BANG!
It was so sudden and just as the bullet was about to hit me, someone pulled me.
I closed my eyes shut and when it opened, I was in a moving car.
Oh great, now I've been kidnapped.
'I thought you were brave but you couldn't even see someone shooting you?'
Huh? Who said that?
'Aunt Samantha? What are you....?
'I saw you at the reception. You were looking at me like you had something to say'
'Yeah. A lot, I have a lot to say to you and ask you '
'Sure. You might wanna ask how you got saved, right? Or who has enough time and energy to kill you?'
'Yeah. I know you saved me, thank you but I don't know who would want to kill me. Must be one of those neighborhood thieves I'd caught before'
'Alright. Let's just say that'
'Auntie, how are you? You don't look good at all'
'How would I look good when my daughter has gone missing?'
'Then why didn't you make any efforts to look for her'
'...
'Answer me Aunt '
'Let's talk some more tomorrow. I'll drop you off at your house, your mom must be worried'
'Ok'.
I shouldn't rush her. I'll go home for now.
***
'Chris, why do I feel like we're forgetting something?'
'Well if you're forgetting then I won't remember either'
'I'm sure we'll remember soon'
***
'Harper, now that we're at home, I have to tell you somethings'
'Go on'
'You see, this game just like every other game has levels'
'Huh? Why didn't you tell me earlier?'
'You were busy'
'Ok. Tell me what I have to do'
'Each tasks intensifies as you level up'
'Does leveling up comes with benefits?'
'Yeah. It could help you become a special player'
'Really? I thought you said nobody has ever been a special player'
'Yeah. That's because none of them could complete the task given to them. Also, the system of the game keeps getting an upgrade which makes the challenges more difficult'
'Can you tell me all about the levels then?'
'Yes, absolutely. Level one is the simplest, all you have to do is complete one single task successfully. Once you've entered level two, the tasks would naturally come to you'
'Come to me?'
'Yeah. You have to be extremely cautious because then, you'll have to figure out yourself if what you're going through is a task or just another difficulty of the game'
'What level am I now?'
'If you complete a task now, you'll advance to level one'
'Okay. What's the task about?'
'I'll let you know but let me tell you the benefits and dangers of these tasks'
'There are dangers?'
'Yeah, there will be dangers if you can't complete a mission or tasks. You'll gain more intelligence as you complete tasks. This will be of great help to you in your missions. If you don't complete the missions, you might get sabotaged'
'Sabotaged?'
'A player from another world who has a higher level than you can cross realms and eliminate you'
'That's not good'
'Yeah. You can also cross to another realm when you reach level five'
'Okay, that's easy'.
'I wouldn't say so. There's a special mission for you when you reach level five'
'Really? What is it?'
'You'll cross to another realm to meet another player'
'To eliminate them?'
'Yes'
'That's awful'
'It's the rules'
'What's my first task?'
'When you first entered this realm, I told you that you were chasing a criminal right?'
'Oh yes! That's what I've been forgetting'
'Listen, he's the one who tried to kill you'
'What? That little...
So he shoots at me, then vanishes — and now he's tied to Sophie? Fine. He wants to play dirty, I'll play smarter.'
'There's another news. A bad one'
'Spill it'
'He might have something to do with your first mission and first task'
'The missing girl?'
'Yeah'
'That's bad. I have to interrogate aunt samantha tomorrow'
'Yeah, you should'.
'For now, Let's go to sleep'
'Sure, good night'.
'Harper! Harper! Get here now!'
That was my mom. What is it now?
I had to go and see what was going on.
'I'm here mom'.
Mom was shivering while holding a letter.
Elias was looking at me strangely and Maisie had a terrified look on her little face.
'What's the matter mom?'
'What's this harper?'. She handed me the letter.
The words on it were written in bold red color and it said, 'Don't take on the missing girl's case'.
This was no longer funny. There was more to this case which I have to find out.
'Say something Harper!'
'Look mom, this must be a prank or someth.....
SLAP!
My mom's hand landed straight on my face. Then, she held my clothes.
'Harper, why are you doing this to yourself? Do you want to kill yourself just like your father did? Look at us, living in poverty. We were once very rich but as soon as your father died, all his properties were taken! Now you....you are threading the same path as well!'
'Mom. Please listen....
'No! You lied to me! You made me a false promise that you would never be a secret agent but you're doing the opposite. You're putting our lives in danger!'
'Mom! Please listen to me!'
'What do you have to say?!'
'Listen mom. I'll take care of this, I promise'
'No! Don't make a false promise again. You'll stop this rubbish right away!'
'No mom, I can't stop now. Not until I find out who killed dad. You can't make me stop now'
'What?'
'Yes mom and don't act as if I'm the only one keeping a secret, you're also keeping a secret from us aren't you?'
'Wha....what are you saying?'
'You know very well what I'm talking about mom'
Her hands slipped away from my cloth as she became quiet.
Elias and Maisie were now confused. I disposed the letter and went to my room.
My dad's picture was on the table. I picked it up and gently caressed it.
'Don't worry dad, I'll definitely avenge you'
*** THE NEXT MORNING
'Chris, are you up? We have to go now'
'I'm up, let's go'
****
Knock! Knock! Knock!
'Auntie, please open the door!'
I had gotten to aunt Samantha's house before my family woke up.
Mom didn't say anything to me again since last night.
'Oh, good morning Harper. What brings you here?'
'Officer mark? I thought you'd be in office by now'
Aunt Samantha's husband opened the door instead. He was an officer and just like his wife, he was a good person as well. He and my dad were drinking buddies. Other than this couple, I didn't trust anyone else.
'I came here to see Aunt Samantha'
'Please sit, she'll be here soon. Let me call her for you'
I sat down and waited for them and then, I saw their family picture. It was such a perfect family with their little daughter, Sophie.
'Hi Harper'. Aunt Samantha finally came, her eyes was swollen.
'Good morning auntie. Is everything okay? Your eyes...
'She was crying Harper'. Officer mark answered my question instead.
I didn't need to ask why she was crying.
'I see. I'm really sorry about your daughter officer mark but....
'Harper, there's no need to be so formal with me. Just call me uncle when it's just us, okay?'
'Okay. About your daughter, did you know that I've been given this case?'
'Yeah, I know. They did it on purpose, giving it to an inexperienced person like you. They know that you won't be able to handle this case'.
'Oh really?, and what if I can find her?'
'Well.....
'I have a question Uncle'
'Go ahead'.
'Why didn't you look for your daughter? Why did you both keep quiet about it. I mean, you're an officer and auntie has a good status politically. You both could have found sophie if you really wanted to'
'You see Harper, the matter is not as simple as you think. We're just doing this for our daughter's safety'
'I don't understand'
'Let me tell you the truth Harper. The actual truth'.
And just like that, everything I thought I knew about this case… was about to change.