'If you want to save her, come by yourself, don't call the police. Otherwise, her life might not be preserved.'
The threat was still very vivid in Clara's mind after receiving that strange call.
What the hell is this? Is it a conspiracy? Clara was not sure what she just heard was true, Sarah's voice was extremely panicked, as if she wanted to cry, scared to ask for help, her face remained calm, and she carefully considered. Honestly, after what she did to her, Clara had absolutely no reason to believe her, maybe she would play tricks to hurt her. Sarah has more than enough guts to hire a few people to act out this kidnap play. But... an unpleasant feeling, Clara couldn't explain what it was.
As soon as the other end hung up, she immediately went to Sarah's room to check if she was home, the room was empty, cold as usual. She looked at the clock and it seemed she should be home by now, she had not heard anything about Sarah not coming home tonight, and she added that this could very well be true.
Thirty minutes have passed since the call ended. Clara paced up and down her room with uneasiness. What should she do? Why is everything directed at her like this? Holding the phone in both hands, confused, half wanted to call the police, half hesitated, fearing that Sarah would be at a disadvantage if she disobeyed the kidnappers' orders.
Clara glanced at her watch with displeasure but did not hesitate to continue pacing. This situation is really unbearable. The stillness of the night made Clara nervous. In the midst of extreme anxiety, the phone rang again, startling her, and almost dropped the phone on the floor.
It's the same number again, this time a video call. It seems that their waiting has exceeded the limit. When Clara hesitated to leave the house to meet them.
Clara swallowed hard, trembling hands pressed the button to listen. Quickly the screen lit up, and then the angry voice of the fox masked man screamed.
"Are you kidding us?"
That guy's face was fierce, he bluntly used his big hand to slap Sarah in the face, causing her to fall to the ground.
Clara was startled by his aggressive tone and harsh actions. The fact that she couldn't say anything, respond, or even let out a frightened groan even if it wasn't because she couldn't speak normally, his attitude made her shut up.
Sarah sat on the floor, her face scarred with no more blood, her mouth moved to scream for help.
"You're also very brave! Looks like we should let your friends taste the pain. Luckily, you obediently took care of us."
Suddenly he changed his attitude to a soft voice. Then he pointed the camera directly at Sarah.
Facing her eyes was the image of Sarah sitting on the floor, hands, and feet tied. Standing around her were several men holding knives to her neck.
Her face was pale, her voice trembling, she begged her.
"Clara, please, beg you to come to save me." She sobbed.
Clara felt her stomach churning with waves of indignation, how could that man abuse a girl.
"What's wrong, girl, did you think so long? You're playing with our patience. If you don't show up in thirty minutes. We'll kill your friend. We said we would. And don't forget the deal."
To create more fear for her, he roughly grabbed Sarah by the hair and pulled her back, Sarah's expression was extremely painful, then the knife in his hand moved wildly, and with a decisive slash he cut a line just below the white neck. so young. Blood trickled down his collar.
It's real! It didn't look fake, everything was very real, including the fear that surrounded Clara right now.
The screen pop-up turns off back to its original black color.
Clara felt short of breath, her heart was racing, couldn't think anymore, grabbed her shirt from the chair, she rushed out of the house in the cold winter.
Roly and Arlo just came out of a fancy restaurant, they just had a meeting with a friend.
"Roly! Let's go double!"
Arlo put his arm around Kiba's shoulder - the guy who had just returned from England. The two stopped walking and turned to consult Roly - who walked slowly behind. For some reason, he felt nauseous throughout the meal. Until now, that invisible feeling has not ended.
Asked, he quickly woke up, stammering a reply. - It's up to you, whatever.
"Then let's go to the bar, haven't visited those places in a long time. How do you feel?"
"Okay." Liam turned to Arlo with excitement. Rolling his eyes in Roly's direction, he just shrugged indifferently.
They continued to go to the car, suddenly stopping him when a familiar figure ran past his face, causing him to turn his head to follow.
oOo
Clara strode hastily into the alley about 100 meters away from the place where they were supposed to meet. The closer she got, the more she shivered in the cold December wind, her ears ringing from the sound of the wind's bombardment. Everything around seems very quiet, but behind that silence is invisible sounds that sound really scary.
The lonely figure of a woman appeared in the darkness. She leaned against the wall of a dilapidated rental house, her shoulders crossed as if she were sick. A man's harsh green eyes flashed over her as he emerged from the casino in the back alley. Images like this are unusual on the streets, especially in this slum, where human poverty manifests itself in all its different forms. This place, although a short distance away, is a considerable distance from the posh Tokyo streets, the houses are a pile of dilapidated garbage. The area is rife with beggars, prostitutes, charlatans, and thieves. A gathering place of evil ghosts. People like them.
No decent woman would be seen here, especially so late at night. But if she was a prostitute, her way of dressing would be strange. The gray cape opened at the front to reveal a turtleneck t-shirt made of dark fabric. The curls that showed up from underneath the hood were almost brown. She might be waiting for a wandering husband somewhere, or it could be a salesgirl who has lost her way.
People stole glances at her as they passed her without stopping. Had she stayed here any longer, there was no doubt that she would have been raped or robbed, even beaten and left to die. What can be done is to politely approach her, inquire about her situation, and express concerns about her safety.
