I prepared to set out for my mission by myself after disconnecting the call. I decided on dressing in the same black hoodie which I had donned during our journey to the Valdez Mansion. Well, not that I had many options either. I put on Bruno's dog belt around his neck and gripped the other end firmly with my left hand. I wish I had some kind of weapon to take with me; I was going all empty-handed in a risky mission like this. At least Bruno was with me, which gave me some kind of reassurance. I just hoped that he wouldn't start barking at the wrong time.

I secured my medium-long hair into a ponytail and shrouded it under my hoodie. My phone was on silent mode in the right pocket of my denim pants. I glanced at the clock, it was 8:30. I was all set to go.

Just when I was about to slink out of the front door, Xaviers called out. Crap.

"Where are you going at this hour?" he inquired suspiciously.

"Wa-walk," I gave away the first excuse that popped into my mind. "I'm going out for a walk with Bruno."

He raised his eyebrows in suspicion and examined my mysterious outfit.

"It's too late now," he stated.

"So? It's my life, my choice. And anyway, I'm pretty sure that you will be happy enough to get rid of me if someone kidnaps me on the way," I shrugged.

"Whatever you wish."

He went back into the room without arguing further. Should I have told him?

I grabbed a taxi and gave the driver the address of the forest that I had collected from Google Maps after relentless searching. He was surprised, as expected. Well, it's not every day you find a nineteen-year-old passenger with a dog wanting a ride to a mysterious forest at such late hours. I myself had no clue why Uncle Nick had chosen this spot out of all places. The journey wasn't too long; it was 10 minutes to nine when we reached there, that's what my phone's clock said. I paid the driver using Pappa's credit card which I had brought with me. He departed with an evidently perplexed face, leaving me and Bruno all alone at the threshold of that deserted ominous forest.

The frigid gust puffing in the crisp atmosphere pierced my delicate face, threatening me not to step any further. I disregarded the warning by setting one foot forward towards the maze of the forest floor. With every twig crunching and leaves crackling under the weight of my feet, a shiver ran down my spinal cord. The veil of skeletal trees I passed underneath reminded me of a silent monster haunting over the blanket of emerald foliage, prepared to intimidate anyone who dares to venture towards the tangled heart of the woodland. Skeleton trees sprawled out in series with their branches taking in creepy forms, just to add a new dimension to the picturesque presentation of a live horror movie. Beads of cold sweat were dripping down my forehead as the dense fog of terror continued to envelop the ambience. I braced my heart and soul against the threats of the forest and decided on a decent spot to settle for spying.

No matter where they plan on meeting, they have to enter through this way, I analyzed as I cloaked myself behind a dense bush with Bruno just a few meters away from the entrance.

It was two minutes to nine; they must be here anytime soon.

I didn't have to wait much. I clearly recognized Uncle Nick's Mercedes-Benz as it whooshed into the woodland with its headlights flashing bright and came to a halt, not too far from my hiding spot. I skulked forward with careful steps to get a better view.

A man disguised in a dark hoodie got down from a motorbike, the arrival of which I hadn't noticed. A tall black figure got down from the car simultaneously as both of them started approaching each other. It was Uncle Nick.

I couldn't make out the other person's face though, partly because it was concealed under the hoodie and partly due to the fact that the only light source there was the dim flashes of the car's headlights. They whispered something I couldn't hear, but both the voice notes seemed familiar. Who could it be?

Uncle Nick lent a hand forward, and I noticed the man in the hoodie handing something to him. Although it wasn't clearly visible, what I could make out from the shape was that it was a gun.

A GUN? Why was he passing a gun to Uncle Nick?

I tried to shift my position a bit further to get a better sound of their murmurs when- BANG!

Sudden gunshots pricked my ears and I ducked as a reflex response to shield myself from the attack of the bullets.

Who was firing the gun?

Was it Uncle Nick? Or was it the man in the hoodie? Or was there someone else present apart from the three of us?

I did not dare to lift my head up to find the answer to my questions; I needed to survive first. When the chaos of gunshots had faded, I peeked to find out that the car wasn't there. The motorbike remained in its parked position without any trace of its owner.

At least I was safe-

Maybe I was too quick in thinking that because my pet seemed to have some other plans. Bruno started barking out loudly, which triggered the resume of the gunshots.

This dog is going to get me killed today.

My eyes caught the sight of a rifle protruding out from a thick veil of shrub, directly aimed towards my face. The attacker's face was masked, at that time particularly it didn't even actually matter who the attacker was. I wanted to run away, but my limbs felt as if they were chained to iron shackles. I didn't have any other move in mind. Just when I had accepted that I was going to die in this haunted forest that night, two strong hands grabbed me from the back and forced me to jerk sideways with full strength when BANG!

The gun went off. But it didn't hit me. Instead, I hit something else.

My head banged against a wide tree trunk as a result of the sudden jolt -

My eyelids drooped low. My head was bursting from the pain. Things began to blur out before they completely became dark.

I was drifting in and out of consciousness. I was moving; wait no, something was carrying me. It took me a while to realize that the 'something' was actually a 'someone'. I was on someone's shoulders.

My head was aching so awfully that I could hardly decipher the ambiguous landscape that strobed in and out of focus around me. I squinted my eyes open a little but shut them again immediately; not because it was impossible to open them, rather because I was afraid it would hurt too much to keep them open. I tried my best to capture what was going on with my other senses. The gunshots were over. The only sound my ears detected amidst the hushed environment was the heartbeat of the person carrying me. I wasn't sure if I should be afraid; for some unknown reason, I felt safe. It didn't take me long to realize that the person was a 'he'. I didn't know who he was, or where he was taking me to, but the journey seemed peaceful. Peaceful to an extent that I might have even wanted that it never ends. How long had I been unconscious?

The smooth walk was hindered after a while and a bouncy journey started. We were probably going up some stairs. We came to a halt after what it seemed like a few minutes as my carrier pushed something, possibly a door. I could hear Bruno's barks.

Were we back home? I didn't know exactly which house I was referring to as 'home' though.

After a little more journey, he put me down carefully on something soft- a bed. He untangled our tangled hands as he motioned to leave.

I grasped his arm subconsciously, not wanting to let him go. I wanted to see who it was. I felt a warm thick fluid oozing from the part of the arm that was in my grip. The person gave out a yelp of pain. The voice was familiar.

Was it blood?

I strained my eye muscles to open my eyes for the first time after they had closed following the blow. It was dark. Only the silhouette of a person flashed in front of my eyes, the face was not visible. There was a single ray of moonlight emerging through the exposed window beside that fell on our wrists. He somehow managed to get his arm out of my grasp and departed.

I couldn't see him. But I did see something. A tattoo on his wrist.

I couldn't have detected any other ordinary tattoo provided how little luminosity there was, but this one was too familiar.

It was a tattoo of flames, with the letter K.

Before I could analyze any further, all my senses gave up. Everything blacked out once again.

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