Waking up to roaring laughters, I grimaced at my pounding head as I tried to lift my hand to my head but to no avail. My hands were tied to my back with a rope and panic crashed in. The last thing I remembered was standing outside Dion's house in the chilly night.
Was I kidnapped? Where am I?
In my peripheral vision, I spotted three burly men in the corner of the room. They were a rowdy group of men, totally unaware of their victim being conscious. The only exit was the metal gate which was located close to the three men.
What is this? A cell in a cave-like prison? Does something like this even exist in Singapore? How do I even get past them unnoticed?
Then, I caught a flicker of movement from the corner of my eye. My eyes widened in recognition as I stared at the guy who had told me to leave at the party. Without his mask, I could see his features perfectly. He had deep brown eyes, close to black and extremely dark reddish brown hair with his fringe just meeting his brows and swept to one side.
He sat with his back against the rocky wall and gaze directed at the hard, uneven ground. He did not seem to notice that I'm awake too. I don't know why but I felt better knowing that I was not the only one kidnapped. Two is better than one right?
"Hey," I whispered as loudly as I dared to him.
He turned his gaze on me and he opened his mouth to say something.
"Shhh," I told him in a hushed tone. "Don't let them know I'm awake. Let's think of a way to escape."
He sent me a puzzled look. Maybe he did not hear me properly.
"I said-" I was cut me off mid-sentence.
"She's awake," he announced to my horror.
I froze as I noticed eyes boring into me. It seemed to me that my ally isn't as smart and cooperative as I expected him to be.
"Let's take her to Gladion," One of the burly looking men said in a slurred voice.
Is he drunk?
I threw a condemning look at my questionable ally. "You are not supposed to let them know that I'm awake. How are we going to get away now?"
"How dense can you be?" he replied.
Did he just call me dense? I glared at him. Was he not the dense one for ruining our escape plan? He held my gaze as he crossed his arm. The sudden movement brought my eyes down to his crossed arms. Wait. Why were his hands untied? I gasped in shocking realisation and berated myself internally. How foolish can I be?
Before I could process anything else, I was tugged up to my feet like a weightless doll.
"Don't touch me!" I yanked myself free from the man with a deep scar travelling from his eyelid down to his chin.
"Move!" he shoved me on the back so forcefully that I lost my balance and tumbled forward. I shut my eyes, awaiting for the impact but it never came. A firm grip on my elbow broke my fall to my ultimate relief.
"Thank you." The words escaped my mouth subconsciously. However when I realized that the person who had caught me in time was another accomplice to this crime, all gratitude was gone down the drain. "I mean no thank you," I corrected.
"You're welcome," he stated, raw of emotions and released my elbow.
"Don't keep the boss waiting." the drunkard warned, still dragging his words.
Boss? What boss? Have I stepped on the toes of the underworld figures without knowing? Fear coarsed through my veins.
The aggressive man reached for my hand but I jumped away from him before he could touch me.
"I-I can walk by myself!" I stuttered and made a beeline for the gate. I was more than disappointed when I realized that my attempt to create some distance between myself and them was useless. Unfortunately, their legs were much longer than mine and they caught up to me easily in three long strides.
Seeing no other options, I gritted my teeth as the violent brute manhandled me through the long rocky tunnel. This is definitely a cave. The paths were narrow, only allowing a maximum of two people to walk shoulder-to-shoulder at a time. The drunkard was in the lead and his head dipped down several times to look at a piece of paper in his hands. I tip-toed a few times but all I could make out was the top of the map. His broad shoulders blocked most details from my sight. In the dim lighting, I spotted cracks in the walls which looked too deep for my liking as I went along. What were these people actually thinking, taking a route as precarious as this? The thought of the rocky walls caving in on me made me feel suffocated. Trying my best to ignore that fear, I switched my focus to memorizing the routes instead. I don't want to run into a dead end when I catch an opportunity to escape.
"Don't waste your time." He suddenly spoke up from beside me. I turned to find my supposed 'ally' staring straight ahead, as though he had never spoken in the first place. Ignoring his comment, I went back to memorising the routes. I can definitely memorise it. You just wait and see.
"A system controlled the maze in the cave. It changes every half an hour," he revealed to my mortification.
Guilt washed over me as my mother's worried stricken face flashed through my mind. Maybe I shouldn't have gone to the party without her consent. She must already be searching for me. I just have to survive until I'm rescued. Considering the wealth Dion's family possessed, I'm pretty sure there would be surveillance cameras installed at the gates. There would be recordings of me being knocked out at the gates. Unless...they had tampered with the cameras. I hope that they were not that meticulous.
We emerged from the oppressive tunnel-like cave after what seemed like an eternity and a prodigious mansion which occupied a vast amount of land came into view. The mansion was at least ten times wider than Dion's house and consisted of two levels. The light which illuminated the mansion was the only indication of a battle against the dark, which was stretching its cold fingers towards us threateningly and trying to swallow us into the night. There was no victor and the shadows casted around the mansion was the result of the two forces battling head-on. Then, a ghostly silhouette approached us. An image of a living dead with soulless eyes, chewed and bloodied body with a rotten skeletal hand stumbling towards me flashed across my mind. I stepped backwards and shook my head lightly to clear my thoughts. Reading too many zombie apocalyptic books is getting to me. Fortunately, I was spared from other wild imaginations as a man in his seventies stepped out of the shadows. Even in the dark, I could see how weary he looked. Dark rings resided under his eyes and thin strands of snowy white settled on his head. His face was mapped with deep lines, speaking of wisdom and long-term drudgery.
