One truth closer

AVA

"You understand what I had just explained, right, Ava?" Marcus Zephanie was looking right at me. I nod.

"Shay needs to heal. She isn't stable yet. In the meantime, you will have to take her place. But you have to remember Ava; this is only temporary. When she finally gets better, you know what needs to happen, understand?"

"Yes." I answered, my left hand hovering at the mark that has been freshly scorched on my left thigh.

When the time comes, I will have to pierce that mark with a sharp object until I start bleeding, which will trigger the poison to spread on my entire body, eradicating my existence slowly with every piece of me turning into nothing but a mere memory.

An all too familiar scent evaded my nostrils and brought me back to the present. I opened my eyes to the bright fluorescent lights, which I vaguely remembered had often appeared in my dreams.

Only this time, I wasn't dreaming anymore.

I tried to move but realized that I was bound to a metal board. Metal cuffs tightly secured my hands and feet. The familiarity of this instance only meant one thing.

"Hello, again, Ava. You had quite your fun, didn't you?" Marcus, the real Marcus Zephanie, said, a smug look on his face as he sat on a leather seat across from me.

There were only two probabilities that I could think of in an attempt to answer the inevitable question of what: what happened?

One: Shay Zephanie betrayed me. I was half-conscious but I heard her, loud and clear. And as far as I had known her, she always meant what she said.

That leaves me with possibility number two: Marcus Zephanie knew of her plan and beat her and her comrade in taking me hostage or whatever they had schemed to do with me.

Honestly, neither of those was preferable.

I'm getting tired of being caught in between their seemingly chaotic battle.

But then again, there was nothing I could do about it.

Either I play with one or I play with both, it didn't really matter. Whichever side I would pick, neither of them will be able to beat the other.

I noticed the white walls and instantly recognized where we were.

If my memory was right, this was the same prison in which I had been raised and taught by Marcus himself.

The wall was simply a mirage, concealing his lab and all that mayhem which he has yet to unveil.

"Marcus."

"My clone seemed to have treated you better. You look healthier." Marcus Zephanie knew that he had hit a chord. I clenched my hands into fists but still held my ground.

"He has and if there was one thing I learned while I was under his care, was the fact that he was a better man than you are and will ever be." I watched Marcus Zephanie laugh, clearly amused.

"You have indeed become somebody, Ava. I'm proud." Months of training and years of practice, I remained unfazed despite wanting to wipe the mirth off across Marcus Zephanie's face.

"Quit the act, Marcus. Why am I here? Why are you doing all of this?"

Marcus looked at me, probably trying to read what was going on inside my head.

"We had a deal, Ava. When the time comes, you know what to do." I looked at him directly in the eye, battling the surge of emotions going on inside me.

"I know what I need to do Marcus, I have never forgotten. My life, my entire existence, it was never mine."

Marcus let out a tired sigh.

"I am close to perfecting the cure, Ava. You have to find Shay and bring her back to me. And please, whatever happens, don't harm her."

I knew that the real Marcus Zephanie only cared about Shay. However, his replica had cared about me, and I was not too fond of the fact that he had him killed.

I clenched my hands into fists, hiding my anger and thirst for vengeance as I had all these years, forcing a stoic expression before looking at Marcus.

"I promise, I'll bring her back to you, unscathed."

"Then, we have another deal."

It was hardly a deal on my part. Rather, it was a death warrant.

Once Marcus finishes the cure for his daughter's terminal illness, it would be the end for me.

I had accepted that fate before.

However, just as Shay had broken her vow of silence, right at this moment, I'm refusing to accept the predestined ending that Marcus Zephanie had written for me.

I, too, would like to break my promise.

--

RAFAEL

We were back to square one.

I can't believe that we had been so close, but now we were back to a standstill.

It has been a week since my father was shot and had gratefully recovered.

It has also been a week of silence from our investigation case regarding Marcus Zephanie.

There was no evidence or even just a footage that would prove that either him or X was there at the party.

I stared at the investigation board, catching sight of Shay Zephanie's photo, which was still stuck beside Peter Trellis'.

Ever since the incident in the medical building, she had seemed different.

Compared to her somewhat mysterious personality and constant mind games to evade my questions, she had been a little open.

Though, anything related to Marcus Zephanie and X was still a closed-off topic.

Yet, I found it odd that she had started sharing about her life. Or at least the life she could remember before the apocalypse. She mostly talked about her mother, who was a heart surgeon.

I appreciate seeing this side of her. However, I also found it very odd.

I have been questioning myself lately. Was it because of what happened between us back at the medical building?

For a fleeting moment, we had been open about our feelings towards each other. It appeared that what we felt had been mutual all along.

I had no issue with that realization. But then, her sudden openness was quite bothersome.

Honestly, I liked her aura of enigma. It was what attracted me to her. So, right now, my detective instinct was cruelly torturing me.

"Come on, Rafael, you already live with her, could you stop staring at her face for a bit and focus on our job?" I turned to face Ronald, whose smile had instantly vanished the moment he saw my expression.

"Wait, I know that look. What is it this time, what have you found?"

"Nothing, I'm just going to grab some ramen." I got out of the swivel chair, snatching my coat, ignoring my friend, who was still trying to get an answer from me.

La Boutique offered a variety of food. I used to order ramen and eat it in the office. But for some reason, I was craving to have it right now.

When I was staring at Shay Zephanie's photo earlier, the image of her eating ramen had oddly flashed in my head.

I have no idea why.

Reaching out for my phone, I dialed her number.

"Hey." She chirped, answering on the first ring.

"Are you busy?"

"If you call lounging inside an empty home busy, then yes."

This was the other strange thing I had perceived but never gave a thought. Until now.

The Shay Zephanie that I had come to know wouldn't be hiding inside the four walls of an apartel, doing nothing.

The Shay Zephanie that I know was fearless, bold, and had promised to have my back.

The Shay Zephanie that I know, as I've now come to realize, wasn't the same Shay Zephanie whom I was talking to over the phone.