A brief, suffocating silence descended upon the group, punctuated only by the distant drumming of rain against the grimy warehouse roof. Five pairs of eyes, wide with fresh terror, were fixed on the imposing figure of the bald man with the dragon tattoo. He stood at the edge of their forced circle, his presence radiating an almost physical menace. Blake, still reeling from Lina's iron grip and the sudden, brutal realization of his captivity, felt a cold knot tighten in his stomach. The man's smile, more a baring of teeth than an expression of mirth, promised only pain.
"So, you may be wondering why you are all here, right?" the man rumbled, attempting a tone that was supposed to sound accommodating. It was a well-known tactic; if you wanted people to cooperate, even unwillingly, a pretense of courtesy could often smooth the path. Only then could you truly exploit them to the best of their ability.
A nervous cough broke the silence, followed by a strained, hoarse voice. "Wondering? We were tricked!" It was a scrawny young woman, her face pale, her voice trembling but holding a thread of indignation.
"This is insane!" another man, older, with weary eyes, mumbled, almost to himself. "You said Ranker Association, a job…"
"My cousin is a lawyer!" The whimper came from the man Blake had already mentally dubbed 'Billboard Boy,' his face contorted in a mix of fear and desperate defiance. "This is kidnapping! He'll come for me!"
All sorts of tumultuous uproar, a cacophony of fear and desperate protest, erupted through the desolate building. Shouts, accusations, and fearful protests ricocheted off the decaying walls. The bald man's plan to garner their respect, or at least emotionally coerce them into docile obedience, had failed. Failed miserably. His face, initially attempting a placating expression, began to contort with undisguised fury. A thick vein throbbed visibly on his forehead, a warning sign of a storm brewing.
'Do these idiots take me for a fool?' the bald man seethed internally, his patience fraying faster than a cheap rope. 'I was showing them some basic respect, a courtesy. And they dare still disobey me, still mouth off? If only I didn't need them, I'd kill them all straight away! Hmph, as long as they serve their purpose, that's all I care for, I suppose.' He took a deep, shaky breath, forcibly reining in his temper. The veneer of politeness shattered, replaced by a raw, unfiltered menace.
"SILENCE!" he bellowed, his voice a guttural roar that echoed throughout the entire building, vibrating through Blake's very bones. The sheer force of it slammed into the captives, silencing their protests instantly. No one dared utter another sound. The sound of Billboard Boy's choked sobs was the loudest noise in the sudden void.
Nodding his head in grim satisfaction, the man continued his speech. This time, there was no facade, no pretense of pleasantries. "Whether you want to know the reason or not, I don't give a fcking sht. I'll just explain it anyway. If you don't wanna hear anything, then I suggest that you stick your ears up your arseholes, okay!"
Silence. Not a single person made a noise. The fear was a tangible thing in the air now, thick and suffocating. A young woman near Blake subtly wiped a tear from her eye. Another man swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.
"Now listen up, you runts. You useless pieces of societal trash with no powers whatsoever have been blessed with the beautiful opportunity to work for us. You all meet the condition of having no powers which are needed as a requirement to enter this special portal. So, cheer up and give me a smile." His smile, the baring of teeth, stretched across his face, more of a grimace than an invitation.
Blake's previous dead-like facial expression, a mask of terror and resignation, lit up with a flicker of intrigue when he heard that all the people around him were powerless as well. All of them were treated like bottom society trash due to circumstances they couldn't change. And now, they were being exploited, just like him, lumped together as disposable tools for a purpose they didn't understand. 'How cruel is fate going to be for us,' he thought, a bitter taste in his mouth.
The silence ensued the room yet again, everyone ignoring the big man's mocking encouragement to smile. They stood rigid, eyes wide, each person lost in their own terror. The air felt heavy, like a shroud.
Noticing this, the big burly man's face twisted further in anger and annoyance. "I thought I told you to fcking smile!" His voice rose to a thundering crescendo, the veins on his neck bulging. "Then go ahead and fcking smile!" he stated with such vigor and rage that it was less a command and more a physical assault.
Immediately, the room was filled with the most awkward and forced smiles in existence. Lips stretched taut over teeth, eyes remained wide with terror, some trembling uncontrollably, a few managing only a ghastly baring of teeth. It was a grotesque tableau of obedience born of pure fear, a silent scream frozen on their faces.
"Now that's better, we like to see happy faces here, don't we?" The man's voice dipped into a mocking cheerfulness, his eyes sweeping over their terrified expressions.
Just as he seemed poised to continue his twisted sermon, a sharp, cold voice sliced through the tension. "Ricardo, hurry the f*ck up. Not everyone here has as much free time as you do. I've got better things to do!"
