JINX

EPISODE 18 (pt.2)

Ash couldn't believe her eyes. Not that she had seen a famous individual (in a fair, inspiring way) standing by the doorframe of the cell where she stays, but because she had seen the worst. The man may not be the popular one, but he is THE FRIEND of the man behind the half mask. He is an ally of the anonymous s***h popular captor of the rainbow flag family. And he's a follower of the most feared and dangerous individual, capable of killing anyone that fails to please his wish.

"How—" Ash didn't continue her words, realizing it in an instant. Wrath quickly masks her sleepy face the moment her gaze connected with Valentine. The tension promptly arises, wringing the neck of Kyle. He clears his throat in hopes of cutting the pressure, and he didn't seem to fail. He pushes himself closer to the kid in front of him, placing his warm hand on top of her shoulder.

"Ash... Ash!" He tries his best to calm her, yet to his surprise, she is calm than ever. Ash's gaze turns to Kyle, who is seated in front of her.

"What!?" She sounds irritated.

"We have to trust her—"

"Where is Mister Miguel? He is what I am expecting here. Where is he?" She sounds so worried? Maybe because she already grew feelings for the man she had just known for a couple of days.

"That is the reason why I'm here, talking to you." He sighs, turning to his shoulder again and back to her gaze. "Mister Valentine told me that something happened to him, and he needs us to help him."

"What!? What do you mean something happened to him? Did he got beaten up or something?" She quickly predicted. Kyle doesn't know what to respond because either he is still dumbfounded. Instead of silence evaporating, Valentine decided to react quickly.

"Yes. Yes, he is."

"Why you—" she stood about, charging to Valentine when Kyle quickly flinch, catching her small waits into his arms.

"What did you do to him!?" She felt like screaming, but her throat is already preventing her. Valentine looks down onto his shoes, mumbling the words she wasn't expecting.

"I'm sorry."

"You—"

"Ash! Ash, listen to me..." He attempts to calm her down, but her strength in running and hitting the man standing by the door can be almost as muscular as a teenager could even pull up. "Ash, listen to me! Miguel needs us better than anyone else."

"And that means trusting him!? No way! He will never get my trust!"

"We have to trust—"

"Are you listening to yourself? I don't even know your name! What if this is just a trap? Aren't you even curious as to why of all people, he chose you? He could have chosen anyone else. So why you?"

"Because—"

"Oh, right. You know each other, aren't you?"

"It's not—"

"We're you two acquaintances or friends?"

"This is bullish*t, Ash."

"And this is messed up! Even if I knew him, I would never trust him." The words entirely slip out of her mouth, making Kyle's eyes grew wider in shock. His attention then brings back and forth to Ash and Valentine, who stood still by the door.

"You knew each other?"

"This is not the time to discuss this! Ash, we are here because we thought you might be concern about Miguel. You either come with us right now or not because we will help him either you're with or without us. The time is ticking, and the sun six hours from now. Now, choose because I don't also want to get caught. This is just a one time help because I'm worried about..." Valentine pauses as he trails off into his words, finding the right words to say next. But getting aware of what he is about to reveal is something that he cannot tell. Not yet.

Kyle and Ash stare at him, waiting for him to talk again. But instead of getting compelled by their gaze, he decided to clear his throat.

•••

The three of them sneakily run through the hall, passing every empty cell, hoping not to make any single noise that could cause possible chaos. Valentine has thought this through, and if they were to get caught, he already made up his mind that he will never be regretting a single bit. They didn't stop one bit, desiring to see Miguel, alive by the moment they reach the room where Valentine told them. They all standstill as they try to feel any suspicion lingering in the atmosphere. The silence of the area is enough for them to doubt, but thinking of Miguel? Trusting will be the only way for them to see Miguel if they're already too late or just in time.

"Weren't they supposed to be guarding the door?" Miguel asks curiously. Valentine shakes his head for a 'no.'

