Mermaid Blues: Beasts, Giants and Spirits

Saint Elmo's Flame

Seline was at the mall. It was ten o'clock in the morning. She came out of the building holding a small paper bag containing a bottle of cologne which she brought as a birthday present for herself. She was talking to Aunt Naomi on the phone. Naomi was requesting Seline to buy some doughnuts for her. She told Seline she was craving some, and she told her niece to pay for them in the meantime. She promised she'll just Seline back as soon as she (Seline) comes back to the mansion. Seline can't disagree with her.

She turned around to face the entrance of the building. Just when she turned, the entire landscape had changed. She looked and realized that the huge entrance was not there. She widened her eyes with fright as she looked around. She's not at the mall anymore. In fact, she was not in the city for some reason. She panics, trying to solve what just happened. She looked around as her eyes reveal to her the place she was surrounded by pine trees. There were no buildings in sight. She got transported into somewhere she didn't know.

The cellphone signal got lost. She didn't even say "goodbye" to her aunt before the communication got cut off. And so, she just put it down while she scans around.

Then, out of the trees, she looked. She could see a bright object coming towards her. She held her breath as she watched it glow brighter as it approached. Now, she finally understood what had happened. She recognized the incoming object. It was that 'thing' who was responsible for taking her there in the middle of nowhere.

"Hyperion?" she called as the bright object finally revealed itself in front of her. It turned out, that object was none other than a friend of hers, a Saint Elmo's flame — a star-like being.

Before she could speak further, the Saint Elmo's flame devoured her without any warning. Then, the bright being immediately disappeared into thin air.

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

Sherdel has got bored. He was inside a restaurant wherein he was at the table prepared exclusively for him and for someone he was waiting for. It was about half an hour since he arrived, yet she was not there yet. He placed his flexed right arm on top of the table and he leaned his cheek on its folded-down fingers. More minutes had passed, and he got more bored. He lifted his left arm slightly just enough to see his wristwatch wrapped around his wrist. It was already a quarter to ten. He put it down, then he yawned. He looked around hoping that she was in there looking for the table prepared for them.

Suddenly, a girl sat down across from him. He got startled. He didn't see her coming.

"Hi!" she immediately greeted.

Sherdel smiled. It seems like his father was right. She's prettier than Alexa.

"I am Cathryn, just call me Cat," she introduced herself.

Sherdel remained quiet for a few seconds.

"Sherdel," he responded.

"So, the rumors are true," she smiled.

"That what?" Sherdel narrowed his eyes.

"That you are snobby," she answered.

"Thank you."

She giggled afterward. Sherdel smirked.

"I'm sorry if I am late."

"It's okay. Where have you been, though?"

She smiled at him. But Sherdel didn't show her any reaction to his face. He just nodded his head, then he bit his lips.

"So...shall we order?" she asked.

He nodded again, without giving an answer. He looked at the menu. Cat sneered, then she looked down at the menu that she was holding.

***Blue Water***

Gordon is at his desk. It is already twelve o'clock at midnight. He is the only one in the room. Gaston, Japeth, Seth, and Cielo are out. He is facing the screen of his monitor. He is looking for a pattern of the events during the realities collision. He's been tracking all the locations of the phenomena that have happened around the country.

Meanwhile, Gordon came in. He is holding a huge bowl of fishballs and squid balls. He is holding a bottle of coke in his other hand. He was startled when he found Gordon still there.

"Oy!" he called Gordon's attention. He approached Gordon. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I have been looking for patterns of the phenomenon. I am hoping I can predict where it will happen once one of them..." he suddenly got uncomfortable with what he was about to say. "You know... if one of the three bearers of the mark...will die."

"No one is going to die," Gordon said.

"Still, I must have precautions about this."

"Are you saying that we can't protect them?" Gordon asked with disagreement.

