Daniel was on the other side of the room, parallel to where Well was. Unlike Well, he was not done looking for clues yet. He examined the stationary table with his fingers. There were random things that he touched. Without the guidance coming from the torch light of his phone, he could barely even tell what those stuff were. He lit up the torch light and focused it on the table. When the light shone through the surface of the table, everything became clear. There were pens, pencils, a couple of sticky notes, crumpled colored papers, and there were also used and unused red candles that felt out of place because considering the rest of the things on the table, they were all school supplies. Candles weren't considered the same, right? It definitely did not belong there. But why were they there? “Okay, first of all, this is the weirdest thing I have seen for today?” Daniel said as he stepped his feet two leaps away from the table brimming with stuff that did not make any sense. “What is
Coach Sonashi has decided to let me leave early so that I could rest and prepare for a harder day tomorrow. Even up until now, I still find it very hard to believe that I actually made it to the coaching staff of the school's basketball varsity team. Although the role that I have right now is no similar to the role that I have before (which is an ace player and an MVP), I am still feeling grateful and positively motivated because, who wouldn't be proud representing and supporting his school for the last time, huh? Louis Peters and I are now on our way out of the school's sports stadium. I ask him if where he is going next and he said that he might actually just go straight to his apartment because he is so tired and he is going to call it a day. So, with that being said, I have no choice but to go home as well since it's already four o'clock in the afternoon. I reckon the basketball practice will finish anywhere between five o'clock to six o'clock, and that is according to the time f
It has already been a week since the viral photo of me and Louis Peters has wrecked the internet and now I am very much rather thankful because finally, the waves have calmed down. We can now walk through the corridors and hallways without being talked about, we can now eat snacks in the cafeteria peacefully without being pressured to answer their daring yet nuisance question, and we can now freely browse our I*******m feeds without seeing our faces edited out into a 'Rumour has it' kind of stuff where on the caption would often contain about crazy speculations and rumours about him and me. But what is crazier than that though is the fact that some people have actually told Louis Peters and I that we should court each other. I mean, if that is not some sort of a hypothetical embarrassment, then I don't know what is. Okay so for the record, the line up for the school's basketball team has already been finalised last Friday and today, Monday, is going to be the first official training
If not because of the sharp glimmers of sunshine rays penetrating through the tiny holes of the roof and hitting directly on his skin, Well would not be able to realize that it was late in the morning already.He opened his eyes, scrubbed them hardly with his fingers, as he slowly lifted himself up from the broken swivel chair where he spent the rest of the night sleeping. His legs were still noodles. He could barely even feel any sensation on his feet; he could not feel the surface of the ground, he could not feel the cold temperature of the room, he could not feel almost anything. It was only then when the room had been lightened by the sun that everything inside made a little more sense. To Well, it indeed really looked like a boutique room. A stockroom, perhaps. There was a broken refrigerator, cupboards, broken chairs of different sorts, scraps and metals and other useless materials that just did not compute as to why they ended up being there, and a lot more. However, other tha
Well would like to think that he was just being delusional again. I mean, considering all the crazy stuff that had happened the night prior to this, he had all the rights to get confused. Anyone who was in his position could have been in the same confusion. While waiting for the waiter to go back to him to give him his bill, Well stared at the window pane again. But this time, he was not anticipating anything at all. He was not convincing himself that he would see Daniel again. He was not making himself believe it would be worth a shot expecting something to pop out of the frame. He just stared there, eyes were blank, mind was a puddle. “Excuse me, Sir. Here is your bill for the cup of coffee,” says the waiter that eventually ended his long, blank, meaningless gaze at the window glass. He stared at the bill. Two dollars. He questioned himself; how could that simple cup of coffee with no sugar and only three punches of espresso cost much more than a dollar? But then again, he did not
The cars sped past in front of him. Black smoke blew off his face, the disgusting smell of it tingled his nostrils in the most annoying way. Well could have just easily escaped the embarrassing situation only if he ever thought of running. But considering the odds, it seemed like it did not even bother to cross his mind. What Well did instead was to walk at his fastest pace until he reached the other end of the pedestrian lane. There, people were as fast and as quick as the cars. Busy. Topsy-turvy. That was how Well would describe the scenario the moment he landed a foot on the other side. It was as if an entirely different world. However, he was fully aware that it was nothing but just another block of skyscrapers and tall buildings that was obviously an extension of the New Bill. It was still part of the New Bill. The extreme uncomfort, immense anxiety, and utter suffocation Well felt were enough manifestations to conclude that he was still in New Bill. Feeling an imaginary scrape
