"Pan, how are you..." My voice trails off as I glance around the room. The bed is empty. Where could the ill man have gone?
I check the rest of the rooms but he isn't anywhere. I even ask the servants to check. Liana runs around frantically as she searches for her brother but there is no sign of him.
"It's my fault!" I say worriedly.
"He probably went for a walk Tin. Don't think too much about it. Pan will be fine." Liana comforts me.
"I hope so." I say quietly. "Stay here Liana and let me know if you see him. I'll go out and look for him."
Where could he have gone in his feverish state? He would have taken me with him anyway. I have a bad feeling.
Riding my motorbike, I keep my eyes alert for any signs of him. He can't have vanished into thin air.
"You always bring me troubles Panda King!" I shout as I drive. It's my fault he disappeared like this. I should have stayed with him.
Wait, I might be able to track his phone down if it's with him. I pull up on the side of the road and using my phone, I check his location.
I gape at the screen. The place it is showing me is an hour away from here. Following the navigation, I find myself driving down the motorway and heading for a different city. It is impossible for an ill person to have travelled that far by themselves. I can only think that he has somehow been forcefully taken by someone.
I give a quick call to Liana and update her on the situation. She is really worried but there is nothing she can do right now. I need to find Pan as fast as possible.
Dread fills me as the directions lead me to a dim area near the port. The docks are empty of ships and there isn't anyone else around. I leave my motorbike a few minutes away from the dark place and silently creep around, keeping my guard up.
"That bastard is a lot more trouble than I thought. He doesn't shut up does he? If only we could silence him forever but Boss needs him alive to threaten the Kings for some ransom money." A deep masculine voice says from the other side. I am currently hiding behind a corner. I feel the belt holster which I usually strap under my clothes and sigh in relief when I feel my gun and dagger.
"We almost got him last time but that damn man got in the way." Another voice says.
"At least he is quiet now. No one will be able to find him here. We should send him off on the first ship tomorrow." A third man says.
I cover my mouth as I hear footsteps near me. I have to be extra careful. These men aren't just talking about empty threats. If my thoughts are correct, these must be the same men who shot me.
"Let's go and get some drinks. No one will be coming here anyway and that bastard can't run away." One of them says and I hear the others murmur in agreement.
If I don't act now, I won't get another chance. Taking a deep breath, I peek around the wall and survey the area. It's empty but I can't let my guard drop.
Silently and quickly, I run towards the door of the shed. There are no windows. They must have specially made this shed with ill intentions.
The door is locked as expected but with my pocket knife, I poke through the key hole. Unfortunately, it doesn't work. I can only rely on my strength now.
With all my strength, I kick and push against the door but it doesn't budge. This won't work either. There should be a way to get inside.
Cautiously, I step away from the door a little and stare up. The roof looks like it will collapse at any second. Maybe I will be able to literally break through.
There are a few bins and some ropes tied to the docks. Dragging the bin is noisy but I don't have any other choice. I quickly cut a long rope off the dock with my knife.
Climbing on top of the bin, I tie one end of the rope to the pole next to the roof of the shed. Using the rope, I slowly start climbing. Once I am on equal level with the roof of the shed next to me, I jump across with all my energy.
The adrenaline fills me with courage as I use the back of my dagger to stab the roof multiple times until I see visible dents. Standing on top, I breathe in and jump down as heavily as I can.
The fragile roof cracks and I fall. As I lose my balance, I scrape my arm and knees when I hit the floor but I don't have time to worry about my minor injuries.
As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I can see a figure slumped against the pillar in the middle. He is tied to the pillar with ropes around his abdomen, arms and legs.
Approaching slowly, I hold out my dagger and swiftly slice through the ropes. He seems to be unconscious. I should wake him up or he will be a hindrance if I have to carry him.
As I think of ways to wake him up, a movement from the doorway has my hairs standing on end and I quickly hide in the shadows. Who is it?
Squinting, I can see that it is a silver haired man. His strange red eyes dart around before landing on the slumped figure.
Do I really need to kill someone today?
