Chapter 23 part 1

Matias

Once he had checked and double checked every turn he made, assuring the alley he was about to go into was the right one, he finally entered the dark path.

His lungs ached and he felt nervousness course through his body. He was sure this alley was no big deal. How could something so simple be important?

Still, in the back of his mind, lingered the thought that this was it. This was where Samuel was. This was where Meera had been planning everything all along.

The alley was dark, and seemed to go in a straight line for longer than normal, no turns to be made. The ground was soft dirt, though no grass dared to grow out of it.

He walked slowly, but eagerly. His legs felt heavy and for the first time in a while he was really feeling the pressure coming from his injuries.

He couldn't think of his own pain, though. All he could imagine was how bad Samuel must be hurting. Surely Samuels injuries were worse than his own.

After just over a minute of him walking, slowly, he finally found a turn. The path continued going straight, but a narrow strip cut off to the right.

Matias peeked into the narrow alleyway. He thought he could fit, but it'd be tight. He then glanced forward, where the path continued without any change in size.

He sighed. He knew where he was going.

He stuck his arm into the thin path, turning his body sideways. Following his arm went his head and his chest, then his legs, and his other arm.

He squirmed his way through the alley. He could feel his back rubbing gently across the concrete walls, but he ignored it as best he could.

After a few feet the narrow path began to open. It wasn't much, but it was better. He could walk mostly straight, rather than shuffling sideways, and he could breathe easier now.

As he walked the alley got steadily wider and wider, eventually growing to the normal width of most the alleys in the area.

He didn't know how long he'd been walking, maybe five minutes, he thought. He had ventured far from the entrance Lexi told him about, and he was sure he was leading himself to nothing.

He stopped walking, the soft dirt beneath him shifting under his feet. He took one last look forward, giving up.

His heart sank. He knew this alley was nothing. He knew it wouldn't lead to anyone or anything. Despite that, though, he let himself get his hopes up. He let himself believe that he would find Samuel, and now he couldn't help but feel hopeless. Surely there was no way for him to help Samuel.

He lifted his leg, turning back around to head back, when he heard faint voices. His foot paused mid air for a moment before he slowly lowered it back onto the dirt.

He held himself completely still, barely even breathing.

The voices, however, were simply too far away. He could tell they were still talking, but had no hope of deciphering what they were saying.

And so he inched himself closer. He walked slowly and with small steps. He scanned the ground for anything that might make noise if he stepped on it, but there was nothing.

The voices didn't move. It was clear that whoever was talking wasn't going anywhere.

Matias walked until the voices seemed no more than fifteen feet away. He could tell they were around the corner and could hear what they were saying fairly well.

"Did you see the way he was looking up? Looked like a toddler who lost their mom!" The people laughed.

Matias could hear three voices, all of which were men's.

"Yeah, not to mention how he went limp" the man snorted, "I mean, did his muscles give out or what?"

The three continued to make jokes, each followed by nasty sounding, loud laughs. Matias tried not to wonder too much about what they were talking about, but couldn't help himself. He kept listening.

"Y'know, as fun as it is messing with him, didn't Guzantee say that the villain would come running for him in a day? It's been a whole week for Christ's sake"

Matias's heart sank in his chest. He had almost forgotten all about Guzantee. He didn't even considered what he could be doing now that everyone is distracted by the new villain.

Not to mention that these people were now mentioning him, the villain. Who was he meant to go running for?

Surely it couldn't be Samuel, he thought at first.

But then he let what they said run around in his head. 'It's been a week'.

He knew his sense of time was a bit off, but he knew it had been about week since Samuel went missing. Not to mention everybody knew that the villain and Matias were the same person, including Guzantee.

Plus, he wasn't exactly secretive when he was helping out the hero, it probably wasn't hard to piece together the fact that him and the hero were friendly.

The only thing that didn't make sense is how Guzantee knew that Samuel was the hero, but he tried not to think too hard about that. He didn't want to imagine the possibility of him not getting to Samuel in time. The possibility that everyone could know what he looks like.

"Man I dunno. You better not let anyone hear you talkin like that though, Guzantee seems pretty confident this'll all work out" the man responded.

Matias stiffened. He had almost forgotten the three men were still there.

"Yeah. Speaking of, we should probably get back"

The others agreed, all beginning to walk in the direction away from Matias.

And he followed.

Their footsteps covered Matias's own as he sped up, trying to get closer to the others. He soon was only about five feet behind them, making turns only seconds after they did.

The dirt he was walking on began to get stiffer, more compact. It was clear this area was more walked on. More used.

The alleyways began being more tight, many more turns being made and no path going in a straight line to anywhere.

Matias found himself having to get closer and closer to the men in order to keep up with where they were going. He felt like he was at risk of stepping on the back of their shoes.

He picked up his pace and stopped looking around corners before he made turns.

And he knew that was his mistake when he walked head on into a wide opening filled with people.

There must've been at least fifteen people there, most of them talking, some of them drinking, and a few with things that Matias could only assume was drugs in their hands.

They were dressed in what looked like rags with dirt all over them and greasy hair. Matias had also begun to notice a strong odor, a mix of alcohol, body odor, and other mysterious smells.

What he was most concerned about though, was the obese, Asian man standing in the middle of the opening with a grin on his face and his hand on a gun holster.

"Shit" Matias mumbled absentmindedly.

He whipped his head around quickly, but there were already people covering the entrance he had come through. More people were shifting to stand in front of every other way out.

His heart rate picked up and his fingers began to twitch. He knew he was it deep shit, and he wasn't sure how to get out.

"Aren't you a familiar face?" Guzantee finally spoke up, tauntingly.

