Third person's pov
Third person's pov
The girls had been waiting for Ethan for over an hour but no sign of him. They were starting to get restless.
"Did you say he said he was coming? He should have been here by now." Percy asked Emily. She was beginning to lose her patience.
"Yeah he did. I wonder if he's being held at home." Emily replied, feeling somewhat confused.
Ethan should have been here by now. Even if he was unable to make it, he should have called to let them know.
"Try calling him again." Percy suggested.
"Okay." Emily replied, picking up her phone to dial Ethan's number. The phone rang three times before it was answered.
"Ethan Madleev, where are you? Why is it taking you forever to get here?" Emily shouted.
She frowned when she heard the hurried breathing from the other end of the phone.
"Emily, I'm in trouble. I need help." Ethan said hurriedly.
"What..what kind of trouble?" Emily stammered.
Percy frowned when she heard Emily, nervousness in her expression.
"Some men are after me right now and I've injured my foot and can't escape on my own." Ethan said through painful gasps.
"Where are you?" Emily shrieked, standing up from her seat, compelling Percy to do same.
"I'm in an alley....." Ethan started before the beeping sound came from the phone in her hand indicating the call had ended.
Emily tried dialing the number again but it was switched off.
"Oh no." Emily shouted, horror visible on her face.
"What's wrong Emily?" Percy asked with a worried tone.
"Ethan is in trouble. He is being chased by some men and he's injured. What if he gets killed?" Emily cried, tears streaming down her face.
"This is not the time to cry. Quick let's go find him. Also try calling the police." Percy said with urgency as she picked her handbag and rushed to the entrance of the restaurant with Emily behind her.
"Did he mention the location of the alley? Maybe anything we can use as a lead?" Percy questioned Emily when they were outside the restaurant.
"No. The call ended before he could say anything more." Emily replied her, reaching for her phone to call for help.
"An alley? There are about three alleys in this area. How do we know the exact one?" Percy shouted, pulling her hair in frustration as she started walking towards the road to Ethan's house.
"But there are no alleys on or near the main road." Emily reasoned.
"Then there must be a shortcut. Do you know of any shortcut from Ethan's house leading to Linda's?" Percy asked Emily.
"I....I" Emily stammered, the tears choking her throat. Her mind had gone blank from the fear of her friend getting hurt.
"Emily we can't waste time here. You need to focus." Percy snapped.
She placed her hands on Emily's shoulder, holding her so she could face her.
"I know you are scared right now but our friend needs us. You are a brave and fearless girl who always stands up for what is right. This is one of those times when you need to be you. Please." Percy said, looking at Emily with pleading eyes.
'Percy is right. I need to be strong.' Emily thought.
Then she remembered.
There was a shortcut behind Linda's which Ethan had showed to her.
There had been a day when she and Ethan had left school late and following the main road would have only result to them arriving to their homes very late.
Ethan had suggested following the shortcut in order to avoid trouble.
"Yes. There's a shortcut behind Linda's. But Ethan told me it's usually lonely and dangerous at night." Emily said, fear evident in her voice.
Even though Emily was a brave and fearless girl, the fear and uncertainty was messing with her mind at the moment making her unable to think straight.
"We have no choice Emily. We have to find him." Percy said, trying to calm her friend down.
She understood how Emily felt at the moment.
Emily was the closest to Ethan and she knew her fear of Ethan getting hurt or worst, killed is really messing with her mind right now.
"You're right. Come on, I know the way. I will call for help on the way there." Emily said, pulling Percy's hand as she started walking.
They had to be quick or else they might lose their friend.
Ethan, please hang in there.
We are coming.
*****
The driver pulled the car in front of the Tyron's home followed by the bodyguards' cars.
Mr Harris quickly got out of the car and walked to the door at the entrance and knocked.
He stood there for a few minutes before the door was finally opened.
He stared at the young boy who had opened the door and sneered inwardly.
This must be the cousin who bullied Ethan.
Daniel was beyond shocked when he saw that the governor had visited their home.
He looked at the bodyguards' stoic faces with both fear and awe.
Daniel marveled at the luxurious cars in front of him. He may not have much knowledge about cars but he knew for sure that those cars must cost over a million dollars.
"Hello young man." Mr Harris said with a little frown as the boy had kept them standing there for minutes without saying anything. The boy was wasting his time standing here when he needed to see Ethan immediately.
"Oh I'm so sorry Mr governor. Good evening sir, please forgive my manners. Do you mind coming in sir?" Daniel greeted with respect as he bowed his head, berating himself inwardly for keeping the man waiting.
Mr Harris didn't say a word as he walked past Daniel into the house.
His group of bodyguards were about to follow him when he raised his hand, "Two is fine." He said without looking at them and continued walking.
Two of his bodyguards stepped forward and followed him in.
Mr Harris walked into the small apartment with hurried steps. The sitting room was no bigger than his kitchen at home and the few chairs almost made the room scanty.
He saw a middle aged woman sitting casually on a sofa playing with her phone on one hand with a tea cup in her other hand.
Aunt Gabriella stood up abruptly when she saw the man standing in their home.
