Back at Manhattan city, at the border separating the lives of men and demons. Across the street where Rai's L-DK lies. There is an average wide convenience store that retails most of every day's uses.
Rai walked in as he woke up in the morning from his little sleep after the many arguments with his demons inside. he wandered in circles around the market's narrow sections, it was the only time Rai actually considered himself as a normal human being, to wander like others. Mimicking a normal daily life routine, imitating sanity in his wrapped twisted world. So, he would keep himself as long as he could until either he gets bored or the owner complains -which happens repeatedly-. He walked to the cashier after buying himself a Lunch box or anything new to have as breakfast.
"Anything else!" asked the boy behind the counter.
... Rai handled him the money and walked away but the boy smiled "Bye, Rai. See you tomorrow" He waved to him nicely.
Rai never turned back but he was happy to have a conversation with other than his demons and the evil forces having a hold on his soul.
Outside the mad city, at the University's library, Claire took aside from the library-goers, throwing back her conscious in the memory of the scene with her mom, she played it several times in her head but couldn't produce a satisfying outcome, she tried one last time but for the next yet distant call of her friend, she finally stopped and turned to the source of the voice.
Dinah fretfully asked again "You okay?" as soothing as she could, she tried to do nothing but ask her ghastly friend, knowing of her crash with her parents the other day.
"She snapped out and I won't get back, I decided" Claire said wearily as exhaustion began to shape on her face after it already captured her voice.
"I was scared, Claire.. when you have gone missing in that town and after what you told me what happened. I just couldn't let you go through this" Dinah said, she showed only her excuse of rattling about her state unable to show her what she truly meant to her.
Claire looked to the girl sensing nothing but the faint custodial scent in her tone yet, she couldn't let go of her deep burning desires. She answered almost hastily "But I have to, I have to make my breakthrough, of my parents, of this boring life, of this cage or whatever it is. I have to get back on my feet again and on my own without the help of a parent or a friend"
The girl startled "Oh.." but she grouped her thoughts after absorbing the feeling of rejection well, she smiled to her again "... Just remember you are not alone" then she asked changing the subject "Okay, you decided on a place!"
"Maggie said her boyfriend know a place" answered Claire shifting her mind to a new subject, feeling little relief of escaping her invisible prison logged in her mind.
"Tssk" Dinah clicked her tongue, she still couldn't find the place in her mind nor her heart to accept the fluffy orange head. But Claire corrected her immediately "Don't worry, you haven't seen her bf. He is well-mannered and cute too. He studies medicine here in our university that's what I heard"
Great surprise fell on the discontent girl that she had to gasp "What! That Maggie has such a boy"
"Yes, he works part-time on his other days" A familiar high-pitched sound originated from behind the two friends walking together outside the library.
Maggie continued "I'll call him some time, we three can go have a drink this weekend with him"
"Not me, I have a project to finish" Dinah shook her head immediately.
"Fine by me but I still wanna find a good place to crash," Claire said enjoying her friend's little bickering.
"Don't worry, I got your back" The latest comer, Maggie, turned to her with thumps up and a broad smile never parting her lips, facing life almost like a fool who walks among difficulties and sure survive them.
After Dinah left and returned to one of her favourite book shops at one corner on the street. She waved to the girls and ventured alone on her path, Maggie leant to Claire and whispered faintly in a seductive playful tone "I found out where to go"
"What..!" Claire said with little curiosity, knowing fun will come along with her friend's suggestion and of course danger might also result but she cared less of sane decisions. She found comfort in prodding aimlessly next to Maggie into the unknown without any care or yowls from her mind to stop her, that's maybe what she liked most about her friendship with that girl.
"We can go tonight in those parts; I'll be with you. It will be fun beside I got you a new story racking the town these days... Tonight at 10.00 pm. Okay"
One hour exactly before the young gals' meeting, deep in Chinatown, at one of the dangerous warehouses used as HQ by the Bratva. The lone demon infiltrated the den of gangsters secretly using his tricks and usual agility, hiding breathlessly behind an abandoned corner where old boxes were stacked irregularly in the wide and spacious Storage, guarded with two heavily armed men on the rolling shutter door at the entrance, Rai crouched in slow motion watching men playing cards staking bullets of their guns as bets, a couple sat 5 meters away from the first group toying with their guns, few were flirting with some girls they just called to have some quality time while being posted in that building and the last three men were standing guard on a secret door where Rai had his eyes set on from the very beginning.
He brought up a detonator and pulled out his gun in the other hand carrying an empty back bag. He pressed on the detonator and then -a distant Bang- a weak explosion barely grabbed the gang's attention to run outside to see the fire outta some dumpster across the street. They all went to see it out of boredom from their post except the three men and the leader of the whole gang. Rai finally took the chance and with three surprising bullets, the guards fell dead and Rai jumped acutely taking cover into the secret room, before their leader turn his head and grab his MP 40 and send the signal to descend hell upon the intruder.
The men came back to see the men were dead and some man was still in there, they continued their retaliation by rains of bullets till their boss raised his gun "Wait"
The boss beckoned to one of his men to check on the intruder if his body is dead or still stocked with life. He came too close to the door but then in a second, had his guts holed with many armour-piercing-bullets flying from a high-tech machine gun. The Bratva opened fire, so typical of such men -shoot first then ask later- and after half of their ammo were used, their man in charge called "You fool, you thought you can steal from the Bratva, boys... show him what happens to whoever messes with the Bratva"
One man threw a smoke grenade through the small window up high in the steel door -Bang- it exploded, 5 men -of total 27- walked slowly into the smoke towards the door. One of them said "Do you think we killed him"
"Of course we did," they thought but they thought wrong, how would they foolishly assume such frail ending for a man of his calibre, even after he finally had his hands on most of the Bratva's most dangerous weapons and ammunition.
The men forced their way in to see the weapons were lost, half-destroyed and some messing but they figured it out as they saw the 5 feet wide hole in the concrete collapsed wall of this room destroyed from the bullets from their guns and the new extra gun. "The bastard," they shouted looking out of the hole thinking he already vanished in thin air, "He got away__" but suddenly the door was shut and another explosion outside happened, this time it brought darkness, total black-out only the gunfire flashed out of their SMG nozzles illuminated the tragedy that fell on these men, those men whose screams rose mixed with the gunfire making a howl similar to the devil.
"The light, someone, check the light" one of the men outside called out. They ransacked the place for a flashlight or a way to get back the circuit up and going, but they all stopped moving as they heard the terrible whiz of the ruined steel door of the room when it opened slowly again. The men finally engraved the idea and became more aware of the monster that romped round their den. They had their guard up more than they first faced him at the beginning of the night, they brought out their flashes to proceed, but they tumbled on things just rolled out on the floor. Heads of their comrades and beheaded bodies filling the bloody dark room. "Gggaaaaahhh" One man opened fire maniacally screaming in fear shooting in the darkness, friendly-firing others before throwing away his gun and running with those who accepted their fate and flew with their lives forsaking this quarter.