Moon Lovers ✓

🌙35| Drafts

Rushing to the elevator, I pressed the open button but it was delaying. Unable to keep waiting, I turned to a set of stairs at the other side. Taking a deep breath, I dashed over there, ascending a circle of stairs to the second floor.

"Max!" I yelled but I only received echoes. As I glared around, I realized that the house has probably been unkempt all these years. There were cobwebs and dust everywhere. I held my breath for some minutes after thumping my feet on the stairs. The dust escaped into the air and lightly choked me.

"Where could he be?" Sighing, I rested on my knees for a bit before checking out the rooms on this floor. It was a huge mansion for a farmhouse. The paths were not only spacious, but widely built from each other. I banged the last room's door I checked and glared at the next round of stairs.

Throwing my phone in my pocket, I inhaled deeply and set up running up without stopping. By the time I got to the third floor, I found a door wide open. But when I entered, I only found an open drawer different from the other rooms. "I'm sure he's around here."

Taking that into account, I turned to three other doors to separate rooms. After running to the first one by me, I rushed to the second, panting after finding both empty. When I started breathing heavily, i turned to the last door and rushed there. Panting, I held on to the door, looking up slowly.

But my ears twitched hearing a paused footstep. "Oh you also came? I almost called you!" Ian retorted waving a dialing phone in the air. As i took a closer look at it, I realized it was Max. But when I looked down, I found Max lying on the floor. With Ian's feet on his open wound, Ian smiled at me.

"You're just right on time for the show. Stay right there, or I'll shoot him," Ian warned. Pulling the gun forward with his leg, he picked it up quickly and pointed it right at his head. "Max....Don't you dare!"

Chuckling, he got down and grabbed Max by his collar. Hesitant to stay back, I tried to move forward but he pulled Max back. "I'll wait right here without touching him. Go and bring the spell books."

When Max heard his condition, he shook his head meeting my eyes with a no glare. "I told you I don't know anything about that. My mom didn't mention anything about it. Stop pestering me and let him go!" Shaking his head in a playful manner, he slowly turned to me. "I'm not a fool. If he's here alive, you know where it is. I'm losing patience here. Bring along the potion Max took from me too."

Wriggling under his grip, Max managed to bite his hand making him loosen his grip. Falling on the floor, he struggled to get up and walk away from him while Ian winced over his bite. "You ungrateful boy! Get back here," he yelled.

Clenching his fists, Max turned to me with a scream. "Run!" With that, he struggled with his opening wound to hide from Ian within the numerous rooms. I stood still unsure of what to do. I wasn't running. I came here for him and I'll not leave without him.

After turning to me with an angry look, I tried to take the gun from him but he tossed me against the wall in a go. Hitting my back, I winced and tried to get back on my feet. I could see him running after Max along the hallway.

"Max," I muttered getting up quickly. While leaning on the wall for support, I rushed after them from behind. "Stop playing hide and seek. Come out or it will be ugly if I find you instead." Putting his hands beside him, he checked one room after another. While Max hid behind one of the cupboards in the rooms, Ian checked under the beds and other places.

As he took in heavy breaths, he realized that he left blood trails while running. "Come out now. I'm not enjoying this game of yours." When Ian passed by the third room, he found a blood trail leading to the cupboard. Within a second, he caught him with a tight grasp on his neck.