"Gladion is in the meeting room," his voice trembled as he brought the message to us and he shuffled away unsteadily on his feet.
This must be it. Their hideout. A mansion behind a treacherous cave. No wonder they could carry out illegal activities like kidnappings without being caught. With this thought, my heart sank.
What if no one managed to find me here? I should probably rely on myself to escape from this place and seek for help to get back.
As we walked towards the mansion, I turned to the guy with red hair. "Can you untie me?"
The howls of the wind were the only replies that I got.
"Come on. Overpowering five of you is mission impossible." I pointed out sharply.
The man with the scar seemed to agree with me on this, for the pressure around my wrists disappeared after the swish of a knife. I definitely had a better chance of getting out of this place with my hands untied. I dug into my pocket the moment my hands were free. The police could locate me through the GPS system if I switched my phone on. Panic seized me when I realised that it is gone.
******************************
Plan B. Since they are taking me to the boss, I might as well make use of him for my getaway. All I need was a sharp weapon. A knife would suffice.
I did not pay much attention to the interior of the house as all I could think about was how I could get my hands on the combat knife around the waist of the man who had manhandled me in the cave. I tried to reach for the knife as discreetly as I could, pretending to observe my surrounding as I did. Nevertheless, luck did not seemed to be on my side. There always seemed to be something that obstructed me from my aim. For the first time, when my fingers were just inches away from my target, he shifted away and the gap between my hand and his knife widened. The next few attempts led to the same conclusion. I had withdrawn my hand in alarm and had to take a few deep breaths to calm the jitters before I strike again. Finally, the juicy opportunity presented itself. He raised his hand to scratch his neck and my hand sprang into action immediately. When my skin came in contact with the cold metal of the blade, my heart raced with exultation. Though, my happiness was short-lived. His clammy hand clasped firmly around my wrist and he twisted my hand backwards roughly, causing a cry of pain to erupt from my lips.
"Try that again!" he hissed at my face.
Tears of pain blurred my eyes but I refused to show any sign of weakness. My hand felt like it was on the verge of being torn off its socket.
"Stop Savage! Gladion said not to harm her," the reddish-brown haired guy warned. I find it humourous, how they had already dealt me with a blow on the head.
Disgruntled, he flung me forward. I crashed onto the wooden floor, bringing a porcelain vase down with me as I grabbed it in a desperate attempt to steady myself. The shatter of porcelain pierced through my ear drums and I had no doubt that others in the other end of the mansion could hear it too. Thousands of porcelain fragments littered the floor that I laid on. As I stared at the shards, a ghost of a smile played on my lips. I could already feel the razor-sharp piece of shard that was directly below my faced-down palm, hidden from everyone's view. I closed my palm around it and stood to my feet, glaring at the monstrous being who had tossed me forward with such force. I made sure to clench both of my fist to keep my weapon concealed and put up a convincing act. Great, I thought. Let them think that I'm angry and they won't notice. My anger was not actually an act. But the absence of fear on my face was. Burried deep was fear that was as potent as the anger that burnt inside me.
"Come in," a disembodied voice floated out. The sliding door was slid open and I was led into an unknown room. The room was capacious and designed such that it contained a mixed style of different cultures. The flooring was made of tatami and there were two zabuton on opposite sides of a low wooden table, one of which was occupied by a man. On the walls hung several Chinese paintings and tapestries. He was filling two brown teacups with a golden yellow liquid from a matching teapot and he looked professional in what he was doing. After both cups were full, he placed the teapot back on the table with a light thud.
"Why are you standing? Take a seat," he gestured towards the empty zabuton. Perplexed, I looked between him and the door blocked by the people who had taken me here. The man who had asked me to sit had piercing black eyes and raven-black hair. On top of that, he had ageless skin which made it difficult for me to guess his age. He could be in his thirties or forties. I can't be sure. Furthermore, there was something about him that unsettled me greatly but I can't decipher what was it. It could be the vibes he emitted or the way he held himself. After some deliberation, I decided to do as he said. I needed to be close to him to carry out my plan so I don't see why I should not grab this opportunity when it presented itself. I could pretend to be submissive and then launched a surprise attack when they least expected it. I sat on the zabuton across from him, which incited a smile from him. A smile that did not reach his eyes.
"Here, have some green tea," he pushed one filled teacup towards me.
I stared at the cup as though it contained poison. Why would anyone kidnap me just to have a tea companion? It must be tampered with.
"I'm not thirsty," I declined quickly.
I thought I caught his jaw hardening but it was gone in the blink of an eye. Did I imagine that? I watched him warily as he took a sip from the teacup and folded his hands on the wooden table.
"Very well. I shall get straight to the point," he set his eyes on mine as he made his claim. This was what I have been waiting for. The moment when he would disclose his hidden agenda for kidnapping me. Was it for money? Or maybe revenge? Though, I can't think of anyone who would want to seek vengeance on me. I don't interact much with others. My mother had ensured that.
"We need your help," he uttered the four word I least expected to hear.
"Help?" I echoed, incredulous.
"Yes," he confirmed. "We need your powers to win a war against the other Clovers and elemental wielders for the evolution of a better Idris."
Powers. War. Clovers. Elemental wielders. Idris. None of those words made any sense to me. These people were clearly insane or delusional. Who knew what they might say or do next?
What have I gotten myself into?