Liam lounged on the bed, his attention focused on the television, where a suspenseful movie played out. Ava, bound to a chair with rough ropes, winced from the pain of the burn on her shoulder. The burn had reddened her skin and left her wincing in pain.

"Put some ointment on that and you’ll be as good as new," Liam said nonchalantly, his eyes never leaving the screen.

Ava remained silent, her mind racing with thoughts of escape. Liam, noticing her lack of response, lifted his hand, admiring the ring that gleamed on his finger.

"Y’know," he mused, "I always wanted one of these. But Ezekiel kept hoarding them for himself.” The ring began to glow faintly, and suddenly, frost crept over his hand, covering it in a thin layer of ice. Liam grinned, his eyes sparkling with pride. "Even if I don’t bring back the cosmic ring, I can bring this one back."

Ava, her voice strained, croaked, "W—Water. I need water."

Liam looked at her, his expression indifferent. "I can’t get you water… I’m in the middle of an interesting movie." He turned his attention back to the screen, more interested in the fictional world before him than her suffering.

Ava’s voice took on a pleading tone. "I won’t be of much use as a hostage if I die of thirst."

Liam groaned, exasperated, and stood up. "Fine. But you better hope Marla doesn’t kill Ron by the time I get back. I want to see that sadistic asshole get what he deserves."

He exited the room, shutting the door behind him. The sound of the lock clicking into place was unmistakable.

As soon as he was gone, Ava began wriggling her wrists, trying to loosen the ropes. She remembered a trick her mother had once shown her, how to loosen ropes by flexing the muscles in her wrists. Slowly, the ropes slowly gave way, inch by inch.

After what felt like an eternity, Ava finally managed to free her hands. She quickly worked to untie the ropes around her ankles, her heart pounding in her chest. Once she was completely free, she scanned the room for anything she could use as a weapon. Her eyes fell on a heavy brass lamp on the nightstand. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. She picked it up, feeling its weight in her hands, and then quietly positioned herself behind the door, her breath coming in shallow gasps as she waited.

The door creaked open, and Liam stepped inside, holding a cup of water. He didn’t notice Ava at first, his attention still on the movie playing behind him. "Alright, I’ve brought the water," he said casually.

Ava didn’t hesitate. She swung the brass lamp at Liam with all her strength. But Liam’s reflexes were quick—he dodged the first swing, the lamp narrowly missing his head. Ava swung again, faster this time, but Liam blocked the blow with his arm. The force of the impact caused the cup of water to slip from his grasp, but he quickly caught it before it hit the floor.

"That was close," Liam said with a grin. "Can’t have you going thirsty, right?"

Ava’s anger flared, and she tried to swing the lamp at him again, but this time Liam caught the lamp mid-swing. The ring on his finger glowed again, and frost spread from his hand onto the lamp, freezing it solid. He twisted his wrist, and the frozen lamp shattered into pieces, falling to the floor with a clatter.

Liam grinned, clearly enjoying the struggle. "I like girls who fight back, really."

Ava, refusing to give up, tried to reach for one of the broken pieces of the lamp, but Liam was faster. He formed an ice shard in his hand and slashed across her arm, the cold biting into her skin as blood welled from the wound. Ava cried out in pain, clutching her arm.

Liam approached her with a smile. "I’m going to overlook this because I have good news."

Ava glared at him, her anger mingled with pain. She attempted to punch Liam, but he easily grabbed her fists, his smile widening.

"The good news," Liam continued, "is Eric is more of a stalker than I thought."

He pulled a tiny tracker from his ring and held it up. Ava’s eyes widened in shock.

"He made sure to monitor your whereabouts," Liam said, his grin widening. "And I’m willing to bet Eric is with Jett right now. So once I crush this tracker, he’ll know you’re in big trouble."

Ava tried to grab the tracker, but Liam punched her, making her spit out a small stream of blood. Then, with a slight squeeze, he crushed the tracker effortlessly between his fingers.

"Now that I know I’ll be having guests soon, I might as well prepare pleasantries," Liam said with a cheerful tone.

Ava, still reeling from the punch, asked through gritted teeth, "What pleasantries?"

Liam smiled as he turned to leave the room. "Oh, you know, just a trap or two. I don’t need them alive after all. I just need their rings." He walked out of the room, leaving Ava alone, bleeding, and in pain. The door closed behind him with a soft click.

***

Jett sat in the backseat, his expression pained as Sheila worked on his shoulder injury. Sheila was carefully applying antiseptic to the wound. The antiseptic stung, making Jett wince, but she continued either way, bandaging the injury with a fresh gauze.

"So, how are we going to get to Ezekiel?" Jett asked, clearly frustrated.

