3… 2… 1… A sound of lurid ringing that indicated the game’s end. Everyone in Cipher was shocked, Goyo, Rocky, Veril and Renz. Without Jeffery’s help, they wouldn’t stand a chance against the Utopians that turned the table around in one move. The loud cheering of all Utopians overtook the cry of Cipher.
Iyaz, leader of Cipher, smiled with satisfaction. Everything went according to their plans, dominating the entirety of Cipher.
On Cipher’s side, Nix Cardona comforted Rhianna as she cried for the defeat. As well as Keisha while reviewing all Rhianna’s missed calls on her phone, trying to warn her. Zhackary, on the other hand, ordered a search and rescue as they couldn’t track Jeffery’s whereabouts when he flowed with the river. All they had was the beeping sound of Jeffery’s BP tracker.
The next morning after Jeffery was returned to Cipher, Keisha locked herself in her room. The guilt and regret were starting to consume her. The prickle on her heart for disappointment as well as anger because of the annihilation and humiliation she got from the previous battle. Not to mention that one of her best allies was injured because of one of her orders.
“I SHOULD DIE, I SHOULD DIE, I SHOULD DIE”, the words she repeatedly spoke with a dead tone while she stares at the ceiling. Her pupils turned darkest black that made her want to kill herself because of her failure.
She stood up from her bed where she lied, and walked towards the kitchen. In a cabinet where all the utensils were properly arranged, she pulled a kitchen knife and proceeded to her bed. She walked slowly while her hand groped the knife. She sat down and rested her back on the wall. She again looked up on the ceiling and pointed the blade directly to her throat. She didn’t utter any words and was ready to end her life.
But then, in her mind where it all turned pitch black, below her was a pool of darkness, a golden light shone really bright.
“We are one, we share the same feeling as well as the guilt and sorrow. You are not the only one, we fell together. And we will rise together”, the light spoke as it shone even in the darkest, deepest part of the ocean. It lit up the worlds that once pitch black.
Keisha’s eyes were shining at its brightest color, she regained her senses and found herself almost cutting her throat. She snapped out and threw the knife away as it hit a wooden wall. In shock, she immediately ran towards the door she locked. As she opened it, someone who came rushing surprised her. Her knees went weak as well as her tears fell on her rosy cheeks.
“Zhack… I’m scared…”, Keisha said and fell down.
“It’s okay… I am here now”, the man assisted her to stand up and walked her to her bed where they sat beside each other. He took a glass of water and carefully handed it to her. As the young woman drank, he caressed her head and smiled softly to lighten up her mood. “I know, it’s hard. But I will keep on coming even if you think I shouldn’t be here.”
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“I’m okay now… thank you for coming”, the girl gently smiled as her eyes turned back to its normal color, “Why did you rush here anyway?”.
“I felt something, and I just knew I have to be here as soon as possible”, Zhackary replied while he lent his towel to wipe Keisha’s tears that the lady accepted and did so.
“I just, couldn’t stop blaming myself… we lost because of me”, the lady looked down once again as another set of tears were about to fall. Suddenly, Zhackary quickly showed her documents that were given by Nix after the games.
“Look, it’s not your fault. Nix confirmed it himself. There is a secret database where they listed the people who go in and out our territory premises. There is an unknown vehicle that entered late at night and left with a trailer truck. The truck was registered under Utopian’s name and it never returned”, Keisha got confused about the database that she saw.
“Weird…”, Keisha said and drank the rest of her water. “But what was its connection to our defeat? “.
“Nix and I thought of a possibility that whatever is inside that truck, is Utopian's payment. He added that he got our private information about our strategies and member profiles.”, Zhackary explained.
“How do they get those files? You think there was a double agent here or something?”, Keisha wondered and tried to look back.
“As sharp as always. In any case, I am already investigating it with Jeffery. Nix can’t help because he needs to debrief Utopians today-“, Zhackary was cut by Keisha’s sudden question.
“How’s Jeffery now?”
Zhackary tapped her on her shoulders and smiled softly, “Dude, if it’s Jeffery we are talking about, he is now completely okay, he took no severe damage at all.”
Keisha’s deep sigh indicated her relief. She heard a sudden gunshot outside her window and as she looked, she saw Jeffery doing his daily laps of jogs while Rhianna assisted him. She witnessed that they seem to have no problem at all. She giggled when the two argued about Rhianna’s inaccurate timing while Jeffery beat his own record.
“See? Told’ya”, Zhackary laughed softly as they bet on who would win the argument between the two at the field. Suddenly, Keisha jumped and hugged Zhackary. Keisha didn't realize it until Zhackary flinched about the surprise attack.
“I-I-I-I DIDN’T MEAN TO… MY BODY REACTED ON ITS OWN! I-I-I SWEAR”, Keisha explained nervously. Although Zhackary wrapped his left arm around her shoulders and supported the back of her head with his right hand. Keisha seemed to be cut about the way he hugged her. It made her heart beat faster. She couldn’t believe what she felt, and so she was drawn to a blank space.
“Normally… I would push you because you are invading space… but… I will make an exception for today… in return for rescuing me. Y-You should be grateful.”
After a few seconds, Zhackary let go and messed Keisha’s hair. He then stood up and pulled the knife that was impaling the wooden wall. He neatly returned it back to her cabinet and walked by the door.
“There are still things I have to do… Can you handle yourself from here on?”, Zhackary said gently as he was about to close the door.
“Yes. Thank you again”, with that, Zhackary went to his whereabouts and left Keisha sitting on the floor. “I don’t understand… Why is my heart still beating so fast?“