The bus caught fire, leaving nothing alive. That's the news that is written on a sheet of paper. However, there is a big secret behind the incident that not everyone knows. A secret that only Aki Toha, Nek Ira and the surviving girl, Andini, know. "Toha, what story did you tell me?," shouted Nek Ira calling Aki Toha who seemed to be listening carefully to Nek Ira's story behind the bedroom door, there was no answer. Nek Ira continued his story, as if the sign of silence was an agreement from Aki Toha. Aki Toha is a bus driver, he has been in this job for a long time since he was young. However, since his wife died, Aki Toha lives with his brother in this house. When he first came here, Aki Toha was unemployed and he was offered to be a driver at the TKI channeling foundation, he was also a private and public driver. At first, Nek Ira didn't agree, considering that Aki Toha was no longer a young person, and his work looked tough, but Aki Toha was adamant, he said he wanted to go back to work to just fill out activities. Long story short, Aki Toha works at the foundation with a fairly large salary. Every day he takes Mbah Putri, the old woman who owns the foundation, from her house in the opposite city to the foundation. Not many know the origins of this grandmother, for sure she is a very rich woman who is quite respected in her city. Aki Toha, who is Mbah Putri's personal driver, doesn't communicate much, she only speaks naturally, until one day Mbah Putri asked her to take her to a forest that is so remote from the two cities where she usually picks up gradmother.
***
"Get off here, sis?" Aki Toha asked. "Wait here, let me walk alone," Aki Toha just nodded. Mbah Putri walked through the dark forest, without the slightest lighting. grandfather Toha who was in the car just watched from the rearview mirror, until finally grandmother was no longer seen and entered the forest. Aki Toha didn't think it was strange, he just obeyed Mbah Putri's request, he waited in the car while turning on the radio. One to two hours passed, Mbah Putri did not appear either. He doubted whether he should get down and follow Ms. Putri, or stay waiting in the car. Until something beyond reason, happened to him. When grandfather Toha looked down while turning the radio frequency dial to listen to the channel that usually played her favorite song, suddenly something surprised her. "Brack!!!, brak!!!, brakk!!!," the driver's side car window was slammed by someone who was covered in blood all over his body. grandfather Toha spontaneously turned and was shocked beyond measure, he shouted and recited takbir and while trying to start the car engine. The car could not start, Aki Toha panicked, he continued to read every verse of the Koran he memorized without ignoring the figure and still trying to start the car. "Sir please!!!, help me!!, I'm still alive!!, help me sir!!!," shouted the figure who turned out to be a teenage girl, she tried to hit the car window with her right hand while her left hand was holding back the blood that continued flowing from his neck. "Please sir!!, help me!!!," shouted the girl continuously. grandfaher Toha who was still in a state of confusion, looked back at the figure, sure enough, he was human. grandfather Toha was still unsure whether he should open the door and help the girl, or he should stay in the car.
***
But conscience cannot lie to him. When Aki Toha was about to open the door, the girl suddenly became hysterical and ran away in fear. He ran far ahead, still with the same scream, the girl asked for help, so that whoever it was, she hoped that someone would help her. Aki Toha who couldn't bear it, he prepared to get out of the car, until his steps stopped. He saw a large, tall creature facing the girl. A jet-black furry creature with horns and canines ready to pounce on anyone in front of him voraciously sucking the girl's blood as if it was his favorite food. Aki Toha, who still couldn't digest what he had witnessed, was immediately startled by the open back door. "What a mess!," Mbah Putri got into the car while rubbing her hands which were covered in blood. Aki Toha was silent, he was unable to utter a word. "Why are you silent?, let's go!," Mbah Putri snapped at Aki Toha as she said. "Toha, I know you saw everything, I ask whatever it is, save your story until the grave," Aki Toha nodded, she didn't understand what just happened. But for sure, he could not keep the story to himself, until he told everything to his brother. From the start, Nek Ira could already smell the suspicious behavior of the foundation, and asked Aki Toha to stop working immediately. But at that time Aki Toha refused, because he was afraid that things would happen to them both. Moreover, his sister's house is right behind the foundation building. After that incident, Aki Toha was no longer assigned to pick up grandmother , now he was assigned as a logistics driver.
***
Every day delivering and picking up goods for the foundation's needs, including staples and others. "Aki, can I come with you to the market?," said a girl who came out of the foundation when she saw Aki Toha preparing to leave. "What do you want to buy, bro?, let me buy it," Aki Toha understands very well that every prospective TKI is prohibited from going outside the foundation during the training period. The girl looked down wearily. "Yes, you can ride here," Aki Toha finally allowed the girl to come into his car. On the way, the girl was so happy that all the burdens of her life disappeared. "What do you want to buy, bro?, how can you be happy like that?" Aki asked, "Hehehe, actually I don't want to buy any batteries, I want to go to the market because beside the market is where my sister and I live. I haven't seen him for a long time, since the first day I came to the foundation." the girl's story. "Just a sister?, don't you miss your mother and father?" "I live in an orphanage, aki," the girl smiled again.grandfather Toha just looked at him in pity. "When I came to the foundation, my sister forced me to come, I finally invited her, but in the afternoon the mother of the orphanage came and took her home. I couldn't call or just ask how my sister was, I really miss the battery," gradfather Toha smiled hearing the story that girl. "What's your name?" gradfather asked. "Andini, grandfather" he answered with a cheerful smile.