Eric, seated in the driver’s seat, responded curtly, "Through Liam."

Jett frowned. "But we have no idea where Liam is."

Sheila, who was now taping the bandage in place, looked up from her work. "Who is this Liam guy?"

Jett, shifting slightly to ease the discomfort, replied, "Remember when I said I have a crime lord after me?"

Sheila nodded.

"Well, Liam is the lackey to that crime lord," Jett explained.

Sheila’s eyebrows raised. "Sounds dangerous."

Whimsy, seated in the passenger seat next to Eric, chuckled darkly. "Dangerous doesn’t even begin to cover it. Liam’s the type of guy who’d find joy in torturing someone just to see them squirm. He’d probably make his victims play charades while he takes bets on how long they last."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Jett shot a troubled glance at Eric. "That’s why I want to know how we’re gonna find him."

Eric’s eyes were fixed on the road ahead. "He’s with Ava."

Jett’s face turned ashen. "What?"

Eric nodded. "The tracker I had on Ava has been destroyed. No doubt it’s Liam’s doing."

Whimsy’s tone was mocking. "You kept a tracker on a girl? You perv."

Eric chose to ignore Whimsy’s jibe, focusing on Jett. "We need to find Liam to get to Ezekiel."

Jett’s hands clenched into fists. "I thought you said Ava would be safe if she stayed away from me?"

Eric’s expression remained impassive. "I didn’t know that Liam already knew of your relationship with her."

Sheila’s eyes widened. "Relationship?"

Whimsy’s eyes darted between Jett and Sheila. "Wait a sec, is this Ava girl you were looking for when we first met? She’s your girlfriend?"

Jett shook his head vehemently. "No, she’s not my girlfriend. We’re just… friends."

Whimsy blinked twice, a knowing smirk creeping onto their face. "So you do have a crush on her."

Jett’s frustration flared. "It doesn’t matter! If Liam is with Ava, then she’s in trouble."

Whimsy shrugged nonchalantly. "She’ll be fine. Liam won’t kill her… yet."

"Yet?"

Whimsy fiddled with their pink locks. "He’ll probably want to play with her first. That’s the kinda guy he is."

Eric, eyes on the road, added, "Liam is trying to lure us in. Or at least, lure Jett."

Jett’s thoughts drifted to Mick’s death, his fists clenched tightly. "That bastard…"

"So what are we going to do?" Sheila asked, clearly nervous.

Eric’s voice was resolute. "Accept the bait."

Whimsy flashed a grin, adding, "Liam’s throwing us a party, and we’ve got to RSVP."

Sheila raised an eyebrow. "But you know it’s a trap, right?"

"Trap or not, it’s our best bet to get to Ezekiel, and I plan on taking it."

Eric's phone suddenly buzzed with a notification, drawing his attention away from the road. He glanced at the screen, then turned to the others. "We’re close," he announced.

Eric maneuvered the vehicle off the highway and pulled up in front of an imposing hotel. Its tall, shadowy figure loomed against the night sky, the windows dark and uninviting. The hotel's sign, half-illuminated, flickered in the breeze.

Whimsy peered out at the hotel with disappointment. "A hotel? I was expecting an abandoned warehouse or something. Y’know, something more cliché."

Eric studied the hotel, his expression inscrutable. “I didn’t get a choice in the location.”

Jett, looking out the window with a furrowed brow, asked, “Aren’t we going to go in?”

Eric remained silent for a moment, then his ring began to glow with a dull grey light. "There are no guards or security cameras," he said finally. "Not to mention that it’s a hotel. It’s just Liam and possibly Ava inside."

Whimsy shrugged, their pink locks swaying with the motion. "So, it’s like a private hotel more or less."

Eric’s eyes narrowed. "Liam doesn’t strike me as the unprepared type. For him to be this lax with security means he has something else planned."

Whimsy tilted their head and gave a playful smirk. "Maybe you’re overthinking it. If Liam set a trap, just use your technology shtick to disable it or something."

Eric shot Whimsy a cold glare. "I can only disable it if his trap consists of technology, idiot."

With that, Eric exited the car and the others quickly followed suit. Sheila trailed behind, clutching her jacket nervously. Whimsy strolled casually, twirling their pink hair between their fingers, seemingly unbothered. Jett brought up the rear.

As they entered the hotel, the atmosphere shifted dramatically. The once-grand lobby now lay in eerie silence, illuminated only by the pale light of a flickering overhead bulb. The furniture was shrouded in dust, and the air was thick with neglect. They moved deeper into the building.

