The Urban Supernatural Guy

Chapter 3: Broken Chains

Marcus stared at his sister, his mind refusing to process what he was seeing. Amanda's eyes glowed with that same supernatural light, but there was something else there. Something fighting to get out.

"Fight it, Amanda," he whispered.

The creature in the black suit laughed. "She can't hear you anymore. We've had five years to perfect our methods. Your sister is one of our greatest successes."

"Bullshit." Marcus's power flared again, weaker but still there. "Amanda, I know you're in there."

For just a moment, the glow in her eyes flickered. Her face twisted with pain, and when she spoke, it was in her own voice. "Marcus? Marcus, they made me do terrible things. They made me—"

"Enough." The pale creature waved his hand, and Amanda's eyes went blank again.

That's when Marcus noticed Sophia moving. She'd been playing unconscious, waiting for her moment. Now she rolled behind a shipping container and came up with something that looked like a grenade.

"Marcus, close your eyes!"

He dropped to the ground just as she pulled the pin. Instead of an explosion, there was a blinding flash of white light. The supernatural creatures screamed, stumbling backward like the light was burning them.

"Silver phosphorus," Sophia shouted over their howls. "Move!"

Marcus didn't need to be told twice. He sprinted toward Amanda's chair, his enhanced speed carrying him across the warehouse floor in seconds. The ropes binding her were thick, but his supernatural strength tore through them like paper.

"Amanda, we're getting out of here."

She looked at him with confused eyes. "Who... who are you?"

The question hit him like a punch to the chest. They'd erased her memory too.

Behind them, the creatures were recovering from Sophia's flash bang. Marcus could hear them moving, their inhuman grace returning as the light faded.

"This way!" Sophia appeared at his side, reloading her gun with bullets that gleamed silver in the dim light. "The exit's compromised, but there's a service tunnel that leads to the storm drains."

They ran through the maze of containers, Amanda stumbling between them. She was weak from years of captivity, and Marcus could feel her trembling against his arm as he supported her weight.

A creature dropped from the ceiling in front of them, fangs bared. Sophia put three silver bullets in its chest before it could move. The thing dissolved into shadow with a scream that made Marcus's teeth ache.

"What the hell are these things?"

"Later," Sophia said, kicking open a metal door. "Right now we run."

The service tunnel was narrow and dark, filled with the smell of rust and stagnant water. They splashed through ankle-deep drainage, following Sophia's flashlight beam. Behind them, inhuman voices echoed off the concrete walls.

"They're tracking us," Marcus said.

"I know." Sophia stopped at a junction where three tunnels met. "This is where we split up."

"What? No."

"They want you, not her. Take Amanda and go left—it leads to the old subway system. I'll go right and draw them off."

Marcus grabbed her arm. "I'm not leaving you."

"You don't have a choice." She looked at Amanda, who was staring at them both with fearful eyes. "She needs medical attention, and you need answers. There's someone you have to meet."

"Who?"

"Elena Sterling. She's been trying to reach you for a reason."

The name made Marcus's blood boil. "Elena betrayed me. She chose Victor over—"

"She chose to stay alive," Sophia cut him off. "There's more to what happened five years ago than you know. Elena's been feeding information to people trying to stop the Midnight Syndicate. She's the one who told me where to find you."

The sound of pursuit was getting closer. Inhuman voices speaking in languages that predated human civilization.

"Go," Sophia said, pushing a business card into his hand. "Tomorrow night. The address on the back. Elena will explain everything."

She kissed him quickly, her lips warm against his mouth. For a moment, Marcus felt that strange spark again, like his supernatural senses were recognizing something familiar about her.

"Stay alive," she whispered.

Then she was gone, running down the right tunnel with her flashlight bouncing off the walls. The creatures' voices followed her, growing fainter as they took the bait.

Marcus looked at Amanda, who was leaning against the tunnel wall. "Come on, sis. Let's get you somewhere safe."

"I don't... I don't remember you," she said softly. "But something inside me says I should trust you."

"That's enough for now."

They made their way through the left tunnel, coming up through a maintenance hatch in an abandoned subway station. The city night air felt like freedom after the claustrophobic tunnels.

Marcus hailed a cab and gave the driver the address of a safe house he'd prepared—one of several identities and locations he'd set up for emergencies. As they rode through the empty streets, Amanda fell asleep against his shoulder.

She looked so young, so fragile. Whatever they'd done to her, whatever they'd made her do, she was still his little sister. The girl who used to steal his comic books and leave crayon drawings on his bedroom door.

But as the cab turned a corner, Marcus caught sight of Amanda's reflection in the window. For just a moment, her eyes glowed with that supernatural light again.

And she was smiling.

A smile that didn't belong to the sister he remembered. A smile that suggested the creatures hadn't lost their hold on her at all.

Marcus's blood turned to ice as he realized the horrible truth.

They hadn't rescued Amanda.

They'd let her go.