Silver Card

Chapter 10: Plan

Monday, 31 August 2020, 6:31 PM.

Aiden and I arrive at the fateful place where Alan uncannily disappeared. Once nostalgic place, not different from home, faded into an abyss in the blink of an eye.

"Here we are, again." Aiden's mutter displays weariness.

I wonder if he sees what I'm seeing. Fading images of Clara and Beatrix riding on swings. Arlo chasing us in a game of tag with lack of interest. Alan watched us from above, sitting on the bar. I had always considered this place as my getaway, a homeland to sleep peacefully from the horrors of the world. Now, it is my duty to bring them back. I have created these memories to maintain my life, I will not let those efforts go to waste.

The mysterious silver card was found lying on the sandbox under the slide. We assumed it's a left out playing card, but we were wrong. It is the one thing that created this mess. I wonder if something similar happened to Eula. It must be, the disappearance of Eula Es and Alan Muller must be connected. The time gap is not that different and they all disappeared in an extremely short notice. It is not impossible to link Eula Es's disappearance with the silver card.

However, there are so many unanswered questions we have to explore. Why does it only work on Alan and not me who touched the card first? Is the culprit aware of our involvement? What are their motives by doing these acts? It is not probable to solve these issues at once, but we can decipher them one by one.

"I have a slight image of how the mysterious card works," I begin, of which Aiden listens intently. "There may be a switch in the card, a tool to activate its ability. That is the only explanation of Alan's disappearance."

"I understand where you come from, but let's say that there is an individual behind this incident. Why would they want to capture Alan but not you?"

"Good question, Aiden. But the answer may be ambiguous."

"What do you mean?"

"An activation of a technology does not always indicate it was activated with intention, or on purpose. It could be an accident."

"That is not a good reason to kidnap a person," Aiden differs.

"I'm aware of how ridiculous it sounds, but that is not the full story," I continue. "Eula Es may be used as a test subject to experiment an invention, hence the silver card. To be brought by someone on an alley only to disappear without a trace.

As for Alan's disappearance, it may have happened accidentally. The culprits wouldn't leave their traces that 'dramatically'. Even if we found the card, we wouldn't know a thing. It does not make sense for Alan's disappearance to be tied to logic and purpose, and judging by the methods, the culprit may be a secret non profitable organization. They use random high school students in Gauder rather than executing their experiment in a more secure place."

Aiden went silent as I finished stating my theory. This I cannot deny, my theory of this incident is a huge stretch, fictional to say the least. Behind the 2 missing students was actually a secret experiment to a highly advanced teleportation technology can only exist in myth.

However, it is the only solution. Any theory that can be backed up with only pure reasoning is enough to convince Aiden. The case we are dealing with is the most bizarre one yet, there is no shame in the police or the government not being able to find Eula Es in 2 weeks. But now that our involvement has created a hole in the gap, we can widen it and expose it to the world. It is a small light on a candle that shines the brightest in the dark.

"Now that the culprit behind this incident have made a mistake, we can create a plan-"

"Hold it right there, Calvin." A familiar, raspy voice behind me shuts my mouth. Once I hear him, I realize that I also have made a big mistake. I have involved yet another precious friend of mine.