Eric paused in the middle of the lobby, his sharp eyes catching a glint on the floor. He crouched down, examining the source of the reflection. "Pressure plate," he muttered, his voice low and tense. "Liam’s getting predictable." He deftly disarmed the trap, cutting a wire that led to a hidden explosive device beneath the floorboards. Sheila watched anxiously, her eyes wide as Eric carefully retracted the mechanism.

When Eric stood up and gave a reassuring nod, Sheila let out a sigh of relief. "That was close," she said, her voice trembling slightly.

"Too close," Jett agreed, his gaze darting around the dimly lit lobby. Every instinct told him that something was amiss.

They continued down the hallway, the air growing colder with each step. The wallpaper, once elegant, had peeled away in strips, revealing the bare, rotting plaster beneath. Each creak of the floorboards seemed amplified in the oppressive silence, a constant reminder of the danger lurking within.

Eric moved like a seasoned operative, avoiding and disabling several traps along the way. His concentration was absolute, his face set in a grim expression.

Sheila glanced at the darkened corridors and said, "At this rate, we’ll get to this Liam guy in no time."

Jett, however, was not reassured. "Something’s off."

Eric nodded in agreement. "I agree. Liam isn’t this sloppy."

As they approached the door to the main stairwell at the end of the hallway, Eric’s focus intensified. The door was slightly ajar, and a faint, flickering light seeped through the gap.

Whimsy peered through the opening, a grin spreading across their face. "I guess this is where our prince charming is waiting for us."

Jett’s heart pounded, a sense of foreboding settling heavily in his chest. Every fiber of his being was on high alert. He could feel it in his bones—something was definitely wrong.

Whimsy reached out, their hand just inches from the handle. But Jett suddenly stopped them in their tracks. "Wait, something’s wrong."

Whimsy turned, an eyebrow raised. "Why? You need to take a leak?"

Jett shook his head, his face pale and eyes darting nervously. "No, that’s not it."

"What’s wrong?" Sheila asked, concerned.

Jett swallowed hard. "I don’t know… but it’s like we’re walking into something."

"Yeah, we’re about to walk into this room," Whimsy replied sarcastically.

Eric took a deep breath and stepped back. He gestured for everyone to keep clear of the door. Reaching for a piece of debris on the floor, he carefully tossed it through the gap. The door swung open violently, and a hidden shotgun rigged to fire at anyone who entered erupted in a deafening blast.

The sound of the gunshot reverberated through the hallway, sending splinters of wood and shards of metal flying in all directions. The group had kept their distance, but Sheila’s reaction was a sharp gasp followed by a small shriek. Her heart raced as she exclaimed, “T—That was close.”

Despite the close call, Jett’s unease persisted. "I still feel—"

Before he could finish, the floor beneath them gave way with a sudden, violent jolt. Eric’s eyes widened in horror as he realized they had been standing on a concealed platform. It was Liam’s ultimate gambit—a well-planned distraction leading to the real danger.

The platform collapsed, and the group plummeted into a hidden pit below. The drop was unforgiving, and they hit the ground with a bone-jarring impact. The pit was a treacherous jumble of metal shards, broken furniture, and scattered debris. The fall had knocked the wind out of all of them.

Dust and debris swirled in the air, mingling with the sound of groans and pained breaths. Jett’s head spun as he tried to stand, but his legs buckled beneath him. He lay on the ground, struggling to regain his bearings.

Sheila was unconscious, her body crumpled in a heap. Her breathing was shallow and uneven. Whimsy moaned in pain, clutching a deep gash on their side. The wound bled freely, and they winced with every movement. Eric, though battered, was still conscious. He attempted to move but quickly discovered his leg was pinned under a heavy beam. He gritted his teeth against the pain.

Eric’s mind remained sharp. "Everyone alive?" he managed to call out through clenched teeth.

Jett, struggling to push himself up, coughed, his voice strained. "I think so."

Whimsy, their face contorted in pain, tried to move but winced as the gash on their side throbbed. "I’ll be fine as soon as my stupid ring kicks in and starts doing it’s job," they replied.

Suddenly, a faint hissing sound echoed through the pit. Eric’s sharp ears caught it first. "Do you hear that?" he asked, straining against the beam.

Whimsy, still clutching their side, sniffed the air. "Oh great, gas. Liam this isn’t original you know?" They coughed, their eyelids already drooping.

Jett looked up, realizing the room was filling with a thin, sickly-sweet vapor. "We need to get out of here now!"

But it was too late. The gas was thickening, quickly overwhelming their senses. Sheila’s shallow breathing slowed even further as she slipped deeper into unconsciousness. Eric fought to stay awake, his hands struggling to push the beam, but he soon fell unconscious. Whimsy was next.

Jett’s vision blurred and he tried to quickly teleport but his legs gave out beneath him and world around him went black.