JINX

EPISODE 33 [pt.2]

"STOP!" Miguel screams again, followed by Kyle and mister Valentine.

"Just stop for a f*cking moment!" As soon as Mister Valentine speaks up, they all look at him, finally stopping themselves from getting too hyped up on shoveling the ground. Mister Valentine turns to Miguel when they already got everyone's attention.

"Guys, what if we try to dig on one spot and let it expand rather than digging on our own?" He suggests as Kyle and mister Valentine nods in agreement. But then, Ion steps forward.

"What!? Are you kidding me? But he said to dig our graves-" Ion tries to protest, but before he could even finish his sentence, the

"But that psychotic pastor didn't say that we should dig our own grave. And besides, it's too impossible to dig a few deep graves in just for f*cking two hours now that most of us have a weak shovel, not one hundred percent intended for this type of ground."

"But what if pastor Roman says that excavating one deep hole is not considered as a grave for us?" Ion questions again, showing signs of distrust.

"But he also said that our greediness could bring us to our deaths. Maybe it really means that we should help each other survive."

"I agree. . . I don't want anyone of us dying tonight either. . ." Blake says before they look at each other and nod. But then again, before they could continue digging in one spot, Ion once again objects to the idea.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait! What if. . . What if this doesn't work? This WHOLE plan doesn't work? What if their words are only trying to trick us into doing this because they already expect us to think of helping each other rather than digging on our own?" He asks that made Miguel and the others look at him before throwing each other glances. Blake then wears a small smile before he decided to talk.

"Then, if this sh*t were about to do wouldn't be accepted, then let's hope we all succumb into this world together rather than watching someone gets beaten up to death. Watching someone suffer is even horrifying than dying together with you all because at least, I don't have to see someone slowly losing his or her breath and making me realize that I was just fine even if I'm not." He says as he receives a nod from his friends.

"So, how about let's start with this and end it as soon as possible?" He asks as they all form into a circle and starts digging with only the hope of surviving together or else they would die together.

Just as they start digging, Benji and Kitty turn to each other and nod before taking a step forward, now heading towards the others. Ion's eyes widen as he watches his fellow newbies agree with the idea they have rather than supporting him.

"Hey, hey, hey! Kitty! Benji! What the f*ck are you two doing!?" He shouts at both of them that made Kitty and Benji halts. The others decided not to meddle with their argument, as they wished for them to participate without any force.

"What!?" Kitty asks with a hit of irritation coming from her voice.

"Are you seriously going to HELP them? They're not even freaking sure if their plan works!"

"Maybe it's not a bad idea to think that it will work, Ion-" Benji tries to encourage him, but it only made Ion feel worse.

"Oh, shut up, Benji! We both know they're clumsy b*this with their decisions. Look what it got them! They have a friend that's dead, and they didn't even have anything to do to save that man! Do you want to die next? Because clearly, there's a pull of bad luck going on with them." He says, sounding desperate enough to convince Kitty and Benji not to trust them. But instead, Kitty scoffs as she shakes her head lightly, keeping eye contact.

"You know what, Ion? F*ck you!"

"What the f*ck did you just say to me!?" He starts to get angrier by the second.

"You heard me, weirdo. They just wanted to help us, and you're here, thinking about yourself. Well, good luck to you because you're so immature, so selfish, and greedy for your own benefit! Go f*ck yourself!" She shouts before grabbing Benji by the wrist. "Let's go and try to save ourselves rather than being selfish." She says, but before they could even turn, she stops.

"And oh, by the way? Good luck digging your own grave. I hope your lack of consideration doesn't kill you tonight." She exhales before they walk out to him and approaches the others.

"Fine, you f*cking c*nt! I don't even need you guys! And good luck choosing the wrong side!" He screams but only to see Kitty raise her middle finger at him makes him groan in madness.

"F*CK YOU!!!!"

•••

[Night at Joseff's place]

After being locked up in his bedroom for the rest of the day, Joseff almost felt numb that he also didn't complain about his thirst or his hunger. It was already eight in the evening when he hears a knock from his door. He didn't say 'come in as it is useless now that he locked his door. He doesn't have the most to stand up from bed now that he's in the process of remembering what his room feels like. He's been away from their house for the last few days, and he almost forgot what his room looks like or even how his bedroom smells like.

Seconds later, he then hears the jingling of keys, but he didn't even flinch. He doesn't care what happens next anymore as he just wanted to wake up from this nightmare he's into. But tragically sad, he wasn't just sleeping. . . The reality of it is that he's inside a misery that's true and deadly.

The door slowly creeks open as Joseff didn't turn to see who it is, as his eyes are staring straight ahead on his light blue painted ceiling.

"Joseff? Honey, are you okay?" It was his mom who comes in. He hears her footsteps approaching, but her mom wasn't convincing enough yet for him to turn to her as he still tries to clear his head out now that a lot is happening inside his head.

"Joseff, I brought you dinner. . . And it's your favorite!" His mom, Lucinda, inhales her sadness as she tries her very best to sound joyful. She is glad that her son is home, but after what happened earlier, the conversation they had a while back makes her feel bad for her son.

