Opening my eyes, I found myself walking through a crowd. I looked to my side, and Rafael was walking there with me. He was wearing a black coat and a black hat, black gloves, too.

Ethan told me that the first thing I'd notice if I have actually teleported to the multiverse was a red light at the edge of my wrist, it was that tiny device he connected with the EEG to help keep my conscious aware that I'm in a different world and that I can leave it whenever I want.

That was plan A if I didn't accidentally get stuck in this universe. Plan B was to find Ethan's clone and let him help me travel back to my original universe.

He also told me that once I successfully teleport to the parallel universe my heart rate would increase, I'd be more likely to sweat, nosebleed, have vision problems and chest pain due to high blood pressure. That's because my clone is already dead and I'm couldn't borrow her conscious, so instead I'm using my own. Which means my body would consume much more energy than I normally would back in my world.

In order to make sure I wasn't having a lucid dream, I turned my wrist, finding a red light shining through it.

I grinned with joy. I've finally arrived to the parallel universe, Mikhail's universe. I don't understand what's going on or why am I walking through a crowd full of people, but seeing that Rafael is there with me means that I'm very close to finding Mikhail.

I'm finally going to find Mikhail.

"They are coming for you." Rafael muttered, hiding his face with a hat as he looked down. He then took a quick glance at me, "Why are you smiling?"

"Huh?" My smile dropped the moment I noticed him speaking with me.

He can see me.

He gave me a sigh, "You're in extreme danger right now." Rafael paused and placed both hands on my shoulders.

He can touch me.

I try to force back a grin.

"You're gonna get in the building." He wandered my eyes with seriousness and worry. "Do not glance at any of us, do not speak until you hear us call for you. And most importantly," He grabbed a handgun from his coat and shoved it in my jacket's pocket. "do not shoot until necessary."

My eyes widened with shock as I swallowed hard and hid the gun further inside the pocket.

I'm wearing all in black, leather jacket, leggings and leather half boots.

I really like this outfit, makes me look like a badass.

"Good luck, Evelyn." Rafael tilted his hat and then walked out of the crowd.

I feel a crippling sense of anxiety.

I realize I'm wearing an earpiece on my left side, we must be on a mission that I do know nothing about.

I tried to play along so I entered the building as he instructed me, and I realized it's a shopping Mall.

Is he serious?

I froze my place, not knowing what to come next.

I heard Rafael calling my name from the earpiece, though I did not attempt to speak a word the moment I glanced at two bodyguards staring at me as if they were waiting for a right moment to haunt me down.

"There's two of them." Rafael mentioned and I anxiously twitched my mouth. "They're watching."

"I figured that out." I answered with a low tone, not daring to look at the body guard in the eyes as I slowly kept walking.

I don't know what I'm doing or what I'm getting myself into, but I'd do anything in order to see Mikhail, which means risking my life in this strangely irritating mission.

"He's up!" Rafael suddenly hissed with fright, triggering my ears. "He's waiting on the second floor!"

"Who's u-" I felt a huge heavy hand covering my mouth, tightly gripping me back against him.

I was hardly able to turn around, but once I managed to, I realized it was Adriano with his cheesiest smirk ever.

Oh god, not again.

"Miss me?" He whispered into my ears, making me shiver with disgust.

"Evelyn?!" I heard Rafael nervously calling from the earpiece.

I rolled my eyes as Adriano grabbed me to an abandoned area, all it's stores were closed. He threw me into an elevator and entered right after me.

Should I pull out my gun?

I can't be doing this.

"What brought you here, gummy bear?" He tilted his head with a smirk, reaching for my cheek to stroke.

"Ew." I flinched, curling my lips at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Tryna track you down, pull you in a trap." He smirked and leaned closer. "And it worked."

"Son of a-" Before I could cuss at him, he pressed a finger to my lips.

"Save it for later, Princess." He furiously glared at me, and I couldn't breathe from horror of expecting what he could do next. "Don's waiting for you."

"Why are you doing this?" I knitted my eyebrows with irritation. "You liked me, I don't understand."

"I don't like you, I'm crazy about you." He took other steps closer and I realized I was between him and the wall. "You only deserve me, princess. Dead or alive."

My heart falls to my stomach. Adriano grabbed me by my both arms, his grip was so tight that I couldn't pull away from him. I then found us entering a Macdonald's.

"Evelyn David!" My eyes met Don's merciless gaze, he was sitting on a chair with his legs crossed. "Please, take a seat."

I glanced at his meal, clearing my throat with confusion. "No, thanks."

He dropped his big tasty with a sigh at my presence. "Sit down, Evelyn." He gritted his teeth with rage.

Adriano pushed me forward with his elbow. I painfully groaned.

"Jesus, okay!" I rolled my arms at both of them and terrifyingly took a seat opposite Don.

Assholes.

Also, what's that kind of mafia boss who'd kidnap someone in a public Macdonald's?

And then it hit me.

This was all planned by Rafael.

This mission is me being a bait to Don's men, in order to take them all down.

We're going to trap them by getting into their trap.

Brilliant.

I tried to hide the smirk forcing to appear on my lips and stared at Don.

"Tell me where your father is." He impatiently got into the subject very quick, but I was distracted with the smell of his big tasty. "Or I'll make you both regret your existence."

I'm starving.

"Honestly," I cleared my throat, glancing back at his meal. "I don't know, either."

"Cut the crap and tell me where he is!" He clinched his fist and harshly dropped it to the table. I didn't even flinch. He doesn't scare me anymore.

I guess it's the multiverse effect.

It's as though you're in a lucid dream, you know you're not exposed to real danger because non of it is true, so you proceed to act however you want.

This is fun.

"You know, I had no idea I'd be kidnapped in a Mall, else I could have brought some money." I foolishly smiled to irritate him. "So if you want answers, I suggest you try to entertain my little tummy first."

"Evelyn," He impatiently shook his head and calmly sighed, "what would you like to eat?"

"Nothing." I shrunk my nose with disgust, "You think I plan on being a fat ass like you?" I playfully tried to brag to gain more time.

I heard a familiar chuckle from the earplugs I secretly wore and my heart skipped a beat the moment I recognized it was Mikhail's chuckling.

He's here, and he's watching over me.

I glanced at the sitting crowd, trying to capture Mikhail's presence. My eyes wandered everywhere for him as my heart skipped a million beat, making it hard for me to steady my breath.

The bald guy seemed to get mad by my comment. I felt Adriano's gun digging hard to my back. "Behave, little doll." He whispered.

"I'd like to have a cheese burger." I glanced him over my shoulder as I cleared my throat, "Extra pickles."

"How about fillet fish?" Don suggested.

"Not my favorite." I shook my head at him, mouth twitched with disgust.

Don muttered to his other body guard who went to order at the counter right after.

The guy returned with two fillet fish sandwiches, one packet of french fries and a coke can.

"Now that you got your meal, I want you to tell me where's your dad hiding." Don confidently crossed his legs once again.

I took a long gaze at the sandwich, it started boiling rage in me."I said, I. Don't. Like. Fillet." I furiously looked back at him, shooting Adriano's knee with my handgun.

I quickly got up and hit the other bodyguard's nose with my elbow and then I ran away. "Freaking send help, man!" I yelled to my earpiece.

"Get her!" the bald guy shouted as all his bodyguard's ran behind me.

_________

[Ligrothism] (n.) : the art of diversifying your life's experience and getting out of your comfort zone in order to have better stories to tell.