Agilely, I run out and stand in front of the unconscious man, holding my dagger out.
"What do you want?" I say as I keep my dagger aimed at the silver haired man. He doesn't look much older that me but his silver hair, white skin and red-pink eyes are features I have never seen before.
"Who are you?" He asks as he steps forward.
"You don't need to know. You'll have to get pass me first." I say threateningly.
Abruptly, a grunt from behind me, causes both me and the man in the doorway to look back.
"Shit! We left for too long. Let's get inside before Boss finds out." My eyes widen when I hear the men from before.
Before I can think of a plan, the man who was at the doorway, grabs my arm and hurriedly drags me behind a barrel. We crouch down in the darkness as the three men enter.
"How is the door open? Did we leave it open?" One of them says, sounding quite drunk.
I stare in confusion at the man crouching next to me. Why did he help me? Isn't he one of those guys' buddies?
"We must have forgotten. Luckily Boss isn't here yet." Another one laughs.
I glance at the unconscious man whose ropes are now cut. Squeezing my eyes, I pray to any higher being to make these drunkards not notice the ropes. If the Boss will be here soon, we need to escape as soon as possible.
Feeling for my gun, I pull it out. I can only attack again if I want to escape alive.
The man next to me grabs my arm, stopping me from standing up but I shake my head. I don't know who he is or why he is helping me but I can't be a coward and run away. I have to fight them if I want to leave.
Forcefully, removing his hand, I hold the gun out and aim at the man closest to us. He screams loudly as the bullet hits his shoe and runs out of the shed. The other two seem startled as I aim at their feet. Being drunk makes them unaware and clumsy as they run semi-consciously out of the shed in fright.
That was easier than I thought. Next time I encounter something like this, I should bait the enemies out with alcohol.
Swiftly, I run to Panda King who is still slumped unconsciously. Attempting to pick him up, I realise that I won't be able to go anywhere with him.
Suddenly, his eyes open and he glances around. His hand touches my arm and he nods to the entrance. So he was pretending to be asleep? Is he stable enough to walk himself?
Did I forget something? Glancing around, I see the man who was hiding with me earlier. He shrugs his shoulders as he approaches us. Defensively, I hold out my gun.
"Pan, run." I hiss at him, not taking my eyes off the man in front of me.
He stares at me in confusion. "But..."
"Just go! Or I'll leave without you!" I whisper angrily. Why is he not listening?
Panda King runs out of the shed without another word. I sigh, now only this guy left to deal with.
"If you tell me who your boss is, I'll decide whether to let you live." I threaten, holding my gun closer to the man.
He stares down at the weapon wearily, "I think you should put your gun away first."
"If you don't tell me, I might accidentally press the trigger." I say sternly. I need to find out who ordered these assassins.
"I told you, I'm not–"
I laugh, "They all say that. You're going to tell me you aren't involved right?" I push the mouth of the gun against his throat.
His eyes suddenly widen and he grabs my arm and pulls me out of the shed. I turn around just in time to see the shed collapse in on itself.
Turning back to the man, I stare at his hand on my arm. Did he save me? Why?
"Let's leave first." He says, glancing around us. I nod. If he saved me, he can't be part of the enemies right? And he doesn't seem to have any weapons on him so I can easily beat him if I need to.
Wait, Panda King. Looking around, I can't see him anywhere.
"Let's go." I say and walk ahead of the man towards my motorbike.
When we reach my Harley, I gasp as Panda King is sat on the ground, leaning against it.
"Pan, are you okay?" I ask worriedly and bend down to look at him. He seems uninjured.
"L-let's go home." He says quietly.
I nod and hold out my hand towards him. He takes it and stands up.
I hand him the spare helmet and gesture to my motorbike. He looks nervous but he was fine the first time so he should be okay.
I sit in the front with him behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist tightly.
"What about me?" The stranger asks. I had forgotten about him.
"Sorry, I can't help." I say. I'll have to track him down another time.
"I think I'll be able to squeeze on." I stare incredulously as he sits himself behind Pan and grins. "Let's go!"