"No. What I am saying is that I need to know the nature of these phenomena," he defended. "Look at these points around the country. four phenomenons happened in the Cordillera, connect it to the four points in Palawan and Visayas, and then I tried to connect them to another four phenomenons in Samar Islands. I have tried to connect them with lines--connect the dots, you know? But I can't make sense of them. I have tried connecting these dots hoping I could get a pattern of what's going on. Then, in that case, may be I could predict when and where the next phenomenons will occur. And may be understanding what these dots pointing out here might give us something more than predicting."

"Or may be nothing at all," Gaston said in doubt. "But maybe it will take the entire dots of the world on screen to form whatever figure you want to see. May be a cat, a sea lion, lion, or whatever kind of crap...whatever," he then suggested.

Gordon sighed in frustration. "I tried. I couldn't come up with anything."

Gaston leaned forward to get his eyes closer to the screen. He squinted as he studied the map. "Let me see... in the Philippines, there are three specific points where these phenomena take place - one point is in Luzon, the other point is in the Palawan Islands and the third is in East Mindanao. What If we isolate the dots to each of their respective place? I mean, in Luzon, the phenomenon starts around the Sierra Madre in the East, then the next phenomena to the North, down to the West, and then South, Benguet to be specific. If we draw a line to connect the dots, it almost encircles the Cordillera Region. There is also in Palawan, the pattern is the same. In the East, that is the Cuyo Islands. Up to the north, in Linapacan. Then, down West to the West Philippine Sea and South to Mt. Abortan. The same is throughout East Mindanao - mainly around Samar Islands. It starts in the East until it reaches the South.

And so, Gaston studies the locations where anomalies happened in Mindanao. He stood striaight, not looking away at the screen as he begins to process the image. Then he zooms the image back and the entire map of the Philippines is now shown on screen. "These phenomenons at each point are forming a circle on each of the three major islands of the Philippines?"

"I can try, but it is not possible. It is impossible for them to connect into a circle. Measuring the distance between the locations each phenomenon occurred is kilometers away from each other. And so, let's say one of them dies, there is a possibility that the occurring phenomena can complete the circle. However, how about the next two phenomena if the two remaining tattoo-wielders die? Where will they go?"

"Let's see," Gaston brought his face close to the screen again as he squints his eyes. He demanded Gordon to zoom in and focus only to the dots that represented the phenomenon in the Cordillera Region. "If we track it from the beginning. So, this is in a counter-clockwise direction. Maybe it is forming another shape. May be a stairs or just a 'C." Then, he talked about a sci-fi series he had watched three weeks ago in which he got reminded by the image on the screen. "Then, it turned out, when they located all the anomalies that happened in the past weeks, they have finally realized that the pattern the phenomenon made was like a spiral. The husband surely didn't know he did those though. He just wanted his wife to live."

Gordon suddenly widened his eyes. Gaston's statement had given him an idea. Finally, his thoughts are no longer at a dead end. "Boss. You are a genius!" Gordon praised him.

"What! What did I say?" Gaston replied while confused.

"You said that it was moving counter-clockwise, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well then, maybe it is moving in a spiral direction," he said. "Fibonacci sequence to be exact."

"Like those in sci-fi shows? Is that possible?" he reacted.

"Congratulations, you are now becoming a nerd," Gordon teased, which made Gaston displeased.

"Ew! No! No! No way!" he reacts as he moves away from the desk. "I would rather stay at my desk and eat these balls."

::::::::::

Gaddo is in his office. He is sitting behind his desk while examining a portrait. He is looking at the face of Ana Camilo. Gabriel is sitting across from him.

"From Horizon Reached University, huh..." he mutters.

"She is dangerous," Gabriel commented. "She must be hunted down."

"What is she?" Gaddo asked.

"We are certain. She is one of the newly chosen guardians of this generation," he answered. "She's one of the mermaids. They are now making their move."

"No one should stand in our way! Even if they are guardians or not!"

"Do not worry. I have a plan. With the aid of Mark, well... my dog. We can kill them."

"What are you planning to do?" Gaddo asked.

"The threat will be eradicated today. We will attack her at the very school she studies at and frame her death as a suicide."

Gaddo smirked. He nods. He agrees with the idea. "Make sure she dies."

"I need some of your men," Gabriel said.

