Mermaid Blues: Beasts, Giants and Spirits

The Mermaid of Force

Gaddo pulled out his bolo from his scabbard. He raised it up while Benjie looked at it in horror. Benjie is trying to break free but he can't. He keeps on squirming, afraid to die on the edge of the bolo. The lizard tattoo on his wrist is shining. His mind is ringing again. However, he is not bothered. Fear was overtaking his body.

Ken is watching Gaddo holding the bolo as he prepares to cut off his big brother's head. He's drained up. He can barely move. He slowly loses consciousness. He's trying not to close his eyes since once he does, he'll lose consciousness.

"Do it now," Gabriel said.

As Gaddo was about to swing the bolo, a strong, unseen force suddenly pushed him away and threw him aside. He got slammed against the wall, causing it to collapse. Agatha, Gabriel, and Mark were surprised with terror as they watched him get carried away. Agatha turned her head to where the door was. Immediately, she was pushed and got carried away to the collapsed wall that is now no longer there.

Gabriel immediately took his gun out of his holster. He points it to the girl who is at the door. However, the gun got taken away from him for reasons he doesn't know. He felt like someone pulled it away from him. The gun is received by the girl before he had the chance to pull the trigger. Immediately, the girl stretched her hand into the air. There is a slight electricity that appeared in her hand for a second as the unseen telekinetic force pushed Gabriel down to the ground and fainted.

Benjie was in terror as he witnessed the three people being knocked down one by one.

Ana is about to point her hand to Mark but he is not in sight. He just disappeared. She scans around to confirm if he really escaped. She could only see two guys tied to the chairs. She widened her eyes when she looked at the guy sitting to her left. She can't believe it. She doesn't want to believe it. The face looking toward her is Kendrick's. He is too weak to raise his head properly. He looks very sleepy.

"Kendrick?" she muttered with disbelief.

A moon cruiser suddenly appeared before her. She screamed in fear as the spirit headbutted her. She got thrown outside. She landed on the grass against her back. While she was still composing herself, the white spirit which she had never seen before charged at her at high speed. Ana was tackled again and was sent away into the woods.

It is Benjie's chance to transform. And so, he did. He turned into a gray wolf. The chains broke and the chair collapsed. He is free.

"AWOO!" he howled.

The Marksmen Agents have now arrived. Their vehicles stopped by the side of Shilan Road, at the foot of the hill.

***Blue Water****

"What you are seeing on the monitor right now is the entire map of the area. The drone I set hovering above the hill is sending us this image. The heat signatures you are looking at right now are from our team climbing up to the place. However, there is also a twist I set up on the drone. I did it to track down radiation signals that are similar to the radiation we got from the coin necklace," Gordon explained to the leaders, Gaston and Cielo. They were inside the van. They are observing the movements of their men in the forest through the monitor. They can see their agents rapidly but carefully going up the hill.

"So, you're saying that the drone can identify the moon dog?" Cielo clarifies.

"Yes," he replied. "Thanks to the help of the spirit prism, I sealed the very bit of the radiation from the coin to it. And then, identifying the thermal and construction of the radiation can help us identify its presence."

"Good job, boss," Gaston praised.

"Wait for it..." Cielo whispered to himself. He was expecting the disadvantage to come from Gordon's mouth.

"However, he shouldn't know that the drone is there or else he will escape using time and space. Or worse, it can create an illusion to trick us," Gordon warned.

"Great. I know you are going to cause some backlash," Cielo said. Then, he put the communicator close to his mouth. "Wolf Gang One. Wolf Gang One, can you hear me?" he called.

The leader of the rescue troupe replied, "Yes, sir!"

"How's the status?" the boss asked.

"So far so good. The werewolves don't sense any danger yet along the path. It is quiet but creepy. So dark I can barely see any light other than my flashlight," he informed. "What's our position, Sir?"

"You are fifty meters away from the house--" his words cut off when he heard Gordon say something intriguing.

"What's this?" Gordon reacted with surprise when he saw something weird happening below the drone. He is looking at a heat signature of a girl approaching a building that appears to be a chicken coup or a barn. Gaston also noticed it. "Is that a girl?"

