Night Phoenix

Chapter 1

"I'm asking you to find out who he is, Chandler. There isn't, like, any source about it? At all?" The guy blinked and stared at the computer screen of the other guy sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Good Lord, Xylon, I am trying. Chill out." His friend, Chandler, side eyed him and then looked back at the laptop.

"Why are you calling it a guy? Who says the person running around in a mask at night can't be a woman?" Xylon's sister, Echo, leaned forward from her chair beside Chandler.

"She's got you there." Chandler looked over and smirked softly at Xylon, earning himself a smack on the forehead. "Ow!" He yelped softly, gently rubbing the spot with his hand.

"I never said it couldn't be a woman. It's just...it's more likely to...be a..." Xylon's voice trailed off as he saw his sister glaring at him. "I'm gonna stop talking. Anyways, you can't find anything, Chandler?"

"No, I'm telling you, there is nothing here. But do we really want to know anything about what they're doing?" He looked towards Xylon, his brown eyes soft with slight concern.

"What are you talking about? Of course I want to know why they're running around the small ass town of Oak Ridge, Tennessee at night in a mask and cape." Xylon murmured back to him, blinking in confusion.

"Well, I mean, this person starts running around at night, makes the news, and now people around here are starting to go missing and end up murdered? Isn't it too much of a coincidence?" Chandler gave a tense shrug before he turned his head back to the computer screen.

Xylon blinked and paused for a moment before speaking again.

"Yeah, that's true." He reached over and took the mouse from Chandler's hand, starting to work the computer himself. "But I still want to know. I'm nosy."

"Xylon Phoenix!" Chandler snatched the mouse back and side eyed him, causing Echo to give a soft snicker. "If you keep touching my shit I'll give you a scar across your other eye." He muttered, not taking his gaze from the screen.

        Xylon scoffed and glared. He had a scar on his face that stretched from his lower forehead, down through his right eye, to the corner of his mouth. His father had given it to him with a knife when he was younger. Then his father had left him, his sister, and his sick mother to fend for themselves. Their mother didn't make it.

        "That's awfully rude." He said, giving Chandler a sharp shove on his shoulder. "I can kick you out of this house right now, you know? You're the guest."

        Chandler scoffed and stood up, closing the computer and then sliding it into the soft padded case that carried it.  "I would prefer it. You guys are boring." He muttered with a teasing smirk.

        "Hey, I'm not!" Echo put a hand on her chest, pretending to be offended by his comment.

        "If we're so boring, let's go do something. What do you think?" Xylon reached forward and gave Chandler's chest a soft shove, smirking as he stumbled. Regaining his balance, Chandler looked up at him and Echo before he shrugged.

        "If you're up to it." His eyes lit up suddenly and he smiled. "They built a new bar in town. We should go check it out." Looking over his shoulder, Chandler reached into the small container on the edge of Xylon and Echo's kitchen counter. He took the keys to Xylon's car and tried to walk past. "Let's go, c'mon!"

        "Uh-?" Xylon moved back and to the side in order to get in front of him. Chandler's shoes screeched softly on the floor as he reared back in order to not collide with his friend. "We are not going to the bar. I was thinking more like go on a walk-"

"Yes we are going to the bar! Chandler's right, it'll be fun." Echo walked forward and grabbed Xylon's wrist, tugging him away from Chandler and over to the garage. Stumbling, Xylon gave a soft groan of annoyance but he didn't protest anymore. Letting himself be tugged over to the car, he reluctantly opened the passenger seat of his car and got inside.

Chandler then got in the drivers seat and Echo in the back. Xylon glanced at his friend, cocking his head to the side before looking ahead again. The car started up and pulled out of the garage as it creaked loudly and opened upwards.

        "Remind me again why you're driving my car?" Xylon asked Chandler, turning his head towards him and narrowing his half-blinded gaze.

        "Because you drive like we have extra lives." Chandler responded with a content smile, turning the corner to go out of the small neighborhood. Xylon opened his mouth to protest but decided to shut it. Chandler was right. He tilted his head back against the seat and closed his eyes.

        "Oh, damn! Look at that!" Echo's voice made him jump and he opened his eyes, looking over to the side and out the window. Chandler also slowed down the car in order to get a look. Two police cruisers were parked off the side of the road along with an ambulance. Someone was being carried in a stretcher while other cops were clearly writing something down. The grass was stained red. Someone else had been killed.

        Chandler scoffed and shook his head gently before speeding up the car again.

        "It's that person in the mask, I'm telling you. They need to get more cops on that bastard." He sighed and took one hand off the steering wheel to move his brown curls of hair from his eyes.

        "Maybe..." Xylon shrugged. He knew Chandler was most likely right, but something inside of him just nagged at him and told him that the masked person wasn't the killer. The cops never caught them at a crime scene. Nor have the cops found any evidence against them. Who's to say they did anything wrong?

        Chandler kept driving just until the edge of their small town. Then he parked in front of a building. Xylon could very much hear the loud music radiating from inside. He sighed, not wanting to go in and interact with the annoying bartenders or people who were partying. But he opened the door to the car and got out anyways.

Chandler opened the door and walked inside, Echo following quickly after him. She looked very excited. She always loved to be out and doing something. Xylon smiled gently to himself and then followed shortly behind. As the door closed behind him, his one seeing eye adjusted to the darker lighting of the bar.

His friend and his sister sat down at the main counter. Xylon made his way over to them, about to sit on the other side of Echo. Suddenly, a woman cut him off and sat down in the seat before he could. Normally, Xylon wouldn't have cared and would have just gone to sit on the other side of Chandler instead. But he was already not wanting to be here, and this woman's attitude pissed him off.

Who the hell does she think she is? He thought angrily, staring at her for a moment in silence.

"Excuse me, asshole. You cut me off." He hissed to her, tensed with annoyance. Chandler and Echo glanced over their shoulders in confusion at his sudden angry tone before their gazes quickly darted to the woman as well.

She then calmly and slowly turned around in the chair and eyed him, raising an eyebrow as if she was daring him to speak to her again. She held the eye contact so strongly than Xylon almost regretted taking it up with her. It was just a chair after all. He took a step back to try and walk away but he bumped into someone else.

"Whoops! My bad." A soft female voice spoke and a girl moved over, smiling nervously. "Sorry." She gave a soft laugh and looked at him, cocking her head.

Xylon glared at her but immediately felt his gaze soften as they locked eyes. She seemed sweet and sincere. Unlike the woman who stole his chair.

"Oh...it's alright. Don't worry about it." He forced a small awkward smile, well aware the first woman was still staring at him with the same annoyed glare.

The girl smiled again at him and gave him a nod before she paused. Then she stuck out her hand and spoke.

"Hi, I'm Bee Cyprus."