The Witch of Jakarta

Chapter 2: Heart of The City

    At first, God made the heaven and the earth. And the earth was waste and without form; and it was dark on the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God was moving on the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light!’; but nothing happened.

    Well, that’s what Amo thinks of at the very least.

    ‘Oi watch it!’

    The cobalt haired girl clumsily jerked herself away from the oncoming motorcycle, reminding herself one last time as to not get lost in her own thoughts in the middle of rush-hour. She quickly pulled herself away from the main street, and into a small alley to catch her breath. It was almost 5 pm now, not a good sign.

    It took her more time than she anticipated to get through the new security system the school had placed, and by the time she did get through the customs, the first set of trains had already left the station. The crowd had been abnormally busy, and her phone has just now run out of bars. This was hell, a nice overpopulated personal hell of hers. And it was only getting started.

    The crowd was only getting busier and she was only halfway through getting into the forsaken train station. She frantically jogged to the back of the alley, scrambling her pocket to get what she needed; only to quickly stop in her track, her brain desperately reciting her promise to Inca.

    ‘No magic,’ She mouthed to herself, returning what she had just grabbed from the pocket of her skirt.

    She looked around to see if anyone or anything had seen what she did, but everything was too far from the back of the narrow alley to notice anything.

    She sighed, her worn-out frame awkwardly leaned against the wall, her mind instantly flashed the image of Andrew. She wondered if this is how he saw her for the last time; blood tainted, and a vague day-dream of a cobalt haired girl running away into the night scene, a dark silhouette running in the wrong direction. She was supposed to protect him.

    How many has she lost? She had stopped counting.

     The golden orange sky stretches far and wide, the familiar hue of fire hearths and tangerines. It was but the reflection of the dawn, the promise of the rising sun that comes after the pre-scheduled rough night has had it says and the bustling city has rested once more. It was much like a battle cry to the gathering night, that the only achievement of darkness is to show the city lights even more clearly.

    ‘What the f**k am I doing?’

    Amo quickly gathered herself and ran towards the alley entrance, shortly regretting her decision as she abruptly bumped into someone. She frantically stuttered an apology, moving out of the way for the little girl, quickly making her way to the crowd.

    It was a big street, overcrowded with people moving away from the heart of the city to downtown to either get dinner or go home. A humongous yet claustrophobic street, filled with angry and tired people who just want everything to move faster, it was a nightmare. Amo had finally snagged a small breathing space for herself, making sure she won’t get hit by a motorcycle that went a bit to close by the pedestrian area or by a walking heard who are hogging the pedestrian area with the things they’re carrying.

    She poked her head up from the crowd, hoping to see past for a few meters and spot the train station. Lucky her, she could spot it just about fifteen meters away from where she stood. She tried her best and slowly makes her way along with the bustling crowd, her bag seemingly gaining weight which each millisecond it hangs on her bag.

    She looked up once more, her eyes dazed with panic and fatigue. She had learned to cancel out the many adds and billboards littering the inner cities, but with what’s left of her brainpower, it seemed to be the only thing her eyes can focus on at the hour. Brightly lit billboard sprinkled with ever so friendly messages. 

    ‘If you see something, say something’

    ‘We can do better’

    ’90 Years of PURE’

    ‘Make Indonesia PURE one step at a time’

    Amo quickly averts her eyes, her brain too tired to think of how angry she used to get every time she looked at those corny slogans. As of now, she was no longer angry, she was just exhausted.

    She quickened her pace and finally made it to the train station, her feet wobbling through the stairs as she reached out for the ticket booth, only for her memory to quickly remind her that she had already bought a train card a few weeks ago. She sighs, cursing at herself as she rubbed down the sides of her skirt to find her wallet. But she sensed nothing.

    No wallet, no money, and to her horror…None of her charms.

    She frantically sprinted back towards the alley, her legs somehow reborn with the strength of a thousand horse. She had lost all politeness and mannerisms, frantically pushing and clawing her way through the packed crowd.

    ‘Where would she be?’ She thought to herself; though more accurately it was the only thing she could think of. She tried her best to recall the little girl’s features; skin the color of cooked sapodilla, eyes dark and wide, small nose, and an obviously slick hand.

    She couldn’t remember anything. She couldn’t think of anything either. Her mind was too tired to recall the girl’s features correctly after the stunt she pulled that morning, and she couldn’t think of anything wiser to do except check the alley’s entrance. So, there she was; a b****y i***t.

