Venom

056

The Abyss's building had always been dark and scary. It was like a huge obsidian monalith, breaking through the sky and disappearing above all else. To some people, it represented hell itself. Indeed, Derek wasn't any less dangerous than Satan. Just a little more... hornless.

The three partners stood in front of its glass doors, security men studying them very carefully. Visibly, they had two guns each, but they surely had a couple more hidden somewhere.

Holding their stance, the guards asked, "Who are you?" It was kind of creepy how they spoke simultaneously.

Helen replied, "We're here to see Derek. He has something of mine." Her voice was like sharp shards of glass.

Both guards brought their fingers to their left ears, listening to someone speaking to them through an earpiece. Then, they moved. "You'll be taken to the basement by our colleagues. Please, step inside."

Following their request, the three walked through the doors, hit by the warm air of the building. In the main hall, two other men and two women waited for them with their guns out, but not raised.

The two men and one woman walked up to them, while the other woman kept an eye on the situation. Quickly, a box was filled with the weapons that had been on their bodies. Helen had however been able to keep the knife hidden in her hair, small but sharp. It'd do.

"Follow us," the woman said, and everyone started moving, the two men behind and the women in the front.

They stepped into the elevator, but instead of going up, they started descending. "Where are you taking us?" Helen asked, her muscles flexed and her anger ready to snap.

"The basement, of course."

"Why?" Isaac asked, furrowing his dark brows.

The woman who'd spoken quirked her lips to the side. "Because that's where the torture happens."

Helen gritted her teeth and started taking a step forward when a warm hand wrapped around her wrist. She turned her head and saw Mickey shaking his. Reluctant, she stilled, digging her fingernails in her hands.

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. They stepped outside, into the humid
and smelly basement of the skyscraper. The walls were cracked and old, some water pooled on the floor and fell from the rotting ceiling.

Mickey might have gagged, while Isaac sarcastically said, "Cozy." Helen looked forward, her mind focused on Dean only. If they'd hurt him...

"He's in there."

One of the men pointed at a metal door. He walked up to it and opened it. As soon as the light washed in, they all saw what lay in there— or who. They ran inside, Helen falling to her knees next to Dean's limp body, eyes already blurry.

The second they all were in, the metal door made a rough sound and then a hard click. Isaac swore and stood up, banging on the door. "This is in literally every movie. How did we fall for it," he muttered, kicking the door.

Helen ignored him and Mickey, pressing two fingers on Dean's neck, searching for a heartbeat. She found a very, very weak one. The room was almost pitch black, only a little air conductor — sealed to the wall — allowed some light in.

"Fuck. How bad is it?" Mickey asked, crouching down next to her.

"Bad," she simply said, her voice startled. His face was covered in blood, a deep cut along his right cheekbone and one on his left eyebrow. His bottom lip was slashed, the blood still pouring out. It was all fresh.

Isaac joined them, kneeling on the other side of Dean. He glared at his messed up face. "At least they didn't break his nose," he said, reaching a hand out to make sure his statement was correct.