E Is For Enemy

Chapter Twenty Seven

take a shot everytime i say wall

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Asano's P.O.V.

The hallway got darker and colder the farther back I went. I wrapped my arms around myself to keep from shivering. As cold and ominous as it was, it was a good sign. The fake construction facade had faded a few yards ago, and now the hallway was bare and dimly lit by the dying sunlight slanting in from the windows.

Apparently they had figured no one would get this far and they didn't have to keep up the act.

After a few more feet, the windows stopped and it was pitch black.

I pulled out my phone and unlocked it with shaky fingers.

Turning on the flashlight, I scanned it around the room.

The walls were bare, and the hallway finished in a dead end.

I placed my hand against the smooth white walls, trying to feel for a secret door or something, but nothing stood out.

I started to panic. What if I was wrong? What if Karma was miles away by now? What if I was too late?

No, I told myself sternly, you're not allowed to start thinking like that. Don't go down that road. Karma wouldn't give up on you, so don't give up on him. 

But after a few more minutes of searching, the walls still didn't bear their secrets to me, and I was stuck.

I walked back a few feet, studying the ceiling, floors, walls and windows for any type of clue.

Nothing.

I bit my lip in frustration. I hated not knowing the answer. Gakushuu Asano always knew the fucking answer.

Fuck it. When in doubt, do what Karma would do.

I punched the wall.

I gasped in shock when my fist pierced right through the solid drywall.

But it wasn't solid drywall. It was a thin piece of something masquerading as a fully constructed wall.

The wall, which was maybe half an inch thick, slumped and fell forward a few inches.

It took me a few moments to realize it wasn't a real wall. It was just something the workers had put up to cover up the real wall behind it. 

A small smiled tugged at my lips. 

Now we were finally making progress.

-

It didn't take long to tear the rest of the fake wall down, once the hole had been punched it basically fell off on its own.

Soon I was standing before a crudely built brick wall. It looked like they had no time to construct it properly and just threw some bricks together with glue and hoped it would stay, then covered it up. Obviously they were short on time for construction, which meant whatever was going on behind this wall had suddenly picked up the pace, which meant Karma was in more danger than I thought.

And since I couldn't remember what had happened to me, I could only imagine what they were doing to him.

There was also a door built into the brick, which was out of place and so absurdly abnormal that I just stared at it for a moment.

Reaching out, I tried the knob, but it was locked.

"Of course," I muttered. Because hiding this door behind a fake wall in a fake hallway wasn't enough.

I couldn't kick it open either, it was too sturdy, and after attempting to pick the lock with a paperclip and failing, my only option was to find the key.

I was frustrated again- I had no idea where one could be, except for in the hands of someone who worked for Creation Enterprises, and the only person who I knew was an old employee was locked up in a maximum security prison with no way to even talk to him.

"Fuck," I gripped my hair in my fists, desperately trying to think.

Wait, my father should have a key, right? Since this was all his idea, I assumed he probably had one stashed in his office somewhere.

I didn't want to leave the door when I knew it was the closest to Karma I could get, but I knew I had to if I wanted to save him.

I ran back down the hallway, swatting the tarp out of my way with a loud smack as I raced through it.

Hopefully my father had left for the day already and I could search his office freely.

I slowed as I neared his door, and paused outside to listen.

It was quiet.

I punched in the code into the locking device that was next to the door, and the door slowly opened inward.

It was empty.

I shut the door behind me and it automatically locked again.

I sighed as I surveyed the room. There weren't that many places to search, since the room was so bare. There was only his desk, the drawers underneath it and a bookshelf.

I decided to start with the bookshelf, and immediately started ripping books out and shoving papers aside.

No keys fell out, and I huffed.

Turning my attention to the desk, I quickly grabbed my fathers notepad and scribbled a quick memo for him.

EXPEL REN IMMEDIATELY 

Throwing down the pen, I scavenged my fathers desk, tossing his papers aside and purposely making more of a mess than I normally would have, but considering all the terrible things my father has done, he deserved this.

And once I got my Karma, he would get his karma.

-

The key wasn't here.

I sat down in his desk, biting back tears at my bitter defeat. 

If he had the key on him somewhere, I would never get it.

I thought about his office at home, but that was five times bigger than this place and way more crowded with places to look. Even if it was there, it would take me ages to find it, and Karma didn't have that kind of time.

After a few minutes of deep thought, I stood up and brushed off my clothes.

I didn't care if it was late, I didn't care if I was not authorized, I didn't even care if they were going to shoot me on arrival; I was going to speak to Markus K Emri if it killed me.