JINX

EPISODE 17 (pt.2)

'You think you're so smart!'

'You'll die in here, Mister Miguel'

'No one cares about you'

'They'll never remember your name because you're NO ONE!'

'You came to the land of nobody!'

Nobody

Nobody

Nobody

He starts to be pulled into darkness as the word "nobody" starts to echo away from him. He starts to beat at a faster pace, he could already feel his neck being gripped, only to realize it was his fear who is checking him. He starts to gasp for air, trying to fight the fear that's been starting to eat him up.

"No! No don't!" He tries to fight back, in the hope of an escape route. But darkness seems to overshadow him. That instead of walking in front of the sun to form a shadow, he is now hiding behind his shadow.

"No!" He continues to fight back, but only a moan of frustration escapes his mouth, causing him to release more air than what he expected. He is starting to lose oxygen. Pushing himself away from darkness, still wishing he would escape the shady fear, his neck was then was put into a release, only to find himself falling from it, away from darkness. Miguel starts to scream at the top of his lungs until his back hits the cold liquid behind. All he thought he would feel pain, expecting it to be a solid floor, only to find out that he starts to sink.

He starts screaming for more help, but only muffled screams were formed since he's fighting the water. And the more movement he makes, the more he feels his heart tightening.

"Mister Miguel! Miguel, wake up!"

"No!" Miguel gasp for air as he sits erect, eyed wide open. Ash starts to rub his back as he assures him he is fine, making his tensed body, calm in the kid's touch.

"Mister, are you okay?" She asks in a very gentle manner, making Miguel turn his attention to her. As their eyes meet, he had the urge to pull her close and hug her. And he didn't hesitate in doing so.

Hugging her, Ash tensed up for a moment, not seeing it coming. But as he hears him silently sobbing, as if he's controlling it, she could feel her heart starts sinking.

"Mister—" she was cut off mid-sentence when Miguel starts to break down.

"I'm not strong okay? I'm not the person you needed for your plan to work. I am not as strong as you." He admits, still sobbing. Ash, on the other hand, doesn't know what to say next. She wasn't expecting him to cry at her after the first game they had, but she knew that all she could do right now is to be with Miguel. She caresses his back as she shushes the man in her embrace.

They stayed in that position for the next couple of minutes, before Miguel has nothing left to cry out.

•••

A couple of minutes later, Miguel finds himself staring at the blank wall. He doesn't know what to think, what to say, or what to do next. Ash understands the desire towards space and silence, willingly giving it to him. She sits down at the far left edge of the darkened room, embracing the cold and vague void surrounding her. She curls up like a ball, resting her eyes on her knees, as she continuously rubs her arms with her palms.

The soothing silence would instantly drift them off to sleep, but Miguel being there, sitting and facing the white plain wall, makes him wide awake. Even if his body wants to nestle in the small bed provided, his thoughts linger around, shouting at him.

"What would you do next?"

Showing his vulnerable side was never an intention, especially not to a twelve-year-old kid who acts tougher than him. Showing any signs of weakness will be used as an advantage to others and that made him think to not trust anyone, especially when feelings are involved. Ano now, he is starting to grow fond of the kid who is with him inside the room. The desperation that shows in his pained eyes to set aside his feelings are near to being gone, and now he's been starting to trust everyone else. Kyle, Melissa, and now Ash. But what makes it more difficult for him is to realize that he has been neglecting to potentially trust himself, and that 'acting tough' was all a part of it. Now, he's not so tough as he thought he is, and now, he is trusting himself about this thought; that he is weak. Weaker than a female kid, and weaker among the others.

"Ash?" He asks as his voice bounce back and forth into the four corners, catching the attention of Ash who almost had fallen asleep.

"Hmm?" She hums as she manages to lift her head, eyes tracing at Miguel's back.

"Why are you here?" He asks as his curiosity snaps out of him. Ash was taken aback by the question, not expecting to hear the question in an unexpected situation.

The awkward yet intense silence quickly evaporates, filling the room, almost making Ash choke from it.

"W-what?" She stutters, acting like she didn't hear him clearly at all. Instead of raising the same question, Miguel sighs heavily. Deciding to not turn and stare at her eyes, Miguel sits there comfortable before turning his head in his right shoulder, enough for Ash to see his dried eye. And then, the question hits her back to reality again.

"How did you end up here?" He asks, showing no sign of doubt in asking it.

"What are you talking about—"

"You know what I'm talking about, Ash," he sighs once more, turning his head back into facing the wall. "You're too young to be here... You're too young to be a victim of this—"

"Challenges and death don't choose her victims. It can pick either man or woman, child or adult, or..." She lost track of her words, having the hesitation plastered all over her body. Her muscle tensed up, realizing where their conversation would end up. And she's not ready to admit it all.

"I think it is best if there's only one in this room who knows about it." She responds straightforwardly, not wanting to beat around the bush. Instead of receiving a nod as a response, he rather decided to scoff.

"You know you can trust me—"

"And you know that trusting at this time of our lives is not good. Mister Miguel, I know you're curious about my presence but I don't know why you're asking me this, now that you're emotionally unstable," she gave him a response that triggered him, causing him to instantly turn, his eyes glued to hers.