    ‘MOTHERFUCKER!’

    Amo violently kicked the nearest thing to her, which happens to be a half-full garbage bin. She paced back and forth, puffing hot air from her lungs as her tired brain raced through the endless possibilities of her lifelong cover ruined.

    Her bag slowly slipped off her shoulders, slumping into the dust-covered sidewalk like deadweight. She took a glimpse of herself on the reflections of slowly moving car windows; her shoulder-length cobalt hair foiled up like a ragdoll, her face pale and littered with sweat and street dust. Her legs soon gave up, and her body joined her bag on the ground. It was half-past five, she was over.

    ‘You rang?’

       Amo quickly looked up at the silhouette standing in front of her; it was the girl, proudly holding a black plastic bag in her hand. Her eyes covered with thick bangs on the front of her head.

    ‘…Why?’ Amo breathed out, her lungs still burned from the inside from rushing back and forth through the heart of the city.

    The little girl simply smiled, not saying a word as she slowly walked past the alley’s entrance; beckoning Amo to follow her. Amo sighed, slowly sorted herself, quickly trailing behind the odd little girl.

    ‘Who are you?’

    ‘Oh, you know who I am,’ The girl giggled; her voice slightly changing a pitch, deeper this time.

    The alley quickly became darker, as the two of them strayed from the city lights and shiny billboards, and the night sky slowly swept over Jakarta. Amo slowed down her pace, taking the distance she’s managed to buy for herself to observe the little girl’s silhouette.

    It was darker than hers, much darker. Amo slowly catches on to what’s going on, and swiftly walked back next to the girl. But the girl abruptly turned her head towards her, her neck bending at an awkward angle. Her bangs slowly slid down her face, making enough room for Amo to peek at the little girl’s eyes.

    Amo’s eyes widen, as she slowly stepped away from the girl. The girl turned her head completely, the bones in her neck making a disgusting cracking sound. Amo’s body froze to the ground.

    ‘Planning an escape, Miss Lova?’

    Amo stepped back a step, her eyes jolting left and right to find somewhere to exit besides the narrow alley opening behind her. Nothing.

    ‘Who sent you?’

    The girl’s body slowly positioned itself to align with her head, emitting the disgusting sound one more time. The girl smiled, and her face begins to melt.

    ‘S-s**t…’

    Amo quickly bit her tongue, focusing her energy on her legs. But her eyes couldn’t help but glue themselves to the girl. Her eyes were bright red, slowly turning into an inky black as her body continued to melt; slowly building itself up to a much larger figure. The figure was large enough to block the closed alley, tall enough to overshadow whatever trash was behind it.

    The cobalt haired girl could only hold her breath, as she watched the skin-colored mud pile slowly closed the distance between them. She tried to inch herself away, to no avail; as the figure was now a mere meter away from her, pulsing and oozing what looked like coagulated blood.

    ‘You were late,’ The figure pointed out, its voice coarse and muddy; though it still had a faint trace of the little girl’s voice.

    ‘I-’

    ‘Oh…But that’s not why he’s mad.’

    Amo paused, fear no longer embedding her body to the earth. She takes a huffed breath, forcing her lungs to take in as much air as possible after holding her breath for so long. She knew who this was, though there were only so many people in the town that had a postural kyphosis.

    ‘How’d he knew?’

    ‘Did you really need to ask?’ The figure replied, its voice now much clearer and more stable.

    The muddy figure slowly shrunk into size, though it was still quite huge compared to her stature. She huffed another breath, slowly inching herself away from the thick left-over blood running through the humid ground.

    ‘W-why are you here?’ Amo stammered, trying her best to regulate her breath as she speaks.

    ‘I don’t know actually,’ Pinot replied nonchalantly, ‘He just sent me to look after you for a bit.’

    ‘And?’

    ‘And…To tell you the meetup spot has been moved.’

    ‘…What?’

    ‘Well none of us can exactly text about these things,’ The man laughed, ‘We need everything off the record.’

    ‘No, you waited to tell me that, after I ran half-way across central?’

    Pinot chuckled at her tone, ‘No need to be so pissed about it, little Lova.’

    ‘Just stop and get outta my way, you old-timer.’  

    Amo stormed back to the end of the alley, her hands quickly tracing through the moss-covered brick wall to find any signature marks.

