JINX

EPISODE 30 [pt.2]

"He just said that that kid Ruther needs us this instance," Melissa announces that quickly made Miguel instantly wrinkles his nose. Kyle noticed that, knowing what he has in mind.

"Needs us? But why? Is he going to feed us again? Because if yes, then I would rather hit my head into this bathroom wall." Blake complains as he wraps his forearms around his chest, deciding to stand firmly and not move a muscle as a representation of his objection.

"I don't know. . . But maybe Ruther's boss arrived already? And I only wish he's not the reason we're going back to that 'Last supper' themed dining area. Gives me the creeps." Melissa sighs, defeated because they weren't privileged with many options, only to agree and follow.

"No matter what the reason is, I know that they won't call us for no big reason. . ." Miguel decides to interrupt before heading to the door. When he's facing the door already, he turns to his shoulder.

"And trust me, they'd probably hate it if we keep them waiting." He reminds his friends before reaching for the knob and twisting it. The door opens as Miguel's the first one to get out.

"Yeah, he is not wrong in that part." Mister Valentine sighs before walking out of the bathroom. The rest looks at each other in silence before they decided to follow the lead. They all walk following a line as they approach a big door that, to their knowledge, they haven't been inside of it yet.

They all turn glances as they share the same thought: ‘Where are we going?’

On the other hand, Miguel's train of thoughts didn't leave the story that mister Valentine decided to unveil. He's still in the middle of that thought as if he's still in the process of sinking it all in, doubting if he should believe it all.

‘Mister Valentine isn't like that. . . I know he's not. But, why do I feel like we had an almost similar situation that woke us up to the cruelty of humanity?’  He asks himself as he feels goosebumps with that question in mind. And Kyle is too. With his own story unsaid, who would miss the feeling of it as if it brings you back to a nightmare that you won't want to repeat ever again?

They all stop when the man in front stops as well. He then signals another man guarding the door to approve them go gain access to what lies after. . .  And it only took them just enough time not to lose their patience.

The room is gloomy even if the room has big windows that were an easy access to the rays of sunlight. Though the curtains covered the view from the outside, it was thin enough for them to see tall trees around it.

But that's not the only thing they've noticed. . . Most notably is the man who wears a casual black long plain sleeves paired with black slacks and black shoes.

"Hello, my little lambs." Pastor Roman greets as both hands extend on his side like he's happy to see them and, at the same time, ready to give hugs. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Fortunately, they did eat, pastor. I was expecting them to choose the hard way, but even I wasn't in the mood for brutality first thing in the morning." Ruther decides to step into the view to entertain the pastor's question, knowing that no one would take the initiative to reply. . . And if they do, it would only worsen the situation.

At the same time, all of their eyes are not on him anymore. Instead, their attentions are flued on the three individuals behind Pastor Roman. Their silence is already enough for the pastor to figure out where their interest lies.

"Ahh, now I see. . . You must be wondering, now craving for answers, who these new guests are, right?" He asks as he walks towards the blindfolded three individuals.

"I guess Ruther here already told you where I went, right?" He asks that makes them keep a straight face.

"Do you seriously have to do this?" Miguel speaks up.

"Do what?" Pastor Roman asks to trigger his patience, but it only made Miguel scoff before answering.

"For all I know, you're not dumb, pastor. . . Or, have you gone stupid after Mister Briar hit you ego last time?" He asks, driven by anger for what he is doing and fear for the newbies. That quickly sent a message to Pastor Roman's patience that he immediately feels his blood starts boiling. His intention backfired to him directly, enough to make him stop at the moment and rethink his following words.

But before he could even decide to talk, he chose to back out with the tension and chuckle. The rest of them got curious about his sudden reaction.

"I must say, you fed yourself decently. . ." he says as he turns to the man and tilts his head back and forth, a sign for them to approach. "Remettez-les dans leurs chambres avec ces trois nouveaux invités." [Put them back to their rooms, together with these three new guests.] He says.

"Oui patron." [Yes, boss.] The man says before signaling the others to get the rest. As they're all locked up with chains on their hands, they got out of the room without another word, leaving Ruther and Pastor Roman behind. And as the door closes, Pastor Roman speaks out.

"I thought they'd learn their lesson just to shut up. . . And yet they're still barking." Pastor Roman exhales as he tries his best to keep himself calm, even if veins are popping visibly into his neck, a clue of his anger.

"I thought they did too after feeding them with only their mouths go used, pastor—"

"Well, clearly, you didn't do well!" This time, Pastor Roman starts to displace his anger to Ruther that which surprises them. But at the same time, Ruther accepted his fate.

"I'm sorry if I've failed you, pastor—"

"Don't say you've failed ms already, Ruther. . . Because it'll sound to me that you'll constantly be saying that for the following tasks that I listed just for you." He admits before taking out his white handkerchief and wipes his forehead with poise. When he finished wiping his forehead soaking in sweat, he throws another glance at Ruther.

"Only, don't do it again, Ruther. Because making the same mistake twice is stupidity. Understood?"

"Yes, pastor."

"Good. . . Now I'm heading out. . . I need some time to rest my body and head to ready myself for tomorrow. You should too."

"I will, pastor." Either assures before watching the pastor gets away. When he's out of the room, Ruther clenches his fist and gritted his teeth, now more determined to bring their victims down.

"Let's see how strong you are tomorrow. . . Especially you, Miguel."

