Mermaid Blues: Beasts, Giants and Spirits

Denial for the Truth

Ana was walking on the sidewalk at the corner of the plaza. She was talking on her phone then...

"I can't believe you are not going home this December," she said.

"Your Dad really needs to earn money, my child," her Dad responded.

She halted walking. And then she sighed in frustration.

"I understand that," she smiled. "But every time you come home in the Philippines, your time here is short. You came here in March but you returned there in April," she whined.

"Sorry..." her Dad responded like a child, which made Ana laugh faintly.

"How are you there? I am wondering if you already have a boyfriend there that I am not aware of?"

"Dad, no," she responded.

"Is that so?" He wasn't convinced. "Maybe you are not telling me that you and your stupid ex were together again?"

"Dad, EW, no! I don't care about him or his family. I have already settled things with him, remember? I am so over him."

"Thank God...." He then changed the topic.

"Did the owner of the dog retrieve him?" He asked.

"The owner said that he'd come and get his dog this afternoon."

"Ahh... that's great. Just keep an eye on your big sister. She might not be able to give that dog to him."

Ana laughed. Then, his father continued talking.

Suddenly, there is a loud ringing coming from her head. It is so loud it hurts her head. It is so sudden she didn't see it coming. She feels like she wants to pass out because of dizziness.

"AHHH!" she exclaimed in pain. She curled up. She grabs her head, and in the process, she drops her phone. She's so terrified, this is the fourth time it has happened to her. Along with the ringing, she could hear a voice, a man's voice sending a message. "Edina, take good care of him. I feel like I am being drowned right now..."

"Hello? Hello Ana?" Her father was calling her attention. But Ana didn't respond.

"Hello? Are you still there? Ana?"

The pain is slowly fading. The ringing is turning down and the voice can no longer be heard. She snapped out from being terrified. She realized she was in the middle of a phone call right before that happened. She can still hear the voice of her father on the phone. She immediately picked it up and held it next to her ear.

"Yes, I am still here." She finally responded.

"Dad. Let's talk later. I realized I had something to do. Bye, love you." She hung up the phone.

"This can't be," she muttered. "Who are you anyway? Why are you bothering me?" she asked herself, hoping that those voices she was hearing in her head could hear her too and respond.

Ana looked at the people moving around the plaza. She got puzzled. Everyone in there is shouting in horror. Why are they running towards the sheds? Did they see something terrifying that scared them? What terrifying thing do they see? Why are they acting like it is the end of the world? Why is everybody taking shelter? Her heart raced faster. She didn't know what was happening at all. Then, she heard someone shouting in the distance.

"The sky..! What's happening in the sky?"

And so, Ana looked up at the sky. Then, she understood why people were acting scared. She is amazed, at the same time, she is terrified. She is looking at a phenomenon that she can't explain. The normal blue sky has turned into a rainbow-colored sky. It is not only rainbow-colored, but its various colors are dancing like the colors of a bubble swirl. The sky looks like Van Gogh's painting but is more colorful. There are two moons in the sky. One is unusually large and the other moon that looks like a planet hovering below the huge one. Meteors are also sighted. They are three times bigger than the regular meteors people observe every night.

It is exactly four o'clock in the afternoon when it happened. Twenty minutes later after Arthur was stabbed, the entire sky over Baguio and Benguet has changed. Every media immediately makes the move. People are terrified and confused but at the same time, they are mesmerized by the wonder.

***Blue Water****

Gabriel is in the interrogation room. He is sitting on a chair next to a rectangular table. He is facing the wall of glass. He is looking at it anxiously while he wonders if there are people looking through the glass from the outside. His hands are handcuffed and his feet are also handcuffed.

The door was opened. Seth came in. He walked towards the seat across from Gabriel. He is carrying a folder with papers inside it. Seth sat down.

"Remember me?" Seth asked. He made a mocking smile.

Gabriel scoffs. He nodded. "I see. I can hardly recognize you. Three days ago you were furry, now you are... adult. Look what my bullet did to you."

