Wandering some distance from the underground camp, Jack stopped, glancing over his shoulder to find a nearest resting spot as he walks over to a street bench which was still intact and sits on it, seeing this Jian does the same as she sits beside him, removing her half top hat from her head and placing it besides her on the bench as they both look silently at the crimson moon light dyeing red hue in the surrounding environment, they both remained silent as if trying to feel and hear what the forsaken night is trying to say, but moments later Jack broke the silence as he change his sitting posture, resting his back against the Creaking! bench as he crossed his legs slightly...
"I've always come sit here at night anytime am trying to understand something greater than me, you know"..... He said as his deep calm voice echoed silently in the densely quiet night, his face as serious and indiscernible as always as he continued frankly...."And when am here, just sitting".... he pauses before continuing...."I always understand what am thinking".......He concluded as he changed his sitting posture again, clasping both of his hands together, he said as his voice seemed to hold a hint of confusion....
"But this time it's different, i have been sitting here all day just trying to understand the situation we are in, but the more i sit here, the more it's get more confusing.... would anyone have thought that five hours ago it was just 11:00 in the morning when suddenly it became night, and a very strange night especially"...... He said as his voice faded in the densely quiet night as if it didn't have any life on it,
" The world change without any prior warning, and in order to survive it, we have to learn and adapt "...... Jian calmly said as her gaze landed on Jack who is sitting next to her in deep thought as if it's his last,
looking at him Jian continued...."Relax....." she said as she pats his left shoulders with her left hand pushing him slightly she continued...." We would figure out a way, as long as we are alive".... She concluded as the wind hallowed silently around them...
Remembering he saw her with someone earlier, Jack asked in curiosity... " If I may ask, who was that lady that wanted to talk with you ? ".
Hearing this, a sinister smile curled on Jian face as her brows lifted slightly, she opened her mouth..... " Oooh, look at you ".... She said before concluding.... " Are you interested? "
Bam!
A loud Knock! landed on her head, making her place both hands on her head as she silently grumbled,
" I just wanted to ask and nothing else ".... Jack said as he turns his head away, slightly pissed before Jian open her mouth
" Alright I get it, I get it " .... She said as she paused before continuing... " She is Viola "
Hearing this Jack looks at her, a little bit shock he said.... " Viola, the bully girl you talked about from your highschool "...
Jian nodded slight in reply as she rests her back against the Creaking! bench, leaning her head up slightly she calmly said... " Yeah, and she said she wanted to talk with me "
"Don't you think she already knows who you are ?".... He asked, as Jian answered him frankly with a stern expression..
" I know, I've noticed she knows already "... She said while still leaning and looking up
Hearing this, Jack tries to put his words together, before saying.... " I know am in no position to say this but, have you forgiven.... no, I mean are you still angry with her ? " ..... He said as Jian who was looking up, for a moment glanced at him before looking up again, she said calmly as a slight smile curled on her face
" I didn't think am that angry at her anymore but , for the forgiveness, I think I'll wait until after the discussion, by then I'll decide and besides if it was Diana, am sure she would have already forgiven her already ".... She paused for a moment as a flash of Diana passed her mind before continuing. " Am sure of it, and also Viola seemed to change, her behavior since the moment I met her in that company, she seems like another person entirely, well it might be a good thing but, that doesn't still change the fact that Diana is still in a coma for 10 years now, after the discussion between Viola and I, am going to the hospital to bring Diana to the camp, cause the hospital wouldn't be safe anymore".... She concluded as everywhere became densely quiet before Jack muttered in a silent but hearable voice
" Un-forgiveness is an unbearable burden, a burden that weighs us down the longer we keep it, as it doesn't just weakens us , it also chains us until we become fragile and fall apart broken and unfixable, so be careful and don't hurt yourself, for every emotions and burdens carried, adds a weight to our soul, a weight that pulls us down to the depths, even till the end"...... He said as his voice slowly faded through the misty red fog in this deeply, silently strange night, a mysterious night that not even the world could tell how it's going to end.....
..........
Moments later Jian had a thought, as her mind wandered off in the case she missed, so she sat up straight and asked
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" about the case.... Were the crew able to find any clue while searching the vicinities? ".... She ask as Jack leaned his head looking up slightly as if in thought, he spoke, his voice deeply calm and serious as always
" We didn't see a lot of clues actually, I mean before the strange occurrence started "…. He said as he glanced at Jian who is looking at him with a look of anticipation of what next he is going to say,
He already knows why she is looking like that,
it was to write a novel about it...
Knowing this he didn't care but continued anyways.. " we went to different houses of the missing people, in different areas, but all of them who's family member or friend went missing didn't find anything weird about their behavior before their disappearances "..... He said as he paused, as if contemplating on something before opening his mouth... " But it seems strange "...... He turns to Jian with a strange look on his face while saying this, before continuing... " They all seemed to say the same thing, like...".... He paused as the mumbled... " How will I put this ".... As if trying to find the right word to say that will fit what he's trying to express
" Like they are brainwashed " .... Jian calmly concluded like an expert, making Jack to say " yeah, like they are brainwashed.... How did you know? ".....