    She quickly clicked her tongue, ‘Where is he?’

    ‘Okay, firstly, twenty-one isn’t old,’ Pinot replied, jogging back to the end of the alley. ‘Besides, you can’t open s**t without your charms.’

    ‘So, he is here.’

    Pinot sighed, his hands begrudgingly retrieving a small key from his pocket. Amo watched as he briskly plunged the rusted gold key into a small hole, sandwiched between the two marked bricks; making a mental note to herself that the key had a small number engraved at its head, though she couldn’t tell whether it was the number nine or six.

     ‘Did you conceal the alley?’ Amo implored.

    ‘Yeah, just a bit after I led you here,’ The man replied.

    ‘But I didn’t hear you cast a spell,’ Amo pointed out.

    ‘For the last time, you don’t need to do anything specific to do basic magic,’ The man sighed, ‘You just have to visualize it in your head.’

    ‘But I’ve never seen you not use a spell.’

    ‘Well, I’ve learned a bit from someone,’ Pinot shrugged, finally turning the key.

    A faint sound of something clicking echoed through the alley, and the brick wall quickly parted in the middle, forming a small rectangle hole for them to pass through.

    The two slowly treaded inside the wall, the bricks quickly arranging themselves back into place as they stepped in; darkness quickly enveloping them as their only source of light slowly disappeared. The blackness engulfed them. Stretching out in front of the infinite room like a map, the unknown overwhelming them despite the familiarity of it all.

    ‘Watch where you step,’ The man advised.

     ‘Not my first time being here.’

    The golden key began to glow, though only as bright as a matchstick, as it slowly soared back to Pinot’s hand. Pinot slowly strolled through the dark, Amo quietly following behind him. Taking tentative steps, they slowly familiarise themselves with the absence of sound and light. There seemed to be no life behind the darkness. The darkness seemed too dense, with no population, no traces of past living. Though they both know that the place was filled with life, just the types of life they’d rather not disturb. So, they thread their paths cautiously, making sure to avoid stepping on any tails and or limbs. Amo could hear them if she focused hard enough, tiny little squeaks and coughs, its source hidden beneath the darkness.

    They walked in silence for a few moments, taking note of the abundant pairs of eyes there was hidden in the darkness. But soon those eyes become bored and weary of their presence, and they quickly left them to their own devices. Pinot looked around the path, sensing what he can through the darkness, gesturing the cobalt haired girl to walk faster. For they were, as of now, an hour late.

    ‘Why’d you do it?’

    Pinot paused. ‘What?’

    Amo sighed, ‘Why all the effort to take my stuff, why to make me go back and forth through central in rush-hour?’

    ‘It was Inca’s request,’ Pinot calmly replied, making a mental note that he had just stepped in water. ‘She wanted me to make sure you weren’t using magic, I was just having fun with the job.’

    ‘What!?’

    ‘A pretty good call in hindsight,’ The man chuckled, his laughter forced through his teeth.

    ‘What are you saying?’

    ‘You were always careless…’ The man commented, his dark eyes piercing through the Amo’s skull.

    ‘You think I got him killed,’ Amo concluded, her legs coming to a halt.

    ‘You may have not been a spy,’ The man replied, ‘But they could’ve still gotten some use out of you without you knowing.’

    The man said nothing more, his shifting eyes hiding under his thick ebony bangs. He continued walking, focusing on the task he’s been given. Amo soon followed suit, clicking her tongue.

    ‘Does anyone ever trust me?’

    ‘No one trusts anyone right now, Amo.’

    Amo bit her tongue, her mind recoiling itself from his sentence. Pinot said nothing and simply kept walking. The force of gravity seemed to decrease the farther they ventured, and the faint sound of leaking water slowly swelled into a clear resonance of splashing water.

    The two of them quickly began to lift off the ground and slowly float in the air, their bodies seemingly lighter than a feather. Pinot glanced behind himself, briefly checking if Amo was still following him; and slightly startling himself to how close Amo was compared to his expectation. Digressing no longer, he quickly flipped his body upside down, his head now facing up from the ground.

    ‘You sure you know where we’re heading?’ Amo quizzed, slightly struggling to turn herself upside down.

    ‘Relax little Lova, I know it’s gotta be here somewhere,’ Pinot replied, waving the golden key around like an old woman trying to find her car in a tightly packed parking lot.