"Yeah. It temporarily paralyzes my arm," Seth replied. "How's the bite I gave you?"

Gabriel smirked and he looked at Seth in the eyes. "It aches until now," he replied. "I didn't know men at your age can still bite."

Seth smirked back. He nods. "That's good to hear."

"Let's cut to the chase, shall we?" Gabriel confidently suggested.

"Okay. If you say so," Seth agreed. "It says in your passport, you are Sebastian Ramirez. You came all the way from Mexico. However, my mind says your name is not Sebastian Ramirez."

"Hmm...," Gabriel nodded. "Then, I guess you shouldn't trust your mind."

"I am so sorry but I can't do that," Seth disagreed. "So, let's start with your true name, Mr. Sebastian. Speak the truth."

"It's in the passport, dude. Sebastian Ramirez is my name."

"Fine," Seth said. He flipped the folder open. There is the portrait of Gaddo showing up first on the pile. Seth took it and slid it across the table. Gabriel looked at the portrait. Then, he looked at Seth, showing no expression on his face.

"What's this?" he asked.

"I know you have a connection to this guy," Seth told him. "Who is he?"

"I don't know him," he denied.

"Come on!" Seth teasingly exclaimed. "We just saw you disappear in that weird warehouse together with him and Arthur. So, don't try to lie to me."

"I might be," he flashed his eyebrows. "You know, I meet people but don't care to know about them. I only care about business with them. So, yes. I met him, we talked, that's all."

"What's his name?" Seth asked.

"I don't know. All I know, he is the 'Syndicate'," he answered.

Seth isn't convinced. "You're lying. I know you are something far valuable than any of the Syndicate's men."

"Gee. I wonder what is my role in this game?" he mockingly said.

"Game? You are calling this a game?" Seth disagreed. "People died because of you people. Is this what you call a 'game'?"

"Yeah," he confidently nods. "After all, we are hunters. It is what we do."

"They are innocent people! They want nothing but peace," Seth protested.

"They are monsters that should be long extinct," Gabriel differed. "Speaking of dead, is Arthur dead?" he suddenly asked.

Seth suddenly becomes quiet. He didn't know what to reply.

"Arthur Agonon. Is he dead?" Gabriel repeated his question.

"That is not important right now," Seth replied.

"Aheheh," Gabriel giggled. "So, he is dead." He continued laughing.

Seth angrily slammed the table with his hands as he got up from the chair. "Why are you killing these people, ha! They have done nothing wrong to you!" he yells.

"You don't know?" Gabriel continued to mock. "I won't tell you. Never. A few more left and this world will be filled with salvation."

"What do you mean by that?"

"We are already close, mister. Soon, the gods will wake up from their slumber. If that happens, this world and the other side will find peace. There will be harmony. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"What the f**k are you saying?" Seth shook his head. "You are insane."

"Just wait and see. A few steps more, and you'll know what I am talking about."

Seth raised his lower lip, widened his eyes and he nodded. He indicates he understood. Then, he retrieved the portrait and sent it back to the folder. He closed the folder and held it. He stood up and walked to the door. He halted when he heard Gabriel speaking.

"You can't keep me here forever. My men will come and rescue me," he warned.

"And I make sure that before they do, I have squeezed all the information I am looking for from you," he replied. After he said that, Gabriel didn't respond anymore. And so, Seth pulled the door open and he went out of the room.

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

Kendrick gasped as he opened his eyes. He has been asleep for three days. He is nervously panting as his memory reveals to him the moment he got pounced and knocked out. He raised his upper body to sit down on the old mattress he was on. He looked around. He realized that he was in a dark room. The walls are made up of slabs of wood. They are old and dented. Light from the sun outside enters through those dents which lit up the entire room. He looked up and he saw no ceiling, just dented roof. He looked around again, from left to right, it looked like he was in an old chicken coup or a cattle barn. It smells funny in there. There is no floor - just soft brown earth.

Then, he felt the pain coming from his wounds in the shoulder. He raised his hand to reach the sore area. He realized he was not wearing a shirt. There's a bandage wrapped all over his body. He gets tensed, confused, and scared.

