Chapter 11

Christmas in Hell – Part 1

Alex slipped past the robot guard dogs effortlessly. Finding a good position to aim the watch at them in the dark, without making a sound, was challenging, but not impossibly so.

An impatient person would have definitely goofed it up. But not him.

He’d had the best martial arts teacher in the world, after all.

I wonder what he’d think of all this.

I bet he would team up with Clark and train a new generation of martial artists who could take down any demon you throw at them.

Alex chuckled thinking how much Ojii-san resembled Master Roshi from Dragon Ball.

Well, in only a handful of ways.

Maybe only a couple.

It was past dawn when he was finally inside the city and past the military blockade, thanks to Clark’s foresight.

He thought about where to go next. He had no idea where they’d taken Kenny.

The sky was grey despite the sun being out. And it was far too cold still.

Decembers in Sol City had always been cold, but not as much as in some other cities farther north. But now, it felt like the coldest December in decades. And it had only gotten so unusually cold after the attack. Perhaps the red lightning had messed up the weather somehow.

He was still in the north part of the city. Lucy had told them that the northern and western parts were much less affected than the south and the east. Areas that were closer to the city center, in all directions, had seen the worst of it.

The demons were hiding underground and Lucy wasn’t sure why. They were making their presence known here and there, like the crocodile-demon that swallowed the goon who was after them. But Alex could never guess why they hadn’t come out already.

Maybe they were weak to the sun? Maybe they needed the sky to be darker before they could be out?

If that were true, every night would simply be a horror movie.

Who knew what was going on? It was all guesswork at this point.

Hopefully Clark was already working on some theory.

He hoped they had taken it well. They couldn’t be too bummed out about him leaving, could they? They hardly knew him. But still…

So they were like superheroes now, huh? He wondered what kind of powers they’d end up manifesting. And how.

Clark must know more. He’ll share it with them. He’ll guide them well.

Would their powers have any synergy? Genetics was apparently important, so would the fact that Lucy and Aiden are related affect their powers somehow?

Will their abilities form stronger combos with each other? If so, what would that look like?

Stop it, Alex. If you cared about all this so much, why’d you leave?

Well… It’s not because he didn’t care…

He swore off this. It was stuff like this that had gotten him in trouble so many times in the past.

Trying to play the hero.

It was precisely him trying to play the hero that had gotten him ki—

Alex shook his head and slapped his cheeks. He couldn’t afford getting distracted now. He must focus on the mission at hand: Finding Kenny and getting him out of here.

Where will he look for him though? Had they taken him out of the city?

If so, he might be out of reach. But at least he’d be safe.

The only person who’d know anything about this has to be Dan.

Alex took the radio transmitter out of his backpack and clicked on it. The red indicator light remained dead.

Dammit. It must be out of juice.

Where would he find power to charge it? There was no electricity anywhere in the city.

Alex examined it closely. It did have slots for AAA batteries, but they were empty.

Perfect. He should have some batteries lying around his house, which was near the coast on the west side anyway. There was little chance that his apartment building was leveled in the attack.

Alex took a hopeful breath. Let’s go check.

Lucy had said the damage to this part of the city was limited, but it wasn’t nothing. Random bits of concrete still littered the streets. The fires that he saw from up above earlier, he could now see up close. People of all ages, from all walks of life, were now living on the streets, homeless.

Many of them must be tourists who must have come here for Founding Day and gotten stuck. And, of course, not many people who resided in Sol City with homes still intact would provide shelter to strangers, especially during times like this.

Alex walked as inconspicuously as he could. Lucy had told them about the gangs too. He didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention.

He took a turn into a small alley. It’d be better to avoid the main streets for now, and he knew a short cut from here anyway.

He was about to exit the alley, but then—

Thud!

Something fast turned into the alley and ran into him. Fast and strong…

And blonde.

The force with which the woman crashed into Alex knocked them both off balance and they almost dropped to the ground.

Alex reflexively clung to the wall nearby to retain balance. The woman swung past him and cowered behind him.

“Hey!” said Alex, turning to her. “What’s going on?”

“What are you doing here?!” she said, appalled. She had an accent that Alex just couldn’t place. “Please,” she continued in a shaking voice, an almost instantaneous switch from confidence to cowardice. “They’re coming to get me!”