Lina stood a few paces behind the bald man, her arms crossed, her deep blue eyes fixed on him with a face of pure impatience. There was no warmth in her gaze, only a ticking time bomb of controlled fury. Ricardo, despite his own intimidating bulk, flinched visibly. He seemed to shrink under her stare, the swagger draining from him. Realizing this, he quickly sped up his little speech.
'Women sure are scary,' Blake thought, observing the scene. He felt a perverse sense of satisfaction watching Ricardo, who had just physically manhandled him, cower under Lina's gaze. It seemed even monsters had their own monsters.
"Erm… sorry Lina," Ricardo muttered, his booming voice reduced to a subservient mumble. "I'll try to hurry up now." He cleared his throat, regaining some of his previous bluster, albeit with a nervous edge. "Listen, maggots, you have one job. Retrieve a white dragon-like crystal from the portal, then bring it to us. You understand!"
Everybody looked at Ricardo as if they were in expectance of some more useful information. Their forced smiles faltered, replaced by bewildered frowns. A 'white dragon-like crystal'? From a 'portal'? This was becoming more surreal and terrifying with every passing second.
"Ahhh, dammit, I don't get paid enough for this nonsense," Ricardo muttered under his breath, audible enough to the silent, terrified group. He took a deep, fresh breath of air, as if steeling himself. "This white crystal has a dragon emblem on it and is shaped like a hexagon. Apparently, it is located on top of a pedestal or was it a statue... well, at least that's what the person from the last remaining squad told us from his communication device."
After Ricardo's careless slip of the tongue about the 'last squad,' the quiet room experienced an uproar yet again. It wasn't loud shouting this time, but a chilling wave of panicked whispers, gasps, and whimpers.
"Last squad? What do you mean 'last squad'?" The scrawny young woman's voice was thin, reedy, filled with dawning horror.
"Are you saying others went in there? And they didn't come back?" The older man's voice was strained, a desperate plea for reassurance.
"We are all going to die! I knew it! I knew it!" Billboard Boy shrieked, his voice escalating into a terrified wail, clutching desperately at the arm of the quiet woman next to him. "My cousin is a lawyer! He'll know about this! He'll sue you all!"
Chaos ensued the room yet again, a rising tide of despair. All of them should have kept quiet. Their collective panic, however, was like a rising clamor, like ringing a bell that awoke a sleeping dragon within that very room.
A heavy purple miasma suddenly filled the air, coalescing around Lina. It wasn't an illusion; it was a visible, tangible aura of raw power and unadulterated killing intent that emanated from her. A heavy pressure slammed down, physically assaulting everyone, starting to choke them. Even the burly man Ricardo broke a few sweats, his face paling at the intimidating and imposing aura. He knew the depths of Lina's capabilities, and this was merely a fraction of her full power.
"Silence! I don't have time for this," Lina howled, her voice losing all semblance of calm, becoming a guttural snarl that cut through the miasma. She clenched her fist, and the purple energy around her pulsed violently. "The last squad is enjoying their time at a resort in New York. Now there, now you know! Get your asses inside that portal before I drag your unconscious bodies there!"
Lina looked at everyone with a vicious gaze, her eyes burning with unholy light, a silent threat that was basically saying 'if anyone would like to speak up, speak up now.' Her crude intimidation technique had worked. No one uttered a single word. The palpable fear in the air was absolute.
Every single one of the powerless individuals, including Blake, decided to resign their fates. They were all going to probably die anyway, whether they entered the portal or not. The choice was simply which dragon they had to deal with: the unknown terrors of the white one within the portal, or the very real, very present fury of Lina outside it. The choice seemed obvious.
Slowly but surely, the group of powerless wannabe Rankers moved towards the massive, rune-etched gate that served as the portal's entrance. Their steps were hesitant, shuffling, like prisoners being led to an execution.
"Atta boys and girls, come on, where's all your spirit gone!" Ricardo shouted, pointing a thick finger at each and every single one of them, a cruel grin returning to his face. This garnered a death stare from every single one of them, a silent promise of future retribution if any of them survived.
'That's it, anyone known as Ricardo is an absolute sh*tbag,' Blake thought to himself, his mind a mix of cold terror and grim determination, as he walked to his impending doom.
Looking ahead, he could see that everyone was being handed communication crystals before they entered into the portal. One by one, they took their crystals, stepped through the shimmering veil of the gate, and disappeared. Never to be seen again? Well, whether they would see the light of day or not, Blake didn't know. One thing he did know, however, was that whatever was in there was bad news.
After a short, agonizing wait, it was Blake's turn. He quickly grabbed a communication crystal, its surface cool against his clammy palm, made a short, silent prayer to whatever higher power might be listening, and jumped into the portal like everyone else.
What awaited him, he didn't know. Whether he would survive or not, that was another mystery for him to face alone.