Hansen flopped on top of the seedy bed that the rundown inn they were staying in had all but provided for. The mysterious man he tagged along with, also known as his kidnapper Shin, tackled him, awhile squeezing the breath out of him.

“Get off me, dude!” Hansen struggled to tell him off, his mouth full of the invisible dust mites that were sure to be there.

“You looked like you had fun jumping on the bed. I did the same,” Shin chuckled while rubbing his nose on the side of Hansen’s neck.

“Excusing your sus moves with childish antics at the same time. Unbelievable,” Hansen grumbled at his captor.

The room they rented for the night was damaged and full of neglect by the careless visitors who stayed before them. There wasn’t a toilet or sink, but that was expected, given that they were charged twenty dollars; all paid upfront with cash, no credit, and no questions asked. Strangely to the both of them, they didn’t mind this sort of temporary living situation.

Shin smiled, “This is exciting. I’ve never been on a road trip with someone. This is like a vacation for broke couples on their honeymoon.”

“Was the last part needed to be said?” Hansen twisted his neck to glare at Shin. It was his final effort to show his discontent because his initial struggle against the bigger man had barely budged Shin’s body.

For the past few days, they traveled south. Hansen followed Shin as his assistant, he believed?

Many questions went through his mind, being the introspective and quiet person he is. He wondered who had chosen him to work with Shin? What qualifications he had that Shin’s employers required in this line of work? What work even he was supposed to do?

He was confident he could pick up new abilities if needed, but from the lack of communication from Shin, that man didn’t seem troubled to rely on Hansen for anything. He didn’t want to ask Shin because that guy would either talk in circles or sneak in a sus comment at every chance to annoy him.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

He had been observing Shin without any air of modesty, just blatantly staring at this man for his habits and ticks. It was all because this man didn’t give him anything to do otherwise. His eyes were full of expectations, but the man only smiled at him every time. Not once did Shin tell him to stop with his staring.

He was stuck with a guy who was similar to him and rarely spoke. Little about himself, and even less about what Hansen could do.

As if Shin could read his thoughts, Shin rummaged the inside of his jacket, “Tomorrow we’ll be tailing a guy named Ed Troy,” he placed a string tie envelope next to Hansen’s head on the bed. “Read up on his deets and tell me what you think about him.”

Hansen skimmed through the pages inside. The suspect seemed to be a high-profile man with a strong position in his hometown; not only that, Ed also comes from a strong lineage and has recently tied the knot with someone from another affluential family.

“So, why are we going after this guy?” Hansen brought up upon sliding the pages back into the envelope.

“Isn’t it obvious, he’s suspected by one of our guys to be one of those converted monsters. We’re here to make sure it’s one of them before we can destroy it,” Shin patted him on the shoulder.

“I don’t think we’ll be best for the job. We’re two guys who are not from around these southern parts.”

Shin pushed himself up and sat on the only chair at the foot of the dingy mattress. “I’m used to this type of work. I don’t know about you. Try not to blow our cover.”

“I won’t. You said you needed me,” Hansen rolled over to see Shin’s reaction.

Shin was nodding off with his arm crossed. The chair he sat on rocked, not because it was a rocking chair, but because of the poorly made legs that were factory assembled.

Hansen sighed into the bed. He was relieved that he finally had some clue of their mission after days of following Shin like a lost puppy. Shin hadn’t revealed much, but that much was enough to ease Hansen’s restlessness. After all, everything Hansen does is with a goal, even if it collided with someone else’s.

Hansen stared at Shin to make sure that man was asleep. But even if Shin was in deep sleep, that wouldn’t matter. A few nights ago, Hansen tried escaping out of a similar inn, but Shin somehow had woken up just before he could unlock the door.

Hansen gripped his hands as if something was missing between his fingers. He stared at the window just eye-level to the bed. It was another night of his confinement.