Neon Lights

25

That had been the last time he heard from Draven. It had been a few days since and while it was quiet, things had been a bit too quiet. Work had been dull with him being relocated to another experiment that he had no passion to work on and Rye no longer was on the same work floor as he was. Then again, he hadn't seen Rave either since that day.

He had suspected his friend would appear in front of his doorsteps, asking to talk to him but he didn't. It was a bit out of character but perhaps... he shouldn't be surprised.

As the night's talk flashed in his mind, he winced at the things he had said to Rave. If he had Rave, he wouldn't want to talk to him either. A familiar feeling of exhaustion threaten to overlap him. As the days stretched on without Luna by his side, the harder it felt to keep going forward.

And the key to finding her still remained with Draven.

With the thought in his head, he grabbed his phone located in his lab coat as he walked down the hallway to the company's emergency stairs. He had a few minutes to spare, far enough from Alia that he could afford to slack off a little. Pushing past the green doors to the echoing halls with narrow stairs, he took in a deep breath and looked through his recent calls.

Draven had given him a card that would apparently keep him safe. But he didn't know what that meant. Draven had also said he would contact him about the next destination they were supposed to go... and he hadn't.

For a brief second, fear bloomed in his chest.

Perhaps the things he had said to Draven had gotten him into another pickle. Maybe his help was no longer on the table.

That thought alone had him curling his fingers into fists. The fear in him threatened to consume his thoughts and any way of finding Luna disappeared right before his eyes. His ego had gotten the best of him, it seemed.

Butterflies fluttered in his stomach and it made him sick.

Maybe he should apologise.

For Luna's sake, all he had to do was just tolerate Draven until she was found. He didn't have to do anything more after that. Plus his only bargaining chip was taken away from him, so what hold did he even have over the other man? Scrubbing a hand down his face, regret took front place of his emotions.

A familiar sound of his phone beeping alerting him of a message echoed in the quiet hallway, startling him out of his thoughts. Glancing at the screen, his heart almost stopped beating at Draven's name on it. Hesitating only for a moment, he flicked his thumb upwards on the screen to reveal the message.

'Meet me at the hotel before, room 309, tonight. Bring the key with you.'

It was a simple message and there was nothing in there to indicate how Draven was feeling at the moment. Still, this... eased his anxiety a little. The help hadn't been gone then. But it couldn't be that simple, could it?

Knowing his luck, nothing ever was.

Swallowing a lump that formed in his throat, he hovered his fingers over the keyboard, wondering if he should reply back. In the end, he couldn't find it in himself to say anything else. He locked his phone and shoved it in his lab coat pockets.

The fear he had felt before vanished. And not for the first time since he had seen Draven again, he thought he was being pulled in by the man again once more, even when he didn't want to.

Just why did it have to be Draven?

A soft sigh escaped his lips as he ran his right hand through his hair. Tonight would be the night he would likely be brought to Dark Alley. If Draven was asking him to bring the key with him, that was the only logical conclusion.

Or... maybe he wanted to take the key back and retract his help.

Callisto closed his eyes shut, trying to damper down the sudden rush of anxiety over that thought.

His brain hated him, he was sure of it.

If Draven did want to take back his help.... Callisto would apologise. He would apologise for the things he said. At this point in time, having an ego wasn't going to help. And as much as he hated that he had to stoop so low, it was for Luna.

If he had to beg... he would do it.

The time after that ticked by so fast. He couldn't prepare himself to meet Draven properly when the sky had turned orange and his work hours were over. His heart was hammering against his chest as he exited his work building, knowing that in just two short hours, he would be seeing eye-to-eye with that man again. And maybe... meet Luna at last too.

As he took a few steps toward where the hotel would be, he stopped himself.

He still a couple of hours. If nothing else, he should most likely put his things away at home and only bring with him what was necessary.

Heading into Dark Alley sounded dangerous and from whatever Draven had told him about it the other day, the less things he had on him, the better. After all, the last time he had casually held out his research notes in the air, that bastard with neon green eyes snatched them from him right under his nose.

At that sour thought, he speed walked to his apartment building, releasing a sigh of relief when he wasn't ambushed by anyone else this time. Draven had only came by twice so far, but that was two times too many for his liking. He would just toss his stuff on his desk, grab the card and get out of his place.

That was the plan anyway.

Except when he entered his apartment, just as he closed his door, a rough grip on his shoulder turned him around harshly, sending his heart skipping a beat. And then an arm pushed him against the door, pressing him by the base of his neck and immobilising him. Staring at him with neon green eyes was the very person who he had wrecked chaos into his world that day.

"You!" Callisto said, fear enveloping him at the narrowed eyes at him, glaring at him.

The grip at the base of his neck tightened as he was pushed further against the door. With a low voice, the man said, "Tell me where the real notes are."

"W-What?"

"Tell me where the notes are if you want to walk out of here alive."

And it clicked right there and then as his body started to ache from how tightly he was being held and how intense the man before him was staring down at him that he was being threatened.

Threatened for notes... notes that he could only deduce were his research notes that this very man holding him hostage stole from him.