Chapter 3 part 2

Pitt's P.O.V

We proceeded to our destination and we grew further and further away from the hotel. The atmosphere had turned colder and darker. Eason was concerned, shifting his gaze back and forth, checking to see whether we were being followed by someone weird.   We stopped at a local drug store in order to buy a map shortly after we received the mysterious message. It felt like the world was against us at that moment since we counted on the dim light of the lampposts in order to get to our destination safely. The wind had calmed down and was no longer blowing against us. After all, it felt like we were heading in the right way... even if I knew that deep down something wasn't quite right. Would we even be able to find Ella? What about the rest of the group? Last time I checked; Aries marched off to search for her on his own. What about the girls? I wasn't too sure about them, either. I just wanted to finish this and get back to sleep.

We had gotten closer to our destination, the streets became noisier, and a few minutes later, there we were, standing outside a strange edifice... a strip club.

"I knew he was fooling with us, let's just get out of here."

Eason sighed, gazing  at the bright and colourful structure, which stood out against the surrounding darkness. We stood from the other side of the street, we stared at that area with dismay, the lights gleamed brightly, with a pinkish tone from the outside.

Different types of people were coming in, all of whom appeared to be happy and satisfied with themselves. Their joy could be seen in their eyes, which twinkled brightly in time with the lights from that area. It was also loud, I heard a variety of noises. People laughed, joked, and even argued with one another. I placed my hands in the pockets of my jacket, glancing at Eason, who was crushing the map into little pieces. his rage escalated.

"We're already here, we can at least check inside," I murmured, reaching my hand on Eason's shoulder to jolt him back to reality. He appeared uneasy and impatient, perhaps resentful of the events that had brought us to this point.

"What the actual hell?? Do you honestly believe we'll be able to find Ella inside that wacky ass building? Are you alright?"

Eason screamed and shook his hands in disappointment in the air.

"Use your head for once in your mother fucking life! We owe it to ourselves to get in there; that's the least we can do "I yelled, glaring angrily at his face. I shouted loudly enough for folks on the other side of the street to hear, my cheeks flushed. To be honest, I didn't give a damn at that moment. We were already in a mess, and he wasn't inspiring us at all. We were outside a strip joint, but we didn't have anything to lose. We could always alert our teachers if Ella didn't return to the hotel by the morning.

"All well, then, we'll go in."

His eyes widened at me, Eason murmured quietly.

We crossed the road after a few awkward stares among ourselves to join the queue, which wasn't very lengthy, given that it appeared to be a particularly busy night for the place.

"What are you doing in here, kids? This venue is strictly for people over the age of 18!"

From the back of the line, a strange, short man exclaimed, turning around to stare at us since we stood behind him.

Another man yelled out, "someone contact security!!".  We're doomed, oh god.

"Well, it is not like you boomers are capable of finishing the job anyways. Put your mind at ease!" In response, Eason exclaimed, laughing at them. With a vaguely authoritarian expression on his face as he stared them down head to toe.

My cheeks flushed with humiliation, but he was correct in some way. The crowd of old guys stood there in disbelief, looking at us with both mixture of disgust and delight.

"That's exactly what he said! Call security if you're not happy with us here!"  I joined Eason in the debate, I fearlessly screamed. He moved in close and murmured, "What are you doing? "He seemed astonished with my sudden attitude.

"Getting the task done as quickly as possible. We are minors, so if security comes for us, they will have to take us inside so that they can collect our parents' phone numbers and call them." I whispered in the midst of a laugh. We had to get in there one way or another and the fastest way possible other than being a V.I.P member was to cause a hassle.

"All right lads, what is going on here?" We were bickering with another man in the crowd and the security guard emerged out of nowhere. He was there, all big and tall. He peered down at us, with a menacing look in his eye.

"These lads are causing trouble!" screamed one man. "Is that true?" inquired the tall man, leaning forward to be heard.

"Huh...yes. We're also m-minors "I stuttered, struggling  to keep my cool. He gazed at the men in front of us, Eason, on the other hand, looked as brave as ever.

