Day 236 - Thursday, 8:00 AM
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The first thing I did that morning was confront Ajay.
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His silence only made my questions grow louder inside my head. And for the first time, that idiot actually looked shy.
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I stared at him. "Tell me the truth."
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Ajay scratched his head and replied, "Back in primary school, I had a neighbour. A girl. We were very close. Her father was a policeman, and one day, he got transferred to another state. They left suddenly. She didn't even say goodbye... just waved from inside the car and disappeared."
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He paused, then continued, "And now Kohila... her face, especially her forehead... reminds me of her."
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I was stunned. I remembered him telling me about that girl once. So, I handed him my Magic 8 Ball. The answer floated up: "Do it with all your heart."
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"No escape now," I told him.
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Later, Ajay finally gathered the courage and spoke to Kohila. And guess what?
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She was the girl.
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They stood frozen for a moment, then burst out laughing. The look on their faces - butterflies, heart emojis, all floating in the air of my magical imagination. After all these years, I was genuinely happy for Ajay.
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We soon resumed our journey, aiming to reach Linggi or at least Tanjung Agas by sunset. We stuck to kampung roads and plantation trails to avoid danger.
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Ajay and Kohila were clearly enjoying each other's company. We all took turns carrying little Dev. Mostly, it was K-Zhaii. I could sense something was going on in his mind every time he looked at Dev.
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Day 236 - Thursday, 2:30 PM
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We reached a small petrol station and decided to take a break for lunch after checking the perimeter.
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Suddenly, Kohila screamed.
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We rushed toward her - only to find it was just a snake.
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K-Zhaii acted fast. He was surprisingly skilled with snakes. Calmly, he trapped it and threw it far into the trees.
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While eating, K-Zhaii asked more questions about the attackers from the previous day. Then, he shared something strange.
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"One time," he said, "our Zhaii group faced a truck full of Rottens. But what shook us was the man on top of the truck. He raised a knife, shouted 'To the All Known!' and stabbed himself."
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"He was wearing the same uniform Kohila mentioned yesterday," he added.
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Then Professor Joe spoke up. "In Pahang, we were heading to a lab to retrieve a chemical compound. Outside the lab, we saw people wearing that same outfit. They weren't fighting the Rottens... they were trying to capture them. Using taser sticks and lasso ropes."
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Everyone fell silent.
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We all exchanged looks - the kind of looks that said, this just got deeper.
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After lunch, we continued moving. By evening, we reached Linggi, a quiet rural town at the Negeri Sembilan-Melaka border.
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Thanks to Mr. Amar, we had a safehouse location. He even gave us the key before we left.
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We secured the area, activated Cyclops for perimeter defense, and finally settled in.
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Our feet had gotten used to walking every day - but our bodies were still exhausted.
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That night, we decided to play a small game, something to lift the mood. It felt like we were a family now. K-Zhaii told me privately about his younger brother, the same age as Dev. "I miss him every day," he said softly.
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Just as we were falling asleep, Cyclops beeped.
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We froze.
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We checked the monitor and saw trucks stopping outside the house. Men in matching outfits, just like the ones Kohila, K-Zhaii, and Professor Joe described.
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One of them raised a speaker and shouted:
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> "You have three minutes. Surrender now to the Servants - or we'll blast the doors and release the creatures."
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Our hearts dropped.
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and then Add to home screen.