Guest UnfortuNATE

Chapter 12: The Unknown Enemy

"I just remembered something..." Riley stood up, pacing the room. "I asked him why would he even meet up with Rosa back then and he mentioned something about him finding out that she caused the death of someone in our high school as so she could prove herself worthy to be the devil's priestess."
Ace drew a sharp breath and nearly dropped her tea cup as realization seem to dawn upon her.
"My guts had been right all along." They all turned to look at her. "Club's death isn't what everyone think it is."

Club's death was ruled by the authorities as an accident and closed the case while many others believed it to be suicide. But, Ace thinks otherwise. It was neither. Even Spade, Diamond and Heart don't believe that she would kill herself. There was no reason for her to end her life just like that.
Even with them doing everything to find the truth behind her death, they were stuck as mysterious enough, there were no witness, no proofs, no CCTV footages, just nothing that could provide them with a lead or anything that could give them answers. What they got were even more questions.
That night was really just a mystery.
They were supposed to be celebrating her birthday at exactly midnight, so the girls are preparing the surprise for her at their dorm.
Clubs was at her parent's as they had also prepared a birthday celebration for her. They agreed that she'd come over only when it's already a quarter to 0000H. Her parents saw her off half an hour past 2300H but that'd be the last time they'll be seeing her alive. She never made it to their dorm and her friends who were waiting to surprise her got the biggest surprise of their life instead. The worst surprise. That she was found battling for her life, covered in her own blood right in front of their school building. No one saw her around the campus, not even one CCTV camera captured her entering or wandering around except when she was seen falling from the rooftop. But that was it. Only the frame where she landed but not of how she fell. The rooftop was unusually dark in the cameras too.
"When we rushed in there and I was holding her, I looked up and saw something. It was a woman's silhoutte, looking down at us before fading away like a shadow being consumed by the dark. I knew then that what I saw was something not belonging to the mortal world that's why I never mentioned it to anybody. It's not that you won't believe me but..." Ace seemed lost in her own world, playing with her tea. "Just like Riley, I didn't sit still and took matters in my own hands especially when they closed the case, ruling it out as an accident. For seven years, I had been scourenging for answers but getting nothing. Getting nowhere. Not until that day Nate called and Spade started seeing things with Dia having nightmares. I somehow deduced there could be something tying Nate with Clubs but I just can't figure it out."
Ace stopped to sip on her tea.
"Clubs could've been the sacrifice for Rosa's evil plan. And she could be coming after us. Nate was unfortunate enough to be caught up in this mess."
All four of them were frozen in place, trying to comprehend what they just heard, million questions running around their head.
"I believe that Rosa's hatred and anger was because of us, she is blaming us for having her reputation tarnished and her friends betraying her. She wanted vengeance."
She looked at Riley.
"Two years is an ample time for her to learn dark magics and prepare herself to be the priestess. She was supposed to come after the four of us but she had chanced upon Clubs. She was so naive and innocent, she doesn't even know Rosa. I don't know how Clubs could've possibly fallen into her trap but Rosa was certain that her death would be enough to make us suffer."
Ace's words are dripping with venom.
"And I hate how fucking right she was about that. Our lives were never the same again since that night."
Her friends remembered how she changed that night. She despised herself for not being able to save Clubs, and even more when she couldn't do anything to give her justice. She fell so hard into self-resentment that she even tried to kill herself if Heart wasn't able to stop her in time. That year was so tough for all of them. They were mourning the loss of a beloved friend and was struggling to keep another.
Especially for Heart. She became the rock of the group and it was Spade and Dia who struggled to keep her grounded as well.

But, one thing they will never know is how Ace had been fighting a losing battle alone. She knew that someone with a great dark power had been going after her friends. Having no knowledge about her enemy, she had exhausted her spiritual power to keep it at bay. And when her friends thought she was wasting away her life, she had been drained of all that she has left. Her unknown enemy was just too strong and too powerful.
That night Heart found her holding a gun to her head, she was ready to risk her life with the hope that in her spirit form, she could protect her loved ones better and without reserve. She might've really gone crazy that time.
That night shattered her best friend so she promised her she would do better. She promised to live for those she had left when Heart made her realized how dependent they had become of her already. Her death would definitely destroy them.
"Maybe that's why I wasn't able to get a hold of who was behind Clubs' death even though I've tried getting help from all the powerful spiritists that I know of. They all gave me one answer; that my enemy was too cunning and evasive. How could we ever know that she was in Indonesia, and a priestess at that. That explains her power."
"Even though she's a priestess, she was weak when she ain't near her roots, though. That I got to know of," Riley said.
"Have you ever been to Indonesia?" Ace asked after a while.
"No, as Nate had clearly warned me that death is waiting for me there. I could've risked it but he said he needed me alive."
"Who is helping you then?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't believe you are working on this alone," Ace shot him a knowing look.
"What do I expect from an Ace? I really couldn't hide anything from you, eh?" Riley smiled before admitting. "Nate's sister. She's the one feeding me information from Indonesia. But she's already on a plane here. As soon as I called to tell her of the news I got from you, I didn't even knew she already booked a flight. I'm sorry I wasn't able to get your permission first but I hope you don't mind, she can be stubborn sometimes."
"Of course not. We're truth seekers, after all. How could we deny a sister the chance to get to know the truth behind her brother's disappearance?"
Heart and Spade nodded in agreement.
"We need to pray that nothing goes wrong, though. We need her safe," Ace added. "We don't know how much Rosa knew and what she is capable of."

She then explained to them what really happened to her after Club's death.
"If she was really the one behind her death, then I know that she had been following each of us, determined to finish us off. When I noticed this dark and menacing aura during the funeral, I immediately went to Ms. Widuri, one of my mother's closest friends who practices sorceries to ward off evil spirits, and told her about it. Do you remember the bracelet and anklet I gave each of you? Those were amulets. And I brought her over once to have her cast extra protections over you without you knowing."
She finished her tea in a gulp.
"I think Rosa realized back then that she was overpowered especially now that we learned she was weak when away from her roots. Maybe she left but that doesn't mean it's over. She won't stop until she got what she wanted. Revenge."
"So all along, you've been trying to protect us from an unseen enemy?" Heart asked meekly.
"I don't want to lose any of you. Never again," Ace said as if its the most obvious answer. "And I promised Clubs I will give her the justice she deserves. I won't stop until I fulfilled that promise."
"I'm with you. Just tell me what you want me to do," Diamond stood up and went to her.
"You can stop doing this on your own now," Spade said, following suit. "It's all our fight after all."
"For Clubs." Heart stood up, going straight to the group and engulfing them in a big hug.
"And for Nate," Ace beckoned at Riley to come closer before pulling him in the circle.
For the first time in a long time, Riley felt peace and assurance that everything would be alright. Nate, I'm coming for you.