9 A Mysterious Man

Nicholas looked around to make sure that the body he saw last night, was exactly where he was standing now. Since he saw it with his own eyes, with him now spreading throughout the area, trying to find any traces or anything that might be suspicious.

"But if the body is buried in the ground, then how come there are no traces of it at all?" Richard asked Nicholas, kicking the ones on the dry leaves that covered the area.

"That's right, Should have left a visible trace!" Nicholas said in response to what Richard had just said. His eyes are still paying attention to the entire area around him, Nicholas should be able to find his cellphone that fell in the area around here last night.

Nicholas walked slowly and then parted the dry leaves that were in front of him, he did it using his hands and feet. "I remember very well that my cellphone must have fallen in the area around here!" Nicholas said to Richard so he could help him find his dropped phone in the area around where Nicholas standing right now.

"Okay, Even though we can't find the body, it might still be lucky if we can find your cellphone," Richard said while raising his eyebrows at Nicholas.

"Yes, we have to find it, if we don't, we won't go home," Nicholas said to him with a big smile, then Nicholas turned around and looked around him again.

And his sight stopped for a moment, when he saw the figure of someone, standing in the shadow of the trees not far from the two of them.

Nicholas couldn't see clearly what that person's face looked like, but clearly, he was a man. Wearing blue jeans, light brown fantofel shoes, with a brown shirt, which can be seen faintly in the shadow, of the shady trees next to him.

"Richard!" Nicholas called him without looking at him because now Nicholas was focusing on looking at the figure of the man, who just stood still, and seemed to be looking at the two of them.

"Richard..."

"Yes, what is up?" He answered without coming closer to Nicholas, he seemed so focused on shaking off the pile of dry leaves that were around the two of them.

Nicholas tried to squint his eyes, so he could see it. Then while he was doing that, Suddenly he could see two red lights on his face. Not in his face, but right in his eyes.

Nicholas immediately remembered what happened last night.

His hands are shaking violently, at this time, his heart is beating so fast, it feels like his legs are weak, when to support his weight which is getting heavier Nicholas feels be supported.

His lips trembled when he was about to call out Richard's name, who was behind him right now.

"Richard, Richard Rogan!" Nicholas shouted at him rather loudly when Nicholas saw the strange thing happening at this moment. Nicholas purposely didn't look in the direction where Richard was, because he didn't want to take his eyes off the mysterious man.

"What the heck, I'll be sure to find your phone soon, don't worry!" Richard said so casually, without looking where Nicholas was.

"Richard, please, look there's someone there!"

Nicholas said it in such a high-pitched tone to Richard, looking up at him.

When Nicholas did that, Richard just looked at him with a lazy look, then he got up and came closer to Nicholas.

"What's the matter?" Richard asked Nicholas curiously, although his wrinkled face was still on him, he was also curious about what Nicholas meant.

"Look at that.."

Nicholas's words stopped for a moment when, he looked at the same place, but he couldn't find the whereabouts of the mysterious man.

"Hmmm, I saw him there!" Nicholas said in a serious tone, to make Richard who is now also looking in the same direction while looking here and there. To find the figure of the person Nicholas means.

"Huh? Seriously? Are you sleepy already?" Richard said as he raised his eyebrows, and kept the laughter from him, then the laughter he was holding back now came out loud.

"Hahaha, gosh Nicholas, are you serious hahaha!" Richard laughed out loud when what Nicholas said was not seen by him, Nicholas just kept quiet and didn't respond.

Richard who saw Nicholas's grumpy expression immediately fell silent and tried to stop his laughter with difficulty. Nicholas just kept quiet and looked at him with a look that said that what Nicholas said wasn't just a hoax.

"Ahh, I'm sorry, it's not that I don't believe it, but I didn't see it," said Richard while still controlling his rather difficult breathing, due to him laughing so hard.

"Hmm, whatever." Nicholas said while shrugging his shoulders, "Maybe I saw it wrong, this time!" Nicholas added while looking back for his phone in the pile of dry leaves around us both.

"Hey wait!" Richard suddenly cut in and came closer to Nicholas.

"What?" Nicholas looked at him with a look of anticipation, that what he was going to say after this was something important. Without Nicholas having to regret it when I've listened to it.

"Why don't I just call, your number is on my cell phone?" Richard said while scratching his head which was probably not itching.

"I didn't think so either," Nicholas replied, holding back a laugh when he realized that they were both so stupid this time.

"Just laugh hahaha!" Richard replied to Nicholas, then asked him to laugh, Nicholas heard him laugh loudly, Nicholas slowly laughed along with him.

Not long after that, Richard reached into his cellphone in his front pocket, then pressed the screen of his cellphone, and dialed Nicholas's number.

Nicholas did give a different ringtone when Richard called him because Nicholas have a special meaning to the call.

"It's connected,"

Richard said, pointing his cellphone screen at Nicholas.

Then suddenly Nicholas heard the ringing tone of an incoming call on his cell phone.

[Incoming call ringtone]

they're both tried to listen carefully, where the sound was coming from. And their eyes both stopped at a fallen tree, not far from the two of them.

"Ahh, no wonder that I didn't find it earlier," Nicholas said as he walked towards the fallen piece of wood, then reached under the wood, because under the wood there was a cavity that allowed his hand to go under it.

"Did you get it?" Richard asked Nicholas curiously as Nicholas tried to reach for his phone.

"In a moment," Nicholas put his hand deeper, under the big log, which makes him have to lie on the ground now, to be able to reach his cellphone which is under the wood.

"Okay got it!" Nicholas said as he stood up when he had managed to get his phone.

"Seriously Nico? Your ringtone?" Richard grumbled and furrowed his brows when he heard clearly that the ringtone of an incoming call from him, was a recording of his voice singing in a bar one year ago.

"Hehehe, since it was an unforgettable memory in the first semester, we went on vacation together hahaha!" Nicholas answered while turning off the call from him.

Then when Nicholas's phone was completely off, they're both fell silent for a moment when we heard something.

"Ggrrrrr,"

Nicholas's eyes immediately went to where Richard was standing, and he also looked at Nicholas, they're both widened their eyes at the same time when we heard the movement of a beast around us both.

"Grrrr Rwwwrrr"

"Run!!!"

Richard shouted quickly he immediately ran, leaving Nicholas who was still frozen in the same place.

But because Nicholas didn't want to have bad luck again, he decided to run too quickly, following the direction where Richard was running.

when Nicholas looked back to confirm, his eyes went wide, when he saw that the figure of the man he previously saw was in the shadow of the tree, the man is was now standing where the two of them were before.

But without having to look clearly at his face, Nicholas decided to immediately get out of this protected forest.

Who is that mysterious man?