• Chapter 5

    The next morning, Sophie was missing. The front door was still locked, but maybe she had locked the door after she had went outside. Ren was still sleeping in his room, so I grabbed a piece of paper and a yellow pencil and wrote a note saying that I will be back soon. Then, I placed the note on top of the counter in the kitchen, hoping that my little brother would be hungry and also notice a piece of scribbled paper. After that, I opened the door, stepped out, locked it behind me, and went outside, which was now my most biggest fear of all.

    Outside, the air felt warm and calm, which soothed my cautiousness and anxiety. Blue birds soared through the sky, and the cool wind had brushed my brown hair towards the back of my head. To me, the scene was very lively, but I cannot trust it. There are people lurking at the shadows, and I must remain alert for armed enemies. I must protect Hex, Sophie, and of course my little brother, Ren.

    Now, where could my aunt be right now? Walking carefully and without noise, I went to the houses to my right. No Sophie. Then, I turned around and started walking towards the opposite direction of houses. There was no sign of her either. A dog barked at me through the fence, growling with all of its teeth showing. I shushed the creature, but it won't listen to me. So, I desperately sprinted towards the park, hoping that no one would hear the dog and see me instantly.

    Luckily, there were many happy and excited people in the park. They were either eating on blankets with picnic baskets, playing sports, or chilling at the pool. I blended in with them, by walking casually as if nothing had happened. Hopefully, there would be no threatening or menacing spies here who would try to take a glimpse at everything I would or had done.

    I went to the pond, which had many quacking yellow ducks. I always like ponds, because my mom had once told me that lilies and lotuses were made there. Lilies and lotuses, meant me and Ren. And the pond, is our whole family, and the ripple pond vortex would be our unsolved problems. If the vortex had stopped, then the problem would cease and be resolved also.

    Suddenly, as I was getting closer to the pond, a fishing net had appeared out of nowhere and had enclosed me. Surprised, I thrashed and kicked to break free, but it was no use. I was captured.

    "HELP!" I cried as I was trying to rip the ropes in half, which was no use. A random stranger was trying to come towards me and had tried to help, but a man in black held a gun and pointed towards him. He backed away, and continued to do what he was doing.

    Then, the man in black carried me to the other side of the pond. I shook and wiggled my whole entire body. Escape was impossible, and he had covered my mouth with the net I was captured with. Please, Ren, save me!

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    Ren instantly woke up, as if he had heard her sister Lily say something to him. The sun was shining at him with intense sunlight. It was noon. He went to the restroom, brushed his hair with his own comb in front of the mirror, and went to the kitchen. He was not hungry, but he felt like someone was there before. Searching for Sophie and Lily, he suddenly noticed the note that was on top of the table. He read the writing, and decides to read it twice.

    "Lily?" he yelled. There was no answer. "Aunt Sophie?" Another silence.

    Freaking out, he grabbed a knife from the kitchen cabinet and headed outside. He did not lock the door, which he thought that they might come back home after he was gone. The air was crisp and dry this time. He smelled something odd, and he headed towards the scent, which was the park.

    Following his scent, he spotted many people running towards the opposite direction he is going. Bravely, he kept going, and with his wolf ears, he heard loud voices from crooked maniacs.

    "Leave this area at once!" he shouted while a man had tripped and fell, also tripping many others who tried to desperately escape the incoming tragedy. Ren was not falling for that, so he continued towards the danger that awaited him. Babies wailed. Bikes skidded and kept going. Kids screamed. Everything was turning bad.

    Eventually, Ren had encountered the pond, and what he saw was very familiar. Like the time he and his mom was captured. He saw Sophie and Lily, both wrapped in tightly brown rope, with gray tape covering their mouths instead of black. A man in black was in between them, and two armed men in blue pointed a gun at each of them.

    Ren came closer, and the man in the middle saw him coming towards them. "Stop right there!" he screeched, holding and pointing a gun at Ren. He stopped, and held both of his hands up. Instead of capturing him, he put his gun down and dropped it at the pond. It drifted away, and then it sunk. After that, the man's face smirked, and another man revealed Hex in a cage, screaming for his life.

    "Choose one of your most dearest family member, and the other one would drown," he uttered slyly. "And after that, I will give you the three-digit code to the box, which contains a key to free Hex's cage."