Chương 14: Kidnapping

Ch 14 - Kidnapping Evan sat up straight in bed. He had never met Marcus's cousin, but he had heard plenty about him. The ten-year-old boy was a young C-rank Awakener and the youngest, most beloved member of their extended family.

"Your cousin got kidnapped? Have you called the police?"

"I did!" Marcus cried.

"They're investigating it, but... but I think it's my fault." Evan frowned as he heard Marcus sobbing on the other end of the phone.

"Calm down. Start from the beginning. What happened?" There was the sound of Marcus blowing his nose before he spoke again.

"So... you know my cousin has a pet cat, right?"

"Yeah. Captain Whiskers," Evan said. Marcus had shown him countless photos of the black cat at school.

"He went missing recently," Marcus said.

"It was technically my cousin's fault. He felt bad that Captain Whiskers was always cooped up inside, so he'd secretly let him out whenever his parents weren't home. But a few days ago, he never came back. My cousin was scared his parents would get mad, so he lied and said Captain Whiskers was staying at my home to play with my cat." Evan had several things to say about that lie, but he kept them to himself.

"And?"

"I helped him make missing cat posters and spent yesterday looking for Captain Whiskers," Marcus continued.

"My cousin knew the lie wouldn't last forever. His parents could've asked mine whether Captain Whiskers was really at our home, so I kept saying he was staying in my room, which was why they never saw him." Marcus paused to sniffle.

"Then... not long after school ended today, my cousin sent me a message. He said someone approached him and claimed they'd seen Captain Whiskers while he was out looking for him." His voice cracked.

"He... he never replied after that. I can't contact him anymore... and... and the police think he was kidnapped..." Marcus broke down crying again. Evan grimaced, wondering what he was supposed to say. He had never been good at comforting people, and no one had ever called him with something this heavy before.

"Okay, I get it," he said awkwardly.

"It was stupid for you and your cousin to hide that Captain Whiskers was missing, but it's not your fault he got kidnapped. Got it?" Marcus only sniffled in response.

"So just... don't do anything stupid trying to find him yourself, okay? Leave that to the police." He spent the next half hour doing his best to comfort Marcus before they finally ended the call. Evan let himself fall back onto the bed with a heavy sigh, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Gosh... what a mess." He had only been talking to Marcus, yet he felt completely drained. It wasn't like there was anything he could do. A missing child was a matter for the police, and all they could do now was wait for the investigation to progress. With that thought, Evan got up, brushed his teeth, and made one last check to ensure the front door and every window in the apartment were securely locked before finally going to bed.

The last thing he needed was to somehow get kidnapped himself and have Reid rush all the way back from District 1 to rescue him. The following morning, Marcus looked utterly miserable. His eyes were red and puffy, and Evan guessed he had spent half the night crying. Yuyan seemed to know what had happened as well, so neither of them tried to bother him. The school day dragged by, with their group remaining unusually quiet. When the final bell rang, Marcus hurried out of the classroom with his head lowered.

Evan and Yuyan exchanged a glance before silently following him from a distance. Normally, Marcus liked to spend a few hours at the sports field after school before heading home, but today he was making a beeline for the school gates.

"You're thinking what I'm thinking," Yuyan said.

"He's about to do something stupid," Evan replied. Sure enough, Marcus flagged down a taxi. Yuyan raised her hand to stop another one.

"Follow that car!" she said as they climbed into the back seat. Evan's eye twitched at the familiar line straight out of a spy movie. The driver merely raised an eyebrow but humored them anyway, pulling out to follow the taxi Marcus had taken. The ride eventually brought them to a small neighborhood park, where Marcus got out. After paying the driver, Evan and Yuyan stepped onto the sidewalk a short distance away and quietly tailed him, their friend seemingly too lost in thought to notice.

He slowly wandered through the park, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings as though searching for something. Was this where his cousin had been kidnapped? Marcus searched every corner, but there was nothing to find. Children played on the swings while parents chatted on nearby benches. Others sat beneath the trees reading books or eating snacks. Everything looked perfectly ordinary. His shoulders gradually slumped. Evan wasn't surprised.