"Good. Have as many as you want."

::::::::

It is one o'clock in the afternoon...

Ana is on the rooftop of the UPA Building. She was standing at the edge, next to the ledge. She was looking in the direction where there was a sea in the distance.

She took a deep breath as she let the cold wind blow on her face. She smiled as she felt relieved. Somehow, looking at the view in the distance had made her relieved from stress.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her shoulder. She gasped with surprise. She turned around to look at the person who had just grabbed her. She suddenly got puzzled when she saw no one there. She looked around. However, there is no one who is possible to grab her on the shoulder and disappear that quickly. The nearest student to her is two meters away from her right. She doesn't even know the student. She looked at the other students. She doubted that they were capable of grabbing her shoulder.

She got puzzled. She was wondering if her senses were just tricking her. Or someone really did touch her. She was really certain that there was someone, a real hand, who had just touched her. Her wondering suddenly frightens her. And so, she decided to walk away from the ledge and head to the exit.

Meanwhile, when she got down the stairs, she went into the third-floor corridor. She suddenly heard a growl when she got there. The growl was just soft, just enough to get the attention, Ana, in that corridor. She scanned around. She realized she was the only person in that place.

She heard another growl again. That time, she gasped, frightened to her very core. She looked around again. She looked on her left, and she looked to her right, but no one was there.

"Anyone in there?" she asked to hope that there was someone who would reply.

"Grrr!" someone growled for the third time.

And so, she immediately walked down the stairs leading to the second floor of the building. But she was not expecting this to happen. When she had just set foot on the floor of the third floor, she was surprised when she realized that the floor she was stepping on was not the floor of the third-floor corridor. Instead, she is stepping on a rough concrete ground.

She could smell the crude oil all over the place. She was terrified and overwhelmed as she looked around while wondering how she suddenly got to the parking lot. She was supposed to be on the second floor of the UPA Building. How come she got in there, in the middle of the Horizon Reached Parking lot? She's supposed to be in the UPA building.

"Miss Ana Camilo?" A guy suddenly came and stood behind her.

Ana gasped as she turned around to face the guy. She widened her eyes in surprise. She was trying to familiarize the guy but she couldn't identify her. How does he know her? That's what's running in her mind.

"Hi. I am Mark. Nice to meet you," he introduced himself. " I came here to warn you that you're gonna die," he said.

Ana gasped. She turned away. She was surprised when there was another clone of Mark blocking the other way. She turns around and another Mark is standing in that direction. She saw three Marks. One Mark is on the left, the other one is on the right, and the third one is on her left. All three paths that she was supposed to run along were blocked.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Ana asked. She felt threatened by their presence.

Mark raised his hands to signify that he was harmless. "Relax. We are not here to hurt you or anything," he said. He took three steps forward in her direction. And his doppelgangers advanced three steps forward.

"Who are you? How am I here?" Ana raised her voice as she was getting tense.

"As I said, I am Mark," he introduced. "You came here by my power. Let's say, my ability to manipulate space."

"What?" Ana squinted.

"Yes. I've got powers too, like you." He smiled.

"Why do you want to talk to me?" she asked.

"In about thirteen minutes, the hunters are coming for you. They want you dead," he answered.

"I don't know what you're saying. What hunters? Why do they want to kill me?" she protested.

"You are the girl who saved the Rosales brothers in Shilan, right? Trust me, I was there. It's been a hard time fighting you. Thanks to your rescue, they are determined to kill you," Mark further persuaded. "You are a threat to the hunter's goals. I don't know if there are more of you, but they suspect that there are others other than you who are studying here."

Ana was shocked. She suddenly remembers the conversation she and Sir Seth had a day ago. She flashbacked.

>>>>>Flashback>>>>>

Seth and Ana are sitting on a couch. There is a table next to them. On that table, there lie two images. One photo is Grace Joy de la Rochaz's portrait and the other is Seline Agyaman's portrait.

Ana is examining them. Her eyes were full of shock and surprise. "They really are in HRU," she said in relief.

"Are they the girls you are talking about?" he asked.

