Chapter 16

Bill finally got his suitcase back and left the airport. Even with a couple hours' time difference it was still getting dark there. He yawned, stretched and got on the bus to the city center. It was still not the end of Bill's journey. He was now in the capital of Summerland and his destination was a town called Moonshadow. That meant a couple more hours spent on a bus.
When he got the center of the country's capital it was already dark. He bought the ticket and got on the bus to Moonshadow. The bus set off soon after. The regular sounds of the engine and Bill's being tired soon made him fall asleep.

***

A man's voice woke Bill up. He opened his eyes and for a moment could not remember where he was. He looked around and saw the man who woke him up. Apart from the two of them the bus was empty.
-You finally woke up! - said the man. - That's the last stop, time to get off.
-Are we in Moonshadow? - asked Bill.
-No, we passed Moonshadow two hours ago.
When Bill heard that, he was very disappointed. He asked if there is any way to get to Moonshadow.
-There is no bus until 1 pm tomorrow. You could take a taxi, but that would be very expensive - the man said. He paused for a moment, then spoke again. - You know what? You look really tired. Go to the hotel, get some sleep, eat something and come back here tomorrow. There's nothing in Moonshadow that we don't have here.
Bill agreed that it probably was the best solution and asked the man how to get to the hotel he mentioned. When he learned where to go, Bill thanked the man, took his suitcase and began to walk, following the man's directions.

***

A couple of turns later Bill was passing through a park. He started to feel lost. According to the directions he got, he should already reach the hotel. He saw two men walking towards him and decided to ask them about the hotel.
-Ah, information. That's a might tool. And nothing comes for free - said on of the men when he heard Bill's question. - Oh, and what a pretty suitcase you have. I bet I would look great with a suitcase like that. - he smiled in an ugly way.
Bill tried to get rid of those men, but it was too late. The same, black-haired man spoke:
-Where are you going? You don't know where the hotel is, we'll help you! We'll show you what the true hospitality is. Dan, – he said to the other man – help our friend carry his suitcase.
At that point Bill was very nervous and quite unsure. If there was only one man, he could probably cope with him, but since there were two of them, the only solution was to run away. He was waiting for the right moment and trying to excuse himself from the men's 'help'.
He didn't manage to put his plans into action, because he was suddenly hit in his head with something heavy, and lost consciousness.

***

If there was someone walking through the park in Boggings around 3 am that night they would see three men talking. A while later they would see one of the men hitting another one in the head with a big stone. They would also see one of the men falling to the ground, and other two surrounding him, and bending above him like vultures. Then they would see the unconscious man being dragged among the bushes growing there, and two shadow-like figures running out of the bushes and going in two opposite directions, one of the figures carrying something big and rectangular. But there was no-one there. All citizens of Boggings were fast asleep, resting before yet another tiring day. The only witness of the whole incident was a squirrel jumping from one end of the park to the other, but it soon forgot about the whole scene, concerned with far more important matters.