Nicole Jane’s POV
I slowly opened my eyes. However, I was greeted by endless darkness, causing me to fully open them.
“Ahh!”
I couldn’t help but cry out when I felt the difficulty of moving. My hands and feet were tightly bound. I looked around, feeling more terrified as I realized I was in an unfamiliar place.
The last thing I remember was a white van suddenly blocking the car I was riding in. I saw masked individuals pointing a gun at our driver, Jun, and covering my mouth with a cloth before I completely lost consciousness.
“Where am I? Is somebody there? Please help me! Someone, please help me out of here!”
My voice echoed in every corner of the place I was in. I could do nothing but cry. What could a young child like me do when I didn’t yet understand what was happening?
After a while, I heard approaching footsteps. Then, the door in front of me opened. My tears continued to flow as I desperately tried to squeeze myself to the side, as if I had a hiding place there.
Two men entered, both of them tall and with tattoos on their arms. One of them had long hair, and they both grinned at me.
“You’re such a noisy kid! If I were you, I’d just keep quiet because no matter how much you scream, no one will hear you here! So just wait for your parents to rescue you!”
I wanted to cover both my ears because of their deafening, demonic laughter.
“Mom... Dad...” I trembled and repeated those words over and over until I was left alone again in this horrifying place.
“Don’t worry. I’ll save you here.”
I froze when someone suddenly spoke. I looked up, and with the help of a faint light coming through the crack of the door, I saw a young boy who was currently untying my hands and feet. I didn’t know where he came from; he just appeared beside me.
But he looks familiar.
“Help me! Please help me!” I pleaded with him. I’m just 8 years old and fear is all I can feel right now.
“Yes, I will help you. Just like how you helped me earlier,” his voice was so cold that it made me shiver. It seemed to have come from below the ground itself.
I stared at him for a few seconds. Soon, something suddenly came to my mind.
“You’re the kid outside the ice cream parlor earlier. The one being bullied by the other kids!”
That’s right. That’s why he looked familiar to me. He was the boy I defended earlier from the kids who were picking on him.
But our conversation was interrupted by the sound of the door lock turning again.
Due to extreme fear, I just closed my eyes. I didn’t want to see them anymore. The people I didn’t know why they took me, and even their terrifying faces.
If only my Mom and Dad were here.
Suddenly, I felt a strong gust of wind. It was dizzying. It felt like it was carrying me somewhere.
After a few moments, I opened my eyes again, and I was shocked by what I saw.
I was now lying on my bed in my room.
“Nicole! Nicole! Wake up!”
I woke up and gasped for breath. I could feel sweat forming on my forehead and my throat feeling dry.
“Here.”
I looked up and saw Steph’s worried face. I reached for the glass she was holding, which had water in it, and quickly drank it.
“Thanks.”
“I was in the bathroom earlier when I heard you screaming and crying. So, I rushed out. Are you okay now? What did you dream about?” Her face still showed concern.
I shook my head and massaged my temple. “It’s just a bad dream.”
She didn’t speak again. But I could clearly see from her face that she was still waiting for me to say something.
“Let’s get ready. The royalties were expecting us to come and help them.” I gave her a small smile, then hurriedly went inside the bathroom.
As I closed the door, I leaned against it and stared into nothingness. I couldn’t help but wonder why I suddenly dreamed about a dark part of my past.
But I also couldn’t help but think about where the hell that little boy was right now and what his name was.
***
Kyle Ethan’s POV
“Why didn’t you tell Nicole that you talked to Dave Croven the other day?”
I turned to Vince and immediately covered his mouth. I looked around and felt relieved when I noticed that there was no one else here except the two of us.
We are currently in the gymnasium, while the other members of the royalty were busy fulfilling their responsibilities to renovate the Student Council office. Nicole and Steph are helping them.
“I don’t think she needs to know. Besides, we don’t know what his real intention is.”
“But don’t you even wonder who he’s referring to and what his mother has to do with it?”
That caught me off guard. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out.
Vince shrugged. “Okay. If that’s what you want. Whatever your decision is, I’ll support you.” He tapped my shoulder and started walking away.
I just followed him with my gaze until he completely left.
My grip on the railings tightened as I remembered the sudden appearance of Dave Croven while we were on our way back to the academy a few days ago.
“Kyle Ethan Clarkson.”
Vince and I were about to go back to my car when someone called out my name, causing us to stop in our tracks.
We didn’t bring the other four with us because we decided to split up to gather information more quickly. We’ll just meet outside the academy later.
I instinctively tensed up. I didn’t even need to look back to know who the newcomer was. I could feel the release of a different aura from my body just by hearing his voice.
