Chapter 4 - If Simple, Then Shattered

The man's eyes fuming and closing in at one point straight... my face!

“It's...” I started "Palmer!", being careful with my words, "Jayce Palmer."

Even though I spoke firmly, Inside I was curious to whatever was about to be thrown at me verbally and also having seen the man tryna hide something on his back.

‘Go ahead!’ Show me that weird look everyone’s been showing me lately but then...

“What to me want?”

“Huh?...", did he just...

“Hey! Quit wasting my time! What do you want?”

If I recall the time I have spend ever since I arrived, I met many but everyone with some particularly weird aspects and Yes... their reaction on seeing or hearing my name. ‘Can I even forget that?’

...but this man! standing opposite of this metal gate didn't flinch even an inch. How is that possible... No, wait... ain’t this the way it was supposed to be? He’s the first normal guy I’ve encountered... till now anyway. It’s a point where I sound crazy!

"Oye!", a third time at that...

“Oh! Yes...", getting my smoulder back, "I want to meet Blake.”

“Who?", he asked with a curious look on his face.

"Mr. Blake!", I wasn't gonna back down, “Take me to this Mr. Blake, I need to talk with him urgently”, until...

“The hell you blabbering about! And this late! Its past night, go away!"

“But first...”, he cut my words...

"I don't know anyone with that name here.”

“What? What do you mean by that? Don't you know who Blake is?"

“First of all, there's no Blake or Mr. Blake or whatever”
After eating his words midway...

"There's no one named Blake? Then why did that guard...”

He stated "Go back to that guard or whoever and ask him directions this time. Quit wasting my time...”
He started to turn away...

“Wait!" I grabbed the rods as I needed to at least get a lead somewhere or I will never figure out the matter, “Who runs this place? What’s is his name?”

At that he seemed pissed, "You better carefully, first of all you’re not supposed to be here! And this area is off limits and if you want to see the head... drop by tomorrow but not here. This place is the old factory meaning it’s closed and that over there”, pointing towards the yard which I shouldn’t had crossed apparently, “behind the garden is the new one.”

‘That... wasn’t a garden’

At this point, I probably should have went back but with all these reasonings... I only got more curious. Firstly I couldn’t get a single glimpse of what he was holding or probably hiding. Secondly the entire time of my conversation with him, he was annoyed ( like I cut his pay). I had no idea but to me it looked like if I said one wrong thing... Yes that’s what I’m saying. And lastly, this old factory... looking at its condition it shouldn’t operate at all... should be closed just like the man said it is. But I could hear the hammering of metals and some other noises which I can’t explain.

‘Did he lied? Was he hiding something?’

With such thoughts going I didn’t wanted to drag it any further so I turned back and started to leave. Little did I heard him going back but he was... gone (2nd time I’ve gone through this).

I left the old place in no time and with it ...this empty feeling. The whole conversation felt like such a drag and was clearly a waste of time but at least he was of sane mind.

Even though he told me to go back to the new one, I still couldn’t locate the place and so I was headed back to the terrified guard at the very entrance of this factory.

As I was getting closer, I could hear an ongoing conversation probably through a phone call. I was about to call out to him but then I heard...

“No. Yes. He’s not back yet”, he continued, “I told him that I didn’t knew anything. Yes, Yes sir.”

‘He’s talking about me’ and by the looks of it, probably with some higher-up.

Not wanting to get spotted just yet before hearing the rest, I hid in the nearly bushes beside a lorry.
But it felt the conversation ended no sooner than it had started with the final... “We’ll find him!”.

This just took a dark turn and now I realize that there’s so many people outside his cabin... and he told them all the same. With all that fear in his eyes from when I approached him now gone. That look was clearly a bad sign.

And so the hunt started and as for the prey... looking from the shadows... it was me!

--- to be continued