Unclassified; Zero and Still Standing

The wooden door swung inward before her knuckles reached it.

A wash of bright yellow light spilled into the dark corridor.

Yesu squinted instinctively.

For one brief second, she thought she was staring into the sun again.

Then a shadow blocked the light.

She lowered her gaze.

Polished black shoes.

Dark trousers.

A slim frame.

A wristwatch with a glowing digital display.

A large black handbag slung across one shoulder.

Her eyes climbed higher.

Past the neatly buttoned shirt, past the familiar glasses.

Then stopped.

"Seth?"

Seth stood frozen in the doorway.

His eyes had widened just as much behind his lenses.

"Kaelitha?"

Neither of them moved.

Neither seemed quite convinced the other was actually there.

Only the sound of music coming from downstairs could be heard.

Until a violent cough shattered the stillness.

Yesu’s gaze shifted to the light behind the doorway.

The room beyond looked small and shabby.

An old iron bed occupied one corner. Empty bottles littered the stained floor.

A man sat hunched over a table, his body shaking as another fit of coughing bent him double.

He looked well over sixty.

Seth immediately stepped sideways, blocking her view of the room completely.

Yesu looked back at him.

He seemed uncomfortable.

"Was it you?" she asked.

He blinked.

"What?"

"The call." She held his gaze. "Was that you?"

His forehead creased.

"What call?"

A crash echoed from inside. The sound of shattered glass.

Seth looked back immediately.

Yesu leaned slightly, trying to see around him.

The man had slumped against the table.

A broken bottle lay beside his chair.

With a tired sigh, Seth stepped forward and quietly shut the door behind him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. His eyes swept the corridor. "At a place like this?"

Yesu looked him over.

"I could ask you the same question."

Seth pushed his glasses higher onto his nose. The gesture carried more tension than usual.

He looked both ways along the hallway before lowering his voice.

"Did you come alone?"

Yesu narrowed her eyes.

"So it was you."

His confusion deepened.

"What are you talking about?"

She paused, toughts colliding inside her head.

No.

It couldn’t be Seth.

There was no way he would know anything about Millie.

And unless he deserved an award for acting, he looked even more confused than she was.

"So it’s not you." she muttered quietly.

"Not me what?"

Yesu didn’t answer. So this was a dead end, she thought.

But the bartender had said third floor.

Her eyes drifted down the corridor. Past Seth, past the first two doors.

They settled on the third. The one that hadn’t answered.

A spark lit her face.

"Do you know who’s in there?"

Seth glanced at the door.

"No."

Yesu immediately started toward it.

"Hey—"

His hand caught her wrist.

The moment she looked back, he released it.

"Sorry."

He cleared his throat.

"But you can’t just wander around a place like this knocking on random doors."

"It’s not random." She looked him straight in the eyes. "I’m looking for someone."

Seth stared back.

The expression he had carried a thousand and one questions.

Yet none came.

Instead—

"Can I trust you?" Yesu asked.

That caught him completely off guard.

He blinked. Adjusted his glasses again.

"...Of course."

Yesu didn’t waste time.

"Someone called pretending to be a friend of mine and asked me to come here."

Her eyes swept the hallway.

"I haven’t been able to contact my friend since I moved away. Which just makes things even crazier."

A quiet breath escaped her. She looked back at him.

"Can you help me?"

Seth searched her face for several long seconds. As he usually did when trying to read the thoughts behind her eyes.

This time, he didn’t.

"Okay."

The word had barely left his mouth when a piercing scream ripped through the hallway.

Both of them spun toward the sound.

It had come from the second door.

Seth and Yesu exchanged a glance.

Another scream followed. High and desperate.

A woman.

SMACK.

The sound of a vicious slap echoed through the hallway.

Yesu was already moving.

She marched to the door and slammed her palm against it.

"Hey!"

Another slap.

Another scream.

She hit the door harder.

"Hey!"

Heavy blows followed.

"Help!" the woman shrieked. "Please!"

"Shut up, bitch!" a man’s voice roared. "How dare you steal from me?"

Yesu grabbed the handle.

Locked.

She rattled it violently while pounding the wood.

"Open up!"

Another cry. Another sickening thud. The sounds were becoming unbearable.

She pulled harder.

"Move."

Seth’s tired voice came from behind.

Yesu stepped aside.

He lifted his hand with the tired resignation of someone who’d done this far too many times.

Knock-knock.

Silence.

Knock-knock

"Zinesky." He called.

The room went quiet immediately.

Yesu looked at Seth.

"WHAT?!" the man bellowed.

Soft sobbing could be heard.

"Come out." Seth said, sounding more exhausted than angry.

"Mind your damn business!"

"Come out."

"Or what? You gonna call Trench?" the man sneered. "Fuck you. I paid for this room."

Seth didn’t move.

"Then let the lady leave."

A harsh laugh.

"Lady?" The voice dripped with contempt. "This ain’t no lady."

A muffled cry.

"She’s a thief." His tone turned frighteningly calm. "And she’s gonna pay."

The woman broke into helpless sobs.

The beating resumed.

Yesu shoved Seth aside.

She drove her heel into the door.

BANG!

Nothing.

Again.

BANG!

The frame shuddered but refused to give.

She stepped back for another kick.

Seth’s hand caught her shoulder. He gently moved her aside.

"Zinesky." His voice carried a trace of strain. "Open the door or I’m coming in."

Yesu noticed it then.

The muscles in his forearm had tightened beneath his sleeve.

"Fuck you!" came the reply.

Seth sighed.

Then punched.

BOOM!

The entire door exploded inward.

It flew across the room, slammed into the window.

CRASH!

Glass burst everywhere.

Inside—

A large man stood over a woman curled on the floor.

Both wore only their underwear.

His fist was still raised.

Yesu sprinted in.

Her foot whipped through the air.

THUD!

Her kick smashed into his jaw.

The man staggered backward and crashed onto the bed.

She immediately knelt beside the woman.

"You okay?"

Mascara streamed down the woman’s swollen face. Bruises covered her arms.

She could only shake.

Behind them, the man roared. His nose and mouth bleeding from the kick.

He charged at Yesu.

Seth intercepted him.

One punch.

The impact launched the man across the room.

He struck the wall so hard it cracked.

With a furious yell, Zinesky sprang back.

"You brat!"

He seized Seth by both collars.

Seth caught his wrists.

Their arms locked in place, neither yielding.

Both muscles tightened under their sleeves.

Then Zinesky slammed a knee into Seth’s shin.

Seth lost his footing.

Using the opening, Zinesky hurled him sideways.

Seth refused to let go.

They spun together and smashed into the adjoining wall.

The concrete burst apart.

Both disappeared through it.

A deafening crash shook the building.

Downstairs, conversations stopped.

Patrons looked upward.

Behind the counter, the bartender frowned.

Upstairs, dust covered the whole room.

The battered woman scrambled to her feet.

She snatched her handbag.

Then, without hesitation, grabbed a thick bundle of cash lying beside Zinesky’s jeans.

She fled.

Yesu rushed through the hole.

Seth sat amid broken concrete, coughing.

His glasses had shattered. The fragments inflicted cuts on his face.

He removed the empty frame and looked at it mournfully.

"Damn it." He groaned. "I just got these."

A few feet away, Zinesky lay unconscious.

Yesu looked around.

They were in the third room. And it was empty.

Or so she thought.

Her eyes stopped beneath the bed.

A dark trail seeped across the floor from underneath it.

Blood.

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