the cause.

"Hmmm," Zeirenne hummed, catching Miura Takumi's attention. "I thing we'll have to wait for an hour before your most awaited show starts."

Miura Takumi shot her some icy cold daggers, and she shrugged before continuing.

"I think you're not aware of this but do you know why Sun Rise Mall is called such?" she marveled, "As far as I know, its owner loved the orange skies so much she decided to let the world see the wonders of it in her own ways. During sunrise, she lets people gaze into the horizon to see all the beautiful colors. But this phenomenon doesn't happen at sunrise only, it happens every sunset too. Therefore, it has been a common attraction for people that during sunset, this mall turns off all their lights and electricity supply just to halt everyone in their jobs."

"Have you ever been inside it?" she asked, and Miura Takumi only gave a rock hard expression, "I see that's a no then. But If you ever enter that mall, you'll see its center made of glass. This type of glass magnifies the colors of the sunset, basking the entire mall with the wonderful colors it brings."

Miura Takumi gripped his goblet firmer, "Why are you telling me this?"

"So that you'll know why your television screen is showing you nothing. Besides, you were talking about colors, I think you'd wanna try such a spectacle. Don't you?"

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but I don't like orange, I only like red."

In a fast turn of events, the revolver inside Miura Takumi's drawer spun around his fingers before firing directly at Zeirenne. Her eyes were fast enough to see him pulling the trigger but she sat still. The bullet grazed her arms and blood splattered on her cheeks before forming different patterns on the floor.

As blood gushed out of her arms, she stared directly into Miura Takumi. "If this is enough compensation for me bumping into you, then I gladly accept."

Miura Takumi let out the evilest laugh she'd ever heard before, "Don't play with me, woman. I already told you this is not our first meeting. As far as I can remember, in front of everyone, I promised you death. And I'm not someone who turns back on his promises."

Zeirenne shrugged her shoulders, "If you don't believe me, then suit yourself," she looked straight into his eyes, "Pull the trigger. Kill me."

Miura Takumi smirked, his finger itching from his bloodlust. All the men inside the room were predicting a gunshot, instead, Willy came running inside the room, bearing news that will shake the ground they were standing at.

"They already found the lady, Miura Takumi."

. . .