The Midnight Shuttle

ChapteR 19 : Saba Alkamah

“P-Please... help!” Aditia shouted.

He had no idea what else to do except cry for help.

Then, from behind, he felt someone grab his shoulder.

Relief flooded through him.

Maybe it was Mr. Dirga.

But when he turned around, there was no one there.

His heart skipped.

He hurried to stand, trying to shake off the icy grip.

The moment he rose to his feet, a wave of freezing cold spread through his body.

It began at his feet...

Then climbed to his legs...

His stomach...

His chest...

Until finally reaching his head.

It felt as though countless hands were gripping every part of him at once.

He struggled desperately, but his arms and legs were pinned tightly by something he couldn't see.

He wanted to scream.

But another freezing hand clamped over his mouth.

The stench of blood and decay filled his nose until it became difficult to breathe.

Aditia couldn't see them.

He had no idea that more than a dozen evil jinn were swarming over him, each one competing to torment him. Some resembled shrouded corpses, others long-haired women dressed in white, tiny child-like creatures, and countless other horrifying forms.

Unable to resist any longer, Aditia collapsed onto his back.

Moments ago, something had merely held him.

Now...

Something unbearably heavy crushed his entire body.

His chest tightened.

He could barely breathe.

His body felt colder with every passing second.

The weight pressing down on him only grew heavier, as if countless unseen beings were standing, climbing, even jumping on top of him.

Every breath became t*****e.

He shivered uncontrollably.

His entire body throbbed with pain.

Maybe...

Maybe this was how he was going to die.

Just like his father.

“H-Help...”

No sound came out.

The icy hands covering his mouth swallowed every word.

His body refused to move.

With no strength left, Aditia silently prayed.

God... please help me.

Closing his eyes, he surrendered himself completely.

“Seriously? Ganging up on one guy? What is this, a street fight?”

A calm voice echoed through the cemetery.

Aditia forced his eyes open.

A human.

He could see the figure standing near his feet, although his vision remained blurred because he was lying flat on the ground.

A moment later, the stranger reached toward empty air.

To Aditia, it looked like someone grabbing at nothing.

But somehow...

He knew that person was saving him.

The stranger appeared to pull invisible beings away from his body one after another.

Suddenly—

The figure was thrown backward several meters.

Dry leaves scattered across the ground.

Small stones bounced from the impact.

A branch snapped somewhere in the darkness.

Aditia felt guilty.

The stranger wore jeans, a black T-shirt, a black hooded jacket, and a mask that completely concealed the face.

Without hesitation, the figure rushed forward again.

To Aditia, it looked as though the stranger was punching and kicking empty space.

Yet every strike seemed to collide with something invisible.

The surrounding air trembled.

Dust rose from the ground.

Another violent impact echoed through the graveyard.

One by one, the unseen creatures were torn away from Aditia's body.

The crushing weight gradually disappeared.

His breathing slowly returned.

His body no longer felt like it was being buried beneath countless invisible figures.

Finally, he managed to stand.

The mysterious stranger was still fighting.

Although Aditia couldn't see the enemies, he could still feel himself being struck from time to time by something unseen as he staggered toward the battle.

Once he got close enough, Aditia threw his miniature keris.

The stranger seemed to be fighting barehanded.

Maybe...

The keris would help.

The figure caught it effortlessly.

Then, with astonishing skill, wielded the tiny blade as though it had always belonged there.

Watching that alone left Aditia speechless.

Even he wasn't capable of using the miniature keris that skillfully.

At last...

Everything fell silent.

Believing the battle was over, Aditia approached.

His legs gave out beneath him.

He sat down, exhausted.

“Thank you,” Aditia said sincerely.

The stranger handed the miniature keris back to its rightful owner.

“Come on.”

The stranger stood and gestured for Aditia to leave.

Aditia blinked in surprise.

That voice...

It was incredibly gentle.

The stranger grabbed Aditia's hand and led him out of the cemetery.

Once they reached the guard post, the atmosphere changed completely.

The place was bright.

People were talking.

The terrifying silence from inside the cemetery seemed worlds away.

Aditia spotted Ki Kusno and Mr. Dirga drinking coffee near the front of the post.

Just as he was about to approach them—

The stranger pulled him in another direction.

“Where are we going?” Aditia asked.

Even so...

For some reason, he didn't hesitate to follow.

The stranger brought him to a small coffee stall nearby.

It wasn't far from the guard post.

“Ma'am, two coffees, please.”

The stranger finally let go of Aditia's hand before sitting down.

Only then did the hood come off.

The mask followed.

Aditia had suspected it.

The person who had saved him wasn't a man.

She was a woman.

The moment she spoke back in the cemetery, her voice had sounded impossibly soft.

The contrast left him speechless.

Just moments ago, she had been thrown across the cemetery while fighting unseen monsters.

Now, sitting casually in her loose black jacket, jeans, and sneakers, she looked like an ordinary young woman with an elegant, gentle voice.

“Thank you so much for saving me. I thought you were...”

