Chapter 20: Rescue and Reckoning
The wind howled as if the city itself knew something was wrong.
Peterson stood in his room, fists clenched, breathing hard. Amanda and Miranda were gone—taken by the Dog Eat Dog gang. He could still hear Amanda's scream echoing in his head, still see the smug grin on Bega's face as he vanished with both girls into the shadows. His heart pounded not just with fear, but fury.
Jean-Daniel leaned against the wall, his face bruised and his shirt stained with blood. "We can't go at them head-on, not like this."
"We don't have a choice," Peterson snapped. "They have my sisters."
"I know," Jean-Daniel said, voice low. "But we need a plan. You said it yourself—the system made you stronger. So we use that."
Peterson closed his eyes. The medallion pulsed against his chest like a second heartbeat. The voice returned, low and calm:
"Your rage sharpens you. Use it. But do not lose yourself in it."
Wilkens entered through the window, panting, a folded paper in his hand. "I think I found something."
He dropped the paper on the floor. It was a crude map—an old sewer tunnel blueprint. "There's a path here. It runs under DED's warehouse. If they're keeping Amanda and Miranda anywhere, it's there."
Jean-Daniel looked at it, then back at Peterson. "We use the tunnel. Surprise them from below."
Peterson nodded. "We're getting them out. No matter what."
The city slept as they crept through the darkness. They carried little—flashlights, pocket knives, and hope. The tunnel entrance lay behind an abandoned car shop. The grate groaned as Peterson forced it open.
The sewer stank of rot and rust. They walked in silence, footsteps echoing off the damp stone. Rats scurried past. The deeper they went, the heavier the air felt. It wasn't just filth—it was fear.
"They'll be okay," Wilkens said, more to himself than anyone else.
Peterson kept moving, the medallion's pulse guiding him like a beacon.
They reached the base of a rusted ladder.
"Above this," Wilkens whispered, "should be the storage building."
Jean-Daniel climbed first, slowly lifting the trapdoor. He peeked out.
"Clear."
They emerged inside a cold concrete storeroom, lit only by a flickering bulb.
Voices echoed from beyond the door.
Peterson stepped forward. "Time to end this."
They burst through the door like a storm.
Four gang members jumped up from a poker table. Peterson dropped one with a solid punch. Jean-Daniel blocked a crowbar swing and countered with a knee to the gut.
Wilkens ducked under a chair throw, using a pipe to knock another out.
"Where are they?!" Peterson roared.
One thug pointed down a hallway. "In the cage! Back room!"
They sprinted down the corridor. Another guard stood before the door.
Peterson summoned a skeleton—it tackled the man, slamming him into the wall.
He kicked open the door.
Amanda and Miranda sat inside a chain-link cage, hands tied, bruised but alive.
"Peterson!" Amanda cried.
"Move!" he shouted.
Jean-Daniel snapped the lock with a crowbar. Miranda lunged into Peterson's arms, crying.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Amanda nodded. "They didn't do anything… just tried to scare us."
"Let's get out of here," Jean-Daniel said.
Too late.
A loud voice echoed through the warehouse.
"Leaving so soon?"
Bega.
He stepped from the shadows, bigger than before, wielding a heavy chain in one hand and a jagged machete in the other.
"You think you can steal from us?" he growled.
Peterson pushed his sisters behind him.
Bega laughed. "You've got heart, kid. Let's see how much it bleeds."
He charged.
Peterson ducked, rolling forward. Jean-Daniel attacked from the side, but Bega swung his chain, catching his leg and slamming him into the wall.
Wilkens grabbed a pipe but froze as Bega roared.
Peterson summoned two skeletons—they lunged, buying him time.
He looked at the medallion.
"I need more."
The voice responded: "Then give more."
Peterson shouted, "Veve's Path!"
Power surged. Green light burst from his chest. His body lifted, floating as his skin turned dark, hair bleaching white, the veve symbols glowing along his arms.
Bega paused.
"What the hell—?"
Peterson landed. Moved.
Too fast.
He dodged a swing and struck Bega's gut, sending him flying back.
Jean-Daniel groaned, sitting up. "Damn. That's new."
Peterson stepped forward. "Leave. Now. Or I won't stop."
Bega snarled… then spat blood and limped away.
The warehouse fell silent.
They emerged into the night, bruised but victorious.
Amanda leaned on Miranda. Jean-Daniel walked with a limp. Peterson kept looking at his hands, the glowing slowly fading.
Wilkens finally broke the silence. "We need a name."
"For what?" Jean-Daniel asked.
"For us. This team. This path."
Peterson smiled.
"The Veve's Path," he said.
And as they vanished into the dark streets, they knew something had begun. A war. A legacy.
[End of Chapter 20]