The door opened. Ken immediately looked. There is a man entering. Ken got nervous as he watched his approach.

The man is wearing a leather jacket with a white shirt underneath and a short pair of jeans. He's got a round face and dark brown skin. His hair is trimmed like the haircut required in the army. His beard is shaved. He looks like in his thirties. He's got a scent similar to the scent of the wolf spirit who bit him.

"Who are you? Where am I?" he asked the stranger.

The stranger dodged the question. "You're awake," the stranger said instead. He smiled.

"I said, 'Who are you?'"Kendrick got more frustrated.

"Calm down. I won't hurt you," the stranger replied.

"Then, why am I here? Who are you?" Ken asked.

"Okay... I am Mark. Nice to meet you, Kendrick," he said.

"Do I know you?" Kendrick looked at him in wonder. "What do you want?"

He looks at Kendrick with a smirk on his face. "What I want...?" He wrinkles his forehead. " I want freedom."

"What?" Kendrick got confused. "I don't even know you. I have no reason to put you in jail."

Mark grabbed a wooden chair and positioned it in front of Ken. He sat down so that he could talk to Ken with his eyes looking to his eyes.

"It is not really a literal prison..." he clarified. "It is more of a figure of speech."

"What do you want?"

"Simple..." he said. " I want your brother to come save you," he told him with his eyes filled with confidence.

After he heard Mark's answer, Ken got upset. He glares at him and stands up. He is about to move his arm as he charges at him but he suddenly feels the pain arising in his left shoulder.

"Argh!" he exclaimed. He slowly reached the sore spot. He slowly lowered himself until he kneeled down.

"Don't move your hand that much or else you will feel pain," Mark advised. He got up.

"What wrong has he done to you?" Ken angrily asked.

"Nothing," he replied. "It's just a necessary requirement to kill him," he added. "Sorry. I idolize him as an entrepreneur but he must have to die," he said, then smiled. " I have to go meet someone. As much as I like to talk to you, but I really need to go."

He snaps his fingers. Immediately, chains are coming out from different directions. They come to wrap Kendrick up. They altogether slither around Kendrick like snakes until his entire body and feet are bound. Only his head remained unwrapped. Ken is trying to break free but the chains are too tight. He is completely immobilized.

However, the chains are just an illusion created by Mark. Ken fell for it. Right now, he thinks he is really chained up. The sensation of being bound he feels and the sounds of the chains glittering as they cause friction he hears makes it real. Kendrick is groaning in frustration, desperate to be freed. It's useless with all his strength.

Mark smirks as he watches poor Kendrick being fooled by his magic. A few minutes later, he turned his back on him. He headed to the door to exit. He is leaving Kendrick groaning and yelling.

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

Heavenly Homes, an apothecary located in Alaminos, Pangasinan. It is where the wake of Arthur Agonon was sent to. It has been three days since he was there in a coffin. His lifeless corpse is settled in the middle of the room. His loved ones were surrounding him as they wept in sorrow. All of them are wearing black. One by one, they came forward to peek at his face one last time. Gaston, Cielo, and Japeth are also there. They were standing in the corner looking at Arthur's loved ones mourning over him. Gaston spotted Enzo in the distance. The kid is crying while he hugs his grandfather's foot. Gaston averted his eyes and looked the other way instead. He is feeling guilty and responsible for Arthur's death when he looks at poor Enzo.

Edina approached them. Her eyes are red since she shed so many tears three days non-stop. Her face was covered in sorrow. The leaders of the association could see the marks of anger and sorrow in her eyes. They suddenly feel embarrassed. They held their heads down.

"We are deeply sorry for what happened to your husband," Japeth said with sincerity.

"How could they do this to the father of my son," she whispered gently. Her tears started to flow again. "He is just a sweet sweet man. He doesn't deserve to die like this."

"I am so sorry," Japeth repeats to apologize. "I thought we did our best to protect him. It turns out it is not enough..."

"Don't apologize...I know you tried your best to save him," she said.