"Thank you so much," Well said to the taxi driver as soon as he paid him the money and got out of the car. Well's heart thumped fast and loud. Every beat of it went exactly on the same pace as his feet. He could not tell if he was just tired, or if he was really, really unsettled. Of course, it had to be the latter. Before the taxi driver rolled down his window, he said something to Well. "Do not hesitate to call 911 whenever you feel like you are in danger, sir. It is better to be safe than sorry." He cleared his throat. He was about to run the engine on but suddenly he remembered the conversation was not yet over. So, he furthered his warnings. "But according to what most of the people here in this place believe, the police department here is only as crooked and as evil as the burglars. I'd rather you go and contact anyone you trust and ask help from them instead. Who knows they are more reliable that the so called cops of New Bill who know nothing but to rest on cloud nine and en
A knock on the door had caught the attention of Well, making him jump off of the couch and run all the way past the living room to twist the door knob open. It was a hotel clerk, bringing a bar cart with him that contained a full course meal. IT was only then when Well realized that it was already lunch time. “Hi, Sir, Good day. As part of the VIP subscriber benefit, we offer you this free full meal course of the day. Enjoy!” The hotel clerk greeted Well with a vibrant smile plastered on his face. “Oh, thank you! I did not know you have stuff like this. Good thing I have not prepared my lunch yet, so you came just in time,” Well answered, although inside his head, he was already questioning the authenticity of the words coming from the mouth of the hotel clerk. The hotel clerk fixed his red bowtie that looked like a big stain of blood on his white inner polo shirt, and then maneuvered the trolly to the direction of the living room. “May I?” he asked, probably preferring to whether
“Nowadays, it is not only tangible things that are stolen. Culprits and stalkers like them are often sent out in the world to steal impossible things like information and codes. I believe that is the thing that keeps them from running after us. Because if it is only a material thing, they could have stolen it long before already. But it’s different. They are needing a piece of information, and only the best of the best spies and culprits can do it. Only those who are willing to risk their lives and last breath only to get their ears closer to the information that their bosses need,” Binsent Anchorman explained. “Okay, okay. Hold on, why are we here again? Because, technically, since I am now an official member of the alliance, am I not right to know the basics of this group? Like, what are we working for? And who? And why? And basically all the questions you think I need the answer from?” Arjay chimed in, standing by the end of the bleacher together with Allen Mar. Even up until this
Binsent Anchorman, together with Well, Arjay, and Allen Mar gathered all together onto the bleachers that were lining up outside of the church. “It has come to my attention that you are being followed. Now that we are here, somewhere that is least expected by the people to see us being gathered, I doubt if stalkers will still come after us,” Binsent Anchorman said as he laid down his suitcase on the ground. He was the first among them four to sit on the bleachers. This time, he was wearing a funny, little hat that did not match his tuxedo outfit at all. However, one thing that Allen Mar and Well could assure was that, in that outfit, he looked like their late friend, his twin brother, Detective Deib Anchorman. Well slouched down next to Binsent Anchorman; his eyes had been wondering around as if they were two little footage cameras scanning for possible threats around them. “I am now starting to question our presence in this city. Us being stalked remains a mystery to me. But one th
Binsent Anchorman, together with Well, Arjay, and Allen Mar gathered all together onto the bleachers that were lining up outside of the church. “It has come to my attention that you are being followed. Now that we are here, somewhere that is least expected by the people to see us being gathered, I doubt if stalkers will still come after us,” Binsent Anchorman said as he laid down his suitcase on the ground. He was the first among them four to sit on the bleachers. This time, he was wearing a funny, little hat that did not match his tuxedo outfit at all. However, one thing that Allen Mar and Well could assure was that, in that outfit, he looked like their late friend, his twin brother, Detective Deib Anchorman. Well slouched down next to Binsent Anchorman; his eyes had been wondering around as if they were two little footage cameras scanning for possible threats around them. “I am now starting to question our presence in this city. Us being stalked remains a mystery to me. But one t
