Outside the factory, Owl sat cross-armed and cross-legged tapping his fingers aggressively, his lips pursed and the vein on his head becoming ever more visible.
"I had a feeling that fucker was full of shit! Acted like a smart-ass for nothing, but it turns out he's actually fully braindead!" He panned his twitching eyes toward the opened vent, and his frustration only grew. "He went into the wrong fucking vent!!"
After all the time and planning he spent to disable the fan on the right vent, Joseph decided to go against his orders and go to the left instead.
"He really had me fooled! I genuinely thought he was some genius! Corpse number eight. Or was it nine now? Augghhh, I don't care! he really was no different than all those other dead fucks." He felt like ripping his hair and splitting his own head like a watermelon, thinking of how foolish he was to have such trust in a mere twelve-year-old.
Owl's instincts screamed at him to flee. The operation had failed, the boy was dead, yet pride kept him rooted to the spot. Any second now, he'd hear the screams, and then it would be officially over.
"Weasel…" The name twisted in his mind like a knife.
That damned rodent would never let him live down another failure. The humiliation awaiting him was too much—dog tags, slave work, surrendering his earnings for a month.
"Arrgghhh" He spat on the ground cursing under his breath. "I guess this is what I get for—"
*CRASH*
A solid weight slammed against his back.
Instinct took over. In one fluid motion, Owl spun around, knife already unsheathed, poised to strike.
However—
His blade froze mid-arc.
"B—brat!?"
Black and smoky as tar, there he stood, the boy he thought died a bloody death, coughing through a cloud of black dust. His face and clothes were coal-stained, fresh cuts and bruises marking his exposed skin. Yet beneath the grime, his eyes remained calm, almost confident.
"Why are you just sitting in front of the door? It's a push not a pull—"
"How are you even alive!?" Owl hissed, voice barely above a whisper. "You went into the wrong vent!"
When Owl's glare didn't waver, he continued, "The blueprint showed the left vent connected to a decommissioned coal furnace. They shut it down at 6 PM daily—confirmed by the lack of smoke from the chimneys. I reopened the recent blockage and entered that way." He gestured at his blackened state. "Hence... this."
"Why didn't you follow my plan as I ordered!? You must've seen the fan! I disabled it for the other vent! I never bothered to tell you since it would have been stopped by the time you got there. Would've been much faster right? Instead, you tried acting like a smart-ass and wasted my time!"
"You're way too shallow Owl…"
"HUH!?"
"The moment I saw the fan, I knew you wouldn't be so stupid as to not have it disabled. The vent you chose would've been perfect if the corpses of the dead children you sent weren't still there blocking the way…"
Owl's eyes burned as he clenched his fists. "Snot nose bastard, do you really think they wouldn't have cleaned out the corpses by now!? It's an air vent! I know you're a kid, but corpses smell like shit! It'd stink up the entire place and they'd quickly find it and clean,"
"Yes, that would be the case if those vents functioned that way."
"What?"
"We don't really have time for me to explain, but it would take one look at the blueprint to deduce the same answer…"
"You're only twelve, what makes you think you know more about blueprints than a mastermind like me? Stop speaking out of your ass and just admit your faults before we move on!"
"Think Owl! Think!"Joseph pressed his coal-stained fingertips to his itching temples. "The fact that this tunnel is still intact is a testament to the truth. If those corpses were indeed found, wouldn't they investigate the area around these vents? They would have found this tunnel, so why is it not blocked?"
Realization dawned slowly across Owl's face. "Explain the vents. We still have time."
Is he testing me? Joseph couldn't help but think.
"Well, these vents were designed for exhaust, not intake. The foul odour of decomposition would have been expelled outwards and upwards to the point it would be so diluted with industrial smells, away from the facility's main areas. So, no one inside would have noticed. No wonder your plans never worked. You were pretty much sending all those clueless kids to their deaths in a blocked passage of corpses…"
For someone named 'Owl' you're not very wise are you? Joseph added in his mind but held himself back from speaking out loud.
Owl's jaw clenched beneath his mask. "Okay okay, you made your point. It might be a SLIIIGHHTTT oversight on my part... But I have to admit you did a good job. But now it's my turn to take over…" His knife caught the moonlight as he grinned. "Stay behind me, kid…" He entered the facility.
"Okay…" Joseph nodded, carefully closing the door behind him.
The facility sprawled before them—a labyrinth of dim corridors and cavernous storage areas. Fluorescent lights cast pale shadows across haphazard stacks of crates that reached toward the distant ceiling. The background hum of machinery pulsed through the air, interrupted by occasional metallic clangs.
Joseph stayed close, senses alert for pursuit while committing the layout to memory. His eyes, however, kept returning to Owl's shadowy figure ahead.
