Nick's mind raced. He saw the distance between him and the abandoned building was easier to cover, as compared to running the other way.
Before he could fully process his thoughts, he found himself sprinting toward the abandoned structure's broken window.
"Bastard! Stop! We just want to talk to you!" Boss Falco's goon screamed in the distance.
Nick barely registered the words as he scaled the broken window, entering the dark, five-story structure.
"Mr. Stranger, help me! Please!" he begged. But there was no response.
He paused for a few seconds and used his phone's flashlight to scan the area.
There was an old metal bed frame pushed against the wall right wall, and a torn, decayed mattress resting on the wall beside it, just like how Nick propped his own bed up when he was cleaning his apartment. The walls were mostly peeled and swollen with graffiti—some sinister, some nonsensical—written on them. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, with all kinds of debris lying around, old papers, animal feces, broken ceiling plaster, torn wall paint, and other things Nick couldn't identify with one glance.
He was in a medical room of some sort, a very very old one.
Nick tried to scan the floor for footprints of Mr. Stranger to follow, but with how much debris littered the ground, there was nothing. This area was most likely the entrance hub for stray animals and human explorers.
Not having any time to waste, he went through a broken door leading to a corridor, in which he ran down but was only as fast as he was careful.
Quickly he located a staircase, cluttered with debris with railings mostly deteriorated, and raced upward.
Nick had countless thoughts running through his mind, still shocked by the unexpected development.
'...But didn't he give me three days? Then why are his men here? Dammit, no wonder he didn't push to search my phone after Mike barged in. That sly old man lied about giving me three days! He probably sent his goons to keep an eye on me and kidnap me at night when no one was looking. And foolish me, I came to the best place to disappear forever…'
Cold sweat trickled down Nick's forehead as he ran.
He reached the second floor, where he stood in the middle of a wide corridor and a perpendicular passageway. Around him, there was only decay and all kinds of debris.
Nick felt a growing sense of unease. He didn't know where to go but stood and pointed his light to the far ends of the three connected corridors.
After he removed his flashlight from the left corridor, he spotted a soft glow coming out from a room in the distance.
'Mr. Stranger?' Nick sprinted down, hopeful.
The soft glow became clearer as he neared; it was a faint pink light.
He arrived at the second-to-last room on the left and cautiously peered inside.
The soft pink glow reflected on his face, but his eyebrows trembled.
He whispered, "How the— How the hell?"
To Nick's immense shock, there in the room was a working vending machine!
He entered the room and scanned the area. It was a patient's bedroom.
Nick observed the machine and apprehensively pondered, 'What in the world is this doing here?'
At the top of the vending machine was a dark pink graffiti title. And familiar retro-design lady with golden-curled hair in a different dress than before covered the face of the vending machine, with a backdrop of a darker pink void with tiny white stars and multi-colored circles scattered around, resembling an image of the universe but… pink.
"Did Mr. Stranger put this here?" Nick thought out loud.
"How is it working here of all places? This building has been abandoned for God knows how long. And this cartoon lady…" He moved closer and touched the machine. It was very real, and felt just like every other vending machine.
But then, Nick pressed down his curiosity, realizing he had forgotten about Boss Falco's goons.
He looked out the room door and looked about the corridor.
Suddenly, from the far right end of the dark corridor—where he came from–a small, bright flashlight beam landed on his face, and he quickly hid back in the room.
"Sh-Shit…" Nick's chest rose up and down rapidly as he tried to switch off his phone's flashlight.
Amidst the creeks and squeaks of various creatures, he heard rapid footsteps getting louder and louder.
Nick cursed and sprinted out of the vending machine room, running further down the corridor with only the brightness of his phone screen serving as his guiding light.
"Hey! Wait!" the deep-voiced goon called out.
Nick recognized that voice and his hair stood on end. That was the voice of the towering goon with a scar across his face!
It only took Nick a few dashes to reach the end of the corridor, where he pivoted left, and ran up the stairs without sparing a second thought.
He didn't stop until he climbed two more floors, where he hid in a restroom.
In the darkness, Nick couldn't fully discern the restroom's condition, but he didn't care. He quickly entered the last stall and squatted on the old, grimy, and partially broken porcelain toilet seat so that his legs couldn't be seen from the stall door opening beneath.
'I have to calm down. I have to calm down.' Nick covered his mouth with his hands, attempting to control his labored breathing, all the while straining his ears for the sound of approaching footsteps.
Nick didn't waste time a second, he quickly opened his phone and sent a message to Kurt via SMS—saying he needed his help because he was stranded at Old Town due to his inability to book a ride on e-Driver this late. Along with the message, he sent his location and another text saying his battery was about to die so he was switching his phone off until 30 minutes later when Kurt was close by.
Before Kurt could reply or call him, he put his phone on airplane mode.
Nick took deep breaths and began to analyze the situation, thinking of other means of escape in case Kurt didn't show up.
'Should I call 911?' Nick contemplated. 'I can tell them I'm being chased by kidnappers... but I'll have to describe where I'm at. Damnit. I'll try their line later when I'm in the clear.'
However, just then, an agonizingly familiar voice resounded in his head, reciting new task information.
[Task: Hurt one of Boss Falco's men.]
[Difficulty: Normal.]
[Reward: 4 v-points.]
[Ending In: 29 minutes, 59 seconds.]
"No, no, no, no…" Nick held his head in despair.
But then, before he could even begin to hate his life once again, his ears picked up on the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps.