The Sixth Passenger - Chapter 9: The Fake Smile

📅 21 June 2027

🕛 Thursday, 9.10pm

📍 Tasek Gelugor, Penang

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We reached Ajay's elder brother's house.

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But we were too late.

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The nurse checked Detective Kannan's pulse and slowly shook her head.

He was gone.

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Ajay and his brother broke down.

They knew it was coming... but not this soon.

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Martin and I stood in silence.

We had missed our chance to ask him. Again, we were stuck. Lost.

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But I didn't want to give up. Not yet.

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I had learned a mystical art from a Chinese monk - a forbidden method to hold a spirit after death for a few minutes... and speak to it.

But it was extremely risky.

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I had to meditate and hold my breath, allowing my soul to leave my body. The ritual had to be done exactly 25 minutes after death.

And last time I did this, it nearly killed me.

Because once the soul leaves the body... demons come hunting.

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I told Martin.

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He immediately objected.

"You're crazy. You'll die."

But I convinced him.

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We explained everything to Ajay.

To my surprise, he understood. Desperate times demand desperate faith.

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I returned to my car.

It was sealed with a protection spell-a sacred charm to defend my body from possession while I was in soul form.

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I waited for Martin to give me the signal.

Time was ticking.

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📅 21 June 2027

🕛 Thursday, 9.47pm

📍 Tasek Gelugor, Penang

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The phone rang.

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It was time.

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I switched off the engine. Took a deep breath. Closed my eyes.

And let go.

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In my soul form, I saw shadows creeping in... demons.

They were scratching the edges of the barrier, trying to get inside.

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But the spell held them back.

I rushed out of the car and into the house.

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Inside, I saw Detective Kannan's soul, standing near his body.

He looked peaceful. Calm. Like he was waiting.

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I approached him.

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> "You must be here for the girls," he said.

I nodded.

"Is there anything you can help us with?" I asked.

"My diary," he replied. "It has all the clues you need. Ask Ajay."

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Suddenly, the skies opened, and light descended.

The angels had come.

They took him away.

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His soul vanished into peace.

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But I wasn't done.

I turned to return to my body...

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And the demons were waiting.

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They had blocked the path. I couldn't fight them - they were too strong. I was trapped in the spiritual realm.

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Back in the real world, Martin was watching the time.

It had been more than five minutes.

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He felt something was wrong.

He tried to open the car door - but it was locked.

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Inside, I was panicking.

This could be the end.

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Then it happened.

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A sudden bright light cut through the darkness.

A lion - majestic and radiant - appeared from nowhere. It roared, tearing through the demons. One by one, it crushed them.

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I didn't understand what I saw.

But I used the moment. Escaped. Returned.

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The car doors swung open.

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Martin pulled me out and shouted,

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> "You're not doing that again, idiot!"

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I was still shaking, but grateful.

Who helped me?

Who was that lion?

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I didn't know.

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I only looked up at the sky and whispered,

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> "Thank you."

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I told Martin and Ajay what Detective Kannan had said.

Ajay's eyes widened.

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> "I know that diary," he said.

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He retrieved it.

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The moment I touched it, I knew -

It was the same one from my dream.

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📅 21 June 2027

🕛 Thursday, 11.00pm

📍 Ajay's House, Penang

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We studied the diary together.

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It was handwritten - raw and honest.

Detective Kannan's final words.

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The first half detailed the Slayer's horrific crimes. His twisted obsession with fame, his patterns, and the breakthrough that led to his capture.

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But then came the part that turned everything upside down.

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It was about the girls.

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Shabana and Ravana - identical twins.

But Shabana was the eldest. And... different.

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Braver. Colder.

Not afraid of their father.

She loved him.

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And then... the photographs.

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Hidden deep in the Slayer's basement, Detective Kannan had found photos of Shabana helping her father - not just watching - but participating in his killings.

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The timestamps didn't lie.

On those exact days, Ravana was living with her mother.

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It was Shabana.

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The detective wrote that when he first rescued the girls, Ravana was traumatized, terrified.

But Shabana was... angry.

She hated Kannan. For taking away her father.

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The doctors said she showed signs of mental instability.

Almost identical to her father.

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Still, Kannan handed them to their aunt.

He warned her. But she promised to raise them right.

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By the time he discovered the truth, it was too late.

Shabana had vanished.

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Years later, he traced her again.

She was a teacher now, working with orphans. Calm. Soft-spoken.

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She claimed she had changed.

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And maybe... she had.

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So, the detective made a painful choice.

He hid the photos.

And locked the truth away.

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But in the final pages, he wrote:

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> "If this diary is ever read... it means something has gone wrong.

Maybe I was wrong to trust her.

I only wanted peace."

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We closed the book.

The truth was heavy.

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We had answers. But now, new questions.

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Who was watching her suicide in the mask?

Who's the killer now?

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We thanked Ajay for everything - and sent our deepest condolences for his loss.

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Then we left for KL.

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Now we had a new lead.

A darker layer of Shabana's past.

A broken truth behind the fake smile.

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---

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