To Alex, for some inexplicable reason, she didn’t sound sincere.

He turned around once again to see who or what she was running away from, but as soon as he did, something rock hard landed into his stomach with brutal force.

A punch.

Alex bent forward, clutching his belly. Damn that hurt!

What the hell was going on?

“So you must be the boyfriend, then?” came an unfamiliar, hostile, male voice.

“Don’t hurt him, please!” the woman cried. “I don’t know him.”

What the hell? thought Alex. Why was she protecting him?

Wasn’t she the one running away from them just now? Wasn’t she the one in need of protection?

Alex recovered from the hit quickly enough. It wasn’t the first time he’d been punched in the gut; and it was nowhere near the hardest one he’d taken.

She inched away from him as two more guys surrounded him, preparing to strike from all sides.

Three assholes chasing after a helpless woman.

Well, this shouldn’t be too uncommon now, given the total collapse of law and order.

Alex sighed. Even in times so desperate, when people should come together and help each other survive, some would always choose to act like beasts.

Today of all days, he was so not in the mood for flashbacks from eight years ago.

“Just let him go,” the woman pleaded again. “Please!”

What was up with this woman? Wasn’t she at all worried for her own safety? She should be accepting any help she could get.

Or just… keep running while they were focused on Alex.

Wait a second here. Was this all just an elaborate trap? Were all four of them about to rob him?

“Hey guy,” said the woman in her shaky voice. “Why don’t you run away, huh?”

Why don’t you? thought Alex.

Alex let out a cough and straightened up.

The guy on his left immediately tried to jab his knee into the spot on Alex’s stomach where he was just hit, but then—

Alex blocked it with his palm. While his block was still connected, he grabbed the guy’s muscle above his knee and squeezed.

The guy screamed in pain and backed off on one foot, ultimately losing balance and falling flat on his bottom, wailing.

“Look guys,” said Alex. “I swore off violence a long time ago. But I’m not going to simply roll over when chumps like you come at me, thinking they’re hot shit.”

“Tough guy, huh?” said the first guy smirking. “Let’s see how tough you are now!”

He took a swing at Alex, which was so slow, Alex could grab his fist in his sleep.

However, just in time, Alex noticed his knuckles gleam in the firelight.

Brass knuckles.

Shit. There was no blocking that attack.

At least not by grabbing his fists.

Alex shoved his right arm forward diagonally while ducking out of the way of the brass-knuckle punch. The side of his arm connected with his opponent’s backhand, deflecting the attack. Alex immediately slid his arm back, grabbed his opponent’s arm, and pushed forward. He added extra power to his shove with expert footwork and his other arm pushing at his opponent’s waist.

Alex pinned him against the wall and punched his liver with his left hand. The guy’s body loosened up. Alex grabbed the opponent’s knuckled fist with his left hand again and squeezed, which caused the guy to scream in pain just like the last one had.

Then, Alex swung his opponent’s right arm over his head and to the other side, leaving his face completely open. He then delivered a knockout punch to the face with his right fist.

The guy collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

“You sure about that?” asked Alex, nodding at the third guy’s hands, who had so far been a mere spectator. He dropped the iron rod he was holding and bolted out the alley.

“Wow,” said the woman, impressed. “You didn’t tell me you were a warrior!”

Alex thought that was an odd choice of words. “Lady, we just met.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, dusting at her blue denim dress with both hands, which ended well above her knee, leaving most of her legs exposed to the harsh cold. Alex noticed that the straps of her dress were as thin as a thread, leaving her shoulders exposed too.

Wasn’t she freezing?

Why would she choose to wear something like this in this weather? Most people in Sol City around this time of the year would be fully-covered at least, if not wearing two layers of clothing. Or carry a thick jacket, like he was.

At least she had a thin scarf wrapped around her neck. Guess that helped somewhat.

She held her hand out to Alex. “I’m Kairin Fr-Umber.”

“Frumber?” Alex had never heard a name like that before.

“Umber,” she corrected after clearing her throat. “Kairin Umber.”

“Alex Hunter,” he said, extending his hand to shake hers. However, she began shaking hers as soon as their fingertips met.