Ana nodded. "I can't wait to meet them."

"I do hope they will recognize you," he said.

"How come I have never detected them though?" Ana wonders. "I mean, I suspected that Grace was also in that school because I felt her presence once. But we never met again after that. And Seline, I never thought she would be here."

"We are also surprised. She just started schooling in Horizon Reached just today," he informed.

"I can't wait to meet them," she said.

>>>>>End of flashback>>>>

Ana is surprised by what he said. She slowly shook her head.

"How? How did you know I'm not the only one?" she asked.

"The hunters have Agatha, a witch who has knowledge about the past," he replied. "They are running out of time, so I heard. And now they are here to hunt you down along with Kendrick Rosales and his squint-eyed friend."

Ana was still trying to absorb the words she had just heard. She couldn't believe it. There are so many questions popping out in her mind. "Why do they kill the tattooed men?"

"I don't know, Gabriel never told me about it," Mark replied. "All I know is that it is an order from someone. And they are running out of time."

"Why are you telling this to me?"

"I am on your side, Ana Camilo. However, since I have an order to abduct you. I have no choice but to do so..."

"What?" She was getting further puzzled.

"You see... I am never on their side in the first place. But since they found me and they found out that I am possessed by a spirit, I am forced to do what I'm told to do."

"I...I.. don't know what you are talking about. Why not resist them?"

Mark smiled at her. Then, the radio communicator that was in his pocket rang. It produced a static noise before a voice from an unknown man was heard. "We are already here. Have you found the girl?" the man on the radio said.

"I am so sorry," he said. "Forgive me!" He charged toward her.

Ana flinched. Before his hand touched her, Kendrick tackled Mark and pinned him to the ground. Ana took a step back. Then, a dagger coming at high speed from the distance almost got her face. She got terrified and startled. She glanced at the dagger behind and she saw it penetrate the white van's front side.

"Someone's coming!" Gilhameer warned while he looked at the people running towards them.

"Run!" Kendrick told Ana.

"How about you?" Ana asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about us. We can take them out," Gilhameer told her. "Now. Run!" he said before he ran toward the enemy.

Kendrick is punching Mark's face then.

"HAAA!" Mark shouted and a supersonic boom came out of his mouth. It carried Kendrick away. Kendrick is dropped to the ground. He is disoriented.

The fog is swallowing the entire mountain of Cabuyao. The surroundings are limited to being seen by the naked eye. It will be an advantage to the hunters, Kedrick and Gilhameer, and Mark since the fog minimizes suspicions.

"I should have brought them to somewhere else other than here," Mark told himself. Then, he turned into a moon cruiser. He recently gained another tail. The moon cruiser shines like the moon in the sky, making all the people in the university notice the light. It lit up the entire school. Most people - students, parents, teachers, and other faculty members, close their eyes to avoid looking at it. A few seconds later, the light is gone, as well as the people on the campus. From the buildings to the plaza to the gardens, no one was there. They disappear.

Kendrick transformed into a wolf. He charged toward Mark.

:::::::::

Ana arrived in the plaza. She was heading towards the UPA building a.ka. the main building of the school. She was almost in the corridor when a woman suddenly appeared in front of her. She screamed in horror as she witnessed the woman magically appear. It was Agatha that appeared. She is going to stab Ana's face, but Ana is fortunate to dodge her attack. She touched Agatha's chest with the tip of her finger. A little spark of electricity formed by the tip of her finger. Immediately, Agatha got pushed away by telekinesis.

Ana continues to run. She successfully set her feet on the first-floor corridor of the building. She headed to the stairs to go up. While she is getting closer, a gunshot is heard from behind. She glanced at the back and she can see a man approaching.

"Damn it!" she exclaimed as she ran faster. She reached the stairs. She runs up as fast as she can.

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

Kendrick is struggling to combat Mark. He is about to hit Mark with his hard head but Mark disappears. Immediately, Mark appeared on Kendrick's left side and he tackled him. Kendrick is losing stamina and energy. He got pinned down to the ground.

