After the black car disappeared, the schoolyard did not return to normal.
Not really.
The noise came back first.
Voices. Footsteps. Movement.
But beneath it, something heavier remained.
Fear.
Again and again, students' eyes drifted toward the same thing.
The box.
"Don't get too close!" a teacher shouted.
Students stepped back at once.
Too quickly.
As if their bodies understood the danger before their minds did.
Bu Rini arrived with fast, controlled steps.
Not panicked.
Not confused.
Focused.
Pak Damar followed close behind.
"What happened here?" he asked.
Sinta pointed toward the box.
"They brought food… but it smelled strange."
Nearby, the younger student sat hunched over, one hand gripping his stomach.
His breathing was uneven.
Bu Rini knelt beside him immediately.
Gentle.
But precise.
"Are you okay?"
"…A little."
But he wasn't.
His face had gone pale. His fingers still trembled, as if something inside him had not finished reacting.
Pak Damar approached the box.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like he already expected something was wrong.
He lifted the lid.
Silence fell.
The smell hit instantly.
Sharp.
Bitter.
Rotten—
but not natural.
Students recoiled.
Some covered their noses.
Others stepped back even farther.
"Ugh—what is that?!"
Inside were dark plastic packages slick with oil.
Sticky.
Lifeless.
Not food.
Not even close.
Pak Damar's expression hardened.
"This didn't come from the school kitchen."
Bu Rini didn't answer.
She only stared into the box.
Longer than she should have.
Too long.
Then—
"…Who brought this?"
"A black car," Sinta said.
For a brief second, Bu Rini and Pak Damar looked at each other.
And in that moment, something passed between them.
Not confusion.
Not shock.
Recognition.
One of the teachers immediately turned and hurried toward the office.
Fast.
Urgent.
Arga noticed everything.
The moment the box had opened, his body responded.
Heat surged through him.
Sharp.
Violent.
Not warmth.
Not power.
Rejection.
Every instinct inside him pushed against it.
This is wrong.
Bimo stepped beside him.
"…I hate that smell."
"Yeah."
Sinta kept staring at the student on the ground.
"If he ate more…"
She stopped.
Didn't finish.
Didn't need to.
Bu Rini closed the lid quickly.
"Don't touch this."
Pak Damar lifted the box.
"We're taking it to the office."
And just like that, the center of everything moved away from them.
Students were ordered back to class.
Slowly.
Reluctantly.
They obeyed.
But Arga didn't move.
His eyes followed the box with every step.
Sinta noticed immediately.
"…You're thinking it too."
Arga nodded.
"We can't just leave it."
Bimo frowned.
"Leave what?"
Arga lowered his voice.
"That box."
A pause.
"It's the source."
Silence.
Sinta understood at once.
"You want to follow it."
"…Before they hide it."
Bimo looked between them.
Uneasy.
"This is a bad idea."
"Yeah," Sinta said calmly.
"But we're doing it."
Bimo sighed.
Long.
Defeated.
"…Of course we are."
The First Mission
They moved carefully along the side of the building.
Close to the walls.
Avoiding attention.
Timing their steps between passing teachers.
Not running.
Not rushing.
But absolutely not where they were supposed to be.
They followed the box to the office building.
Pak Damar entered.
The door shut behind him.
Click.
Arga stopped.
His heartbeat quickened.
"…Okay," Bimo whispered. "What now?"
Arga took a slow breath.
"We go in."
"You're serious?"
Sinta was already moving.
"Too late to stop now."
Inside the Office
The hallway was quiet.
Too quiet.
But the smell still lingered in the air.
Faint.
Guiding.
They followed it step by step until they reached a half-open door.
Voices came from inside.
"…This is not food."
Pak Damar.
"…We need to report this immediately."
A pause.
Then Bu Rini answered.
Calm.
Too calm.
"…No."
Everything inside Arga froze.
No?
Pak Damar sounded uncertain.
"If we report this now—"
"They'll know we've noticed."
Her voice dropped lower.
Controlled.
Calculated.
"And we're not ready."
Arga's chest tightened.
Sinta's eyes widened.
Bimo forgot to breathe.
The Discovery
Bu Rini stepped closer to the box.
"You felt it, didn't you?"
Silence.
"Something… different."
No answer came.
But silence said enough.
Arga's fingers curled into fists.
She knows.
Not guessing.
Not assuming.
She knows.
Sinta leaned closer to him.
"She's not surprised."
Bimo swallowed.
"She's involved."
Arga shook his head slightly.
"…Or she's been waiting."
The Truth
Inside the room, Bu Rini spoke again.
"This isn't the first time."
The words hit like a crack through glass.
Arga's heartbeat dropped.
Not the first time.
Which meant this had started long before them.
Long before the lunch box reached his hands.
Then the box moved.
Just slightly.
A faint glow leaked through the lid.
Arga felt it instantly.
The energy inside him surged in response.
Not pushing.
Pulling.
Calling.
"It's reacting to us," he whispered.
Sinta nodded.
"It knows we're here."
Bimo took a step back.
"I really don't like that."
Inside the room, Bu Rini turned sharply.
"Did you see that?"
Pak Damar hesitated.
"…The box just moved."
Silence.
Then footsteps.
Closer.
Toward the door.
Too Late
Arga's eyes widened.
"They're coming."
"Hide," Sinta whispered.
Too late.
The door opened.
And everything stopped.
Arga.
Sinta.
Bimo.
And Bu Rini.
Their eyes met.
Silence stretched between them.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Then she exhaled.
Softly.
Measured.
"…So you followed it."
No anger.
No surprise.
Only acceptance.
She stepped outside and closed the door behind her.
Click.
Now it was just them.
She walked closer.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
"You weren't supposed to see this yet."
Arga swallowed.
"But now that you have…"
Her gaze sharpened.
Not cold.
Not cruel.
Certain.
"…you don't get to walk away anymore."