Now, what do I do? Enjoy the show? Though there was no good show from my audience seat.

I just hid behind a tree in a daze for at least five minutes before I regained my composure. I shall enjoy the show. From the first row seat.

There was no one guarding the entrance and the surroundings. That means they were sure about their hiding and that no one would discover them. But guess who's here, lads!

I crept to the back of the warehouse. I was going to hide against the wall, but seeing the moss-covered walls with small insects crawling around, I refrained from even touching it.

But from my position at the back, I couldn't see anything, nor could I hear anyone. This isn't going to work. I need to slip in without them noticing. I walked around moving to the side of the building. The skittering of a few pebbles that I kicked echoed around, making me move to the moss-covered ground that helped to stifle the sound of my footsteps.

I marched to the left side of the building where the light from inside seemed dim. The people inside were probably far from where I was standing. I looked up and spotted the window...or the lack thereof. There was no sign of any bits of window glass which meant I could easily slip in. This was gonna be my entrance.

Seeing that it was a bit high, I decided to jump and hold on fast then try to crawl in. I regretted it as fast as I fell back. The surrounding seemed a bit rusty and cut the palm of my hands as soon as I held onto it.

I tugged onto the hoodie's sleeves to cover my hands as I held on again. Damn, the hoodie is getting dirty! Someone is going to be mad at me later. Ugh, nevermind. I'll just buy her a new one.

With some effort, I threw one leg inside and balanced half of my body. I stayed still for a few seconds to make sure no one is nearby. Then I entered the room in a backward position. I steadied myself with my hands on the wall. Well, it seemed cleaner inside!

But the air seemed eerie.

I looked around but it was totally dark. My hand reached out for my phone as I turned on my camera flashlight. The light helped me scan my surrounding a bit, which seemed empty. The door was kept slightly ajar.

I started to walk forward when my left foot met an obstacle. I stood back into my steps rigidly. The obstacle didn't feel hard enough to be an object. As I took a deep breath to calm myself, a smell hit me. I pinched my nose snd closed my eyes for a few seconds.

Sending a quick prayer to God, I directed my camera's light below on the floor. And all I saw was white. Something wrapped in white. Or someone.

I let out a silent gasp as I fell on the floor and scurried back into the corner of the room. I kept my trembling hand pressed over my mouth to prevent myself from making any sound. I stared, stared and continued staring with wide eyes. I felt my heartbeats echoing around the almost empty room. It was not every day that I encountered a dead body. This was not in my job description!

Taking a deep breath, I flashed my light again on the body. Should I check it? No, no, I can't touch...that. I was supposed to be investigating on a supposedly escaped prisoner. Could this be him? Now I knew what that smell was. It was the putrid foul smell of the decomposing body. Whoever the person is, he must have been dead for a while.

My breaths quickened. I needed to get out of here. The smell started to be suffocating. As my hands reached towards the window to escape, I heard faint voices outside. I immediately retracted my hands. Maybe going out would be a bad idea for now.

I moved towards the door instead. The door's handle was rusty so I pushed the door to open it further and peeked outside. No one in sight! I started to move out slowly. I turned off the light in case I'd get noticed by one of the men.

The warehouse seemed very much abandoned. The smell of moss and dew was everywhere. Even the floor was slippery. In other parts of the building, I could hear droplets of water dripping. There were bits of metal, rusted and broken, laying around. My footsteps echoed on the empty floor as I walked.

I followed the source of light. And as I approached, I could hear the sound of their voices. I halted some metres away from the mysterious people and stood close to the moist wall. I again took out my phone and put it on recording. I couldn't just leave empty-handed.

"The truck will pass by in a week. There is enough time to move it all."

"No need to be concerned with it. For now, you should just return and keep away for a while."

"Yes, Doctor."

Doctor? Doctor who? What's a doctor doing here?

Despite trying to get a good look at them, the wall blocked the whole view and I couldn't risk even a peek.

"And what about the bodies?"

Bodies? Bodies as in plural? Oh Lord, what did I stick my butt into?

"The usual waste disposal. Get rid of them without raising suspicions."

