“P-PLEASE, LET GO, MISTER!! I DON’T WANNA GO HOME!! I BEG YOU!!”
I started shouting really loudly, hoping to attract someone’s attention outside the alleyway.
“H-Hey! Pipe it down a little bit! People are gonna misunderstand when they see this!”
*!*
The young man who held my hand suddenly covered my mouth with his other hand.
“MMMHHH!!!”
“Sshh! Please don’t fight back! We don’t wanna resort to violence at all costs if possible!”
I tried to break free, but my strength is nowhere near powerful enough compared to his. I also wanted to kick him, but hitting him would make them violent towards me. I guess I can try this.
*!*
I suddenly jumped towards the man who held my hand, and my iris suddenly changed.
“. . .”
I quickly broke my hand free from his hold easily as he was stunned by my sight.
*Step step step*
I quickly run away from the three of them towards the exit of the alleyway, leaving the two other young men confused.
“O-OI! SHE’S ESCAPING! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
One of the two young men puts his hand on his shoulder to confront him.
“. . .”
“Huh?”
But he was just standing still, not answering.
“H-Hey! What’s wrong?”
The other young man also approaches him, confused.
“. . .”
“OI!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY DID YOU LET HER GO? ANSWER ME!!” said one of the two young men, shouting in his ears.
“. . .”
The stunned young man still does not answer them.
“TCH! You handle him! I’ll try to chase the girl!”
“Okay! Make sure she doesn’t escape! Our lifeline is on the line on this request!”
“Of course, I know!”
*Step step step*
I reached the exit of the alleyway when one of the three young men had only started running to chase after me. I can do this. I can escape from them easily.
I run as fast as I can and take a right after I exit the alleyway.
“HEY!! WAIT!!”
*!!!*
“(Eh? He already reached the main road? Tch! I forgot that their physical capabilities are far above mine, given their age and gender! This is bad!)”
I started exerting my body as much as possible. The young man is running after me, and he closed the gap pretty fast. My only saving grace is that there are quite a few people on the sidewalk, so I slip past between them while the young man cannot do the same, slowing him down by quite a margin.
“H-Hey!”
“Excuse me!”
“Watch it, little girl!”
“Sorry! Coming through!”
*BUMP*
The young man behind me bumped into an old man wearing a suit.
“OUCH!! OI KID!! WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING!!”
“I APOLOGIZE, SIR, BUT I AM IN A HURRY RIGHT NOW!!”
The young man immediately tries to dismiss their conversation by running past him, but the old man grabs his hand in anger and stops him in place.
“Now, hold right there!! YOU BUMPED INTO AN ELDERLY, AND YOU DIDN’T EVEN TRY TO FEEL BAD ABOUT IT?!”
“GRRRR!! I AM IN A FUCKING HURRY, YOU OLD FART!! I APOLOGIZED AS WELL, SO JUST LET ME GO!! I AM CHASING SOMEONE, AND I CAN’T LET HER ESCAPE!!”
The young man tried to break free of the old man’s hold, but the old man was surprisingly strong. The young man takes a second look towards the old man and realizes that his body is very muscular, a total contrast to his old and slightly wrinkly face.
“Huh? What did you say? Her? ARE YOU CHASING A WOMAN, YOUNG MAN?”
*!!*
“(Uh oh!)”
“This cannot be left alone! Do you know this woman, young man?”
The old man asks a random woman nearby about this young man.
“N-No, but--!!”
“NO? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?”
Some other people on the sidewalk overheard their conversation and started gathering around them, surrounding them in the middle.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
I look behind and see that a crowd has formed 15 meters behind me.
“(Good! I can actually escape now!)”
.
.
.
An hour later. . .
*pant pant pant*
I reached a public park available in the middle of the city. I put my hand against a lamp post on my right as I lean my head down, trying to catch my breath after running fast non-stop for an entire hour.
