MasukMegan has always loved being a psychologist. It doesn't pay much, not by a long shot, but it affords her the opportunity to use her uncanny ability of reading people to solve their problems in a way that other jobs won't. However, one night in her apartment, Megan is paid a visit by a mysterious stranger in hold of a secret that she'll rather never sees the light of day. He gives her an ultimatum: her secret in exchange for a job, which Megan agrees to; and soon, she finds herself in a place where circumstances will test every portion of her being to their fullest potential. But then again, when you've been called to serve on Olympus, you can be at nothing but your best, can you? Book 1 in the 'Olympus' series
Lihat lebih banyak“Bapak! Bangun, Pak!”
Murni masih memeluk tubuh Raharjo yang kini telah terbujur kaku. Beberapa kali ia menggoyangkan tubuh bapaknya, berharap agar laki-laki yang begitu ia cintai dapat membuka kedua matanya kembali. “Bu, ini ndak mungkin. Bapak belum meninggal kan, Bu?” tanya Murni yang kemudian beralih memeluk sang ibu yang juga duduk di samping jenazah suaminya. Memang sulit untuk dipercaya, tak ada angin tak ada hujan, Raharjo meninggal begitu saja. Dia yang lebih dikenal sebagai Juragan Harjo sama sekali tak sakit. Bahkan, pagi harinya Juragan Harjo masih mampu pergi menagih utang dari para warga yang kerap kali meminjam uang padanya. Raharjo merupakan seorang tuan tanah yang sangat disegani. Luasnya area lahan yang dia miliki, serta kekayaan yang mungkin tak akan habis untuk tujuh turunan membuatnya begitu berkuasa di desa itu, Desa Juwono namanya. “Murni … ikhlaskan bapakmu, Nduk,” ucap Lasmi seraya mengusap punggung putrinya itu dengan lembut. “Tapi, Bu. Murni ndak sempat berpamitan sama Bapak.” Murni kembali terisak di dalam pelukan sang ibu. Beberapa hari yang lalu memang Raharjo sempat menghubungi Murni dan memintanya untuk pulang. Juragan Harjo adalah satu-satunya orang yang memiliki telepon rumah di desa itu. Dengan kekayaan yang ia miliki, Juragan Harjo memang sengaja menyekolahkan Murni di kota. Dia tidak ingin jika Murni menjadi seperti warga desa lainnya yang tidak berpendidikan tinggi. Murni, yang pada saat itu tengah berharap dengan tugas yang menumpuk, tentu saja tidak dapat pulang ke desa begitu saja. Ia harus mencari waktu yang tepat untuk meminta izin dari universitas. Namun, inilah yang saat ini ia temui. Sang ayah sudah terbaring, terbujur kaku dan menjadi mayat tepat di hadapannya. Bendera kuning menyambutnya tatkala ia memasuki pekarangan rumahnya sore itu. “Biarkan bapakmu tenang, Nduk. Jangan tangisi lagi.” Lasmi melonggarkan pelukan dan mengusap pipi Murni yang masih dibanjiri dengan air mata. “Aji, ajak mbakmu ini masuk ke dalam,” titah Lasmi pada Aji–anak keduanya yang masih berusia 17 tahun. “Iya, Bu,” jawab Aji singkat. “Ayo, Mbak,” ajak Aji lembut. “Ndak mau! Mbak mau di sini, mau nemenin Bapak!” Murni berteriak, menolak ajakan Aji untuk masuk ke dalam. “Murni!” seru Lasmi yang terlihat tidak ingin dibantah. Semua orang yang ikut hadir, segera menoleh setelah mendengar suara Lasmi yang menggema di seluruh ruangan. Suasana di rumah Juragan Harjo semakin hening. Para pelayat yang datang hanya bisa menunduk, tak berani berkata apa-apa. Murni sendiri terhenyak saat sang ibu membentaknya. Seumur-umur, baru kali ini Lasmi bersuara tinggi padanya. Di sudut ruangan, Aji berdiri memandangi kakaknya. Di usianya yang baru menginjak 17 tahun, ia merasa beban berat tiba-tiba menimpa pundaknya. Kepergian bapaknya begitu mendadak, dan meskipun ia bukan putra sulung, Aji tahu ia harus mulai bersiap menjadi laki-laki dewasa di keluarganya. “Mbok Tum, tolong bawa Murni ke kamarnya,” ucap Lasmi pelan kepada salah satu pelayan yang sudah begitu lama tinggal bersama keluarganya. Mbok Tumini yang sejak tadi duduk di dekat pintu pun mengangguk paham. “Cah ayu, ayo Nduk, istirahat dulu. Biar bapakmu didoakan yang baik-baik oleh yang lain,” ucap Mbok Tumini. Dengan suara bergetar, ia mencoba mengajak Murni untuk bangkit. Murni masih bergeming. Matanya yang sembab tertuju pada wajah pucat bapaknya. Dalam benaknya, ia teringat berbagai kenangan bersama Raharjo—bapaknya yang selama ini menjadi tumpuan hidup keluarga. Sebuah rasa