BLUE SCARF

CHAPTER 13: FACTORY

GOMA'S POV

"Yeah and this whole place is......." the man fixing his white moustache and the calm tiger's composure on his face made an overly dramatic pause. Though he was intimidating top-to-bottom in his black clothes and a red bow-tie, but his blue eyes........His damned ocean-blue eyes seemed to fill all the void that had been in me since Rika went missing. Although his sleek black hat kept interfering my view but I managed to catch his right side. And even a minor glimpse was compellingly comforting like I used to feel on mom's lap. Smoking cigar, he walked down this straight long ass sloping lane.

He continued speaking. "Young man! This whole place IS- AN-ILLUSION". He came closer to my ears and you are merely seeing a story.""So, you are saying this is an illusion? Don't fucking mess around! I don't have shit time to waste on you and your stupid pranks Mr....Mr..", the words just came out of my throat making me breathless and stopped abruptly. I didn't even know this man's name who was talking to me for so long.

To which he answered, "Mr. Osle. That's an easy name." He held out his government ID from his pocket. Wait, what? Someone from government is dressed like that? Before I could introspect more, he just smirked and waved his hand around. The torches which were flickering a moment ago, narrowed down to a laser beam and dimmed into the thin air. The stairs that led way to this weird place started seeping down. The cave-y dungeon walls fell down and was sucked into oblivion. Holy biscuits the whole forest was an illusion too.

"Please don't be a laboratory. Please don't be chemicals", I started repeating. Because before the vision could be clear, the air smelled acidic and the aroma of bleaching powder tickled my nose. Everything started to disappear and took a new form. And if this place matches the vibes of Rika's room, I would be shitting my pants.

Not room to digest but....Ummm... I noticed that I was in a lawn of something. Something that was covered in vines and long shrubs all around. With just a patch cleared where we stood. Broken beer bottles and some medicines were littered. Around the corner stood two large drums which was labelled DANGER from where the strong odour was coming.

I was losing my control because it looked like we were in an abandoned factory. And there on the corners stood Keren, Zach and Ramel. They were right in front of me. I let out a gasp of relief. Likewise, they all looked shocked. We were still in the city but the area was isolated and the repurcursions of the recent events costed our sanity.

"See? If it was not for me, you all would have been standing there doing nothing in reality. But travelling for hours in your illusions." He laughed, mocking us. Even though he's an adult, none of his manners suited to be one. His laugh seemed so harmless, but I know how dangerous this man can be. From the terror of everyone's face, I could guess that he appeared in front of everyone like he did appear before me.

"How can we trust you? This can be one of those nasty tricks that you've played. Who knows you are the one who held Rika captive and mislead us to this another stupid scene?" I just threw these allegations to re-assure.But as soon as I asked, I felt a chill down my spine for the first time since I met him. He did not smile, but squinted his right and only visible eye as he looked at me. His expressions turned grim like he tasted something awful.

Then he smiled, even though it was only for a second, we all gasped taking in a deep breath. It was so obvious by now about how strong he is. Even a that single moment of tension, and it looked like we were all going to die if we moved an inch. Our body reacted to him before our mind could process it. Thankfully that's why I'm still upright, I guess. We are really lucky that he's not our enemy, or I think it's safe to guess that we are saved, that he's on our side for now! These things keep coming to my mind as sweat trickled down from my forehead. This is the first time I was terrified of someone's aura.