Was she just… too awkward?

Her hair was blonde, but of a shade Alex had never seen before. It could pass as white. She had an oval face with sharp features and bright blue eyes. Her skin was ice white and, for some reason, it felt like she had freeze-breath.

Something about her was just so weird.

“You broke my fucking leg!” screamed the goon rolling on the ground, clutching his knee in pain. “You’ve paralyzed me for life!”

“Shup up!” said Alex.

“Or he’ll break the other one too!” Kairin yelled at him, smiling maniacally.

Alex almost chuckled. “Aren’t you cold?” he asked her. “Where’s your jacket?”

“Right here,” she said pointing to her scarf.

Alex raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t look enough.”

“Oh,” she said with a small giggle. “You mean like your overcoat. Yeah, um, I had one. It just got stolen by those guys. No, wait. I forgot to grab it before I ran. I’m sorry I forget stuff sometimes.”

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“Okay,” said Alex. “Guys like that must be everywhere now,” he said dismissively. “You best be careful.”

He turned to leave, but—

“Wait!” she yelped. “I… um. I’m new here. Can you please show me where may I find some lodging?”

“Lodging? You mean like a hotel?”

“Yes,” she said. “Somewhere to spend the night. I can’t keep sleeping outside, you see. Found out the hard way.” She giggled again, awkwardly. “You must have one of those right?”

“Yes,” said Alex. “Yes, we got hotels. But look around you,” he said waving his arms, “I’m pretty sure they’re all temporarily out of service!”

I swear, there’s something so off about her.

“Okay,” she said, clearly not getting it. “You mean because of the attack?”

“Yes,” said Alex firmly. “Yes, I suppose so.”

“Hmm,” she said. “That’s a problem then, isn’t it?”

“I guess!” said Alex. “But I’m sorry. I’ve got some place to be, so I wish you the best of luck.”

He turned around and walked away, but she followed. “No, wait, please,” she said trotting beside him. “I’m a journalist,” she continued. “I’m covering the attack on this town, and—”

Alex had never heard someone refer to the vastly expansive Sol City as a town.

“—and I’ve only gotten here last night and I’d really like to get some inside scoop.”

“You’re mad,” said Alex. “How can you even think of coming here at a time like this?”

“I’m… passionate about my work.”

“And how did you get through the military blockade?” asked Alex. “It went up barely an hour after the attack.”

“Did I say yesterday? Whoops,” she said. “I meant day before. I got in before the attack and got stuck here. I was staying at a friend’s place, who had an air warmer, so I slipped into something more comfortable.” She said pointing to her dress. “But then the attack happened and we had to run in a hurry so I had no time to change.”

Cool story, thought Alex. But she wasn’t shivering one bit, was she?

And who the hell says air warmer?

“Where’s your friend?” Alex asked.

“Missing since the attack,” she said. Her hopeful tone made her sound less concerned about her missing friend and more concerned about whether Alex bought the story.

“Okay,” he said, least interested in who she was and why she was here. If she wanted to keep her cards close to the chest when dealing with a stranger, that was understandable; smart, even. “That’s unfortunate. But I’m in somewhat of a hurry. I wish there was something I could do, but there isn’t.”

“There is!” she said. “Can you just… walk with me for a while? Just until I’m sure I’m safe from guys like that. I won’t bother you. I’ll observe the state of the city while we walk toward whatever it is you’re walking toward. And I swear I’ll be silent. Please, you look like you can protect me if something goes wrong.”

“And why would I play bodyguard to a total stranger?” asked Alex.

“Well, you just did, didn’t you?” she said with an innocent undertone of celebrating victory.

Alex saw no harm in that. “Fine,” he said and started walking. “Just as long as you don’t pester me with annoying questions.”

“Deal,” she said smiling, and closely followed suit.

“What did you say your name was again?” Alex asked her.

“Kairin,” she said. “Ka-i-rin.” She enunciated each syllable as though explaining to a child.

“Are you…? I don’t know.” Alex thought about how to put it. “Are you part Japanese?”

“No,” she said plainly. “I am not Japanese.”

“It’s just that your name sounds Japanese but you definitely don’t look Japanese, so.”

