“So, how’s the surface been lately? You guys still suffering up there? Running away from zombies, and monsters, and all that?”
“Choked to death.”
“Yeah, yeah. And the resources. You guys still struggling getting those too?”
I had no idea why these two were being so friendly with me–asking me these irrelevant questions. I assumed it was ‘cause the space was so tight in this elevator, that the tension between us three was practically physical. Jason’s physique was so large, he barely fit inside the elevator and I was forced to lean on the wall while his muscular arms pressed against my face and chest.
“Not gonna respond?” The man fiddled with the strands of hair on his chin. “Oh, I know why you’re so silent! It’s because I never told you my name, right?“
I didn’t answer.
“My name’s Kofi! But friends call me Crackle. Obviously, that means you can’t call me that. Oh, but Jason can.”
Like I care if I could!
“Gunshot to the head!”
That big oaf’s not even saying your name!
There was a long pause between us as I watched the numbers on the elevator screen slowly go up. According to Kofi, Sunshine was all the way on the 99th floor of the skyscraper we were ascending in and we were currently on the 40th floor. I was pretty sure the interval between the first floor and the fortieth was about ten minutes so I still had a long way to go before I could see her.
So I guess it would’ve been dumb not to at least ask some questions while I still had time.
“Is my kid safe up there? Sunshine,” I asked calmly.
“Gunshot to the heart!”
If I still had eyebrows, I would've raised mine just like Sunshine always does. “What?”
“He said ‘yeah’. Don't worry about Jason. Only crazies understand him.”
So he just called himself crazy…I’ll have to make sure my daughter doesn't grow up to be like these idiots!
“So you two saw who took her there, right?”
“Yeah, some black haired guy. Pretty irrelevant guy, I'd say. Probably one of our resource adventurers from the surface.”
My fist tightened as soon as I heard this. “So, Dante’s up there right now?”
“Who?” said Kofi, who sounded genuinely confused at my question.
“Dante Williams. Slicked back hair, always wears a suit, just an overall asshole.”
“Brain cancer.”
“Oooh, that Dante. I guess he'd still be there. That guy's a real piece of work, ain’t he? With that smartass mouth of his.”
“I’ve been saying that for so long!” I replied. “And he’s always such a coward too. You can bet he always has at least ten guys by his side. Every time I thought I had a chance at his ass, his ragtag group of loan sharks got in the way.”
“Guess those are the benefits of having professional dickriders by your side.”
Oddly, a sudden laughter burst out of me, but I covered my mouth before the two heard it. At least, that’s what I thought.
“You don't have to hide your laugh. I already know I'm funny,” he said with a cheeky smile.
“You know I'm gonna beat his ass once I get my chance, right?” I asked, thinking that would bring some seriousness back to the conversation.
“Why settle with just beating his ass? Don't you think you should do a little more than that considering how much you hate the guy?”
“Decapitation!”
Kofi patted Jason on the back and then said “Yeah, what Jason said! If I were you, I'd just kill him!”
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That line surprised me. He said it with such a child-like expression that it freaked me out a little. And here I was avoiding the use of the word “kill” for his supposed ally. It was clear to me that he and Dante weren't close, but they were still on the same side, right?
“Of course I want to kill him. But I don't feel that way over some petty grudge or one-sided rivalry. He threatened my daughter's life multiple times at this point. So to answer your question from earlier, no. I won't just settle for beating him to a bloody pulp. I don't care how high ranked he is amongst your group of child kidnappers. I'm going to plant my fist into his face and kill him.”
There was another long round of silence as we reached the 80th floor and I quickly regretted that mini speech I blurted out. What kind of idiot would tell two enemies he wants to kill one of their allies!? If Sunshine heard me just now-
My body flinched the moment I heard the familiar sound of buzzing from where Kofi was. I tightened my fist, preparing for the fight that was surely about to happen but…nothing happened. Another whole minute passed before another word was said.
“You know, there is a method that could work on those pesky force fields,” he suggested, raising his hands towards me–fingers coated in green electricity. “Your fingertips.”
“Huh? What's so special about them?”
“Well, you already have that absorption ability as a clear counter, but the problem with that is its current speed, right? Try pressing your fingertips on the force field instead of your palms next time.” He showed me his own palm, electricity slowly making its way to the middle. “Your palms are too spread out for the energy to get a proper entrance which makes it slower. Your fingertips on the other hand are smaller and more slim. It'd be like a kid going through a really big door.”
That…actually made a ton of sense. Now that I think about it, I did more damage to his shield clawing at it than when I used my normal method. Though, there was one thing that confused me about what he said.
“How’d you know I used my palms to absorb energy before?”
“That's easy to answer! During our little scuffle in the alleyway and right before that blast, you picked your hands up for a moment and I caught a glimpse of my ability going into your palms.”
What!? He was able to notice something as irrelevant as that!? And people call me a monster…
“But..why are you giving me tips on how to use my power better? We're not on the same side. I could easily use that against you, you know that right?”
