Where is Xyrene

8

"What do you mean? I don't know what you're talking about" he denied at napakamot ng kanyang ulo

I know he knows something.

"I know you didn't tell me everything" sabi ko

"Is it about what I said earlier? Yun lang ang alam ko. I told you everything" he claimed

"Neivan, I know when you are lying" sabi ko

"Kalirea, yun nga lang ang alam ko" sabi niya

"Stop denying it. Liars go to hell, you know? Spill it Ivan, or I'll boil your teeth" banta ko sa kanya

He refused to tell me anything but I still kept on asking.

"Dali na! Mahiya ka naman!" sabi ko

"At bakit naman ako mahihiya?" tanong niya

"Ang dami dami mo nang kasalanan sa akin eh. Sabihin mo na kasi para makabawi ka oh!" sabi ko

"Ay aba" di makapaniwalang sabi ni Neivan

Sa huli ay wala siyang nagawa dahil sa kakulitan ko

"Ang kulit mo no!" sabi niya

"Sabihin mo na" pangungulit ko pa

"Fine, I saw something else that night" sagot niya sa akin

"What?" I asked

"She was there waiting for Eleven" he said

"Eleven?" tanong ko

"Yup. She was waiting for Eleven and once Leven came, they went somewhere. I thought that its weird but I didn't think anything about it" he answered

"Where did they go? Why did they meet up? I know I might be overacting but..."

"You're not" sabi niya

"Neivan, I'm not letting any information go." Sabi ko

"Maybe you should ask Eleven about this" Neivan suggested

"I will"

After our conversation, we just decided to eat and have a little chat.

"So ano ba talaga yung meron sainyo ni Marco?" tanong ni Neivan

Natawa ako at napangiti.

"Why do people always ask that? We are just friends. Bestfriends. Nothing more, nothing less" I answered

"Kalirea, hanggang ngayon ba umaasa ka pa rin na babalikan ka ni Miles?" Neivan said

"Tsk! Ano ka ba! Ew! No! No. I don't care about him anymore!" I denied

"Okay, whatever you say" sabi naman niya

Hinatid niya ako sa condo unit ko at pagkarating ko ay agad akong nakatulog sa pagod.

Kinabukasan ay saktong day off ko at bukas ay makikipagkita kami kay Eleven. Mayroon din kasing sasabihin si Esran tungkol sa nangyare sa kanya kahapon. Melo has discovered something online and Eleven has alot of explaining to do.

After washing myself, I put some clothes on and drank black coffee before going out to meet up with them.

Ofcourse, we'll be meeting up at my favorite breakfast place. Yup,  pancake house again.

When I got there, they were already eating. I sat next to Marco who's eating a ham and cheese omellete.

Melo who is also beside Marco, is eating french toast. Esran who's in front of him is eating a country breakfast. Eleven who is beside her is eating the same thing. Alystra is not yet here but there's a cup of coffee on the empty seat.

I noticed that there is a plate of classic pancakes and black coffee in front of me. My favorite!

"I already ordered for you" Marco said

"Thanks" I said and started to eat my delicious pancakes.

After a few minutes, Alystra came and ordered her own food.

Our whole table is busy eating and no one talked while we were eating. Sabi nga nila, eat first before you talk, and it looks like these guys haven't eaten for days. Biruin na ang bagong gising, wag lang ang gutom.

After eating, we finally discussed about what they found out these past few days.

Esran started the conversation by telling us what happened to her yesterday.

"May nakabangga akong lalaki, nahulog yung phone niya kaya pinulot ko para iabot sa kanya but I noticed the wallpaper of the phone. A picture of Xyrene and Iron and I know for sure that its Xyrene's phone because I went to Xyrene's dad to help me. When we called that number, and a man answered the phone. Thanks to tito Arman, we were able to track the guy and the police went after him." Esran said

"Then?"

"We got the chance to interview him. It turns out that he's just a simple thief. Nakita daw niya yung phone sa sahig at kinuha yun. Bebenta niya sana sa recto" Esran answered

"He's in prison now, but its a good thing that he was caught before selling the phone. I was able to confirm if that's really her phone and it's really hers. The police wanted to keep it but buti nalang napakiusapan ni tito Arman ang police since detective naman siya at siya ang ama ni Xyrene" Esran said

"So it's with tito Arman?" I asked

"Yup, but don't worry. He'll let us borrow it" Esran said

"Great job Es!" Alystra said

"May nahanap din ako" Melo said

"Ano?" Marco asked

"So I was recording a video, as usual. But while browsing on reddit, I saw a post. It includes cryptic messages and a picture of Xyrene eating from a far. I used a converter to decipher the cryptic text and it gave me random letters and number. I tried to convert it again but nothing happened. A youtuber friend of mine told me that it might be a link. So I copy and pasted the link and it brought me to a page with a black picture. I brightened up the picture and you know what's really weird?" he asked

"What?" Esran asked

"There's a quote or something in it that says; It's chasing me but I cannot run anymore. I'm trying to run but its almost...catching up." Melo said

What does that mean?

"What? That's weird" sabi ni Marco

"I know right" sabi naman ni Esran

"What's the username? Have you checked it's profile?" Alystra asked

"Yeah I did, and what's disturbing about it is that account is Xyrene's. It's linked to her other accounts and contains other post about being an IT. There's also memes that we know Xy understands so it's definitely hers." Sabi ni Melo

"That's weird but I have someone to share that's even weirder" I said and looked at Eleven

"What is it?" kinakabahang tanong sa akin ni Eleven

"I know you and Xyrene met up a few weeks before she went missing. Where did you go? What did you do? And what happened?" deretso kong tanong

"What? I...I don't know what you're talking about?" sabi ni Eleven

"Please wag ka na magdeny. Neivan saw it. I know that you have something to do with this. Just spill it" sabi ko

"Hey...wag mo ngang biglain si Eleven" sabi ni Alystra

"Okay fine. Ayaw mong sabihin? What if we go to tito Arman and check her phone to see if wala ka talagang alam sa mga sinasabi ko" I suggested

The color drained out of his face. He plastered a fake smile and said

"Let's see"