Hayato took the lead, pulling a pair of tantō that was utterly black, even down to the matte black metal of the blades, as he cautiously approached the open door.
The air was stale, and it smelled of old sweat and mildew- a telltale sign that HiTec's old office had been vacant for some time. Despite the smell, the space was clean; the steps leading into the building were dust-free, and the hallway was tidy, save for a few spots of drywall dust on the carpet.
Hayato moved quickly but quietly, a silent understanding between the two forming. As Hayato examined each room to ensure they wouldn’t be ambushed from behind, Leta would keep an eye out in the hallway.
One room after the next, they slowly made their way through a large room that was almost cavernous, without the cheap cubicles, the trill of phones, and the office ambiance.
The hard thump of something falling to the floor in a corner office caught their attention as Hayato gestured with one hand for Leta to push herself up against the wall.
This time, they heard the faint sound of a grunt that was so quiet it could almost have been imagined if it wasn’t immediately followed up by a heavy flapping like someone was trying to shake something out of a book.
Leta looked to Hayato, who nodded in confirmation.
They’d found the missing Gremlin.
“Argh. Heavy. Stupid heavy.”
As they slowly tiptoed towards the room, the sound of the Gremlin talking to itself became easier to understand.
“Go to Greece. It be fun. They lie. Greece sucks.”
Hayato peaked around the corner to see what they were dealing with.
What had once probably been the boss’s office had been turned into a makeshift radio communications room. Wires crossed in seemingly random directions and connected to a crude server and computer. The windows had been covered with thick curtains that looked to be made out of furniture fabric, effectively blotting out the afternoon sunlight so that the only light of the room was the ominous glow of a single hand-crack torch.
Leta peeked around and frowned at what she saw. ‘Is that an old Commodore? The last time I saw one of those was in a museum.’
Hayato pushed them both away from the door as the Gremlin came flying by lugging an old HAM radio that looked like it hadn’t been used since the 80s from a haphazard pile of shell cases.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
With a grunt, the monster let it fall onto an old desk with a loud bang before it started fiddling with the device.
“Hope this quick.” It muttered to itself as it worked, “We missing baseball. Must see who wins.”
Clawed fingers twisted dials and knobs as it tried to find some sort of frequency, all the while cursing the spotty electricity and the lack of good entertainment.
Hayato gave Leta a look that translated into ‘stay here’ before he seemed to activate one of his skills.
He didn’t precisely vanish, but it looked like he was pulling the shadows towards him as his body blended into the darkness around them.
His footsteps were silent as he pushed off the wall to approach the threshold, his feet ghosting over wires and other computer parts strewn about the room.
“Five, two-no, no. That not it. Ah!” The Gremlin’s wings flapped unconsciously as it finally landed on its desired frequency.
What came out of its mouth wasn’t American English like what all the Gremlins had been speaking thus far, but a light, almost musical language that was only made harsh due to the monstrous mouth speaking it.
[The Host has acquired the language Ananakian.]
It was strangely familiar. The flow of vows and tight clicks of phrases felt like she was trying hard to remember something she’d heard in a dream but couldn’t draw the memory.
“Echo. Echo.” The Gremlin chirped into the microphone, “Roost East two. Searching. Roost East ten? Roost East four? Confirm? Searching. Confirm?”
It paused, listening to the static of the universe for a moment before repeating, “Echo. Echo. Searching. Confirm?”
Nothing, and then, “Echo. Echo. Affirmative. This Roost East four. Broken?”
The little creature threw one fist in the air in triumph before clicking on the microphone again, “Roost east four. This Roost East two. Broken. Power down. Flock investigating.”
“Received. Clear skies?”
“Clear skies. No clouds spotted.”
“How soon not broke?”
“No clue. Waiting for Flock.”
By then, Hayato was practically right behind the creature, his body appearing more like a ghost rising from the Gremlin’s shadow cast by the bright light of the old torch.
He was so close that if the creature leaned back on the stool it was perched on, it would have bumped into him.
“Affirmative. Tasks from Lead?”
The Gremlin snorted in disgust, “Normal. Nothing worth it. All boring.”
The moment the little monster clicked the radio to receive, Hayato struck. The Gremlin gurgled and twitched, staring down in confusion and shock at the black thorn that seemed to have erupted from its chest. It tried to raise bloodied claws to the blade as if it meant to confirm that it wasn’t an illusion before Hayato’s other blade cut through its throat in one clean slice.
It had rolled to the floor as its body fell limp, dark blood staining the carpets a deep maroon brown.
Just as silently as he appeared, Hayato vanished, leaving the body where it lay as its Nanites began to self-destruct and disintegrate the corpse.
Hayato gave Leta one look as if to gauge whether she would find his method of killing distasteful. When all she gave him was an approving nod, they continued to check the rooms for traps before heading for the second floor, leaving a mostly disintegrated body and a radio unanswered.
“Yes. Lead no good. Too lofty. Much prefer the dogs. At least we eat. Need more flock? We help fix. Confirm? Echo. Echo. Roost East two? Roost East two? Echo?”