“A guy?” she asked.

“Sorry... yeah.”

“Can't blame you. My face was completely covered. My clothes are pretty loose too.”

She answered casually, without sounding offended in the slightest.

The night air felt cold.

“So... who are you?” Aditia asked.

“Oh right. I'm Saba Alkamah. Just call me Alka.”

“I'm Aditia.”

“I know.”

She casually picked up a fried snack before taking a sip of the coffee that had just been served.

“That's why I came here.”

“You came here... just to save me?”

“Of course. Why else would I wander around a cemetery in the middle of the night?”

Her gentle voice made it difficult to imagine the brutal fight Aditia had just witnessed.

“You know who I am?”

“Of course I do, handsome.”

“Are... are you human?”

“Of course I am. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to see me. You're the one being punished.”

“I seriously don't understand. Who are you? And why did you help me?”

“I already told you.” She smiled. “I'm Saba Alkamah. I helped because I had to.”

For a brief moment, Aditia found himself staring.

Her smile...

Was unbelievably sweet.

“Dit!”

Mr. Dirga called from behind.

Aditia turned.

Mr. Dirga walked over.

“How come you're here?”

“Yes, Sir. They attacked me back there. Luckily Alka saved me.”

“Alka? Who's Alka?”

“This is Alka.”

Aditia pointed behind him.

Then turned.

His eyes widened.

Alka was gone.

Had she already left?

Or...

Had she simply disappeared?

He hadn't even noticed when.

“Where?” Mr. Dirga asked.

“She was right here, Sir. Wait... Even the coffee cups are gone. Ma'am! Ma'am!”

The owner of the coffee stall walked over.

“Yes?”

“The woman who was sitting with me... where did she go?”

The woman looked around, equally confused.

“Wasn't she just here?”

Neither of them had seen her leave.

Where had she gone?

“Mr. Dirga... Have you found Ki Kusno and Mrs. Mirasih?” Aditia asked, changing the subject for now.

He would think about Alka later.

“We found Ki Kusno. When I found him, he looked completely dazed. The locals said he'd been wandering around here since yesterday and refused to leave. But Mrs. Mirasih... we still haven't found her. We've searched the entire cemetery. A lot of people helped us, but she's nowhere to be found.”

Aditia let out a heavy sigh.

“Dit... earlier, I couldn't find you anywhere. We searched every section of the cemetery.”

“I was attacked... over there.”

He pointed toward the place where he had been crushed beneath the invisible creatures.

“What? Attacked? How? I went there too, but I didn't see you at all.”

“Maybe they hid me. Luckily Alka saved me.”

“Come on, Dit. Let's head home first. We should check on Dita.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Aditia followed.

Even now, he couldn't stop wondering...

Who exactly was Alka?

He had so many questions.

...

“Mom, where's Dita?”

His mother was sitting in front of the television.

“She fell asleep. Earlier she cried because she said something was pressing on her while she was sleeping. She couldn't wake up. She said she could see you, Mr. Dirga, everyone... but she couldn't move at all.”

“Are you feeling better now, Mom?”

Aditia sat beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“I'm fine now.”

She gently stroked his hair.

“Next time, if you're going somewhere, at least send me a text so I'll know where you are.”

“I was going to. I even tried calling you, but my phone suddenly broke. I wanted to borrow Dita's phone, but she was asleep, and I didn't want to wake her. So I wrote a note and stuck it to the refrigerator with a magnet. Didn't you see it?”

Aditia shook his head.

He was certain Marni, while possessing Dita, had removed the note.

That single act had led to everything that happened tonight.

“What happened, Dit? Earlier you looked so worried. Dita was acting strangely too. The two of you are like little kids. I leave you alone for a little while and both of you become so fussy.”

“Mom!”

Aditia hugged her more tightly.

“Dita and I can't be without you. So you have to stay healthy. You have to tell me wherever you're going. And if your phone breaks again, don't go anywhere, okay?”

“My goodness... You're just like your father.”

She laughed softly.

“Well then, I'm going to sleep with Dita. I stayed awake waiting for you. Usually Dita waits for you, but she's sick tonight, so it's my turn.”

She paused.

“Oh, right, Dit... Dita still doesn't know about her...”

“Not yet, Mom.”

Aditia quickly interrupted her.

“Please don't tell her yet. I'm afraid she'll blame herself. You know how attached she is to us. I'm afraid she'll start keeping her distance. To me, I have two children. You and Dita. That will never change.”

“I promise, Mom.”

He hugged her again.

“To me, there are only two women I love the most in this world.

You...

And Dita.

I'll never stop protecting both of you.

Just like Dad asked me to.”

For a moment, Aditia held his mother tightly.

Only hours ago...

He had thought he had lost her forever.

Outside the house, hidden behind the wall, Alka quietly listened to every word.

“I'm sorry, handsome...

No one can know that I met you.

No one is allowed to know I exist.

Not someone as insignificant as me.”

Then she turned away...

And disappeared into the night.