    ‘Sure thing, old man,’ Amo sighed, floating above the man and quickly tossing him a small metal ball. 

    Before the man could say anything, the ball began to glow, its bright ray identical to the golden key’s hue. Pinot sighed, wasting no time to inspect the metal ball; trying his best to ignore Amo’s presence above him and her obnoxiously long floating cobalt hair whisking in front of his face.

    The ball itself had nine keyholes, all differently shaped and numbered. With each key, there was a small slit of the line connecting the top of the keyhole to the center of the metal ball. In the center of the ball, there was a grape-sized hole that seemed to lead right into the core of the ball, though it was to remain sealed until a key had entered the right keyhole.

    ‘Get ready,’ Pinot warned.

    Amo nodded and quickly braced herself, as Pinot carefully plunged the key into one of the holes and turn it upwards. A faint clicking sound echoed through the spacious room, and the key quickly traveled through one of the slits. The final hole slowly unsealed itself, and the key mechanically slides down the hole.

    ‘Oh no…’

    ‘What?’

    ‘It’s room six, isn’t it?’

    And as Amo finished her words, what once was a noticeable sound of splashing water suddenly went boom. Amo screamed in terror as a monstrous mass of water suddenly swirled under them, forming a thunderous whirlpool. Pinot quickly let’s go off the ball, which was no longer glowing and retrieved his golden key.

    The key was glowing brighter than ever, as the water loomed over them; and all Amo’s mind could think of is scream over the swirling water below her.

    ‘Just relax!’

    ‘How!?’

    But before Pinot could answer, the water had already swallowed them whole. Amo screamed in frustration as her lungs quickly filled water, the intense waves quickly sweeping her floating body as if she were a feather. At the moment the freezing water rushes in, it was too late to undo anything. All she could hear was the intense flashes of water, as her blurry vision observed Pinot trying his best to swim and reach his hand out to her. But she quickly diverted her eyes to the water, its blue swirling waves highlighted by the golden key’s ethereal glow, and the water suddenly became still.

    She looked back to Pinot, who had managed to swim half his distance to her. He frantically gestured her to use a spell before the air in her lungs dissipate, but she merely shook her head and pointed up.

    The water began to evaporate, its volume decreasing ever so steady, revealing a new yet familiar environment behind it. Pinot sighed, before quickly pulled Amo by her hand, guiding them back down to the ground, which was now a polished wooden floor. The blanket of water had almost disappeared, leaving nothing but a thin curtain that separates them from the meeting room.

    The light came to like the thick silk curtains of an imaginary theatre. It was as if the darkness had been a small part of a play and the rest was yet to come after the brief intermission of daytime. Amo let her eyes wander the furniture, the audience to the dramas still quite hidden behind the water. As usual, her eyes wandered through the room to gaze at the people, to peek into the atmosphere... the spectacle that was given when all else was taken.

    Behind the water was a fairly-organized and polished studio room; complete with a set of computers, chairs, and a spacious meeting table. It had even adorned a spacious window, displaying the busy streets outside. It was quite nice if it weren’t for the oddly tense atmosphere suffocating the room.

    She could feel Pinot’s gaze piercing through the side of her skull as if to say, ‘Don’t f**k this up.’

    The cobalt haired girl sighed, just a few seconds after all the water finally dissipated and seeped inside the floorboards.

    ‘This is why I hate this city.’

    All eyes quickly focused on her, all attention excruciatingly pilled on her. She could feel Pinot’s gaze on the side of her skull as if to remind her what he just told her not to do. She sighed, gesturing Pinot to walk first, an act of cowardice of her part. The floor creaked softly as Pinot walked, his eyes shifting towards the empty seats.

    From the middle of the room was a tall and trim man, jogging back and forth at a painfully angry pace. He quickly stopped as he saw the two of them, his soot-black hair tangled and slightly prickly from the stressful pulling against his scalp.   

    ‘Well, look who decided to finally show up!’

    The rest of the room quickly looked down, avoiding all eye contact with their vengeful leader. His shadow casting an indescribable fear and control, as he slowly strolled to the newly arrived members.

    Amo stood her ground, with Pinot just a couple of steps in front of her. This wasn’t new to her; the heavy air, the anger. But something amid it all seemed off, and she quickly noticed that no one had tried to stop the fuming man. She looked around the room, noticing that even Inca and Vincent had remained in their seats. It was odd, but understandable given the circumstance.