Matias didn't respond. Couldn't respond.

His eyes darted around, but only saw people, all of which were helping out Guzantee, and in greater numbers than before, now ranging about twenty five people.

Matias's brain started pounding in his skull, and he was sure his fear was apparent on his face.

"Well don't look too scared, I just want to chat" Guzantee smiled.

Matias had always been irritated by how Guzantee talked at times like these. He found it overly condescending and too cocky, but now he understood it. When you're as scared as he is, it doesn't sound cocky. It sounds terrifying.

"What do you want?" Matias managed to ask, his voice breaking despite his attempts at keeping it steady.

Guzantee's smile grew.

"Matias," he began, saying his name like a slur, "you betrayed me when I thought we were friends. I trusted you, and you robbed me. You owe me one-thousand, two-hundred, and seventy dollars"

Matias's breath caught in his throat. He didn't think Guzantee had kept track of all the money he owed him. And the money he owed him had been the last thing on his mind.

Images of Samuel flashed through his mind, but he pushed them away as best he could.

"I know" he admitted shamefully. "I know, and I will pay you back every penny if you just.. let me go"

Guzantee laughed a short and stiff laugh.

"Just listen" Matias interrupted. "I need to find.. someone. Someone very important to me"

He stopped, doing his best to prevent his voice from cracking. Tears rose to his eyes but he wasted no time blinking them away. He wasn't sure why he was saying any of that to Guzantee of all people, but he did anyways.

"I have to find them, and if you let me go I promise I will pay you back"

He knew, in the back of his mind, that Guzantee would never agree to anything like that. The back of his mind, however, was being muted by everything else. Fear, worry, anger, everything.

"You're talking about that brown haired, brown eyed, guy who calls himself 'the hero'" Guzantee stated blatantly.

Matias froze. He didn't know what he was thinking, or feeling, or anything else. It was like time paused.

Guzantee didn't say anything either, and his men grew eerily quiet. It was clear he was enjoying the moment, allowing Matias the time to realize and process what was happening.

Minuets passed, and nobody said a word. Nobody moved a muscle and nobody so much as breathed too loudly.

When he was recovering from his shock, as the fear was setting in, Guzantee finally broke the silence.

"You shouldn't bother going to look for him" Guzantee gestured for a few of the people behind him to move, "he's right here."

And there he was. Sitting on the ground, completely limp. He was so still, Matias couldn't ignore the possibility that he was dead.

He was sitting leaned against a concrete wall that had blood stains on it. There was more blood on his clothes, which Matias had never seen him wear before.

His arms were positioned awkwardly with his hands in the dirt on either side of him and the entire area from his wrist to his shoulder looking more like a noodle than arm.

His hair was greasy and unbrushed, making his waves look like mats and the bits touching his shoulders look like severe dead ends. A strand hung down over his face, right in front of his nose. And there was no breath swaying it in the wind.

Matias started swaying on his feet, his mind getting so fuzzy that he was fighting the urge to faint then and there.

The sight before him was so sickening, he began to wish he was still in the prison. Still in the same cell staring at the same stained ceiling day after day.

But it was far too late for that, and he knew it.

"Samuel.." he mumbled, quieter than a breath. "no" he continued.

"Now, you see what happens when you can't do something as simple as staying in your own fucking lane, Matias." Guzantee lectured through his teeth.

Shivers went up Matias's body, and then back down. His stomach lurched, making him gag.

"Why" he whispered, a bit louder than before.

Guzantee sighed, "didn't I already-"

"No!" Matias finally shouted, "Surely you're not doing all of this because of what I did years ago!" He cried in desperation.

Guzantee stayed quiet, allowing Matias to go on.

"I know I made a mistake, okay? I know how badly I fucked up. But that was years ago! I mean, come on Guzantee. We both know how capable you were of doing something about it much sooner. We both know you don't need the money either."

He stopped, breathing heavily.

"So" he spoke in a quieted voice. "Why now. Why are you doing this?"

Guzantee stayed silent. Matias almost raised his voice once again, but the sound of crunching footsteps distracted him.

He glanced behind Guzantee where the sound was coming from and noticed the three men blocking the exit moved to either side of the path. The ground was gravel and walking across it was leather boots with thick soles.

His eyes scanned up from the gravel to the persons face, and if he wasn't shocked enough before, he sure as hell was now.

"Hello, Matias" a fake sounding sweet voice spoke.

"Welcome back, Meera" Guzantee smiled, his eyes not leaving Matias.

Anger rose up his body and his heart started punching and kicking at his chest. His lungs shrunk and his breathing was rugged and quick.

He glanced over at Samuels body once again. All he could think about was what Meera did to him.

And she was working with Guzantee. Of all people, Meera and fucking Guzantee.

Adrenaline kicked in and his anger took him over. The fight between Meera and Samuel ran through his head and the way Guzantee's men had shot Samuel in the leg was running right beside it.

Before he knew it his legs were moving. He lunged forward, right at Guzantee. His arms reached out in front of him and he yelled words he wasn't even processing.

Before he reached him though, hands were grabbing all over him. People were holding him back by his arms, legs, torso, and a pair of hands even grabbed on his neck.

He continued fighting against them, but it was no use. More people surrounded him and began kicking and punching at him.

He knew he should've given up. He knew that he stood no chance. But he didn't care. He was too overwhelmed with worry, and anger, and exhaustion.

And so he kept fighting, and punching, and whatever he could.

Suddenly, a hard object, too hard to be a fist, hit the back of his head. And he was hit hard. He didn't even have time to feel the pain or to process fully what happened before he was out cold.

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And then there were two