Vanessa kept glancing at Kelly even after the car had gone quiet. Ever since Lilith called her a celebrity, she couldn’t stop trying to figure it out. Her eyes kept bouncing from the road back to Kelly’s face like she was trying to match a mory to a face.
But nothing clicked.
No matter how much she stared, nothing about Kelly’s expression, her jawline, her voice, or even her laugh sparked anything familiar. Vanessa had a sharp mory too. She could rember faces from a year ago, even ones she’d only seen once. But Kelly? She was blank.
"Vanessa, eyes on the road please," Ann snapped from the backseat, furrowing her brows. "You’re gonna drive us into a wall."
"Stop the car," Kelly said calmly.
Lilith looked out the window. "We’re here."
Vanessa hit the brakes slowly and brought the car to a halt. She glanced around—this didn’t look like a place worth stopping. It was a run-down ss of scrap iron, oil barrels, and half-destroyed signage.
Lilith opened her door without saying anything else and stepped out. The air outside reeked of piss, smoke, and rotting food. Vanessa hissed as the scent hit her nose.
The others got out too. The sun was already dipping low, casting long orange streaks across the ruined neighborhood. It wasn’t completely dark yet, but the shadows were creeping in fast. Everything was visible in a murky, depressing sort of way.
People were everywhere—yet no one really looked alive.
Groups of worn-down n and won gathered around fire barrels, their faces lit by the flas as they smoked or simply hovered for warmth. So had makeshift tents made out of old tarps and blankets. Others just lay on cardboard sheets, so groaning from illness, others just staring into space like the world had forgotten them.
Ann stood stiffly near the car, her arms crossed. "This place is actually real?" she muttered. "People live like this?"
"No one lives here," Lilith said, adjusting her coat. "They just haven’t died yet."
The deeper they looked, the worse it got. Filth layered the ground like it belonged there. Rats scurried near old containers. A dog with visible ribs limped between trash bags, sniffing for scraps. But one thing was off.
There was no big warehouse in sight.
Lilith frowned. "Where the hell is it?"
Kelly looked around, scanning the area. She turned to Ann. "Give so cash."
Ann blinked at her. "What?"
"Money. Now."
Ann hesitated, then dug her hand into her jacket and pulled out a wad of crumpled bills. She handed Kelly so without saying another word.
Kelly walked toward a man sitting beside a rusted oil drum. He was wrapped in a massive brown blanket, his face half-covered, but his eyes were yellowed and his lips cracked. The man looked like he hadn’t eaten in days. His fingers trembled even though he wasn’t doing anything. He barely looked alive.
Kelly crouched beside him, low enough to et him at eye level, holding out the bills clearly.
"Hey," she said quietly. "You know where the warehouses are around here?"
The man’s eyes shifted, slowly. He saw the money first, and they lit up slightly. "Warehouses?" His voice was dry like sand. "There’s... there’s plenty. Most of them empty. So used for storage. So just rot."
Kelly nodded, then leaned in a little. "I’m looking for a specific one. A guy nad Stormzy runs it."
The na dropped like a lead weight.
The man’s expression changed instantly. His gaze tore away from the money. His face went pale beneath the gri and filth. His breathing quickened.
"Wait... what... what na did you say?"
"Stormzy."
That was it. The man jerked back like soone had just slapped him.
"You’re crazy!" he yelled. "You’re actually fucking crazy!"
Without another word, he kicked away his blanket, stumbled to his feet, and ran. He didn’t even take the money. Just turned and sprinted off through the crowd, pushing over a half-full barrel and knocking soone’s plastic chair aside. "Don’t bring that na here!" he scread.
Kelly stood up slowly, shocked. She looked down at the bills still in her hand.
But it wasn’t just him.
Others who had overheard her had also frozen. A few people turned their heads. So had been smoking and suddenly dropped their cigarettes. A group of three n nearby pulled up their collars and started walking in the opposite direction. Others entered their tents, zipping them up tight without saying a word.
Within seconds, the entire mood of the place changed.
Conversations stopped. The faint laughter died. Even the beggars who’d been crawling between barrels seed to vanish. The silence that followed was cold and full of sothing heavy.
Fear.
