[ Recommended Song ]: Outsiders by: Au/ra
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-FLASHBACK-

"DAMN IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU, A-XU! YOU - YOU GIVE EVERYTHING IN LIFE A MEANING! WHY CAN'T YOU LET ME REST AFTER A WHOLE-DAY SHIFT?! NOW YOU ACCUSE ME OF CHEATING ON YOU?!"

"THEN EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT WERE YOU DOING ON TOP OF YOUR SECRETARY?! WHAT WAS I GOING TO DO? WAIT FOR YOU TO UNDRESS HER, KISS HER, AND FUCK HER?!"

Young Atheena and Damon heard their parents arguing for the hundredth time in their life. The two were in the room, Atheena covered her brother's ears.

"Don't listen, ah! You shouldn't eavesdrop on someone's conversation."

Damon nods, however, he couldn't help but ask: "But our parents are arguing again! Why do they argue almost every day jiejie?"

"It... sort of became a habit, Damon." Atheena smiled sadly at her brother. She tried her best not to rant and talk about everything -- but at the same time, leave information that could satisfy her brother's queries. "Every time dada Kexing arrives, there's always an issue about work and... daddy Zishu."

Atheena seized her headphones and instructed her brother to wear them. She then played loud enough music so she was the only one who could hear the argument.

"OH DAMN IT KEXING!! I'M ALREADY EXHAUSTED FROM WORK -- THEN I'LL FIND YOU CHEATING ON ME WITH A BITCH?! YOU HAVE TWO CHILDREN FOR PETE'S SAKE!!" A sound of a vase being thrown was suddenly heard. The vase the siblings made was shattered as someone threw them on the ground.

"DID I EVER SAY I WANTED CHILDREN FROM YOU, ZISHU?! EVERYTHING WAS A MISTAKE - YOU HEAR ME?! EVEN THOSE TWO! OH, DON'T ACT AS INNOCENT, YOU WERE EVEN AGAINST THE SURROGACY. EVEN YOU, YOU CONSIDER THEM AS BAD LUCK!!"

These words hit Atheena's heart. Them? A mistake? Huh, it even came from their parents... so maybe they were?

"They... don't want us?"

Distraction hit the girl hard to the point she didn't notice her brother heard everything. And due to stubbornness, Damon removed the headphones too.

"What did I say about taking your headphones off!?!" Atheena couldn't help but scream at her brother. Damon whimpered a sorry, and Atheena realized what she had done.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't cry Mon..." She brought her brother closer to her chest, engulfing him in a tight hug. "Jiejie didn't mean to scream at you... I'm sorry." She rocked him softly back and forth in regret.

Damon sniffed, "Why are they mad at us, jiejie?" He asked pain visible in his voice. "Why would they... t-take us in if we were bad luck? They... they could've killed us as young babies, right?"

"Shh... Don't say that... We're going out tonight, we'll give them freedom, don't worry." She whispered, kissing his brother on the head.

Nighttime:

Their parents were asleep in two separate rooms, deep in slumber. It was to no surprise because again, the two argued.

The siblings silently packed their bags to leave. Damon wrote a whole apology letter focusing on why their parents were unlucky to have them. The plan was settled, Atheena grabbed her savings from under the bed -- it was enough to sustain them for a day or two. All they need now is a shelter where their parents won't be able to find them.

Slowly, Damon pushed the door open. It gave a sound of a door creaking in return. His heart almost skipped a beat, and his soul left his body, praying that his parents didn't hear.

Atheena checked her surroundings, thank goodness, she didn't see anyone. Her parents were still asleep.

They successfully tip-toed outside and found their way out the gate. The two wandered around the streets, till they found an orphanage. They stood there for a while, till they saw a little boy running toward them.

"Who are you?" Asked the boy with a confused look.

"I'm... Damon, this is my jiejie, Atheena." Damon waved a hello. Atheena waved as well to the confused boy.

"Seb! Sister Li -- who are they?"

"Atheena and Damon, they said." Said the boy, turning to the siblings.

"I'm sorry, my name is Sebastian, this is Ysakel." The supposed boy introduced as Sebastian said, looking to the person on their right.

The two bowed, which Yskael returned. "Come in, we'll introduce you to sister Li." He guided them inside a home-like structure. There was a female grinning at them.

"Sister Li!" Seb exclaimed cheerfully and cuddled into her arms.

"I haven't been gone that long, have I?"

See, sister Li went abroad for a mission. It lasted for a month before she could return to the country. She was like the mother of all the children in the adoption center.

"Too long, but, hey! We made new friends, sister."

"Oh, I see!" Enthusiastic, sister Li warmly welcomed the two and made them feel at home.

The orphanage was full of children and adults. Thankfully, there were no newborns or infants, because, who in their right mind would impregnate someone and leave her hanging? Well, that's common.

Anyway, the lady gave the siblings a tour of the orphanage. People there are friendly compared to those they interact with at home. Sister Li also gave background info on what happens when someone gets adopted. On the other hand, she also said they were technical and were all family. It just wasn't by blood, and blood doesn't matter as long as you treat each other fair and squarely.

The siblings grew up with a few, yet, truthful friends. Until they all reached the age of eighteen, all of them would hang out. Now that they've reached the perfect age to make decisions for themselves (time skip) they wanted to live independently.

"I hope you guys have a good life..." Sister Li wiped her tears and hugged each of the group's members.

"We will, sister Li! Thank you for taking care of us year after year. We promise to come here once we get a stable job and all." Yskael smiled with his bag on his back. They all left with their last goodbyes.
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PRESENT:

The two siblings' corpses were taken out of the room and buried in a cemetery near the buildings.

Yskael
Atlas
Seb
Jonathan
Ezra

Only five survivors left. They continued despite their friends' death. Although he was still going, Atlas felt like he'd fallen inside a very deep well.

It hurts...

Jonathan felt frustration for not saving the two siblings, for doing nothing.

Seb felt rage, an unknown rage filled him that made him want to shout, cry, and kill.

Yskael was being in denial, denying that his two friends were dead. Ezra helped him cope. However, he also had hidden frustrations - hidden disappointment. He felt like the useless one, those who keep hiding behind his friends' backs for protection.
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"We have to stop this nonsense... but how?!" Dominic groans as he locks the door after he and the others enter a specific room.

"Games need to have some clue somehow..." Kiara murmured and started digging through some random stuff. She found an old book, it was so old that its pages were almost ripped from itself.

"Turn on the lights, hurry, quick, quick!" She urgently commanded, Diana nodded and pushed Ryou close to the switch.

"Ow! I get it, okay?" Ryou grumbled with his hand on the switch. He turned the lights on.

"I said lights?" Kiara arched a brow.

"It's broken," Zack replied, his tone in a state of disbelief. "When did the light source break?!"

"Flashlight!" Mia took her extra flashlight and turned it on. She let Kiara flip and read through every page. They seem puzzled.

They were only left with almost fifty pieces of markers, but no tint.

"Why... I can't see..." Kiara murmured in confusion. Why would students in this school keep markers? Specifically, those that aren't tinted?

"It's not an ordinary marker, it's like those hidden messages." Mia scanned for a possible switch. "There... now put the light in the notebook and read."

Kiara sighed in relief. What? She didn't know this thing existed, she didn't see nor had one.

"It's multilingual, written in Spanish and Korean. I can't understand either of these two!"

"I don't understand Korean." Jace blinked, "Spanish, I can help with it."

"I can take Korean, let me have a look." Elijah and Kiara swapped positions. The latter stood behind them with the squad.

Jace flipped through the pages. It was a diary...? A previous student's diary to be exact.

"Who would write a diary in two languages?" Mia asked. Elijah looked at her and replied: "Unless there's something bad, maybe no one?"

Jace scrolled through the pages. "Why would they hide it... here? The diary has only ten pages too."

"It's unfinished Jace, the little-to-half of the last page was torn," Elijah says in a cautious tone. "Someone might've ripped it... that's how important this book must've been."

"Read it," Callista insisted, "We're running out of time."

Jace turned back to the book. He started reading - this seem to be personal. There were no dates shown when each page was written too. Each chapter was short yet will leave you questioning.

Secretos, mi familia me guardaba secretos. ¿Construyeron la escuela para el aprendizaje y el desarrollo infantil? No soy tonto. Estoy mucho más allá de mi edad. Favorecieron tanto a mi hermana por la idea, sin embargo, nunca consideraron las consecuencias de lo que sucederá, está en ellos.

"This is a rant book." Jace looked at Elijah who flinched.

"Family? Sister? Consequences and property?"

Jace translated. "Secrets, my family kept secrets from me. They built the school for learning and child development? I'm not dumb. I'm way beyond my age. They favored my sister so much because of the idea, yet, never considered the consequences of what will happen, it's on them..."

"That must've been written by a child or teen." Ryou says, "何を隠している... サンベドラ？(what are you hiding... San Vedra?)"

Jace continued to flip more. Five pages were written in Spanish, and five in Korean.

Lawless, la escuela de mi padre ha sido construida. Sin embargo, el proceso fue demasiado rápido, ellos también han viajado mucho, los atrapé hablando sobre la escuela... Encontré algunos planos y planos. No creo que estén tratando de construir una escuela.