"We are already being suspected by some people."

"I told you, dumbasses, to be careful! You are not new into this. Who are these people?"

"Some undercover agents have discovered our activities in the North. Many times, our plans had to be cancelled. And here, there is that girl who keeps sticking her ass in our business with an investigation no one asked her to carry out."

Pshh, you don't mean me by any chance, right?

"Some Haelyn Carter. She even tried tailing my car today. She lost me midway though."

Oh.

"The Boss won't be happy with more nails in our path. Keep your eyes on her. Don't let her get too close."

Close like what? Some metres away?

"And get rid of her if she does."

I instinctively took a step back. I think I heard enough. It's time to go. I tiptoed my way backwards slowly.

Just then, I heard someone approaching in my direction. I quickly jumped into one of the rooms. Whoever the person is, he simply walked by without looking inside. But the men's voices were a bit louder. Were they leaving?

I tried to push the door quietly to remain unnoticed.

CLINK!

I froze in place. Everywhere was still for a second. My head slowly moved downwards. The door's handle had fallen on the ground.

Idiot.

Idiot!

IDIOT!

I held my breath and waited. Silence. Complete silence.

"Julian. Claris. Check the building!" a voice suddenly boomed, echoing throughout the place. Then, I heard the rushing of footsteps. I was no longer calm. I looked around with agitation and saw the passage outside, where there used to be a window. I quickly leapt and jumped over, falling outside.

By reflex, I immediately covered my head with the hoodie. I heard some people opening the front door shouting to catch me. I ran at the back and disappeared in the woods.

I underestimated the darkness of the night, especially in the wood. Nothing was visible. But I continued to run, flapping my hands around due to the big branches blocking my way.

The voices were not far from behind me. Then, I heard a gunshot. I started hyperventilating even more. This couldn't be how I die. No one was going to find my dead body. I'd be like that corpse I got acquainted with earlier!

My phone! I reached for my phone. It had the recording in it. I would not let that fall in their hands. I halted for a second and patted the trees around.

I finally found a tree which was hollow inside. Without thinking, I dropped it into the tree and continued to run. The men were behind me, I could see some torches. From my calculations, there were around four or five men. But thank God, I didn't hear another gunshot.

The path seemed to be going more downward as I went on. As I turned around to check who's following me again, I tripped on a tree root and went spiralling down the path, hitting stones, pebbles and trees everywhere.

At the last hitting point, I felt my head slammed hard against a rock and there I went, falling into the water.

I don't even know where the water came from. As I resurfaced from the water, I felt dizzy, seeing everything blurry. Must be the effect of spiralling down like this.

I looked around and noticed that it was a river. The water level reached my chest. It was quite deep. I spotted an old bridge nearby, some metres away and I moved into the water, approaching it. Maybe I could get up, cross over it and continue running away.

My plan soon dissolved when I heard the men approaching. As quick as I can in the water, I moved and positioned myself under the bridge, right in time as the men crossed over the bridge. The flowing water muffled the sound of my movements.

They paused for a moment over me, looking around.

"Damn it, where did that guy go?"

"Are you sure it was a guy?"

"It could have been that girl as well, who tailed you earlier."

"Yeah, we only saw them from the back and the hoodie hid them well."

"We should confirm it."

"Let's just continue searching for now. Boss won't be happy if he finds out."

I waited for them to be completely gone before I got out on the water. I was completely soaked. And shivering. The night winds were very cold, especially as they hit against the very wet me.

No longer sure of where I was or which direction to go to, I simply started to follow the river's flow. I must have walked for some fifteen minutes before I finally saw a small house. Maybe I was already near a town or something.

But other than the house, there was nothing in sight. I approached the house's yard. I should ask for help.

And yet again, my plan got interrupted as I saw a familiar black car approaching. Out in the open, I could be spotted easily. I looked around and saw a dog kennel. Why do I look so desperate? That's what I thought as I crawled into the dog kennel just in time as the car stopped on the narrow road in front of the house.

