Kaiza kept glancing back as the car sped away, his heart pounding in his chest. For a while, he could still see Keaton standing under the streetlight, but soon the figure disappeared completely from view.
Even then, Kaiza couldn't shake his paranoia. He continued looking over his shoulder, half-expecting someone—or something—to be following him. But with each passing second, the road behind him remained empty, quiet.
Finally, when he was certain no one was chasing him, his tense body began to relax. He leaned back in the seat, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, trying to calm his nerves. For now, he was safe, but his mind couldn't let go of the nagging feeling that this was far from over.
Suddenly, the driver slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to an abrupt halt in the middle of the deserted road. They hadn't yet reached the busy part of the city, and the area was eerily quiet. The last car they'd passed had been at least ten minutes ago, and now the silence felt suffocating.
Kaiza's senses went on high alert. He shot a wary glance at the driver and asked, "What's wrong? Why did we stop?"
The man didn't respond. He just sat there, staring ahead, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.
The prolonged silence unnerved Kaiza. His heart began to pound harder in his chest, each beat echoing in his ears. He could feel fear creeping up his spine, and it showed on his face. Something was wrong—terribly wrong.
Just then, the driver began gasping for air, his hand clutching his neck like he was struggling to breathe. His choking sounds filled the car, loud and unsettling.
Kaiza froze, alarmed by the sudden change in the man's behavior. The heavy breathing and strained sounds echoed in the confined space, making the moment surreal. At first, Kaiza panicked, thinking it might be an attack orchestrated by his pursuers, but as the seconds passed, he realized it wasn't. This calmed him slightly, but curiosity crept in.
What's happening to him? Kaiza thought, leaning closer to get a better look. But as he moved closer, something struck him as odd. The driver's clothing wasn't typical of a taxi driver.
Instead of casual attire, the man was dressed in a black robe, his lower face concealed by a mask. It was as if the person before him had transformed. Or perhaps, Kaiza realized with a sinking feeling, he had never noticed the driver's unusual attire from the start of the ride.
Fear reignited in his chest as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Who is this man?
"Did he have a heart attack?" Kaiza wondered at first, listening to the man's heavy breathing. But when he noticed the nose mask, another thought crossed his mind: Or is he an asthmatic patient?
Determined to help, Kaiza climbed between the front row seats. His eyes followed the driver's trembling hand as it pointed weakly toward the dashboard safe. Without hesitation, Kaiza opened it, finding only two inhalers inside.
That explains it, Kaiza thought, relieved to have an answer. He grabbed one of the inhalers and turned back toward the driver.
But just as he moved, a sudden sensation froze him in place—a sharp, familiar sting piercing into his neck. His heart sank. He knew this feeling; it was one he'd experienced before, but this time it wasn't in the usual spot.
Kaiza felt the unmistakable pressure of a syringe injecting fluid into his veins. His body betrayed him as paralysis set in. He couldn't move, couldn't even resist, as the syringe was withdrawn from his neck.
Panic surged through his mind as darkness began to creep at the edges of his vision. What's happening to me?
Kaiza raised a trembling hand to his neck, touching the spot where he had felt the sting. His fingers came away damp, and as he looked, he saw a small stain of blood on his skin.
Turning instinctively toward the driver, Kaiza froze. The man, who just moments ago had seemed to be gasping for air, was now sitting upright, staring at him with unsettling calm.
Kaiza's breath hitched as he watched the man slowly remove his mask, revealing a face he knew all too well.
"M. Boss," Kaiza whispered, his voice laced with shock and disbelief.
His brows shot up as he struggled to process what he was seeing. How?
He was sure he had ordered a ride through the app. He had even seen the driver's details when he got in the car. Yet here was M. Boss, sitting in the driver's seat. When did he get here? How did he become the driver?
Kaiza's mind raced, searching for answers, but nothing made sense. All he could do was stare at M. Boss, his heart pounding as he tried to grasp the impossible.
Kaiza fought valiantly to stay awake, his eyelids heavy and his body betraying his will. He knew what was at stake; if he gave in to unconsciousness, the briefcase—and the lives of millions—would be at the mercy of M. Boss.
He gritted his teeth, refusing to let go, but his strength was waning. Every ounce of willpower he had left wasn't enough to keep his eyes open. Slowly, the world around him faded, and the last thing he saw was M. Boss's devilish grin, a chilling image that burned into his mind as darkness engulfed him.
Then, silence.
