Fleet-footed Strangers

"It can't be this... he came here... to smoke? He was hiding this all this time?"

Alisa thought to herself, finding it hard to believe that someone would wear such a hideous coat just to hide a lighter and cigarettes.

The man smoked a few cigarettes and then left the room. Alisa continued to follow him.

"Guys, I just came out of the room. No one was there waiting for him. You guys won't believe me...but he only went inside the storeroom to smoke. I'm still keeping an eye on him."

"What? Did he go in there just to smoke? Andrea, did you hear what Alisa said?"

"People aren't allowed to do that where the guests are. Guess all this time, Akemi, he was trying to find a place to smoke."

"Well, where's he headed now?"

"He's going back to where the Santa's event is taking place."

"I'm here at Santa's place, Alisa. And Andrea's still watching the gate. I still don't see anything dubious over here."

"Yeah, so far, nobody has left or come through the gate. Maybe the culprits are already inside. If that's the case, they'll come to Santa's meet-and-greet place too. All the rides end, and only then the meet-and-greet event starts. That's the best place all orphans would be as of this moment."

"The man's here. I can see you, Alisa. He's not doing anything... he's just looking at Santa."

"The Santa event only lasts for two hours, so let's continue watching that man. If he plans to do something, he'll do it now."

"You guys do that. I'll continue to watch the gate. If something happens, I'll alert you all."

All kids took turns to meet their legendary Christmas character. The mysterious man still didn't move an inch from his place and kept staring over Santa's place. Santa donated gifts to all kids and entertained everyone with his classic Christmas laugh. Soon, two hours came to an end, and the Santa event met its conclusion. Andrea, Akemi, and Alisa were yet to find the main culprits. All the orphans were safe and sound as well. Santa got up from his seat and proceeded to leave. The man followed him.

"That man is following the Santa actor. What is he up to? They are coming towards the gate, Andrea. Stay on alert."

"They are walking fast. It looks like he's talking about something to Santa."

"Yeah, I can see them. That coat sure is unsightly."

Andrea kept an eye on them as they left the playground. A black car came, and the mysterious man opened its gate. The Santa actor sat inside. It looked as if they were in a hurry.

"Guys...I think that man is...”

“An alien?”

“Were there other aliens outside?”

“Wait and listen to me, Alisa and Akemi. I think that man was …Santa's bodyguard."

"What? Santa's bodyguard?”

“We wasted our time on...Santa's bodyguard?"

"Yeah, he helped him sit inside his car and sat inside himself too. They have left the place."

"Oh, what a waste! Is that Santa actor that famous? I can't believe we used all our time on this!"

"The organizers hire a new actor every year. I'm pretty sure that man was Santa's bodyguard."

"Well, what now?... the gathering is about to end in an hour."

"Wait and watch, that's all we can do."

Dinner began, and everyone assembled inside the dining hall. The gathering was about to end, with no clue strong enough to solve the mystery of the orphans' abduction. Andrea, Alisa, and Akemi became a little agitated. Hungry and tired, all three gathered at the dining hall and continuously watched the place from all sides.

"Only half an hour left guys, how would they abduct the children in so little time? I can see everyone inside the dining hall, and nothing looks suspicious. Are the criminals that fleet-footed?"

''Guys? Say something."

Shifting his gaze away from the hall, Akemi turned his head around, only to find Alisa and Andrea gone.

"GUYS!!"

The three of them were standing together all this time. In a blink, Akemi found them gone without a trace. He panicked and went inside the hall, still in a state of shock. He searched for Alisa and Andrea, but couldn't find them anywhere.

"Excuse me! Have you seen my elder brother?"

A scared little boy approached Akemi.

"What happened? Where did you see him last time?"

"He was right here with me...I don't know what happened...he was standing next to me, and a minute later he vanished!”

Akemi's eyes scanned the hall, and he found a significantly lesser number of kids inside this time. But just a minute ago, everything seemed fine. How did everyone disappear in a split second?

“Please help me find him!... I have no one besides my brother!"

The little boy begged for Akemi to help him, but Akemi still couldn’t believe what was happening. Everything happened too fast for him to get a firm hold on the situation. Alisa, Andrea, and Akemi were on alert the entire time. No one came or left the playground. No one left or went inside the dining hall either. How did this all happen?

"No. NO... NO... NO... please NO! This isn’t possible!"

It seemed like Akemi’s worst fears came true. For he feared for Chow, came back to haunt him and the rest of the orphans.