During that moment, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to control his feelings of starvation. "I know I should've at least grabbed something to eat before I left."
After opening his eyes and sighing deeply, Victor immediately looked around his car and wondered if there was anything he could munch on before his gaze soon landed on the glove compartment. He then quickly leaned forward and rummaged through it, hoping for a miracle, and there it was – a couple of granola bars, his emergency snack.
"Well, beggars can't be choosers," he said, grabbing one of the bars and unwrapping it. As he munched on the dry snack, he couldn't help but think about his ridiculous argument with that woman a moment ago, and he couldn't help but grumble, "What a waste of energy."
Victor sighed, leaning back in his seat, the granola bar crumbs crunching softly between his teeth. He stared out the window, watching the slow crawl of cars, each one filled with equally frustrated people.
"Man, this is brutal," he muttered to himself. "I need something, anything, to take my mind off this."
He glanced at his phone, which was lying face down on the passenger seat, and thought about playing some games he had installed on his phone, but he quickly dismissed the idea. "I've played those games to death. They're just… boring now."
As he idly tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and gazed out at the window, his eyes soon landed on a family in the car next to him. The kids were fidgeting, the parents looked exhausted, and the dog was panting heavily.
"They're probably having a worse time than I," he thought, feeling a little sympathy for the parents having to go through this entire situation. He watched as the little girl in the back seat started crying, and the mother sighed, rubbing her temples. "Man, that's rough."
"Well, that's life for you," Victor muttered, his gaze still fixed on the struggling family in the adjacent car, when a thought suddenly crossed his mind, with his gaze glanced at the radio. "Hmmm…"
"That's right," he said, reaching for the radio and beginning to flip through channels, tuning through the available stations, a mix of familiar and unfamiliar names filling the list. "I should start listening to those new podcasts everyone keeps babbling about."
"And since everyone is hyping it so much, let's hope it will not ruin my expectations," Victor sighed, vaguely remembering that a lot of his colleagues seem to be enjoying it. After a few minutes of channel surfing, he stumbled upon a promising podcast. The host had a lively voice and a casual tone, and the topic seemed interesting enough. "Hmm…"
"This wasn't the one I was looking for, but this works too," Victor muttered, adjusting the channel's volume. A smile crept soon across his face as he listened intently to the host's engaging banter with what appeared to be another host. "Not bad, not bad at all."
Just as he was about to engross himself in the podcast, a sudden yet short honk suddenly erupted behind him out of nowhere.
*HONK!*
"What the fuck?!?" Victor muttered, rolling his eyes and turning to the side mirror. Through it, he saw a frustrated-looking man in the car behind him, flipping him off. "Why are you giving me the finger? What did I do, motherfucker?"
While Victor angrily ranted toward the frustrated-looking man behind, on the road in a different location, a man with light brown hair was cruising down the empty highway. His name is Marco, and he was dressed in a faded pair of well-worn jeans, a soft, well-loved t-shirt, and a comfortable, slightly oversized denim jacket.
As his rectangular glasses sat neatly on his face, he stared at the road, with the rhythmic hum of the engine providing a soothing backdrop to him as his mind was completely occupied by a certain matter before suddenly bursting into a fit of laughter. "Finally…FUCKING FINALLY."
"You know how long I have been waiting for that stupid book to light up?" Marco exclaimed, a wide grin spread on his lips as his mind replayed the scene where he had just entered his bedroom after taking a nice bath, damp hair being wiped with a towel, and saw a book on the table shining brightly.
During that moment, Marco quickly dashed to the brightly shining book despite the towel wrapped around his waist having fallen on the floor, and the moment his finger touched the cover, it immediately flipped open to a certain part of the book. From what he can see, the part that was opened specifically belonged to Victor Gabriel and was full of his life story journey, with some parts being crossed out.
"For five years…Five freaking years," Marco said, feeling the high adrenaline that appeared from the unexpected bomb that was dropped out of nowhere, running until now. "Can you believe it? I have been waiting five whole years for this kind of moment."
Every day before going to bed, Marco always looks at his journal, hoping for some kind of clue or miracle that can help him after he found out that Victor's life story had been going strong yet also pretty stagnated due to not having any kind of ending when he first accepted the task.
This was considered an incomplete tale, and the worst part was that the higher-ups in the organisation couldn't even properly perceive what is the reason for this matter to happen, causing it to be categorised as an indefinite grade.
"When I finally go back to headquarters, I'll definitely enjoy kicking that bastard's ass for tricking me into this," Marco grumbled, a deep scowl settling on his face. The morning sun glinted off his sunglasses, making it hard to see his eyes, but the rage in his voice was clear. "I will get my revenge."
Grumble~
As he planned all the things he wanted to do when everything was over, his stomach growled loudly out of nowhere, reminding him of his needs. With a tired sigh escaped his lips, he took a glance at his watch, and immediately his heart sank.
"Crap, there's still ten minutes left," he groaned, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. From what he knew, this time around the traffic was already starting to thicken, and the usual smooth flow of the morning commute was turning into a sluggish crawl. "I still have some time, but I gotta hustle."
As he was carefully manoeuvring his car, humming along to the faint tune from his radio, a strange sensation suddenly washed over him. It was a subtle shiver down his spine, a feeling of an unexpected shift in the air. "Huh?"
"What the heck?" He carefully glanced around, his eyes scanning the road and the cars beside him. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then, his gaze landed on his bag on the passenger seat, which was shining brightly, when he noticed something from the corner of his eye.
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me." Marco groaned, pulling his car to a stop at a red light. He immediately opened the bag and took out his book, which was glowing intensely. "Why is my fate suddenly moving again?"
"I thought my fate was set in stone after joining the organisation," He groaned, brushing the cover. "But I guess I was completely wrong. Fate is truly unpredictable"
With a deep sigh, Marco opened the book and began to read. The pages seemed to blur before his eyes as he was instantly transported into a whirlwind of possibilities. He saw himself in different scenarios, experiencing different outcomes. It was like a kaleidoscope of futures, each one more mind-boggling than the last.
"Are you serious right now?" he asked himself, feeling absolutely dumbfounded. "Is this some kind of joke?"
After returning to reality, Marco blinked, the glowing book now still in his hands. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves from witnessing a whirlwind of possibilities. However, harsh reality quickly set in, and it was, of course, heavy traffic.
It felt as if the universe were harassing him with several emotional challenges. Car horns sounded like a furious orchestra, interrupted by the occasional swear remark from an enraged driver floating on the wind.
"Great," Marco muttered, his enthusiasm waning. "Just what I needed. A heavy, terrible traffic jam."
With a very sharp gaze, Marco tried to find a detour, but it was like being trapped in a metal sardine can. He then glanced at the map app on his phone, trying to find an alternate route. Unfortunately, nothing looked promising. "Ugh…"
"This is very ridiculous," Marco grumbled, feeling the wave of frustration that washed over him. He immediately reached for his water bottle and took a long swig, trying to calm his nerves before throwing the empty bottle at the back seat.
Just as he was about to give up and resign himself to his predicament, a flash of something caught his eye, causing him to be stunned, with his blood running cold. It was a car, out of control and was heading straight for him.
"WHAT THEEE HHHHEEELLLLLLL!?!"
To Be Continued