CODE Z: The Unseen (Cryptic Series #1)

25 | Time

Dritan's POV

1:00 AM ; Everything is a mess.

Lorcan is rapidly pressing his keyboard with his eyes focused on the laptop's screen while Caiden is focused on his cellphone, rapidly scrolling.

I watched the city lights, through my pad's floor-to-ceiling glass window. We actually go home from our individual places but just a while ago, loud continuous knocks disrupted the silence here. I saw Lorcan and Caiden looking so vigilantly with gadgets on their hands and so from that moment, I already know something was up.

I saw LED billboards or any kind of large telecommunication on tall buildings broadcasting the news about that cryptic message which shattered the peaceful evening of this city.

"Do you think this is him?" Caiden's voice broke me out of my deep thinking and so I turned around to face them.

"The person we tried to catch at Lien City", Lorcan said resuming what Caiden would like to tell.

What Lorcan said made me think. Is it really the same person? If so, why are he here now? Do he have a specific target here at the city?

"Let's focus on the message first" I said to them and sat beside Lorcan to see what he did in his laptop but I just saw the message from that anonymous user posted an hour ago.

#RÉCLAMER

48H = 00:00

37° 34N ; 127

From what I know, Réclamer translates to Reclaim from a french word. I think the second line means time? I am not sure yet because of that 48H word but I have a strong feeling I am right.

"Don't you think that 00:00 is familiar?" Caiden asked us and right after he said that I made an eye contact with Lorcan our eyes got bigger like we both just remembered something.

"Z?"

"Z"

We spoke at the same time but with different tone. Lorcan hesitantly said that but I spoke with assurance. I don't know but I have a strong guts about this.

"But is it really possible?" Caiden asked us in which Lorcan answered with, "Now that I think about it, it is really possible"

"Yes we witness the accident but no one got the evidence of him being dead", I said agreeing to what Lorcan spoke before.

"Anyway, back to the message. Have any clue what is this?" Lorcan said while pointing at his laptop's screen which the post was shown.

"Hashtag means reclaim, so I guess that anonymous, speculated as Z is taking a revenge or something a like" Caiden spoke with seriousness which also turned the room to be in a heavy atmosphere.

"What about the numbers? I can't track anything about this user" Lorcan said in dissapointed tone.

"I thinks it's about the time? Not a hundred percent sure though" Caiden answered him and I continue with, "Let's just be prepare for whatever is coming."

»•» ⚠️ «•«

Lorcan and Caiden go back at their individual places already and I am just watching the city lights, a thing I can't help but do whenever I am here at my pad.

A lot of things are in my mind nowadays. The tournament which would happen in a month, the continuously appearance of the 'anonymous' in which we speculated as Z, and a certain someone.

I suddenly remember the past me, the one who is like a God or at least that's what the others treated him. Everyone looks up on him and so he looks down at everyone. He thinks everyone is beneath him and he would get whatever he wanted.

He's firm at what he believed and would not take anyone's opinion. He treated the world as his not until that one letter code appeared.

A single letter yet that made him feel that someone is above him. That not everyone is beneath him and that he can't just have anything he wanted without giving an effort. That code gave him a challenge, something he is eager to solve.

And so he joined a team, the Aakil Team, solely for finding that one letter code.

Everyone thought it is because he loathed that code, but no. Everyone is wrong.

I did not loathed that code.

I did not joined Aakil Team to bring down that code.

I did not see that code as an enemy.

Z will never be my enemy.

Instead, that code gave me a new perspective.

I have been living in the light, someone who never touched the dark place.

But that code, gave me a new view. 

That not everyone living in the dark is evil. Sometimes peace can be found in the darkest place.

Remember that something shines the brightest in the darkest place.

A notification sound brought me out of my reminisce. I immediately took out my phone and saw it was from a Quez Forum. I clicked it and saw a familiar message from the same anonymous user again.

#RÉCLAMER

24H = 00:00

37° 34N ; 127

48H changed to 24H? Shit! I suddenly cursed out loud when I finally get what that number means! It really means the time, the post was posted at exactly the same time which means another day was gone – a reason why 48H turned to 24H (hours).

Now the only question is the last line.

I do have a gut feeling about what it is but I still can't be sure.

You can't be sure if it's Z we are talking about.

───── ❝ 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐁𝐲𝐊𝐫𝐱𝐬 ❞ ─────

I know it is short but I did my best to make this chapter full of information to keep them in mind! 

𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝙑𝙤𝙩𝙚, 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚!