Abominably Dark

CASSADREI'S POV

Sofosys' blunt statement left us dumbfounded, rooted to our spots. Michael atop a flying creature, moving through solid buildings like a transparent film hardly made any sense. How did this creature catch hold of him? Is it another one of Magnus' ploy to get in my path?

"Look! Mike's location is stationary now. He has stopped moving!" Linda jumped out of her chair, pointing at the screen energetically.

I hurried towards her, wanting to confirm for myself. She was right, the green dot corresponding to Michael's position was placed somewhere in between a lake and the locality. He seemed to have stopped moving.

"We have to locate this place!" I said breathlessly, "before he starts moving again. We don't know which creature has caught hold of him, but it's potentially dangerous. Let's get going!"

Everyone nodded, agreeing with my decision to take a prompt action. Sofosys hurriedly went inside his room and emerged a few moments later, carrying a peculiar bag with him and a bunch of keys.

"What's inside the bag?" I enquired.

Sofosys looked up at me, a playful smile on his face, "These are few resources that we might need in our quest. Come on, we don't have much time…. let's leave. I am taking out the car."

"Oh please!" I rolled my eyes, "you can't drive Sofosys, you will drive dreadfully slow and we won't be able to reach our destination in this life. Let Jake drive."

Sofosys looked a bit ashamed, his deplorable driving skills exposed before his pupils and I saw Jake hiding a smirk through the corner of my eyes.

"So be it. Let's rush." Sofosys said, regaining his posture and commanding us to follow him.

Cookie climbed on my shoulders and chirped enthusiastically, as if conveying his assent to our fateful voyage.

The location on the map showed an area South-West from the University, about ten kilometres away. It was a suburb, sparsely populated and at this time of night, hardly anyone would be on the streets. Jake switched on the engine and the car came to life. He started roaring it away, driving at a speed which sent shivers down my spine.

"Don't drive so fast Jake! We want to be alive if we want to save your friend." Linda barked.

Jake hardly paid any heed to her warning. The streets were empty enough, and even though Jake drove at a very high speed, he seemed skilled enough to handle it.

Sofosys sat motionless by my side, pale and wordless like he always did while riding a car. Jake's rash driving hardly did anything to combat his carphobia.

It was weird how a man as daunting as Sofosys would be afraid of something as mundane as a car ride.

We reached our destination in no time, meanwhile the dot corresponding to Michael's position had again changed a bit. It was vaguely placed in between few dilapidated buildings and a mane of forest shrouded it. The tiny map did little to correctly discern it's position.

"I can't get the map to provide a more accurate coordinates. We have to do with whatever we have got." Linda sighed.

We got out of the car hurriedly, and looked round. We were in the middle of a suburban town, sparsely populated and densely covered with thickets. The street lamps provided the only source of illumination at this hour of night and distant howlings of some nocturnal animal pierced the silence.

"What do we do now? Any suggestions? Michael can be anywhere." I said.

We looked around a bit, staring at each other's faces hoping for brainstorm. Even Cookie was silent, trying to comprehend the situation.

"If only I could speak with Cookie, I would have been able to direct him in order to locate Michael." I said with frustration.

"We can try moving around a bit, let's see if the signal gets stronger." Jake suggested.

So, we started prowling the night streets, a queer group of four straddled at the highway. It was good that the people were mostly at home during this hour, otherwise our nocturnal activities would have seemed really suspicious.

The green dot beeped as we drew closer, but the location was something weird….it seemed to be right in the middle of a pool of buildings. We tried adjusting our positions and approached the direction that it showed. We moved in close packed groups, every sound startling us and throwing us on our guard.

Sofosys managed to construct a thick protective shield around us with his magic but it didn't seem to hold very perfectly. Afterall, Sofosys was a scholar, not a soldier who could use his magic with great prowess. The absence of my magic, and the fragility of his made for a very poor pair. Sofosys was a good fighter though, but hardly a shielder, having completely no experience in that field. Yet he tried his best to guard our presence from any existing supernatural creatures that might chance upon us.

We were close to the green dot now, but it hardly made any sense. We had entered into the most populated part of the town, the density of houses were great in here and nobody in their right mind would bring a prisoner to such a populated locality. How would they hide a prisoner without the risk of exposure at this place?

The buildings grew closer together, interspersed with playing grounds, and as we passed an elementary school, the signals started getting louder. The phone buzzed, indicating that we were close enough to our quarry. But, there was no one in sight. It was completely and abominably dark.

A chill ran down my spine, what if Michael was somewhere in here unconscious? Or worse, dead? No, I pushed the thought away from my mind, refusing to believe him dead, refusing to bear the burden of another slaughter upon my shoulders. However, there seemed to be no other plausible explanation for the intensification of the signals at such a ominous place.

The others must have feared the same, for no one spoke a word. Jake was very pale, and to my surprise, he gripped Linda's hands very tightly. Linda didn't seem to mind, for fear shone upon her features too. We were all too afraid to explore further, what if it confirmed our worst fears?

"We cannot stand here for eternity. We need to explore further and confirm for ourselves, I... I know it's difficult but we have to be brave. What has happened can't be altered now." Sofosys said firmly, but his voice shook nevertheless.

I nodded, my throat suddenly very dry and something twisted in my stomach. My limbs felt flaccid, as I forced myself to walk further.

We were close to the signal now, Linda's phone vibrating with great intensity to imply that we have reached our spot. Yet, there was no one here. We were in the middle of the Elementary School playground, and it was completely empty. The night breeze whistled along the way, rustling the well trimmed shrubs. The signals were coming from the direction of the shrubs.

My knees gave way and I fell to the ground, suddenly paraplegic. Jake caught hold of my shoulders, tears shone in his eyes and he fought hard to keep them at bay. Sofosys stood like a stone, then with a firm resolve, he approached the bushes. I closed my eyes.

"What..what is it?" Linda whispered, her voice resembling that of a ghost.

Sofosys didn't budge. Then, he faced us, relief flooding his features as he held a single tiny object in his arms, swinging it above his head to reassure us.

I squinted, trying to make out the object.

It was Michael's mobile phone.

"He's not here. He must have dropped his phone in the course of his flight." Sofosys confirmed.