The man moved like smoke—each step precise, silent, effortless. Several times, Joseph nearly lost him among the darkness, as if Owl could dissolve at will into the shadows. His movements weren't just practiced; they seemed almost unnatural.
as they ventured deeper, security was still conspicuously absent.
"Bastards probably never expected anyone to get past that outer defence," Owl whispered, amusement lacing his voice. "Complacency can be deadly."
Minutes later, they reached a secluded corner where a solitary computer terminal glowed pale blue against the industrial darkness.
It looked out of place, a modern tech amid the industrial behemoth.
"This is it." Owl produced a USB stick from his pocket and inserted it. The screen flickered momentarily. "Now we wait."
Once again Owl sat cross-legged in front of the computer while Joseph stood slightly farther on lookout.
The facility remained eerily quiet.
The extraction began at 11:05 PM. Forty-eight minutes later, the progress bar crawled to 73%, each percentage gained in suffocating silence.
Joseph hadn't been briefed on the mission's purpose. He was here for the pay, nothing more. Questions seemed dangerous when he was already walking on eggshells.
Knowledge leads man to ruin.
Knowing too much would certainly lead to trouble
Joseph yawned, his fatigue beginning to show as he sat down.
But sometimes, it's fine to ask.
"Hey, Owl…"
"It's Master Owl, if you know what's good for you…"
"Fine... Master Owl." Too tired to argue, Joseph voiced the question that had nagged at him. "That tunnel you dug was too small for you. How did you get past the outer walls?"
"Hmm?" Owl's eyes flicked open, almost offended. "Well, no shit. I jumped over it."
JUMPED OVER IT!? Joseph almost blurted. 'That wall was over 10 feet high!? How could he simply jump over it!? I had no idea humans could get so strong!?'
Joseph sensed Owl's tone and decided to not even question him.
"You're very strong master Owl…"
"I don't know if I made this clear to you… Maybe I let you disrespect me a little too much… But there's a reason they call me Owl the Great… I'm the strongest… No questions asked…" He heartily crackled.
The strongest!? Joseph gulped.
Owl was clearly an arrogant person, but from what Joseph saw and heard he was inclined to believe him. The speed he moved when he first met him and how fast he circled him with a knife, precisely on his vitals. The way he moved so gracefully through the factory warehouse, and now this jump.
"The strongest… But maybe not the brightest…" Joseph unconsciously chortled.
"Hey! I'll—"
"HEY!! WHO'S TH—"
A bright flash of light— followed by a sudden voice.
It pierced the hall, yet it only lasted for an instant before the room returned to its somber hush.
It all happened in nearly an instant, yet Joseph's tired eyes somehow managed to see it all.
A security guard holding a flashlight emerged screaming from the shadows.
But, before the guard could react, Owl drew his weapon and closed the gap with an almost supernatural speed.
The guard barely registered movement before Owl's knife found his throat, ripping out his vocal cords with surgeon-like precision and throwing it, squirting and pumping on the cold floor, leaving him crying and gasping for air, bleeding on the ground.
"R—Run…" were the last words to ever exit his mouth.
He tried to speak, scream, kick, and squeal, yet there escaped nothing but loud puffs of air. His right hand moved, catching what looked like a radio, but Owl quickly put an end to his useless attempts by stabbing a knife right through his hand.
Once again, his mouth opened, shrieking in pain, yet no sound came as tears began flowing out of his bloody crimson eyes.
His other hand scrambled for his holstered gun—another knife impaled it. Within seconds, all his limbs were nailed to the ground like a crucifix.
"He's really a monster…" Joseph muttered.
Owl stood, wiping the blood off his suit jacket and fixing his collar. "He saw your face… so we're going to have to kill him…" He looked down at the crying man, wriggling, trying to escape like a worm or desperate animal.
"Since it was your fault for losing your mask… Why don't you do the honours? Take responsibility for your mistakes… Quick and easy…" Owl's bloodied visage contorted into a dark smile, a cruel glee lighting up his blood-stained eyes.
The dim lighting of the facility made him appear even more sinister, a ghoul straight out of hell. He took one of his knives, wiped it clean of the guard's blood, and extended its handle towards Joseph.
There was a moment of silence. Joseph took one good glance at the crying guard below, then at Owl before finally landing on the blade glinting ominously.
"..."
"Understood…" Joseph finally nodded, slowly grabbing the blade, and gradually inching closer to his target.
Good… Good… Owl's eyes closed as satisfaction exuded out of every pore.
He paused, taking a moment to bask in this atmosphere before turning around to watch the show… "Now… Let's see if—"
"I'm done. Now what?"