JINX

EPISODE 28 [pt.2]

"Guys is Melissa with us!?" Kyle shouts over the tensed yet deadly silent darkness that they're standing in. All of them freezes for a second as they thought of where Melissa could be. Chris starts to feel his heart palpitating faster than the usual rate of a heartbeat.

"I don't know. . ." he says as Blake feels him gripping tighter in him. With Chris's sudden reaction makes Blake think that something is about to happen next if he doesn't help him control it.

"Bro—"

" I DON'T KNOW!" He screams as he heavily breathes in and out as Miguel and Kyle take action on moving their hands in hopes of getting on to where Blake and Chris are standing.

"Bro, I need you to breathe, okay? Just breathe." Blake suggested in a very calm voice to help him be alleviated, not to worsen the situation at hand.

"Okay. . . Okay, I'll do that," Chris replies in between his heavy breathing. "But we don't know where Melissa is." He continues as he feels his throat getting dry.

"Of course you don't, little sinner lambs." The person talks into the darkness that made the flinch in notion. They all turn to which direction they could think where the sound came from. They waited as blood starts to boil in anger.

"What—"

"Should we start the game already?"

There's the silence after that. Nobody knew how to reply, nor what words to use to give a response. Nobody suspected and predicted who the person talked to. For some time now, they've already memorized who owns that voice.

‘What game is he talking about?’ Miguel asks himself as his muscle tensed, more tensed than the usual freeze he feels.

"Okay. . . Since no one objects, I think it is time to play the game. And I already predict that you know how the rules work?" He raises a question again, only to collect heavy breathing and contained fear. "Then let ME repeat the rules of this game. . . THERE ARE ONLY TWO!" Pastor Roman pauses as he walks around with calculated steps in the darkness, even if he's been doing it ever since this new hobby started.

"ONE, you will and ONLY be quiet until our clock of fate stops. . . If I hear even just a single word, I might want to pull your tongue out as the others watch. . . And then there's TWO in which, you would have to finish the challenge in a given time. . . And we all know what happens to the person who can't do it, right?"

"F*ck you, *sshole!" Chris shouts at him to release the stress and anger that he is feeling. For some reason, he felt good doing it as Blake noticed it too. Pastor Roman releases a chuckle after that before he continues to talk.

"You're lucky JINX hasn't started yet. . . And since you seem to be prepared for today, how about we start going down to business to what this game is all about?"

"Oh, do you seriously think that we didn't ready ourselves into this? We had some training grounds, you piece of sh*t

—"

"Swear on me once again, and I will promise you thatt HE would give you the punishment that you deserve. . . But the question is, will you be ready to see yourself bleed today?"

Everyone is silent then again. Even if all of them want to hide the feared truth, they still find their tongues tied in a knot. Pastor Roman then takes this as an advantage of his cards as he fixes his clergy robe before talking again.

"Around you are things that YOU will immediately guess shat they were if you touch them. . . Of course, they're all solid, BUT, they can be dangerous so BEWARE of it. . . Sounds easy, right? Well, that's until our leader decided to twist it a little bit." He pauses once again as he stops from walking back and forth.

"Each one of you must have at least ONE ITEM on hand before the timer stops. This will test your senses because not only you'll be given a short time, you WILL ALSO be facing darkness. . . And wait! There's something that I almost forgot. . . The last person to possess one item on hand will, of course, be going to join the others in, of course, joining them from hell."  He says that sent chills down their spine.

"Don't forget, you only have two minutes to look around. . . Will a blind be able to see into the dark?" He pauses as the rectangular-shaped screen shows red and big 00:02:00 flashes on it. All of them noticed that, and before they could even process everything that's happening, a loud buzz like the sound we hear on basketball leagues erupted in the silenced area. As they hear that alarming sound, they don't have any choice but to start.

"Oh sh*t, oh sh*t, oh SH*T!" Blake cusses as he starts moving his hands below, being cautious at the same time.

"Melissa? Melissa, wake the f*ck up!" Chris, on the other hand, focuses on finding Melissa. "Guys, we have to look for Melissa!"

"We ARE looking for him too, Chris! Now focus on that g*dd*mn item you can grip on, or you'll end up dying!" Kyle frustratingly shouts back, not wanting anyone getting killed on their first day.

Miguel quietly pays attention to where he is going as he is slowly swaying his hands with outstretched fingers and taking slow yet measured steps. But just as he takes his fifth step on an unknown path, he felt something on the ground. Miguel's eyes are wide open as he bends down slowly, overthinking now that Miguel only got his senses to trust. As his hand lands perfectly on a cold item he predicts to be metal; his eyes became wider compared to what it is before. He finds the handle to the object very carefully, thinking that it might be stuck on a trap or something that could worsen his situation. But before he could even land his hand on the handle, he felt something that doesn't scare him at all.

"G-guys. . . Guys, I think Melissa's here!" He flinches as he hears Kyle shouting from a distance.

"Oh, my goodness! Now wake him up, please. We ALL have to get an item for ourselves!" Blake reminds him, making Miguel wonder if he's predicting it right.