    ‘Yeah, my bad,’ Pinot muttered, quickly absorbing the heated atmosphere in the room.

    ‘Why’d we change location?’ Amo inquired.

    ‘Do you really not know what’s going on, or are you playing dumb?’

      ‘Lay off the girl, Ralph.’

    ‘Or what!?’

    But before Pinot could answer, Ralph had already gone past him, violently holding Amo by the arm. He slowly twisted her arm, his mouth struggling to form any coherent sentence.

    ‘You…’

    ‘I-’

    ‘Do you have any idea of what you’ve done!’

    ‘Ralph that is enough!’

    Pinot grabbed the man by the shoulder, but his hand was quickly twisted away. Pinot tried yanking his arm away, the sharp feeling of his pulled muscle slowly taking over him. But Ralph was intent on not letting go. The taller man roughly twisted his arm behind him, making sure to linger for a few seconds before letting his body drop on to the wooden floor.

    Pinot struggled to get back up, his slightly arched back giving him a hard time gaining balance; yet despite his struggle, he didn’t quite appreciate Amo’s sudden pity. She quickly rushed to his aid, helping him back up, making quite a show of it in front of all the other members, including Ralph.

    ‘Are you okay?’

    ‘Oh, don’t you worry about little Pinot, Amo.’

    Amo bit her tongue, her eyes glued to the tall shadow looming over her.

    ‘Let’s just get to the trial,’ The man ordered.

    ‘Okay I think that’s a bit much,’ A voice quickly cuts off, it was Inca.

    Amo recollected herself, dusting off the remains of the outside dust and dirt to make herself slightly presentable; as she quickly realized, that it was an almost full house tonight. Though the word “full” could be used sparingly, as the remainder of their entire province only consisted of twelve members without Andrew. It was expected, however, seeing as PURE mainly focused on big and rural provinces to gain bigger numbers on their status report.

    Though something seemed rather off, as out of the twelve members, three were missing. Though it didn’t take long for Amo to notice who was absent; there was an irrefutable pattern, though that was a thought for another time.

    ‘We have all the proof we need,’ Ralph countered, his voice forced through his gritted teeth.

    ‘Don’t bring your emotions into this,’ Inca hissed, the two just two meters from each other. ‘Look, I know you were close with Andrew but-’

    ‘But what!?’

    ‘If I remember correctly,’ Vincent quickly cuts off, ‘You said you had other theories in mind.’

    ‘No one else fits the case!’ Ralph barked back.

    Inca quickly got up from her seat, ready to cast a spell; but Vincent quickly held on to her. Stopping her from fighting back as Ralph continues to cuss at her. The rest of the members quickly try to get Ralph to sit back down. Now this part was most definitely not planned.

    ‘Fine!’

    The havoc stopped, all eyes pointed back at the cobalt haired girl; observing cautiously as she picks up an unattended seat and sits by the meeting table. The members chattered among themselves, leaving the rest of the conflict to simmer. She could feel Ralph watching her from the distance, his eyes resembling that of a monstrous creature, waiting to prowl.

    ‘If you want to go straight to trials, it's fine,’ Amo stated, to which she didn’t mean to sound so weak.

    ‘Amo, we had other suspects,’ Inca said softly.

    'Had?’ She quickly pointed out.

    The room quickly went cold, and everything seemed to have fallen into place. It was quite rational for witches and wizards to change hideouts after hearing the news about Andrew. Everything was rational. The traffic, the missing people, the one-man suspect…

    ‘I’m guessing that’s why we changed location?’

    Amo finally sat down, quickly joined by the others who haven’t. She had known from the moment her charms were stolen, she had the feeling. The sudden cold beat in her heart that comes with each time it happened, there was no mistaking it.

    ‘What was the damage?’ She finally asked.

            Ralph’s expression twisted between anger and mourn, as he gestured the man next to him to answer. The man was quite bear-like in the figure, his towering figure and midnight skin and curly dark hair contrasting the white walls, fitting for his title as the district’s gatekeeper. However, being tasked of guarding the hideout has never stopped him from being soft, to say sparingly. He nudged back at Ralph, not wanting to answer the question.

    ‘Samuel, I know you have the data,’ Amo sighed, prompting the man to shrink into his seat.

    ‘They bombed around Yogyakarta, they got all the remaining hideouts.’