*pant pant pant*
“(What on earth. . . do that horrible guy. . . wants with me. . .? Why did he. . . even bother. . . hiring people. . . to bring me back. . .)”
I was sweating a lot, but the breeze in the park felt really cool and good against my sweating body; it’s calming both my body and mind at the same time.
“(I should hide myself for a while until my pursuers give up!)”
I walk towards a lone bench in the park and sit down.
*pant pant pant*
I rest my head on the backrest of the bench, and my head faces the sky.
“. . .”
“(At least the sky is always beautiful. . .)”
I close my eyes for a bit. There are many people in this public park, so I am not worried that anything would happen to me in this place. I feel a little bit relaxed right now, so I fall asleep on the bench.
.
.
.
“. . .iss!”
“. . .”
“. . .miss!”
“. . .”
“Excuse me, miss!”
*!*
I opened my eyes, and I was so scared that there was a tall man, diagonally to my left, standing tall, staring at me. Just his appearance scares me.
He is very tall, quite possibly three meters tall, that he is taller than the lamp posts in the park. His body is very big and muscular. He is wearing a black hat that casts a shadow, covering his face. He also wraps his entire head with bandages that I can only see his pair of red eyes. I can see his mouth moving behind the bandages when he talks. He wears a black long-sleeved coat that reaches all the way to his feet, a black suit underneath his coat, a red tie on his neck, and a pair of black trousers that also reach just above his feet. He is raising his open palm towards me, and his hand is so big that I feel like he can grab my entire head with his palm.
“Y-Yes, sir? W-What’s up?”
“I’ve been noticing that you’re all alone in this park for quite some time. Where are your parents, little miss?”
“Ah, no, sir! My parents are picking me up later! I am waiting on this park until then!”
“Ah, is that so? Then, is it alright if I stay with you until then?”
*Gulp*
I was so disgusted by his suggestion. I look to my left and right and see that the park is empty now, and there are only the two of us here. Where did all the people go? Did they leave in fear when this man showed up?
“A-Ah! Actually, I forgot that my parents told me that the pickup point had been moved elsewhere, so I am going to leave now, sir! Good day, mister!”
I quickly stand up from the bench and walk away from the tall figure without waiting for his reply.
“Hm. . . I don’t really want to do this! But you’re kinda forcing me, young miss.”
As I reached the gate to the park, the tall man suddenly pulled out a shotgun behind me, but I didn’t notice it.
*BANG*
*!!*
*ZRRSSHH*
“ARGGH!!”
He shot his shotgun in my direction, and one of its pellets grazed my left shoulder; it started bleeding lightly, though the wound is shallow. I am not sure how a shotgun works, but it seems like he didn’t fire to kill me on purpose. I immediately stumble towards the side of the gate and turn around to face him.
“(A gun? Not good! I can’t even get close to him to use my Faith power against that.)”
*THUMP THUMP THUMP*
He approaches me, and for every step he takes, he shakes the ground a little bit, and I can even feel the vibration from where I stand.
“(Is doing a sudden movement a good move? But then he’ll just shoot me on sight.)”
I quickly dive deep into my mind to find a solution to my current predicament.
*!*
“(Wait, if he didn’t kill me when he had the chance, does that mean he’s trying to keep me alive for a reason? Then that means. . .)”
*Inhale exhale*
The tall man is now one meter away from me. I take a deep breath, and then I suddenly run towards him. I endure the pain in my left shoulder.
*!*
“DON’T MOVE, LITTLE GIRL!!”
He points his shotgun to the sky and pulls the trigger.
*BANG*
He shot his shotgun upwards as a warning for me; however, that only supports my assumption of him, not trying to kill me even higher.
I quickly reach him, and I jump towards his face as high as I possibly can.
*GRAB*
*!!*
But before I was even halfway towards the height of my jump, he grabbed my entire torso with only one hand and gripped me hard.
“ARRGGHH!!”