Back at the car, Ann’s eyes widened. "What... the hell was that?"
Kelly turned to look at them. "Did you see that?" she asked, stunned. "I just said a na."
Lilith stepped forward. "And the entire block froze."
Vanessa clenched her fists. "This isn’t normal. No street dealer has that kind of reputation."
Kelly nodded slowly. "Whoever Stormzy is, he’s not just so guy in a warehouse."
Lilith’s expression darkened. "We found the right place. We just don’t know where the hell to look yet."
The wind picked up slightly, kicking dust across the ground. The sun dropped another inch, and the shadows deepened.
———
Ann finally stopped walking. Her hands were on her hips, her chest rising and falling from frustration. It was already dark now, and the cold air made it worse. They’d been moving from one warehouse to another for what felt like hours, but every single place they checked was the sa story—empty, rotted, abandoned.
"None of these places lead anywhere," Ann said, her voice dry. "They’re just falling apart sheds full of trash and rats. Let’s go back and keep searching tomorrow."
She was done. Tired. Covered in dust. Her boots were filthy, and her patience was gone.
Lilith stood still, then slowly shook her head. "No," she said flatly. "We stirred up too much heat earlier. When Kelly asked about Stormzy, the whole damn place changed. That wasn’t just fear. That was a ssage getting ready to spread."
"What ssage?" Ann asked, still irritated.
"That soone’s looking for him," Lilith said. "If we leave now and co back tomorrow, we’ll find either a trap waiting—or nothing at all. He’ll vanish."
Vanessa nodded. "She’s right. If we want to find him, it has to be tonight. There’s no second shot at this."
They stood there in the quiet for a mont, surrounded by broken glass, rusted doors, and silence. Only the distant crackling of fires and muffled conversations could be heard in the background.
While the others talked, Kelly wasn’t paying attention. Her head turned slightly, eyes narrowing at sothing. Just behind a stack of old furniture—two busted chairs, a mattress, and a fridge with no door—sothing was moving.
A pair of small eyes were watching them.
She stepped forward a bit and tilted her head. Her voice was soft but clear. "Co out."
The other girls froze.
"What?" Ann said, confused. "Who are you talking to?"
Kelly didn’t answer. Her eyes stayed locked on the spot. And then, slowly, sothing moved from behind the shadows.
A little boy stepped out.
He was barely up to Kelly’s waist, maybe seven years old, with skinny arms and thin legs poking out from clothes that were three sizes too big. The moonlight caught his face enough for them to see the dirt sared across his cheeks and the wild, uncombed hair falling over his forehead.
He looked like he hadn’t had a proper al in days.
Kelly lowered her voice. "What do you want?"
The boy looked at all of them—nervously at first—but then he said quietly, "You’re looking for Stormzy, right?"
All four won froze.
Kelly blinked. She looked back at Ann, then at Lilith and Vanessa. Then she faced the boy again. "Yes."
The boy grinned, like he’d just won a bet. "I’ll help you find him."
None of them moved. They all stared, unsure if this was a setup or so dumb kid trying to act brave.
He saw their expressions. He could tell they didn’t trust him. He looked down at his feet for a mont, then spoke again, quicker this ti. "I’ve been following you since you got here. I heard everything. I wasn’t going to say anything... but..."
He hesitated.
Kelly narrowed her eyes. "But what?"
"My sister’s sick," he said quietly. "She hasn’t eaten since yesterday. She’s all I’ve got."
The air shifted. That wasn’t sothing you could fake easily.
He looked up again, his eyes serious. "You don’t need to give anything. Just give food to her."
There was another silence. None of the girls spoke for a mont.
Lilith crossed her arms. "How old are you?"
"Seven."
"How old is your sister?"
"She’s twelve."
Lilith stared at him for a few more seconds. Then she nodded. "You take us to Stormzy. If you’re not lying, I’ll get your sister food. Real food."
The boy’s eyes widened. He looked stunned for half a second, like he didn’t actually believe it until she said it.
"Really?" he asked.
Lilith nodded once. "Yeah. But you screw with us, even a little bit, and this deal ends."
"No!" the boy said quickly, shaking his head. "I’ll show you. I swear."
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