She would never have dreamed in her entire lifetime that the governor would ever visit their little home.
"Good evening Mr governor. It is an honor to have you here in our humble home. Please have a seat." She said pointing towards the sofa.
Daniel had also come in and stood next to his mother, now curious of the reason why the man had come.
"There's no need for that Mrs Tyron. I only came here for Ethan. Where is he?" Mr Harris asked with a lazy tone.
He was not interested in their useless greetings. He only needed to see Ethan.
The mother and son duo eyes widened after hearing the governor's words.
Why was he looking for Ethan?
They both exchanged looks before turning to face Mr Harris which didn't escape Mr Harris's eyes.
"He went out to meet with some friends. I heard him discussing with them on the phone." Daniel replied cautiously.
Although what he said was true.
Daniel had been keeping an eye on Ethan's every movement ever since their confrontation with him.
He had overheard Ethan speaking with Emily about the meetup the night before so he had told his mother about it.
Aunt Gabriella didn't waste the golden opportunity and started plotting almost immediately.
"Did he tell you where?" Mr Harris asked with a frown.
"No Mr governor. He didn't even tell us he was going out and we wouldn't know about his appointment if Daniel hadn't heard their conversation." Aunt Gabriella answered with a straight face.
The man had come looking for Ethan? What luck that orphan must have.
"Do you need to see him urgently? I can go look for him right away." Daniel suggested, already walking towards the door.
"No. That's alright." Mr Harris stopped him before he could open the door.
"Here's my card. Call me once he's home." Mr Harris said as one of his bodyguard handed a card over to aunt Gabriella.
"Will do sir." Aunt Gabriella said with a smile, stretching forth both hands to collect the card.
Mr Harris stared at their pretentious faces for a moment before turning to leave.
As his bodyguard opened the door, Mr Harris turned his neck to look at the mother and son behind him, and the smiles on their faces gave him an uneasy feeling.
He gave them a nod before stepping out of the house.
"Dax." Mr Harris called as he walked towards his car.
"Yes sir." A cool voice answered as a tall, muscular man stepped forward.
"Find out where Ethan is at the moment and tell me right away. Don't waste a second." Mr Harris ordered.
"Right away sir." Dax replied before leaving to carry out his boss's orders.
He was the best among the governor's bodyguards and was the one who investigated Ethan's relationship with his family.
"Dave, Benson." Mr Harris called.
"Yes sir." Two rough voices chorused.
"Stay close to the Tyron's home and monitor their every movements. Report to me once you notice anything unusual." He ordered.
"Yes sir." They chorused.
Mr Harris entered his car with a serious look on his face.
"Drive." He ordered.
"Where to sir?" The driver asked cautiously as he noticed his boss wasn't in a good mood.
Mr Harris stared at the rearview mirror for a moment without saying anything.
"Out of here." He finally ordered.
*****
Ethan cursed as he stared at the blank black screen of his phone.
He was about telling Emily his location when his phone shut down.
His phone battery had the problem of not lasting and he didn't repair the phone as he didn't consider it a necessity. He never wanted to spend the money he was saving on things he didn't consider necessary.
The pain from the beating he had received and the pain from the strained ankle made him gasp for air as he continued limping towards the end of the alley.
He knew they would recover soon enough and he needed to find a way to escape before they do.
He also knew he was in no condition to run as the pain he was feeling was starting to become unbearable.
Ethan finally reached a narrow road at the end of the alley.
He knew where this road led to.
Beyond the narrow path lay a steep cliff overlooking a wide river. The water flowed swiftly beneath it, far enough below to make the descent dangerous. Anyone unfortunate enough to fall from that height would face a slim chance of survival, even if they knew how to swim.
Ethan looked around him to see if there was another way out. He scanned his surroundings frantically but it seemed like there was no other way out.
He had two choices.
Either go back to the alley which seemed really impossible at the moment or follow the narrow road and see if he could find a spot to hide temporarily.
Ethan followed the narrow road as it seemed like the only option right now.
The moon high above lit his path as he dragged his wounded feet across the floor, groaning in pain with every step.
His condition slowed him down a lot and he couldn't help but curse at his luck.
After few minutes of agonizing walking, he finally spotted the cliff.
He looked around, praying to God to find a place to hide.
He spotted a huge rock whose body was almost covered by surrounding bushes.
He decided to hide there for the meantime, away from where they could easily find him before figuring something out.
But before Ethan could take a step forward, he felt hands on his body, grabbing hold of him and pushing him to the ground.
He had not recovered from the fall when he felt a kick to his stomach and he coughed out blood.
His eyes were starting to get blurry from all the pain. Ethan shook his head to keep his mind open and stop himself from fainting.
He noticed they were only a small distance away from the edge of the cliff.
He got on his fours and tried crawling farther away from the edge but he felt another blow on his face, causing his head to spin as he fell back to the ground.
"Little brat, you think you are smart huh?" The leader spat, snatching a gun from one of his lackey's hands.
The man had lost all his patience and would have already killed the boy if not that the woman told them not to.
The woman had only asked them to teach him a little lesson and collect the papers from him, that was the only reason why the boy was still alive.
"Let me go. I already called my friends, the police will be here soon. If you want to save yourselves, you better run now." Ethan said softly as he only had little strength in his body.
He knew he couldn't run any longer and so he decided to use the only reasonable card he had left, threatening them.
A mocking laughter broke through the lips of the men at Ethan's words.
They thought the boy was only being foolish.
If he thought the police were going to come save him, then he is in for a big disappointment.
"Listen boy, this alley is not so easy to find. And even if they do find it, we would have been done with you before they even arrive." The bald man spat, a mocking smile on his face.
"I have lost all my patience little brat. Now hand over the papers and let us get this all over with." The leader sneered, using the gun on his hand to raise Ethan's blood streaked face to look at him.
Ethan glared at the man weakly before a small smile came on his lips. He spat on his face and the leader cursed, using his free hand to wipe his face.
"I will never give them to you, so you better give up on that idea old man." Ethan said.
The leader's face turned dark at Ethan's words.
"Boys, this little bastard have not learnt his lesson yet. Beat him until he gives in." The leader shouted, glaring at Ethan.
The men had been waiting for this opportunity as they wanted to get back at the boy for causing them pain.
Ethan's eyes widened as they inched closer to him.
He weakly got on his fours again and unknowingly started to crawl towards the edge.
"Where do you think you are going boy. You can't get away from this." The men mocked as they slowly walked towards Ethan with amusement.
These men were psychics who enjoyed toying with people's lives and seeing Ethan trying desperately to get away from them amused them.
When Ethan finally realized that he was only few steps away from the edge, he stopped moving.
He turned to the men with horror in his face.
He's not going to die here, is he?
A tiny voice in the back of his mind told him to give in and hand them the papers but then he remembered.
He remembered every bit of suffering he had faced, how many times he had given in to the demands of other people.
No!
This time would be different.
If he could survive this night, his life will never be the same again. But if he gives in, he will continue living in the hell he's living in.
A hard punch to his face brought him back from his thoughts to reality, then another and another.
He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, refusing to give in to the pain.
After minutes of another beating,
"That's enough." The leader's voice was heard.
"Are you ready to hand them over now?" He asked the weak boy in front of him. He could tell that the boy couldn't take any more blows.
"Never." A weak voice replied him.
The leader gritted his teeth, bent down and grabbed Ethan by the throat, making him stand up to face him.
"This is the last time I show you mercy. I am getting those papers from you tonight no matter how many times you refuse. Now give them to me." He growled, tightening his hand around the boy's neck.
Ethan glared as he pulled on the hand around his neck weakly with both hands, struggling to breathe.
The leader loosened his grip to allow the boy talk.
"No." Ethan said, his voice barely a whisper.
"Bastard." The leader shouted, delivering a blow to Ethan's face with the gun and the boy fell to the ground.
He went berserk as he rained kicks on Ethan, growling with every kick. He kept on kicking Ethan towards the edge of the cliff without realizing. Any little mistake, and a fall would be unavoidable.
Tears rolled down Ethan's cheeks as he groaned from the attack. His body was starting to get numb and he knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer.
"Uhm boss." The lackeys were calling their boss. They had watched as their boss kicked Ethan with anger towards the edge and they knew if he continued, something disastrous could happen.
They kept calling him but it seemed the man had gone deaf as he kept raining curses and kicks at Ethan.
"Brat. You are trying to prove stubborn huh? I would love to see how stubborn you can be. How dare you mess with me?" The leader kept going on and on.
And finally he picked Ethan from the floor with a hand around his neck. He didn't want to kill the boy as he was ordered not to.
He glared at the boy's blood soaked face and was about to ask for the papers again when Ethan's next action shocked him.
A normal person would have started pleading for their lives or giving in but the boy, whose life was in his hands only gave him a smile, a mocking smile.
The man stood shocked for a moment, releasing his hold on the boy, his hands dropping to his sides.
Then he growled with anger and threw the gun in his hand.
He raised his fist and used all the energy he could muster and punched Ethan hard in the face.
Ethan was already so weak and the punch only made he stagger backwards, and before he knew it, there was no more ground to step on.
The air blew on his face as he fell backwards.
The leader had noticed him falling and had rushed to grab his hand, but he was a little too late as he missed the boy's hand.
"Ethan!" Ethan heard two voices shouting his name.
In his blurry vision, he saw a girl with black hair running towards him. The girl looked familiar, too familiar.
But he knew he couldn't be saved now.
He felt the force of the wind against him as he fell and then he felt the rushing current.
He had fallen into the river beneath the cliff.
A painful smile crept onto his lips as he finally closed his eyes.
So this is how he dies.
Now he had only one regret. He regretted being a coward.
A coward that never stood up for himself. A coward that always gave in to their demands. A coward that had not left the Tyron's house when he had the chance, with the hope that those people might change.
If only he had had a bit of courage, maybe, just maybe things would have been different.
Now it's all over.
But maybe it's all for the better. He can finally see his parents again.
Mom, dad, wait for me. I am coming....
A tear slipped down his face as the darkness finally swallowed him.