After Es stepped out of the house, now her gaze settling on the small, worn-down garage in front of her. It barely looked functional—rusted tools hung on the walls, a few scattered car parts lay forgotten in the corners, and the dim glow of an old bulb flickered weakly above the entrance. The air slled of oil and damp tal, but beyond that, there was an eerie stillness.
Motor Valley.
A na that once held significance, now reduced to nothing more than a forgotten alley in the heart of the city.
It had earned its na when the streets were alive with the hum of motor carriages and the clang of tal against tal. Back then, this was where the best chanics worked, fixing engines, restoring vehicles, and making a living off the grease-stained floors. But when industrial advancents swept through the city, making older machinery obsolete, the work dried up. One by one, garages shut down, businesses folded, and the once-bustling alley turned into a ghost town.
Now, it was nothing but a shell of what it used to be. A place where people had abandoned their hopes and left only decay behind.
Es let out a slow breath as her sharp eyes scanned the surroundings. Crumbling wooden apartnts lined the alley, their structures barely holding together. So still had tenants—flickers of candlelight in cracked windows hinted at life inside—but most stood empty, their doors hanging open like gaping mouths.
The silence was unsettling.
It wasn’t just emptiness that made Motor Valley dangerous. The lack of law enforcent ant it had beco a haven for illicit activities. Smugglers, criminals, and those who wanted to disappear found refuge in its forgotten corners. Police wouldn’t bother venturing in—not when ergency vehicles couldn’t even access the narrow, twisting paths. Anyone who needed to enter had to walk a grueling three kiloters from the main road, navigating through winding alleyways just to reach this hidden underbelly of the city.
And that garage in front of her? It was useless in every logical sense. No cars ca here anymore. No custors. No business. Just dust, rust, and the mories of what once was.
Yet, Es didn’t believe in coincidences.
A place like this, abandoned by society yet untouched in its own way—it wasn’t truly empty.
And Es had co here for a reason.
The faintest rustle behind her was all the warning she got.
She moved in an instant, spinning on her heel just as a silver glint flashed toward her. Her hand shot out, catching her attacker’s wrist mid-swing. A knife. Predictable.
Before he could react, she twisted sharply. The man let out a guttural groan as his arm was yanked behind his back, his body slamd against the cold brick wall with enough force to rattle his bones. The knife slipped from his grip, clattering onto the uneven pavent.
Es’s breath was steady, controlled. "Well, well," she mused, tightening her hold on his wrist. "That’s quite the greeting. Do you treat all your guests like this?"
The man sniffed, then, to her mild surprise, let out a low chuckle. "Ha... ha... ha. Not bad." His voice was rough, like gravel scraping against steel. "You’ve got so fight in you."
She pressed him harder against the wall, her knee subtly digging into his lower back. "And you have a terrible way of making first impressions."
"Relax." He tilted his head slightly, just enough for her to catch the glint of amusent in his dark eyes. "I was just testing you."
Es scoffed but released him anyway, stepping back as he rolled his shoulders, shaking out his arm. The hood slipped from his head, revealing a scar that ran jagged from his temple to his jawline. Between his thick brows sat a single mole, but it wasn’t the mark that caught her attention—it was his eyes. Cold. Calculating. The kind that had seen and done things most wouldn’t survive.
"Confident, aren’t you?" he mused, rubbing his wrist. "Not many walk into Motor Valley with that kind of attitude."
Es smirked. "Not many leave alive if they cross , either."
His amusent faded slightly, replaced by sothing darker, more intrigued. "Bold words for soone alone in an alley full of people who’d sell their own mother for the right price."
Es didn’t flinch. Instead, she took a deliberate step forward, closing the distance between them just enough to make a point. "I didn’t co here to play gas," she said, voice smooth but sharp. "I’m looking for soone. And I think you know exactly who I an."
A long pause stretched between them, heavy with unspoken tension. The man studied her, the streetlight catching the sharp angles of his face as his lips curled into sothing between a smirk and a sneer.
"Interesting," he muttered under his breath.
Es tilted her head. "So? Will you help ?"
He chuckled again, this ti softer, more knowing. "That depends." He leaned in just slightly, enough for her to catch the faint scent of gunpowder and tal. "Are you ready to walk deeper into the dark, little lady?"
Es’s smirk widened, her eyes gleaming with sothing dangerously close to amusent.
"I don’t walk into the dark," she whispered. "I am the dark."
The man walked ahead with effortless confidence, his movents unhurried but deliberate. Es followed, her sharp gaze drinking in every detail of the surroundings.
The deeper they ventured into the valley, the fewer people there were—but those who remained were far from ordinary. They were predators, lurking in the shadows, sizing her up with cold, calculating stares.
So leaned against the cracked stone walls, feigning distraction as they scrolled through their devices, but their sharp gazes betrayed them. Others stood still, their expressions blank, their hands tucked into the folds of their clothes—concealing weapons, no doubt.
It wasn’t just the rs.
Won loitered in the corners, their backs pressed to the walls, observing with eerie calmness. So whispered amongst themselves, but their eyes never strayed far from Es. Their expressions weren’t hostile, but they weren’t friendly either.
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