"Just put it on the study table, mom. . ." She releases a long sigh of lethargy as if he doesn't have the energy to talk to her anymore. "I'm not yet hungry." He goes on as his fingers slowly roam around unto his soft bed sheet. He closes his eyes as he inhales deeply once again, not talking to his mother anymore.

"O-okay. . . I'll just leave it right here. But, please promise me to eat it? You're just so pale and skinny now, honey. You have to eat-"

"I know, mom. Thanks." He replies before hearing his mother sigh and walk out of his room. He hears the clicking sound of the door as the smell of his food starts to linger around his room. And its aroma is convincing enough to make him stand up.

Joseff turns his head into his study table as he sees the wooden tray used for breakfast in bed lies on top of his table. He stands up as he slowly walks towards his table, now closing his eyes and simply enjoying the smell of his food hitting his nostrils. And when he's standing right in front of his table, he pulls his chair and sits, still looking at his plate- One buttered steak with slices of potatoes beside, his favorite lemonade juice and fruit salad in a small bowl with condensed milk lies on the other side of the vessel.

As if his hands are independent, he soon finds himself reaching out into the fork and the stack knife beside the plate. He slices a small portion of the meat as he slowly, with trembling hands, place it right into his mouth. He starts to chew it slowly, expecting the taste to be bland or much worse, as what he got used to for the past few days. Only got his thought disappointed, he moans silently into the taste as he feels his stomach rumbling. That's when he realizes how hungry he is.

"F*ck." he exhales as he places down his utensils. When he's over with his silverware, he immediately grabs the steak and starts biting and chewing at the same time, like an unleashed animalistic side of him comes to life.

He knows what he is doing, and yet he couldn't stop himself from doing it. He groans as he didn't waste any of his time to finish his food in one go, without drinking even if he's about to choke on his food. And in just a short time, he emptied his plate, only leaving the marinated sauce.

"Ahhh, that is so f*cking good." He curses under his breath as it snaps into his head how food tastes like before he found himself stuck in a gruesome game. But his dinner doesn't stop there. He has the potatoes, a bowl of dessert, and a glass of refreshing lemonade. But as always, his mother hasn't forgotten that he has a sweet tooth after opening a tiny white opaque marble-designed jar beside the jar of honey beside the freshly squeezed lemonade juice. He opens it as he sees cute cubes of his favorite chocolate inside. A small smile forms on his lips as he takes the chocolate cubes out of the mini jar by turning it upside down. As he empties the pot, his smile becomes prominent when there are five chocolate cubes- his favorite number and, at the same time, his only request of numbers of chocolate cubes for dinner, or sometimes, he takes it for breakfast.

"Thanks, mom." He says as he feels alive again, even if a part of him is still dead and ready to be saved, but a small piece of him is lifeless and worse, unable to bring it back to life. His eyes start to get watery as he looks up, trying to stop the tears from coming out. So, he decided to look down on his food and grab the honey jar and puts a reasonable amount into his lemonade, and start stirring it. He gulps half of it and places it down, now feeling how thirsty he was. And when his eyes landed on the bowl of desserts, he is about to grab it when he noticed a piece of paper beside it, also below the chocolate cubes.

"Hmm. . ." he decides to place the bowl down before looking at the white sheet again. He pushed the chocolates away to make some space for the small white sheet. And when he's come to a clearer view of what it is, he lifts it and undoubtedly opens it.

And on that small piece of paper, he starts to feel his heart thumping with hope. In that small piece of torn paper from one of his mother's notebooks comes with a message of opportunity for him and his mother.

•Be patient, honey. . . I'll make way for us to get out of here. And I want you to be ready for it, okay? You know I love you, right? Always and forever. I'll get us out of here. -Mom.•

"Holy sh*t. . . Holy sh*t!" He mumbles as he immediately drops the torn paper and covers his mouth to prevent himself from making such noise. "Mom. . ." he whispers under his breath as he could t contain it anymore; he frees the tears that are urgent to flow into his cheek.

"Oh, my goodness." He mumbles to himself as he picks the paper again and rereads the written words. He flips it to see if there is more into it, but the other side of the torn page is purely blank. Finally snapping into his senses, Joseff rushes his way into the bathroom and the toilet. He quickly rereads the paper and laps his face to see if he's awake, and he is. When he's sure, he drops the piece of paper into the toilet and flushes it. Now feeling the hope burning inside him, a smile forms into his lips again after sighing.

"Leave no trace of suspicion." He mumbles to himself before walking out of the bathroom again and sitting back at his study table. He scoffs and shakes his head with the smile on his lips and excitement before grabbing the unused spoon and starts diving his attention to his salad. He doesn't want it to be put to waste, so is his lemonade that he misses the taste so much. The tears continue to flow as he starts to think of what he will do next or does he need to pack someone's thinks before his mom even calls for the plan to be on.

"D*mn. . ." he mumbles to himself once again.