Luca and Tina

papapapa...piiiiiii

WTF shouted Alex from his room. What type of alarm clock is that? Is it embedded in the house somewhere? He thought because he heard Layla scream from her room also. A voice started to speak. You guys have only 30 minutes to leave the house; if not, you will have to face the consequences. Is that you, Christine, shouting at Layla from her room? I'll get you for this. Layla grunts and marches towards the door. Just for her to open it, she gets shocked. Christine, what is the meaning of this? Christine laughs and continues with her announcement, "Anyone who can't get out before the time limit ends will be forced to chase the camping van as they will not be allowed to enter."What a good way to get your morning exercise, said Christine, chuckling to herself. Your Tina buddy is here to help you complete your mission"," said Christine, and there was no other trace of her voice.

Tina's buddy said Alex as he walked towards the bathroom. He feels a certain tug on his trousers. An animated version of Christine appeared before him. "Ohayo, Alex-chan," Alex doesn't respond. Tina then starts to bawl, "Wawawa!!" Christine told me you were a polyglot, so I thought that maybe Japanese would fit my supposed anime girl aura. So I don't look like a kawaii little girl; she continues to bawl. No tears came out; she just looked teary-eyed and covered her face. 

Alex tries to look for a way to respond. He thinks briefly and wonders how long Christine has been animating because Tina looks pretty cute. He then told Tina, "You look cute. I mean, check the mirror."

She jumped on Alex. He noticed she stopped crying and looked normal now. He then held her by her back collar, a bit below. (The way you would hold a wet cat or piece of cloth.) He flings her on the bed and heads towards the bathroom. "Don't get any funny ideas," he said with a wink. Tina huffs and buries her head in one of the pillows. 

Back in Layla's room, she hurriedly heads towards the bathroom. She stopped in her tracks because she heard a mocking voice say, "Don't fall and break your spine. You wouldn't be able to run properly then," you said, raising her fist and turning back.

She sees an animated figure sitting on her bed. Typing on his phone, a lollipop in his mouth, she approaches him and shouts, "YOU." He raises his head; she sees his face. He then had white hair that gave off winter vibes; he also had long white lashes. She then remembers a character from one of the books that Christine gave her to read. "Luca," she mumbles. Yes, that's me. She squeals, "I am such a fan."

She starts to blab about his cool, arrogant persona, how he was a child genius, etc He interrupts her, You know I am starting to take interest in you and seeing how far you would run, said Luca with a smirk. Layla walked towards the bathroom in a sad posture, as she wanted to talk more with Luca but didn't want to run.

Christine laughs with the mic up and wipes her tears. I really outdid myself here, didn't I?

In 30 minutes, everyone was gathered outside. Christine started a roll call to confirm if everyone was present. Alex and Tina, "Hai," said Tina in a bubbly voice. She forced Alex to give her a piggyback ride, and now she is currently playing with his hair.

Luca and Layla, "Present," answered Luca. Layla looked like a mess; her hair was all scattered, her attempted makeup was uneven, and even the cliche mistake was that she was wearing mismatched socks.

Luca walks up to Christine and whispers something in her ears. Christine looks up at Layla and starts to laugh; she almost falls but is caught by Luca. Alex brings out the black ball from earlier to retrieve the camping van.

It's time to say goodbye, said Luca to Layla. No, bye-bye, said Tina as she refused to get down from Alex back. Luca pulls Tina's legs until she comes down. Bye Layla, said Luca. Bye, Alex; see you till we meet again.

Alex, Layla, and Christine enter the camping van. Alex started to drive. Layla watches as Luca and Tina enter back into the house. Christine stares at the window for a moment, looking at how slowly they disappear as she moves farther away from them. She then sees Luca holding up a signboard reading "Thank you." Alex turns around and sees Christine.

He senses something is off and switches the gear into autopilot. He drags Christine to the lower part of the van and sits her on one of the beds. We need to talk, he said. About what said Christine, trying to avoid his gaze. He stares at Christine deep into her eyes. She felt a sharp sting from her eyes. Tears welled up in her eyes and started to stream down. "They were real right," he said and sighed. 

Why didn't you let me take them with you? said Alex, looking at Christine. He felt pity for Luca and Tina. Was it some sort of deal, asked Alex, and she nodded. I thought you guys were going to find out sooner, she said.

Layla, who was overhead when that they were real, waited for the right time to speak. Because the complexity of the situation was too great for her to understand. Layla walks in a slumped position and says in a low voice, Luca and Tina are not robots, are they? Yes, they aren't answered, Christine. Okay, how did you make them look animated, and how did Tina resemble you so much? It's technology, Layla, you'd understand one day Christine said as she fell to the bed and stared at the ceiling.

I am going back for them, said Layla without thinking or giving a second thought about the situation. She opens the door and jumps out. She started to run back home. Alex sees this and turns the vehicle to follow her. Get in Layla we would all go there together said Alex. He lets out his hand for Layla to grab and he the pulls her inside. They reach the house in no time.

"Luca!" called out Layla; Alex also called Tina. Christine just quietly follows Alex and Layla into the house. They searched everywhere except for the extra room in the house, which served as the music room. The candles were lit, and the light bulbs were turned off. A chilling aura filled the room. A familiar metallic scent crawled up everyone's noses. But they try to ignore it, hoping for the best, when Christine sees a note on the ground written with blood in shaky handwriting. She covers her mouth in order not to scream. 

In the middle of the room lay a white-haired boy on the cold, damp ground, lying in a pool of his own blood. A knife with a handle made from emerald was still stuck in his lower left abdomen; his face was laid sideways, his hair covering his face, which had been stained red by blood. 

Christine kneels beside him and lifts him up; his eyes, which showed with such a lively spark, are now dull and slowly closing. He was still breathing in shallow gasps, but life was drained from him slowly. He looks up at Christine, "Oh, you came." He forces a weak smile across his face and then slowly closes his eyes. Christine buries her head in his chest and sobbed silently.

Beside him was Tina; her eyes were wide open, showing a mixture of shock and grief. She seemed to be also half dead; her body is just stiff. She sees Alex, Layla, and Christine all well. She heaves a sigh of relief and mutters a statement, "Sayonara.". Her eyes closes with a tear streaming down her cheek. 

Layla lets out a horrifying scream and shouts, "What in the freaking name of hell happened here?" They were murdered, said Alex in a neutral tone. He signals Christine, and they both carry the bodies behind the house to bury them.

When they were done, Alex put some lavender flowers on Tina's grave and Christine put some white roses on Luca's grave. Why did you name them the Tina buddies? asked Layla, who looked at the graves. Christine was hit by a memory. Tina was laughing and said they should name it the Tina buddies; it'd look cool that way, she said. Also, Alex is my pal, isn't he? She puts an arm around Alex, and he replies, "Yes, of course," with a calm smile. 

Christine then smiles, snapping back into the present. We have to get going now, said Alex. Alright, coming said Christine as she went upstairs to get a book. It was what Luca gave to her as a pre-packing gift.