Mermaid Blues: Beasts, Giants and Spirits

Suspicion

The hunters are trying their best to climb down the steep slope. As they move down, they point their guns down below and they simultaneously shoot. They are heading towards the spot where Wendel and Japeth are hiding.

Wendel and Japeth are hiding behind a huge rock. Wendel's right chest got shot. The silver bullet is weakening him. Japeth is trying to hold back the enemies with his gun. He peeks behind the rock and then shoots an enemy and hides. And then repeats.

Then, Japeth turns to wolf Wendel. He can see that at any moment, the wolf will lose consciousness. There is so much bleeding coming from the wounds.

"Go! Go!" Japeth yells. "Get away from here while you're still strong enough to run!"

The wolf shook his head. And growls.

"You are too weak to fight. They can kill you!" Japeth protested. "Run while you have the energy to do so.

The wolf looks at him with concern. Wendel can't speak at that moment because he is a wolf but his eyes tell Japeth "How about you?"

"I can hold off the hunters for as long as I can," Japeth responded. "You must not die."

Wendel is getting hesitant. He wants to help, but Japeth has a point. The silver bullet un-ables him to heal quickly and it makes him weaker by the second. He will die if he fights back.

"Don't worry about me. Just run! Go!"

So, he finally decided. He immediately runs away from the rock, away from Japeth, away from the hunters. He runs across the garden and then he heads down the slope leading to the road. The moisture in the air is getting high and so is the fog thickening.

When he can finally see that Wendel is out of sight, Japeth calls Gaston on his phone. He leaned his back against the rock.

"Hello, Gaston. I need backup. Quick! Wendel escaped with a bullet wound. We are at..."

***Blue Water***

It was three o'clock in the afternoon. There's an hour's break before Grace's next subject. She was inside the classroom. They have just finished their math class. Grace was still placing her things inside her bag.

"Hoo..!" she exhaled sharply. She felt exhausted due to the hard problems she had solved.

"What kind of subject is this? This is not meant for medical biologists, it should be meant for engineering," she told herself.

Then, Flora, one of her classmates, approaches her.

"Grace. Let's go watch basketball," she invited.

"Oh no. Basketball is not really my type," she said.

"Just come with us. It's fun. Besides, we've got nothing to do right now," Flora tries to convince.

"Oh no," she still insists.

"You'll enjoy it, I promise."

"Is it because of the boys?" Grace responded.

"Ahahah! Uh. Yeah..." she gently pushed her.

"Aw!" Grace complained.

"Come on! The girls outside are waiting."

"Okay."

Grace immediately closed her bag. She carried it while they walked out of the classroom.

::::::::::::

The audience is cheering. They almost fill in the seats inside the gym. Luckily, Grace and her classmates have spare spots to fill in.

"The gym seems full. What's the occasion today?" Grace asked.

"You don't know?" Jane, her classmate got surprised. "Our basketball team is having a match against the other university today," she explained.

"Oh?"

Then one among the girls spotted Sherdel sitting on the bench located on the left side of the court.

"Uy! Look, it's Alhibing," she points.

"Ha?" the girls immediately looked.

"Oh yeah. That's him!" they got excited.

"He looks cuter when he is wearing a jersey," one of them complimented.

Grace Joy is staring at him while showing no reaction. It's true that he's more charming in his white jersey. She further examines him. She realized he had got larger arms than she thought he had. He's got broad round shoulders. His body isn't that thin. He isn't fat either. He's just got a flat stomach, no abs. He's under the category between mesomorph and endomorph. His face is a little round. Droplets of sweat stream down his head while he sharply takes a breath. He's got a shallow dimple appearing every time he moves his lips. His light complexion is turning pink due to exhaustion from playing a while ago before Grace and some of her friends came in.

"This is the reason why he was absent awhile ago," Grace Joy told them. "I never thought that he is a basketball player."

"Yeah. Ever since Grade-seven, I think," Flora said.

"Go! Horizon Hunters!" they cheered, blending in with the indistinct cheers coming from the other audiences.

Grace didn't join them in yelling. Maybe because she isn't interested in basketball nor in looking for nice-looking guys on the court or both.

"Number 12! You're handsome," one of them shouted.

"No. Number 2 is more handsome!" one said.

"Number 18 is yummy! AAAAAAHHHH!" Flora yells.

Grace Joy covers her ears since her eardrums cannot take the loud shrilling noises produced by the girls plus the other audiences' noises.

Then, Sherdel suddenly stood up. He went inside the court. One of his teammates walked off the court.

