Fang had no idea what to do next. He had no inkling whatsoever that his 20th birthday could have had such a major turn of events.
Most of the party-goers were just leaving, and they were the least bothered that their party host had just been abducted by a group of strange men.
The fire department arrived, sirens blaring and all. The fire had mostly died down after the men had taken Lou away. After uncoiling their fire hoses, the firemen went into the manor, which by now had been reduced to mostly rubble.
Fang was worried. He could go over to the police, but he also knew he had virtually no proof nor any sort of evidence that could aid the police.
Nevertheless, they had to be notified as soon as possible.
A lot of people were in a hurry to leave the scene, and quite fortunately, news of the party turning into a fiasco had reached the network of cab drivers in the district; taxis had already lined up in front of Lou’s porch. Fang got into the cab that was headed to his neighborhood. In Singapore, some of the taxis are only keen in delivering passengers to certain districts.
‘Ang Mo Kio Police HQ, please!’ said Fang as he got into the cab.
The driver merely grunted, and sailed off. Fang took out his phone to see if Lou had made any contact with him. There was nothing. Vexed, he checked his Twitter and Facebook, but all he could see in the activity feed were all updates about the major fire outbreak. No one had mentioned anything about Lou.
About 15 minutes later, the cab pulled up just right outside the police HQ. Fang paid the driver, and got out of the cab. The police HQ was a little dilapidated, seeing as the government funding on the law enforcement in this part of the country was a little lacking. Particularly because crime rate was low here, so there wasn’t really a need for law enforcement in the first place.
To Fang’s slight astonishment, he wasn’t particularly positive about going in. The police HQ was giving him a rather negative vibe, as though it was telling him that he would not find his prayers answered here.
As he walked up the steps, he was feeling more and more uncomfortable about stepping into the building.
‘This is crazy! Why is this place giving me the creeps?’
Fang pushed open the doors and stepped into the police HQ. The interior resembled that of many other government buildings; squarish walls of the same typical color, 4 pillars to represent strength, unity, fortitude and equality, as well as the portraits of the President and his wife.
Two police officers were sitting behind the desk, evidently caught up in a middle of a discussion. As Fang moved closer to them, he was appalled that they were merely just discussing which local establishment had the best steak. They didn’t notice Fang was right in front of them until he cleared his throat.
‘Yes, what seems to be the problem, son?’ asked one of the police officer. His partner just got up and took his mug to the back, which Fang guessed was their pantry. Fang also noticed that instead of carrying pistols, these police officers were carrying the same books as the ones that the men who abducted Lou were carrying.
Fang’s suspicion level immediately rose up a notch.
‘I would like to report a missing friend of mine. I have a feeling he’s been kidnapped.’ Fang said as he nervously observed the policeman’s reaction.
The police officer furrowed his eyebrows, evidently deep in though. Or pretending to be, at least.
‘A kidnapping? That would be a serious case, if it were true. Do you have any evidence to support this?’
‘Not exactly, but when I was last with him, he was taken away by 3 suspicious men.’
‘Describe the situation for me.’
Fang then went into the details of the story, recounting what had happened the entire night. As Fang continued to talk, the policeman looked more and more relaxed, as though he was already solving the entire case just by deciphering whatever Fang was saying.
As Fang was about to talk about how the three men got away, the policemen put up his hand to stop Fang midway.
‘Son, the three men you’re talking about are from the Nike Insurance Group. They are a well-known and sophisticated company that has a lot of backing and reputation. They can be trusted.’ said the police officer as he stood up.
‘Well, sir, I don’t believe-‘ began Fang again but this time the police officer got annoyed.
‘I’m sorry; I would love to continue talking, but the law needs me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, please show yourself out. We are very busy here.’ and with that, the police officer went to the back of the room to join his partner. Fang’s hearing was acute, and he managed to pick up the words of ‘easy’ and ‘got rid of’ from the conversation.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
This was getting ridiculous. Sure, it all seemed pretty plausible considering the chain of events that had transpired so far, but whatever the three men did back there to freeze his actions as well as the wolf…
The wolf! He did tell me to meet him in the forest… It seems like this could be my last hope
somehow!
But which forest? The wolf did not exactly specify which nature reserve he should go to, and there are like at least a few all scattered around the country….
Unless….
Fang vaguely remembered that, as a kid, he used to love going to this park. And there was one day while he was running around on the grass fields by himself, a strange woman had approached him and had given him a pretty necklace that had a small turf of fur. Fang never knew what to make of it, but that woman had told Fang to wear it around his neck at all times for good luck, and he had never seen the woman again.
Fang had listened to her advice though, and it was only after today that he finally realised where that fur had came from.
It was the fur of a wolf.
Fang clutched the necklace tightly in his fist, and he had a feeling that after the meeting with this wolf, the many inexplicable things that happened in his life would somehow come to light today.
Fang called a cab to the police HQ, and it arrived promptly 10 minutes later. The cab driver was a smiley old man who politely asked him where he wanted to go.
‘Valhalla Park, please.’ replied Fang as he put on his seat belt.
‘At this time of the night, young man?’ asked the old man as he turned his head to look at Fang, genuine surprise and concern written all over his face.
‘Yes. I have a… Girl to meet there.’ replied Fang, thinking of a lie on the spot.
The old man smiled and said nothing. He did turn up the radio though, and it was currently playing ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ by Elvis Presley and started humming to it. It was about a 30-minute drive, and Fang was quick to pay the driver and got out.
Before he could enter the park, the driver had lowered his window and called out to Fang.
‘Yes?’ asked Fang.
The driver turned to look at the park, and then back at Fang again.
‘Be careful in there. I would say you’re a little lucky to have gotten into my cab, and not someone else’s. Now, hurry along, boy, don’t keep the girl waiting.’ and with that, he winked and drove off without another word.
Fang heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that the cab driver had initially wanted to stop him at first, and turned to face the park entrance. It was like most other parks; there was a man-made arch with a sign that said the name of the park. On either side were bushery that led up to the height of two men, and night mist was swirling around on the ground like white, translucent snakes. After a moment’s hesitation, Fang stepped in.
The park was just mildly lit up by the lamp posts, which Fang noticed, was emitting blue light instead of white light, which they usually do. Also, he was beginning to pick up a whole assortment of scents from many different flowers that were all foreign and new.
And then, he finally saw it.
The wolf from today was sitting by the fountain, patiently waiting for his arrival.
Once it saw Fang approaching, it slowly stood up on all fours, its unblinking yellow eyes fixated on Fang’s own unwavering gaze. It opened its mouth to speak.
‘Lord Fang, it really is you. We finally meet at last.’
This work is purely fictional. Any similarities in terms of names or references are purely coincidental.