"I'm afraid you'll have to go home," the security guy cried, holding both me and Eason by our arms pulling us away from the club.

"Wait a minute, dude-" The man dragged us out in rage, Eason screamed in protest.

"-we received a message to come here, and the message stated that if we arrived here, we would find the answers to our questions."

 Eason spoke the final words and the man's countenance shifted, releasing us from his hands. What had appeared to be furious and anxious before now appeared friendly and welcoming.

"I'm sorry," the man said, his mouth widening into a broad smile. "You guys should come with me," he said, going t in front of us to direct us to the door. We entered via the V.I.P. entrance, Eason extended his middle finger and gestured towards the crowd of elderly men.

That establishment was just as vibrant and colourful on the inside like on the outside.

We moved farther into the venue, the music became increasingly louder. We were led by the man, who was followed by Eason, who passionately moved his head, looking at the performers who shook all parts of their body in order to seem appealing. Hundreds of people packed the main venue. Women were dancing everywhere I looked, and males were throwing money at them in an attempt to stand out from one another and gain the attention of the strippers. That was sad, really.

The security guy brought us to a strangely shaped black door with the word "Private" scrawled on it. He told Eason and me to go in, he stared at us, who stood there as perplexed as ever. The man walked away, swiftly and gracefully but with an authoritative demeanour. I nervously opened the door, casting a glance at my friend for support. When we entered, the room did not appear to be what one would anticipate from a strip joint. The weak light softly shone across the area, which had a layout comparable to a typical living room. with a couple of settees in the middle and a plain tea table

For a few minutes, the place was silent while Eason and I collapsed in tiredness.

Ella's voice reverberated across the room coming behind us, startling both of us. "Oh, you guys have finally came... I feared you had gotten lost" Ella's voice rebounded across the room, startling both of us.

"What on earth are you doing here? "I inquired, jumping from my seat in order to stare at her.

"You guys should come with me, the others are waiting," Ella said, staring Eason and me down. Surprisingly, she looked as fantastic  as ever... specially for someone who had just stormed out of a restaurant crying a few hours before.

"Are you saying that everyone else is here? Why did you get us into this problem in the first place? We spent the majority of our time hunting for you!!" Eason screamed, staring aggressively at her, his once-concerned visage now filled with rage.

"Calm down, I wasn't the one who came up with this." Ella snarled and glared at him, disgusted. "Are you going to follow me or not?"

Eason and I exchanged stares, saying "okay" in hushed tones finding ourselves, once again following someone in order to go to some strange place. We neared the second room, which resembled a dining room with a dining table in the centre and some seats in the corner close to a window, the others' voices became increasingly louder.

"I honestly can't wait to leave." A voice whispered

"Me too," a feminine voice responded, "but we have to figure out who sent us here."

"Hello guys, the others are here." Ella announced while we followed behind her. Aries stood in the corner of the room, his back against the wall and his gaze fixed on nothing. His sister, on the other hand, approached us to meet us, her worried gaze wandering. Charlotte was also there, scrolling impatiently through her phone, perhaps too busy to notice that I have arrived. Two other girls stood on the opposite side of the room, talking to themselves. They didn't look anything like each other, ruling out the possibility of them being sisters. The first girl was tall and had a tanned skin tone that contrasted nicely with her short blonde hair. On the other hand, the other girl was short and chubby. Her hair was long and chocolate brown in colour. As we walked in and settled in, they both stared at me and Eason. In an attempt to appear nice, the short girl smiled. On the other hand, the tall one simply rolled her eyes, glancing at us down from head to toe.

Eason and I sat down by the table, and the others soon joined us, except the other two girls who stayed immobile like a door. It was comprehensible, really. They didn't know us after all.

"Now that everyone has arrived, could you please explain why you went missing and ended up here...Ella?" Aries wondered, placing his hand on his chin. An unintentional action that spooked the girls.

"Well..." Ella spoke in hushed tones, glancing at us with an apprehensive expression on her face. She immediately fixed her gaze on Aries, whose weary eyes were fixed on her, and began to speak: "I went to the hotel reception to cool off after leaving the restaurant. I received a text message from an unknown number telling me to come to this location immediately after I arrived..."

