Of Cages and Misery

[Byron]

"Yes, I know." Mason would say sharply, not even caring about her words more then just enough to answer. Instead he tried to focus on the situation around them, taking a casual look behind himself from time to time, but seeing no one.

As they made their way towards the door 41 his right hand would slide onto his back and under his brown lether jacket, where he had his pistol holster attached. The laser handgun was ready, and the feel of the metal almost calmed him down. He tried to go over how the automatic rifle was assembled the quickets, the rifle that was located in the backpack hanging over his left shoulder. At least I can put a bullet in her head if she really did cross us, went through his head, whilst he kept an eye on the doors they passed, the number rising with each one.

35,37,39.. There you are. The thoughts were running through his mind as he saw the door that lead into the room they wanted into the most. With his left hand he pointed out the door to Elena, saying as he stared at the number "Alright.. Time to find out what the fuck is going on."

The closer they got to the door, the more Elena's heart began to ran. It throbbed against her chest like mad, and the high blood pressure threw her veins into sharp relief. Slowly she unzipped her leather jacket, and took the kinetic pistol out of its hidden holster. Rather small calibre, but therefore especially handy. Holding the gun near her chest, she watched out for her steps more closely, to make them as silent as possible.

She nodded her head slightly. "Yes," she replied, an almost instantly broke out in a cold sweat. The door seemed somewhat portentous to her, as she didn't know what secrets ensconced themselves behind it. Trying to suppress any loud breathing, she stepped closer to the door Mason pointed at and held her head against the door. It appeared to be thick, but maybe she could still eavesdrop on something. "Let's see if someone's home," she said and eyed Mason, putting a finger before her lips to indicate him to not make a sound.

No sound was audible through the door.

She sighed audibly, although she tried to stifle it, then moved away from the door again. After another brief inspection, moving her head up and down, she shook her head. A quick check for the corridor told her that the coast was still clear. They should act quickly before anybody came around the corner, she thought. In general, the whole situation all too well reminded her of when she had stood before Kiara's apartment on Freeport 6 once, snooping around. The memory took hold of her for a few seconds, but she pulled herself together.

Next to the door was the intercom device attached to the wall. She squinted at it, and didn't look up to Mason when she moved on talking. "No sounds. Who'd have thought," said she in a slightly sarcastic manner. "What do you think? The graceful or the rough approach?" In fact, she thought about pulling the same trick off as last time, but if that would work again? The other alternative was to blow it open with petards or cut through it with a laser.

Ever since they stood in front of the door his right hand was on his back, ready to pull his pistol out. "Depends on our chances.. And how loud the rough is. We don't know if she's here, so if not and we go in loud we will just have to run off as fast as possible." He would talk whilst looking at her, thinking about their situation.

Elena bit her lips together. That was exactly the crux about this matter. If they had bad luck and somebody was in there while they were cutting their way through the door, they would be arsed. She gulped again, getting rid of a lump in her throat. Her heart still banged against her chest, which made her inhale deeply first. After her level of stress was lowered - at least to some degree - she resumed thinking about what to do. The alternatives were few, and staring the door to death wouldn't help a single bit in finding a good solution. In the end, there were no good solutions to this.

Elena heaved another sigh and scratched her forehead with the hand that didn't hold the gun. Another look down the corridor suddenly, she gasped. For Mason it would appear quite weird, since only Elena knew what she had looked at all of a sudden. After it, she seemed even more unsettled. "Whatever, let's get this over with as quickly as possible," said she with wobbly voice. "Can you shoot the doorlock?"

As she gasped he would look the way she did, but seeing nothing strange he would just raise an eyebrow. The way she acted after that made him even more worried, as he didn't know what she wasn't telling him. He sighed quietly and pulled out his pistol, setting the laser to the highest power. Taking a brief look left and right during which he saw no one, he aimed it on the lock. He looks at Elena and after a moment would give a nod. "Three, two, one." He counted silently. A laser bolt, somewhat loud one would be heard as 'one' slipped off his toung. With his head he gestured to Elena to go in first whilst he needed a brief moment to lower his pistols power to normal, after what he followed in.