They were further shocked in horror as they witnessed something weird. She did something to the men guarding the chicken coup. They are looking at five men approaching to meet her. However, for an unknown reason, all of them are thrown away as she passes through them. She didn't touch the men, they threw themselves at long range. It seemed like there was a force that pushed them away from her like a wave.

"Woah!" Cielo reacted with fright.

"What's happening, Sir?" Wolf Gang-One asked. He is wondering why the leaders sound alarmed.

"Advance, now. Something is happening over there!"Cielo responded.

"You heard him. Go! Go!" the Wolf Gang-One ordered the wolves. He cut off the conversation.

Meanwhile, the girl is seen being thrown by someone out of the chicken coup. A few seconds later, the spirit they were looking for came out emitting its radiation. However, they witnessed the spirit headbutt the girl while she was still trying to stand up.

"Okay. That is him, right?" Cielo asked.

"Yep."

"Okay. Who the hell is the girl?" Gaston asked.

"I don't know," Gordon said. "Better check it out before she gets completely crushed by Mark."

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

Ana is lying on the muddy ground. She is trying to recover from her back pain due to being slammed twice. Mark, who is still in his spirit form, jumps to land on her. However, when he is about to land his paws on her, Ana immediately opened her hands wide to unleash a strong wind enough to throw the spirit away. She successfully saved herself from being stumped. Since she can't stand due to her injury, the wind swirling around her helped her up by keeping her afloat. The leaves on the ground and the dust are swirling around her. With another hit, Ana thrust her hand forward and an unseen force came at high speed to Mark. Mark had been swept away like being swept by an ocean wave. However, when he was about to land on the ground, he vanished into thin air. Ana looked around but no one appeared in sight.

Then, the team came. They found her afloat in the air. They are facing her back. They are surprised and shocked at the same time.

"Face in front so I can see you!" the Wolf Gang-one shouted. He points his gun at her.

And so, Ana turned around. She didn't know who just shouted at her, which made her feel nervous and frightened. She feels numb. She feels she's gonna collapse at any time.

Wolf Gang-one lowered down his gun. He was surprised when he found out that it was a girl who looked innocent and harmless. Then, she fell down and fell into unconsciousness. Luckily, the agent caught her before she landed on the ground.

Then, an agent came to the Wolf Gang-one. He transformed from being a wolf to a human. He stood up before the operation leader naked.

"Sir, we found Benjie and Kendrick. Our operation is a success," he reported. "Benjie is alive and well. However, Kendrick is in a bad shape. He is unconscious in Benjie's arms right now."

"Good," the Wolf Gang-one responded in relief. "And Gaddo?"

"Unfortunately, they are nowhere to be found. His men guarding the coup are the ones we found." After he said that, he looked curiously at the girl Wolf Gang-One was carrying. "Who is she?" he asked.

"I don't know. She's one terrifying woman," the operation leader said. "Let's get the victims out of here. Also, contact Sir Cielo. Tell him the operation is a success," he commanded.

:::::::::

One fine sunny day, and a very good day for students to rest from school since it is a holiday.

Seline is at the Acosta Mansion. She decided to help her Aunt Nime since she'd got no homework to do. She and her Aunt were in the living room on the second floor of the mansion. They are busy cleaning around from the chandeliers to the floor. They've been cleaning for like thirty minutes.

When Seline already felt that she needed to rest, she immediately sat down on one of the couches circling around a glass table.

"Hayst..." she sighed then she wiped her sweat flowing down on her forehead with her hands.

"Thank God it's done."

Aunt Nime sat down beside her.

"Cleaning this house is so hard," Seline said.

"Now, you know," her aunt agreed. "This is the hardest area to clean aming all the corners here in the house."

Seline chuckled faintly.

Then, a maid suddenly came from downstairs. Her name is Indang. 'Indang' is not really her real name, it's just one of the nicknames Filipinos love to name someone.

"Ate," Indang called to Nime.

Seline and Nime looked.

"Why, Indang?" Nime smiled.

"Can you help me with my laundry, please?" she asked. "I am in a hurry."

"Is there a problem? Why are you in a hurry?"