"Don't worry, we are going to avenge him. We will bring justice to the man responsible for his death."

Edina nods, agreeing with Japeth. " I hope the killer will rot in jail."

"He will suffer more than in jail," Gaston chimed in. "We'll make sure of that."

"I hope no one gets killed again because of this," Edina said. "He wishes every day that someday the curse will soon disappear so that he can be free, that he won't hold back desiring his happiness. The tattoo is the reason why he doesn't want to marry me. He fears that he might hurt me or Enzo because of it..."

Japeth wraps his arms around her to comfort her. Cielo came closer to hug her also.

"I had never thought that he could end up like this because of that stupid tattoo," she continues.

On the other hand, Benjie and Wendel are standing by the door. They are facing each other. Wendel is staring at the coffin in the distance while he remorses.

"He is a good man," he told Benjie. "I just met him while I was still looking for you. He welcomed me into his home. I stayed and hid there for a week. He provided me with food and some clothes to change." He sighed in frustration. "It's just a shame. He died like that."

Benjie looked at him with sympathy in his eyes. He gulped deeply. "We barely talk that much. However, I can see that he is a good person." Then, he looked to where Edina and the leaders were. He could see that they were comforting the widowed woman.

"Look at them," he said with disappointment in his voice. He looked at Wendel.

"Who? The leaders?" Wendel asked as he brought his eyebrows together.

"They are acting like they really are sincere but the fact that they are not," he said.

"I don't think so," Wendel disagrees. "Looking at Sir Gaston over there, I think he blames himself for what happened."

"They always fail anyway, so... You trust them, but they fail you."

"What is it with you and the Marksmen? I heard you're having bad blood with them," Wendel asked with curiosity.

Benjie avoids looking Wendel in the eye. He turned his head to see the outside instead. Wendel could see the denial in Benjie's eyes mixed with anger and trauma. Benjie bit his lips. He avoided the question by not answering. Wendel understands that Benjie doesn't want to talk about it. And so, he just nods.

A few moments later, Benjie decides to walk away. He exits the room. Wendel suddenly began to wonder where he was going.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"To find my brother..."

After hearing that, Wendel ran after him. "Hey! Wait."

:::::::

In the parking space outside the apothecary...

Benjie arrived at the spot where he parked his car. He opens up the door. He is about to get inside but Wendel approaches while he calls him. Benjie halts.

"Hey, wait! What the hell are you doing?" Wendel complains.

Benjie took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. "I would rather go and find my brother rather than stand here, waiting for an answer that will never come."

"Benjie. The association is already on it."

"I don't trust them! The fact that we trusted them, look what happened. One of us died within their custody."

" They kept their eyes on him. Arthur was the one who slipped away," he protested.

"Oh...now you are siding with them?"

" No. Benjie, I am not! However, they are the best guys we have to keep us alive."

"Fine. Stay here. Do what you want," Benjie responded.

" Do you have any idea how to find your brother?" Wendel asked.

Benjie looked away. He didn't know how to reply to Wendel's question.

"You don't have any, right?"

" I have to try, okay!" he yells.

Gaston came to that parking lot. He found them arguing.

"Benjie," he called. He approaches.

Wendel and Benjie shut up. Wendel turned around to see the guy who had just called from behind. Benjie took his eyes to the person coming.

"What's going on here?" He asked as he brought his eyebrows close together.

Wendel doesn't respond.

"I'm going," Benjie said with an upset tone in his voice. He entered the car. He sat down in the driver's seat. Then, he was about to shut the door but Gaston stopped him from doing so. He pushed the door open.

"Look, Benjie, you need to calm down," he said.

Benjie scoffs. He looked at Gaston sternly. "No, I won't. You turds can't even protect a single human being."

" We are trying to do everything ---"

" -to protect us, yes?" Benjie continues his statement with disagreement. " I was promised like this before. However, it turns out, you are not worth trusting."

"HEY! Whatever the problem you have with Boss Seth, please do not apply it to the situation today. We are different than those previous leaders. There is a reason why Seth did a terrible thing to your family. You barely even know what happened anyway," Gaston said back.

