Thalia's phone was ringing while she was resting in the small house where she was staying now. She immediately checked who was calling her.
She furrowed her brow and immediately answered it.
"Sister," she answered on the other line.
"Thalia." Jenny said she felt concern in her voice.
"Are you okay, sis?" Thalia asked, alarmed about what was happening to her sister right now.
"Thalia, have you talked to Vince?" Her older brother's question came from the other line.
"W—What is it, brother? Vince is still busy right now." She said, wondering about their actions on the other line.
"Ah, Vince, I'm really going to kick you." She heard his brother's complaint.
That's why she couldn't help but frown.
"Is that your brother?" She heard Vince ask her a question, and then she looked at him.
She nodded immediately.
"Give your phone to Vince for a moment, Thalia. I want to talk to him." Felix spoke on the other line.
She looked at her cousin then. "Big brother will talk to you." She immediately handed her phone to the person in front of her.
Vince didn't say anything and accepted her phone. She didn't leave the room.
What will Vince say to me? He could only ask.
"I was going to tell Thalia, but you called out of the blue." She heard him complain. So she just looked and waited for her to say it.
"Okay, can you forgive me now?" He just sighed and scratched his head.
Curiosity was beginning to overwhelm her.
"So why did you call?" He suddenly asked, his voice becoming serious.
She, on the other hand, just stood up from her bed. She didn't know, but it was saying that her cousin knew something about what was happening now.
Thalia even saw him hang up the phone, and she was also wondering why the conversation had become serious, with her intently listening to her older brother. After a while, he hung up the phone and returned it to her while staring at her.
Vince sighed before speaking. "Ah, the abilities really do run in our family. I don't know which of our ancestors passed this on to us, but it's not good." This made him say.
Ability? I didn't say I had any ability. Thalia thought to herself and looked at the person in front of her with astonishment.
Vince only sat on the monoblock chair. "I know why you're here, Thalia," he said to her. "You are here to find the truth hidden in each of your dreams, right?" He asked her.
Thalia swallowed then, before she spoke. She cleared her throat to remove a stuck thorn.
"Brother, do you have any abilities too?" Thalia then asked Vince, looking at her intently.
"I can't lie to you, but yes, I have the ability." Confessing to her.
"If you know the reason why I'm here, you also know what I'm looking for."
"Yeah, I know what you're looking for." He ended up saying it.
Vince paused to think for a moment before letting out a sigh. "To be precise, I am a member of that organization."
At that moment, she looked at her cousin, wondering if she had heard correctly that this person was a member of the same organization in which her cousin, Fernan, was also involved. She couldn't speak back then.
"Do you know what is happening in the organization you are referring to now? They're killing people, Vince!" She stood up then and couldn't calm the feeling she had now.
Vince sighed. "That's why I'm having second thoughts about whether to tell you."
Thalia stopped then, afraid to ask because she knew her world would crumble upon learning, but she needed to ask the person in front of her.
"Does my big brother Felix also know about this?" Thalia asked, her hand trembling.
"Yeah, he's our source for what's happening outside. Now, I can say that the organization is chaotic, Thalia. Your choice shocked me. Now that you know, will you still continue?" He asked her, looking at her seriously.
"Why did my brother get involved?" she asked. Thalia just sat down because of the tension she was feeling now.
Vince let out a sigh.
"Thalia, your brother did it to find out whether what happened to your parents was an accident or intentional until he learned that Fernan had joined the organization I am now involved with, because this was Fernan's way of feeding their hungry stomachs."
"Never has Fernan killed anyone; his only task was to hide the bodies of those killed by the organization, people with no conscience."
"Instead of reporting to the police, Felix decided to become an informant who was always with Fernan. Fernan is also going on a journey, so he decided to talk to other members who feel the same way we do now."
Her cousin stared at her. Vince sighed again.
"Will you forgive our cousin, Thalia?" Vince asked her.
"It shouldn't be like that; don't put the justice in our hands." Thalia just shook her head.
Vince sarcastically laughed at her back then. "You can only say that now, Thalia. You are here to seek the truth; I know you will discover many more things." It also said.
"I'll ask you again, will you continue?" He asked her.
She didn't speak immediately, but she knew she needed to find out more, similar to what the person in front of her said.
Thalia swallowed. "I need to continue what I've started, because my ability, as well as Jasmin's, won't leave me alone." Thalia said that.
"Really," he sighed. "It's truly ingrained in our DNA to be stubborn." Vince could only shake his head in disapproval at her decision. "Well, if you really desire it, I can only say one thing: be careful of the enemies' traps, Thalia. I can't save you, even if your brother told me to take care of you. Proceed at your own risk, Thalia." Vince was frankly honest with her.
He gave a map. She looked at it.
"Study that map; it shows the extent of the forest we are in." He explained it to her.
She noticed that it had some crosses. "What do these crosses and checks mean?" Thalia could only ask.
"The cross serves as a danger zone for people like us, while the check is a safe place. When you get to that check, look for the small hut and bring the codename "Beta." Use the code I gave you." Vince also told Thalia.
She nodded then.
"To hang out, you can go out at night or in the morning, but don't go to the warehouse." Vince warned Thalia.
Her hand trembled then. She knew what he was referring to.
"Don't worry," he sighed and ruffled her hair. "I will do my best to guide you through this jungle." Vince said.
She could only nod.
"By the way, I see in my premonition that you will be with Chesca and another woman." Vince couldn't help but say.
The name she heard surprised her. Chesca? Ruth? She thought to herself.
"Your paths will cross again, Thalia."
Thalia didn't say anything more and just nodded. She no longer knew how she would get along with Chesca when their paths crossed.