His grip hurts so much that I feel like my ribcages are cracked, though it’s not actually cracked. He lifts me up towards his face and stares angrily into my eyes to intimidate me.
“YOU STUPID GIRL!! JUST BE GLAD THAT I AM SOFT TOWARDS CHILDREN, UNLIKE HOW I ACT TOWARDS MOST OF MY VICTIMS!!”
“V-Victims? Who are you exactly, mister?”
“(Urgh! His grip still hurts!)”
“I am a serial killer from the Underworld! I came here looking for my next victims!”
“B-But, it seems to me that you are not trying to kill me! You could’ve crushed me with your grip right now, and there’s nothing I could do to fight back against your strength. What’s with that?”
“HARHHARHHARHHARHHARHHARH!! You’re a clever little girl, aren’t you? That is right, I am not! I was tasked to bring you to a certain Underworld organization! They’ll reward me handsomely, and I wouldn’t even have to worry about food, money, and shelter for a few years!”
“(What? So that man wasn’t the one who hired him? Well, come to think of it, I only escaped from those three young men for a few hours. They couldn’t have possibly reported back to my father, at least before they gave up completely. But what on earth is an Underworld organization taking an interest in me for? I don’t think I am famous enough to be on their radar!)”
“(Wait a minute, I am missing the most important point. What the heck is an Underworld? First time hearing it! I thought it was just the name of some company. I just accepted it when I first heard him say it. I remembered that he said that he was also from the Underworld. Is that like some sort of massive organization that handles dark stuff like assassination and such? What is going on right now?)”
“W-What are you going to do to me, mister?”
“I’ll give you to the organization! As for what will happen to you, I couldn’t care less, but I’m hearing some rumors that they either sell children as slaves or prostitutes!”
“What is a prostitute, sir?”
“Hmm, I guess you really are too young, huh? Truth to be told, you are not really wanted by anyone. The organization just told me to bring a healthy child to them. It would be even better if the child is a Believer, which reminds me, Young girl, are you a Believer yourself?”
“(Chance!)”
“I-I am sir! You are so lucky to have me. I basically checked every list that the organization wants from you.”
“IS THAT SO? HARHHARHHARH!! They promised me a bonus if I deliver a child Believer!!”
“I-I am glad if that makes you happy, sir! By the way, since I can’t fight back anyway, can you please grant me one last wish before you deliver me to them?” said I, as I put my hands together towards him, begging for his mercy.
“Hm? Ah, whatever! You are right! I see no harm in that! Sure, kid! What is it that you wish? You wanna go somewhere or enjoy an amusement park or something?”
“I. . . I simply wanna show off my Faith power to you, mister! You see, I am an unwanted child. To tell you the truth, I escaped from home, and I am all alone now! I am longing for attention, and it seems like wherever you are going to take me sounds a lot better than my own home, anyway. I won’t resist anymore, mister! Please just witness my Faith power!”
He felt touched by my story, and I can feel his grip is loosening a lot to the point that it doesn’t hurt anymore.
“Hmmm, seems like you had a rough life for a kid, young miss! I’ll grant you your wish! Don’t worry! I’ll also buy you a bandage for your shoulder! I’m sorry for shooting you!”
“Apology accepted, mister!”
The tall man was about to put me down gently, but I quickly stopped him.
“There’s no need to actually put me down, sir! I can use my Faith power from up here!”
“Hm? Is that so?”
“Please lift me up to your eye level!”
The tall man did as I instructed. I quickly close my eyes right in front of his.
“You ready, mister? Please pay attention to my eyes!”
“Okay, young miss!”
I open my eyes, and my retinas have changed. I quickly activate my Faith power and stun him.
“. . .”
The tall man was stunned successfully.
*THUD*
“Urgh!!”
I quickly break free from his loosened grip and land on the ground below, safely. My sides and chest hurt a bit, but I endure the pain and quickly run away, leaving the park. I disappear from the scene, and I keep running without stopping towards the border of the city.