Benjie didn't say a word. He looked at him sternly. Then, he grabbed the door and closed it. He started the engine.

:::::::::::

Lady Silvia is in the conference room. She is alone, sitting next to the huge table. She is reviewing the portrait of the creature Gilhameer has described. She is comparing it to the creature she found on one of the pages of her book. The creature Gilhameer and Kendrick encountered is the same as the image of that creature in the book.

"Hmm... let's see," she began to read the content written on that page. "The 'Moon Cruiser'. Specie: Canis Espiritus de Luna. Like its cousin, kitsune, the moon cruiser gets one more tail as it gains additional wisdom. In its lifetime, it gains up to nine tails. Its ability is unknown. A terrifying threat to the human world. It looks like the moon itself - shiny and brilliant, but in the image of a wolf."

Then, Gordon came in. He is holding a photograph of some sort. Silvia got startled when she noticed him enter through the door.

"Goodness gracious!" she reacts.

"You need to see this," Gordon informed. He placed the photo on the table. He slid it toward the old lady. Silvia took it in her hands. She examines the photo. She is looking at a scene taken from the CCTV camera. It is an image of a road. At first glance, it looks like nothing wrong with it. There are vehicles passing through like any other road. There is nothing happening along the sidewalks. However, there was a tiny thing that caught the attention of her eyes.

"Where is this taken?" she asked.

"We got that from a surveillance camera installed along Adiwang Road in Dontogan, almost eight kilometers away from the peak of Mt. Cabuyao," Gordon replied. "That thing appeared at exactly one-forty p.m. It appeared for a second and disappeared. We barely noticed it until one of the investigators spotted it."

Silvia reviewed the image again. This time she put it closer to her eyes. The thing that they are talking about is a small elongated shimmer shaped like a wind hovering above the sidewalk at the right side of the road, the sidewalk farther from the camera. The wind appears to be white in color and distorted. It is headed in the direction of Mount Cabuyao where the Horizon Reached Univerity lies at the top of it.

"If you look at it through a magnifying glass, you can see that it is in a form of a dog's head with a short comet tail flying over the sidewalk," Gordon further explained.

"Do you think this is the creature our young Gilhameer was talking about?" she asked.

"I don't know. But I have a feeling that might be it. The camera captured this image at one-forty in the afternoon and twenty minutes later, Kendrick Rosales and Gilhameer Asuncion got attacked by a strange hybrid wolf," he replied. "How about you? Do you think the footage is relevant?"

"Gather some left over radiation from it," she answered.

"Wait, radiation?" Gordon reacted in wonder.

"The spirit emits an incredible amount of radiation so I believe he leaves his tracks behind by it," she explains.

"Okay. You found out what the creature is," he guessed.

"It is an anito called Asong-buwan. In English, the Moon Wolf/Moon Cruiser. Legends say that the spirit is rarely seen in this world. In fact, it is the kind of anito that shouldn't be here at all. Its power has the ability to imbalance the laws of physics in this side of reality. It can travel between realities with ease when it finally gets its fourth tail."

"According to Gilhameer, the creature has four tails," Gordon said.

"My theory is that the spirit came to this reality before the great separation of realities thirty years ago. It just got stuck in this side of reality when it realized it can't traverse anymore because of the great separation."

"So why kidnap Kendrick?" he asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "It is up to you investigators to find it out."

"Is there any way we can still track down this creature?"

"No. I am afraid I can't help you with that matter," she replied. "But don't worry, you are a scientist. I know you can pull something out of thin air. Perhaps you should read this book just delivered to me from the Library of Australia. This would be helpful," she showed him the book she was reading a while ago before he came in.

Gordon took a deep breath. He balloons his cheeks as he begins to think. Silvia got up.

"I have matters to attend to. Just call me if something comes up," she said. She pats Gordon's shoulders as she gives him a smile of enthusiasm. And then, she walked out of the room.

She left Gordon there, standing still while thinking deeply. He tries to force his mind to work double-time to come up with an idea.

