Draw a Blank

The hotel ballroom has been crowded with visitors. Allen Walker tightened his earphone in his ear while disguised as a humble and tenacious servant. While looking around, he slipped into the curtain behind the stage, trying to find his target. He had his own main target tonight. And at only twenty-two, Allen had devoted himself to the assassin team for three years, for the sake of today. At this time a large auction market was being held by illegal businessmen fighting over the latest British weapons. Weapons intended for war were not actually sold freely, that was why this illegal auction was held. Not only swords, firearms or military bomb assemblies were freely sold at high prices here. When the American government strictly prohibits citizens other than the police from owning it, it was these illegal collectors who will took advantage of the opportunity to earn money instantly. According to information, Luken Vaughan, a mafia known for his cruelty in the underworld was also present. This man is a cold-blooded man who leads a ruthless mafia organization called Black Dragon. It is said that in two decades, Luken has brought the name of the Black Dragon from a small organization, to a large and most feared one. And that man was Allen's target. In fact, Allen didn't know Luken that well. But the tragedy ten years ago had drawn the line between him and Luken. In his father's private boxing studio, he saw his parents burn alive after a young man met. And he was sure it was Luken who killed them. Therefore, today is finally here, the day Allen has been waiting for so long to take revenge. Allen had given up his life for the sake of killing Luken, even if he died after that, he wouldn't mind. This is all for the revenge of his parents! The sound from his earphone sounded, it was his boss. "You will meet one of our comrades at the backstage." Allen frowned. "Why? I told you I could do it myself. I'll kill Luken with my hands." There was a sigh. "Luken's status is special, there are many professional guards around and you won't be able to handle it on your own." A cold-blooded mafia of course has many enemies who really want his life. There were definitely a lot of bodyguards around that extraordinary man. Allen felt this made sense and sighed. "Ok, so who are those comrades? Gavin and Valo?" "No. He's a new recruit. His name is Ben. He'll be around the target, cooperate with him." The target was sitting in front of a mirror surrounded by lights. Together with other special guests from the underworld. Luken, with such a handsome face and elegant features, that was not as good as what he was inside, was so rotten and disgusting. When he saw Luken for the umpteenth time, it was like a fire was burning in his head, and Allen couldn't wait to see the bastard die in his hands. Allen noticed several guards around the man, they consisted of men with large and sinister bodies. Suddenly his vision was blocked by someone walking in front of him, approaching him. The man was tall and slender, his expression gloomy yet sharp. Instantly he was in front of Allen and motioned for him to come along. Seeing the same earphone in the man's ear, he was sure this was the new partner his boss was referring to. Ben. Well. Not bad. He looked quite well-trained with a fair build. The two of them entered the locker room side by side. Seeing that the place was deserted, Allen looked at him and asked, "What's the situation?" The person looked at Allen and his gaze was unusual. His eyes were dark green with no reflection of light. Allen, who had been staring at him for a while, started to feel a strange discomfort. "It's safe here," the man said, his lips curling slightly. "Then, you're going to help me attract the attention of the guards, while I'm going to take good aim at Luken. Is that understandable enough?" Allen reached into his pocket to make sure the gun was there. When he didn't get an answer, he looked at the man, who was also staring at him with an unreadable gaze. "Is there any problem?" Allen asked rather annoyed. Started putting on the white gloves. The man was still looking at him. "Don't you remember me?" Allen was stunned and his hands stopped fiddling with the gloves. "I don't know you. We just worked together today." The man didn't answer. Allen put his gloves back on, he didn't really care about the man, even if the man was of no use to him. Allen already had a lot of plans, in case one or two failed. The presence or absence of a partner does not matter. "Ok, I'll go first," Allen said, turning around. Suddenly, the man pressed Allen against the wall with great force. Allen didn't understand what was happening and tried to push, but the man's strength was as strong as iron. In the midst of his confusion, Allen did not notice that there was a knife in the man's hand, which had just been taken from his belt. "What the hell are you doing?!" Allen scolded him. "You really don't remember me?" What the hell? Whoever this man was, did Allen need to remember him now? This is not the right time for that! "Let go of me or I'll—" Allen stopped. The man gripped his neck tighter, trying to stop the air. Allen tried to push the man away as he realized his surroundings again. He was only able to bring his sights to focus on a flash of silver, before excruciating pain erupted into his left abdomen and blossomed throughout his gut. He cried out quietly as he realized, that the man who stood staring down at him gleefully, had in fact just stabbed him. Allen found it hard to breathe suddenly, he looked down to see the knife hilt sticking out of the blade embedded in his stomach, and the man's hand was there to push