Mermaid Blues: Beasts, Giants and Spirits

The Place called "Hell"

In the living room...

Ana, Seline, Kendrick, and Ceilo are sitting on the floor. The furnitures are moved to the side so that they can occupy the middle of the living room. They formed a circle. All of them are doing the meditating position. They hold each other's hands.

"I just hope we won't wake up Janus, " Grace said. Then, she takes a deep breath.

Ana looks at her. She nodded. "Okay, guys. I will use your empathy to channel Kuya Kianu's memories and pain to each and every one in this room. So, it is easier to share his psychological trauma that unables us to enter through his mind."

"What is our goal again?" Ken asked. He is sitting beside Ana on her left.

"We just have to reach out to him when his mark started to appear on his wrist," she said.

"So, even if he is not here, you can still reach his mind from the mansion?" Ceres wonders.

"Probably because of the tattoo as well," she replied.

"Okay, let's start, shall we?" Grace told them.

Seline takes a deep breath. "Okay, I am ready," she informs. She closes her eyes.

Ceilo looks at Ana. He nodded, indicating that he is ready. "Let's go!" she said. Grace, Ana, and Ken also close their eyes. They bowed their heads down.

***Deep Secret***

Gaston and Seth are watching the scene taken by the road camera back during the time when the terrorists are pulling Cynthia out of the house. They are now looking at the time when the van arrived by the gate.

"Pause," Seth orders.

And so, Gaston paused it. The video freezes. It reveals a clear view of the plate number of the van. "Zoom into the plate number, please," Seth said. And so, Gaston zooms into the plate number of the van. "Make it clearer," Seth orders again. And so, Gaston made the blurry image clear.

"AWS2020," he reads. "You found the van, right?"

"Yep," Gaston replied. "We found it parked on the roadside along Kenon Road at Camp 3. The owner is Melchor Dantes. He reported it stolen yesterday, one hour before Cynthia got kidn*pped. He said he parked it in the parking space in front of a kariderya (a traditional Filipino eatery) to dine in. Thirty minutes later, when he returned, he found his van missing at that spot where he parked his van."

"Okay. He stole it from Aurora hill, and then to Suello Village down to Camp 3. That is a long trip," Seth commented. Any details on the guy who took his car?"

"We have," he answered. He switched to another video. This time he shows him camera footage from an establishment just next to the karinderya where Melchor Yap dined in. "This is the time before the thieving incident happened. It is taken from the balcony of a grocery store right next to the cafeteria. As you can see, there are so many people walking along but there is this guy that has caught our attention..." He freezes the footage to when there is a guy walking over. "This guy," he points at the suspect.

The suspect is wearing a blue windbreaker jacket with a pair of brown jeans. He is walking past the grocery store towards the karinderya. His hands are tucked inside the side pockets of his jacket. He is wearing his hood on to hide his face. He also wears a face mask.

Gaston switched to another footage. "This is the footage we took when the van exited 3 Sgt. Floresca St. to Rimando Road. Thirteen minutes after Mr. Yap left his van." He freezes the moment when the thief's elbow is hanging out of the window. "It is blue and the design of the sleeve is the same."

"Search the area. I am certain the thief lives in the neighborhood," he said.

"Okay. I'll tell the agents to ask the people there if they are familiar with this guy," Gaston said.

"Also, could you zoom in one more time back when he passed by the grocery?" Seth suggests. He turns his wolf eyes on.

And so, Gaston flashes back the footage. Seth squints his eyes as he examines the video.

"Freeze," he orders. And so, Gaston paused the video. Seth immediately found something that made him curious. That moment captured by the camera reveals that the suspect is hiding something underneath his jacket. He noticed that there was an ID lace hanging on his neck.

"Is that a lace around his neck?" he asked.

"Where?" Gaston wondered. He zooms into the suspect's neck. "Whoa! Your eyes are sharp," he comments.

"I know right," Seth proudly replied.

"Sometimes, I really wish to be a Lignodon, a lycan to be specific," he said. He looked at Seth with amazement in his eyes.

"Sucks to be you, isn't it?" Seth mocks.

Gaston gently chuckled to hide his displeasure. He looked away from Seth. "Ouch!" he muttered.

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

Ana, Seline, Cielo, Grace, and Ken are standing on top of a waterfall. They are on top of a two-hundred-foot cliff. They are looking around, feeling new to the environment they are in. The sky is black and white, and the trees and the plants are black and white. The ground is black and the water flowing is white.

"Is this really the color of the Spirit World?" Ken wonders.

"I think it is just the color of the memory," Cielo explained. He turned to see the view behind him. He looks at the forest. He could hear some squawking and roaring in there. He gulps in fear.

"Guys! Why do I think this place is somehow creepy?" Seline complains.

"Shhh!" Ana shushed her. "I have been here before. I am trying to remember what happened," she told.

Seline bit his lips. She nodded. Then, she resumes looking around. She found her self standing at the edge of the cliff. She is looking down, wondering how high the waterfall is. Down below, she could see the river where the water falls down to, looking like a straight thin white line.

AAAAAHHHHH!

