Of the Twisted and the Lost

Chapter 28:

The harbor tonight is the epitome of calmness: the waters are still, the sky is a curtain of ink, and the breeze is soft. 

"Hello?" Sera whispers, voice echoing, her breaths coming out in transparent puffs. "Junjie? Tell me you didn't abandon me for coming twenty minutes late." 

Silence. 

"God damnit," she breathes, looking out at the silent area. "Why did I have to be late tonight, of all days?" 

Pulling out her phone, she sends a message — Oh God, I am seriously so sorry for being late! But I'm here now. . . hopefully you didn't leave yet — praying that Junjie is still around this area. 

After a few minutes of looking around, noting the emptiness, Sera finally slumps in defeat. "Well," she says. "On the bright side, at least I got to see Cami and knows that she's alive—" 

Sera stops, straining her ears. 

There. 

The barely-hearable murmurs that speak of secrets and intriguing news. 

Sera moves towards the noise, following it towards an empty warehouse. "Who's there?" she demands, as the sound of a mental clang! resonates through the building. "I said, who's there?" 

Fear swirls through her, surging within as if warning Sera that something bad indeed is going to happen. 

The shadows seem to jump out at Sera, each step she takes faltering and hesitant. Another sound of something metal being dropped on the ground. 

"I have a salt spray," Sera snarls, using anger to cover up her fear. "And I will not hesitate to spray it on you." 

A rattling noise, shaking, like there's an earthquake. 

Then— 

A huge can roll towards Sera and she lets out a yelp of surprise, narrowly dancing to the side. 

Oh God, oh God, oh God! her mind screams, squinting blindly in the pitch-black darkness. Is someone trying to kill me? 

Suddenly, Sera's paranoia shoots up. 

Another can barrel in her direction, but this time, Sera's ready for it. "Who the hell are you?" she yells at the stifling air. "And can you please stop throwing things at me? It kinda makes me feel like you want to kill me, though I'm sure that's not your intention!" 

Silence greets Sera's words. 

Sera can nearly hear Cami tutting. For God's sake! she would've said. Stop acting so nice and kick them where it really hurts! 

Sera inhales deeply, heart pounding. Black dots her vision and she blinks, trying to regain focus once again. 

Focus, she orders herself, as she inches towards the middle of the room, her hand brushing against a metal shelf. Remain calm. 

Honestly, it's almost impossible to remain calm when you're in the dark, having only a metal shelf to guide your way. 

Positivity— 

It's also very hard to remain positive when you literally have someone throwing huge cans at you, possibly trying to murder people. 

God, stop thinking such negative stuff! 

It's completely possible to become drowned in your negative thoughts. 

Inhale. 

Exhale. 

You're fine. 

Sera is clearly not fine, as she hears another thud, her pulse wildly jumping around again. 

Inhale. 

Exhale. 

Sera's eyes dart around, trying to locate the person who's throwing the cans at her. She finds nothing but more darkness. 

Focus. Focus. Focus. 

Focus on not getting killed, Sera corrects herself, before a slightly darker thought crosses her mind: what will my funeral look like? I sincerely hope there's purple. 

Stop your irritating thoughts! Seriously. Stop thinking! Wait— 

Is that even possible, not thinking for at least a second? 

Sera inhales, then exhales. 

Her toe nudges something that feels strangely like brick and Sera shrieks. 

Then she freezes, her ears straining for a single sound. 

Nothing, except for her echoing scream. 

Maybe you're just being paranoid, Sera scolds herself. I mean, you did hallucinate a merman kiss you. Why not hallucinate someone trying to kill you? 

That's when another can comes spinning towards her. 

Oh God. 

Her first thought, as she dodges out of the way: I don't think I'm hallucinating. 

Her second thought: Jesus, someone's possibly trying to kill me by throwing metal cans that are about four feet tall at me. 

Her third thought: I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die. . . 

"Stop. Throwing. Things. At. Me." Sera's voice booms through the warehouse. "No offense, but it makes you seem like a child throwing a tantrum — and absolutely no one likes a tantrum-throwing baby who throws huge, metal cans at people!" 

Again, silence. 

Sera scoffs. 

"Come out and face me like a grown-up baby!" Sera thunders. "You think you can beat me? I call your bull!" 

Another can. 

Sera narrowly dodges. 

Then a second can, missing her by inches. 

"Seriously!" she screeches. "You're not being nice at all! Hasn't your mother taught you that throwing things — especially four-foot metal cans that can flatten someone in a second — is very rude!" 

I don't think I can keep this up, Sera thinks as she jumps away. I can already imagine the headlines: Almost Eighteen-Year-Old Girl Gets Flatten By Metal Can. 

"I have no clue what I did to you!" Sera blurts. "Can we, like, talk face-to-face, kinda like mature and responsible adults?" 

A tin whizzes by her. 

"Alright," she mumbles. "I think I've got my answer." 

Then— 

Sera's back hits something solid, and she spins around, barely containing a shriek of surprise. It's a wall. 

She's hit a dead-end, which means. . . 

"There's no one here," she realizes, before her eyebrows furrow together. "But then why would those metal huge cans be rolling towards me?" 

Sera exhales, before pulling out her phone. 

Light chases away the darkness. 

"What?" she whispers, eyes widening in disbelief, as she moves towards the shadowy figure. "This doesn't make sense." 

At all. 

Confusion bubbles through her, stifling and tightening its chokehold on her. 

Because why would her crush — and her enemy — standing together like they were close buddies?