the blade deeper. Each thrust created an electric shock that burned his organs. When Allen looked up again, he found the man grinning at him. "You ..." The words couldn't come out much more than a groan. This sudden attack absorbed his strength so that both legs began to lose strength. Just as he was about to tumble down, two men came holding him upright, along with the knife twisted hard in his stomach. Finally he screamed in pain. "Shh, don't scream." The man's hand moved to his mouth to silence him properly. Allen was still confused and caught off guard, he felt the intense pain that was increasing every second, and still didn't understand why this was happening. His vision was foggy. He could feel blood oozing from the sharp edges of the knife and seeping through the fabric of his shirt. What is this ... Slowly Allen's limbs felt as heavy as lead as he tried to move, to shove the hands off of him. His eyes began to slide shut, his mind running out of options as his body weakened. Suddenly, his eyes flew open as he felt the knife slowly being pulled from his body, the pain more excruciating than when the knife had gone in. A groan escaped his lips which sounded more like a whimper. "This is for our meeting present, Allen Walker." Allen was surprised when the man said his name. He didn't have time to say anything and saw the man back off, then just walk out of the dressing room. The grip on both of his arms was lost and he was pushed down. Allen weakly pressed on his bleeding stomach, blood immediately rushed through his fingers, and his body slumped down. He was panting. Wait! What happened? Is this a dream? A sharp pain snapped him to reality. The pain was there, it was real, and it wasn't a dream! "Uh." The voice from his earphone came, "Allen, where are you? Ben just reported that he couldn't find you." With those words, Allen knew he had just met the wrong person. "Allen?" The voice in his ears began to rise and be anxious. "What happened? Why are you out of breath?" "Boss ... help ...." Getting those two words out of his mouth really took a lot of energy. "I-I was attacked." "Where are you?" Black dots began to dance in the corners of his eyes, everything in front of him was unfocused and dim. "Allen?!" A shout in his earphone made him open his nearly closed eyes. "Stay there! I have found your location! I will sent Gavin and Valo!" The two people came with impressive speed, suddenly pulled him lying on his back. "Allen, we came to save you. What happened?" said Gavin in a tone as calm as water. Seeing Allen's stomach drenched in blood. "S-Stabbed ..." Allen struggled to say while staying awake. Every breath he took was extremely shallow and suffocating. There was so much blood that kept pouring from his wound, he couldn't even hold it in anymore. The buttons on his shirt were pulled open in a gentle motion and Allen snorted. A hand pressed against his wound which was angry red. "Gah!" Allen flinched, gasping for air. "I'm sorry, hold on a little longer. I have to stop the bleeding." Gavin is an upright and heartless person. Although his words were steady and smooth, his hand movements were not as smooth as his words. Gavin easily pressed the wound once again with handkerchief, no matter how hard Allen screamed and fought, he continued to press steadily. "No, l-let go." Allen writhed in pain. Trying to get away from whatever was making him in pain. But Gavin didn't care. He wiped the blood that was throbbing out and pressed the wound again. Allen squezeed his eyes shut. "Valo, press this for a second," Gavin said. When it was Valo's turn to press his wound, Allen's pain got even worse. Only this time he swallowed the scream in his throat and his head fell on the floor helplessly. His face quickly turned pale from the pain and loss of blood. After the excruciating pressure, Gavin's hand touched it again with a long bandage. The bandage was wrapped around Allen's stomach, then fastened well. "L-Luken, where is he?" Allen asked weakly. "No time for that. The ballroom is so messed up, he must have been herded away." Gavin answered. "What happen'd?" "The emcee was shot dead and weapons stolen from the warehouse." Allen groaned as his body was pulled to his feet. He didn't want to leave at all before killing Luken. Hearing that someone had foiled his plan, he became furious. Until he coughed violently. "Allen!" Valo held his chest gently. "Stay with me. We're heading to base." Gavin saw blood dripping from Allen's lips and wiped it with his sleeve. "It's going to be a little uncomfortable, but hang on." Allen couldn't hear Gavin's voice very well, his head drooped. “I have to … kill him …” Gavin and Valo looked at each other worriedly. They saw that the makeshift bandage on Allen's stomach had been soaked with blood. Every time they moved, that's when the blood continued to flow out. "Allen, keep your eyes open. Don't fall asleep." Gavin told him. But he knew it was futile because Allen's eyes were completely closed. Seeing that Allen's lips had turned blue, he knew this man had lost a lot of blood. He quickly took off his jacket and put it on Allen to keep him warm. Allen didn't look around as he was led out of the dressing room. His head gradually started to hurt. He felt as if he could scream of pain. A flash of white clouded his vision with intense burning agony. Every step he took caused a sharp pain in his wound, but he couldn't protest. The trip to the car was a long way and Allen's eyes didn't realize they had closed again. He heard a voice calling out to him, but he was reluctant to respond. His legs were dragged, his whole body had gone numb. He hoped to faint. Or maybe he had been