บท 1: Kidnapped-1

Dave likes silence, that is why he likes to sit in a church, after his shift. After 9:00 pm, not many people come to church to preach, the handful of people that do come leave soon after lighting a candle.

Considering how much he is a fan of silence, his job on the other hand is completely opposite. He works as a cook in a local deli. The only time one can actually find that place in pin-drop silence is when it closes.

In such a quaint and peaceful environment he likes to think. As a high school failure who had no idea what to do in life, thinking helps a lot. It helps him get his priorities straight. He is not like junky parents who spend most of their life here in this shitty town. He wants to get out of here, live a little, and maybe fall in love.

Like any other man his age, he wants to marry a beautiful girl, father at least two children, and make a house of his own. He can't do that here, everyone in this place knows who he is, know who his parents were. He cannot do anything here, the only way to change his life is by getting out of this place…

The door of the church was opened slightly and an old woman walked in. The sharp sound of the woman's heels echoed throughout the church. When the woman passed by him, he smelled the fragrance of jams and jellies coming from her, he also smelled a distinct smell that only old people have.

He recognized the old lady, she is an owner of a local bakery. She makes jam and jellies which are 100% natural and made from fruits that are locally grown. People go nuts about her jams and jellies, he had never tried them before, but he sure had seen long lines in front of her shop just to get a jar of apple jam.

After lighting a candle the old lady prayed for a minute, she then turned around and started going back. It was then a blue color wisp entered the church, no one seemed to have noticed that small wisp as if it was invisible to everyone present there.

The wisp sped towards the old lady and entered her body. Without a sound of doing anything abnormal, it took over her body. Her demeanor changed. She became more confident and started smiling as he came toward Dave.

The old lady snapped her fingers. And magically, Dave's wallet which was safe and secured in his right breast pocket appeared on the floor beside him. He didn't sense it, after all, he was busy with his thoughts.

"Honey, I think you dropped your wallet." The old lady said while pointing toward his wallet.

"Oh… Thank you, ma'am." Dave said with a smile. He then picked it up and opened it to see whether the wallet belonged to him. He was confused, he remembers it perfectly that he had put the damn thing in his breast pocket. But it seems he might have been wrong.

"No problem dear. By the way, you are John's boy if I am not wrong?" Hearing his late junky father's name, he smiled awkwardly and nodded.

"I am sorry for your loss dear." With a sad look and sympathetic look, she said.

"It is okay mam. It is not like my life had changed a lot since that car accident. Both my parents were never there for me for most of my life. So their death didn't make any difference for me."

"Is that so…" Her fake sympathetic eyes were making him nauseous, but he didn't show it. It was then she pretended that she had a brilliant idea. She then started rummaging through her side purse. "By the way, you work at a local deli, right? Do you like that job? I mean, I have a job that I have in mind which would a perfect for a young man like you."

"What kind of job?" Working at a deli was no price, so he was slightly interested in what the old lady had to offer.

"Here." She then handed him a card.

The card in question was a simple plain black color business card. There was no name, email, or company name on the card, only a simple phone number inscribed on the black card in golden letters.

"What is this?"

"It is the phone number of a big company. This number works 24/7 and you could get a decent job if you call this number. Try it."

"But what is the name of the company or organization that this card belongs to?"

"This company is related to the church. Just say 'yes' when they will ask you whether you are ready to serve God."

"But mam, does it need some educational qualification or something? I have not even graduated high school, let alone a skill school."

"Don't worry dear. You are qualified enough. Just call the number. This call will change your life forever. Believe me. Just make a call."

"Thank you, ma'am," It was a weird card, but he was happy to take it.

"Don't worry about it. But promise me that you will make the call."

"I promise. Thank you, ma'am." Dave said. Then the old lady said goodbye and started heading out of the church.

