The tunnel out of the Liminal room was frozen over with ice. Beyond the blue ice, Noah could see the bright end of the tunnel.
It's the way out!
He crawled over the ground faster, occasionally glancing back to make sure Hadrian wasn't following him. The tunnel was cold, tight, and suffocating.
Thoughts of what would happen if the ice broke kept haunting him in the long stretch. All that filled the tunnel was the hasty sound of his breath and his knees scratching over the ground.
Claustrophobia.
Noah never thought he had it, but this situation certainly set it off. He kept glancing back, wondering how he would even fight in such a tight space. The exit always felt like it was still too far.
Instead of worrying, he clenched his jaw and pushed forward. He thought he would make it until he heard something shuffling.
He turned back slowly to find Hadrian's bloody form crawling into the tunnel with a sinister look on his face.
The man's suit and skin were ripped into shreds by him ripping up the ice Noah trapped him in. The demon hunter was too unwilling to talk or negotiate, so Noah had trapped him.
But Hadrian was too stubborn to accept a loss.
"You fucking cockroach, how dare you? Look at what you've done." Hadrian sneered, his voice still faint from how far apart they were.
I can make it. Before he crawls to me, I'll be in the normal world. I can phase into the ground and shoot off into the distance.
Keeping his eyes forward, Noah crawled faster, hissing with each step. But Hadrian's voice haunted him in the distance; maddened laughter filled the small icy tunnel.
Hadrian taunted him. "I don't need to chase you, roach. All I have to do is destroy this tunnel. I don't know what power this is, but if it so much as falters a little, the boundary will destroy the entire thing. Then we'll both get shot back into the Liminal room."
Hadrian took out his dagger with a bloody grin. "This time, I won't go so easy on you. I'll bring out all the dark arts that are strong against undead—"
A sudden scraping interrupted Hadrian's voice. Noah turned back just in time to see the hunter being dragged out of the tunnel. He paused for a second, eyes widened.
What just pulled Hadrian out of the—
A hideous scream sounded from the other end of the tunnel, followed by the morbid sound of bones being crushed.
"What the hell?" Noah whispered, eyes bright with horror.
Along with Hadrian's tormented voice, Noah could feel a powerful shock in his belly; his supernatural sense warning him of another unholy creature at the other end of the tunnel.
Dangerous. Whatever was there was beyond dangerous.
And Noah had a dark feeling that this was the same creature that followed him at the park. The monster he met in the afternoon that started this whole thing.
No longer hesitating, Noah continued crawling towards the edge. The sharp edges of the tunnel pricked him in his haste, but he didn't notice it. Overcome by that sense of danger, the only thing on his mind was escape.
Finally, he made it to the exit of the tunnel. He rolled out in an empty alleyway, and paused for a moment to breathe.
He stared back into the long dark tunnel and found a pair of glowing red eyes staring back. Still and patient, like they were waiting for him to make the first move.
Noah held his breath; his body sank into the paved ground, disappearing for a short time, before shooting back up and into the night sky.
Only when the alley was a distant figure did he relax. The ground was approaching fast, but it looked like he would land in the middle of a busy street.
He became intangible again, passing through the people on the street and sinking into the ground again. A woman in a suit stopped when Noah passed through her, feeling a sudden chill.
Then something dark and fast shot up in front of her eyes, disappearing almost immediately. Her scream drew all eyes on the busy street, but they all found nothing.
After shooting out of the earth, Noah had become intangible again after mistakenly scaring the woman.
This isn't the most efficient way to travel.
He settled on possessing someone in the subway, jumping from body to body till he found someone taking a train to the island.
Even when he got back to more familiar territory, Noah wasn't calm. He checked every corner before he left the body he was possessing.
Then he carefully made his way back to the hotel he left his real body at. After repossessing his body and checking out, he took a cab back home.
I made it.
The driver tried to make small talk, but Noah was just staring into space the entire time, thinking about everything that had happened, and trying to decide his actions in the future.
Will that thing kill Hadrian?
The thought felt stupid once it left him; Hadrian was definitely dead after all the things he heard. The main question was: would he be blamed for it?
After going through all that effort not to kill a member of this supernatural organization, he hoped he wouldn't be blamed for that.
Well, I've confirmed that they can't track me unless I'm using my powers. But I still need to be more careful.
Maybe it's time to give up on hunting the mob.
The thought made his heart ache for some reason. It was the wrong thing to do, but also the right thing in an irritating way.
As the cab pulled up to his house, Noah traced the edges of the suburban home, and the warm lights inside.
It's the right thing to do for Paul.
After all his parents suffered at the hands of the mob in his previous life, Noah didn't want them to suffer like that again.
He wanted to punish the mob for their crimes, rip apart their unjust system, and make sure no one would suffer at their hands again.
But that's just an excuse.
He hated them. So much that it hurt. And stepping aside to let the supernatural organizations deal with them felt wrong.
It was hard to let go, but maybe he should just move on.
He paid the cab driver and stepped out, pausing on the sidewalk and just looking at the house for a long time. Walking to the door and entering only when he felt ready.
The hallway smelled like chocolate. He made his way to the kitchen, passing the living room, where he could see the news on the TV. His younger sister, Fara, was sitting on the couch, looking at her phone.
He walked into the kitchen and found his mom, Cara, wearing an apron with her black hair tied into a bun, laying cookie batter onto a tray.
She looked up and a bright smile lit up her face.
"There you are. You know I'm starting to think you hate this house with how much time you spend away."
"Throwing haymakers before I even say a word," Noah mumbled, walking over to lean over the batter. A cheeky smile tugged at his lips. "Mind if I have a taste?"
"Mind if I have a taste?" Cara repeated, mocking him. "Go for it, sir; I also like tasting batter."
Noah ignored her sass, smiling as he had a taste of the batter. It was a bit sweet, but he wasn't telling her that.
"That's really good," he turned to leave, walking through the second door into the living room.
Fara was on the couch, texting someone. Her brown hair was tied into a ponytail. She glanced up at Noah with a suspicious glow in her emerald eyes.
"You're back early. Did they run out of that white powder?"
He slumped into the couch and kept his eyes on the news. "I don't do that… I don't do anything anymore."
"Why are you always out then?" Fara asked skeptically.
Noah was quiet for a long time. He watched the news emotionlessly, expecting to see something about a dead body being found.
Maybe it would be suppressed.
"I've had a lot to think about lately, I needed to experience this world to be sure," Noah muttered, turning to her with a smile. "But I've decided what I'll do. Next Monday is where I'm starting."
"Basketball tryouts?" Fara asked excitedly. She leaned forward. "I was going to ask if you'll try out again, now that you're taller. But it must be weird for a sophomore."
"I don't care," Noah said with a shrug of his shoulder. He took out the movie he bought and waved it in her face. "Wanna watch something scary?"