Chapter 20 KIDNAPPED

William drove up the driveway and under the carport alongside the large apartment. The rain was gently and calm, sputtering across his windshield. The car engine died out.

William let out a heavy sigh, dropping his forehead to his forearms on the steering wheel, his eyes wet with tears. Climbing down from the car, he took out an umbrella to shield himself from the rain as he staggered towards the front door of his apartment.

Struggling with the locks, he finally got the door to open. Entered the house and threw himself on the couch. His cloths were dripping wet. He’d never felt this devastated in his entire life. Felt as though a bigger part of him had been taken away by Elena’s death.

He resented everyone around him, especially Derik. Couldn’t quite understand where all this anger and sudden hatred for Derik was coming from. In his heart, he blamed him entirely for the death of his wife.

The noise from the wide-screen television washed over him, the screaming of the overhead fan, the whining of the heater—all overwhelmed him with frustration and unrestrained rage.

Suddenly his phone rang, and it frustrated him all the more. He tossed the phone on the table—almost destroying the device, and then leaned back on the couch, allowing himself to relax. Closing his eyes, he was lost in deep thoughts.

Natasha had left home that morning hoping to meet her mum when she returns from school. His mind boggled as he rehearsed what he was going to say to her when she gets back, but his phone kept buzzing on the table. With a groan, he moved from the chair to check the ID, to see who kept calling him persistently.

Frank.

Wondered why Frank wouldn’t stop calling.

“Is there a problem?” he frowned after pressing the phone to his ear.

“Sir, I heard about what had happened. Please accept my condolences.” he said, sympathetically.

William had to choke back his rage. “Frank, you didn’t call me repeatedly just so we could talk about my wife.” he snapped a reply.

After a brief silence, Frank answered. “There has been a major problem at the taskforce. Mr. Shade broke out of the laboratory just a moment ago, leaving behind two dead lab attendants. He is now running loose on the streets. God knows where he is right now. As long as he is out there, lives are being endangered.”

When Frank did not hear any response, he continued, “We were preparing him for the re-education process, and he suddenly went out of control. The lab assistants that had tried to restrain him both lost their lives. Right now, we have an additional problem in our hands, and the mayor …”

William hung up before Frank could finish, turning off his phone and throwing it back on the table. He lay back on the couch.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worst, an additional problem emerges from the office.

Harsh wind from the cold and rainy afternoon blew into the room as the door swung opened. William turned and found—much to his dismay, Natasha standing at the doorway, hanging her bag pack over her shoulder.

Natasha had her long brown hair pulled up and tucked up inside a baseball cap. She blinked in surprised when she saw her dad sitting on the couch.

“Dad?” she called out. “You are home early today. You never come home this early.”

Her eyebrows rose, and she leapt for joy when a realization struck her. “Wait, is mum back already?”

William stared blankly at her face. He almost wept at her excitement, but then struggled to hold back the tears. Natasha observed his reaction—they were odd. Far from what she’d expected. Her smile slipped away.

“Dad, what’s wrong.”

Natasha took few paces towards him and stopped midway into the room. Her brows furrowed when something clicked. Heart pounding against her chest, she turned to ask. “Dad, where is mum?”

His spirits sank at the inevitable question, and he turned to look at her. Didn’t know what to say to her. The tears in his eyes made them glimmer. His eyes were bloodshot, and his lips were trembling.

“Honey, your mother… she is…. she’s gone.” he stuttered, trying to hold back the tears.

Tears spilled on her cheek, lips trembling, and face frozen in shock. Wrinkles creased her brows as William’s words burned in her ears. She tried to draw meaning from what he’d said—she gone? Was she dead, or had mother abandoned them. Natasha prayed it was the latter.

“What do you mean she’s gone?” there was a note of dismay in her voice.

Her question pierced his heart as an arrow would. Then he looked away from her. Felt so ashamed seeing his daughter watch him cry. “Your mum… she is never coming back ever again. Her body was found this afternoon.” he babbled.

Gasping, Natasha covered her mouth. She let her bag pack fall from her shoulder. Then a silence, never heard before, slithered its way throughout the room. For a split second, she found it incredibly hard to believe that her mother was dead, but then she saw William’s tears. They were real. She’d never seen him cry. Not once.

The room was too cold, and she felt sweat breaking on her brow. This all felt like a terrible nightmare that she prayed to wake up from. But seeing his tears—they were real.

Mum’s dead.

She wasn’t dreaming. This is really happening. She scrambled backward, towards the door, and ran out of the house, into the purifying rain.

“Natasha, wait!” William called out to her, but she just kept running.

Natasha ran into the garden. Her legs buckled, and she dropped onto the wet soil. Looking up at the dark, heavy sky pregnant with rain, she let out a shrill cry. Her voice echoed across. The veins on her neck rose as she screamed.

The rain fell squarely on her face as she looked towards the sky. Sadness clouded her features, and she expressed her pains in a shriek. Her dress was completely soaked in the rain.

Natasha let out her frustrations on the surrounding grasses, pulling them from their root. She soiled herself on the damp soil. Felt her heart ache as she cried. She hit the ground, screaming at the top of her voice.

“No! No! No! No!” she exclaimed, socking her hands on the damp soil. Her fingers were bruised.

Natasha felt a hand tap on her shoulder.

“Dad, please go away! I want to be alone right now.” she whined.

The hand clutched her shoulder—harder this time. Didn’t feel like her Dad’s. Slowly turning to look behind, she was stricken with horror when she saw a hooded, masked figure standing beside her, holding a shovel in one arm and placing the other on her shoulder.

Lightening cracked in the sky.

Her hair stood on end when she saw its eyes from the devilish waxen mask; they were fixed on her. The letter C on its mask became visible under the flash, then all was dark again. The figure stared at her coldly from its mask.

She opened her mouth to scream for her dad to come.

The figure quickly slammed the shovel on her head, knocking her unconscious. She collapsed onto the wet soil. Grabbing her foot, the figure dragged away her away.