Puzzles: The Missing Piece

Chapter 32: A Familiar Place

"No!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I can't believe it. I looked at my friends. Their faces were filled with shock as they heard the gunshots.

"You lose, Kallus!" spat John Doe with the golden staff in his hand. "If you want to live, surrender now!"

"How could you?" I asked in misery.

"I want power! I control the law now!" he pointed at the cops.

My eyes filled with tears. "I thought the staff was only a map!" I shouted at him.

John Doe smirked. "You are naive as ever! They all work for me!"

I looked at Detective Stacy's direction. She didn't meet my stare. I could feel hatred flowing through my bloodstream. She lied to me. I muttered a curse.

"Why? Why did you kill them?" I asked. "They were innocent people!"

He ignored me. Then, he clapped his hands. Five large men with guns appeared out of nowhere and grabbed a hold of us. I tried to escape, but their grips were too strong. After giving up, I stared back at the four bodies lying on the cold asphalt.

"Now, watch as I find the true location of the chest!" he announced. After he said that, he held the staff firmly between his hands. It was at that time I could see it clearly. The red gemstone, rather oddly big, was at the top end of the staff. The handle, which was probably one and a half metres long, was divided into two parts. One of them were Katy's. Shockingly something happened. A crimson glow was emitted from the gem.

John Doe gave a menacing laugh. "I can't believe it! The chest is really close!" he told us as he raised his hands in victory. "Get them in the van, now!" he ordered his henchmen. "As for you," he said to the police officers. "Get rid of the bodies! But don't get caught!"

"Ok!" said one of them.

Then, they put us in a van. During the ride, we were mostly silent. We were handcuffed. I sat next to Emma. In front of us, sat Garry and Katy. They were facing us with fear. The back of the van was empty, and we could hear the people up the front talking.

I rested my head on Emma's shoulder. "They killed her," I said."They killed the only family I had left!"

Her blue eyes looked at me with a tender expression. "Kallus," she said. "I'm sorry. But, you're strong. Whatever happens, we will always be here with you!" she held my hands.

"Thank you, Emma," I smiled at her.

She smiled back. Suddenly, we came to a halt. We finally reached our destination. It felt like the ride just only took thirty minutes. As I was wondering as for where the hell we were, the back doors of the van opened. Three people pulled us out. When I was outside, I immediately recognised where we were. Two vans pulled over. John Doe got out and walked over to us, staff in hand.

He walked up to me, "You recognise this place, don't you?"

I spat at his face. Some of it caught on his black eye mask. He looked like a superhero, but was obviously a villain, even when you look at him from the black.

"Fool!" he shouted. "Bring them inside!" he ordered his henchmen.

They then proceeded to pull us up the staircase to the hill. When we were at the top, we could see the whole city. It was filled with lights. Ironically, from an outsider's point of view, the city looked like it was really peaceful.

"Let's get the chest!" said John Doe as he entered Oceania's First Library.