The Challenge of the Masters

⊱⊰ 21: Appearances [Revised] ⊱⊰

Something patted Arisa's shoulder. She moved the thing away and curled under her blankets.

"Arisa," whispered a female voice.

Arisa pretended to not have heard anything and kept her eyes shut.

"Arisa," persisted the voice, worry could be sensed in the tone. "Please wake up; Aadila is in trouble."

Upon hearing those words, Arisa opened her eyes. Her gaze met Thelma, whose face expressed worry and nervousness.

"Thelma." Arisa shifted from the single bed, sitting on it. "What do you mean Aadila is in trouble?"

Thelma gazed at her and took a deep breath. "I received a phone call from Axel. He told me that as he escorted Aadila to the bus stop, masked people attacked them and kidnapped her."

Arisa's eyes widened, not believing in what she was hearing. She tried to say something to comfort her friend but nothing left her lips.

"It's unbelievable." Thelma broke the few seconds of silence. "London rarely has cases of kidnapping since we have vigilant robots watching every side of the city. I wonder which route they were taking for the kidnappers to fool them."

Thelma sighed and rubbed her forehead. Despite her trying to look calm, Arisa could see her nervousness.

"Isn't there something we can do?" asked Arisa.

Thelma gazed at her. "There is. Axel is here and was interrogated by the local authorities. I asked him to take us to the exact place where she was kidnapped. From there, we can hopefully track her."

Thelma showed Arisa a silver rectangular device that displayed a map.

"This device will help us track her, hopefully," said Thelma. "I placed the tracking chip in her phone, but for some reason, my device can't detect the signal from here. I really hope it works, once we reach the crime scene."

Arisa saw Thelma switching on the device. Disappointment tainted Thelma's face, as it failed to show her what she wanted.

Thelma sighed and gazed at Arisa. "I thought you, Kazuya and I could teach those criminals a lesson if this thing hopefully works to track them."

"Count me in," said Arisa, standing up. "I can't imagine what Aadila is going through right now."

A small smile spread across Thelma's face. "Thank you. You can change into your ordinary clothes; we'll be waiting for you in the living room."

Arisa nodded and Thelma quickly walked away from the area. Arisa didn't waste any second and approached the light brown wardrobe standing on the wall across the room. She grabbed her simple red top and dark pants.

As she swapped her purple pajamas, her gaze met the light blue colored walls that were garnished with a few posters.

Walking on the carpeted floor, leaving the area, Arisa saw a few photos placed on the room's desk. She slowly closed the door and rushed to the living room.

--♐♑♓--

When Arisa joined the area that was filled with bright sofas and a few vases beautifying the room, she saw that everyone had gathered. She stood by the entrance, noticing that Thelma's father was muttering things to himself.

"Calm down, Kafil," said Imani, patting her husband's back. "We must have faith and believe that Aadila will be found safely."

"I'm sorry, I can't," said Kafil, his voice cracking. "I had promised my sister that I would take care of her. I reassured her that this place is safer than our country and now this happens."