Energy was running out, and at a rapid pace. Fatigue was beginning to show itself one Urie’s facial features, mouth slightly agape to take in wisps of short breaths. It wasn’t as if the battle grounds this time weren’t well ventilated; Urie - on his own at the current moment due to splitting ways for efficiency - had been wondering the narrow streets of an abandoned ward (now overrun with ghouls) that had he forgotten the name of. It was void of civilisation as of the moment, and even ghouls seemed to be rarely showing up, but it was understandable considering that the operation that was taking place was in fact one of a large scale.
He was inwardly glad that he was sent down a seemingly uneventful route to take despite the look of disdain that he gave Haise, but he figured that the squad leader himself was aware that Urie had been on the frontline offence for the longest and took it upon himself to assign the younger towards the narrowish alleys.
And surely enough, he was exhausted. He had taken a deep wound to an area that affected the left of his abdomen, a gash with the depth of at least a centimetre and a half while the length of the wound itself seemed to stretch from his rib to just below his navel. Why it didn’t heal almost as quickly as it usually would was beyond his reasoning, but he decided to give it no thought and instead carried on treading lightly on the path ahead. Even if it was empty by first glance, he could take no risks given the state he was in.
It was around the sixth minute of walking in the dim lighting that the street provided, that he heard the despairing noises of screams in the distance that sent chills down his own spine. It was nothing like anything he had heard before, and though quiet - due to the distance from his current standing spot - it was a tone he wasn’t familiar with. The screeching of sheer agony.
His eyes widened, throat clenching tightly and almost immediately began to move forward towards the noises that seemed to get gradually harder to listen to. He manoeuvred through the passages, senses sharpening in accordance to the situation. Had it been a CCG member being kept captive? He was less than sure. Especially in a place like this, the sounds were less than expected.
What wasn’t expected however, was the first thing he saw the moment he took his final spin into the last harrowing alley that the noises seemed to be coming from, but he stayed silent. The source of the racket were just a corner away now, and he had to make haste, given that the wound had healed just in the slightest. But even with the assurance of having the slightest fighting ability, there was a sinking feeling in his stomach, a gut instinct telling him that whatever it was... he needed to get out of there.
Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to leave without at least taking a look. He didn’t want to give up before trying. He definitely didn’t want to let a chance like this go. So he turned his head, breathing sounds low and hushed by his hand pressing against his mouth, while the other hovered over his quinque. Except, nothing could’ve possibly prepared him for the sight that he witnessed.
A shadowed figure with a lean physique, shaking uncontrollably with hands tied behind their back, and on their knees. He could see another figure standing opposite, towering over the smaller of the two.
It took Urie 2 seconds to realise what was happening.
As the scene unfolded, he realised that this was something he wasn’t involved with. He watched as the smaller figure’s back arched in excruciating pain as the taller brought what looked like a hook and drove it deep into the flesh of his lower back in a whipping motion. It was quick, but Urie caught the moment the figure’s face caught the light that the street provided, watching as it illuminated the boy’s face for a split second, and watched as he caught the glimpse of the smaller’s Kakugan. They were ghouls.
Then the screams came. And they were quick to pierce through Urie’s ears, stunning him in the process as he watched in sheer shock. He had to bite his hand hard to keep himself from making a noise, and he knew he had to get out of there but he couldnt fucking move from his spot.
He could taste himself drawing blood from biting too hard but he couldn’t pull his eyes away and instead watched in sheer horror as the boy was tortured by his own kind.
He needed to get away immediately.
