I woke up, saw that I was in my bed, and it was already night. I remembered the last thing I heard and saw. Jordan slowly turned into the "hero" that we despise and hate. It gave me chills just thinking about it. Did anyone know about it? Did anyone even realize that there is a hero among us?
"Oh, Zeed, you're okay." Wiwin came into my room and hugged me. "I thought we needed to go to the hospital. I'm glad we didn't."
"Look after your health, Zeed", that was Harold at my door. "We couldn't afford the hospital fees and/or the doctor to heal you."
"I'm sorry."
Then a chill just filled the room. Jordan spook, "What did I say, Zeed? You're too hard on yourself. You didn't even bring money back for the apartment."
There he was at the door with Harold. I looked into his eyes. I focus on it and then... "Zeed? Is anything wrong with Jordan?" Wiwin asked. "You look so pale. Should we find a cheap service doctor to...?"
I cut her short and said, "No! Nothing. I can take care of myself." When I said that, he smiled. He was there staring at me, as if giving a message. A message of threat. I got that chill feeling inside of me.
"Are you sure?" Wiwin kept on pursuing me. "It will be bad if we don't treat it faster."
"I'm sure it was just an exhausted feeling. I will have a rest." I said while having a little fumble with my words.
Jordan finally said something, "He seemed fine, Win. Let him be."And Harold continued, "If something happened, I'll be ready."Then Jordan said something sinister again, "If you worried about him that much... I'll look after him, how is that? We're friends anyway. Right, Zeed?"
I didn't answer. I mean, I wasn't even sure anymore. He changed— He was a different man before and after. I couldn't recognise him anymore. Instead, I rolled and looked away from everyone, "Yeah..." That's the best I could say. It wasn't an answer, it was more like a sigh with a heavy breath.
Wiwin and Harold went out; Jordan came in. Still looking away from him, I heard him sitting on my seat. I could imagine him staring at my board, looking through my research about Electrica. For a couple of minutes, he stared that down. Then...
"I would like to add something to your board. Do you mind?"
I rolled to see him already picking up the marker. I said with a defeated voice, "You want to add your discovery?"
He smiled and said, "Wouldn't it be valuable evidence for the research?"
I rolled back and said, "Whatever."
I could hear my marker touch my whiteboard. It was slid across the board, creating this eerie sound. I didn't know what he was writing, but it was surely a lot.
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"Done. You'll appreciate what I found while outside the apartment, Zeed. For now, just get your energy back..." He was coming in closer. Then he whispered, "You'll need it."
In that exact moment, I went back to sleep. Chill was all around my body. I think I got goosebumps all over my body.
Not too long after, I was in a weird space. I saw him— I saw Jordan. His younger self, at least. I saw him crying in front of the debris that took his parents' lives. His regret was surrounding him and me. It made the area feel dense. It was hard to breathe. I was in a dream, yet it felt so real. It felt like I was losing oxygen.
And there I heard, "This is how I feel. Know... my... pain..."
I jolted awake, and it was already morning. Wiwin heard me jolt and opened my door. "Zeed! Oh my goodness, you're such a pain. This is not good for your health. Yesterday, you collapsed, had pale skin, and now look at you! You were having a nightmare. You're not in a good state. We're going to the nearest clinic. NOW!"
I got pulled by Wiwin, and off we went to a clinic.
Somehow, my sickness went away upon stepping out of the apartment. Wiwin and I were confused... but I bet it had a different reason. I was confused about how it didn't affect me, even though he was still near me. Wiwin was probably confused about how my sweat and pale face could disappear after we stepped outside.
"Hey... your sickness was gone. That was strange.""Yeah..." I look at the apartment. I could see the black, dense aura surrounding it. "I was wondering about it too."
We decided to go back into the apartment. As soon as I went inside, the sickness came back. I collapsed, but not for long, because I launched myself back out of the apartment. I breathed the air and felt relief.
Wiwin asked, "The... apartment was the problem? Why is that? You've been okay since we've lived here. Has anything happened before? Did... something develop inside the apartment that you're the only one feeling it?"
Wiwin looked away and scanned the entrance of the apartment, while I was still gathering my energy on the ground. I pushed myself upward to stand up and saw him. He stood beside Wiwin.
"Jordan, I found the problem.""Hmm? What is it?""The apartment! The apartment was the problem."
I looked him dead in the eyes, and he stared me back. We didn't blink for a second. Wiwin broke our staring contest. "Guys! It's not the time! Hello!"
Jordan did something... I saw the aura rarefy. I could feel less density now. I stepped inside, and Wiwin cheered, "Oh, look! You're not sick anymore."
Before Wiwin hugged me, I told her, "Win... I think Jordan and I need to talk... in private. Give us some space, will you?"
She looked at us both, then left. She didn't say anything back.
We had the exact intense moment again. I opened up the conversation, "So, this is your power? Aura Intensity?"
"Sorry for making you sick inside my bubble.""You're not sorry. I could see through your eyes.""And I could see you have chills. You're not exactly ready for my power either.""Stop this, Jordan. You already know the consequence, but you still did it anyway. Why?"
He pulled up the heart and dropped it between us, "It served its purpose. She died within that time period. Someone pulled the trigger. She died because she didn't have much time.""You also have that ticking bomb, Jordan. You drank her blood, didn't you?""And I knew that ticking bomb. That's why we have one year. After it served its purpose, I died, but the world is in a better place.""That's what a hero would say."
He stepped forward and treaded the heart. The blood didn't come off; it was mostly guts. I was gagging a little bit, but stood my ground.
"You used your power now. Why?""I need to practice, Zeed. It wasn't exactly easy to control.""Is that your reason? You can't control it and let that aura linger around our apartment. Was that why?""Maybe.""... You're not my friend anymore, Jordan. Get lost!"
I stepped inside and decided to tell everyone. Before I got any further, Jordan tapped me on the shoulder.
"You won't...""Huh?""I planted something in you. Something that prevents you from telling the truth. So, just be a good man and keep researching the heroes' deaths. We need more information before we strike them down. You hear me!"