sesal terus menghantui benaknya. Seandainya ia sempat pulang lebih cepat, mungkin ia masih bisa bercengkerama dengan bapaknya. Dan …. Seketika itu juga terbesit dalam ingatan Murni saat almarhum bapaknya mengatakan, “cepat pulang, Nduk. Ada yang ingin Bapak sampaikan.” Degh! Perasaannya menjadi bergemuruh. Apa itu? Apa yang ingin disampaikan? Murni kembali menangis saat kembali menyadari jika semua sudah terlambat sekarang. “Maafkan Murni, Pak,” ucapnya dalam hati. “Ndak, Mbok. Murni mau di sini. Bapak ndak boleh ditinggalin sendirian.” Air mata kembali jatuh membasahi pipinya yang semakin pucat. "Bu Lasmi, almarhum sudah siap dibawa ke kubur," ucap seorang laki-laki paruh baya yang bernama Kasnan. "Baiklah, Pak. Bawa saja!" jawab Lasmi singkat. "Astaghfirullah, Bapak kenapa pergi secepat ini." Murni mencoba untuk mengumpulkan tenaga yang tadi sempat terkuras untuk menangis. Akhirnya, dengan mencoba melapangkan dada atas apa yang terjadi, Murni pun ikut mengiring jenazah almarhum sang ayah ke peristirahatan terakhirnya. Awalnya, semua masih berjalan normal dan baik-baik saja, tapi tidak setelah mayat mulai diangkat. Saat keranda keluar rumah, suasana yang semula khusyuk mulai berubah. Tiba-tiba, para pengangkat keranda merasakan sesuatu yang aneh. "Berat sekali, Pak!" seru Kasnan. Tampak keringat mulai membasahi wajahnya. Kasnan, yang berada di bagian depan, segera memanggil beberapa pria lain untuk membantu. Delapan orang kini berkumpul, berusaha keras mengangkat keranda Juragan Harjo, namun tetap saja keranda itu terasa semakin berat. Bahkan, delapan orang pun tampaknya tidak cukup. "Kenapa jadi begini? Biasanya keranda tidak seberat ini," gumam Paimin yang mulai merasakan keanehan. Lasmi, Murni dan Aji yang mengikuti di belakang, juga merasakan perubahan suasana. Murni menoleh ke arah ibunya, wajahnya memancarkan kekhawatiran. Lasmi menahan napas, tatapan matanya kosong, seolah ia merasakan sesuatu yang tak terkatakan. Tiba-tiba, angin kencang datang, menggulung dedaunan dan membuat suasana semakin tegang. Suara gemerisik angin yang berhembus di antara pepohonan terdengar seperti bisikan-bisikan gaib yang mencekam. Langit mendung mulai menutupi sinar matahari yang memang tengah menuju peraduannya. Setiap langkah menuju pemakaman terasa semakin berat, seolah ada tangan tak terlihat yang menarik keranda ke arah yang berlawanan. "Ya Allah, apa ini?" desis salah satu pemanggul keranda yang mulai pucat. Mereka berusaha tetap melangkah, namun angin yang terus berhembus makin kencang seolah menolak keberadaan jenazah Raharjo di dunia ini. Tanpa diduga, terdengar suara retakan keras. Kayu penyangga keranda mulai patah. Kasnan yang berada di depan terpeleset, dan dalam sekejap keranda terjatuh ke tanah dengan suara yang cukup keras. Orang-orang berteriak kaget. Jenazah Raharjo yang terbungkus kain kafan—pocong—tergelinding keluar dari keranda, tubuhnya berputar-putar di tanah basah, membuat semua orang yang menyaksikan terpaku dalam ketakutan. "Pocongnya jatuh!" teriak salah seorang warga dengan suara bergetar. Ketakutan segera menyelimuti para pelayat. Murni langsung berlari menuju jenazah bapaknya. "Bapak! Ya Allah, jangan tinggalkan Bapak begini!" tangisnya pecah, tubuhnya bergetar hebat. Tapi ketika tangannya hampir menyentuh kain kafan itu, sesuatu yang tak terduga terjadi. Kain kafan yang membungkus tubuh Raharjo bergerak perlahan, seolah ada sesuatu yang hidup di dalamnya. Semua orang yang menyaksikan mundur dengan cepat, ketakutan menjalar di antara mereka. "Astaghfirullah, apa ini?!" pekik Murni. - Bersambung -"Before the equipment explodes, there are some things we need to take care of," Megan said after the group had settled. "First is the people. "Jay, I need you to trigger every fire alarm in this building and maybe some in the nearby buildings too, as many as you can manage. Can you?"He nodded affirmative. Putting his hands to the ground, he pushed against it and a yellow energy passed through the floor and up the walls on all sides. Not so long after, the sound of a fire alarm reached the room they were, the pitch increasing as more joined in from farther away; and soon, the pounding of footsteps could be heard from above as people seemed to move in droves."Next, Rick, I need you to reach as many people as you can over the phone. Tell them that the alarm isn't a drill. They must evacuate the building as quickly as they can and shouldn't stay anywhere near the area to observe. If they ask why...""Don't worry, I know how to deal with them." He patted her arm in understanding and she