:::::::::

Gilhameer is standing exactly at the spot where it happened. He is in the garden alone, standing still and quiet.

He is reminiscing about the part of that day when Ken was taken away. He felt responsible for what happened. He couldn't protect his friend from the creature.

Grace came to the scene. She found him alone and sulking as he faced away to the strawberry garden next to that small garden. The strawberry garden is connected to that garden but it is no territory of the Horizon Reached.

Grace approaches him. Gilhameer turned around when he heard the sounds of footsteps coming. He widens his eyes with surprise as he wonders what she is doing in that place.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I saw you through that window over there," she said while pointing to the library. "Are you okay?"

"I am not," he replied. "Due to the fact that my friend is kidn*pped and until now we couldn't find him."

Grace nodded. "Let me help you find your friend."

Gilhameer looked at her with disagreement on his face. He was surprised at what she said.

"You? Helping us?" Gilhameer questions.

"Yep."

"You have lost your mind," he shook his head.

"Why not?"

Gilhameer moved closer to Grace so that he could whisper what he's going to say.

"Even if you could, you have no idea what kind of issue we are having right now. This is not an ordinary problem that some ordinary person can solve that we are talking about. This is about a werewolf who got abducted by...whatever alien that is."

"And you have no idea what this ordinary person is capable of," she said.

"Shouldn't you be afraid of me?" Gilhameer asked with wonder. "Or are you forgetting something that you saw?"

"No. I am not," she replies with confidence.

"Are you secretly a werewolf too?"

"No!" She replied. "Just get me to your investigator, okay? I'll cooperate. I also witnessed what happened."

"You barely saw anything!" He insists.

"They won't talk to you anyway because this case is confidential. They won't risk talking to you."

After saying that, Gilhameer looked at her in the eyes for a second. He looks into her eyes with threat and refusal. He walks past her as he leaves.

Grace turned around. She looked and she saw Gilhameer walking away. "Wait!" Grace said. She walked toward him.

"I understand if they won't talk to me..." She pulled out something in her pocket. It is a coin tied into a thin coil to be a necklace. "Here. Take this. Take this to them. I believe this is from whoever kidn*pped your friend."

Gilhameer took it from her hand. "Where did you find it?" he asked.

"I just found it stuck in the gutter yesterday," she replied. "I can still sense something from it. It still feels warm."

:::::::::

Seth entered the interrogation room. He found Gaddo sitting next to the table. Gaddo's face is bruised, has a left black eye, and a cut across his burned cheek. These are due to the beatings from the previous interrogation.

Seth has a seat across from him. "So, are you ready to tell me your plans?"

Yet, Gaddo didn't reply. He is just glaring at the investigator.

"Who really is Gabriel Ramirez? How important is he to your crimes?" Seth continued to ask. He squints at Gaddo with curiosity painted on his face. He leaned his back on the backrest and crossed his arms.

"Go to hell," he replied instead.

Seth got displeased with the answer. He stood up and walk around the table to get to Gaddo. He clenched his fist and punch Gaddo in the face. After that, he grabbed Gaddo's collar and pressed him against the backrest.

"Do you think this is funny, eh?"

He punched him again. "I will make sure you will never see the light of day ever again, you asshole!" He punched him again. He stares at Gaddo's eyes with anger. "Why are you trying to merge the realities back together, huh? Answer me!" He shakes him.

"Ahahaha!" Gaddo laughs faintly.

Seth moved back. "Where is Kendrick Rosales?"

"For a thousand times, I have no idea where he is!"

"Stop lying to me!"

"Do you want another lie detector test on me?" he confidently suggests. "It is true that I want to kill Benjie Rosales. However, k********g his little brother is not what I thought of."

Seth moved back. "Because probably, he was kidn*pped by your other friends!"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "But that is an interesting theory."

"Where is he, you asshole?"

"I will stop talking now. Feel free to torture me," he replied.

"HAAAH!" Seth couldn't hold back the anger he was keeping. And so, with another punch, Gaddo's nose took the impact.