51. Unraveling Uncertainties Part 7

Spence asked everyone to head to their rooms and call it a day. They had been awake the whole night and lack of sleep could lead to certain decisions that could put their life on the line. Sleeping at this moment didn't seem appropriate but it could help them calm down their nerves and hunt for the truth. Spence headed back to his room, where Bond and Pin had already fallen asleep. Bond had slept on the bed and Pin had made himself a makeshift futon for the night.

"They look so peaceful while sleeping." Spence muttered as he fluffed his pillows and straightened the comforter. He climbed on his bed and switched off the lamp, trying to fall asleep.

"Who do think murdered them?" Someone suddenly shot up and asked.

Spence turned around immediately. It was Bond. "I thought you had fallen asleep." He said as he stared into his deep brown eyes covered with dark circles.

"Yeah, I was sleeping but I was thinking while doing so. If we are being monitored, then there has to be cameras around."

"Go sleep dude." Spence turned back to sleep again.

"Also, about the secret messages, they were sent by phone. There could be a hint in that factor too."

Spence turned around again. This time, he seemed interested.

"If we consider a phone's interface, we can only code it in one way. Oh wait. Maybe this is it." Bond seemed way excited.

"Well, there could be one way..." Spence followed.

"Ai Pin!" He yelled as he kicked Pin with a great force, enough to kick him off the futon.

"What the heck?" Pin sprang up, massaging his hurt waist.

"Give me your phone, right now."

Pin dug out his pocket for the phone but got a mini heart attack when he couldn't find it. He pulled up the comforter and found the phone near his pillow. With sleepiness brimming in his eyes, he handed the phone and fell back on his pillow, turning over to the other side.

"Ai Pin, don't sleep now." Bond shook his body, forcing him to stay awake.

"Ah Bond! Stop bothering me." He scolded Bond.

Bond opened the phone and got to the texting app, where he opened the message from the person claiming to be Sam. He seemed to be calculating something as his eyes brushed past the messages with utmost concentration. With each message he read, his smile grew wider and wider. It seemed clear. He was right.

"I found the code." He muttered.

Spence got up and walked to his bed and sat down. He looked at the phone and Bond seemed to be typing something. It read "[+@;( ]{<." Spence looked at his face which seemed to glow against the bright screen light. Even though it was unnatural light, he still had the innocent glow of a new born baby, serene and beautiful. His blond hair reflected off the light and seemed like fragile pieces of crystal clear glass. Spence had never encountered such a beautiful human before. What's more, he was beautiful inside out. Spence moved his face closer to the soft skin of the cheeks and his lips brushed past them lightly. Bond felt an electric impulse shoot through his body and turned around to face Spence, whose lips were now at his his neck level.

"It's too hot in here isn't it?" He scratched his head as he tried to overcome the awkwardness.

"Hmm yeah." Spence turned his face away as the situation began to sink in. His cheeks flushed red. "I... I'll open the windows." He said as he struggled to get down and walk towards the window.

"I can tell you the code now." Bond suddenly sounded serious.

"Oh alright. Tell me what it is."

"I'll have to show you." Bond flashed the bright screen on his face. "Wait, I'll come there."

"No no it's fine. I'll come there." Spence cautiously moved towards him. Though the distance was less than a meter, Spence could feel he was walking a mile. At last, he stood near the bed table, making the situation more awkward.

"So it's like, a very simple code. When you long press a certain character on your keyboard, a certain set of characters appear. The message was written using them. For example, when you press the letter 'a', it shows '@' just like the message." He said as he demonstrated the code formation.

"Ohhh... I see." Spence seemed to be unmoved.

"So in that case, my message '[+@;( ]{<' would become 'thank you.' and so on." He typed the words on the screen.

"So you are saying that this message '-{ :~*{|~ >['# [{{ )@[~.' would translate to something like'g-o- b-e-f-o-r-e i-t-v-s no no, i-t-'s t-o-o l-a-t-e','go before it's too late'?"

"Yeah, you got it!" Bond exclaimed as his lips curved into a smile.

"However, if that is the case, I still don't understand what this message, 'D. E. A. T. H T. R. A.P' means."