JINX

EPISODE 28 [pt.3]

"And oh! Look what you guys got! You found the two unconscious individuals— and wait, you also helped them have their own weapon! Now, this is more exciting. . . The more, the merrier, don't you guys think?" Pastor Roman asks as Miguel, and the rest look at each other to confirm what pastor Roman is saying. Miguel is holding Mister Valentine, who looks tipsy since he got no bruises to tell they beat him up, but he is not obviously reeking alcohol. Melissa, on the other hand, has blood smudged on her forehead.

"Melissa's bleeding!" Miguel exclaims as he noticed it. They check it out, only to realize it was her blood after the man earlier hit her from behind that caused her to pass out.

"I'm okay, guys. . . A bit giddy, I guess." Melissa assures them as she gives them a thumbs up, still gripping right into the weapon at hand.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but the day barely started." Pastor Roman clears his throat as a sly grin forms on his lips. "Now, this is where the real FUN starts. . ." he pauses then again as he raises his hand on a shoulder level, his pointer finger outstretched.

"Boy, bring him out."

Miguel and Kyle turn to each other as they grow confusing glances, hoping they could predict who pastor Roman is talking about. But before the door completely opens, Blake murmurs something that made Miguel shift his gaze into him after noticing his sudden body reaction. And as their eyes meet, Miguel already got his answer.

"What the f*ck did you do to him!?" Miguel flinches as he immediately turns his attention to the door after hearing mister Valentine talk beside him. Miguel furrows his brows as the sight of a man comes into clearer view.

All eyes are wide open when light ultimately illuminates the person's whole form.

"WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Mister Valentine shouts rather than asking the question. His rage completely envelopes his soul as he tries his best to balance himself without Miguel's help.

"Stop it, mister Valentine! Your turmoil will not do anything good!" Miguel lectures him as he pulls him closer to him.

"And what do you know about fury kid!?" Mister Valentine asks as he throws a glare that feels like daggers nor a long sword that an army once used to fight and kill hundreds of warriors. Miguel feels threatened at the moment, but he doesn't want to bring his guard down yet. . . He is not, however, ready to get defeated.

"Mister—"

"Guys, this is not—"

"Little lambs, little lambs, LITTLE LAMBS!" Pastor Roman shouts as his voice filled with impatience and irritation bounces into the room, echoing all the way. They all look at him with fear, but none of them wished their worries to be visible.

"Calm yourself, pastor. This act is not what God wanted you to do. He doesn't want you to get mad, for we can approach everything with calmness." Ruther reminds him as pastor Roman sighs and positions his hands in a meditating posture. He closes his eyes and sighs thrice before opening it again. He then turns to look at Ruther.

"You're right, Ruther. . . This is what HE wanted. I should be steady, or I will not be liking what's going to happen next." He says before receiving a not from Ruther.

The man pushes Briar into the ground at a great distance as the man steps back and points his gun at him. They all start to shout as a protest to what might happen next, especially mister Valentine, who seems eager to run towards Briar, if only he's not weak at the moment. If he had enough strength, he would most definitely be beside Briar already.

"Now, I don't want to hear ANY of your dramas because they won't matter once you're dead, little lambs. . . would you still want to waste your last moments arguing?" Pastor Roman asks as he places both hands behind him. With chin held high and retaining the grin he's using, his composure is back to being dominant.

There's no irritation nor fragileness painted on his face.

"Do you understand?" He continues as his grin falls into a thin line, now he has a straight face. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?"

Nobody answered anymore. Their silence is already enough for Pastor Roman to bring his smirk back as it slowly creeps into his lips. . . He then goes his eyes into Valentine as Valentine narrows his gaze.

"Mister Valentine, I'm sorry if you feel tricked last night. . . But don't worry, today will not be your brother's day to die. . . That's unless he can endure it until the end. . . If he can, for how long will he stand the pain?"

"YOU SON OF A B*TCH!" He calls out, making Pastor Roman chuckles like a fine lady, though it only lasted for a split second before he inhales and brings back his intimidating aura.

"Now, you might not remember what happened last night, so, let me remind you again what I said as night falls into a killer silence." He says as he stretches his hand; his palm is calmly pointing at Briar's position.

"He made a mistake last night. . . He, mister Kapono, decided to disrespect the food, and of course, me, who is a guardian of God. . . Who would do such crime aside from individuals who became heartless when it comes to fate?"  He asks, his voice reserved, and his body is relieved of tension. Briar tries to stand on his feet as his shirt is mercilessly stripped off.

"He's lucky he still has his pants on. . . Because if I were to ask, I would gladly remove the only reason he holds on to, to look like tough." He says before signaling Ruther to step forward. Ruther didn't doubt for a second and stepped forward, taking out a dagger from his shoulder bag. "And this game is for him." Be announces.

"No. . ." Mister Valentine complains in a low voice, only enough for Miguel to hear.He then turns to him secretly, just to see an expression that immediately crumbles his heart.

‘Mister Miguel?"’

‘No, Ash!’

*bang!*

The last moments of him and Ash is a memory he considers as a nightmare. Ash has the same eyes as what he is looking at it now, making him feel the anger coming back and the determination to lay his hands into the man standing in front of him.