    Silence echoed through the room, as the bad news started to sink in. Amo’s head slowly faced the table, observing her fidgeting hands as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world. She couldn’t accept it, she didn’t want to; but the words sank too deep in her mind for it to be false.

    ‘Yogyakarta’s a wasteland,’ Ralph muttered, his hands gripping the edge of the table.

    ‘Andrew had visited the place a couple of times, he knows where all the hideouts are,’ Sam uttered, ‘I suspected they interrogated the locations out of him before they-’

    ‘We don’t know that yet,’ Ralph quickly cuts off.

    ‘It could’ve been a spy that got the info out, and they killed him off once they had no use for him,’ A woman stated, reciting Ralph’s theory.

    ‘And it all circled back to you,’ Ralph added.

    Amo looked at the woman sitting across from Ralph, still adorning her usual leather jacket and ripped jeans. Rachel had joined the group three years ago, just a couple of weeks after PURE ratted out her previous hideout. She could see why she had favored Ralph’s side on this, the deep scar across her left eye reminding her of what had happened not long ago.

    The group began to whisper among themselves, the acoustics of the room so unspoiled that any piece of salacious gossip reverberated around the space with indecent efficiency. If the old members were as good at transmitting their work-related information they would be the break-out district firm in the city. But they’re not. They were just a bunch of random strangers who were lucky enough to survive the rampage, spreading rumors, accusations, and unsavory complaints out of pure fear.

    ‘I’m not a spy,’ Amo stated, her words falling on deaf ears.

    ‘Then why have you been following him?’ Ralph growled.

    ‘I-’

    ‘We’re focusing on the wrong thing,’ Pinot cut off.

    The room halted, and Pinot gestured towards a woman in the poorly lighted side of the round table. A pale, slick-haired woman with swallow-tailed eyes stands up from her seat. It appears she had already made strategies. 

    ‘From what we’ve gathered so far, we just lost our fastest magic caster,’ Holy stated, ignoring the murmuring group, ‘And one of the most populated hideouts in Indonesia has just been bombed.’

    The group begins to talk among themselves, doubtful.

    ‘So, if we don’t move soon this damned district would be next!’ Another woman barked, banging her fist on the table.

    The crowd halted, with Amo visibly shifting away from the woman sitting next to her. The woman was still adorning her usual secretary attire, though her usual stone-faced demeanor has been long thrown out the window. Amo looked back at Holy and Pinot, the two of them seemed to be in the same state of shock.

    Amo leaned back in her seat, letting Sarah continue; though her mind was absent through the conversation. She had to think for herself, for what the moment had present the district had already been divided long ago. Though this situation was new, what had been a lingering conflict had escalated. Too many differing opinions, too many ideas on what to do. Yet she could tell for certain that they had no reserves.

    ‘A train wreck,’ Amo absently thought, though she hadn’t realized she had said it aloud.

    ‘Excuse me?’ A voice snarled, it was Sarah.

    ‘N-no, never mind…Sorry.’

    ‘I don’t want what happened today to happen to us,’ Sarah stated, her voice steadily faltering back to its original volume. ‘And we need to do anything, this is not it.’

    ‘Sarah’s right,’ Pinot added, ‘We can focus on rebuilding first before finding a potential spy.’

    ‘What good is rebuilding if the rat’s still sniffing around?’ Ralph scoffed.

    ‘We don’t even know if there is a rat,’ Inca refuted.

    ‘What’s important now is to lay low and try to regroup with others,’ Vincent added, ‘Hell knows we need it.’

    ‘We need reinforcements from other hideouts,’ Pinot quickly said.

    ‘Don’t get ahead of yourself,’ Ralph growled.

    ‘We have nine rooms in this place including a potion garden and a lab,’ Inca replied, ‘We could use more charm users.’

    Amo shifted in her seat.

    ‘I had a plan to rig up security cameras around the entrances, possibly get data from the cameras around central,’ Vincent added, ‘Maybe I can find out a possible spy from last night, I just need an extra pair of hands.’

    ‘We need heavy duty magic casters to reinforce our security system,’ Sam added.

    ‘Maybe there are still some survivors from Yogyakarta,’ Rachel sighed, ‘I can get in contact with some of my old mates in there.’

    ‘Maybe we can get in contact with the rest of the members too,’ Amo added, ‘I-if they’re still out there.’

    ‘No, you don’t get to have a say in this!’

