The Zetta Sonic
Cold Water

Jayden blinked in a dim room. No, not the room. He realized that the room was shaking. No, not shaking. The room is moving. More precisely, he was in a moving object. Not cars. The room was too big to be part of the car. It could be from a truck or bus. But, the movement of the room was clearly too smooth.

It's a plane.

Jayden groans as he moves his neck. He feels very uncomfortable. In addition to pain, there is a piercing dizziness. The memories reminded him of the unexpected attack from the guards. Not a fun thing. Especially when he remembered that right now his assailant could be there as well.

His feet can move freely, his hands are not. The handcuffs still hold him. This time there was an extra. The handcuffs are connected by chains. The chain is connected to the bed where it lies, while the bed itself is attached to the wall. His body lay on a hard pedestal. He could not even tell if he was lying on the mat or the bed directly.

His nose feels frozen. The air feels cold. It smells strange, like a mixture of rust and fishy smell. It reminds Jayden of a ship. The difference is that ships cannot fly. If he wasn't wearing warm clothes, he would be shivering right now.

The light came from a pair of lights attached to the wall. He was alone in the room. There was nothing there but his bed. The only door is opposite to its current position. As he forced his seat, Jayden grimaced. The pain is getting worse. There may be bruises there.

At that moment, the door swung inward. A girl he knew entered.

“You wake up pretty fast.” Camellia closed the door behind her. In his hand was a bottle of water.

“Actually, I hope to be welcomed warm tea.”

“Do not force your luck, Jayden.” Camellia stood in front of him. His hand opened the bottle and handed it over. “I'm sure you can drink by yourself.”

Jayden has sat down. He could easily take the bottle. Unfortunately, the water was too cold. Instead of refreshing, Jayden felt his throat was entered by an inhospitable liquid.

Camellia moved forward until her face was so close. His hand reached Jayden's neck. The cold and plump fingers gave another unfriendly sensation. This made Jayden spontaneously move. “Stop moving!” pinta Camilla in a whisper. “Let them think I'm kissing you.”

Jayden frowning. “Cium who?”

“It's not hard to make them believe. You're good-looking. Enough teasing.”

It was indeed not the first time Jayden heard such praise even though the word ‘ seduces’ feels uncomfortable for him. Then, she realized the reason why Camellia did all of that. “Camera? Behind you?”

“Above door.” Camellia stroked Jayden's back neck. It made him shiver, a cold and amused mixture. “Don't worry, Jayden, that camera just captures pictures instead of sound. Now, keep quiet.”

“What are you doing... applying ointment?”

“You prefer me to polish poison?”

“No, I prefer my handcuff keys.”

“Trust me, I also want to give it to you. Unfortunately, the key is in them. Taking it would be very suspicious. Be kind and we'll get through these dark times together.”

“Do not know. The place is always changing. Finance is transferred from different banks in different parts of the world. Large amounts are always cash. The workers are moved from one place to another every month. You're lucky I'm here.”

“You deliberately put yourself here.”

“Maybe. I try not too far from home.” Camellia pulled herself up and threw a thin smile. “Don't go too far or you'll get lost. Not like this time. We're closer than you thought.”

“What does he want?”

“For now, only one thing I can say. Zetta Sonic.” Camellia turned.

“Many people want the death of Zetta Sonic.”

“I don't think he wants to kill her. Maybe just want to steal the technology.”

“As far as I know, the technology has not been successfully made again. After all, if that's true, he should have captured Zetta Sonic while he could. I'm pretty sure he has plenty of chances if he wants to. He has another agenda.”

“I think you have plenty of time to think about it.” Camellia smiled a wry smile. “As long as we continue to air, I mean.”

Jayden was silent for a moment. He could guess the hidden meaning of Camellia's words and it was definitely not something favorable to him. “How long is this flight?”

“As long as needed, Jayden. Like I said, you have plenty of time to think things through.”

Camellia turned around and walked out of the room. Jayden was left alone again. He saw a water bottle in his hand. The water inside shook slowly. Dew on the outside of the bottle flows slowly, soaking up the fingers.

Jayden closed his eyes for a moment. There is always a reason to think positively. At least, he is not alone at the moment. From the very beginning Camellia came to him, Jayden knew that the girl had her own agenda. He did not think Camellia was on his side. So, when he saw the suspicious behavior and strange writing on the video he was watching, Jayden felt that the girl was like his guardian angel.

At the moment, the ICPA must know that he is still alive. They'll be looking for him. Too bad, when he found out where it was first held, they moved it. They gave him thick clothes. His new place must have a hostile temperature. The temperature that was caressing his skin right now just felt freezing. It may not be below zero degrees Celsius or not.

In that windowless closed room, Jayden could not recognize where he really was. The Sinde continent is not the largest continent in the world. Even so, there are a lot of different places, ranging from the desert to the snowfields. According to Jayden himself, it is unlikely that he was taken out of the continent.

While busy guessing, Jayden began to feel that his plane was moving down. It felt clear in his ears. The uncomfortable buzzing felt. The water in the bottle rippled unsettled. However, it only happened for a while.

Next, he found two large-bodied men opening the door in front of him. Not opening, but slamming. These two were not people Jayden had ever seen. They were different officers, speaking in different tongues, wearing different clothes. Both told him to come out. Without any intention of resisting, Jayden according. He was greeted by a grim hallway, the smell of rust, a tiny window with a view of the gray sky, and a string of rope that gave up from the ties. He's on a cargo plane.

They walked across a narrow passageway and arrived in front of a door. The door's open. The inhospitable air came in. Cold pierced. The wind carried snow and dust. Jayden thought they were going to throw him out. After he saw what was behind the door, Jayden realized it was even worse.

“Seriously? You must be kidding me!”