The cacophony of gunfire shattered the once-lively atmosphere of the bar, transforming it into a nightmarish scene of chaos and terror. Presence huddled on the floor, behind the table she had chosen as shield, her hands clamped tightly over her ears, tears streaming down her face as she tried to block out the relentless barrage of shots. The deafening noise seemed to come from all directions, each blast sending tremors through her body.

"Presence!" Kel called out, his ghostly form kneeling before her. But Presence couldn't hear him, couldn't see him through her tightly shut eyes. Her mind raced with irrational thoughts, wondering if this was some cosmic punishment from her estranged father for neglecting his anniversary.

Kel's heart ached as he watched Presence tremble in fear. He leaned in close, "Presence, look at me!" he pleaded, his voice urgent but gentle. "PRESENCE, LOOK AT ME!"

Finally, as if drawn by an unseen force, Presence's eyes fluttered open. Through her tears, she saw Kel's face inches from her own. His eyes, though tinged with worry, held a reassuring warmth that began to cut through her panic.

"You're okay," Kel said softly, his words a lifeline in the sea of chaos. "You're alright." He repeated the mantra, his hand hovering just above her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. Slowly, Presence's breathing began to steady, her focus narrowing to Kel's face and voice.

As the immediate shock subsided, Kel's expression shifted to one of determination. "We need to move," he said, his eyes darting around the room. "Stay low and follow me." He began to move towards the bar, his ghostly form gliding effortlessly over the debris-strewn floor.

Presence hesitated for a moment, then scrambled after him, keeping her body as close to the ground as possible. The gunfire continued outside, punctuated by shouts and the sound of breaking glass. They reached the relative safety of the bar, ducking behind its solid wooden structure.

As they crouched there, Presence noticed movement beside her. The young female bartender was huddled there as well, her mascara streaked down her face as she sobbed silently. Kel nodded towards the woman, a silent instruction to Presence.

"Hey," Presence whispered, her voice hoarse. "Come with us. We're going to try for the kitchen."

The bartender looked at her with wide, frightened eyes, then gave a shaky nod. Kel took point, peering around the edge of the bar towards the kitchen door. "It looks clear," he said to Presence. "But we need to move fast."

The world narrowed to the pounding of Presence's heart and the clammy grasp of the bartender's hand as they bolted for the kitchen. Kel's ghostly form flickered ahead, a beacon in the chaos. It was one of those moments when time seems to stretch and compress all at once - the kind where you're acutely aware of every sensation, yet everything blurs into a panicked haze.

Just as they reached the threshold of supposed safety, the air exploded with gunfire. Closer now. Much closer. The realization hit Presence like a punch to the gut: somehow, impossibly, the shooters had outflanked them. Maybe they were the target.

Presence had never felt fear so visceral it seemed to replace her blood with ice water? In that moment of terror, she understood with painful clarity just how fragile the line between life and death could be.

Kel's face was grim as he turned to Presence. "They're just outside," he said, his voice low and urgent. "We need to find another way out."

Fear and weak resolve battled within Presence. She glanced at Kel, his ghostly form both a blessing and a reminder of her isolation. Only she could see him – a secret ally in this moment of crisis. It was like having a superpower no one asked for: simultaneously comforting and terribly lonely.

A sudden crash of shattering glass pierced the tense atmosphere, followed by the sickening thud of a body hitting the floor. Presence and the bartender whirled around to see a young man, barely out of his teens, sprawled on the kitchen tiles amidst a sea of glittering shards. His lifeless eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, a growing pool of blood spreading beneath him.

The bartender's scream cut through the air, raw and primal. Presence instinctively clamped a hand over the woman's mouth, her own heart racing as she tried to process the horrific scene before them.

Kel, unbound by physical constraints, phased through the wall to investigate the source of this grim intrusion. What he saw on the other side froze him in place, his ghostly form rigid with shock.

There, in the alley behind the kitchen, stood Anthony – his best friend, or so he had thought. But the young man before him now seemed a stranger, his face a mask of cold determination as he circled another young man who was desperately scrambling across the ground, reaching for a gun that lay just out of reach.

"You think you would get away with this?" the man on the ground spat, his voice a mixture of fear and defiance. "You will not... the Black Spiders have eyes everywhere. We will track you and..."

His words were cut short by the sharp crack of Anthony's gun. The man's body jerked once, then lay still, his unfinished threat hanging in the air like a ghostly premonition.

