Raven High was a mess.There were students screaming all around, as the entire population of the school ran towards the exit gates. Cars were pulled and bikes were scattered, several alarms went off in the distance. Someone hollered over the sudden, ma.s.sive crowd that had filled the grounds of Raven International, trying to put things under control. The place had rapidly turned into a brash chaos.
As the rush of panic struck teens continued, Ben couldn"t help but shiver hysterically. His eyes were wide with fear as he clutched at the shoulder of the man carrying him in a death grip. Unable to look away from the burning theatre, the child swallowed. Silent tears filled his eyes and dripped down his cheeks.
The fire was ma.s.sive.
A low ache rose at the back of his head, somewhere near to the bottom of his neck. It spread to his ears quickly. And before the guard could have brought the child to the exit gate, the pain was severe enough to split Ben"s head. Without warning, he coughed up blood again.
The guard gave the kid a worried look, as he made his way through the crowd. Two other guards who accompanied Ben every day, pushed through the ma.s.ses too, following closely behind. One of them was bleeding from the arm, the other was respectively unhurt. When Ben looked at their approaching figures, his head spun, the pain intensifying from the movement and holler, but he also felt a strange sense of relief.
They were okay.
But…
"U-Uncle Chenric?" Ben"s voice was hoa.r.s.e, barely audible, as he put together the fact that four men always stayed with him during school hours. Just then though, Chenric was missing. The burly man carrying the child nodded without expression, answering his query in a grunted, "He"s getting the car around, little master."
Ben closed his eyes, breathing hard as the pain spread. He felt slightly light in his head, almost dizzy. Benji Hunter swallowed, clutching the man"s shoulders hard. Then, he pa.s.sed out.
Once they had stepped out of the grounds, the guard carrying Ben was quick to pull out his gun and order the two men behind him, "You guys get in your car and stay close. Make sure no one is following us."
Both the men nodded back to him, simultaneously pulling out their guns as well, as they rushed towards the parking lot. The burly guard then marched forward, and flung open the door to the pa.s.senger"s seat of the car that Chenric had driven to the school front. He stepped in, howling hurriedly, "Go, go, go!"
They immediately took off.
It was only when the car had sped, that a spine chilling silence spread inside. The guard was quick to realize that something was amiss, but the door to his side had been locked and the car was racing the street. That however, was the least of his problems.
Ben was unconscious, for one. Then the guard happened to notice the expression on Chenric"s face – it was one of horror. Chenric"s eyes were fixed on the road in front, his face covered in sweat. A trail of blood drizzled down all the way from the wrist of his left hand, to his elbow. His hands shook as he held the steering wheel. The blood dripped from his arm, forming a dark red patch on his thigh.
His wrist had been slit.
The guard"s eyes went cold as he sensed some movement. His hand tightened around Ben"s body, and he was quick to turn around and point his gun at whoever the f*** was sitting behind. He was a second too slow though. There was a muzzle pointing at Ben before the guard could make his aim.
His suspicion, however, had been confirmed.
Just behind the driver"s seat, sat a thin, frail man. He was lean and small, almost as if carved out of a single bone. His face was sinister, tiny, almost invisible beneath the strands of silver hair that fell into his eyes. His lips were upturned into a crooked smile.
"F*** you," he whispered.
And then, he shot.
The sound echoed deafeningly, as the bullet barely missed Ben"s ear and cracked the windshield from the front. The guard was quick to duck the shot. In the same minute, however, Chenric"s m.u.f.fled gasp reverberated through the s.p.a.ce of the car.
For the silver haired man had not only aimed at Ben. Simultaneously, he had also driven a dagger through Chenric"s heart, all the way from the back of the driver"s seat. The blade remained plunged into the seat as it pierced through the young guard"s chest. He gasped – and it was only then that the guard carrying Ben noticed a garrotte in Chenric"s neck.
It looked like a guitar string, and it went around the young guard"s neck, strangling him as the wire remained bound to the head of the driver"s seat as well.
Haunted chuckles of the silver haired man filled the room. Chenric"s entire seat bled red. The man plunged the dagger deeper into the seat, extracting yet another strangled gasp from his victim. Then, he whispered in a faint voice,
"Do I still have to ask you to hand over your weapon?"
The guard carrying Ben froze. Without expression, he extended his gun towards the man. Haunted laughter filled the car again.
Kang Sheng put down the phone.
The task was done.
He sat behind a desk, smiling to himself, the sea blue of his eyes chilling the servant who stood in front. He looked the servant up and down, then hissed sardonically, "I have the b.a.s.t.a.r.d. What do I do now? Kill? Keep alive?"
The man before him didn"t dare to breathe. The master didn"t care for opinions. The servant knew that much.
Kang Sheng"s smile broadened. And then, he laughed.
"Simon Hunter once told me," he hissed to himself, "He wouldn"t cross the border between good and vile. He would always stand on the line, but never cross it. What do you think? Will he cross over now?"
He laughed again. And then he leant back in his chair, breathing in satisfaction. This was fun. He had two pieces now.
The b.a.s.t.a.r.d was his, yes.
But he also had that beautiful blonde boy. Who was it again?
Ah. Yes.
Hartley Greene.
He would have to wait and see what Simon Hunter and his b.l.o.o.d.y son did now. Would he finally have them at his shoes, ready to serve?
Call him, "Master"?
Oh, yes. Yes. Yes.
He would.