Cordis's breath hitched, and before she could say another word, there was no more sound....
'For the love of God!'
She stood rooted on the ground for more than five minutes, her head spinning.
'Run?! From what?! I can just turn back and run from here, what the hell?!'
It was useless, though. No matter how ridiculously dangerous they sounded, Cordis knew they were not the enemy.
Looking around, "Follow the instructions, right?! It's clear someone is watching too, so what's the worst that—"
Shaking her head, "Scratch that! That statement is cursed. Engaging in this high-level stuff might actually boost my rank. That's a good way to look at it."
Taking a step forward, then another, she mustered up courage. From somewhere deep inside.
"How would you reach your goal if you chicken out of every tough situation, huh?"
Standing in front of the plain-looking mailbox, she had already decided—she was going to be brave.
She did as instructed and even though her heart hammered against her chest, her fingers remained still, pulling the envelope slowly with calculated precision.
'Lord, if I had any blessings coming to my future, please send them to my present!' she muttered, squinting her eyes a bit as she slowly turned and pulled it out.
"VI..." Her heart raced.
"VII..." Raced even faster.
"VIII!" She squealed internally.
'Yay!'
"Great Job, Cordis, you may now leave..."
'You're kidding?' she thought, already halfway out of the street.
'They'd be out of their mind thinking she'd remained there a second longer.'
Sprinting, she made sure her footsteps were as silent as possible. Even with her determined outlook, she was seconds away from boiling over.
One slipped, and she would ditch everything —including the envelope—and scream for help.
Composure be damned. No way she's dying in this filthy place.
By the time she felt even remotely safe, her lungs were already purple from exhaustion, and her troubled heart was pounding with reckless abandon.
She parted her lips, welcoming as much oxygen as her system could take. Not enough, she figured she needed to sit this one out.
Sprawling on the cold tar, her eyes lost focus as she let her mind wander, not thinking of anything in particular.
"Open the envelope and confirm the seal..."
The voice yanked her thoughts. Holding it in her left hand while she used her right hand to gently open it.
Inside, she pulled out a folded piece of paper. A watermark. The universe pentagram.
The seal of the Luminators — an old enemy of the church.
The light seekers, as they'll usually call themselves, were still an enemy... though they hadn't reached out directly in years, not as far as she knew.
So, she'd been right all along—this was indeed a very important mission.
But...why her?
"No! Don't!"
She recoiled, dropping the letter into her ears instead.
"Oh, my soul!" She cried, shaken. Feeling goosebumps prickle her skin, and her brain sloshing within her skull.
She wasn't sure if it was the little glance at the contents of the letter...but the voice—it wasn't from her earrings...
"Are you okay? Agent? Are you okay?" Voices assaulted her hearing, each a little bit distorted.
"I-I'm good..." She lied.
'I am not!' she retched inwardly, feeling nauseous. 'So not very good.'
She felt sick—felt everything and yet nothing all at once.
"If you can, restore the letter back into the envelope. We'll tell you where to drop it in a short while," the rich Italian accent reached her ears, tinged with concern, soft and comforting to listen to.
Unable to say another word, she simply nodded as she gently rested her head back on the cold concrete, hoping:
'Please, let 'shortly' take a while...'
---
Elsewhere...
"Seven! Seven! You have to wake up!" Miguel's voice echoed through the room in a low shout.
Seven had his eyes tightly shut like he was afraid to open them. His movements were frantic as if trying to reach out to something. His usual black clothes were drenched in sweat, and muffled sobs slipped past his lips.
*Slap!*
A desperate Miguel slapped him across the face, holding him upright as he watched him struggle to wake up from whatever nightmare he was having.
"Get it together, man..." He whispered, watching his eyes flutter open. His white pupils were unfocused and dilated, betraying his panic.
When focus returned, he stared dumbfoundedly at Miguel, unable to wrap his head around his situation.
Squinting his eyes in suspicion, he stammered:
"Y-you are alive...? I-I'm alive?"
He asked disbelievingly, looking around the room, only to be greeted by darkness.
"Did I hit you too hard?" Miguel questioned. "Is that... tears?"
Touching his face to confirm, he sniffed and swiftly turned his back on Miguel.
Pinching the ridge of his nose, he reached for his trust bracelet, running his hands through its wooden beads to stay calm.
"I was having a dream..." He mumbled, his ragged breath becoming more stable.
Seconds turned a full minute, and that was when it hit him...
What had happened before they blacked out?
"Where are we?" He asked, turning to meet Miguel's stare.
"I don't know; I mean, you saw...whatever it was, grab us both." He explained helplessly.
Looking around, Seven couldn't see past the distance between Miguel. There were no windows, and the door could be anywhere.
Not that he minded.
If they were still at the prison...he hated to admit it, but this empty room was more or less a decent hiding spot.
If!
"We are still in prison, right?" Seven inquired, realizing how weird the sentence was.
Silence followed as they listened to the sounds beyond the wall.
*Dazzle*
The lights in their mysterious place blared to life, and both boys quickly shielded their eyes from the sudden glare.
As their vision slowly adjusted to the lights in the room, they made out a figure crouched in a corner of the room.
With a close look, Seven's eyes beamed in realization, a hint of doubt flickering in them.
"Simon?!"
He called out inaudibly, prompting Miguel to snap his head towards him.
"T-that's Simon? The guy we came to find?" Miguel squealed, Seven's face folding a bit as his brows knitted into a faint frown.
Oblivious, Miguel reached out to Simon.
Seven, of course, wouldn't have it. He stepped back, his white eyes darkening as he took a quick glance around the White room.
"What is it, Sev?! He's right there! The third bully! The one that killed Jace!" Miguel yelped, searching Seven's eye.
Staring back at him, Seven's frown deepened.
'How can such a tragic thing be said so lightly?'
'Sure, everything's looking up for them—but in every disturbing way.'
In response, "This doesn't seem weird to you? Him right there? We were dragged here unconscious, for crying out loud! Something doesn't feel right..."
"So what? Turn back? Things have long spun out of our control, so we should stop resisting and just spin with it. When has anything ever felt right? We are cursed, Sev...cursed with these abilities..."
<"He's my curse!">
A whisper—sharp and shrill cut through the air, sounding less like it with every syllable.
They both turned to the disheveled figure.
His bloodshot eyes twitched. His head repeatedly tapped on the wall he was leaning on, and his thin fingers twirled around locks of unkempt hair.
A loud silence settled in the room, Seven could hear blood rushing through his ears.
Letting out a chuckle, Simon bent his head low.
Visibly trembling, he spoke between sobs:
<"You're looking for him, the quiet eyes with graceful steps?!">
They almost nodded. Miguel moved first, taking the lead. Seven followed closely behind, stopping abruptly in their tracks once they saw him look up.
Fresh scratch marks crisscrossed his face, lines of dried sweat and tears clinging to them.
He whimpered.
<"Why do we leave them? How do we leave them? Not in the one that split like a wishbone... the day we planted him.">
<"It was melodious, he said. He loved the trees... said he'd die for them. He knew their dance—like guilt in the wind. Always watching... always knowing... he shouldn't have known...">
If the events of the night so far didn't hurt their brain, the words from Simon did the trick.
Only then did they notice the fancy, high-tech 'massage' chair attached to the corner of the room.
Murphy's law had a name tonight.
They both shared the same thoughts.
'Dude is mad!'