“Kyle, not here. Someone might see you. So please, calm down,” Vince whispered.
I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself as much as possible. He’s right. I shouldn’t let my emotions take over.
“What are you doing here? How brave of you to show up alone,” I clenched my fist with my back still facing him.
“I came here because I just want to say that I can help you to fight with my father.”
What he said caught my attention. That made me finally look at him. “And why is that? You’re his son. He’s your father. Do you think you can convince us?”
His face was void of any emotion. I couldn’t read what he was thinking because he kept his mind blank.
“I’m not forcing you to believe. But don’t get me wrong. Helping you don’t mean that I’m on your side. I’m just doing this for my mother and...”
Vince and I were stunned. It felt like something important was about to explode right in front of us.
“A friend.”
With that, he vanished, leaving us speechless.
Now, who the hell is the friend he’s referring to? And what does his mother have to do with this?
***
Miley’s POV
“Nics, are you okay? You can rest now. We can handle things here.” I looked at her with concern.
I’ve been noticing for a while now that she often spaces out or furrows her brow as if she’s deep in thought.
Nics, Steph, Kira, Hiro, Rei, and I are currently here at the Student Council Office to renovate the area, while the other officers are taking care of things outside.
Actually, Mikan wanted to help too, but I declined her offer and told her that we can manage on our own, so she doesn’t need to skip her class anymore.
But the truth is, I’m just not comfortable being with her in one place. If I think about it, she hasn’t done anything wrong to me. That’s why I feel guilty, to some extent. Especially since she’s also a close friend of Nics.
It’s a good thing she’s no longer bothering Kira. Because if she did, I don’t know what might happen.
Nicole looked up at me with a smile from the lettering she was working on.
“I’m okay. I’ll just finish this one.”
I simply nodded. Even if she didn’t say it, I knew something was troubling her. In all honesty, she’s been absent-minded like this for the past few days. Why couldn’t my brother be here right now?
I glanced at Steph, who was currently wiping down the equipment. She looked worried as well. It seems like we’re both noticing the same thing.
“Stop acting as if you can’t do it. Does your weakness only show up when it comes to simple sweeping?”
All of us turned our attention to Reiri and Hiro, who were arguing again. The atmosphere was always so noisy whenever the two of them were together.
“Hey! I’m not complaining because I can’t do this, and most especially not because I’m weak. It’s just that I’ve already cleaned the whole office six times already. Six times!”
“Guys, just chill. It’s all because of you, Rei. What’s really going on that made you follow this idiot for the past few weeks?” Kira wiggled his eyebrows.
Reiri suddenly grinned and looked at poor Hiro, who was now...
Sweating! Why?
“Ah, nothing really. The truth is, we are actually close friends. W-we’ll leave you guys for now because we forgot something.”
We all fell silent, especially when Hiro quickly dragged Reiri out. But even then, I couldn’t help but notice that Rei was slightly taken aback and blushing.
This is bad.
***
Third Person’s POV
“UNTIL now, you still haven’t seen him? Worthless servant!”
The dark room was filled with Marcus’ loud shout. He had been searching for his son Dave for several days, but there had been no sight of him yet.
“I apologize. We will not stop searching, Master,” said the two guards in front of Marcus, bowing their heads and trembling.
His veins were almost popping, and his long fangs were visible due to his extreme anger and frustration.
“Fair enough! Because you will suffer if you can’t find him! Do you understand that?” He scolded the two of them. “Get out of my sight before I do something worse to you!”
“Yes, Master!” In an instant, the two vanished quickly.
Marcus felt his anger boiling inside. He couldn’t help but think that his own child might betray him, especially since Dave knew the truth about what happened to his mother.
“Let’s not do something we’ll both regret, Dave. Don’t force me to send you to where your mother is.”
MEANWHILE, on the other side, Dave had been deeply contemplating the offer from a few days. Just after he finished talking to Kyle, that person suddenly appeared before him.
According to it, there might still be hope for his mother to be alive. Upon hearing that, he became even more energized and hopeful.
“But on one condition. It requires a trade-off. The condition for her return is the disappearance of someone close to you, and that someone is none other than Nicole.”
Those words hit him like a bombshell, and they kept repeating in his mind like a broken record.
He took a deep sigh. Doing harm and endangering others is not a good way to fix or bring back lost lives. Besides, he knew that his mother and sister were already happy wherever they were now. So, he wouldn’t bother them anymore.
“I will always be here for you, Nicole. I won’t let any harm make its way towards you. Just like I always did.”