Keifer POV
"Yeah, yeah, I'll deal with it tomorrow," I said into my phone.
The street was quiet as I leaned against a tree a few steps away from Jay.
"Well you better," Yuri's voice complained from the other side of the call. "Ci-N keeps saying we should check on Jay."
I rolled my eyes.
"She's literally standing right there."
I turned slightly, expecting to see her still leaning on her motorbike.
But the spot was empty.
I frowned.
"…Hold on."
"What?" Yuri asked.
I lowered the phone slowly.
Jay wasn't there.
Her motorbike was still parked under the tree.
But she was gone.
My chest tightened slightly.
"Jay?" I called casually.
No answer.
I took a few steps forward.
Maybe she moved a little farther down the street.
"Jay?"
Still nothing.
The streetlight flickered above me, casting long shadows on the pavement.
A strange feeling crawled up my spine.
Something wasn't right.
"Keifer?" Yuri's voice came from the phone. "Why are you quiet?"
I ignored him and looked around again.
The road was empty.
No footsteps.
No sound.
Just the wind brushing the trees.
Then something caught my eye.
A broken object lying on the road.
I walked closer slowly.
My eyes widened slightly.
"…Her phone."
The screen was shattered badly, probably from when the car ran over it earlier.
But now it was lying in the middle of the road again.
I picked it up.
The cracked screen flickered faintly.
"Keifer?" Yuri called again from the phone.
I spoke quietly.
"Yuri… where are you guys?"
"At the restaurant. Why?"
I looked around again.
Jay wouldn't leave without telling me.
She definitely wouldn't leave her motorbike here.
My grip on the phone tightened.
"…Something's wrong."
Yuri's tone immediately changed.
"What happened?"
"Jay's gone."
There was silence.
Then Ci-N's voice suddenly shouted from Yuri's side.
"WHAT?!"
I ignored the noise and scanned the street again carefully.
Footprints.
The faint marks of someone being dragged in the dirt beside the sidewalk.
My eyes darkened.
"…She didn't walk away."
"What do you mean?" Yuri asked quickly.
I crouched down, touching the marks on the ground.
"Someone took her."
The line went completely silent.
Then Felix's voice came through the speaker.
"You're joking."
I stood up slowly, my jaw tightening.
"I'm not."
I walked a few meters forward following the disturbed dirt marks.
They ended near the bushes beside the street.
My fists clenched.
"Keifer," Yuri said carefully, "don't do anything stupid."
Too late.
My heart was already racing.
Anger started boiling inside my chest.
"Call Hex," I said coldly.
"What?"
"Now."
"Why Hex?"
I looked down at the cracked phone in my hand.
Then at the empty street again.
"Because whoever did this…"
My voice dropped dangerously low.
"…is going to regret touching her."
Ci-N muttered nervously.
"Please tell me this isn't about that hacker thing."
I didn't answer.
Instead I walked back toward Jay's motorbike.
The helmet still hung on the handle.
Everything looked normal.
Too normal.
Which meant this was planned.
Very planned.
My phone buzzed again suddenly.
A message.
Unknown number.
My eyes narrowed as I opened it.
The message was short.
LEVEL14.exe:
Too slow, Watson.
My grip on the phone tightened so hard my knuckles turned white.
Behind me the wind blew harder through the trees.
And for the first time that night…
I felt something I rarely felt.
Fear.