Wild Goose Chase

Another week went by and Aiden decided it was time to track down the strange note sender. He had received three more red envelopes after the one with razor blades inside but luckily they didn't contain anything else but childish taunts and threats. Still, Aiden didn't exactly want to wait around for more razor blades or something even worse. So, on Saturday morning, he headed for the abandoned gym that one of the notes had indicated.

Aiden took a cab instead of having Milo drive him and when he arrived, he raised an eyebrow at the ridiculously dilapidated building. It looked far worse than what he saw online. The whole situation felt like it was out of some old thriller movie. Whoever was doing all this wasn't exactly creative. Aiden sighed and made his way inside the building.

There was dust and debris everywhere he looked and a musty smell filled the air. Looking around, Aiden tried to figure out the use of the numbers written in the note. After a few moments, he saw a long row of old rusted lockers and it clicked. The first number must have meant a corresponding locker number followed by its combination. 

Taking out the note he had brought with him, Aiden checked the numbers again. 14-30-22-16. He walked over to locker number 14 and grabbed the lock. He spun the dial three times to the right and stopped on the number thirty. Then, to the left past zero and to the number 22. Lastly, to the right again to number 16. *Click* With a small tug the lock came undone and he removed it from the locker.

Before opening the door, he took a step back just in case. It proved to be a good decision since as soon as the door was open a bunch of fake snakes popped out. Aiden frowned as he watched them fall to the dirty floor. Really? Fake snakes? He couldn't help but wonder what it would be next. Plastic spiders? A bucket of water over a door maybe? 

He took a look inside the locker and saw only a small box. He picked it up and carefully opened it to find a cheap phone inside. Aiden checked the phone's information and it had a single phone number saved in it. So, he dialed the number. It didn't take long until someone answered.

"Finally!" The voice on the other end was so loud that Aiden pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment. "Ha ha ha! You finally called! I'm so excited! He he he." Aiden shivered in disgust at the unnerving feeling he got when the man spoke. "Ah, I bet you're wondering who I am and what I want, right? Right? I know you are but telling you outright wouldn't be any fun and I do love to have fun. So…follow the breadcrumbs!" Then, the call immediately ended.

"What the hell was that?" Aiden mumbled. Suddenly, the phone beeped and a notification for a text message flashed on the screen. Checking the message, he saw it contained a set of GPS coordinates. Whoever it was that was messing with him seemed to want to send him on a wild goose chase. Nevertheless, Aiden checked the coordinates on his phone and called another cab to take him there.

Arriving at a park in the middle of the city, Aiden slowly made his way to the exact spot the coordinates indicated. It turned out to be a large fountain. He could see a bunch of pennies and other change shining at the bottom but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Just as he was wondering what he was supposed to be looking for, the phone from the gym locker beeped. It was another text message. This time, there was a photo attached.

Taking a look, it was a picture of the exact fountain he was currently standing next to. However, there was an arrow in the picture that was pointing to one of the statues in the middle of the fountain. Aiden sighed. He knew he'd have to look at the statue but that meant climbing into the fountain. It wasn't like the park was empty so it would definitely attract too much attention. Unfortunately, if he wanted to get to the bottom of everything, he didn't have much choice.

After taking off his socks and shoes, and rolling up his pants, Aiden waded into the fountain. Just like he thought, people immediately noticed. Some of them just gave him a weird look and kept walking while others stopped and stared. He ignored the whispers and pointing and walked up to the statue that was indicated in the picture. It only took him a moment to find a small envelope taped to the back of it. He grabbed the note and quickly got out of the fountain.

His actions had drawn too much attention so he rushed to put his shoes back on and left the area before checking the contents of the envelope. Once he was away from the middle of the park, he opened it up and pulled out a small scrap of paper. Aiden huffed in aggravation. The only thing on the note was another address. For the umpteenth time, he input the address into his phone's GPS. 

The next location made Aiden a little wary. It was an abandoned warehouse at the edge of the city's port. It was known to be an area riddled with crime and the entire thing seemed to scream trouble. A warehouse like that would be the perfect place to set a trap. Nevertheless, Aiden still decided to check it out. He would just have to be careful.

It took almost an hour to get to the port area due to traffic. When he arrived, he paid the cab fare before taking a look around. During the drive over, dark clouds had started rolling in and now the sun was completely obscured. Coupled with the eerie silence and the abandoned warehouse in front of him, Aiden felt on edge.

His footsteps echoed through the empty surroundings as he slowly approached the large sliding door of the warehouse. It creaked loudly as the rusty hinges moved. A pungent smell of mold and old fish flooded his nose but Aiden still stepped inside while simultaneously checking the area. He moved slowly and meticulously while taking in the layout of the building.

There really wasn't much to see. The warehouse was mostly empty except for some chains hanging from the high ceiling and a few broken wooden crates. Just to be sure, Aiden wandered around a bit but there was still nothing. Then, he pulled out the phone he'd received earlier instructions on. There were no new messages. 

*Clap, clap, clap.*

The sound of applause coming from the warehouse doorway startled Aiden and he spun around. He had thought he would hear footsteps if someone approached but he hadn't heard anything at all. 

The man in the doorway had an eerie grin across his face. One of his eyes was blue while the other was green and his shoulder length brown hair looked like it had never been brushed before. He had tattoos all over his neck and across his knuckles but Aiden couldn't make out exactly what they were due to the shadows cast around the man.

"I'm guessing you're the one who lured me here. Who are you?" Aiden asked. The man's smile widened almost unnaturally.

"I'm Hyde and Seek! I'm glad you played my game well. I would have been very disappointed if you didn't make it here." The man held his hands together and excitedly jumped up and down like a happy child and Aiden stared at him with a confused expression.

"What did you say?"

"Hm?" The man tilted his head, also confused now. "I'm glad you played my game."

"No,no, before that. Your name."

"Hyde and Seek." Aiden stared at the man silently for a moment before he had to cover his mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Pfft!"