15 CHAPTER 15: The Difficult Situation

[Sasha Shadows]

Helpless and hopeless. These words suited my feelings after hearing the word "might". If I might die as Isabelle had said, then there is a 50% chance level for me to disappear from this world forever. And 50% sounded possible to me regarding my unlucky fate in the end. "What do you mean might?" I narrowed my eyes, hoping to hear any answer other than "you might die" from this nasty little emissary.

"Because you might stay alive after you have granted all of your wishes as well," Isabelle replied with a shrug. However, that didn't convince me either. Of course I know I might live, I just wish to know if there're any solutions to not die. Crossing my arms in front of my chest, I continued my poker face when casting a threatening stare at the girl. Most probably due to the pressure of the dominating silence, she laughed nervously with her eyes avoiding mine. "Alright, alright. There is one way to not die."

A satisfying smirk creeped up my face when I saw hope. "That's more like it," I muttered. "Tell me about it."

"Well," Isabelle was hesitant when her index fingers poked each other. "As you'd known, you might disappear after fulfilling the last wish." I nodded. "I mean you can skip some of the wishes and fulfill the last one if you get the chance." She knew if the time was up for me to fulfill the IMPOSSIBLE wishes, there was no chance for me to get away as I would be brought to the place by some kind of force.

A pause when I did not return the conversation. Instead, I stayed silent while digesting each and every word she had spoken. "This is pretty hard," I muttered under my breath.

Soon, Isabelle fished out a cylindrical container from her pouch before handling it to me. "Here, take this." I took the container and shook it in a careful manner. The melodious sound of pill-hit-pill echoed into my ear.

"Pills?" I mouthed when noticing Isabelle's behaviour, in which she was looking everywhere as if someone might hear us.

"Yes, it's a backup plan." The word 'backup plan' rang in my head with Isabelle's voice, reminding me that she's helping me this instant. "They used to prevent me from being dragged into the Void, which is the deepest and darker part of Hell. I am the youngest among the other emissaries, so it made my soul sweeter for the demons."

"I wonder if you can see Hades in Hell too," I muttered with my fingers bracing my chin, thinking that she was joking around with me again with the knowledge of her career underground.

"I'm serious, Sasha." Her wronged expression led out a gulp from my throat. "It works depending on where you consumed those pills. If you eat the pills in this realm, you won't be dragged into Hell. If you eat the pills in Hell, you won't be dragged to the Void, et cetera."

That was so cool. But, too bad that involved my life in the situation. I looked at Isabelle again with a doubtful look, her puffy face warmed my heart. "Sorry," I blurted. "...for misjudging you." I turned the lid of the container while apologising to her. Not long after, I could see round pills coloured with red and white peeping from the inside.

"It's okay though, I do want to apologise to you about things I've spoken purposefully to make you angry," Isabelle admitted embarrassedly when she didn't dare to look at me straight in the eyes. "By the way," she cleared her throat. "Those pills can ease pain as well. Consumption is limited by 3 pills per day. Do not take more than the number or you may face consequences. Well, I will face that as well, not only you." The warning sounded a little bit like a Fantasy movie, or a book I'd read not long ago.

And a part of me was still struggling to accept that it was truly happening. If you put yourself in my shoes, you would understand. I was stuck in the state of invisibility when hearing the little girl, who's real age was way older than her appearance speaking to me about death and Hell and stuff. Honestly, it was terrifying.

Your life has changed and there's no going back, my own voice rang in my head, reminding me of the fact that I could never run away from such a risky circumstance.

***

[Clerence Cartwright]

I was back at the rented house with Doc after waiting until Hansel had entered a taxi. Well, making sure each other's safety is a must between friends. I felt relieved that we had sorta Asian habit in which we would report ourselves once we got home in the group chat, though Greg was lurking outside with the hot chicks at the moment.

We could tell by the pictures he'd sent in the group.

"Umm, how did you two meet?" Doc's query reached the inner part of my ears after I'd pulled myself away from my thoughts. My gaze fixed onto the curious guy who was waiting for my honest answer. "Tell me bud, I'm curious."

"We met at the bookstore," I started. "When I visited and asked to meet her manager, she was working at the counter. That was the first time we met."

Or was that so?

"I see."

"And then an accident happened but I couldn't even save her..." I trailed off when all I could feel was guilt. "She looked so terrified when she fell from the ladder. And I was so dumb at the moment to act fast and catch her..." My voice shook at the memory before Doc sent me a shoulder pat.

