Wicked Ones {bxb}

{Chapter 49 : Ethereal - Part 1}

Invisibility truly had its perks, April realized as she patted down the three comatose bodies, sprawled out unsightly before her. They had been easy to take out, surrounding the door with their idle chitchat, paying no mind to anything but candid conversation. One zap each from those neat little tasers of theirs and the chumps were done for.

In every movie or book she'd seen and read, most places like this needed key cards. It took her a moment of scavenging but finally she came across a card, hanging from a lanyard on one of the necks of the men. Pocketing it, April slinked inside of the building.

She had to find out where the security was. That's how the plan had gone. But even with Arlo's directions, the building was so large she didn't know where to start. She'd found herself in a labyrinth of hallways, and instantly she lost her general sense of direction. But beneath her feet, she could see through the crating of the metal panels. She watched the world shift far, far below her.

Ground level was a second floor, there was another just below. Up. Arlo had said to go up. So did that make it the third floor she was supposed to be searching on? She threw her head back in frustration, adhering to the wall as she followed the rounded bend of the hallway.

She passed by rooms that looked much like small offices, a kitchen where cooks were readying meals and an empty break lounge. Then there was one room she passed in particular that smelled of something strange, but an intuition simmering in April's gut told her to stay far, far away.

Eventually, she located a set of stairs and hustled up them, careful to veer out of the way of a passing nurse. It was difficult to tell when her abilities would die off—when she'd become palpable again. But those who passed her by saw nothing at all—they stared ahead, unsighted by her presence.

Just as the second floor had, the railings on this story stretched on for ages. It seemed the building itself was a cylindrical shape, though you wouldn't know it from the outside. She passed by room after room, hugging tight to the metal balustrades.

It was after she'd passed a set of bathrooms that her ears perked to the sound of a laughing track. It was television, surely—a sitcom playing from one of the rooms. She followed the sound, and at the sight of a door branded "security", April was effervescing with excitement. She'd done it! She hadn't gotten caught, either. There was just one more task at hand.

She waited patiently until the door had been thrown open, and a man dressed in black wandered out, then she slipped inside before it could seal closed again.

There were several large televisions in the room, each flickering to a different camera every few seconds—and then the one that played a popular evening sitcom. Thankfully, it was so repulsively loud that not a scuffle of her feet could be heard. Two men sat, glued to the sitcom like the other monitors were non-existant.

She waited silently in the corner of the room until the younger guard rose from his seat.

"Where are you going?" the older one asked.

"I gotta take a piss."

As he walked closed to April, she took to a crouch. Precision was always her game and she watched fixedly, calculating each smooth bob of his stride. The second he had strolled right into her clutches, she swung her body sideways and sent a leg flying for his skull. The back of his head bashed against the sole of her boot and he teetered back, catching himself on the exit door. As he looked about, blinking in a daze, April swung her fist. A clap sounded as her fist met his cheek with an upward strike, then another as his head met the wall beside it. The guard slumped to the floor and crumpled forward like the bones had gone limp in his body.