“I am not Japanese,” she said again, firmly.

“Okay,” said Alex. “It’s fine if you want to keep your true identity a secret, you know. I think that’s smart.”

“I’m not trying to hide anything!” She seemed way too triggered for someone who wasn’t trying to hide anything. “And I’m appalled at the insinuation!”

“I’m sorry,” said Alex simply.

They walked a few meters in silence. Then, not like it was any surprise, Kairin started with her questions. “So you’ve lived here long?”

“Long enough,” said Alex.

“Come on, you can be honest with me!”

“Sure,” said Alex, scoffing at the irony. “Like you have been with me.”

“Fair,” she said. “Okay you can lie about personal details. But what I’m trying to ask is: Has this town always been this way?”

“You asking whether the fires and the people living on the streets and the toppled buildings is normal?”

“Yup,” she said. “Is it?”

“No,” said Alex, cringing with confusion. “No. We… we had a demon attack! You said you were a journalist, didn’t you? Did you somehow miss that news?”

“No, right, of course!” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, I’m not from here.”

“Where are you based?”

“You asking about my home base?”

“No! I mean, yes. I guess. Where are you from?”

She took a second to answer. “I’m from Europe.”

Another lie. Alex wanted to throw his arms into the air but he resisted the temptation.

“Okay,” he simply said and they continued walking.

They walked in silence a little longer. “Where in Europe?” Alex finally asked.

“Iceland,” she said. “It’s too cold there. Thick, white, ice sheets everywhere. That’s why I’m so used to the cold. The cold here doesn’t bother me at all.”

“Right,” said Alex and continued walking in silence.

“So, um,” Kairin began again. “The demon attack… Was it like… Was it out of nowhere or did you guys get any warning beforehand?”

“No warning,” said Alex. “Unless the government had any secret program monitoring extra-terrestrial threats like this. But it’s not like they issued any emergency evacuation messages pre-emptively, so I don’t know.”

She was scribbling it all down in what looked like some touch-screen device the likes of which Alex had never seen before. Maybe it was some weird skin on a miniature iPad.

Did they make iPads of this size? It sure didn’t look like a phone.

“Oo,” she began, having recently thought of something. “Do you have connections with your government? Do you think you can get us in?”

“Absolutely not,” said Alex.

“No as in you have no connections or no as in you won’t get us in?”

“No as in no,” said Alex.

“Got it,” she said, scribbling it down. “Were the demons red or yellow?”

“What?!” asked Alex. “Why would that matter?”

Even Clark didn’t care about the demons’ skin colors.

“It’s just,” she said. “You know. I’ve read that demons can be yellow. Even pink, actually.” She cleared her throat. “So what color did you say they were?”

“They were red,” said Alex. “Glowing red.”

“I see,” she said. Scribble, scribble, scribble. “So, um. Where are we going?”

“I don’t know where we are going,” said Alex. “I am going to see my friend.”

“Where’s your friend?”

“He has to be in one of the three hospitals this side of the city,” he said. And then, it suddenly struck him. “Say, did you see any ambulances looking for patients? I’m sure at least one of the three are active, and the ones on the other side are a no-go anyway.”

Kairin seemed to be listening intently, but Alex had a feeling he wasn’t getting through to her at all.

“Well?” asked Alex. “Did you?”

“Ambulances?” she asked, confused.

Maybe English was her second language and she didn’t know the word because she was from… Iceland.

“Yeah,” said Alex. “You know those big red vehicles with loud sirens on top? Looking for injured people?”

“Yes,” she said. “I saw one of those, yes!”

“Did you see which way it went?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “It kind of took a right from there and then disappeared. I’m sorry that’s all I know.”

“Great,” said Alex. “That could be any of the three.”

“I’m sorry,” she said sincerely.

Alex felt a little guilty for giving her such a hard time. It’s just that… he was a little annoyed with all the secrecy and blatant lying.

Even though he understood why someone would not reveal sensitive information to strangers. Especially in situations like this where shady criminals and scamsters were rampant.

No… It wasn’t that. It wasn’t just that.

“It’s no problem,” said Alex. “I’m sorry I’m a bit grumpy this morning. I was forced to do something I didn’t want to do and I guess it’s made me a little sad.”