Despite her fear, Clara did not give up. She came here for a more interesting purpose. She turned away and continued walking along the ruined sidewalk.
The closer she got to the place, the more she noticed footsteps approaching behind her. Something about them caused a prickly sensation down her spine. Clara intentionally changed the tempo, and the noise behind immediately adjusted accordingly. Is anyone following you? Perhaps one of them was already waiting by the alley to catch her. Unable to bear it any longer, Clara recklessly looked back, there was nothing, a faint yellow of the side lights flickering at dawn and dusk.
Maybe an illusion? she thought, suddenly a gust of wind came.
Clara stopped, her whole body stiff, sinking into an invisible obsession.
Suddenly she heard Sarah's pitiful scream. She closed her eyes, but that action couldn't get rid of the image that appeared in her head, the screams, the screams, the beatings, all of them mixed together to form a strange sound that made her ears hear. She is deaf.
Far, far away, a man's voice rang out:
"Are you okay?"
Cautiously, she slowly opened her eyes.
"Ma'am... are you okay?" The voice came closer and closer.
Clara tried to force herself back to reality, trying to run away when the man was behind her.
"Hey lady, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's dangerous here. You should go back now."
His voice was concerned, to remind her of where she was not supposed to be. There was something unreal about a girl walking leisurely here, at night, without the slightest flutter of fear.
Could this girl not be human? or let's say a person in the gangster world. The man was a little afraid for himself when he interfered with the money. But even though he didn't know who this girl was, the man still insisted that he wanted to know the truth about why she was here at this hour.
Meanwhile, Clara was cold all over, thanks to the east wind helping to hide her trembling legs, the two words Thank you, which Clara mumbled between her teeth, unable to come out.
Suddenly the man put his hand on her shoulder, wanting to see what her face was like, Clara panicked and tried to run away immediately when this man could not offer to help her find a way out of there.
Cursing under her breath, Clara began to circle around a corner. Then house number 23/3 belongs to the abandoned planning area in the street...
After a while, Clara also managed to find them, moving very gently, cautiously entering so that they would not notice. Hiding behind a wall about ten meters away from them, she held her breath so as not to be detected.
Clara hid behind the wall. Looking intently at the center of the house, where the men were surrounding a girl. Clara has already turned on the phone, just one click will be connected to someone.
She wondered what these men would do to her when she appeared, certainly not as nice as she had hoped, like a normal conversation.
Most of them didn't look decent. It would probably be unwise to believe they would treat her well, But she needed to talk to them for Sarah's sake. Clara is always careful not to judge people by their appearance, but it seems that this situation forces her to believe that these people are really bad people.
In the corner of the room, a man was sitting on a chair. Next to it was a girl. It was Sarah, apparently, the two were talking. Clara could only hear faintly.
"What do you think now? Your friend probably won't come, look like she's calm when she sees you being beaten like that. Thirty minutes are almost over."
The man smiled amusedly.
"No, it will definitely come, you just need to be patient. Please wait a little longer. It will definitely come."
Sarah's voice was lost with the thought that it was really over if Clara hadn't come.
"Do it quickly, big brother. That girl definitely won't come." One of them said, his voice choking.
"Why are you so sure?" Another guy asked for his name and urged the big brother.
"I heard that this young lady did a lot of bad things with that child. How could she bring her body here to save the person who has harmed me five or seven times? Do you think I have a point?"
The big brother looked at his watch, the time was up, then he looked up at his juniors, They glanced at each other again and lazily approached her.
As she had predicted, they immediately took action when the waiting time was over. Clara felt the metal chair just fall, Sarah also fell to the floor with a thud. Two men pressed on her shrunken body. Sarah protested vehemently, she struggled to free herself from the grip but to no avail.
Suddenly she noticed a commotion at the far end of the room. She tried to see what was happening, but the room was shrouded in darkness. A series of crude words caused her cheeks to turn rosy. No one used that kind of language to tease such vulgarity, except for perverts with physiological problems that needed some street girls to solve for them.
It looked like two men were holding Sarah's hands firmly on the ground, while the others weren't around laughing and enjoying themselves. Clara knew well what those preparations were for, they intended to humiliate Sarah. A thought crossed her mind, Clara thought she deserved the retribution, but deep down she wouldn't allow it, she deserved to be punished but not in this disgusting way. God, if you go in there, you'll be treated as brutally as Sarah.
She heard her screams, the caresses of her skin. Frowning in uncertainty, Clara clenched her fists and watched. Her heart pounded like the heart of a rabbit. It would be foolish to interfere with yourself. She was here to observe, not to interfere. But the poor victim was crying out pitiful groans, and at that moment she was horrified to see the flash of a knife.
They were going to cut her shirt off.
Clara panicked and hurried to get out of there, she needed to call someone to save her. But it won't be lost in time! Suddenly, the steps stopped, hesitating, not knowing whether to move on or what to do.
"Get off me, get away from me."
Screams of banishment called her awake.
Her voice was like a powerful blow to Clara's conscience. Swallowing, she turned around, gathering all her courage, Clara recklessly walked over to them. Before leaving her hiding place, she raised her hand to make the sign of the cross, hoping God would hear her whispers of supplication.