Fallen Gods: Abduction

Chapter Twenty

Zakota entered the last room of the upstairs and shoved open the door. Just as he thought, it was empty. Just like the rest of the rooms he'd checked.

He stepped back out into the dull hall and saw Ethan still waiting for him down the hall. He was leaning up against a wall lost in his own thoughts.

He turned to Zakota as he headed back to him. "Not in there either?"

"Of course not," Zakota said angrily. "How can a bar have so many rooms?"

"They're pretty old fashioned here," Ethan explained. "These places were built such a long time ago and have been kept the same for years. It's their custom."

"Okay, I didn't ask for a history lesson." Zakota snapped. "Where the hell are they? What if she's hurt? We've been looking for to long time now."

"Zelita? Hurt? No way," Ethan said confidently. "Not in a one on one dispute, doesn't matter who it is. She wouldn't lose  in a fight against one guy."

"This place is big. What if he led her to a spot where there's extra men?" Zakota said.

Ethan went silent for a few seconds and shook his head. "I love how you look on the bright side." Ethan said sarcastically. He turned to head down the long stairway that would lead back to the bar area.

When they reached the bottom of the steps, they saw that the men were still passed out. Some of them would probably be up soon. It had been a long fifteen minutes since the fight had ended.

Zakota stood in the middle of the bar, not sure where else to look. He heard a rustling sound coming from somewhere behind him.

He thought the bartender was waking up, but it wasn't coming from there. It was down the hall closest to the entrance. He and Ethan rushed over to the hall, both ready to attack if they needed to.

But they relaxed once they saw that it was Paz. He was curled up in a ball at the far corner of the hall. His knees were up to his chest and his head was buried in his lap.

"Hey, brainless!" Zakota shouted and he looked up nervously. "Where's my sister? Have you seen her?"

Paz looked around frantically for a few seconds as Zakota approached him. Then he nodded.

"She's outside... Out back." Paz said quietly.

"How do you know that?" Ethan asked suspiciously. Paz glanced at him and just shrugged.

"I just know..." He said.

"You've been here before," Zakota noted. "Take us out back. This place is too big to be a normal bar. With or without customs." He added shooting a glance at Ethan.

Paz slowly climbed to his feet, legs trembling as if he would fall back down. He stretched his legs one by one. Then he eased pass Zakota, as if afraid he'd get hit by him. But when he crossed Ethan, he was much more relaxed.

"It's this way." He said softly. "She's not alone though."

"Duh, now take us there," Zakota said as he thought of Zelita. Anything could be going on right now. They had no solid proof that she was still alright.

Zakota and Ethan followed Paz as he led them down a hall on the other side of the bar counter. This was the same hall they had already been through. They passed the stairway and headed further down the hall.

"Why would they be outside?" Ethan said out loud.

"That Razor man was trying to escape of course," Zakota answered. "I don't know why I hadn't thought of that. Maybe Zelita caught him and they're fighting. If so, we can lend a hand."

Paz glanced back at him, but Zakota didn't make anything of it. His eyes were always all over the place anyway.

They went through a couple of doors after passing through more halls. Zakota wondered how much farther they'd have to go. But he didn't have to ask as Paz finally reached the back door and pushed it open.

He held the door open for Zakota and Ethan to pass through first. As they pushed pass him and stepped outside, they allowed their eyes to adjust. They felt the strange mix of powers in the air, evidence of some kind of struggle.

Once their eyes adjusted, Zakota was the first to see a vehicle speeding away. He watched it curiously as Ethan stepped up beside him.

"That's from the eastern parts," Ethan said. "What are they doing out here?"

Zakota shook his head and took a look around. He watched Paz cross his path with wide eyes. They were trained on something lying on the ground.

Zakota followed his gaze and saw the man Razor lying in a pool of blood. He had taken quite a beating and a blade was sticking up out of his back.

"Hey, Ethan, looks like Zelita took out this guy." Zakota said with relief. As Ethan turned to check on the guy, Zakota's eyes narrowed. If this man was dead, then where was Zelita?

Paz circled the body very slowly, with a hand over his mouth. He kept his distance from the body as if he thought it could still harm him in some way. Ethan came closer, but just gaped at the body in shock. This probably was his first time ever really seeing a dead body up close. This definitely wasn't the first time for Zakota. But even Zelita wouldn't have guessed that.

Zakota studied the vehicle in the distance as it drove further and further away. There was something strange about it. He got a terrible feeling in his gut just watching it.

What if Zelita was in it? He thought fearfully. What if she's been taken too?

Anything was possible. There had been a lot of unusual things happening of late, so he wouldn't be surprised if she had been taken.

He cursed under his breath and began running. His idea was to try and catch up with the vehicle, but that wasn't possible for him. He could barely catch Paz at one point.

He stopped for a moment and turned to call Ethan. Ethan's speed was much quicker than his own. And he didn't get tired as fast. He started to tell Ethan to head after the vehicle, when something caught his eye.

There was a shack nearby, along with a pick up truck. The front of the shack was bent inward as if caved in from a powerful impact. The door was no longer in its hinges.

Zakota momentarily forgot about the vehicle and headed for the shack. Ethan and Paz still had their attention on Razor's corpse.

As Zakota entered the shack, he stopped in disbelief. His knees trembled as he forced himself to remain standing. Zelita was seated against the wall at the back of the small shack. The wall behind her was cracked as if she'd been thrown into it. Her head was tilted awkwardly to the left and she was covered in cuts and bruises. Her eyes were shut and her jacket was tattered all over.

Zakota gasped and shouted as loud as he could.

"ZELITA!!!!!"