Kofi dispersed his electricity, cackling with confidence. “Of course I know that! That's exactly why I told you. Everything is so boring these days. So tame. If I can make the world around me a bit more…crazier, then the apocalypse will finally be as fun as I dreamed it would be! Oh and I wouldn't mind you killing Dante if you wanted to. Whether he lives is none of my concern.”
“Asphyxiation!” shouted Jason, pointing at the number screen–now reading 98.
“It's about damn time! We've been here forever!”
“Kofi, what if I killed you?” I asked, my tone more serious.
Kofi whipped his head around, flashing a beastly smile. “You mind repeating that?”
“If I decided I needed to kill you, how would it feel knowing you caused your own death by helping me out?”
“Feel free to try but don’t be so damn confident! If you can't even lay a finger on a pussy like Dante, then you won't stand a chance against me!”
Despite the obvious disrespect from him, I was pretty satisfied with that answer. Besides, the doors had finally opened to the 99th floor of this unnecessarily tall building, and Sunshine was in there waiting for me.
Once the elevator doors opened, the first thing I noticed was a horde of people standing around, unaware that we were now there. They all wore these white lab coats, so I assumed that they were scientists whose area of study I couldn't care less about. The 99th floor itself–like every other part of this city–was way too advanced to exist in a post-apocalyptic world.
The white floor tiles were impossibly clean–not a speck of dust or grime from what I could see. The temperature was warm, which was a stark contrast to the cool March weather on the surface. The giant glass windows towered over the city–surreal to someone like me who hasn't been in a building this tall in a decade.
There were status boards the size of TVs on the walls, each of them showing pictures of…
“Sunshine!”
I bolted to the status board, scaring off the woman who was typing on the keyboard along with a couple others who noticed me.
“It's him. That's the talking radion!” said one of the scientists, catching the attention of everyone else in the room.
They all approached me quickly, disregarding any caution as they snapped pictures. The sheer number of them swarming around me probably would have overwhelmed anyone else–but not me.
I was this close to screaming at the top of my imaginary lungs “Where the hell is my daughter!” but it looked like Kofi had the same idea as his “Get out of here already! The Radius has things to be done right now!” made them all scatter.
“Now that they're gone, we can finally get this over with,” said Kofi, placing his hand on my shoulder and turning me to him. “Radion,” he whispered, his voice low and tense. “I'm going to ask you a simple question and your answer may or may not heavily affect what's about to happen next. You ready?”
I nodded.
“Let's say Sunshine is your daughter. How much would you say you love her?”
“Isn't the answer obvious?” I replied without hesitation. “I would give my life to keep her safe!”
A slow grin crept across Kofi’s face, sharp and wild, as if he'd expected that to be my answer. His amber eyes gleamed with a dangerous excitement that sent a cold shiver down my spine. “Ah finally,” he murmured, his voice thick and barely containing his joy. “Things are about to go wild!”
“Hey, what do you mean by-”
“Hey, Lyra! Hurry up and change this place up already! Me and Jason brought the Radius over!”
I didn’t even have time to respond before my attention snapped to the sudden change of appearance in the room, happening in the blink of an eye. No, it wasn't just a different appearance. I was in a different building entirely. Everything around me was black except for the occasional flash of green light from the top of the room.
The floors, the walls, the table in front of me. It was a large, round table, accompanied with eight chairs. However, what really grabbed my focus were the three people sitting down at the table, glaring at me.
A girl was on the right. An elderly woman on the left. And a man, who looked a little older than my human self, was in the middle.
“Wh-where am I!? Where the hell did you take me, Kofi!?”
“That brute didn't ‘take’ you anywhere,” answered the girl, who couldn't have been any older than nineteen. “And you weren't taken anywhere. I assure you we're still-”
“Shut up! You people have my daughter, right!? Where the hell did you put her?”
“Now, now,” the elder joined in, a calm smile on her face. “Don’t worry, she's fine. She was in pretty bad shape when we first saw her. Her face was so pale. Coughing up blood. That disease of hers has become a real problem for you, I assume.”
My ooze started to boil relentlessly as they talked more and more.“There's gonna be an even bigger problem if you don't give her back!”
“And here I thought those two behind you were the only brutes here,” said the girl, crossing her arms. “We have a third one as well! And to think you're supposed to be the Radius that's going to save our world. This is absurd!”
I took a couple steps forward. “Save the world? What kind of nonsense are you people babbling about?”
“My foolish son had one job.” The man in the middle finally joined the conversation. “Take the girl and the Radius peacefully to the Underground. Now, because of him-”
“Enough already!” My shout echoed across the room, causing even the man’s eyes to widen. “For the final fucking time…bring me back my daughter.”
“Hmm. Well, it definitely isn't good to keep a father away from his child for so long,” said the elder. “Fine, we'll bring her to you. But, I just have one quick question.”
I didn't respond. I was tired of all the damn quest-
“Would it be fine if we killed your daughter?”