Well as a crazy fan of mystery and thriller novel, why wouldn't I know, I've read a lot, but I also read others too hehe, If I read too much of those type of novels, I'll become an ultimate weirdo..... Jian lampooned inwardly before speaking out..
" Through novels ".... She said as she smiled widely, giving a thumbs up with her right hand
Hearing this, Jack couldn't help but chuckled a little as he said.. " alright ".... Before continuing in a serious expression
" If it's really a brainwash, what do you think caused it ? "... He asked as he wasn't sure what caused their mysterious disappearance
" Am not really sure too, but anyhow it is, I'll make sure to investigate it until the end ".... She said as she clenched her right fist as if trying to act like a hero of the criminal justice faculty
Unexpectedly after saying this, she heard a Slap! sound on her head
"Ouch again, that hurts".... She said while rubbing her forehead as Jack spoke in a serious tone as always
" Don't try to act as a hero or you will put yourself in danger "... He said as Jian grumbled
" I was just trying to brighten the mood, there was no need for a slap on the head ".... Jian said as she puffed her cheeks while grumbling as Jack concluded
" We don't know what dangers lurk behind the case "....
Everywhere became silent as the wind blew, sending chills down their spine for a moment before Jack spoke out as he remembered what he was going to tell her before......
" Jian where have you been, you didn't come to the meeting today?"...
I have been caught, Oh Crap....... Jian screamed inwardly as she was trying to find words to explain herself as she shot a glance at Jack who was sitting right next to her with a penetrating look on his face as his gaze became deeper and deeper, as if slapping her very soul, making Jian to Sigh! a breath of defeat as she turned her head, puffing her cheeks and mumbled in a silent but hearable voice of confession......
" I.. Just wanted to serialize my novel, that's all ".... She said as Jack who was listening nodded in understanding before saying....
" I understand, but you got to be careful and take a permit card first, you know how the captain is when you are not in his field of view, not that I don't trust you, it's just that the captain sees you as the same person of the day he saw you in that building"....... He said as he paused for a moment, looking at Jian who is silently whistling he continued..... " So you better be careful not to get in his bad side "...... He concluded as Jian nodded as she said in a strangely calm tone. " I understand "..... Seeing this Jack gets up from the bench, pressing his half top hat on his head, he said to Jian... " Let's get going, I'll tell you what I've discovered about the changes we are about to face"
..........
"For the past few hours, I’ve been tracking the movements of these… things. They’re not just drawn to destruction." He said as they were walking back to the camp, choosing his words with care he continued. "There’s something… deeper. The patterns aren’t random; they seemed to be connected to the red moon. And tonight, it’s closer than ever.”
Hearing this, Jian’s heart tightened slightly. She’d felt it too... a dark pulse beneath the surface, an unspoken resonance with the red moon light that seemed to feed off the night’s despair.
"And it gets worse,” Jack continued, his voice fading to a whisper as he leaned forward, tucking both of his hands in his trouser's pocket. “Some survivors are beginning to change, Jian. The fog… it’s affecting them. Their bodies are twisting and mutating, like something’s taking root inside them.”
Jian’s mind flashed to the young boy, Tuddi, and the way he’d convulsed, his body warped by a darkness that went beyond simple grief. She clenched her fists, recalling the desperation in his voice, the way he had surrendered to the unknown darkness.
Jack noticed her reaction. “You saw it, haven't you?”
Jian nodded, as a gloomy expression crossed her face, her voice calm . “It’s not the fog… it’s their emotions, their pain, their trauma at it's peak, I suppose. They’re being consumed by it, becoming…”... She hesitated, “... Creatures corroded by their own personal battles they face on the inside, as if mutated by their traumas....”
Hearing this, Jack’s jaw clenched as he spoke in a serious tone with a hint of confusion... "Then we have a bigger problem, this isn’t just about survival. I don't think the government or national order will be able to save anyone left in Paradise"....
The silence between them was palpable, a sense of inevitability lingering in the air as they both turned their gaze toward the crimson moon hanging heavy in the sky, as it cast its haunting red light over the landscape as it dyed it red...
Finally, Jian spoke, her voice barely hearable, like a whisper. "If we’re going to survive this, we’ll need more than strength. We’ll need to face our own traumas..."
Jack’s gaze strayed ahead, as his silence spoke volumes.
They stood in the reddish fog's unsettling embrace, as each of them were lost in thought as the night swallowed their words.
The red fog thickened, and the wind grew colder emanating a ghostly unsettling echoes over them as though the very air were holding its breath.
And moments later, under the gaze of the forsaken night
a weeping sound could be heard vibrating in the densely quiet night,
as a blurry symbol could be seen in the shadows as it seemed to be piercing through the crimson moon light,
But looking closer as it shape grew clearer as
It was the shape of an eye, an eye that seems to come to life as it cries.
A Bloody Cry......