"They're not going to look out on this room because first and foremost, this room doesn't contain gold, and second, they were made sure to lock the cells faultlessly," Valentine explains. "Okay, so here's what I'm going to do. I'll walk there, and if I see someone, I'll distract them since they won't get suspicious of me. And when I'm doing that, I want you to go there and help Miguel."

"Okay, got it," Kyle mumbles as he took a deep breath, about to move forward when Ash stops him. He turns to his side to meet her gaze, only to see nothing but concern. She was known to be brave, and she is proving it to him at the moment.

"I'll trust you this time because you trusted him. But if something happens to us tonight, I want you to know that I don't regret trusting you because Mister Miguel might have encountered danger already and that he needed our help." She explains in one breath, not even stuttering nor looking away while talking. Her breathing is calm, her expression is relaxed, and the way she talks is more peaceful than he expected.

'Guess a twelve-year-old youngster could be a lot tougher than all of us here combined.'  He thought to himself. A small smile forms on his lips as an indication that everything will be alright and that she won't have to worry about anything. Ash responds with a small yet, uncertain smile, already reading the smile Kyle is giving to her. Kyle takes Ash's hand as he squeezes lightly before springing into action. They managed to slip their bodies inside the room like someone just breathed out air, as the total darkness welcomes them.

"How are we going to able look for him here? It's too dark, and I feel like I'm blind right now." Ash complains, but there's still a hint of faith. And because of it, Kyle is more determined to look for Miguel.

His thumping heart is the only sound he could hear, as well as the whistling of the cold breeze from the room that quickly brushes to his skin. Even if he's a bit afraid of what might happen next, having Ash with him made him feel at least secured. The lad gave him something to hold on to, and that is HOPE. And to only cope up with it, he has to have courage. The courage to not let go of the possibility of surviving, the courage to keep fighting, the courage to still convince himself that they'll make it out there, whole and breathing. He may have talked to himself about continuously fighting, but at that moment, he realizes he had never convinced himself that he's tough. Not until he walks into the vast darkness with the most extraordinary kid he has ever met– Ash.

To their surprise, the light flickers open, making them flinch from the dark. When Ash and Kyle realize there's no one opened the lights and that they're busted, they sigh in relief when Valentine's head pops inside the room, giving them a nod. Soon, his face disappears, making them look around.

"There's a lot of blood collected in here." Ash rushes to the main area, calling him to follow. He didn't hesitate as he soon stands there, eyeing at the fresh blood amassed in one place. "And there is a blood trail from here, going to the..." Both of their eyes follow the bloodbath, leading them into the old plywood complied at the back right edge of the room. Ash turns to him, the exact moment he turns to meet her gaze. There's a hint of hope that Miguel could still be alive and that he managed to walk in that area.

Instead of talking, Kyle decided to put his pointer finger up, pressing it into his lips, and then nodded. Ash returns the nod.

"You stay here." He mouthed, receiving another nod from the kid. After that, Kyle slowly walks as he approaches the stacked plywood diagonally. He gulps as he takes a few steps forward until he is already standing in front of the plywood. Kyle leans forward, trying to breathe in any possible traps that might be in disguise. And he doesn't want to act immediately without even contemplating his surroundings.

Kyle turns around to check on Ash. He sought comfort when she was still standing there, also being cautious around her. But before Kyle could even turn back, the trembling Kyle hears heavy breathing coming from up close. Surprised and doubtful at the same time, he instantly turns around,   his eyes landing on the plywoods. He waited for another second to verify what he has just heard. Ash notices that too, trying to whisper to him, but loud enough to hear only the two of them.

"Mister, what is it?" She asks from across the room, wanting to take a step closer. But before Kyle could even respond, he froze the moment he hears the faint breathing from behind the plywood. He turns to meet Ash's eyes, also expressing a surprised look.

"Did you hear that?" Kyle asks, and she nodded.

"Yes. Could it be Mister Miguel?" She raises a question, but all Kyle could give her is a curious look and a shake of his head.

"I'm not certain yet." He whispers back.

