C6 Chapter 6 - One Step Ahead

CHAPTER 6

(One Step Ahead)

EVANS

I flipped my eyes open, after it had been shut for like forever. How I wish all these I’m passing through is nothing but a dream. I tried peering into the darkness to see if I could get a clue of where I am, but the room is pitch dark, making it hard for me to see anything.

Does it mean that I am in another world, am I dead? I asked myself because the last thing I remember is passing out. I groan slightly, trying to get up from where I lay. The ground is damn cold, that it makes me shivers.

My body still aches a lot, and the rumbling in my stomach reminds me of the fact that I haven’t had anything for the past two days, well that’s if I haven’t been down for more than that. I placed my right hand across my tummy, holding it tightly, as if it could stop the excoriating pain in it.

On getting up, I manage to balance on my butt, relaxing my back on the cold wall; a sudden headache hits my head, causing series of hard bang. My throats also feel sore; my body stinks and all that.

I feel so weak too; can these people just stop treating me this way? They should have just killed me instead of letting me go through all this.

I wonder how my friend will feel if he finds out that I am in such a condition. I’m very sure that he would have called, but my phone is still in the mansion. Perhaps the maids will pass the message to him. And my mum? Gosh I haven’t spoken to her since the day we had a quarrel. I’m very sure that she knows nothing about my where about, except if Jothan relays it to her.

And that’s if he got to find her current location.

“F**k, this headache is another problem” I gritted, holding my head. I was still battling in agony when I heard the sound of the iron door clicked and opened. I paused trying to hold my breath, to perhaps be alert.

I heard the sounds of footsteps coming closer, but couldn’t see who entered. No doubt, I’m still in their territory. Damn, where do I expect to meet myself in the first place? I thought.

The footsteps paused, and the next thing that happened was the light coming up. She turned on the switch as a low light shines from beneath the ceilings. I closed my eyes at first and opened it slowly, trying to get it to adapt with the light, since I had been in darkness for a while now.

A lady clad in a blue short with black top came forward, holding a tray which I wished contained food. She stared at me for a while, her eyes holding no expression, before squatting in front of me. She dropped the tray and pushed it closer to me; I flinched a bit trying as much as possible not to maintain eye contact, though I caught a glimpse of how she looks like and her cologne too, which smells nice.

She isn’t the boss; that I know, because her hair is deep black, which matches her deep blue eyes; unlike the boss whose hair is reddish brown.

Her voice jolted me out of my thought, as it pierces down into my ears

“Eat up…you have work to do” She stated, in a more calm voice. Unlike the commanding voices I have been hearing until now.

I didn’t hesitate to draw the tray closer, salivating in process. My stomach rumbled at the sight of the spaghetti with meatballs. The churning aroma sent me to cloud nine, as I dug in lavishly, not minding the presence of the lady in front of me. The thought of me being poisoned didn’t get to me at first until I have eaten it half way. And when it did, I simply shrugged it off

“If they really wanna kill me, then they wouldn’t have used a simple method as poisoning” I thought

Knowing that my full attention is now on the food, the lady stood to her feet, standing a reasonable distance away, perhaps giving me my space. I finished the food in no time, gently drinking the water in the cup placed beside the plate.

I exhale softly, gaining a little strength. I can’t believe that without food for two days can make one so weak. I felt like dying earlier, but now, it’s feels like my body just went through a charging stage, reigniting my immune system.

“You are done” She asked, turning to face me, as I nodded.

“I believe you can walk right?”

“Can I walk? I asked myself, and struggled to stand. Though my body still aches a lot, I still manage to pull through.

I got on my feet, staggering a bit, before regaining my stance. I had been tied to the chair for too long, making most part of my body stiff, I was surprised to wake up without the bounds.

“Fine…follow me” She stated, and led the way. I followed her immediately, not questioning her ordeal. My eyes stunned for some moment, before it could adapt to the light of the day. I have been kept in this dark room, making my vision a bit blurry before I adjusted it.

~~

We have been walking for some minutes now, and I still haven’t asked her where she is taking me to. It’s not like I got the nerves to ask; my life is at risk over here, I just have to do as they say to stay alive, and that’s if they are gonna keep me.

After what seem to be like forever, we got to a site, which is almost at the outskirt of the clan, but it’s covered with large trunks of trees, bushes, and I believe there will be some wild animals here, due to how thick the forest is. I looked forward to see some people clearing the bushes with manual tools.

Some were cutting down the trees with axes, while the others were clearing out the cut down branches and grasses. Who they are and why they are here isn’t what I wanna know about. All I wanna know is why I was brought here. Did she bring me here to kill me or what?