Funny, thought Alex. He had never said this part out loud.

So he really didn’t want to leave, huh?

“Oh,” she said. “Who forced you?”

“I did,” said Alex.

“You forced yourself to do something you didn’t want to do? That doesn’t make any sense. Why would you do that?”

Alex remained quiet. “Enough questions.”

“Okay,” she said.

“That’s my—ahem.” Alex coughed. He almost dropped his guard down and revealed to a total stranger where he lived.

Rookie mistake.

“Stay put over there,” he said. “I need to grab something from another friend of mine, okay?”

“Don’t leave me, please,” she begged. “I don’t know anyone here and I’m scared. Please.”

She had been bullshitting Alex this entire time. But right now, with this, Alex could tell she was being honest.

And Alex had been instructed to never take his instincts lightly.

“Please,” she begged again.

“Okay,” said Alex. “Come with me.”

It’s not like he couldn’t take her if she tried anything funny. And if she’s actually someone like a spotter for the mafia who scouts easy houses to rob, then she was wasting her time.

There were no valuables in his apartment anyway, except for his Playstation and TV. It would be a miracle if they were still in working condition.

Moreover, this was probably the last time he was coming back to his apartment anyway. Once he locates what hospital Kenny is in, he would urge him to take an early discharge if he was healthy enough, and then leave Sol City for good.

If he was not healthy enough, then he’d just wait at the hospital until he is.

He punched the code into his digital lock while Kairin stood beside him watching curiously. He covered the code with his other hand, and she didn’t hide her disappointment. She’d had been ogling at every single thing, including the elevator buttons, like a tourist.

When they were finally inside, she hopped straight to the balcony, then through the lobby into his bedroom, and then came back to the living room and disappointingly said, “That’s it?”

“What do you mean that’s it?”

“It’s quite small,” she said. “After the grand entrance through the ascender and everything, I thought it’d be some huge mansion in the sky.”

Alex was more confused than offended. Also, ascender?

“It’s a one bedroom,” said Alex. “It’s quite spacious actually, and it’s inside the city.”

She didn’t seem convinced. “What a mess, though,” she said looking around.

Alex raised an eyebrow at that judgment. “Yeah, well, there was an earthquake, which I’m pretty sure you missed.”

“Right,” she said having barely heard Alex. She was still dreamily looking around with that same fascinated look in her eyes.

His TV had fallen off the hinges, glass cracked but not shattered. Many of his collectibles and figurines were smashed on the ground, which pained him. But then, he now had the excuse to buy new ones.

He tapped the button on his Playstation 5, which fell out. The console seemed to have flown off its glass mantle and crashed landed on the floor. It also had a huge dent in the center indicating that something heavy had landed on top of it, which had probably crushed the components inside.

Alex clenched his fists. The demons will pay for this!

“What’s this?” she said holding his Guts from Berserk figurine which was still intact.

Alex chuckled. Even a demonic earthquake couldn’t break Guts.

“That’s a collectible,” Alex told her. “I’m guessing you don’t read manga, then.”

“Manga?”

“Comic books.”

“Oh,” she said, sounding like she finally got what he was talking about. “I read books.”

Alex wanted to slap his forehead. She was clearly not right in the head.

Wait, that’s it. That explains a lot.

She must be a patient from the psychiatric ward. The locks to her cell must have opened during all the chaos and she must have slipped out.

That explains everything!

He now felt extra bad for being so hard on her earlier.

Alex walked to the bedroom and opened his closet. From there, he took out a pair of old track pants and a thick t-shirt.

“Here.” He tossed the clothes to her. “They’re from when I’d lost a ton of weight after falling sick. They might still be a little oversized for you, but you can fold the ends of the pants and tie the t-shirt around your waist or whatever. Style them however you want.”

“Oh,” she said, flushed from the unexpected kindness from Alex. “Thank you!”

“Do you need a jacket as well?”

“Like yours? No, it’s fine. These will do.”

She was about to put them on over her dress when Alex said, “You can go change in the bedroom. And close the door behind you.” For some strange reason, he thought it was important to remind her of that last part.

“Right,” she said and went in.

