Syndedeménos (Connected)

CHAPTER 06

The elevator door to the first floor of the Aldrich residence opened. Keenan stepped out of the elevator with a gloomy face. His attire was still the same as before he entered the house: white shirt with white navy blazer and light brown fabric pants. Keenan did not spend any time on his own concern. Even for changing clothes which only took him less than five minutes.

A female servant who had been waiting beside the elevator rushed to Keenan and matched her footsteps beside her master.

"The car has been prepared in the side parking lot. Your dinner is a hamburger with french fries. I provided grilled chicken for your supper and two liters of mineral water. I have also provided a jacket and clothes for you if you don't come home tonight," said Thalia while providing as much detail as possible to her employer.

"Thank you, Thalia. You always do a job beyond my expectations," said Keenan, inviting a smile from the maid who has been praised.

Keenan arrived at the side exit of his house and an SUV was seen in the parking lot with the engine running. A man with crew cut hair in a formal dress -worn by all drivers in the Aldrich residence : a black suit, white shirt and black tie- came out of the front door on the left of the car, then handed the car key to Keenan who approached him.

Keenan's face became even more gloomy when he was alone in the car. Right after the meeting, Keenan immediately called the driver who had been searching for Karen, but the number was no longer active. He immediately called Karen's teachers and friends but did not get a satisfactory answer either. At that moment the worst scenario that Keenan had thought of immediately crossed his mind. There was no other choice in the worst case scenario but to confirm Karen's safety with his own eyes.

How come it happened?

A car driven by Keenan was out of the gate of the Aldrich residence that afternoon. Keenan was holding the steering wheel while staring at the road with high adrenaline. His right foot pressed the gas pedal until the needle on the speedometer pointed at fifty miles per hour.

“Sean, I'm following after Karen on her study trip. If something happens to me tonight, please tell my father directly,” said Keenan as soon as he heard a "hello" sound from the car speaker that had been connected to the cellphone via bluetooth.

"Wait a minute, Keenan. What do you mean? What's wrong?" Sean's voice sounded panicked, even more panicked than Keenan who had accelerated his pronunciation.

"Karen couldn't be reached this afternoon, so I told the driver to follow her to her place. But now my driver can't be reached either."

"Have you contacted Karen's friends? And… the teachers?"

"They just said they couldn't find her because it was a free schedule. My intuition told me something was wrong, I couldn't just sit still."

In a dozen seconds there was no conversation going on between Keenan and Sean. Keenan focused on driving and Sean focused on finding other solutions. Until finally Sean sighed loudly as a sign that he was forced to accept a request from his best friend.

“Okay… call me immediately if something happens. Let me know too when you find Karen."

"Thank you, Sean."

The trip would be taken by Keenan was a long journey that might take more than two hours. After leaving Bolero City, Keenan had to pass through a lonely and winding road. The longer he drove, the fewer buildings there were on the left and right. Until finally the car had to pass through the road between the forest.

It was getting darker so every car that was traveling had to turn on the headlamps. The road that Keenan takes was a road that was not used by vehicles so that the only reliable light throughout the journey comes from his own car. There were almost no lights from other vehicles or street lights along the way. The last vehicle that passed Keenan's car was a truck from the opposite direction. And it happened half an hour ago.

Keenan's eyes focused on the road displayed on his windshield while occasionally looking at the map on the screen beside the steering wheel. His eyes never looked at the speedometer needle at all. He didn't care about his speed, which was already close to hundred miles per hour. Although in the end Keenan had to slow down because he saw a car parked across and blocked his path.

The very high speed made Keenan difficult to stop his car before it hit another car. Reflexively, Keenan turned the steering wheel so his car went off the track, entered a forest area with a bumpy road and hit a tree. Only the bumper of Keenan's car was affected by the crash. Car hood was not dented. And Keenan wasn't hurt at all. This condition makes Keenan a little grateful because his car can still be used to drive again. Even though he had thought about making a fuss about the car that caused him an accident, Keenan was able to suppress his emotions and preferred to just leave it. After all, his main purpose for driving tonight was to find Karen.

Just as Keenan about restarting the engine, he heard a knocking sound from his left side. Keenan sighed, annoyed. In his mind he had imagined that the person knocking on the car door would want to check on his condition.

"Oh, my God. I'm fine," Keenan muttered in an annoyed tone.

Keenan tried to look through the window but no one could be seen. A sign that someone knocked Keenan out of the car. Reluctantly Keenan pulled the car key and opened the door. Even after getting out of the car, Keenan still couldn't find anyone around him. Keenan frowned as he stepped towards the back of the car. Most likely place to explore.

Before Keenan could reach the back of his car, he was ambushed by someone from behind. Keenan's mouth was covered with a handkerchief that had been given an anesthetic. Keenan rolled his eyes. He tried to move his body to fight back but his body was embraced by a large and powerful hand. The more Kenan tried to break free, the tighter the grip became. Keenan's mind began to vague due to the anesthetic he inhaled. Even though Keenan's brain tried to fight the overwhelming drowsiness, his body couldn't grant his wish. In a few seconds Keenan was unconscious.

A black robed figure appeared from the back of the car. The figure approached Keenan and silently looked at him for a while. Then it aimed the flashlight at Keenan's eyes to test whether Keenan was fully asleep. There was no response from Keenan.

"Bring him in. Prepare for gasoline.”

The figure who had anesthetized Keenan nodded and immediately carried the person in his arms. While Keenan was being carried towards the car that was still parked in the middle of the road, two other robed figures emerged from the direction of the forest and followed them. Meanwhile, the cloaked figure who had given the order took the car keys that Keenan had dropped.