Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
┗━━━━°⌜𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘪 ⌟°━━━━┛
〄 THE MOONLIGHT awoke her, or so she thought. Maybe it was the moon, maybe it was the burning desire to take her phone and call the number on the card.
Rubbing a hand over her bleary eyes, Kai cast her gaze around the room. The curtains were pulled apart, letting the angelic glow of the moon light up the space around her. Through the window, Kai could see the moon, a glowing yellowy white, looming large, surrounded by an ethereal glow. Millions of stars were sprinkled behind it, a few large ones but mostly a multitude of little white pin pricks. Every now and then, a twinkle caught Kai's eye.
She breathed in deep - once, twice, three times - and sat up.
She wasn't quite convinced her mind gave the command to her hand, or whether it was the blazing temptation who initiated it. But, before she knew it her fingers were wrapped around the card. Her phone set in her other hand.
The light of her phone blinded her when she turned it on and the lockscreen shone, casting Kai's face in brightness as she debated whether or not she should call the number.
The man in the suit had stayed true to his word when he said he would give her money if she played a game. Maybe the number was his. Maybe his would be the voice on the other side if she called. Maybe not.
There was only one way to find out.
Her fingers - long and slender - typed the number into the dial carefully and slowly, not wanting to get any digit wrong.
Then the phone was ringing as she brought it up to her ear. The only sound was the constant ring, breaking the heavy silence that cloaked the cramped room.
Kai bit her thumbnail in anticipation.
Then the ringing suddenly stopped and there was a man's voice speaking on the other end, "Hello, who's calling?" He inquired, his voice the embodiment of professionalism. And when Kai failed to answer, he spoke again, "Hello?"
Pulling herself together, Kai cleared her throat and sat up straighter, the realization that she was on call with someone only now dawning in her her head, "One of your men gave me a card earlier."
"Do you wish to participate in the game?" The man asked, "If you wish to participate, please state your name and birthdate."
There was a feeling of doubt worming it's way into her mind, but she gave all her will to push it back out. And when the doubt was gone, she made up her mind and complied.
After she stated her name and birthdate, the man informed her of a meeting place and time. Much sooner than Kai had expected. Then he revealed a password, never explaining what, exactly, it was for, leaving Kai's mind to think of all the possible uses of it.
Then, Kai was scrambling to get changed out of her sleeping clothes. She threw on a random, cropped black shirt and a pair of black sweatpants, covering both up with her favorite jacket.
She was out of the apartment in mere minutes, dashing towards the meeting spot to get there on time. Her swift feet carried her there quicker than she thought was possible, and when Kai halted she glanced around to see if anyone was waiting for her.
There wasn't. Not a single soul was present in the street or anywhere near, it seemed.
It was quiet. A kind of eerie silence that made a shiver that didn't have anything to do with the cold air of the night snake up her spine.
As much as she liked the dark and quiet, Kai did not feel comfortable standing by herself in the middle of a deserted street late at night.
Then, just when she was about to debate returning to her apartment, the hum of a vehicle cut through the silence. Kai turned, eyes landing on a dazzling pair of car lights. She narrowed her eyes, trying to see what kind car it was, if it was familiar, but the glare of the lights was too bright and it completely blocked her vision.
The car proceeded in her direction, then stopped right in front of her.
Kai bent forward just a bit, leveling herself with the window and squinting her eyes in attempt to see the driver. Unfortunately, the all the windows were tinted, identical to the black shade of the car.
The window slid down, revealing a masked man sitting in the driver's seat. A red hood was pulled up on his head and his face concealed behind a black mask with a circle stamped on it.
"Miss Kai Hwang?"
"Who else could it be?" Kai raised an eyebrow.
"Password?"
"Red light, Green light."
A door lock clicked and the back door slid open as well. The man in the mask turned his head forward, indicating for Kai to move.
She got inside the vehicle, sat on one of the unoccupied seats. There were people on all the seats in the car, seemingly sleeping. Kai drew her eyebrows together, heart suddenly skipping a beat.
"What the hell is going on here?" She demanded, wishing she had brought her knife or any kind of weapon with her. The people around her were too still, rigid like stone statues.
The man paid no heed to her question, which only made her more suspicious. The hair on the back of her neck rose as the car started moving. Kai looked out the window, eyes wide and frantic, "Tell me what happened to them."
Steam hissed somewhere in the car. Though the sound was low, barely noticeable, it reached Kai's ears and alerted her senses.
She was about to demand more information from the man when the space of the vehicle flooded with white gas streaming in from multiple hidden sources.
"What the fuck-"
Realization hit too late, after she had already inhaled the gas. She was spitting insults at the driver, though she could hardly make out her own words. She wondered whether she really was saying anything at all or if it was all in her head.
The gas blanketed all around her, over her body. Her vision blurred in just seconds, and in no time darkness took over.