She was out in a couple minutes. The clothes fit her well.

A little too well.

She may only be a couple inches shorter than him. But still. That was weird.

“Okay,” said Alex. “I just need to pick up a couple of things, then we’re out. Okay?”

“Right,” she said, beaming. He had no idea what she was so happy about.

But then again, psychiatric patients do be like that sometimes.

He should remember everything she had said and done while she was out, and report it to her handler. Maybe the information would be helpful to them in some way.

Alex found three AAA batteries in a discarded-but-not-really electronics drawer. He noticed that they were out of their packaging, so he checked their ends. They were already browning.

Slim chance of these working. But he had to try.

He punched them into the transmitter and hit the button.

The indicator lamp glowed red. Alex smiled.

But then, it quickly went out.

Dammit.

Okay, whatever. Not a big deal. All he had to do now was check each of the three hospitals that Kenny could be in. In case he ran into Dan along the way, he could ask him directly.

And if he didn’t find Kenny in any of those, that was good news. It probably meant they’d taken him to some hospital outside the city.

Also, while he hunted down the right hospital, he should also ask the staff for the right psych ward to drop Kairin in.

“You ready to go?” he asked her as she played with one of his Batman figurines.

“Is that a sculpture of you in a costume?” she asked innocently.

“Yes,” said Alex. “Yes, it is.”

***

Alex and Kairin were soon out on the streets of Sol City once again.

Alex had a clear path charted out. It avoided all the problem areas that Lucy mentioned and should still allow him to scout all three hospitals as quickly as possible.

But this path only avoided known demon threats. It was entirely possible that he’d be jump scared by a ten-footer in some random dark alley.

The demons underground were not the only problem, however. Random gangs had taken over the streets, gatekeeping certain important areas to extort money and valuables in the name of tolls.

Modern day trolls. He must carefully maneuver around them too.

Which may prove difficult when walking with someone for whom being inconspicuous was impossible.

Kairin walked with a merry skip in her step. She must have noticed a random squirrel somewhere which would have made her day, or month. Alex was sure they didn’t let her out much; perhaps only in the institutional grounds for a few hours a day, and never unattended.

She must be feeling so free.

He made a mental note that once he was near the problem areas he would avoid dark alleyways, not just for his sake, but also for hers.

But this close to the west coast and his house, it was probably fine to take a short cut.

He guided Kairin into a dark narrow alley that should save them ten or so minutes. Once almost at its midpoint, they were ambushed once again.

“Not again!” said Alex as loud as he could. “I thought I was done for the day.”

Three hooded figures emerged from the shadows in front of them.

“It’s time,” said the one in the center who was also the tallest.

Cultist fucks, thought Alex. So even these sick idiots had infested the city.

“I agree,” said Alex. “Time to kick your ass.”

Alex donned a fighting stance. Let them come. He could take them. He could take them all today.

“You’ve been away long enough,” said the figure calmly, unfazed by Alex’s provocation. “It’s time to go home, princess.”

“Who the hell are you calling princess, you bald freak?”

Before it dawned on him, Kairin swooshed past him and stood in front of him like a shield, shoving him back with one arm, similar to how Lucy had sprung to Aiden’s defense.

“Kairin, no!” Alex protested. What was she thinking? She was even crazier than he previously thought! “You get behind me right now!”

“Relax,” she said calmly. Her usual, giggly self was gone, replaced by someone cold and confident. “They’re not here for you. They’re here for me.”

Alex was dumbfounded. What in the world was going on?

“How many rules did you break revealing yourself in front of a commoner, master?” she said to the tallest hooded figure.

“We can take care of him,” the hooded man replied. “There are no witnesses here.”

“You will do no such thing! He’s under my protection!”

“You overestimate your skill.”

“You underestimate your honor!”

Silence fell between them. Cold, deafening silence. Tension so thin it could break out into a full-scale battle any moment.

Between a master and his apprentice, apparently.

Had the entire psych ward slipped out?

“Who the hell are you people?” Alex blurted involuntarily.

Kairin turned her head to look at him and smiled nervously. “I told you, Alex. I’m not from here.”

“I knew it!” said Alex. “Greenland is the one with the thick ice sheets. Iceland is green.”