"You'd done your best, Cler," said Doc. "Don't push yourself so hard, you'll die because of too much stress." Honestly, I would give 10/10 for this statement.

Soon, a smile finally replaced my gloomy one when I looked straight into Doc's eyes. "I know what it is like to feel useless, I'd felt it when Suzy ended her relationship with me. I was holding a bouquet of roses even, and her words broke my heart so much that when I see red roses, I'll think about her," Dominic narrated wearily. It was tough for him back then, yet he tried his best to walk out of the haze.

However, he would never give his trust to any girl. He was afraid to be hurt again, so he became the bad guy. He cheated on girls who liked him because of his looks.

As I was about to tell him to change the subject, his phone rang and I held back. Staring at the flaring phone screen, Doc's face never changed as it stayed solemn and sombre. And then, his face began to light up with a pathetically fake smile when he finally answered the call.

"Hey babe," he said to the little chick over the phone. "Yeah, I'm good, and you?" A pause dominated for around 3 seconds again before he chuckled, "Glad to hear that. So, 12am?" The playboy confirmed cheerfully until his smile turned into a grin, showing his canine teeth. "Alright then, I'll pick you up at 11ish, better be prepared then, beautiful."

My mouth went agape when he blew a kiss before ending the phone call. But before he turned to face me, I'd managed my facial expression to a neutral one. "Who's that?"

Doc shrugged, "Another prey?"

"Oh c'mon, just tell me her name," I urged when he glanced up to the clock.

"It's Elina," he pronounced monotonously. "One of Kayla's minions."

"Oh." Apparently, I was not surprised. "Good luck with that then." And I definitely meant 'breaking the girl's heart'. Doc winked at me for knowing what he'd planned deep in his heart. His broken heart.

"Thanks, buddy. You're the best." He gave me a big bear hug. "I'm not sleeping here tonight." He cooed at the crook of my neck.

"No worries, Doc," I said while retreating from the hug. His breath was tickling me. "See you tomorrow and have fun." I wiggled my eyebrows when saying the last two words.

"Of course, Clery." A naughty smirk appeared on Doc's face.

I shuddered.

"Bud, I wish you are a girl," Doc chuckled bitterly before heading to his room, leaving me in confusion. I stood at the same place, wondering about the meaning of his words before his room door opened again. "Don't miss me bud, I'm staying at Elina's tonight." And that was when I realised I'd been staying at the same spot for 15 minutes, though holding a phone with its screen flaring at me.

With his black leather jacket hovering over his white T-shirt, Doc also wore a pair of greyish jeans which reflected his taste of fashion styles. When he strode to the door and slid his feet into a pair of Timberland boots, everything looked perfect for him as a boyfriend material.

"Bye, dude," said Doc as he waved at me. I waved back without looking at him but facing my phone. A message sent by Jesslyn entered my point of view. The door clicked as Doc locked the door, yet my eyes were still glued to the screen.

SHE-DEVIL: You got a night shift today, don't be late.

Sighing, I replied to the message almost immediately.

SHE-DEVIL: You got a night shift tomorrow, don't be late.

ME: Yes, ma'am.

I knew I had to stop thinking about Sasha in order to get my shit together at work, but the fact that she'd been one of the bookstore members kept swirling in my head like a calm whirlpool, leading me to sink slowly into the realm of despair and guilt.

Silence dominated my surroundings. My phone had stopped notifying new messages. My mind wandered away from reality when I took a seat on the couch. The fear and guilt I felt were intense and it would get worse if Sasha did not wake up.

The time on my phone was flying fast. It was 11pm after one hour of procrastination. "Time to sleep," I muttered to myself before standing up with a groan. My brain instructed my feet towards the washroom, yet the sudden bombarding ringing of notifications led my phone to vibrate in my grasp.

My initial thought went to the boys in our group chat. My mind was thinking of how Doc showed off his date with his new chick, yet it wasn't. I was wrong.

There's no sign of Doc, nor did the other boys. All notifications were sent by only one person. It was the author of the fantasy book which I was fond of. Apparently, she had updated her novel until the last chapter. That's why the phone was beeping with notifications. As I hoped into her page, I could see her written apologising message to all her readers and fans upon her sudden disappearance.

However, that's not all.

Because she sent me a private message.

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