"I've got a date," she answered. "Please. Please. Help me. Please," she begged. "I'm asking you just this once."

"Just this once?" Nime disagrees. "Have you already forgotten all the favors you've asked me to do because of your date? Recently, last week."

"But please, Manang. This date is really important for me," she begged, stomping her feet to the floor like a little child who wants candy but the mother refuses to give her some.

Nime sighed. She rolled her eyes.

"I have no choice," she said. "Fine."

The maid widened her eyes with joy. She squealed and jumped with happiness. She thanked her. "You are heaven-sent," she complimented.

"Shut up."

"Don't worry. We will dine in at a restaurant once I get my latest salary."

"Are you sure because I think you are just kidding me?"

"I promise!"

"Okay fine. But if you don't, you'll taste the wrath of my stiff broom," she threatened.

"Yeah, I promise."

Then she continued jumping with joy as she thanked her.

"Okay, don't expect that I will do all your laundry. You have to help me, too," Nime made herself clear to their agreement.

"Opo," Indang immediately answered.

"Let's go. You'll be late."

"I'll help you too," Seline told the maid.

"Ay!" Indang realized there was another chore she had to do. "May I ask her to clean Miss Marian's bedroom?"

"Ha?" Nime was shocked. Nime looked at Seline. Seline also looked at her. "Oh my God, this girl." She scratched her head disappointingly at Indang.

"Please! I'll pay you five hundred," Indang persuades Seline.

"Umm. Make it one thousand," Seline suggested.

"Okay. Deal!"

"Are you sure, my child?" Nime asked.

Seline smiled optimistically as she nodded her head.

"Okay fine," Nime said to Indang. "Remember, it's one thousand pesos not five hundred. Don't expect that her services are free."

"Of course," Indang responded.

"So, which room am I gonna clean again?" Seline asked.

:::::::::::

Agatha pushed the door of Gaddo's office open. She came into the room. She found Gaddo standing next to the window while staring outside. Agatha could tell that he was thinking deeply and he was not in himself. She could tell that Gaddo was very dismayed. She looked around. She gets more frightened when she sees shards of glass scattered on the floor next to the wall. Books, pens and the lamp that are supposed to be displayed on his table are lying on the floor.

"What the heck happened here?" she called his attention. "Are you okay?" She asked as she came closer.

Gaddo turned around to see Agatha. Gaddo's face is painted with anger.

"What makes you think I am okay, huh?" he angrily spoke. He walks forward to meet her. "What the f*****g hell happened there!?" He is talking about the incident in Shilan. In the scene where he is about to kill Benjie but they are stopped by someone, he can't understand.

"Okay. Calm down. No one expected that to happen," she said.

"What the hell! Who is that f*****g girl? She ruined it all! Is she a spy from the association, huh?"

"Okay. Gaddo--"

"How did they know we were there!" He resumed yelling.

"Shut up!" Agatha yelled back at him. "Hear me out. We also don't understand what is happening, okay?"

"What are we going to do then? Tell me!"

"We'll kill them. No matter what it takes. Even if that means k********g them over and over again, we will not get tired until we accomplish our goal."

Gaddo reflects on what she said. Somehow, it made him calm down a little. "The boss is getting impatient. I don't know what to do anymore now that I have found out the Marksmen has a secret weapon."

"Don't worry... I think. I know what that girl is," Agatha told him.

"You know?"

"Give me more time to confirm my assumption. You'll see. Senator Renato would be proud of us," she said with a sneering look.

Gaddo sighed. He nodded. He approached his desk. He grabbed the cup of coffee sitting on it. He took a sip. After that, he replied.

"Make it double time. If possible, kill her if seen on sight again. Not just her, everyone in that association must die," Gaddo said.

"You're right. I think it is about time we declare war," she replied.

"I know," Gaddo responded. "I'll die if we don't succeed anyway." He took a sip."Keep on finding the links. Tell your moon dog to do his job better this time ."

"Yes, sir," Agatha replied. "As you wish."

:::::::::::

Seline entered Miss Marian's room where she was told to clean. She is holding a laundry basket, a broom, a dustpan, and a can of air freshener. She put them down on the floor.