"There he is. He's gonna play," the girls said as they got excited.

"Number 10 is our classmate! Whoooo!" one of them immediately cheered.

"Go Sherdel!" they together yelled.

"Hey! Cheer with us," the girl beside Grace nudged her.

"Your saliva will get spoiled, you like that?" she threatened.

"Who will I cheer?"

"Cheer on Alhibing!" she answered. "Girl, Sherdel is your classmate during mathematics class. You sat with him last Tuesday," she complained.

"We are not that close," Grace protested.

"Don't worry. Just shout with us," she advised. "I know that what I want you to do doesn't suit you but ... act like a whore."

"Ahhhhhaahaaha!" Grace immediately laughed. "A w***e?

"I mean cheer loudly," the girl told Grace. Then, she cleared her throat.

On the opposite side of the gym, there's a deck parallel to the deck where Grace Joy is seated. A mysterious guy had spotted her sitting beside a bunch of noisy girls. He took out his phone. He pointed the back lens of the phone toward Grace Joy.

"Click!" the phone sounded just when he took her picture.

Then he immediately sent it to Gaddo's account via text message.

"Target number one...," he typed. "Detected."

::::::::::::

Lieutenant Asunta, put four zip locks of evidence on Police Super Intendent Donald Dulnuan's table. The first ziplock has a fang in it with the shrapnel of bones. The second one is a small cube made of gold. The third one contains the remaining sheets of paper recovered from the flames. The fourth is a burnt eye.

" These are all the evidence we have recovered," Asunta reported.

"Seriously, bones and an eye?" he reacted with surprise.

"Weird isn't it, Sir?" she said. "Who the hell are these people?"

"I am hoping for shabu or m*******a. But this is creepy..." said Mr. Dulnuan, as he got puzzled.

"Is it possible that this is a human eye?" she asks while examining the evidence.

"Let's not get to any conclusion for now," Mr. Dulnuan advised. He sighed and leaned his back on the backrest of his chair. He averts his eyes from the evidence.

"I should give these to Alonso to get these to the laboratory," she suggested.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Oh God, I hope that is not a person's eye," he said.

"We'll see," she replied with optimism. "Have you gathered something from the CCTVs along Kennon Road?"

"Yeah. However, do something with those first," he said.

"Okay. I'll give them to Alonso right now..."

:::::::::::::

Cielo is standing on top of the cliff in the backyard of Dodong's bullet-wrecked house. His agents are searching all over the area searching for both Japeth and Wendel. They searched from the top and to the bottom of the cliff. They even looked from house to house. Distant neighbors are getting bothered.

Cielo grows more worried. He is worried that something might have happened to both Japeth and Wendel. He is afraid that the hunters have already done something terrible to the two. He is thinking about the worst-case scenario - what if they got killed?

He could see bullets scattered around. There are bullets stuck in the trees, the rocks, and the soil. There are reported bloodstains splattered in some corners of the cliff, especially behind a rock next to a pine tree where there is a lot of it. He can see footsteps printed on the mud all around the house.

Cielo sighed in frustration. An agent comes over to him.

"Sir," he called.

Cielo turned around to face him.

"We found this inside the house," he said while he showed him the clothes left by Wendel.

"These are Wendel's," he responded. Then, he commands him to bag it up. The agent nodded, then he turned away. He quickly walks away from him.

Then, Simon, another agent, came toward him. "Sir..."

"Simon. Any details?"

"The neighbors confirmed that this is Donald Chalmas's house. Everyone calls him Dodong. He lived here permanently since two years ago, right after his parents got separated. He chose to live here with his mother. They say he has a nephew who accompanies him in their garden down the cliff."

"Hmmm..." Cielo began to think. "Japeth says he's a traitor before he cut off the call."

"It might make sense, Sir," Simon replied. Cielo looks at him with curiosity. "I mean, his mother is suffering from cancer. He works in the garden every day and he works in a gasoline station as a sideline sometimes during the night. Since his salary is not enough for her treatment. So I think that he had no choice but to sell his friend when the hunters knocked on his door and offered him money."

Cielo reflects on what Simon said. "Even so, he's got no right to do that," Cielo protested. "He is a friend. Yet, is he willing to sacrifice all that?"

Simon raised his lower lip and he shrugged. "Desperate measures, I think."

