Sunday, 5:30 PM.
"Brrm," a motorcycle stopped in front of a tall building, only half-built and abandoned, in Central Jakarta. Irwan got off the motorcycle and handed the helmet back to the driver. After that, Irwan stood, looking at the dark and slightly eerie unfinished building in front of him.
"Is this really the address?" he asked, looking at the message on his smartphone.
Irwan turned and saw an arrow pointing into the building with "Salvation Forum IRL Meeting" written on a still half-finished fence post. After reading it, Irwan stepped into the building, which had no door yet. Inside, he saw another arrow indicating to go further in. After walking through the building and reaching the very end, Irwan saw a wooden door and an arrow pointing towards it.
"Hmm, so it's here," he thought to himself.
He opened the door and peeked inside. The room was the only one that had been built inside the building, and it seemed to have been used by workers to sleep or stay overnight. A neon light illuminated the room, so it wasn't dark. Irwan walked in. In the middle of the room, he saw a long wooden table with seven numbered chairs.
"I'm number four, so chair number four, right?"
"Sreeg," Irwan pulled out the wooden chair numbered four and sat there. Then he looked around again.
"Am I the first one here?" he wondered.
Irwan waited calmly inside, and not long after, "Cklek," the door opened. A skinny girl with long black hair and glasses entered. The girl bowed to greet Irwan, who had a poker face. She closed the door again, then walked to the table. She began looking at the numbers on the chairs, and "sreeg," she pulled out chair number five, right next to Irwan.
After sitting down, the girl placed both arms on the table. Irwan could see many cuts on the girl's wrists; it seemed she had often tried to end her own life multiple times. In addition, bruises were visible on her arms and neck. However, Irwan remained silent and didn't ask her anything because, to him, the girl's situation was similar to his own, also full of scars and fresh bruises.
The silence returned. Both Irwan and the girl remained quiet, not speaking, their eyes just staring at the table in front of them. "Cklek," the door opened again. A plump but sweet-faced girl with her hair tied back in a ponytail entered. She saw Irwan and the bruised skinny girl already seated. She closed the door and walked to the table, her eyes searching for the number given to her. "Sreeg," she pulled out chair number two and sat directly opposite the bruised girl, next to Irwan.
None of the three spoke at all; they just sat silently, looking down at the table. "Trrt," the neon light flickered slightly but then came back on. The three of them just looked at the light and then returned to looking down at the table. Not long after, "cklek," the door opened again. This time, a tall, large, and muscular young man entered. He had brown skin, a buzz cut, and looked like a thug.
The young man didn't glance at the three of them who were watching him. He closed the door and walked to the table. "Sreeg," he pulled out chair number one and sat there with his arms crossed over his chest. Irwan slightly glanced at the young man in front of him. He felt a little scared because the young man looked like a bully. But apparently, the young man closed his eyes and sat relaxed, ignoring the others. Of course, Irwan wondered to himself,
"Why does he want to commit suicide?" Irwan asked himself.
"Cklek," before Irwan could finish observing the young man in front of him, another girl entered. All four turned to look at the door. They were surprised because the one who entered was a beautiful girl with long wavy hair dyed yellow, a tall and sexy figure like a model, and she immediately raised her hand,
"Hello everyone, I'm Riana, nice to meet you," she said cheerfully.
Riana immediately walked to the table and looked at the empty chairs. She looked at her smartphone and "sreeg," she sat in chair number six, right next to the bruised girl who was sitting next to Irwan. When she sat down, Riana immediately extended her hand to the girl next to her. Of course, the girl shook her hand.
"What's your name?" Riana asked cheerfully.
"Um... Nadia, nice to meet you," Nadia replied.
"Great, same here. And next to her?" Riana asked, looking at Irwan.
"I'm Irwan, nice to meet you," Irwan replied.
"Nice to meet you. And who's across from Nadia?" Riana asked, looking at the plump girl in front of Nadia.
"I'm Lusiana, just call me Lusi, nice to meet you, Riana," Lusi replied.
"Next to her?" Riana asked.
"Brian," Brian answered curtly.
"Okay, thank you, everyone. The admin hasn't arrived yet, right?" Riana asked.
"Not yet, maybe soon," Irwan replied.
"Cklek," the door closed. A short, skinny young man, whose body was hunched, with a bob haircut and thick glasses, entered. Everyone turned to look at him. He looked at the table and immediately walked to the empty chair next to Lusi. "Sreeg," he pulled out chair number 3 and sat down.
"S-s-sorry, I'm l-l-late," the young man said, stuttering.
"It's okay, we haven't started yet. What's your name?" Riana asked.
"Fe-Felix... n-nice to m-meet you... ev-everyone," Felix replied, stuttering.
"So, only Vincent, the admin, is left, right?" Riana asked.
"Yes, that's right," Nadia replied.
"I'm going out for a smoke,"
Brian stood up and took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Then he turned and walked to the door. After opening the door, he went out and closed the door again. Irwan stood up, and everyone immediately turned to look at him.
"I want to smoke too, excuse me," Irwan said.
Irwan walked to the door, following Brian out. After he was outside, he closed the door and turned to see Brian leaning against the wall next to the door, smoking.
"You want a smoke?" Brian asked, offering his cigarette.
"Sorry, can I have one?" Irwan replied, taking a cigarette.
"Go ahead," Brian replied.
Irwan leaned next to Brian, who offered his lighter, and then he lit his cigarette. "Fuuuh," Irwan blew the smoke upwards. Brian turned to look at Irwan's body, which was covered in blue bruises.
"Got beaten up?" Brian asked.
"Yeah, usual stuff," Irwan replied.
"Looking at you, you don't really seem like the smoking type, do you?" Brian remarked.
"True, I rarely smoke," Irwan replied.
Both fell silent again, each smoking their cigarettes and blowing out smoke.
"May I ask why you joined this group?" Irwan asked.
"Haha, do I really not fit in here?" Brian asked.
"Well, to be honest, you're a bit out of place," Irwan replied.
"I have my own reasons, but I guess I'm also similar to you and the others," Brian replied.
"Okay, I understand, sorry for asking," Irwan replied.
"Relax, we'll all be walking to hell together soon," Brian replied.
"You're right, it'll all be over soon," Irwan replied.