When The Man Acts

10. Be Somewhere

The heat and stale air Harry could feel as soon as he entered the room made him feel immediately hot. Harry stepped forward, the room he saw was empty. There was nothing but the floor and ceiling. But, where was Jane?

Harry was certain that he had heard her voice, albeit faintly. Harry turned his head, twisting his body, his eyes scanning the surroundings, trying to find something to catch his attention. But, there was nothing, the room was empty but for him.

Wait a minute, was Harry hallucinating? He wanted to save Jane so badly that he didn't realize he was becoming obsessed with it?

No! Harry was absolutely certain that he couldn't be wrong.

He did hear Jane's voice, begging for mercy and wanting to be released. But Steve ignored her words. Steve didn't trust Jane, he was fed up with her and felt threatened by her. So, the only way he could live in peace was to take Jane's life.

"Jane, where are you?" Harry shouted loudly. Steve was gone, and Harry felt safer now.

There was no answer from the woman.

Harry didn't give up, he tried again. He called out to her again. "Jane! Did you hear me speak?"

"Yes, I heard you, I was here, please save me."

An answer suddenly appeared, the sound wasn't loud, but Harry could hear it. Jane replied, and she was indeed in the neighborhood, she wasn't dead. Harry wasn't hallucinating. Oh, thank goodness...

Harry was relieved, but he wasn't completely at ease until he could get Jane out of this place alive.

"Jane, I can't see you, I can only hear your voice. Where are you? Let me know where you are."

"I'm here, I'm underground."

"You're-what?" Harry stammered, and he immediately looked down, staring at the wooden floor he was standing on. Jane was underground? Harry was so surprised to hear that.

No wonder Harry could only hear Jane's soft voice. Harry had no idea that this house had a basement.

There were so many secrets revealed to Steve that Harry now realized that his boss had kept a lid on things. And Harry didn't know it.

"Jane, if you really are underground, how do I get there?" Harry asked, he had now lowered his head and crouched down.

"There's an entrance, you have to find it."

"There's nothing here."

"You're not looking carefully. The door is in the corner of the room, you can open it," Jane exclaimed from underground.

Harry shut up and started looking for the door Jane was referring to. This room is square, meaning there are four corners, and one of those corners has a door.

"Did you find the door?" Jane asked again.

"Wait a minute, I'm trying to find it."

"You better hurry, please save me from here, I beg you, the old man will be back soon, and he will kill me." Jane was babbling, but this time her voice sounded a little more distant than before. Harry realized that. It was possible that Jane was screaming.

While checking the corners of the room, Harry replied, "You have to calm down and be patient, I'm really trying to help you, I'll get you out of there."

"And you shouldn't waste time, I'm afraid that the old man will come back, I'm afraid to be down here, I need your help, I—"

Harry was no longer listening to Jane's words, he was so focused on finding the entrance to the basement. Then, he did see something.

"I got it, I saw the entrance, I found it." Harry spoke loudly so Jane could hear his words.

"Oh, my God, thank goodness. You better pull that door open and get in here, quick! I can't stand it here."

Wasting no time, Harry pulled the door open and started to walk in. The door wasn't big, but it was still big enough for his body to fit through.

There was a staircase going down, Harry moved carefully without making a mistake. And once at the bottom, the first thing Harry saw was Jane. The man's gaze immediately fell on her.

The room was fairly narrow, in some corners, there were only unused boxes, there were old tables and chairs, the place was dark and shabby, used items were scattered everywhere.

And the woman was at fault.

Jane was tied to a pole, her hands and feet wrapped around a rope. She looked so thin, dirty, and unkempt, a far cry from the Jane Harry had seen when she came out of the restaurant. In fact, for a moment, Harry thought that they were two different people.

Jane's blonde hair looked dirty and messy, her clothes shabby, and her skin dull. Harry was silent for a long time, observing the woman.

Steve had moved Jane to a much more violent place. The old man had even tied her up. This was outrageous and could not be tolerated.

"Why are you doing nothing? Come save me, you haven't changed your mind, have you?"

Harry shook his head. He moved closer to Jane and began to untie the knots wrapped around her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought you to Steve, I made a mistake, I—"

"This is not the time to talk about that, we can discuss it later. The important thing is that you get me out of here alive," Jane said quickly, cutting off Harry's unfinished sentence.

Harry again could only nod, he was trying to untie the very tight knots.

"I know you're less of a man, you're different from that stupid old bastard."

"Don't say that, I'm not that good, I just currently feel that I took the wrong step. You shouldn't have died, especially at Steve's hands."

"Yes, I know that."

"Damn, this bond is so hard to loosen."

"You have to try hard."

"I'm trying," Harry said. He needed to be calmer, Harry didn't want panic to take over his body. "How long have you been in this cursed place?"

"I've been here two nights. I couldn't bear to get out of here. I feel lucky that you finally changed your mind to help me."

"I just feel guilty."

Jane smiled, and she continued to stare at the handsome face that was currently trying to free itself. Harry looked so focused.

"Thank you very much."

"Don't thank me yet, I haven't really freed you."

Jane said, "I promise to reward you if you really get me out of this hell. Keep my word."

However, Harry did not reply. A few seconds after that, all the bonds that bound Jane's body were released.

"Let's go." Harry helped Jane up. "You're strong enough to walk, right?"

"Yes, I can do that."

Harry looked at Jane with a serious look on his face, then he nodded. "Good, let's do it together."

Both of them turned around, wanting to leave immediately. But, as soon as their bodies had turned around, surprise was in front of them.

Steve was standing in front of Harry and Jane.

"Woah, what a surprise have I got here?" The old fool grinned sharply, especially at Harry.