"Now, what I have here is a dagger. . . Well, you're not stupid enough to not know what I'm holding right now. . . But why? Why do I have a dagger in my hand? What is it for? WHO is it for?" He throws question that only answers none.

"Since this game is for our dear friend here. . . How about we do him a favor and give this man a lesson?" Pastor Roman pauses as he lends the dagger back to Ruther. "But of course, I would NOT get my hands dirty from the blood of a sinner. . . Ruther?" He asks as a cue for him to step forward. "Why don't you tell them more about the game we are going to play today?"

As soon as Ruther is standing with such confidence and numbness in front of them, he started talking.

"This game is only easy if you DON'T let your personal feelings get in the way. . . This game will challenge you on how numb you can be to attain freedom." He pauses as his gaze roams around all of them.

"The game is simple. . . With the items on your hands, you will use it to teach mister Briar Kapono a lesson. One hit can cause a small fraction of pain, but more than one can cause chaos into his ego. . . We all know that Mister Kapono here doesn't have the guts to admit his fall and surrender. Your task is to make him plead for mercy. . . If you fail to do this, except one to die tonight. . . If you, somehow, manage to make him give up, then Mister Joseff would be walking out of this place with a happy memory to keep. . . Obviously, he won't forget ALL of it. Still, it would be a reminder of him that if he betrays us, he will end up like the rest on the line of the backstabbers." He threatens as he turns to Joseff, who is almost hiding in the darkness.

"Now, who would like to go first?" He asks as he scans everyone's expression. No one dared to move, nor one wished to go first.

"Come on, volunteer yourself. . . Or are you all coward because you've got yourself attached to this man? Remember, this is a game of emotions. . . Are you willing to get those feelings in the way to kill one of you?"

EveryoI'mstarts to throw glances at each other, using their eyes as a way of communication to see who should go first. Suddenly, as Ruther remembers something that could trigger them all, a grin forms on his lips.

"And if I'm not mistaken, all of you certainly have your reasons to hurt him. . . How about you think of this as your revenge?"

"This is NOT THE REVENGE that we wanted!" Miguel shouts in reply, caring everyone's attention. Instead of getting stunned, Ruther chuckles in response.

"You're breaking rule number one, Mister Miguel. . . Have you forgotten that you're jinxed? How about you rethink replying to ms again, and ill surely get that tongue out?"

"And that's supposed to scare me!? Don't think highly of yourself, kid. I've never been more numb the moment I came here. . . So, unless you keep your mouth running, how about you come and battle me instead!?" She challenged as he grips tightly into the golf club wedge that he realized just he's holding right now.

Pastor Roman is about to stand up and talk when Ruther turns to him and nods in his direction, mouthing the words, "Let me handle this on my own, pastor." Pastor Roman glares at Miguel as Miguel raises a brow before the pastor averts his eyes and nods back over Ruther. When he's got his trust, he turns around to look Miguel deep in the eyes.

"No, I'm not saying that you should be scared, mister, nor I'm saying that you're not numb. . . But, if you keep this act, how about, I pick myself the next target to pay the price of your. . . let's just say, your kindness? Do you think you'd like that? Just what happened to your friend Ash back in Rummu—"

"YOU SON OF A B*TCH—"

"Oh, am I now, mister?" He asks as his grin now forms into a line, eyes expressionless. "How about you take the first hit?"

Miguel didn't answer immediately after that. He does want to hit him but doesn't want to at the same time. He feels like it's wrong, but he doesn't want to sacrifice everyone else too early.

"You don't have a choice but to do what they want you to do, kid. . . That's one of the rules if you want to last long in this field." He turns to Mister Valentine, who decided to speak up, but enough only for him to hear.

"It's true that emotions get in the way. . . But do you really want that pr*ck to choose their next target towards torture? Because if I were you, if that happens, it would bring more chaos between the rest of us, that it will make them happy because that is what they want to happen. . . They want you all to betray one another." He confesses that makes Miguel feel more pained in the situation. Valentine then pushes him lightly as he uses the walking stick on his hand to support his weight.

"I think I can manage." He says, now giving Miguel the space to step forward. Miguel looks at the others as they have the same look as Mister Valentine— he has to take a step.

Miguel takes a step as he approaches Briar, who is still struggling to keep his feet balanced. He's wincing silently as the others stay silent. When Miguel is already standing in front of Briar, he positions himself, readying to hit Briar.

"What's stopping you, Mister Miguel? Are you still using your emotion as an excuse to look weak? For all that I know, you're not one of those vulnerable kids when it comes to choosing for the greater good." Ruther pulls the trigger as Miguel starts to feel his eyes get watery. He feels his breathing fasten as the voices in his head begin to scream, pushing him to his limits.

"Aaahhhh!" He screams as he swings the golf club wedge, turning back in an instant. His anger, disappointment, and hopelessness come into the mix as he uses it as an excuse for displacement over Briar. He couldn't control himself as his animalistic side becomes free, now, continuously swinging the weapon back and forth, hitting Briar in any direction.

The rest follows as they don't have any more choice.

Because many choices is never a privilege given when you're the prey.