Kel stared at Anthony, unable to reconcile the image of his friend with the cold-blooded killer before him. Anthony's eyes, once warm and full of laughter, now held a chilling emptiness. His movements were fluid and purposeful as he surveyed the scene, showing no remorse for the lives he had just taken.

A maelstrom of emotions surged through Kel – anger at the betrayal, fear for what Anthony had become, and a deep, aching sadness for the friendship that now seemed like a distant memory. He watched as Anthony calmly reloaded his weapon, his actions speaking of a man who had done this many times before.

In that moment, Kel realized that the Anthony he knew was gone, replaced by this efficient, remorseless killer. The revelation hit him like a physical blow, and he found himself backing away, phasing back through the wall to where Presence and the bartender huddled in terrified silence.

As Kel returned to the kitchen, his ghostly face etched with shock and grief, he was confronted with the immediate danger facing Presence and the bartender. They were trapped between the dead body by the window and the killer – his former friend – just outside. The weight of protecting Presence, while grappling with the devastating truth about Anthony, pressed down on Kel's ghostly shoulders.

He turned to Presence, his eyes conveying the urgency of their situation. They needed to move, and fast, but the path to safety was more treacherous than ever. As Presence looked to him for guidance, Kel struggled to formulate a plan that would keep them alive and away from the man he once called friend – a man who had become a deadly stranger.

The tension in the air thickened as Kel heard new footsteps approaching Anthony. A voice, unfamiliar to Kel, called out, "Agaba," addressing Anthony by what seemed to be a code name. The newcomer's words sent a chill through Kel's ghostly form: "She's not here..."

Anthony's response was swift and cold. "Find her," he commanded, his voice laced with an undercurrent of urgency. "Make sure we don't leave this place until she's found."

The newcomer's reply carried a note of pragmatism. "Olopa go soon show here," which simply meant 'The cops will soon circle this place'. The newcomer continued, "We can find Afefe some other time. It's evident that she's not here."

A frustrated groan escaped Anthony's lips, and Kel heard their footsteps receding. Seizing the moment, "We need to move, now," he urged Presence, gesturing towards the back exit. "It's clear for the moment, but we don't have much time."

Presence nodded, helping the shaken bartender to her feet. With Kel guiding them, they made their way to the back door, their movements as quiet as possible despite their racing hearts.

As they emerged into the alley just behind the kitchen, the cool night air hit their faces, bringing a momentary sense of relief. But that relief was short-lived. Anthony was there, his eyes locking with Presence's in a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity.

Presence's heart leapt to her throat, her mind racing with the terrible certainty that Anthony would eliminate them as witnesses. She could almost feel the bartender trembling beside her, both of them frozen in place by Anthony's gaze.

But then, in a move that defied Presence's expectations, Anthony quickly averted his eyes. Without a word, he turned away, joining the other young men as they piled into a waiting car. The vehicle roared to life and sped off into the night, leaving Presence, the bartender, and the invisible Kel standing in stunned silence.

The moment of reprieve was short-lived. The wail of police sirens filled the air, growing louder by the second. Some police cars gave chase to Anthony's fleeing vehicle, while others converged on the bar, their flashing lights painting the night in surreal shades of red and blue.

"We can't stay here," Kel said urgently, his ghostly form already moving down the alley. "The cops will arrest first and ask questions later."

Presence didn't need to be told twice. Grabbing the bartender's hand, she broke into a run, following Kel's ghostly form as they fled the scene. Behind them, they could hear the shouts of police officers as they stormed the bar.

As they ran, Presence's mind whirled with questions. Who was Afefe? Why was Anthony looking for her? And why had he let them go? The encounter had lasted only seconds, but it had shaken her to her core.

Kel led them through a maze of back alleys and side streets, always staying one step ahead of the spreading police cordon. As they ran, Presence could feel the weight of the night's events pressing down on her. She had witnessed something she was never meant to see, and she knew instinctively that her life had changed irrevocably.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of running, Kel guided them to a quiet, dimly lit street far from the chaos they had left behind. As Presence and the bartender leaned against a wall, gasping for breath, Kel's ghostly form hovered nearby, his face a mask of concern and confusion.

The immediate danger had passed, but Presence knew this was only the beginning. Kel had seen a side of Anthony he never knew existed, and the mystery of Afefe hung in the air like an unspoken threat. As Presence looked to Kel for guidance, she realized that their adventure was far from over – in fact, it had only just begun.

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