"Lawless, my father's school has been built. However, the process was too quick, they've traveled a lot too, I caught them talking about the school... I found some plans and blueprints. I don't think they're trying to build a school..." Jace read the last part. Who is even the owner of this diary anyway?!

The next few pages were written in Korean. He backed off to let his lover do the job.

나는 그들이 이해하지 못하는 언어로 이것을 쓰고 있습니다. 내 여동생이 죽었어, 그녀가 목숨을 앗아갔어. 부모님은 그녀의 죽음에 대해 나를 비난했습니다 ...

Elijah was hit by a rock. These rants caught him off-guard. "I'm writing this in a language they don't understand. My sister is dead, she took her life. My parents blamed me for her death..."

Everyone stood in shock and silence. The diary became so... shocking?

진심이 아닌데도 미안했다. 나는 그저 그들로부터 공정한 사랑을 받고 싶었을 뿐이에요. 심지어 제 친동생에게도요.

"I was sorry, even though I didn't mean it. I just wanted fair love from them, even from my own sister."

"This person killed their sister?" Mia gasped in disbelief, her hands were shaking... all because of favoritism.

"I don't mean to side with the killer, but I don't blame whoever did that. Also, the killer wasn't her as stated. We son't even know the reason why did the sister kill herself." Diana says with a lower voice. "It was the parents to blame, not the killer themself. Why would they have a second child in the first place then?"

"It wasn't intended," Jace agreed, "let's just see everything, we need more clues."

Elijah proceeded to read again after a short pause.

그들은 나를 위해 오고 있다. 나는 아버지가 칼을 들고 나를 쫓는 것을 보았다. 우리는 일주일 전에는 괜찮았지만 부모님은 학교를 포기하고 부패를 멈추라는 내 의견에 대해 화를 냈습니다.

"They are coming for me. I saw my father chasing me with a knife. We were fine a week ago, but my parents were mad at me for giving up school and stopping corruption."

비좁은 벽장 속에 숨어서 이 글을 쓰고 있습니다. 보이지 않는 잉크를 사용해서 증거가 그대로 남도록 하여 아무도 그것을 자신의 잘못을 탓하는 소녀의 빈 일기장으로만 보지 않을 것입니다.

"I am writing this while hiding inside a tight closet. I'm using invisible ink so the proof will stay as it is, so no one will take it and see it merely as a blank diary of a girl they blamed for their fault."

시간이 얼마 남지 않았습니다. 이 글을 읽으신 분들은 뭔가를 해주세요. San Vedra는 소유자만큼이나 부패했습니다. 자선단체에 기부했다고 하는 자금과 학생들이 겪는 매일의 고문 활동은 좋은 의도가 아닙니다.

"I don't have much time left. To whoever reads this, please do something. San Vedra is as corrupt as its owners are. The funds that were said to be given to charity and the daily torturing activities the students' experience are for no good intentions."

나는 학생들을 위해 비밀리에 새 주인에게 학교를 팔았습니다. 나는 겨우 12살이지만 부모님의 행위가 무익하다는 것을 압니다. 성공의 길을 막는 사람은 누구나 잔인한 일에 직면하게 됩니다. 그들은 분명히 복수를 할 것입니다. 부모님은 평범하지 않습니다 ... 그들은

"I secretly sold the school to its new owners for the students' sake. I'm only twelve, yet I know my parents' deeds are for no good. Everyone who blocks their way to success will face something brutal. They'll surely seek revenge, my parents are no ordinary... they had - "

Elijah stopped there. Blood was splattered on the last page. Half of it was also torn.

"Had what? THEY HAD WHAT-" Kai's voice became muffled as Zack covered his mouth.

"Shut, Kai - someone's walking this way." Zack hushed, and everyone dropped a dead silence.

"Come out, come out... wherever you are..." A hushed and misty voice called out. From the sound made and tone released, it was a female.

But... the voice was raspy and high-pitched at the same time. It kinda sounded like an old, dead, and spiritual woman.

"Ryou, don't peak!" Diana shuddered, making the male duck.

"It might be someone willing to help us, let me see!" Mia insisted, pushing everyone out of the way. She peered at a female wearing an all-black hood. "She has white eyes... blind. She's a blind woman!" She exclaimed hushed.

The woman was pacing back and forth, she seemed to notice Mia staring at her, and so she stared back with bloodshot eyes.

Mia felt her eyes burn, she was crying tears of literal blood. She felt dizzy and froze, then fell back like an iced statue.

"Mia??" Diana's voice quaked out of fear. Ryou held her back.

"She's dead," said the latter holding Diana by the shoulders.

"Whoever that is, we're not safe here anymore." Kiara whispered, "Whatever you do, stay in stealth, and never make eye contact with that lady. Go!"

Tris grabbed Dominic and wrapped a blindfold around his eyes.