unconscious for a while, when he opened his eyes, commotion was everywhere. The hotel's ballroom and gardens were a mess and everyone was running out in a hurry. The room was cramped as hundreds of people filled every void. Everyone screamed hysterically, ran, and bumped into each other. Allen didn't know what had happened, but he was pushed back in the chaos. The grip on his arm loosened, he fell to the ground. There were many humming voices wafting into his ears, all of which made his head feel as if it was splitting in two. "So, you're still alive?" A nearby voice said. Allen looked at the tall man standing in front of him, but was unable to recognize the person. Another big man grabbed his jacket and pulled it off the floor. Allen was finally surprised to remember a familiar face. At least he thought he had seen it somewhere. It wasn't Gavin or Valo. It was the man who attacked him in the dressing room! Sensing the alarm of danger, Allen tried to run, but he was caught by two pairs of strong arms like before. He was taken to a rather spacious place, yet deserted from the crowds of people. The man then tore off his black jacket and saw the blood-soaked bandage on Allen's stomach. Then cursed harshly. "I didn't expect anyone to tell me you could still walk in this condition. After seeing it for myself, I don't think I'll ever let you run alive again," said the man. Allen weakly tried to release the firm grip on his arm. His eyes misted up as his head grew heavy. The pain that had almost disappeared before was back again as the man started to poke the wound with his fingers. "L-Let go of me," Allen said helplessly and tried to move. "Your team members have gone to great lengths to keep the dirty rat alive they picked up from the trash bin. We'll see what they can do if I don't hold back this time." "Ahhhh!" Allen cried in pain as the fingers finally dug the gaping wound and deliberately played with it in his flesh. Allen's head drooped, accidentally seeing the bandages that were previously on his stomach had been scattered on the ground. It was the only thing that stopped his bleeding, and it was gone from him. He might actually die. When the fingers stopped digging, Allen's strength was completely absorbed by the excruciating pain. His body hung like a dead doll in the arms of the man holding him. His breaths were shallow and fast. It's extremely bad. "You really don't remember me, Allen?" Busy with the pain, Allen didn't hear the man's voice, didn't even notice that the man in front of him had taken the knife hidden from his belt again. One side of the knife had serrations, it was slender and thin, but quite long in size. Maybe ten inches. "Just take a good look at me. Don't you remember at all?" The man clutched his cheek. Allen wanted to answer, 'How the hell can I remember you! I never knew you!' Sure that Allen didn't remember him, the man tugged at Allen's collar roughly, until they almost touched each other. The chaos around them still hadn't dissipated, more shrill voices scattered. And the man angrily stabbed Allen's side. Before Allen could let out a scream of pain, the man covered his mouth, so he could only moan silently. Until the knife was pulled out again, he bit his lips and closed his eyes tightly. "It is this arrogance that will always make you accept the end like this. Helpless and suffering, without being able to avenge your ridiculous vengeance like it should." Allen's eyes opened slightly, as if in response. But he didn't understand anything. His eyes could barely open anymore, he wanted to clear his vision, but his eyes didn't cooperate. "W-Who are you?" he said as the man removed his hand from his mouth. Now when there are two open wound holes, more blood will be lost from them. He really was going to die. The man whispered angrily, "Looks like I really have to remind you again." The man reached into his pocket for a small bottle. It contained a jet black liquid and had an unpleasant odour. He easily smeared the bloody knife in his hand with the liquid. On the other hand, Allen who still couldn't digest the whole situation, heard as the man whispered, "Do you know what this is? This is a poison that will kill you slowly. It will take 24 hours before the poison kills you, but throughout time you will feel excruciating pain. Doesn't that sound nice?" Hearing that, Allen's breathing quickened due to the terrifying anticipation. He saw the poisoned knife being wiggled in front of his face, and he tried to break free. He struggled again, this time managing to break away from the iron grasp. He crawled backwards, but not strong enough. The man easily tugged on Allen's shirt to restrain his movement. Then said, "Perhaps this will teach you that a damaged memory must be properly repaired." After saying that, he plunged his knife into Allen's side with a gentle motion. This time on his other side which was unharmed, as if deliberately wanting to make some holes. The man pushed the knife slowly, allowing the teenager to scream loudly amidst the chaos of the crowd. The man laughed. "Yeah, that's it! Scream it loud, Dear." Before Allen can catch his breath, the man twisted the knife deeper, enjoying the other party's feeble attempt to escape. He pulled the knife out, only to stab it again elsewhere, causing Allen to release a blood-curdling scream. "How'd that feel, hm? Cause it felt great from my end." The man said as he gripped Allen's neck as hard as he like. After a while, Allen weakly writhing beneath him, coughing up blood and gasping for oxygen. He knew for a fact he was dying. No one was there to rescue him this time. His team wasn't there to come and save the day. He was