I placed my palms on the table and let out a frustrated and angry groan. We spent the entire night hunting for her, the least she could do was letting us know that she wasn't lost.

He glared at her, Eason, who seemed to have read my mind, roared angrily: "So, there you have it! At the very least, you could have sent us a message informing us of your whereabouts!"

The other girls in the corner were looking at us with interest. Their gaze was drawn to Eason, who was overwhelmed by rage.

"I couldn't!" Ella yelled angrily.

"The number told me not to say anything about it or else," she said, looking aside and nervously fiddling with her hair.

"So... you weren't the one?" Eason inquired, his tone softening.

"How many times do I have to tell you it wasn't my fault?" Ella screamed , staring at all of us like a convicted criminal pleading their innocence. 

"You must be mad to assume it was her, because the other girls wouldn't be here if it was." Aries cried, focusing his gaze on Eason, his cheeks flushed with rage.

"Guys, relax," I spoke, rising  from my seat just in case Eason and Aries went after each other's throats and I needed to separate them.

"Whoever sent us here is most likely looking for anything... money, perhaps?" I spoke, looking  around at everyone else. My parents were not wealthy, but neither were they impoverished. To say the least, messages like this were intended to blackmail people.

"It's not about the money; it's about something else," the tall girl said, approaching our table. Everyone else was taken aback by her.

"How did you figure that out?" Ariel inquired, leaping from her seat to hold a stance in front of her.

"Because the person who texted you also directed us to come here before you guys arrived and to carry nothing but our phones," the tall girl added, her expression impassive, peering down at us. After that, the room fell silent, but not for long enough to be uncomfortable.

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"How long do you think they'll take?" Ariel inquired, breaking the ice once more.

"They should be here any minute," the chubby girl responded, reassuring her by beaming at her.

"I can't wait to get home the fuck-"

Before Eason could finish his sentence, the lights went out. Charlotte had responded with a scream. Ella, who was seated, tumbled to the ground in response to the darkness, swearing profusely at anyone who could hear them. Aries swore. He unsuccessfully attempted to turn on the flashlight on his phone. Ariel...well, she hugged me in response to the darkness. I'm guessing she thought I was one of the girls...or maybe her brother. Her shaking hands hugged me even harder while her entire body shook with terror. "It will be all right, everything will be okay shortly," I said quietly but tenderly, wrapping my hands around her waist.

"Is it possible for this motherfucking day to get any- "

Eason had been interrupted once more, but this time the lights came back on as if nothing had occurred. Ariel raised her eyes to me and smiled, relieved. She then looked at Charlotte, who was staring at us puzzledly, and hugged me briefly before releasing me awkwardly.

I grinned uncomfortably and relievedly at the same time. Today has been a long day for us. The lights going out was the very last thing we needed.

"Well... I see you're all familiar which each other"

We all spun around in panic when a piercing, feminine voice shouted from behind us.

Aries' eyes widened in terror, glancing at the woman. He stumbled backwards, as if he were witnessing something from a nightmare. He wasn't the only one who had this reaction. Ella and Ariel were both stunned and terrified, peering at the woman. Her age was unknown, but she was dressed properly. She walked elegantly towards us, almost as if she was floating.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Angry tears streamed down Aries' face, he screamed. He had encountered this woman previously... and so had the other two, based on their reaction.

"I'm someone who has come to assist you all... you're in grave danger."

the woman went on. With an appealing smile, his mouth expanded wide. She glanced at all of us, my body shook with panic. I kneeled in fear, the weight of my legs grew heavier and heavier. Eason, who always appeared to be in command, was suddenly gazing down at the ground, avoiding eye contact with the woman. The other two girls yelled out in terror, hugging each other as if they were two little scared children afraid of the dark. Whoever this woman was, she was a force to be reckoned with.

"Now, dear... should we begin?" the woman laughed and we all screamed in terror.

Notes from the author:

Hii guys how are you? 

sorry about the delay in this chapter, i will post the other part at some point this weekend in order to compensate for the delay. thank you all for being understanding. ily you all.