"Hoo, I wish Ceres is here. It's hard to carry this many."

Then she began to scan around.

"Oh my gosh! It's so messy," she complained. She saw a guy's clothes scattered on the floor. The bed had caught her attention. She got more disgusted when she saw underwear lying on it. The blankets weren't folded, crumpled into a ball, like paper, and the pillows had fallen down to the floor.

"I thought the one who owns this room is away?" she wondered. "These clothes. I don't think it's from a girl either."

She got the small laundry basket, then she began to pick up the scattered clothes one by one. Then she took the pillows and placed them on the bed. She picked up the blankets and a towel on the bed into the laundry basket. After that, she took the broom, knelt down beside the bed, then lowered her upper body in order for her hands and the broom to reach distant places underneath it (the bed). She is so focused on getting rid of the dust that she doesn't sense that as she crawls forward, her head is advancing towards the nightstand.

Tug!

Her head hit the nightstand. Which also made it shake, making things on it fall down.

"Aw...Ouch!" she tried her best not to yell. She was in pain. "My head!"

She immediately picks up the fallen objects one by one and placed them back on the stand. Then, something in one of those things caught her attention. She grabbed a picture frame containing an important picture- a woman, who appeared to be the mother, is carrying a child on her lap. There is a little girl smiling behind the mother while she is hugging her. She slowly raised up. Then she sits down on the soft bed.

She examines the picture. The mother is so happy, she seems to laugh while looking at the camera and so is the baby boy. He is staring at the camera showing his cute baby teeth. She began to recognize the young boy. It looked like Sir Seyhan.

"He's so cute..." she smiled. "But now, he isn't anymore," she took her words back. Then she looked at the woman.

"So, this is his mother? She's so pretty. This might be Miss Marian hugging her."

Suddenly, there was the bathroom connected inside the room. Its door opened as it squeaked. Seline widened her eyes when she heard the sound coming from right behind. Her heart began to race faster due to her shocking nervousness. She thought the owner of the room was not there, according to Indang. She froze herself then.

Seyhan came out of the bathroom in his birthday suit. He is humming a song as he approaches the closet.

"Sisiwit ko...sisiwit ko!" he sang out loud. "Sisiwit ko o sissiwit-" he turned his head when he sensed someone was on the bed.

"Ow! s**t! s**t!" he got startled when he saw the back of a girl. He immediately covered his junk with his hand.

Seline turned around to see him. She got frightened as she stood up.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH...." both of them screamed.

She used the picture frame to cover her face to avoid further looking at Seyhan's naked body.

"Sorry!Sorry! Oh my God!" she said while she closed her eyes. "My EYES! My eyes!"

"Where's my towel? The towel! Where is it?" he yelled as he was searching for the towel on the bed.

"Where is it?"

"Over there in the basket," Seline replied.

"Oh God. Why?"

"I don't know!" she replied.

"Why are you here anyway?" he yelled with distress. He immediately grabbed a pillow on the bed and he used it to cover his junk.

"Hey! What the hell is happening here?" Mr. Ian spoke as he arrived at the door.

"AH...!" Seyhan screamed as he got startled.

"Oh my God. What in the world?" he reacted with surprise. He looked at Seyhan from down to up.

"She..." he pointed at Seline. "She barged in here."

"I am sorry. I don't know that you are here," Seline defended.

Mr. Ian immediately put off his jacket. He threw it to Seyhan. "Where are your damn towels anyway?"

"She took it."

"What? What's happening here?" Nime asked when she arrived. She entered the room and was shocked. "Seyhan, what are you doing?"

"I just came out of the bathroom," he said. "And she just barged into this room doing something I do not know."

"And I was cleaning in here before he came out of the bathroom," Seline defended.

"Seyhan, you are supposed to take a bath in your own bathroom," Mr. Ian said while wondering why he was in that bathroom in the first place.

"My shower broke. I just told you that twice, "Seyhan defended.

"Right," Mr. Ian nodded. "I forgot you told me that," he muttered.

"I am sorry, Sir. I didn't really know you were there in the bathroom," Seline apologized.