    ‘Ralph…’

    Amo recoiled, realizing that Ralph had only got progressively angrier over the sudden wave of need piling up on the meeting table. This was not her time to speak, so she bit her tongue and let her sentence fall short.

    ‘He’s right,’ Rachel uttered, earning a smug grin from Ralph.

    Amo could feel her soul retreat as Rachel stared at her, the scar on her face looked so foul and painful; yet couldn’t stop looking.

    ‘You’re still a suspect,’ Rachel warned, ‘And honestly, I wouldn’t hope for too much after today.’

    ‘I have to agree, the best thing we could do for now is to lay low,’ Vincent added, ‘But that’s not to say we should do nothing.’

    ‘So, what should we do?’

    ‘Well, I’m glad it’s my time to talk now,’ Ralph bitterly remarked, getting up from his seat.

    He rose up from his chair, his left-hand fumbling around his pocket, retrieving a small plastic pouch containing a spoonful of coarse amber-colored powder. Its peculiar hue seemed to shimmer behind the transparent pouch. He carelessly poured the powder on the white table, his eyes slowly beginning to glow in a similar hue to the powder. And before the whispers started to form again, the powder lifted from the table, forming a simple map of Indonesia.

    ‘We need to do something about our security,’ Ralph ordered, ‘Though I wouldn’t suggest any of you to find new recruits.’

    Amo could never understand the nature of those types of people, the complexity of silent spellcasters. Visualizing and memorizing the effects of each spell to cast it, it was unbearably impossible; yet there he was. A middle-aged accountant with mood-swings matching that of a Dufan rollercoaster, who was ten times cleverer than any other witch in the room. She would point out that he was still thinking out of his heart, but then again, she was merely a high school girl.

    ‘How about we focus on finding our old members first?’ Sarah suggested.

    ‘Or we could fix our security system first,’ Holly interrupted.

    ‘How about you both shut up,’ Ralph snapped.

    The two women recoiled, and their eyes quickly shifted towards the white meeting table. Inca had looked as if she were about to protest, but something inside her had decided to give up on trying.

    ‘Firstly, Amo’s under house arrest,’ Ralph announced.

    ‘What? why?’

    But before the cobalt haired girl could protest further, Rachel had already placed her hand on her mouth. The strong odor of smoke and ash briskly invading her senses. She could hardly hear the woman saying that Inca would keep watch on her for the time being, though the slight nod from Ralph had given her the info.

    ‘Second, we need to find security footage from the night Andrew had gone out,’ Ralph said, his eyes darting towards Vincent.

    ‘We could get help from around town, you know who I mean.’

    Ralph paused for a moment, clicking his tongue before nodding.

    ‘I’ll get you in touch with her.’

    The crowd stirs as their leader fiddled with the map, weaving his hands around the levitating powder to shape it. He acted as if it was a tablet, though he was impatient enough to swat the powder here and there to get rid of excess parts. With a short time, the map of Indonesia had been refined to a map of Jakarta, with their hideout as a middle ground. It had contained everything from MRT routes, to shady back streets.

    ‘Now, we get to the risky part,’ The man growled, ‘We know for a fact our security’s been compromised, the problem is how and how.’

    He gestured at the glowing amber map on the center of the table, circling all possible entrance and route to the alley Andrew got killed. Where ever he circled on the map, the amber dust turned to a light shade of maroon. Amo had noticed the light outside had shifted, the noon sky accentuating the bright hue of the amber map.

    ‘How number one, how’d they manage to get a hold of Andrew.’

    ‘You’re taking account the possibility of multiple people,’ Amo pointed out, ‘It would take maybe two to corner him, but any more than that would draw attention.’

    ‘Yes, I’m also taking account of the possibility of a spy and other magic users,’ Ralph replied, ‘Well, you’d know.’

    ‘Shut up.’

    ‘Well, since you’re on house arrest I suggest you work on the first how,’ Ralph snarled.

    ‘I don’t need to make up an alibi.’

    Ralph chuckled, ignoring what Amo had said. He gestured at the glowing amber map on the center of the table, circling specific parts of the hideouts; entrances, exits, weak spots. The circled part of the map glowed a bit different from the others, though not quite a different color.

    ‘How number two, how would they use him other than to promote themselves?’

    Sam cleared his throat. ‘Well we have a wide range of possibilities, we can’t just pinpoint-’

    ‘They were looking for more,’ Rachel quickly said.