all alone, the life slowly seeping from his body. "After this you'll probably remember who I am." The man pulled the knife from his side for the last time, Allen didn't have the strength to whimper in pain anymore, just squeezed his eyes shut. The man was very satisfied to see Allen gasping for air and nearly passing out. "And I'm warning you one thing that I'm the person you've ever met. If you're still alive after this, I'll bet you help get your revenge." Allen's eyes narrowed, his brain working hard. He looked up, seeing the man smirked above him. He could feel his senses weakening, slipping slowly into the dark abyss of death. Tears flowed down his cheeks and blood dripped down his body as he felt the man patted his check, watching him die. He had probably met this man. Maybe accidentally in the past. Instantly, a flash of memory ran through his head, making his head hurt. "Good luck fighting for your life, Allen Walker." By then the grip on his arm had disappeared. He felt his consciousness slip away from him and the dizziness made him feel like he was doing a somersault in midair. He dropped to his knees before he fell forward, face down on the cold ground. The shock left him immobilized for what must have been a full minute. When it cleared, the pain burning through the fog, he forced himself to roll on his back. Pain gripped his stomach, practically every inch feeling as though it had been ripped open. He forced his hands to press down on the now four gaping wound with his two hands. "Urgh." Allen felt nauseous as the effects of the blood loss slowly spread to him. He slammed his head on the ground from severe dizziness and concentrated on breathing. Until Allen calmed down, he still didn't know who the man was. But just by remembering his face, there was a horror etched so clearly in his head that he shivered. Allen didn't know if he was shaking from fear or from losing a lot of blood. For sure he couldn't stay here. Allen glanced at the earphone lying on the ground, it had been broken when the madman accidentally stepped on it. Now he didn't know if Gavin or Valo was looking for him and where they were. Trying to stay conscious, Allen struggled to stand on his feet, even though it was taking a lot of his strength, but he managed to stand up just fine. Just as he looked forward, his world swayed wildly and Allen nearly fell over. He leaned against the nearest wall until the dizziness went away. "Shitt!" he cursed, now his hands felt so cold and pale. Sweat was dripping from his forehead and neck. How excruciating this pain. In the end Allen had no other choice but to keep going. Every step was a tiny sliver of hell, jolts of white hot pain sent up his spine. His throat felt dry like sandpaper for some reason, and he tasted metal. He guessed at some point he coughed up some blood and it dried in his throat from all of the dry heaving he was doing. He was even more worried because he had four wound holes that were still bleeding and burning his stomach painfully. Today his mission not only failed, but he had to suffer a loss like this. "What the hell!" Concentrating on anger, he let it fuel his journey back into the open. He reached the hotel garden and saw that the place was deserted, there were only a few people in neat black suits and chaos scattered in all directions. Allen pressed himself against a nearby tree, straining to see any sign of the enemies around him. After a while, a familiar face caused tension to flow out of him. "Luken ..." From all this mess, that bastard guy is still there! Allen clenched his fists. Pressing on one of the wounds, he reached into his pocket and was grateful the gun was there. Allen moved to another tree, keeping his good side leaning against the tree for support while he took a slight distance from the bastard man. In his blurry vision, he saw a large and tall figure blocking his eyes from Luken's. As soon as that person stepped aside, that was when he saw a golden opportunity unfold before his face. He immediately took the gun. The time he has wasn't much, even if he dies, he must make the man die too. So he took aim and pulled the trigger. The gunshot immediately sounded loud, startling everyone and they all surrounded Luken. Allen's lips curled into a faint smile as he realized he had hit his target. There was more commotion coming after that, some more of the running feet and the sound was getting closer. Allen's body had given up and fell as his ears ringed loudly. Rough hands suddenly came to him, not letting him touch the ground and he was dragged away like an inanimate object. When he opened his eyes slightly, the headache he had forgotten had returned. This was not a pain from severe dizziness, but rather a heavy object was hit on the head, until the scalp leaked. Blood dripped from the wound, soaking his hair, scalp and eyes. He received a lot of beatings here and there, as well as loud cursing of anger, but the voice seemed far away and he couldn't hear it. Last time, Allen seemed to have let his energies give in and soon darkness swallowed his fragile little life. Morever he could feel the growing wet spot also soaked into his shirt, running down his sides and onto the cold pavement. Cold. At first he had felt unnaturally warm, but now he was simply cold and clammy and was sure if he moved at all he would be sick. But Allen didn't care. Death didn't matter. He has taken revenge. He must have killed Luken and caused this fury to come at him. Allen laughed loudly, which only sounded like the weak whimper of a wounded animal. After that, the world spun uncontrollably around him, he couldn't remember anything but the hands holding him up. tbc.