Page 65 of Shadowman
I gape for a moment before glancing at the floor. “You’re, um… s-standing on my shirt.”
The man blinks at me, losing a bit of his disgust and hostility as he peeks down at his feet. Noticing that he is, in fact, standing on my shirt, he moves, allowing me to bend and pick it up, along with the rest of my clothes.
I dress quickly, feeling like I must be having some sort of mental episode. I don’t understand anything that’s happening.All I know is that while I don’t necessarilycarewhether I live or die, if my only two options are to go with this stranger or have my brains blown out, I suppose I’ll take the former.
It’s like one of thoseChoose Your Own Adventurebooks.Go with him and I get to keep reading. Don’t go… and the story’s over.
Once my clothes are on, I stand still and stare at him, awaiting his next command. I think he’s surprised, and maybe a bit impressed by my compliance, because he asks, “Would you like to freshen up before we go?”
“Oof,” I huff, grinning. “Look that bad, do I?”
He’s not amused. “Go use the restroom, Trevel. Unless you’d rather do it at the airport.”
There it is again… Airport.
Who is this bloke? Where is he taking me??
Shaking it off when I sense the stranger’s impatience, I mumble, “The loo is out there,” nodding toward the door. “It’s a communal… situation.”
Sighing again, his jaw sets visibly. He grabs me by the arm and drags me out of the room, then gives me a little shove. “Move. And don’t try anything. I will not hesitate to shoot you in the balls.”
I cast him a horrified look while scampering toward the bathroom. “A wee bit extreme, don’t you think?”
“Not really, no,” he grunts, following me inside.
I do my best at cleaning up while this scary ogre of a person is hawk-eyeing me, dunking my head in the sink, gargling mouthwash and using a random toothbrush someone left by the sink.
“My name is Sven, by the way,” he says, and I pause.
Blinking at him in the mirror, I spit, then smile. “Trevel Fenwick. Charmed, I’m sure.”
He cocks a brow, but says nothing.
“So, Sven…” I use my sweetest tone, batting my eyelashes like Bugs bloody Bunny when he’s about to pull one over on Elmer Fudd. “Where, pray tell, are you bringing me? I feel it’s within my rights to know that much, don’t you think?”
Sven regards me for a moment, dark eyes and a tight jaw holding back answers to my questions.He’s good.
Finally, he speaks. “Trevel, I’m going to require your absolute cooperation here. We’ll be traveling together for an extended period of time, and I must warn you, I’m not one for chit-chat. All you need to know is that you’re leaving Thailand forever. From the looks of it, you enjoyed yourself here, but playtime is over. Do you understand?”
A small frown tugs at my lips as I roll my eyes. “Lovely. At least tell me you sprung for first class?”
Naturally, no answer.
The next couple of hours consist of Sven yanking me around and barking clipped orders. From the taxi to the airport and finally onto the plane, it’s nothing but,Move. Don’t move. Hurry up. Over here. Stand up. Sit down. Stay still. Eat this. Drink that. No talking.
I swear, the bloke is a wannabe drill sergeant.Talk about reluctant travel companions.
And I still have no idea who sent him, or where we’re going; where our final destination will be.
The first plane we board is going to Seoul, but I assume that’s just a layover. Which it is.
We spend about four hours in the Seoul airport, and eventhatis exciting for me because I’ve always wanted to travel here. I make sure to eat what I can stomach—fried chicken and kimchi. I love Korean food, but my appetite isn’t exactly flourishing.
“Eat as much as you can,” Sven gives another command while we sit in a booth at an airport restaurant. He slides me a bottleof Gatorade. “And drink. I’m assuming you’ve come down from excessive heroin use before?”
I swallow a gulp of delicious food that’s slowly losing its flavor. “Not really…”
He stares at me.