    ‘Precisely,’ Ralph replied, ‘They were targeting the big fish to get to the smaller ones.’

    ‘So, we need security upgrades,’ Pinot muttered.

    ‘Problem is we don’t have the manpower,’ Sam quickly voiced.

    ‘I’m not risking getting help from outside,’ Sarah cuts off, realizing eyes are starting to point at her.

    Rachel banged her foot on the table, sitting leisurely on her chair. She pays no mind as she raises her feet up and rests them on the white wooden table, though one is expected to put some thought to be that degree of amusing.

    ‘We’ll find our old members,’ The punk stated.

    ‘Well for all we know they’re in a body bag,’ Pinot muttered, incoherent enough so that no one could make out what he just said.

    ‘We?’ Holy pointed out.

    ‘I’m not risking it,’ Sarah said once more.

    ‘We as in, me and whoever the f**k wants to join me,’ The punk scoffed.

    ‘The rest of you try and fix this shithole around these areas while Inca and Vincent get the security footage.’

    ‘Wait, just the two of us?’ Vincent quickly protested.

    ‘I’m not risking valuable resources,’ Ralph said absently.

    ‘W-wait that’s not-’

    ‘Meeting’s over! Everyone get the hell outta here!’ Ralph quickly said, followed by loud sounds of everyone getting up from their chairs.

    ‘You’re just gonna leave us to fend for ourselves?’ Vincent asked.

    ‘It is a bit unfair,’ Inca added, though she didn’t seem to possess the same worry as Vincent.

    Amo had got out of her chair with the others, though she had lingered for a few seconds with them, just to see how Ralph would respond. It has been quite a while since anyone needed help from people outside their hideout, most notably with the person they’re referring to.

    Ralph quickly waved his hand on top of the map he had created, before quickly snapping his fingers. The floating amber powder sank to the table and turned dark, no longer usable.

    ‘Didn’t I tell you to leave?’ Ralph said.

    ‘I’m not about to risk my life trying to get security footage,’ Vincent replied.

    Inca seemed to stay idle, knowing full well that the conversation wouldn’t have much fruit. The rouge haired girl noticed Amo still in the room, and quietly gestured towards the door.

    ‘So?’

    ‘So…’

    The two high school girls quietly stared into the nightscape of Jakarta, as the city bus quietly takes them outside the heart of the city. Amo’s hands clenched on the fabric of her skirt, unused to the emptiness of the space. She faked a cough, slightly breaking the silence between them.

    ‘House arrest, huh?’ Inca asked.

    ‘Guess I have to tell my dealer to stop stocking me for a while,’ The younger girl mumbled, making sure that only Inca can hear her.

    ‘Well, it takes a month for fresh “ingredients” to get to Jakarta, so I don’t think you’d have to worry about that,’ Inca whispered, her eyes scanning through the bus to see if anyone had looked at them.

    ‘I’m not even allowed access to my lab,’ Amo whispered back.

    ‘Probably for the best,’ The rouge haired girl replied.

    ‘That’s not what I mean.’

    The two of them stayed silent for a while, watching their school bags shake with the momentum of the bus. Everything seemed unbearably dead, as the moon slowly rose beneath the forest of concrete; only to be covered by a thick veil of the rain cloud. The packed bus seemed to only consist of tired middle-classed Indonesians, with the sole exception of a sleeping baby at the end of the bus. They were all tired, exhausted beyond sleep; and so were the witches.

    ‘How are you doing with Vincent?’ The cobalt haired girl whispered.

    ‘On the security footage?’

    ‘I mean, it has been a while since you saw her,’ Amo replied, ‘It is 2019 after all.’

    Inca paused, before finally replying, ‘I think I’ll be fine.’

    ‘She’s a snake,’ Amo stated, her voice slightly rising above a whisper.

    ‘Yes, but she’s my snake,’ The older girl replied.

    ‘Don’t you think what happened with Andrew and Yogyakarta would have changed her?’

    ‘We’ve been through worse.’

     ‘That doesn’t mean you should take it lightly.’

    Inca sighed, her hands subconsciously scrunching down the sides of her skirt to find her phone. Amo took notice but lets it slide, knowing that they were both too exhausted for today.

    ‘We’ll get through this, darling,’ Inca said, her eyes glued to the nightscape.

    ‘Without a doubt,’ Amo chuckled, the image of the dead boy flashing in the back of her head.