The cool air blew against Lia`s face soothingly. She took a deep breath. She had always liked the briefing room in the Giano Hero Outpost. It was comfortable and the balcony had a wicked view of the vibrant city lights glowing against the dark backdrop of the starless night.
She turned the card over in her fingers. She hadn`t provided it to the police when they were compiling their report. She felt hesitant about it. Hellracer`s words had never left her mind. She knew that the world was far from a pretty place especially Giano, the city of tomorrow, the ageless capital of Galliya.The world was corrupt, that much she knew but that`s why there were heroes. To expose the rot and bring the criminals to justice.
"Then why does the world feel like a shittier place then?" Lia mumbled under her breath.
"Hey I was wondering where you ran off to." Aya beamed as she held Lia in a crushing hug.
She smelled faintly of smoke. Lia decided not to tell her that. She would have gone insane if she knew she was walking around smelling like a bonfire.
"Ribs!" Lia squeaked as Aya pressed even harder.
"Sorry forgot how fragile you were." She said with a smirk.
She stepped up to the rail next to Lia. She looked down into the street below. The neon city lights reflecting off her electric blue eyes made them even more stunning. The wind blew her golden hair around her face. She pulled up her white scarf around her face.
"Listen Lia." She said nervously.
"You know that I would never try to take advantage of you." She spoke
"I doubt you could even if you tried." Lia scoffed
"Meanie!" Aya complained.
"So…. can I ask you for a small favor. A teensy tiny little favor?" Aya said slowly
"Oh no. Did you make dinner for Mikey again! Is he okay!"
"That only happened one time! And I`ve gotten better since then!" Aya said lamely
"Yeah, that chicken sandwich was really fishy." Lia joked.
"That was cold." Aya cried.
"Okay, what do you need. You know I`ve got your back. Anything for you." Lia said with a smile.
Aya swallowed.
"Okay, here goes. Leon`s concert is this weekend and I was wondering if you could…."
Lia burst out laughing.
"Yeah, anything but that." She said while wiping a tear from her eye.
"But come on Lia. I just need four backstage tickets. Please! I`ve been dying to see him perform live ever since his tour in Virel. Please please please please!" Aya begged as she shook Lia violently.
"Aya, you know I can`t..." Lia trailed off
"Come on I`ll do anything you want! I`ll do your laundry, I`ll do the paperwork, I`ll text you goodnight and good morning to distract you from your crippling loneliness. Please Lili. I`m begging you!" Aya pleaded helplessly.
"First of all; I m not lonely, just busy."
"Being lonely?"
"Imma act like I never heard that." Lia said through clenched teeth.
"Besides. I don`t think he wants to see me. I`ll just ruin his mood if I talk to him." Lia said quietly.
"Come on. It`s been six years. I`m sure he`s already forgiven you." Aya said hopefully.
"No, I assure you he hasn`t." Lia said her voice cracking. She went to the elevator her mind deep in thought.
"I mean how could he." She said to no one in particular.
"What about Malika? She doesn`t hate you." Aya said with a hint of worry in her voice.
"I`ll see what I can do but no promises, okay?" Lia said with a raspy voice.
"Okay." Aya replied dejectedly.
Lia wished she could rest but that was almost impossible. Hellracer`s invite stuck to her mind. She turned the card again idly watching the gold turn silver wherever it caught the moonlight. Every time she jumped into her bed she had always passed out instantly but now, she couldn`t even sleep.
Her room had always been simple and clean just as she liked it. The mahogany desk put against the wall with her laptop placed on the middle for maximum efficiency. The bare white walls that she never had any gall to decorate with posters. She tried to stand but her body ached painfully. Turbo Burst always took a toll on her body. She could use it perhaps a few times a week at best without destroying every muscle fiber in her body.
She felt restless. She forced herself onto her feet and let her body guide her out of her room past the hallway full of family portraits. She saw Leon`s happy face staring back at her. He was young in the picture. It was his eleventh birthday, just before everything went wrong. She stopped Infront of the door at the far end of the hall.
The door creaked open slowly. She ran her hands along the bed. The toys still littered the room. She grabbed the pillow and pressed it to her chest. She felt tears falling onto the pillow. She could barely hear her own chocking sobs over the blood rushing in her head.
"Yeah, I miss him too." A soft voice said.
"Oh, hey mom, I was just…. p. putting these dusty toys away." Lia said as she started picking up the strewn soldier figurines.
"I know you still come here to play with his toys."
"Umm…. what`s for breakfast mom. I`m feeling really hungry now mom." Lia said hurriedly.
"Oh, hush young lady. You can`t hide anything from your mother." She said with a smirk.
"Aya wants to attend his concert. She wants me to get backstage tickets. How cray is that huh?" Lia said shakily
"I know you already got the tickets to all his scheduled concerts months before they were sold out." She said kindly
"Mom, am I a bad person?" Lia asked her voice cracking with emotion.
"No honey why would you think that."
"But I destroyed our family." Lia cried
"Accidents happen to anyone Lia. It wasn`t your fault. You were just a kid." She said soothingly as she ruffled Lia`s hair.
"You know I didn`t think you`d inherit your dad`s hair. I mean black is fine but I think white suits you better." She said with a smile.
"Please, no one can pull off white hair better than Silvia Blackwell herself." Lia joked.
"Hey you have my genes so I`m pretty sure you could do it too." Silvia joked.
"If I did I`d look like a petite grandma." Lia said.
"Yeah, you really need to get some meat on those bones. I mean how am I going to get grandkids if every guy you meet thinks you`ll break under slight pressure." Silvia lamented.
"You did not just say that." Lia complained her face burning in embarrassment.
"Come on. Get some rest honey" Silvia said as she led Lia out of the room.
She paused at the doorway with a faraway look in her eyes.
"Do you think he`ll ever come back." Lia asked.
"Time will tell honey. Time will tell." Silvia sighed.
"The only thing time is telling me is the distance between us is too fast." Lia said as she wiped a tear from her face. She closed the door and marched back to her room.
She jumped into bed and felt her tears coming out. She didn`t resist. She let them flow instead. She took out the card and turned it in the moonlight. Suddenly she couldn`t breathe. She didn`t know how she had missed it before. She had looked at the card over a million times. It was like the words had just magically appeared. On the back written in golden ink was a single sentence;
Act One: The Culling. Venue; The Crown Dome 7pm sharp.
The Horror Show Guild was about to attack; and their next move was where Leon was going to be performing and at the same time.
"Shit, why do things have to get so hard" Lia moaned.
She looked out the window at the full moon. She couldn`t shake the feeling of dread that settled on her.