Grabbing the last sheet of paper, Kist saw that it was a secondary copy of the observatory. However, this one was drawn over with red ink.

“Is this how their planning to-”

Cutting himself off, Kist froze as a sudden and apparent chill ran down his spine.

“Last time I checked, those were mine.” Speaking out in an annoyed and angered voice, an unknown man made his presence known.

Whirling around, Kist balled his fist and stood off against whoever was behind him, ready for any sudden attack, only to be met with a finger gun pointed at him.

Standing directly underneath the door frame, a man with coily onyx hair, who couldn’t have been any older than Kist, stared daggers at him through obsidian green eyes.

Confused at the gesture, Kist couldn’t help but chuckle as he raised his eyebrows at the man, “Is that a threat?”

Laughing as he tilted his head, the man fanned out his hands in almost a playfully inviting manner before he replied, “More a metaphor, however, your life being at risk? That’s real!”

Shifting uncomfortably, Kist’s small grin, which had been spreading, turned sour, “Now, you’re just making me nervous.”

“This must be who Doll was talking about,” Thinking to himself, Kist was vigilant in keeping his eyes on the man. “They must have gotten ahold of these notes.”

Flexing his jaw as his expression sharpened, Kist slowly spoke, “So where’s the kid.”

Scrunching up with apparent confusion, the man’s face contorted as he shook his head as he spoke, “The hell are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb, I’m not in the mood for games! Unlucky for you the one that slipped past you ran into me, and I’m guessing they found these right?”

Holding up the now crumpled sheets of paper in his left fist, Kist stared at the man, though he couldn’t help but notice the strange reaction.

Normally, Kist would consider himself a pretty good judge of character. However, right now, his senses were in conflict with his mind as his initial thought of the man’s reaction was that it was genuine.

Stepping forward with a single thunderous stride, the air around the man turned furious, “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, and right now, I don’t care! If you cherish your life, you’ll hand over the fucking notes!”

Stepping back, Kist held the notes between his two hands, threatening to tear them to shreds, which stopped the man in his tracks, “Another step and we’re gonna see how good your memory is!”

Taking a breath as his body seemed to swell with anger, the man held up his hands in compliance as he took two steps back.

“Shame, you must not have too good a memory,” Letting out a short laugh before he continued, Kist made a great effort to focus on the man’s expression and body language, “Now, Imma give you one chance. Tell me what happened to Doll’s brother!”

With a heavy sigh, the man stared at Kist with unwavering eyes, “I already told you, there were never any children here. Think, finding this place is one thing but actually getting here is another.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Glancing at the sheets of paper in Kist’s hands, the man slowly raised his eyes back onto Kist before continuing, “This place is tens of miles out from the city and surrounded by a forest that could cosplay as a jungle, so you tell me how the hell any child is gonna find this place?”

Gesturing with his hands as he finished, the man waited for Kist to hand him the papers, raising his eyebrows at him expectantly.

Lost in thought, Kist’s eyes shifted from side to side as he began listening to both the man and boy argue their case within his mind.

“This doesn’t make any sense at all, but he’s right. Doll didn’t have a single scratch, leaf, or even signs of exhaustion. How could he have made it all the way here and back? How could he…”

Realizing he’d been misled but not knowing for what reason, Kist relaxed, dropping his guard, and within a split second, he realized his mistake.

Lunging at full force, the man rounded the pillar and struck out with an extremely telegraphed punch that would have landed had Kist been much slower. Instead, the attack went wide, and the force behind it sent the man spinning.

Without much thought, Kist lashed out with a sharp strike that landed directly on the man’s cheek as his momentum lined him up for the blow.

Crashing to the ground, the man quickly jumped back to his feet, but something was clearly off.

“The hell was that,” Thinking to himself, Kist tilted his head as the man wiped blood from his nose, “Is he serious, or was that like a warning strike?”

The tension in the air was palpable as both men silently sized each other up, waiting to see who would make the next move.

That was until Kist thought of raising his guard, which prompted the man to do the same. The sight took him aback.

“Do you even know how to fight?” Questioned Kist.

Giving no clear verbal response, the man seemed reluctant to answer. However, his weight shifting told Kist all he needed to know.

“That’s embarrassing,” Laughing as he spoke, Kist mocked his inexperienced opponent, “You plan on fighting a star moving like that?”

“Shut up,” Yelling out in frustration, the man stood straight, dropping his makeshift stance, “I told you the truth and from your reaction you believe me, so hand over what you promised!”

Smirking as he lowered his arms, Kist shook his head, “I didn’t promise anything. It was a threat, remember? But I’ll make good on not shredding anything, the evidence is easier to present in one piece.”

Taking on a more serious and cold expression, the man took another deep breath before letting out a long sigh as Kist continued.

“Who knows, this might increase my chances of passing my evaluation.”

Flexing his jaw, the man very notably swelled with rage. The veins in his arms pushed against the top of his skin as his blood was set aflame.

“Just…give them back.” Holding out his hand, the man spoke through clenched teeth.

“And why the hell would I do that?”

“FINE,” Shouting out, the man seemed to have finally snapped. “IF YOU’RE SO EAGER TO PLAY HERO, THEN I’LL BE THE END OF YOUR STORY!”

Turning up his nose at the man, Kist smiled with contempt, “I don’t give a fuck how loud you get, you’re not gonna get a damn thing just standing there.”

Folding the sheets, Kist placed them in his pocket before standing off against the man, “If you want them that badly, then show me something!”

“Fine,” Pausing to clear his throat, the man continued. “Then do something about this.”

Raising his spread-out hands to his face, the man began to swell no longer with anger but power as, in one quick motion, he traced his thumbs over his lips.

In the brief instant, the man’s mouth was obscured; Kist heard and felt a loud eruption of static that appeared as a refracting array of black and green light covering his mouth.

Sweating as he stepped back, Kist murmured as he looked on with widened eyes, “This might be interesting!”

Crossing his arms, the man grabbed two holographic hands constructed from the distorting colors. While several rows of human-like spectral teeth faded in and out of existence before speaking out in a voice altered by the strange interference.

“Maybe next time… you’ll do as I say!”