𝗡𝗢𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗦

Chapter 23

The medics bring out Jake's body on a stretcher. Melody thought she'd only ever see a scene like this in movies. Part of her desperately wishes this was only a nightmare, but....

"My little boy!", Jake's mother rushes to the ambulance, trying to get a hold of her son's body. But her husband stops her before she does. She cries, her anguish ringing of the undeniable truth.

Melody looks over to Jay, who's still talking to the police.

He looks fine now.

All at once, she feels something creeping behind her. "Ah...", She sees Sunghoon smoothing out the blanket he just laid over her shoulders. "Stay warm", He says.

She smiles at his simple gesture. "Thanks, Sunghoon. Are you sure you're okay?".

"It's tragic. Jake was my friend too".

She takes his hand squeezing it tightly. "Yeah, and Jay needs our support more than ever. I don't want anyone else to die."

"We'll make sure it doesn't happen".

The conversation sparks hope in her heart, just as they see Jay coming towards them.

"Let's go", Jay mutters. "Huh? Go where?", Melody asks.

"To the orphanage, of course"

But that's...

"Are you sure that's a good idea right now", Sunghoon inquires. "You might not look it, but this has surely taken a toll on you. You're upset and exhausted. It would be better to rest."

Melody was suprised to see Sunghoon so worried about someone else. They've definitely all forged a strong bond after all the struggles they've been through. "I agree with Sunghoon. It's been a tough night, Jay. Maybe we should-"

"We only have time until sundown. We can't afford to waste time". It's clear that he's pushing himself to keep from breaking down. A mix of fury and anxiousness seeps out of him. "We're going to the orphanage. Now", He frowns, walking briskly towards Jake's car.

Jake's car....

Melody runs after him, worried. "We should return the car, Jay."

"They gave it to me"

"What do you mean?", Sunghoon raises his brow, curious.

"His old man says they don't want the car anymore", Jay answers.

She guessed to Jake's parents, the car is only going to be a source of painful memories.

Jay swiftly enters the driver's seat and turns on the engine without a hitch. Melody can't think of anything else that might stop him, so she decides to go along.

Sunghoon and Melody get into the car, knowing Jay is right. If they want to go back to their normal lives, they have to get out of the nightmare as soon as possible. Even if things can't ever be normal again...

Jay drives them to the orphanage. She catches glimpses of him from the rearview mirror.

Jay....

As soon as his name crosses her mind, his eyes suddenly shift across the planes of the mirror. He catches her reflection off guard.

"H-How far are we?", She asks, trying to calm her rampaging heartbeat. Why would you even look this way? Look at the road!

"Melody", His eyes slowly turn back to the road, his hand steady on the steering wheel. "You said the monster weakened after you regained your memories, right?"

"Yes", With the suddenly serious conversation, she leans closer towards the front seat. "But that obviously wasn't the case with Jake and Ari. I wonder why...."

Sunghoon stirs in his seat and folds his arms. "Actually, the monster kept growing."

"I've been doing some thinking so listen up", Jay steers the wheel to make a right turn. Then, he tells them his observations. "Throughout our encounter Jake kept rejecting the truth of his memories. That's the only difference i can think of between him and me."

No! That's not true. I didn't kill anyone!

"Hmm....You're right. The monster went berserk after he kept saying no", Sunghoon nods.

"Wait a second. If that's true, then..."

Jay catches her reflection in the rearview mirror again, giving a slight nod. "Jake cause his own death by not accepting the reality of his past."

"So not only do you have to remember, but you also have to accept your memories and overcome them", Sunghoon sighs.

"So letting your past get the best of you means death? ", Melody frowns. "If that really is the case, then that's harsh. Overcoming your past isn't easy."

The reason i was able to overcome it was because i realised i had all of my friends from the orphanage. I realised that my past wasn't all pain and suffering.

But Sunghoon's and Heeseung's memories remain. She prays that they realize that the past isn't all bad.

"The person responsible for this is him". By 'him' of course, Jay means the man they know so little about. Images of 'Father' flash through her mind. In her vision, he was kind. He didn't seem to be anything more than just a teacher at the orphanage. "It seems like he collected some kids for the orphanage so he could conduct his experiments."

"But why would he even do that?", Melody sighs.

"Rich people do a lot of shady things."

And its somewhat sickening toying with lives like this.

"But Heeseung—"

Jay's grip on the steering wheel tightens. Melody purses her lips and doesn't say anything more.

Heeseung, just who are you?

"So this 'Father' could be the owner of the orphanage", Sunghoon murmurs.

"Most likely", Jay nods.

"Thinking back on it, i can't think of anything suspicious about him. He just seemed like a kind-hearted teacher", Melody frowns. "But let's hope we can find some hints at the orphanage."

For Jake and Ari. Let's do this!

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A/n: There are still 19 chapters left. I am gonna faint from exhaustion—