•••

"Well, have this kid you claimed to have access to your boyfriend Carlo's phone told you exactly when she will give you a call?" Kaleb asks as Lerissa walks back and forth as she never lets go of her mobile phone, gripping it tightly and put it on a loudspeaker to Alan her when someone tries to reach out.

"She didn't, but she told me that she would call me because she would need my help!" Lerissa explains as she continues to walk back and forth, making Kaleb feel dizzy.

"Can you please. . . Lerissa, can you please stop walking? You're making me have a headache here." He pleads, but Lerissa doesn't seem to care, for she's focused only on one thing— Ash will give me a call.

She has faith. . . she gave her trust to someone like Ash, who Lerissa still considers as only an acquaintance because she knew who her son Miguel is. And when it comes to her son, she would believe it, now that she knew her son for being friendless and introverted.

"And what makes you sure that this kid is calling you today—"

*ring. . . ring. . .*

Kaleb and Lerissa both stop at what they're doing when they hear a phone continues to ring. When Lerissa felt her phone vibrating, she's already sure that it was her mobile phone ringing. A glimpse of hope shines into her eyes as she reads the caller ID.

Carlo

Calling

Lerissa shows her screen to Kaleb as the man starts to build hope for it, now that he's about to get back to his usual business. Lerissa then takes a deep breath before answering the call.

At first, she can only hear solid winds and a panting voice, but it only lasted for five quick seconds. She hears a door closing that quickly removes the noisy backgrounds.

[Hello, miss Lerissa?] As soon as Ash's voice comes into life, Lerissa is relieved.

"Oh, thank goodness it's you! I thought at first that Carlo found out!" Lerissa explains as she sighs in relief. She then turns to Kaleb, who is already getting on with his typing skills. "So? How's it going?" She asks, trying to keep the conversation casual.

[Well, you're surely wondering what's with the noise, but you tell you honestly, I did try my best to hide his mobile away from him since he thinks he must have dropped it somewhere.] Ash explains to end Lerissa's curiosity over it. Lerissa turns to Kaleb as Kaleb gestures her to continue. This made Lerissa take the opportunity to keep the conversation going but decided to take a step away from Kaleb.

"So, you told me you're going to need my help. . . What is it all about?" Lerissa asks immediately with a low voice.

[I'm happy you remembered because I'm giving you a call for that reason.] Ash sighs in relief, now that she hears something worth her time. She turns to glance at Kaleb, who is more focused than ever before, averting her eyes and continue talking.

"Tell me anything. . . Anything that I can do to help at all."

[Well, Mister Carlo told me you're a smart woman, so I guess you're with someone right now and trying to track where we are so, the location now is for you to find.] She casually breaks the news down, which makes Lerissa froze for a minute. She wants to expect that someone like the kid she's talking to doesn't sound like a kid anymore.

"How did you—"

[It's not hard to take a guess. . . Besides, I love watching mystery/thriller and action movies.] She interrupts, which makes Lerissa nod slowly.

"Right. . . So, what do you need me for today? Should I follow you guys? Should I send someone to—"

[No. . . I don't need any of those; kiss Lerissa.]

"Then tell me. . . Name it, and I'll make sure to make it happen." Lerissa confidently announces, wanting to get his son and boyfriend home, safe and sound.

[Let's start with a simple yet hard one.]

"Name it. . ." Lerissa has never felt so confident in her life, but not too confident base on her calculations. The fear and anxiety are still there, but she doesn't want to take another wrong step in her choices. And for her, this could be a start.

[Don't trust anyone.]

•••

"I still can't believe they abducted three more to join the club," Chris mutters as he stands between Melissa and Miguel. The six of them are standing in line as they all stare at the three new faces on the group.

"You Asian, kid?" Blake raises his question as he noticed the girl who seems to be shy among them three.

"We all are Asian." The man on the woman's side talks. "I'm sorry. . . I'm Ion, and I'm from Thailand but currently resided in San Francisco. . . this woman's name is Kitty, and she's Chinese, but like me, she's also living in the US. And here is Benji, from the Philippines."

"Damn, this is getting more and more global! I mean, are they planning on adding more to this group with different f*cking places? Because this is getting into my nerves!" Blake groans before walking away from the line and sitting on the bed.

"No, but we all are currently living in the same city, guys. Even if we were born in different countries, if we are now inside a similar community, we are most likely to meet each other." Melissa says as she follows Blake, sitting at her provided bunker bed.

Silence quickly fills the air as they all stare at each other, figuring out what questions are appropriate to ask. But then, before everyone could send their words flying into the air, Valentine sighs.

"How about we get to know each of us maybe later? For now, we should take more rest because it'll be more helpful to keep ourselves ready for what might come ahead of us. . ." Mister Valentine suggests before turning his back on them. When he's about to walk, he turns to his shoulder.

"Now that everything is now back to zero." He resumes before completely turning his back on them and heading straight into his own bed.

"Yeah, mister Valentine is right. . . We don't know what might happen tomorrow or worse, tonight. You newbies must know that Pastor Roman could have a bad temper at some point." He says before they all went to their beds.

As they all settle down, Miguel stays standing as he watches mister Valentine closely. He's been torn between approaching him and not, now that he wanted more of his story.

But seeing him at peace, for the time being, makes him realize that he should disturb it for his personal gain. He sighs before turning his back on him, heading to his own bunker bed.