Finally rounding the corner to her humble home, Nova shed few tears of joy.
The two story building standing before her had nothing special about it. The walls had long lost its paints from years of hard scrub whenever moss started growing on it that the wood underneath started to appear.
She passed by the huge signboard at the entrance which held the gang's sigil and name plate, although most of its letters were missing all that was left were OWL. Almost the only thing visible was the bright white sentence written in bold at the far end underneath the big, faded ones.
Odd jobs Agency.
Their second job. The things people do to survive, she shook her head.
Too tired to focus in the dark, Nova missed a sleek black car parked in front of their home when she decided to use the back door least she notify the elder on her recent adventure. Since she decided to go out at night, she had already prepared for all the lectures come tomorrow, just not right now.
Her favorite white and pink sneakers which has recently became muddy brown was filled with water making a squashy sound leaving patches of mud along the patio. She immediately ditched it along with her socks before beelining straight to her room.
She caught a glimpse of a dim light from the living room. Grandpa Lee is probably awake. Right, he meditate late into the night. Thus she carried on with her business avoiding much noise.
The house was silent and dark which she was thankful for. By the time she was done, the clock hit 11pm. She she applied ample supply of mentholated balm on her legs, neck and back and dried her hair before finally heading towards the bed.
Diving under her multiple layers of blankets, she finally felt warm and clean. Nova reached out to switch off the light when a blue sealed envelope jutting from under her thick journal caught her eyes.
Against her wish, she find herself pulling it out and breaking open the seal. She didn't need to read the label to know who it came from. And she didn't need to read the contents to know whatever it contains was bad news. Whatever involves The Underground is bad news.
Nova wished she could read whatever issue it brought tomorrow, but she wouldn't be able to sleep unless she at least knows what message it conveys, then deal with it tomorrow.
The informant wouldn't go through all the trouble of sending them coded messages unless it was urgent.
Flipping open the folded paper, she scanned through the message quickly, noting all the key points highlighted and memorizing it to her brain. She picked up the small lighter and set the letter in flames, watching it burn to dark ashes staining the light wooden drawers.
The content was short and to the point.
Nova heaved a sigh falling back on the bed, feeling all the sleepiness evade her.
There was yet another skirmish in The Underground again.
This time, involving two groups in Westernberg, a small town to the west. Most of the gang wars that occurs these days were over territorial expansion. With the gangs reproducing over the years, the turfs are getting crowded and smaller groups expanding.
Due to their claim over one of the largest territory, The RedFox have always been the main targets by various gangs. They had lands and very few Ghosts to defend it. NightOwl can relate.
As mentioned, nothing unusual in The Underground. And being the only crossfire that occurred during the week, it was one of the peaceful weeks they'd seen in months. But what made it special and worth writing about was the appearance of the Angel's Wing on scene.
What started as a crossfire between two gangs ended up in a cold blooded massacre. Hundreds of Ghosts died that day, successfully marking the end of Red Foxes and Voiceless Rebels gangs for good.
And as the victors, the Angel's Wing bagged home two large turfs under their name. Steadily expanding their territory, which is already the biggest in the entire Underground. Of what Nova gathered from her sources, the Angels are always known for ending skirmish than starting them, no one had dared to challenge them.
The Underground was ruled by a strong gang a long time ago, enforcing a peaceful coexistance between all gangs. But as each gang became stronger and somehow outnumbering the ruling gang, rendering them powerless, thus rebellions broke out. Aiming for a large scale free for all war until the strongest survive and take over, claiming the top.
The only thing stopping the disaster currently is the AngelWings. Rumors had it that the gang was made up by lone malevolent Ghosts coming together under the leadership of one. One need not imagine the type of monster it would take to lead such a group.
Malevolent Ghost is one thing, take Oga for example, but a whole gang of them is weapon of mass destruction. Nova isn't one to believe rumors, but even she heard of the leader. He is claimed to be a cyborg, completely altered in a science lab just to serve it's purpose.
But even the AngelWings won't be able to hold the rebellion for long. And soon, The Underground would become a lawless, no man's land saturated by criminals prowling the lands with no one to stop them.
Thus was the fate of The Underground, too much blood to be shed without a course and nobody gives a damn.
Nova feared sharing that fate. And it won't be long before someone turn their eyes on them. They were too weak to defend the land they owned after all.
No one might admit it out loud, but deep down they all knew that if it wasn't for the Silverfangs whom they shared territory with, the Nightowl would have been wiped out sooner. And even now, it's just a matter of time.
If she wanted them to be free, she'll need to act fast.
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