"We must have to find this Dodong guy," Cielo commands. "I want you to contact Gordon or Seth right now. Tell them to bring some men to the hospital where her mother is admitted. Interview his mother and his nephew if possible, especially the nephew. Tell them to monitor the surveillance cameras around entrances to La Trinidad. I think he is not getting far yet. And tell our chopper to head towards Mt. Province, search for him along the road from above."

"Yes, Sir," Simon replied. Then, he turned away and ran toward the helicopter parked in front of the house.

:::::::::::

In a dark, cold, mysterious room located in the basement of the new mansion of Gaddo. Japeth is there. He is in the middle of the room sitting as he sleeps. His right arm is dented by a bullet, so it is bleeding right now. His face and hair and his clothes are covered in dust. He is being restrained by a rope tightly wrapped around his body. The lamp hanging above him is the only source of light inside that room.

A hunter came over to him. He is holding a bucket of water. As soon as he gets close, he splashes the water on Japeth's head.

Japeth woke up when he felt something cold touch his face. He couldn't breathe for a second because the water blocked his nasal opening. He opens his eyes as he gasps for air. He is about to stand up but he is restrained. A few seconds later, he realized that he's been taken as a hostage. He looks around as he tries to calm himself down from being tensed and frightened. He can see the hunter who just splashed him standing in front.

"Where am I?" he asked. "Bastard!"

The hunter didn't respond. Then, he walks around him. He is silent.

"Where am I?" Japeth asks again. But the hunter didn't respond. "Son of a b***h!" he yells. He tries to flail but the rope is too tight to move.

Gaddo opens the door from the outside. He enters through. He approached straight to Japeth.

"Gabriel Umali," Japeth muttered in anger when he recognized the man coming closer. He clenched his teeth while saying his name.

"I can't believe a leader of the pack is here," Gaddo said.

Japeth squirms again. He really wanted to get off of the rope to attack him. "You son of a b***h! Release me here so that I can kill you!"

"Hold on..." Gaddo replies. "I can't believe you know my name," Gaddo said with surprise. "I refuse to accept that my enemies know my name but I don't have theirs."

"Yeah, so what?" Japeth talks back. "You have always been on our record."

"I can't accept this..." Gaddo replies. He took out a taser hanging on his belt. He turned it on and he showed it to Japeth. With a plunge of anger, he electrocuted Japeth's side of his neck. Japeth screams in pain while he feels the electricity zapping his skin.

"What is your name?" Gaddo asked with anger added in his tone.

"Kill yourself, Gabriel," Japeth answered.

"No one...calls me Gabriel...anymore!" then he plunged the taser into his neck again. Japeth yells in pain. Gaddo removes the taser on Japeth's skin. He grabs his hair and pulls it back. He placed his face close to Japeth's face.

"You behave, okay? If you don't, there is more than this came from..." He tases him again. This time he plunged it into Japeth's waist. He removes it. "Be honest, okay? Or else..." He tases him again. "...I will not stop doing this until you answer me correctly, okay!" He removes the taser from his body and he backs away.

Japeth giggles mockingly. "Die, sicko."

"I will definitely kill you," Gaddo said back. Then, he tases him to the hip. He puts it away again. "Tell me the truth, and I can spare your life. About the remaining 'links'. How many are with you?"

"What do you mean 'link'?" Japeth asked as he panted.

Gaddo punched him in the cheek. "Okay. Let me clarify. The guys who hold the tattoos of Lumawig. I know you have them! Do you understand me? How many are there with you? "

Japeth giggles. "I am so confused. Maybe because of the taser," he said mockingly. "You know what? I might have answered that question properly if you hadn't tased me a while ago."

With a very heavy slap to the cheek, Gaddo had grown impatient. He is now as angry as ever. He turned on the taser at maximum. With another plunge of anger, he yells as he electrocutes the poor Marksmen leader.

"Tell me you have them! Tell me you have them all! Tell me!" he shouts in anger, mixed with desperation and frustration. He tases Japeth simultaneously. Japeth is trying to keep himself together as he endures the pain.

Take note: Gaddo is aware that there are three 'links' left. However, they do not know the whereabouts of the third 'link'. They never know about his identity. They don't even know his name - which is Kianu. That's why Gaddo is trying to confirm if the Marksmen Association also holds the third link besides Benjie and Wendel. By asking Japeth how many of them are in the care of the association. He might have hoped that Japeth would answer "three".

:::::::::::::

On that night, at the Acosta mansion.

Seline is in her room. She was preparing her bed. She and Nime share the same room but they have their own beds.

Nime came in. She found her niece finishing her bed. "Are you done?" she asked.

"Almost done," she replied.