* * *
After what felt like an eternity, Kaiza's senses began to stir. He wasn't fully awake, but something was pulling him back to awareness. His eyelids fluttered open momentarily, and the hazy image of towering forest trees came into view. The sky above was obscured by a thick canopy, but faint moonlight managed to filter through the leaves, casting eerie patterns on the misty ground below.
Kaiza realized he was being dragged—his body scraping along the damp forest floor. He felt the cold grip of a hand on his left leg, pulling him forward. His right leg and upper body lay limp, leaving a trail behind him in the soft earth.
The faint rustle of leaves and the crunch of twigs beneath him were the only sounds in the stillness of the forest. His mind screamed for him to move, to fight, but his body refused to obey. All he could do was watch the distorted sky above and feel the eerie chill of the forest closing in around him.
Kaiza's eyes flickered open and shut intermittently, his consciousness wavering as he was dragged through the forest. Each time his head struck a root, a stick, or sank into a shallow pithole, the jolt forced his eyes open momentarily, only to close again as exhaustion took over. In those brief moments, all he could see was the dense darkness of the forest, interrupted only by the faint moonlight casting thin beams onto the misty ground.
This pattern continued for what felt like an eternity, though it was only ten minutes. Each flicker of his eyelids was a losing battle against the effects of the drug coursing through his veins.
The last thing Kaiza glimpsed before slipping into a deeper sleep was M. Boss towering over him. His face, illuminated by the weak moonlight, was calm yet menacing. Kaiza struggled to stay awake, his mind screaming at his body to fight back, but the drug had turned his limbs into dead weight. His vision blurred, and he succumbed to the darkness again.
* * * *
A loud thud jolted Kaiza back to consciousness. His eyes flew open, and the sight before him sent a wave of terror coursing through his body.
M. Boss was standing above him, but something felt off. Kaiza quickly realized he wasn't on the ground anymore—not in the usual sense. He was ten feet below ground level, staring up at M. Boss, who loomed over him with an ominous presence.
Kaiza's heart raced, fear and confusion gripping him. The dim moonlight barely reached into the pit where he lay, making the scene even more harrowing.
How did I get here? What does he want with me?
For the first time since the ordeal began, Kaiza was fully awake, his mind sharp with terror as he realized the dire situation he was in.
As he tried to move, only to be met with a tremendous headache that kept him still for minutes. He watched M. Boss as he dug his spade into the dug up soil, lifting it and pouring it over his body below.
He was going to bury him.
The man had lifted up another sand full spade when he suddenly stopped as his phone chimed loud, it sounded reverberating in the forest at that moment. Sounds of laying birds flying away upon hearing the noise was heard.
M. Boss stuck the spade into the sand pile and walked aside. Kaiza had refined a little of his strength and was able to move his head without facing a hard headache. The headache had reduced. He slowly stood climbing with all diligence knowing the situation he was in. As his hand reached up on the ground level. He peeped to see how far away the man was and how he would escape without the man knowing. Kaiza had already picked out a weapon out of his bag to attack the man. That's if he tried to drag him back into the pit.
Kaiza climbed out of the pit, his movements slow and deliberate. He rolled onto his back, staring up at the dark sky above. The moonlight filtered through the trees, casting a faint glow on the ground. He took a moment to breathe, the adrenaline still coursing through his veins. He was alive.
Kaiza was about to stand and make his escape when he heard a rustling sound behind him. M. Boss had finished his call and turned to face him. His eyes locked onto Kaiza, who was now standing, defiant and ready to flee.
M. Boss stood frozen for a moment, his gaze cold and calculating. He had expected Kaiza to be halfway dead, buried under the soil by now. Instead, here he was—alive, his eyes full of determination. The situation had shifted, and M. Boss didn't seem pleased.
Kaiza's heart raced, but he didn't back down. He knew he needed to escape, and this was his only shot. He was ready to fight, to run, or to do whatever it took to survive.
The standoff between them was tense.
M. Boss couldn't help but whisper to himself in disbelief, "He woke up already?" His voice held both fear and astonishment.
He had expected Kaiza to be in a deep, irreversible sleep after the injection. The fluid was designed to render him unconscious for a full twenty-four hours, its effects strong enough to erase memories and leave the victim in a vulnerable state. But Kaiza had defied his expectations—he was awake after only forty minutes. That wasn't supposed to happen.
M. Boss stood there, unable to tear his gaze away from Kaiza. The boy's resilience was unsettling, his survival against the odds almost unnatural. The rapid recovery, the willpower—it was as if something inside Kaiza was more than human.
M. Boss couldn't help but wonder, Who is Kaiza, really?