It took a few minutes for Anna to calm down; thankfully, she seemed to realize staying here wasn't safe, and she was quite exceptional at stopping her tears from the first time I'd seen her. Still sniffling, she looked around the room.

I followed her gaze, both of us stopping at the now direct connection this room had to the outside.

"So... you threw someone out of the window," said Anna.

"Well, would you believe me if I said he slipped on his own?"

"Not really, nope."

"Didn't think so. That's what happened though." With a soft smile, I pointed at the other brother next. "And that guy just dove into a knife right there."

Anna looked at me as if she didn't know whether she was supposed to find me funny or serious. I could only shrug, too; what else was I supposed to say here?

We both stepped back, and I helped Anna stand up. Once I was sure she was alright enough to stand, I got to work.

I walked to James, who was still out of it, and checked his pocket. The keys and wallet in his pockets were just what I was looking for.

Now equipped with what I needed, it was time to rummage through the office.

"Safe... safe..."

Anna observed me with widened eyes as I tried every hiding spot in this room. Finally, behind a painting, I found a giant hidden safe. The keys went right in; it also needed biometrics, so there was a need to borrow the fallen guy's thumb.

"Abel, what are you doing?"

"Why is this fucker heavy... Ah? Can't you see?" The thumb went on the biometric scanner, and the safe opened with a small click. My smile widened as the thick wads of cash and the rows of gold jewelry inside shone brightly. A couple hundred thousand dollars, just what I would expect from someone like them.

Anna peered over my shoulder, her eyes widened.

"Are you robbing them?" she asked. I grabbed just two bundles and put them in my bag, leaving the rest behind.

"Just taking a small cut."

Anna suddenly grabbed my sleeves. "T-there are more people here," she said.

I was about to smirk and tell her about all the lackeys that were probably down on the ground but then realized she was talking about others. The rest of the people who were also captured like her.

"We... won't be helping them."

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"Right..." Anna lowered her gaze. "Right, we should leave."

Practical. I liked that.

"Yes, and the police will need something to arrest these guys and hold them in for a long time," I tapped the safe, the rest of the money still inside. "And this money will go to the right people as well, minus another small cut for the cop."

"Huh? You mean...?"

"Yes, they'll be here any moment." A contact in the police force was the best thing one could have, especially for days like these. "I am sorry, but that's all I can do for these people..."

My eyes fell on James again. He was still limp.

Actually...

"Maybe there's something else..."

***

The heavy steel doors that kept the light out slowly cracked open. All the people, teenagers and young adults who had completely succumbed to the asphyxiating pressure of the dark, found their gaze turning up.

Just like always, they thought one of them would be dragged out again. And when they came back, they would go through things no one would talk about, with wounds on their bodies that no one would try to bandage, since they all would know that the wounds their minds suffered were far worse.

Just like always, they thought.

But instead of dragging anyone out, the person who always came to drag them was suddenly dropped in the gate.

His hands tied, his feet bound, tongue gagged, and eyes full of fear.

"MMM!" He tried to scream. "MMMMMM!!"

Light had crept into the dark place that held them captive. It was a fleeting light; the door closed again.

Now the person dragging them out was inside as well. He would have no choice but to see the darkness enveloping all of them.

***

A breeze blew my now-loosened hair back as we drove through the night streets. Anna put the helmet on, and we started going off. Her hands were tightly wrapped around my back.

At one point, we passed a fleet of police cars.

Her hands around my back would tighten at times, and sometimes it seemed as if she was shaking again. The way back to my place wasn't so long, but I knew the girl sitting behind me had lost everything, including her family.

There was no need to rush back. I drove through the streets, almost aimlessly. We crossed the beach, the abandoned roads, some of the local monuments as well before going in circles again.

"Where do I go now?" she asked.

I thought for a few seconds. I knew exactly how many layers were under that single question.

But for now, perhaps, there was a need to address just one.

"I have an extra room. As long as you don't enter mine, I won't mind having you for a while."

Anna pressed closer to my back.

She didn't say anything, but I had a feeling she nodded against my back.

I drove back. The stars and the streetlights seemed to merge from the sheer tiredness in both our bodies. When I parked the bike, when we got on the lift and entered my apartment, it was all a blur we both couldn't remember.

All I knew was that she fell asleep in the room I was about to show her in no time.

I watched her sleep for a bit.

***

Click.

The retractable pen in my hands clicked.

Papers crumpled, and pins and threads strutted about when my feet fell on them. Shirtless, I walked across my room and turned to the wall facing my bed.

"Ah..."

Click.

Right. I also had to do this. With the pen in hand, I walked to the photo at the very corner of the wall.

[Nick] It read, a picture of a man I had taken when he was walking around. Unfortunately, no one would recognize him anymore even if they saw this photo.

Click.

With the pen, I made a large cross on his face. My eyes almost naturally traced the red thread connecting him to the other pictures on the wall.

And as always, my lips pursed when the thread ended abruptly, leaving just a blank all the way to the center.

Click.

The center where the photo of the three people who lived here once still remained, remained for the last four years, all alone on that wall.

"I won't rest," I muttered to myself.

"Not until I get my revenge."

Click.

Click.

Click.