What is not gone unnoticed is my uninvited self in someone else's house, someone whose sleep was interrupted by the impolite me. Next to me was a very much awake dog, a Border Collie, who was looking at me with narrowed eyes and growling. Please, don't go woof!

I urgently searched in my pants' pockets for the occasional biscuits that I stuff inside. Finally, I successfully got a biscuit in my hand. I tried to silently tear the plastic and handed the biscuit to the dog. It looked at me with suspicion though he already stopped growling at the sight of the snack.

I put the snack beside it and reached out to pat its head. It must have sensed no danger as it stuck out its tongue and gobbled the biscuit in one second.

My attention went back outside where two men got out of the car. They were already at the door knocking, just a few steps away from me.

The door opened and I heard them speaking to an old woman. They asked if anyone was here and the old lady said no. They went away quickly, probably being pressured to find me. I wish I could laugh at their face but here I am, praying for my safety as well.

As the car drove away, the dog barked happily at me. It approached me, sniffing around for another biscuit. I tried to silence it but couldn't. The door opened again.

"Millie?" the lady called out, approaching the kennel.

What she probably wasn't expecting was my head popping out with a 'hello' instead. She stepped backwards with a shocked gasp.

"I'm sorry," I chuckled nervously, "I was just passing by."

After the old lady calmed down, I explained to her my situation about encountering some gang in the area. I made the poor, traumatised face to her, hoping she'd buy it. She invited me in, upon noticing my shivering self but I declined saying I was a bit pressed to get away from the danger around here.

"Perhaps you know a small empty cabin around the woods? I left my bike there but then I got lost."

"Oh yes. If you go down this road, there will be a narrow path to the left. It's along that path. And when you continue on that path, you'll reach the freeway back to Hertfordshire. But be careful not to encounter any more of these goons."

Thanking her, I ran along the road while being on the lookout for any other man running after me. Finally, I got a hold of my bike and wasted no time to go away.

☆☆☆

By the time I arrived at the front of my apartment, I was still shivering. The heavy weight of wet clothes on me didn't help the case. I was now very drowsy and my eyesight was blurry. I felt like I'd lose consciousness any second now. Damn, why would I be feeling sleepy right now of all times?

As I made my way up to my apartment on the third floor, I felt something sticky by the side of my face. My hand moved up to touch my face and there was definitely some sticky liquid.

As I looked closely, it seemed red almost like...blood!

My eyes widened at the sight of the blood which was plastered on my face till it almost reached my neck. When did that happen?

I needed to go up fast and get rid of the blood. I took a step forward and I took a step back again. I hid behind a column in the parking lot.

Two men were passing by. I couldn't see them well because of the dark and the fact that they wore caps that hid half of their face. And their conversation seemed suspiciously about me.

"I saw her car parked around there."

"We should still check her apartment to confirm for sure she isn't that person."

"You think she could be that person back there?"

"I wouldn't know since I never met her before. The Doctor simply called me to check and confirm. But I don't think a girl would end up there, that too alone."

And their conversation became less clear as they went away. Or towards my apartment that is. I couldn't go now. I needed to call Eli so I searched for my phone but got nothing. Then I remembered. Ughh, what do I do now?

Oh Brian! I was supposed to go there. I looked at the time. It was 8 pm. That was not too late. I could still go. I staggered to my bike. I would be able to reach there in ten minutes.

I slid in the elevator and sat down. I was so sleepy. I might just go right away to sleep when I reach there.

I was so unaware of my surroundings that I even missed the floor on which he lived.

When I finally reached his floor, I literally crawled towards his place. I wanted to cry. I looked so stupid.

I was about to knock but a pain shot up in my head as I clutched it tightly. My head felt so heavy and the sticky blood was everywhere on my palm as I held my head.

From the end of the hall, I saw someone approaching. But my vision was blurred.

"Help me," I said. But it came out as a croaked whisper only.

Too heavy. I felt too heavy as I plopped down on the floor. I needed to take a nap.

I closed my eyes and fell backwards. Right in time to watch the individual rush forward and hold me, calling my name.

A/N:
How is the story so far?

Toodles,
Celestia♡