Even if there had been any clues, the police had most likely collected them already. After lingering for another minute, he left the park and headed elsewhere. Evan and Yuyan exchanged a glance before following him through a series of narrow alleys that eventually opened onto a row of abandoned warehouses. Weathered concrete walls were stained with age, while rust streaked across faded metal shutters and corrugated roofs.

Broken windows gaped like dark, empty eyes, and weeds pushed through cracks in the pavement around the deserted loading bays. A rusted chain-link security fence surrounded the property, though parts of it had collapsed over the years. Just as Marcus bent down to squeeze through a hole in the fence, Evan and Yuyan finally made their presence known.

"Ahem!" Marcus stiffened and spun around, only to meet the flat stares of his two friends.

"What do you think you're doing?" Evan asked.

"Um... nothing?" Their expressions became even more unimpressed.

"That's the best you can come up with?" Yuyan asked.

"Didn't I tell you not to do anything stupid?" Evan said. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Marcus shifted awkwardly.

"I... I just wanted to look around..."

"You do know there's no way they'd still be here, right?" Yuyan said.

"The police have probably already searched this place, considering how close it is to the park," Evan said.

"Seriously, these warehouses look like the kind of place every detective checks first. No criminal with half a brain would hide here."

"... Even so, I still want to take a look," Marcus said quietly. Yuyan clicked her tongue. Seeing the stubborn look on Marcus's face, Evan knew there was no changing his mind. Judging by his expression alone, Marcus looked like the type who would never forgive himself for doing nothing while his cousin remained missing.

"Okay, fine. We'll check the warehouses," Evan said.

"But we're coming with you."

"We are?!" Yuyan asked, shooting him an incredulous look.

"You will?" Marcus asked, a hopeful look crossing his face. Evan nodded.

"Better the three of us go together. If you head in alone, you might end up getting kidnapped too. At least this way we can watch each other's backs, and anyone thinking of causing trouble might hesitate when they see three people instead of one." Yuyan's mouth twitched. She looked like she wanted to argue, but after a moment, she simply let out a sigh. With that decided, the three squeezed through a hole in the rusted chain-link fence and stepped onto the warehouse grounds.

Cracked asphalt stretched between the aging buildings, its surface split apart by patches of stubborn weeds. Rusted shipping containers sat abandoned near loading bays where faded yellow safety lines were barely visible beneath years of dirt and grime. Discarded wooden pallets lay scattered about, some collapsed into rotten piles, while the occasional oil drum rested on its side, half hidden by overgrown grass. They checked around the outside first, circling the warehouses one by one.

Most of the large roller doors were chained shut, while several side entrances had been secured with heavy padlocks. Broken windows lined the upper floors, though none offered a clear view inside. Eventually, they found a warehouse with a side door hanging slightly ajar. The three exchanged wary glances before slipping inside. The air was noticeably cooler, carrying the stale scent of dust and rust.

Sunlight spilled through cracked skylights and broken windows, casting pale beams across rows of towering storage racks. Most stood empty, while others held forgotten crates and mold-covered boxes. Torn plastic sheets rustled faintly in the breeze, and every footstep echoed through the cavernous warehouse, making the silence feel even heavier. Marcus looked around anxiously while Evan swept his gaze across the room, searching for anything that seemed out of place.

Yuyan kept one hand hovering over her phone, ready to call the emergency number the moment anything unexpected happened.

"Seems like there's nothing here," Evan said eventually.

"What did I tell you?" Yuyan said, placing a hand on her hip as she glared at Marcus, whose expression fell even further.

"It can't be helped," Evan said, patting him on the back.

"You've tried your best. Let's—" Evan stopped mid-sentence when something glinting caught his eye. Turning toward the source, he narrowed his eyes until the outline of a crack suspended in midair came into focus. It flickered in and out of existence, vanishing one moment only to reappear the next, as though it occupied two states at once. Yet Evan was certain it was there. A Rift?

"Hey, guys. Are you seeing this?" Evan asked, pointing toward the strange crack.

"What?" Yuyan asked, turning toward where he was pointing.

"I don't see anything," Marcus said, squinting into the darkness. Yuyan switched on her phone's flashlight and aimed it at the shadowy corner.

"Are you looking at a mouse or something?"

"It's not a mouse..." Evan said. Seeing that they genuinely had no idea what he was talking about, he gave up.