He looked at the number in his hands weirdly. He didn't know what to think about the number. The old lady did not mention what kind of job was it nor did she reveal any description of the job. But seeing the quality of the card, he figured that this card must belong to some high-end big-shot company.

He didn't know whether such a company would even think about hiring someone like him, but it was still worth a shot. After all, he was just a simple cook at the deli. He was already at the bottom of the food chain. How much lower could he drop?

He then safely pocketed the card and he then got up and started heading home…

***

As Dave got out of the church, he looked around the empty streets of his small town, there was no human nor a car in sight. He was not afraid of walking alone at the night, his town was relatively safe.

But seeing the empty streets make him wonder how life is in the big cities. He had heard about New York and how it is a city that never sleeps. And here is his town which becomes an abandoned ghost town just a little after 6:00 pm. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of life people in big cities live.

He had a long walk back home, it was while walking back, he remembered the card that the old lady offered him. She said that the phone line works 24/7, looking at the card he couldn't help but wonder whether the card could be his ticket out of this town.

As he had nothing better to do, he took out his phone and the card and dialed the number.

TRING TRING

"Welcome R3T, how may I help you?" came a woman's voice from the other end.

"Hi, my name is Dave. An old lady gave me this card and told me that you guys can offer me a job of some sort."

"We can offer you a job."

"And I don't have any good educational qualification so to speak of. Will that be a problem?" He asked, praying inwardly with his finger crossed.

"Your education has nothing to do with the job. Any person can be qualified for the job who has a healthy body with no diseases like asthma, diabetes, or any sort of heart condition."

"Is that so? What kind of job are you offering?"

This company was very strange, after all, which company out there doesn't recruit asthma patients? A normal asthma patient does not have any sort of weakness that could hinder any normal job. If he were to think about it, only people from the army would reject asthmatic patients because they wouldn't be able to go through the harsh training required by the army. But other than which kind of job would reject asthmatic patients?

"The job is that you have to work for GOD. Do you want to work for GOD?" the woman asked.

"But still, what is the job?"

"It is a work for God. Do you want to work for GOD?"

"I will work for GOD. But I still need to know what work I have to do?" After getting the confirmation she needed, the woman was done talking. "Our agent will contact you soon. Good Bye."

Dave looked at the phone screen and started thinking about the weird conversation that he just had. That lady didn't even take his credentials so how the hell will their agent contact him? Maybe they recorded my phone number

He then started thinking of the possibility of this being a prank of some sort. So he threw aside the card and continued walking to his home. But it was then, that he saw some light coming from his back, some car was coming towards him.

The car came to a stop just beside him. Seeing that car stop by his side, he unconsciously reached for the gun on his back. This was a safe town, but still, humans are very vicious creatures. He had never used the bad boy on his back before but he always kept it with him, after all, you never know when you might need something like this.

He didn't know the model of the car, but it looked expensive. He bent over to see the driver of the car, a woman in her prime 20s was driving the car. She was wearing a two-piece suit with a hat on the top. It was pretty clear that she was a driver. Looking at her, he wondered whether she had stopped to ask for some directions or something.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked cautiously with still his hands on the gun.

"Are you the one they call Dave?"

"That depends on who is asking?"

"Well, I am asking."

"What do you want with me?" he asked cautiously.

"Hop in, I am here to take you with me. I am with people from R3T."

"R3T? What the fuck? But I just talked to them."

"We are very fast. Hop in."

"Woah Woah… This is way too creepy. I am not hopping in. Get the hell out of here lady, if you don't want to get shot."

"I am afraid, you can't back out now." The lady said.

And it was then something incredible happen. He just blinked and the lady sitting in the car a moment ago suddenly appeared right beside him. This freaked him out, he took out his gun and tried to point the gun at her.

But before he could do anything else, the woman slapped the hand holding the gun. Because of the jerk, the gun went flying away. She took out what look like a small deodorant from her pocket and sprayed it on his face.

The spray worked wonders and before he knew it, he got knocked out…