Taking a deep breath, Elena watched how the door opened inwardly from the laser's impact. A grimly determined expressions flashed over her face as she clenched her teeth and closed her eyes for a second. There was something audible in the distance, bloodcurdling howling of little children. For Mason on the other hand, nothing was audible besides his weapon powering up again.

Stifling a shudder, Elena stretched her right arm and pointed the gun into the direction of the door that was wide open by now. Another brief look at Mason, that showed nothing but unease, and she made a step towards the door. Then another, slowly and silently. And with another she entered the room.

For a moment he just wanted to shout at her for being so slow and that she should just get moving already. Instead a frustrated sigh came out of him, and she started to make her way in.

One last look around before they disappeared into the room, it all seemed clear. As soon as they cleared the door he would push it back and would hold it so it at least seemed somewhat closed. He follows her further in after that, only a step behind her, his breathing getting faster and faster as his pressure rose.

The view that opened itself to the two intruders was rather peaceful and cozy, it was the open space portion of the apartment, comprised of the living room and a small kitchen. To the right, behind a doorway into a corridor leading to further rooms, which was dimly lit, was the kitchen. It had a counter with a four stools, two on each side. A few steps away from the counter were several shelves, a refrigerator and a smaller counter with an oven and washing machine in it.

The living room, in front of them and extending to the left, was slightly bigger. It had a large window, with a view over some of the stores on the floor, which also illuminated the room with the station lights shining in. Close to the corner was a brown couch, in front of a television set, and with two armchairs next to it, one to the right, another to the left, and a coffee table in front of the couch.

Everything seemed elusively empty and quiet, no sounds were hearable, and no one could be seen from their position next to the door.

As if she was balancing over a rope, Elena carefully advanced foot after foot. She kept her pistol at the ready, clutching at it with both hands. There was a tremble in her hands, easily recognizable, that would make aiming a game of pure luck. Elena's hair stood on end, a sign of her great anxiety, not to mention the rapid throbbing of her heart. Although extremely short of breath, she tried to breath only as much as needed. The room seemed empty, but she was inclined to give no hostage to fortune.

She advanced further into the room, while soaking in every piece of detail she could perceive. Still, she was anything but truly concentrated, hearing eerie voices from the distant. Though she knew they were not reality, that would not hide the fact that they kept stressing the hell out of her. Together with this intense situation, it would make for quite an overall exertion. There were no words being spoken, at least not from Elena's side.

In the end, she just made another step forward.

The way she kept being slow and always under too much pressure started to really get to Mason, as he knew the longer they took to search the place, the more chance they get caught. As soon he could he would pass her in faster but still rather light steps, taking a look around the place. Although it all seemed empty he knew there is no room for mistakes, so his pistol was always at the ready.

As soon as Mason had walked past Elena, she would relax a little, though not all too much. Stepping into the living room, she would pick up some pace. Apparently, there really wasn't anybody either, and the lights being switched off suggested something similar. The silence however was almost unbearable for her, only interrupted by her thumping heart and the chirping voices from afar.

"Nobody seems to be here," said she whisperingly, pressing the words out of her mouth. Sooner or later she would have to pant like mad, she knew. After another looking-around, she decided to go for the shelves, lowering her gun just a little. While she was still on guard, she seemed to think the room really was unpeopled at the moment.

"Don't say that too quickly." He replied just as quietly. He made his way around the living room and further towards the kitchen, his eyes observing every detail. Even though there could be no one here, they might find a clue on where to go next.

Mason walked up to the counter, checking over the top and everything he could see. He then turned back to Elena, eyeing her for a brief moment before looking further around the room. Still unsure why they even came here in the first place, if Kiara really was supposed to be a captive. "Check the corridor?" He would ask her, still trying to be quiet.

She looked at him, tilted her head and nodded. "Yeah," she whispered, and after a quick checking of the shelves moved towards said corridor, carefully. Nervously did she look around with rapid head motions. By now she didn't attempt to breath silently anymore, but instead made up for the shortage of air gaspingly.

Her head began to hurt slightly. No good sign at all. Raking her hands through the brown hair, she shook her head and sighed. "You have found anything yet?" she asked him.