"Maybe I was just imagining things." Yuyan slapped him on the arm.

"Are you trying to mess with us? Let me tell you, I'm not afraid of ghosts!" Evan scoffed. He might have believed her if he hadn't noticed her eyes constantly darting toward every dark corner of the warehouse. [New Quest!] [Objective: Investigate the Rift] [Time Limit: 24: 00: 00] [Reward: ■■■■■■] Evan blinked at the unexpected System window. So his suspicion had been right. It really was a Rift. Had he managed to see it because of his You're Not Supposed To See This skill?

He glanced at the crack once more, wondering if he should simply report it to the RCB. If this was a budding Rift that was about to manifest inside the barrier, then all the more reason to leave it to the professionals. He didn't even know his own rank yet, and he had practically no combat abilities. There was no way he could clear a Rift of unknown difficulty. The moment that thought crossed his mind, the System immediately displayed the Quest window again. Evan narrowed his eyes.

Was it insisting that he accept it? Knowing the System, there was no way it would let him refuse so easily. If he ignored the quest, he suspected it would simply activate the curse again and drag him into an even bigger mess. Fine. I'll do it... but not now, Evan thought, knowing full well the System could hear him. The Quest window disappeared.

The three students left the abandoned warehouses and returned to the park, where Marcus soon received a call from his worried father, who berated him for not replying to his messages. Evan and Yuyan merely shot him a told you so look before the three of them sat on a bench eating ice cream cones while waiting for Marcus's father to arrive.

"You idiot brat! Do you know how worried you made us?" Marcus's father shouted as he twisted Marcus's right ear.

"Ow, ow, ow! Dad! I'm sorry!" Marcus yelped, his face twisting in pain.

"Oh? So you think saying sorry is easier than asking for permission?" Marcus's father snapped.

"You should've known better than to leave school and come here after what happened to your cousin! Do you want to get kidnapped too?" Marcus shot a pleading look at his friends, but Evan and Yuyan simply continued eating their ice cream while watching the spectacle unfold. In the end, Marcus was scolded to hell and back before his father drove the three of them home. Evan waved as the car pulled away before heading inside his apartment.

He still needed to investigate the Rift, but it was only early evening, so there was no reason to rush. He finished his homework first before heading into the kitchen to make himself a simple dinner of stir-fried noodles. The noodles were coated in a light soy-based sauce and tossed with thin slices of beef, cabbage, onions, and carrots. The taste still wasn't on the same level as Reid's cooking, but Evan found himself quite satisfied with how much his own skills had improved.

Back in his old world, instant noodles had been the fanciest thing he could regularly afford. Fresh ingredients were a luxury, and whenever he did cook, he had to make do with whatever was cheapest, often without enough seasoning to make the food truly enjoyable. There had never been much opportunity to experiment in the kitchen. Now, for the first time, he could finally try making the kinds of dishes he had only ever watched people prepare on social media.

After finishing his meal, Evan showered and changed into more practical clothes. He pulled on a dark hoodie over a charcoal T-shirt, cargo pants, comfortable running shoes, and a pair of lightweight gloves. A compact crossbody bag rested against his back, carrying a few essentials. Once he was ready, Evan left the apartment, making sure every window was closed and the front door securely locked. He hailed a taxi and gave the driver the address of the neighborhood park he had visited with Marcus earlier that day.

By the time he arrived, the place was a far cry from the lively scene it had been that afternoon. The laughter of children and chatter of families had all but disappeared, replaced by a quiet stillness. Only a handful of people passed through on their way home, while one or two sat alone on benches, enjoying the cool night air. Evan headed toward the warehouses, and as he got closer, he activated his stealth ability.

With his body now fully invisible, he moved toward the building where he had found the strange Rift earlier. Like before, it hovered there, flickering between existence and nonexistence. He approached it, half-expecting it to widen immediately and swallow him whole, but the Rift continued to merely flicker. Narrowing his eyes, he stepped closer and tried to examine it thoroughly, yet all he could see was a crack in space.

"Damn it. It's not like I have access to RCB monitoring equipment," Evan muttered. He considered touching it to see what would happen, but the idea felt dangerously stupid. He hesitated for a long moment when suddenly— Skrrrrt! The Rift tore open, and a man stepped through. Evan froze.