Gilhameer glanced and he saw his friend lying on the concrete while the spirit was on top of him. Gilhameer has already defeated twenty hunters. He is about to move to get to his friend, but, due to not paying attention to the enemies, a silver bullet pierced through his hind foot. Immediately, he fell down.

The hunter is about to gun him down again but the rifle suddenly melts in his hands. He can't explain what's happening. He quickly dropped it. He looked around to consult the other hunters. He is shocked when he sees his co-workers' guns are also melting.

Mark noticed that too. He glanced at the hunters to check how they were dealing with Gilhameer. His wolf face cannot reveal his facial expression, but deep inside he is surprised.

Gilhameer is turning back into a human. Slowly and slowly, his bone structure is changing and his fur is turning short. He is steadily looking at the hunters dropping their guns. He is tired, he can't stand up anymore. He feels like dying because of the wounds caused by the silver bullets. They pierced his skin badly. He is lying down running out of breath.

There is a crackling sound from above. Mark and the hunters look up. They got alarmed, shocked, and frightened. They are looking at a bright being of sacredness above them. It's like a mini-sun burning brightly above. The miniature sun falls down like a feather. The hunters get more intense when they see it move. It is going to fall on Gilhameer.

Mark's eyes widened in fright as he figured out what the ball was going to do. And so, he immediately disappears to save his life.

The ball had now landed on Gilhameer. It exploded. The explosion produced a strong omnidirectional wave of force, enough to knock the hunters down. One by one, as the wave hits, the hunters fall to the ground, burned and incarcerated. The ground around the mini-sun cracks. The cars, the posts, and the trees broke down. Even the fog cleared out.

Kendrick got scared by what he had just witnessed. He is not affected by the force of the explosion since he is lying down, his chances of being carried away are less. He is still in his wolf form. However, he feels defenseless after that. He looked at the ball above Gilhameer. It changed its form, shape, and appearance. Kendrick is amazed by what he's looking at. He is supposed to be scared, but that ball of fire turns into a beautiful creature, a spirit to be clear. He was looking at a creature he had never seen. A creature made up of heat and energy. A creature that suggests God didn't make it from the soil. A bluish white sun in the form of a lion or a wolf. A being of different dimmension from him. The creature is standing on top of Gilhameer, yet, it doesn't burn him.

"Awwwoooo!!!" the creature howls. A few minutes later, it transformed into a mini-sun again. It flew away.

Kendrick feels dizzy all of a sudden. Then, he closed his eyes to sleep.

:::::::

Ana is hiding inside Laboratory C, located on the second floor of the UPA building. She locks herself inside.

On the other hand, Gabriel is in the corridor on the second floor. He opens the door of each room one by one. While he was searching inside one of the rooms, the radio communicator in his pocket produced a static noise. "Gabriel. Get out of there now," Agatha said.

"Don't worry, I am almost close to killing her," he replied.

"You do not need to waste your bullets anymore. Just come down here. The preparation is complete."

"I told you, I can do this without your hocus pocus trick," he said in disagreement.

"Damn it. Get out of there now!" Gaddo spoke.

"Okay. I am coming..." he replied. He ran toward the stairs going down.

And then... At the plaza. Agatha and Gaddo are standing in front of the UPA building. While waiting for Gabriel to come down to the plaza, Agatha presses the magic circle she and Gaddo draw on the soil.

"The coffins of the ancestors are sealed that no air can pass through," she whispers. Then, she pulled out her dagger. She slashed her palm and it bled. She put every drop of her blood into the circle. The circle begins to shine. At the same time, Gabriel arrived.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Removing the air from the building," she replied. "I'll suffocate her to death."

:::::::::::

Inside Laboratory C. Ana is lying down on the floor. She can't understand the situation she's experiencing. Her throat suddenly dried up. She could hardly breathe. She feels like she is inside a coffin while buried alive. She coughs. She is trying to breathe some air. She's getting dizzier every second passes. She had double visions as she looked up at the ceiling.

At any moment, her breath would lose, resulting in her death. She can't speak. She could barely think.

What is she going to do?