"I see. So this is just an accident," Mr. Ian said. "Seyhan, you didn't know that she was here cleaning, and Seline didn't know you were in there."

"She saw my p***s, Dad. Aren't you going to do something with that?"

"What? No! I did not," Seline refused.

"I don't know. If I am going to decide, you should marry her," he replied teasingly.

"Ew!" both of them looked at each other in disgust.

"Come on. It's just an accident. Let's be adults and shrug it off."

"I am really sorry that this happened," Nime apologized to Mr. Ian. "If I hadn't told her to clean the room, then she wouldn't see his...his penis."

"No, I did not!" Seline yelled.

"Come to think of it. Why is she the one who is cleaning Marian's room? Isn't it supposed to be Indang who is cleaning this room? " Ian asked while wondering where is Indang.

"Oh," Nime suddenly got agitated. "Damn, that Indang. She should double Seline's payment."

"What?" Ian reacted with surprise as he brought his eyebrows together.

"Let me explain..." Nime then told him.

:::::::::

In a room inside the Association of the Marksmen's Mansion/Headquarters. It is a spacious room and empty, with no furniture or anything inside. Like Gordon's white-themed study room, it is all white. Compared to Gordon's room that has plants to contrast the color, there is nothing to contrast the color in it. It is like a prison cell for white torture. In the middle of the room, there is a bed. Ana is lying on it. She was unconscious for ten hours. She's been strapped around her body.

Meanwhile, she slowly opens her eyes. Finally, she's regaining consciousness. As she regains consciousness, there is a ringing inside her brain. She can hear people conversing in her mind. All of them are men. Finally, she can hear the voices clearly again. This time, they are not calling for help. They just seem to converse with each other.

While hearing those voices, she slowly turns her head left to right. She began to wonder what kind of place she was in. She looks at the white fluorescent lights on the ceiling above. Then, she attempts to raise her arm but she can't move it. She tried to move her body but she felt like something was constricting her. She lifts her head to check her body. She realized that she was strapped into the bed. She lay her head down.

"Hello?" she called. "Hello? Anyone there? Please, help!"

She doesn't know that there is a CCTV camera above her feet. She didn't know that the leaders, Kianu, Wendel, and Benjie were watching her outside the room. She's getting scared as she looks around realizing all her surroundings are empty white. The voices in her head continue to speak.

"Hello. I know you're out there. I can hear you!" she said. She tries to squirm again but she can't move.

Then, she hears a door opening as it screeches. She can't tell where it is but she can sense that someone's entering. She suddenly began to breathe heavily as she felt tense. Benjie, Kianu, and Wendel - the remaining men who wield Lumawig's Tattoo, entered the room. They approached her and then surrounded her.

"You know us, aren't you?" Wendel spoke.

Ana looks at them. She looked terrified. She could see their wrists shining.

"Who are you?" Benjie asked. He brought his eyebrows together.

"I don't...I don't understand..." Ana said. "Where am I?"

"Your voice..." Wendel said. "You were the one who always told us to run, weren't you?"

Ana widened her eyes. She doesn't know what to say. Is she going to say "yes" or deny that it's her? She doesn't know if she can trust those men.

:::::::::

Mark is locked inside an old room. His hands are tied together by a spirit sealing rope and then chained to the floor. He is sitting quietly in the corner waiting for Agatha to come to see him.

Meanwhile, someone opened the door. It's Agatha. She entered the room. Mark stood up.

"What the heck? Release me!" Mark protested.

"I am sorry, but I can't do that," she refused.

"I did what you wanted me to do. I took Benjie Rosales just as you ordered me to do. What more do you want?"

"You failed."

"What...? I don't understand."

"You should have killed him before we came. If you didn't refuse to kill him earlier, then, we would have no problem, right now."

"I won't kill anyone," he said.

"That's your problem," she replied. "Now. How can you save your girlfriend if you can't kill anyone?"

Mark glared at her. His eyes were burning with anger. "You monster!"

"Don't worry. I'll release you sooner. And make sure the next time I command you to do something, do it right."

She smirked at him before turning her back and facing the door. She exits the room while she ignores Mark's screams in anger.