***
After arriving at the market, Andini asked for permission to go to the orphanage which was located next to a convenience store, Andini pointed the orphanage to Aki and promised to come back after 30 minutes. Aki agreed and they got out of the car. After finishing taking orders at the foundation's subscription shop, Aki stood by the car waiting for Andini to come out. He waited a long time, the girl never came out. Aki was worried, what if the girl ran away, what would she say to Mrs. Nuri, the administrator of the foundation who had been mandated by Mbah Putri. "I shouldn't have allowed that kid to come," regretted Aki However, he felt so relieved when he saw Andini coming out of the gate of the orphanage, accompanied by a woman with a long veil. They hugged, Andini was seen wiping her tears and nodded as if she understood what she meant. There was no figure of a small child there, Aki was a little curious, why her sister didn't accompany her brother out. Andini approached Aki Toha and apologized for the long wait, Aki just nodded and asked Andini to quickly get into the car. On the way, Andini's figure changed completely, a cheerful girl, now silent a thousand languages. Aki Toha didn't want to get involved any further, he just focused on the streets and focused on his work at the beginning. "My sister was adopted by Aki," Andini said with tears in her eyes. Aki was silent as he said, "That's good, so you won't worry when you're about to leave," he tried to comfort her. "I'm happy, but I also feel guilty. It's only been a few weeks since I've lived, there are already Aini who want to adopt, maybe so far many foster parents who want to adopt her but are hindered because they also have to take me, "Andini tried to hold back her tears. "If you think like that, there will be no gratitude, at this time what is certain is that your sister is already in a good place, someone has taken care of her, can go to school until she graduates. Now it's just you trying to make your future," Andini looked at Aki Toha, she smiled.
***
"Thank you, Aki," Andini's mood returned to joy, they had returned to the foundation before sunset. In the morning before the accident, Mrs. Nuri asked Aki Toha, who is the bus driver, to take the prospective TKI to the other side of the city. Without any suspicion or prejudice, Aki agreed. The car departs at night to go to Mbah Putri's big house which is not far from the immigration building, so that prospective migrant workers can spend the night first so that they can arrive on time the next morning. Of the 13 prospective TKI, there was Andini who joined the trip, when they passed each other, Andini looked so happy. He smiled at Aki as if that day was the day he had been waiting for the most. Everything went normally, but in the middle of the trip, there was a car that cut the bus lane and stopped right in front of it, the battery suddenly braked suddenly and all the passengers woke up from their sleep. Aki knows the sedan very well. Ms. Putri's car. Someone got out of the driver's seat, he saw a familiar figure, someone he knew, Sapto. A fellow driver at the foundation who is now Mbah Putri's personal driver and assistant. "From here, let me take it," said Sapto who approached Aki, "Then Mbah Putri?" "Well you brought it, let's hurry down. There's no time. And then you will follow this bus behind you, okay?" Aki complied with Sapto's request without further questioning. But Aki was a little scared, because since that incident, this was the first time he met Ms. Putri again. "Good night, mba," Aki immediately got into the car and sat in the driver's seat. Mbah Putri didn't answer anything, she just kept quiet. The bus was traveling at a fairly high speed, as was the sedan driven by the battery. At a red light intersection, the bus that was supposed to go straight to Ms. Putri's house suddenly turned left which made Aki confused. "Did Sapto go the wrong way?," Aki whispered to himself. "Just follow it," snapped Mbah from the back seat, which Aki immediately followed. The bus was moving further and further away from the city. The night was getting darker, the bus slowly entered a very remote forest area. A forest that is so far from residential areas, and a forest that always keeps millions of mysteries in it.
***
Aki realized something, it was a forest where Aki witnessed an event that he would never forget for the rest of his life. The girls who were fast asleep, never realized that the bus route they were taking was not where they imagined. But their long journey to death is ready to pick up. The bus stopped right at the bend in the forest that Mbah used to go to, the battery's hunch was right. The girls will be taken into the forest and be eaten by the black creature. "If you are not fussy and tell all this to your brother, Sapto's position will definitely be yours," Said mbah as Aki saw Sapto enter the forest alone and left the bus on the side of the road. Aki was silent, he didn't answer. He realized that mbah is not a random person, not the ordinary rich person that people have been talking about. There is a big secret that follows the journey of his life. Sapto came out of the forest and got back into the bus, there I saw Sapto herding the girls into the forest one by one. Aki who witnessed the incident immediately realized something. The girls will be sacrificed to the creature. Aki was furious, he couldn't do anything but witness the incident, Ms. Putri who saw Aki's movements was furious, saying, "Come on down, let you see for yourself how the ritual is!. Maybe this will be your last experience in this rotten world!" Aki was reluctant, he didn't want to get involved any further. But the look in my mother's eyes that she saw in the rearview mirror made her unable to refuse. The two of them descended and entered the forest, walking quite a distance to a place he never knew would lead to the girls' deaths. Aki followed mbah from behind, without the slightest light. Aki was just trying to follow the sound of Grandma's footsteps stepping on the dry leaves. "Kress," the sound of dry leaves turned to the right, Aki followed it but the sound of the footsteps was getting faster, I tried to follow faster... The faster.... and so fast that no more footsteps could be heard. Aki got lost.
Continued...