*Knock*
Few moments later the door creaked open, revealing a man with striking appearance. His olive skin glowed in a shade of golden under the light of the dimly lit lamp, his brown hair resembled the slow waves over still water. His was well-built, niether too muscular nor too lean— just perfect— standing taller than an average man.
"Are you Mr. Vale?" The person on the door asked with a harmless grin, appearing as a man with no apparent ill motive.
"Yes? And who are you, sir?" Mr. Vale asked unfamiliar with the new faces.
"Seize him" the man at the door commanded the two men accompanying him.
Before he could react, two hands were wrapped around his wrist twisting them behind his back in one swift move.
"Hey!" He barked, jerking against their grip, but the men dragged him past the threshold, leaving the door swinging open in the stillness of night.
"Where are you taking me!?" He struggled and called for help, but his cries were swallowed by the emptiness of night.
"It would be beneficial for you to co-operate, Mr. Vale. We are not here to harm you" The man spoke-- calm and composed-- not even a tinge of panic was visible in his voice as if this was something he had done countless of times.
"Not to harm, my ass. You just abucted me!! Let me go, right now!!" He tried to free himself from their grip but the men remained unshaken.
"You will not get away with this! The bureau will find out that I've been kidnapped and they'll hunt you down. You still have the chance to let me go-- I'm warning you!!" He kept on blabbering but the mysterious man who was walking ahead of them, with his hands elegantly clasped behind his back as if he was merely strolling after a fine meal, paid him no mind.
They dragged him towards the sea. Finally realising that using strength against this men was futile, Mr.Vale gave up.
"See, now that makes things easier for you and myself" he mused, his voice carrying a quite amusement.
Mr. Vale remained silent, his head hung low as he was being taken by a group of strangers—neither thieves nor pirates. The one leading them rather looked like he belonged to aristocracy than crime, dressed in finely tailored clothes made out of expensive fabrics. His long ebony hair fluttered in the wind like silk threads, each strand meticulously taken care of. And an unaturally pale skin as if he had never stepped into the sun a single day of his life.
Soon they reached the shore, the vastness of the sea beneath the night sky—the way waves lapped gently under the slow wind, a sight to behold. Under any other circumstances, he would've admired it's beauty. But right now, admiration was the last thing on his mind. He was in danger, possibly a life threatening one.
Yet as he scanned the horizon, his dread only deepened. The sea stretched endlessly in every direction. No ship, no fishing boats, nothing. A terrible realisation settled in his gut.
'they're planning to drown me'
"Sir, listen to me," he stammered, his voice treambling with desperation "maybe I've unknowingly wronged you in the past but you don't have to go this far, right? I'll fall on my knees and apologize untill you are satisfied"
The man let out a long exasperated sigh
"It was so much peaceful when you were quiet. Can you do me a favour and keep it that way? Hmm Mr.Vale?"
Not an ounce of anger was present in his voice, yet somehow, he sounded far more terrifying than a man consumed by rage.
"How can I stay quiet when I might be dying tonight!?" He snapped "Let me go!" He thrashed against the iron like grips holding him in place but no matter how hard he fought, the hands refused to budge.
"Captain, should we knock him out? It would be lot easier that way" One of the men holding him suggested.
"Why would you suggest that now, when we're right infront of the ship?" The other one questioned, clearly exasperated.
"Are you the captian, Milo? I remember asking him not you" he snapped, though his anger restrained.
"All these muscles, but an empty skull. You cannot survive one day without the crew, Bastian" Milo shook his head in disappointment.
"The amount of noise this one is creating is enough for all of us, don't add to it more" Eitenne huffed, shaking his head is disdain.
"Sorry Captain" both of the men muttered in a low voice, just enough to be heard by their captain and the man they had abucted.
But Mr.Vale—as they called him— was drowning in confusion. Everything this men were talking didn't make sense. If anything, they sounded like they had a few screws loose.
'A ship? What ship? There isn't single boat in sight. Have I been taken by a group of madmen?'
Before he could even think of a way out,
This finely dressed man raised his hand towards the empty air. It was an effortless motion but what happened after was anything but normal. The space around his hand twisted and turned unnaturally making large ripples like disturbed water, slowly engulfing his arm into the unknown. The distortion widened, swirling outwards and just as smoothly, his whole body was swallowed by this strange air-- disappearing right before Mr.Vale's eyes.
Mr.Vale's breath hitched, his heart violently thumped against his chest.
There was no rational explanation of what he had just witnessed. His dread multiplied ten folds as the realisation sinked in—this men were far worse than normal thieves. Mr. Vale swallowed hard at the epiphany.
'I'm not making it out alive'