"Okay, just go upstairs whenever you feel hungry, okay?" Nime said. "We and the masters have already finished their dinner. You are the only one who hasn't eaten yet."

"Thank you, Auntie," Seline replied. "I'll eat right after I finish fixing my bed."

"Okay. I'll go upstairs now," she told her. "I'll wait for you there."

"Okay."

Then, Nime went out of the room.

Seline sighed. She smiled for a while.

Later, after she fixed her things...

She went to the pool area. She stood by the edge of the pool. She stared at the water while being lit by the light coming from the balcony. She sighed. She took off her slippers. She sat down and soaked her feet in the water. Then, in the middle of the pool, Seyhan suddenly surfaced.

"Ahy!" she yelled in horror. "You are here?"

"What the hell are you doing?" Seyhan asked.

"Umm... I am just soaking my feet, Sir," she answered.

"My God! You startled me," Seyhan said.

"You shocked me too."

"Would you please go?" Seyhan ordered.

"Huh? But I am still enjoying myself. Can I just stay here for a while?" she complained.

"I am getting out of the water," he said. "I am only wearing boxers, you know? Do you want another round of body reveal?" he said while he looked at her sternly.

Then she realized that he was naked, just wearing a boxer.

"Okay. I'll get out of here," Seline immediately got her feet back on land. She stood up and put her slippers on.

"I am sorry I startled you by the way," she apologized.

Meanwhile, Seyhan suddenly turned his back on Seline. He is detecting a scent coming from a stranger. It was coming from the outside behind the wall of the mansion. The scent was similar to his but he could tell it wasn't his father.

"I'll go now..." Seline said.

"Shush!" Seyhan shushed her.

"O...kay?" she suddenly began to wonder.

Seyhan used his enhanced sense of hearing to guess what the stranger was doing behind the wall. He closed his eyes to concentrate on creating an image in his mind to portray the stranger. Using just his senses, he could construct an exact scenario of something he couldn't see just by his imagination.

Sadly, he found out that he had run away. His footsteps' sounds were getting softer and softer as he/she moved away.

Seyhan shut down his enhanced senses. He began to suspect and wonder what the stranger wanted. However, he feels from the stranger's aura that he has a bad intention.

"Seline's your name, right?" he asked. He turned around. In his dismay, she's already gone.

"Motherf...," he reacted. "I forgot my towel."

He slapped the water.

:::::::::::::

Gabriel and his team of hunters are still searching for Wendel. Deep in the woods miles away from the village where Dodong lives, they can tell that Wendel took that path because of the trails of blood he dropped on the ground as he passed through that terrain.

They scoured all over the area where the final droplet of blood dripped. The blood trail got cut off. It seems like Wendel finally blocked the bleeding wound with something before he continues to run.

Gabriel was crouching down on the grass where the last drop dripped into. He focused it with his flashlight and examined it.

Then, Mark came to him. "I can't find him," he said nervously.

"Use your nose!" he frustratingly replied.

"I can't. I am not like those werewolves, okay?" he argues. "Mine is a spirit."

Gabriel stood up. He faces him. He grabbed Mark's shirt and moved close to him. He looked at Mark with anger painted on his face. His eyes were piercing through Mark's eyes with a threat.

"If you can't find him...then find harder!" he said. "You possess a spirit that is powerful. Use your brain and use what is given to you!

Do your job well or else your girl gets it. Do you understand?"

Mark immediately nodded. Gabriel pushed him away. "Go! And don't ever come back until you find him."

And so, Mark runs away from him. He runs deeper into the woods. He went beyond the area where the last trail of Wendel's blood is. When he got away from the sight of the hunters, he dissipated into the air.

However, Gabriel is not aware that the Mark he just yelled at is just an illusion created by Mark himself to use it as a decoy. He created a duplicate so that Gabriel wouldn't get suspicious.

The real Mark is nowhere to be seen in that place. He is not with Gabriel. In fact, he was not in the entire area of Atok, Benguet looking for Wendel. The true Mark is standing on top of a public hospital in La Trinidad, Benguet, forty kilometers away from Atok. He stares at the moon as he stands at the edge. A few moments later, he looks down below at the ground to see the people moving.

Finally, someone noticed Wendel's body lying down on the cold floor of the balcony. He is unconscious. Luckily, Mark dressed his wound before he lost any more blood. Mark gave him first aid first before he took him to the hospital. He lent Wendel a jacket just to cover his junk. The nurses are now carrying him in a stroller. They are going to go inside the hospital.