In the taxi, nothing much had happened other than a small conversation involving Well, Binset Anchorman, and some interesting and trivial things about the late Detective Deib Anchorman, his twin brother. It was surely a wholesome moment. It was surely a wholesome conversation. But if not for the fact that Well was the one that initiated the conversation, none of those would have ever existed. “I only met Detective Deib Anchorman for like a couple of days,” Well started two minutes just when the engine started. “And just like you, he started as a taxicab driver, too. I met him when I asked for a taxi who can send me to the nearest ATM station because I just lost my phone and I needed to buy something. He was the one who accompanied me to the Octagon Shop where I was able to find myself a new phone. He was a good man, indeed. I don’t think if I have said this earlier, but this is something that I was not able to tell him. I was too selfish to even inform him how good of a man he was,” We
Just when Well arrived at the ground floor, he noticed some coalition of people not far from where he was standing. Intrigued by the on going noises, he went to see what was happening over there. After a few more meters of walking, he finally figured out what that mess was all about. Simple. It was primarily because over there was a food hall and the reason why he could hear metals banging against each other was because they were spoons and forks, and noisy people who were trying to satisfy themselves with the food that they eat. Apparently, it triggered the growling of Well’s stomach. All of a sudden, he wanted to dive into the line too to get himself something to feed for his angry tummy. Convinced that there was no time for his social anxieties anymore, he absentmindedly fell in line. He tucked his wallet out of his pants’ left pocket and draw out his credit card. Finally, he could eat now. It took him roughly ten to fifteen minutes to finally make it to the counter. There, he ord
With both of his hands clasping against each other, Well shot a gaze through the busy hallway. He saw nurses in the rush, assistants going back and forth and to and from different rooms, doctors running with their shoelaces untangled, and other more disturbing and unusual things for Well but were considered normal and part of the routine in any hospitals. Well decided to go for a stroll outside the hospital and find something to eat. He had not eaten anything since lunch time, and he barely even finished his food back in the tavern because of Allen Mar’s intuitive conversation with the bloke man about the three suspicious men in suit initiating a negotiation talk with the secret society’s leader. Time check, it was already ten minutes past seven in the evening. Around this time, Well should have had in his bed already– ready to sleep because tomorrow was going to be another day full of unwanted surprises– but here he was now, in the hospital, with someone he only knew less than ten hou
His nerves had never been feeling this tight. The flowing of blood all over his body had been insufficient, but the only thing he ever had in his mind was Allen Mar. He kept thinking of him. He kept thinking and thinking and thinking of him. Questions spun around his brain; ‘How was the operation?’ ‘Will he be okay?’ ‘Will he survive?’ ‘What are the odds of him dying?’ ‘Was the doctor not joking when he said that Allen Mar’s injury was serious and could even bring up his death if certain actions had not been taken immediately?’ With both of his hands clasping against each other, Well shot a gaze through the busy hallway. He saw nurses in the rush, assistants going back and forth and to and from different rooms, doctors running with their shoelaces untangled, and other more disturbing and unusual things for Well but were considered normal and part of the routine in any hospitals. Fully convinced that the operation will take longer than expected, Well decided to go for a stroll outside
Detective Deib Anchorman was the first to make it close to the manhole. When he got there, he drew his ear closer to the ground floor. “I don’t hear anything,” he said after five seconds of focusing all his hearing senses on the ground. “I am supposed to be hearing footsteps and cranking guns and indistinct chatters coming from the soldiers, but I don’t hear anything right now. “Is that supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing?” Well asked, his heart had been pounding so fast and so strong it was no different compared to a jack hammer used in smacking a hardened soil. Allen Mar chimed into the conversation and then corrected Well, “It is supposed to be a good thing, I believe. The detective not hearing anything from above only means that the soldiers have not returned from the search yet. That means we will have enough time to make it out here and perhaps even out of the vicinity as well. Although the latter would be so dangerous, and I don’t think our chances of success are that
Different scenarios had been playing in his head to the extent that he was lost already and could not distinguish the reality from the hallucinations. Hope had been the only chance he had. And although his abdomen churned in fear, and the back of his neck had been filled with goosebumps, Well only braved the situation and sat on one of the chairs at the waiting area, believing in his friend, Allen Mar that he would survive the operation no matter what. Prayers came out of his lips unconsciously without him knowing it. Fully convinced that the operation will take longer than expected, Well decided to go for a stroll outside the hospital and find something to eat. He had not eaten anything since lunch time, and he barely even finished his food back in the tavern because of Allen Mar’s intuitive conversation with the bloke man about the three suspicious men in suit initiating a negotiation talk with the secret society’s leader. Time check, it was already ten minutes past seven in the ev