Wait! Don’t tell me it’s what I’m thinking. I looked down at my cloth; I am still on the cloth of two days ago, stained with my own blood from the punches I received and sweat.

I mentally counted the number of men who weren’t working, they seem to be supervising them, and they held big guns, one of which is an AK 47. They were five in number. The lady walked up to one of them, which I believe is in charge and whispered something into his ear. He nodded and looked sharply at my direction. Our eyes made contact as I was forced to look away.

His eyes isn’t a good one to look at, it held a hard glare and a bit of disgust. He has a towering height, and strong muscles, just like that of the man who tortured me.

The lady began moving to another direction and I began to contemplate if I should still follow her or not, because she didn’t give me any signal. I was about moving from my position when I heard a hoarse voice

“Hey…you there” The huge man called out. I pretended not to hear that he was talking to me, until I felt a presence walking closer. A surge of fear engulfs me, thinking it was the man, but when I looked up, I saw the lady walking back to me. She had her hands tucked in her side pockets, which kinda look cute.

“Damn you Evans” I thought

“He is talking to you” She stated, without emotions. I nodded, trying to keep my raising heart to a steady pace

“I will be back for you when you are done, just don’t get him pissed” She muttered, slightly nodding towards the huge man.

“O…okay” I stuttered, making my way towards the workers. The man picked up a shovel from a set of tools, throwing it to my direction. I caught it swiftly without much effort, as he pointed to a carved out place which has lesser work compared to the others, but jeez, it’s damn much compared to the type of lazy ass I am.

“You have to finish it up in time, or you get no lunch” he snapped, slightly hitting my shoulder with his, before walking away. I picked the shovel and headed to my location, digging it into the ground with a little groan escaping my lips

~~~~~

JADE

After carrying out my duty for the morning, I headed to the boss’ office to give her the report. I knocked on the door and waited for her order before going in. Walking briskly into the office, I sighted her standing in front of the drawer where files are kept. On her table is a pen knife, a pistol and two revolvers whose cartridges are open with some bullets scattered on the table.

Her office is rarely in a mess as this, which means that she is working on something, perhaps examining the bullets. She dropped the file back into the drawer and closed it, walking back to her seat; she decided to place her butt on the table instead, folding her arms as she waits for me to speak.

“Boss” I greeted softly, she nodded; her eyes still not leaving my face. Sometimes I wonder if this is the way she reads minds or actions, by staring intently at the person to get anything for proof. That’s why she easily detects a liar; I think Luna did a great job in that aspect.

“He has no default in walking, he is fine” I stated. She nodded, still not removing her gaze; perhaps she wants me to finish up before replying.

“He is currently at the site,working” I stated, skipping the fact that I gave him food to eat

“That’s good. Do you have any other thing to tell me?” She asked, as I hurriedly shook my head. I was about walking out of the office when something dived into my mind. I paused and faced her

“Is he allowed to bath and change up?”

She frowns

“He is a prisoner, Jade” She shuts me up

“Yea..i know…just that..he stinks a lot”

“Other of our prisoners here..stinks” She snapped, giving me that corky look

I nodded and swallowed in

“He isn’t comfortable being that way, he hasn’t bath for two days”

“And when do you begin to care Jade?” She asked with a squint.

“Ok….fine” I muttered, surrendering as always, as I tried walking out

“Wait” Her voice stopped me

“Get him to clean up after work and give him something to eat afterward” She muttered.

“Yes boss” I replied, turning to face her fully

She exhaled

“You know…I believe we will be going on a fight with his father soon. He might have found out that I am with his son, and the fact that I managed to get the location of his wife, killed her alongside his mother-in-law, will keep him shaken for a while. He won’t hesitate to retaliate, and that’s where we are gonna getting him.” She smirked, picking up the pen knife as she feels the edge with her thumb

I smiled out

“That’s what we are made for Jade, and it’s gonna be fun killing the most famous ‘Lord Marshal’, who calls himself ‘The Mask’” She muttered, taking gentle steps towards me, as her soft hand finds my cheek. Our faces were just few inches close. She caressed it, looking directly into my eyes. Sometimes I view her doing the unimaginable, but the fact that she is straight, and I am too, is just the barricade opposing it

And just like every moment like this, when I think a weird thing will happen, something will cut the moment short.

“Boss” Bruce called from the door post, as we both turn to look at him

He paused for a bit, his eyes looking from me to boss, before speaking

“I just receive a message; Bianca is dead. She was killed by Donald” He muttered, as I froze

Boss sighed, rubbing her temple

“Who is Bianca?” I asked with confusion clearly written on my face. None of them was ready to speak at first, and when Bruce tried saying something, Kyla beats him to it

“She is our secret informant….from the Blood Clan” She mumbled the latter part.