Limousine drive

“Didn’t your mommy teach you to avoid dark and scary places, such as this? Oh, that’s right. I forgot your parents didn’t teach you much of anything. It was pretty cruel of them to abandon their child at the age of sixteen, sending them to live on their own and only providing just enough money for rent and food. I wonder... Do you think they’ll care if their beloved son suddenly goes missing? Or rather, do you think they’ll even notice?”

It wasn't just her tone of voice, but also the things she said. It all sounded as if she were a bully from my past, suddenly bumping into me, letting me know my place again. But I didn’t get bullied in the past. I didn’t know this woman.

I slowly turned around. Who I saw was a middle-aged woman in a black suit with dark sunglasses perched on her nose. She was about the same height as me, maybe even a bit taller with a slender figure. She had short blond hair that looked dyed and was smirking at me like a supervillain straight out of a cartoon.

“Who are you? How do you know who I am?”

Her creepy smirk grew even wider. She took off her sunglasses and looked me straight in the eyes. The little courage I had instantly left my body, and I tensed up on the spot, unable to move a muscle. I was overcome with fear.

Her eyes were bright red, like fresh blood flowing out of a wound. As I gazed into them, unable to tear my eyes away, it felt like I was staring the devil himself in the eyes, peering into hell, engulfed by crimson flames.

My legs started shaking. My knees gave out, and I collapsed to the ground. I looked up in awe and terror, meeting the arrogant, twisted joy of someone who knew they had the absolute upper hand.

“Good, I like that look. Oh my, and that face? You’re real cute, dear.”

“W-wh-what..."

“Hmm? What was that? I couldn’t hear you,” she said in a faked loving voice, before suddenly crouching down and putting her face only a few inches away from mine, so close that our foreheads were almost touching.

“Come on, speak up. You have such a lovely voice. It’d be a shame if you talked that quietly.”

I could feel sweat running down my face. My heart was beating so fast and loud I thought my chest would explode. I somehow managed to squeeze a sentence from my trembling lips.

“What do you want from me?”

The woman smiled, then stepped away from me and stood up straight, forcing me to look up at her again. She was looking down at me with her lips smiling warmly but her eyes as cold as ice.

“Not much. You just need to be a good little boy and lure your elf girlfriend to us.”

My eyes widened. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words would come out. This only made the terrifying woman’s smile broaden even more.

“Are you wondering how we know about the existence of elves? Or how we figured out your pretty little girlfriend Rui is one?”

My expression must have looked really entertaining to her, because she started l laughing loudly, like someone on the verge of madness soon after she said that. She regained her composure shortly after and looked me in the eyes again. This time though, she wasn’t smiling. Both her eyes and mouth showed hostility and bloodlust, as if she were holding back from chopping my head off right there and then.

“Enough chit-chat. Because I don’t want to ruin that handsome face of yours, I’m going to give you a choice. Either you come with us quietly right now without making a fuss or trying to escape, or we’ll be taking you with us regardless, just with a limb or two missing.”

This whole time, I was unable to look away from those deep, creepy, crimson eyes of hers, and I could tell she was being serious. If she wanted to, she could chop my arms or legs, or even my head off at any moment, and she wouldn’t need any tools to do it.

“Well? What will it be?”

She extended her hand to me, while a cruel smile appeared on her lips yet again. After this whole time, it felt as if my brain had finally restarted, and I could think about the situation I found myself in.

What do I do? Will she really cut my arm or leg off if I struggle? From the look in her eyes, I can tell that she’s not joking. But if she’s alone, maybe I can run away? She’s the one standing with a wall behind her. I could quickly turn around and escape. It’s still broad daylight, so if I make it out of this alley, they’ll be witnesses if she tries to do anything to me. Right, that could work... Wait, didn’t she say she wanted me to come with ‘them’? But I don’t see anyone else...

All of those thoughts flashed through my mind in an instant. While still kneeling on the ground, I slowly turned my head to look behind me. There, I saw two men, one that looked about as young as me, the other maybe around five years older. Both of them were dressed in a black suit and wearing sunglasses. Both had pitch black hair, the younger one’s longer, going down to his shoulders. The older one’s hair was short and neatly styled, most likely with hair gel. They both had unnaturally pale skin, as if they were holed up in their rooms for a whole year.

They were standing with their backs straight and facing ahead, their expression blank, almost like they were unaware of my existence. But somehow, even through their sunglasses, I could sense their eyes were locked onto me, carefully observing my every move.

I turned to the woman again, her unhinged smile unwavering and her hand still extended towards me.

Is it really hopeless? Do I have no chance of escaping? No, I don’t. It would be pointless to struggle. I would just risk losing a limb for no reason.

Maybe my legs were still shaking from the fear, or for some other reason. Perhaps I could have stood up on my own. Yet, for one reason or another, I extended my arm and took the woman’s hand.

Her smile deepened, seeming even more deranged.

*

To any outsiders looking in, it would have looked like some kind of rich kid, dressed in plain clothes, being escorted by his three bodyguards in suits, riding in a limousine. I was in the back seat, with the woman on my right, and the younger-looking man on my left. The older man was driving. They didn’t tie me up or covered my eyes with anything. They simply opened the door to the car for me and gestured for me to get inside the car.

The windows were tinted so heavily I couldn’t even see out from the inside, making it impossible to memorize the route. But even if I could see through them, I had someone watching me on both my left and right sides, so there was no point in trying. They also took away my phone, so I wouldn’t be able to call for help.

After about a two-hour drive, the car finally came to a stop. The man on my left opened the door and waited for me to get out before closing it. After the woman stepped outside too, the man driving parked the car in the garage.

I could finally get a good look at my surroundings. We were still in the city, but it looked like we were on the outskirts. We were standing in front of a two-story luxurious white villa. The design was simple yet also complex and beautiful, with only a few windows.

The woman came up to me, placing her right hand on my left shoulder. I turned my head to face her, and she did the same, smiling at me like a hungry predator, whose prey just willingly stepped into an obvious trap.

“Welcome to our humble little home. You’ll be living here from now on, so make sure to get comfortable.”