"Then check it out already! We are running out of time!" She hurries him up, making him groan in fright. His hand is already trembling as he takes another step closer, an inch away to where he hears the sound. When he's an inch away from the plywood, he hears the light breathing again. That's when he can assure that someone might be there, and he has to act fast. Adrenaline kicking in, he quickly lifts the plywood, his eyes wide open to see what's from behind.

"Miguel!" He wanted to shout his name, but only he could do is whisper. With sparkling eyes of hope, he rushes to hug Miguel, happy and sad at the same time. He's satisfied that he's still alive, and yet, his heart feels like crumbling just by looking at him. Ash's eyes grew wide open, also relieved that Miguel is there and not a trap. She rushes to them as Miguel weakly opens his eyes.

"Mister Miguel!" Ash instantly kneels in front of him, hugging him to show him how much she already cares for him. And it is something that made him smile.

"What... What are you—" he cuts off mid-sentence when he coughs blood.

"What did they do to you?" Ash asks as she starts sobbing. This made Kyle and Miguel a but taken, but at the same time, understanding because she's also a human with human feelings. Kyle moves his hand onto her shoulder as he pulls her close to him, caressing her shoulder with his fingertips. They stayed there for a couple of seconds concerning Ash's sudden breakdown. After she sniffs and calls them both to continue moving, Kyle didn't hesitate to carry Miguel's bridal style.

"Where's Valentine?" Kyle asked, not hearing anything from him after disappearing, but before they could even get out of the room, Valentine pops up, giving them an anxious look.

"What is it?" Kyle asks immediately.

"Three men are headed this way. Luckily, I made use of my time for them to waste, and now, I am here."

"Well, did they say any reason?"

"They said that Mister Clock ordered them to come and check on Miguel, or any suspicious movement. Luckily, I was there to offer my free time."

"So, you told them that you'd be doing it instead?"

"Yeah. Since it's already one in the morning, they're all still tired and needed much sleep for tomorrow's —"

 He cuts his words, not wanting to say the phrase that'll forever haunt him. Realizing where the conversation is going, Ash decided to clear her throat to avoid awkward silence. She looks up to Kyle, who is wholly focused on Valentine, waiting for him to continue. Instead, she pulls the hem of his shirt.

"I think we should go now." She whispers. Kyle, with a doubtful look, throws a glance at Valentine, who also agreed quickly.

"Yeah, I think you should both go now, or it will be too late. Here..." He pauses as he takes out something from the inside of his coat. Revealing the item to Kyle and Ash, both were happy to realize what it is. "This might somehow help his wounds. I'll try to snatch more from the inventory lab." He hands it to Ash. She responds with a small smile.

"Thank you, Mister—" she doesn't know his name,   but she shamelessly asks, despite her doubting him earlier.

"Just call me Val, kiddo."

"I'm not a kiddo!"

"Yeah, you're not. You think and act like a mature one." He compliments as he messes with Ash's hair. His gaze then turns back to Kyle. "Move along. He needed the medicine more than we needed to talk to each other."

"What about these? The others might see and get pessimistic about these medicines."

"Don't worry; I'll come and get them tomorrow by six. I'll make sure what happened tonight will be like it never happened."

"Thank you."

Coming with an agreement, they all move along in two different directions. But before that move entirely away from each other, Valentine calls for them.

"Remember, this will be the first and last. Happy Valentines Day."

With that, they go entirely into their separate ways. Kyle and Ash safely put Miguel into the cell as they silently cure him. After assuring that Miguel is now okay, Kyle decided to go back to his section to avoid suspicion.

Valentine was walking straight to his room, a smile formed on his lips. He felt like a hero and a traitor simultaneously— a hero for saving Miguel and a traitor for helping a hostage of his boss. But, he knows deep inside that he doesn't regret his decision.

When he pushed the door open, he furrows his brows as the lights were already available, surprised to see the man behind the half mask sitting on the chair next to the lamp. His eyes were glued to the image, not expecting him inside his space.

"What were you doing, Mister Valentine?"

"B-boss!"