"We both know that you're here for a reason. They didn't just kidnap you because they like it. I mean, come on. Are you even aware of the recent deaths of the members of the rainbow community? Maybe this we're their captors! And at a young age, I don't see any reason for them to capture you. You're too young to already realize you're—" the intense atmosphere them was quickly interrupted the moment the door behind them swung open, revealing two tall men standing, making their way inside the cell. The look on their face is intimidating, starting to send shivers down his spine. Miguel gulps to predict something bad is going to happen, throwing a glance at Ash who is also dumbfounded.

"Est-ce déjà le gamin?" (Is this the kid already?)

"Ouais. Oui, c'est l'enfant." (Yeah. Yes, that's the kid.)

"Alors nous devrions l'avoir maintenant."  (Then we should get him now.)

Without a second thought, the two guys start to grip him by his arm, pulling him up on his feet harshly. Miguel wanted to scream but he decided not to. Him staring at her Ash makes her shiver, seeing a different Miguel already masked from the Miguel she had known for a couple of hours. His gaze didn't leave hers until they were out of the cell, slamming it shut, causing her to flinch. Moments later, she could hear faint rattling sounds followed by footsteps going away.

She rushes to the door, in hopes to still catch a glimpse of him, but failed. She sighs as she feels her tensed muscle relax from the cold metal hitting her skin. She closes her eyes for a brief moment, hoping that Miguel would be okay. And when silence comes back to hug the atmosphere, she then heaves a deep breath. That's when she realizes that she had stopped herself from breathing from the first minutes she stood there, just staring at him. She could them feel her knees weaken as she slides down, straight into the cold floor. She then pulls a strand of her hair, feeling pained for the first time since she was captured.

And it is something that she cannot deny. She does trust the guy that stood in front of her, a couple of minutes ago.

•••

Miguel was pushed inside the room where he never wanted to be inside anymore. And just by looking at the swivel chair facing at the wall makes it more intimidating. The chair turns the second the door slam shut behind him. He slinked a bit, but that was obvious the moment Mister Miguel is looking at him. A flaming rage is egregiously written in his eye, even with the mask on.

"Well, well, well, Mister Miguel." A dark, intimidating voice greeted him. Although acting tough has expired in his sense, he decided to face his fate.

"You're pretty much aware of why you are here... Standing before me, right?" He asks him, making him stand up with nothing to fear of, chin in a perfect angle.

"I don't care anymore." He responds in an 'uninterested' expression he could pull of. Mister Clock gives him a 'not-surprised' look.

"Well, it's not like I'm not used to this... But you, Mister Miguel, you carry the surprise. And have I mentioned it before that you never seem to fail to impress me?"

He didn't respond.

"Well, if I haven't yet, then I'll be saying this now... You're really something, Mister Miguel." Mister Clock stands up as he keeps a three-step distance from Miguel. He tensed up a bit, getting intimidated by the man with a half-mask standing in front of him.

"And I have this thought in mind... Like, I wanted to try something tonight. I want to see the demons in you, Mister Miguel."

"And maybe I don't want to try any of your sh*ts, you son of a b*tch."

"Oh calm down, will you? I'm not here to argue with you. You know why?" He takes a step closer to him, making Miguel gulp. "Because you don't have the freedom here, Mister Miguel."

He takes a step closer.

"And if I am to be asked? What you did earlier had caused me too much damage. And too much damage causes too much money."

And another step closer. He's standing too close to him, already feeling his heavy breathing. Just a couple of inches away and their clothes as well is what keeps them separated.

"And you're going to pay my money's worth tonight. So how about you get ready with your letters and hand after? Because aside from seeing you bleed tonight, I am also excited to send the second letter to your mom... And do the course, your stepdad soon to be will also read it. Won't it be more exciting?"

"F*ck you."

"You're welcome, Mister Miguel... Now..." He takes a step backward, getting back into his swivel chair. He rests his elbows on the table as he intertwines his fingers, leaning in and still not breaking the gaze. He then mumbles something in his breath as Mister Clock presses a small circled button. Seconds later, the door swings open, revealing the two guys who lead him there earlier. His adam's apple moving up and down.

"Emmenez-le là-bas." (Take him there.) Those three words, twelve letters are enough for the two guys to nod, grabbing him by above his elbows. He starts to feel the stampede within his system, causing him to move in hopes of breaking free from their grip. His eyes then land on Mister Clock, who has a wide grin plastered on his lips.

"Like I said, Mister Miguel... You're going to bleed tonight."

"No... No, you can't do this... No!" He tries to fight back, his vulnerable self getting back into him, waking up his pretentious self. That made Mister Clock chuckle.

"Do you think I'm joking? No, Mister Miguel. Because I am the Jinx. I AM! HAHAHHHAHAHAHA!!!"

"NO!!!" He screams, still hoping, wishing, praying that this would be over now. "JUST KILL MS YOU SON OF A B—"

And before he knows it, he finds himself being dragged back into the room where everything started; where his innocent eyes were first baptized by horror and merciless death of two sinful individuals who didn't keep their promise, where he had witnessed a near-death situation, where he almost tried to be dumb of all the choices he was about to choose. And now, he's paying for the price for the damage he has made.

And he was sure enough if he can survive this, after facing death earlier. He had almost stepped into the fire a while ago, and now, he'll be able to do it again, depending on the situation.

and he had no other choice but to play.

Because he is not Jinx.