Every beep from the equipment resounded heavily through the room, almost as if it was heralding the end of the world; and it might as well be to Megan.Nothing had gone right since the beginning of that day. Nothing had gone right since the beginning of that mission. Nothing had gone right perhaps even longer before that; and she feared the culmination of it all was soon to come in a catastrophe that neither her nor Olympus – or even the world for that matter – would be able to withstand.Another beep and she looked to Ricardo who was now bent down in front of the equipment with his brows furrowed as he concentrated all that he had in trying to figure it out before the worst they all feared happened. "Can you shut down the self-destruction?" she asked."I'm afraid not, Megan." He ran his hands through his hair in a frustrated motion for the umpteenth time in that moment. "I'm locked out of the system and nothing I do is meeting any response." He swiped his hand over the glass panel an
It wasn't Item 13. How could it not be Item 13?A million questions raced through Megan's head as she stood in front of the scene before her, the questions flying by so fast that she could neither hold them for more than a second nor ascertain their logic in that space of time.However, the crux of the query remained, what in the world was the containment box holding if not Item 13?"What is it?" she asked Ricardo who was standing closest to it at that time.Inside the containment box was a transparent glass structure. It held a metal rod seemly floating in space- probably by some electromagnetic force, Megan deduced from what little her science knowledge had grown since she took the job at Olympus.Some strange-looking, octagon-shaped objects were attached to the floating rod; so small that she couldn't make out what materials they were actually made of, and so finely arranged that they almost looked like one whole piece of work if not for the tiny spaces in between them which was abl
That couldn't be happening. Megan looked around herself in disbelief.How could that be happening? She asked again.Before the group stepped into that theatre, she was sure they were in charge of the scenario: Dennis had stopped the mole from getting word out of Olympus to the enemy, he and Arthur were on said mole's trail, she, Ricardo and the kids uncovered the location of the Doomsday beacon, they were all going to stop Martin for good before he had the chance to use Item 13.But somehow he had managed to best them again, Megan realised. How?"Surprised?" Martin's question snapped her out of her thoughts to see the smug smile on his face. "You should be. You're playing against the best after all.""This isn't a game, Martin," she returned. "Real lives are at stake here; and if you deploy Item 13, I'm afraid even you may lose yours.""Well Miss Months, that's a risk I'm willing to take."Martin took a big, exaggerated bow before signalling to his men and they opened fire.Kei caught
The picture didn't do him justice at all, was the first thought that popped into Megan's head at the sight of Ricardo. While she found out that he looked very much like in the picture she had seen, she also realized to her surprise that some o
The elevator came to a stop after what seemed like an eternity but was actually only thirty minutes of flight- Megan checked to be sure- and she stepped out of it.She looked up and all her breath ceas
Rio de Janeiro, BrazilThe sun had begun to set when Megan drove a black McLaren up a long driveway to join the long line of prestigious vehicles already queued up there.
Megan had expected quite a number of reactions from her question: shock, denial, deflection, even old-fashioned honesty, but those weren't any of what she got. Minutes after she had put forward the question, all Dennis did was stare at her with a neutr
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