"Guys, I also have someone here with m-me." He finally says it out loud as his eyes lift into the digital clock. 00:01:37

"Sh*t." He mumbles.

"W-what? But we only have one, Melissa! How is that—" before Chirs could even continue ranting, he remembers something that he almost forgot that it's already part of the group. "Guys, find their hair, please! One of you could have Melissa, and the other could be one of the misters, and one is. . ."

"GUYS! LOOK FOR SIR VALENTINE OR SIR BRIAR, NOW!"

Blake and Chris started working on finding the other one as Miguel finds the person's hair to identify the person. As soon as he does, he already knows who he is with.

"Mister Valentine? MISTER VALENTINE! Guys! Look for Sir Briar! I have Mister Valentine's with me!"

"I have Melissa right here! Guys, you better hurry up! We have less than one minute already!" Kyle exclaims as he continuously wakes Melissa up. Miguel didn't back down as he repeatedly slaps the man to wake up. Suddenly, Mister Valentine coughs, making him sigh in relief.

"Mister Valentine, are you alright?"

"Miguel? Miguel, is that you talking?"

"Yes, it's me—"

"Where are you? Why is it dark in here? What are we doing here—"

"Listen to me, Valentine. We don't have much time, and it would also kill you if we went too late on doing the task." Miguel breathes out before successfully searching for the handle of the item at hand.

"How about we search an item now!?"

"GUYS! WE CAN'T LOOK FOR MISTER BRIAR!"

The tension around them has already reached its c****x, like water inside a kettle now at its boiling point. Groans of irritation, screams of rage, pants of desperation, and steps of determination fill the suffocating friction between them all but, this is just a soothing noise for Pastor Roman. It is as if he's listening to the harmony of piano or any instrument that serves as relaxation to him. . . The sounds produced served as an orchestra into his ears.

"Pastor, they only have ten seconds left." Ruther, who is standing beside him, notifies him of what's left on time. Pastor Roman lifts his gaze into the digital clock as the numbers 00:00:08 in a fierce red glowing color moves like in slow motion.

"Are you ready to play next, boys?" Pastor Roman asks as he stands up and places both hands behind him. "Because I've never been more ready."

•••

"Sir, you have to listen to me. . . I feel great already, and I think I can manage if you just let me tag along!" Ash breathes out as she uses her hands to lift her weight away from the hospital bed. Carlo could still see the struggle, but he also considers the eagerness. And he is willing to put this "willingness" to the test.

"Look, kid. You're not fully recovered yet, okay? And it's best if you stay here and recover while I go and look for Miguel—"

"And do you really think that I would trust this hospital?" She blurts out as Carlo got what the youngster meant.

"Hey, as soon as I secure everyone's safety, I promise you that I will come back and get you out. But for now, rest is what your body needs and—

"No! No, you are NOT leaving me here!" She shouts as she demands approval. "Because if not? If you dare to leave me here, ALL ALONE and with no one to talk and trust to, I promise you that you will NEVER, and I mean it, see me here by the time you arrive." She roughly threatens that makes Carlo more amused.

"You're really persistent, are you?" He asks as he finishes drinking the last drop of the water from his plastic cup.

"I don't know you, mister, but I know mister Miguel. He became too close to me and slipping that note into my pocket is a purpose. . . He trusted his instincts that maybe, I was destined to be in this situation. And if not, then again, maybe luck came into his favor that's why I met you. . . Mister Carlo, I know I'm not physically ready yet, but I can do more, more than what you expect. . . And I want you to please, trust in me as mister Miguel did." She says as she finally balances herself from starring on her feet, without any support. Carlo noticed that, as he's smiling ok the inside.

"Mister Carlo, I wanted to help them. And I think I know just the right person to talk to."

•••

"Ahhh, isn't this fun, little lambs?" Pastor Roman exhales after hearing the buzzing sound erupts until it slowly dies but not the tension lingering around them.

"So, let us not prolong this anymore because I HAVE BEEN DYING to see who would have been able to fight back into this, what do you call? Ahhh, right. . . CHALLENGE as what we all see. Lights on, please."

Three last words furloughs into his mouth that gives the signal to open the lights. Miguel, Kyle,  Blake, and Chris close their eyes immediately as it sores their sight to see an enormous amount of light coming to life. They groan as they start to blink their eyes just to adjust into the light slowly. When they're done, their eyes quickly look around for one another, only to realize that they've come far away from each other.

"Well, well, well. . . I must say, I'm more impressed than expected, little lambs." Miguel and the rest avert as their eyes immediately find it's way to the platform in front of them. Pastor Roman, Ruther, and three more men wearing black stand there as Pastor Miguel claps his hand slowly. "And oh! Look what you guys git! 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?" He asks as he turns to the three men arending behind him and Ruther. The chuckle lightly and faded, making the rest doubt if they actually did anything.

"Now, this is where the real FUN starts. . . Boy, bring him out."

Without any doubt, one man from the three signals a hidden man as the metal door opens in almost an instant. They all gasp as they realize who it is.

"What the f*ck—"