"What the fuck, Tris?!" Dominic growled in anger. Though, it was in a hushed way. "Take this off! I can't see!"

Tris whispered in Dominic's ear. "As long as she doesn't see your eyes, she won't notice you, not even your steps. Don't take this off until we clear this round, okay? Even if I asked you to."

Dominic let out a hic in nervousness. "What about the others? Do they have one too? Why are you even doing this?!"

"I'll explain to you later, come on." Tris took the other's hand and left in stealth.

Elijah took the book with him as he and the squad escaped. They can hear the "old" woman singing and chatting to herself.

Then accidentally...

She made eye contact with someone unknown in the group. The mad woman started chasing them as they ran for their lives.

But then they stopped.

Where was... Dom?

"He's caught... shit!" Ryou cursed as he pulled everyone inside one of the dorms.

"CAUGHT?!" Jace's expression suddenly changed into furious. "We had one job to do, one fucking job!" He kicked the door and dear heavens it almost broke.

"Jace, it's not the time to be like this," Elijah growled at the other who looked at him with a fatal stare.

"How am I supposed to not get mad?! Elijah, you know damn well, you saw how dangerous that woman was! And now, we're in the fucking safe zone, what do we have to do? Get out and find him, risk our lives again! Someone could get killed, we could all get killed!!" Jace screamed.

Elijah looked at him with a blank stare. "So what? We let him die there? No, cause now, I remember you saying someone could get killed, and now that we have that fucking specific someone you refuse to go out of here and save him. What's the point of saying it then?!"

"CONSIDER ALL THE LIVES THAT WOMAN WILL TAKE FROM ALL OF US IN THIS GROUP OF SURVIVORS RIGHT NOW! YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED TO MIA, DIDN'T YOU? SHE WAS CRYING BLOOD AND HER BODY FROZE!!"

"Hey enough!" Tris tried to stop the argument, only to get ignored. The others were also trying to stop this. T'was the first time these two had a heated argument.

"JACE, THAT IS MY FRIEND OUT THERE - IF YOU'RE IN MY SHOES MAYBE YOU WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME! OH, HOW CAN I FORGET? YOU WERE NEVER IN MY SHOES THE FIRST PLACE. YOU WERE STANDING ON YOUR OWN."

"Say that again?" Jace's expression darkened, worse.

"Where did your bravery go?" Elijah scoffed. "I knew Dominic way before you, and if I were given a chance to choose, maybe it's not bad to choose him at all."

Jace pushed his lover. "All I wanted was to keep you all safe. Why can't you understand?!"

"Yeah, and Dom isn't part of that all you're talking about? You're wording your words all wrong! You've always rescued me, your brother, your friends, anyone in or from this group. Dominic is now missing, and you can't do the same for him? I consider your point but also give a damn about everyone."

"Do you even understand where I'm coming from? Jah?!"

"Oh, believe me I do." Elijah replies coldly. "How about you? Did you ever understand my point?!"

"ENOUGH!" Tris angrily slammed the door and went in between them. "You think you guys are helping with arguing, huh?! What does that give you? Will that shit help us to find Dom? Stop being a pain in the ass. Everyone is here trying to stop you and you just blabber nonsense and is wasting the time we could've used to find the missing member. If no one's going out there, I will. Stay in here, fuckers."

"If you choose him, leave." Jace murmured, staring into Elijah's eyes. The latter mocked this statement in his mind.

"Yes, don't worry, I'm leaving your sight Jace." Elijah picked up a gun, and looked at his brother (Tris) then nodded toward the door.

They went out. Silence then engulfed the group of the outraged member. The couple couldn't even look at each other directly. They were both pissed off just by looking at each other's faces.

It concerned most of the group. These two never had real arguments, let alone a real physical one. But the thing is, neither of these two broke down nor complain about how they missed each other's touches.

Just... plain... reactions.

"I've never seen them argue like this, they're silent," Kiara whispered in Callista's ear.

"If they ask what to do, then give." Callista crossed her arms as she whispered back. "Let them have a cool, we've been there."

Everyone's eyes stared at Jace. He arched a brow. "What? If you want to, then go. Nobody's stopping you all from going."
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"Finally," Wisteria smirked upon looking at the cameras. "Look, poor Jace and Elijah arguing for their little..." She spun the chair around. "Leon Dominic Hernandez Song."

There, Dominic was tied in the office. He was trying to get lose. His mouth was covered with a cloth, and the blindfold Tris tied on his eyes were still there.

His body wouldn't move, not even a single inch.

"I wonder how will they... save you?"
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This chapter took too long. Anyways, we're almost closing this book, so... yes. Be sure to vote if you liked this story ××

-Ms. Khi 🦊🖤