They all got startled when they heard that very painful and distressed scream. Everyone looks at the trees. They detected that the sound came from the forest.

"I remember!" Ana yelled. "Follow me!" she said before she ran toward the trees. Cielo, Seline, Ken, and Grace immediately follow her.

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

In a bakeshop located on the hill of Mines View, Baguio City. Inside the kitchen where the bread is being manufactured and readied to be served to the customers in the dining area. The chefs are wearing green laces around their necks to hang their IDs.

Gaston and Agent Simon are in that kitchen. There is Father Antonio Salvacion to entertain them. They are sitting at the table next to the window.

"So, you are looking for someone in my establishment?" Father Salvacion asked.

Gaston lays down the tablet on the table. On its screen, it reveals the image of the mysterious man wearing a hooded blue jacket and brown jeans with a face mask covering half of his face.

"Do you know that guy in blue?" Gaston asked.

Father Salvacion nervously looks at him. He looks down at the tablet. He grabbed it and raised it to get it close to his eyes. He squints at the image. Simon looked at the eyes of the priest. He can see that he is surprised and disbelieving. There is denial filling in his eyes.

"I am so sorry. With his face covered with a mask, I...I can't recognize him," the priest smiled to hide his denial. He lays down the tablet on the table.

"That's odd," Simon responded. "He is wearing the same ID lace your employees are wearing." He looked at the bakers working behind Mr. Salvacion.

"You must be mistaken. There are other businesses that also have green as their ID lace. You...you might have been mistaken. He might be a student."

"There is the logo of your business showing," Simon argues. "Father, look. There is the pinecone and a monay bread behind, the same as the design of your logo."

"I am so sorry, Father. Perhaps we got too straightforward, and you are confused about why we are looking for this guy," Gaston said.

"I... I... I told you...I don't know him--"

"That guy encircled in that image is involved in k********g," Gaston cuts his statement. "He is involved in the k********g of a mother living in Suello Village. The image you just saw is the scene before he stole a van next to that grocery. He stole it yesterday just to use it to transfer the victim to Camp 3 where she was never seen again. He might also be involved in the k********g of an NBI agent on that same day."

The priest widens his eyes. He can't believe it. He didn't want to believe the investigator's statement. He gently shook his head in dismay and was horrified. He rubs his chin.

"Oh my God..." he sighed.

"Sir, I want your cooperation on this. That guy is helping the terrorists. We need your help in order to locate this guy," Gaston persuaded. "Sir, I know you care for this man but he has to answer for his crimes."

"I don't believe he did any of that," he said.

"So, you know who he is?" Gaston asked.

The priest nodded.

"What's his name?"

"His name is Ishmael. Ishmael Laksamana," he said. "Last night he called. He told me that I don't need to worry about him anymore when he is gone and doesn't return today," he informs. "He was just a kid when I picked him up along a messy street in Maguindanao. I was on a mission when I found him. He was just a lost and rebellious kid then. I brought him here. We disciplined him inside our ministry. I am so proud of what he became."

"Does he happen to have been involved in terrorist activities?" Simon wondered.

"He did. As I said, he was young when I found him. Holding a gun, wanting to shoot anyone he sees because he never saw love in his life back then." he said. "Three years ago, when we established this bakery, he was very excited about running it. To earn money for himself. Along with our bakers here, they were also convicts who want to turn their lives around."

" Does one of them happen to be a terrorist, too?" Gaston asked.

"No. My guys are only convicted of some minor crimes but not that heavy," the priest defended.

"Does he have any contact with anyone outside your church and in this establishment?"

"All I know is that he seldom goes outside. He is shy around people whom he doesn't know," he said.

"Where does he live right now?"

"Aurora Hill. He lives in a boarding house next to my cousin's house," the priest answered. His eyes are turning red. He is holding back the tears.

"Can you give us the address?"

"Sure," the priest replied. "Please, find him. Find him safe."

Gaston slightly smiled. He nods.

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

Ana, Cielo, Seline, Grace, and Ken arrive at the scene. They all widened their eyes in horror as they witnessed a terrifying scene. They are standing a few meters from the gruesome and terrifying horror they are watching. They froze in fear as they cower.

They are looking at a creature with a dragon-like feature. A giant, meat-eating creature that walked on two legs and had a long tail and a big head with sharp teeth and two little arms. It has white feathers covering its entire body, except for its tiny forearms and thighs which are covered in scales just like birds. The longest feathers crest on top of its head.

"Oh my God!" Cielo yells as he watches a person being devoured. "Oh s**t!"

Seline turns away in order not to look any further. Kendrick drops his jaw as he pulls his bangs up. He lowers himself to kneel down. He is so terrified that his knees are weakened. "Oh, God! Oh, God!" he simultaneously said. Grace covers her mouth in disgust. She turns away along with Ana.

"HAAAH!" Kianu shouts in the distance. He runs towards the monster with a spear raised up in his hand. He throws it into the whistling monster.

The head of the spear pierced through its left eye. The monster growls and whistles in pain. It raised its huge crocodile-like head into the sky. It flails its head around in the hope of removing the spear stuck in its eye.

"Run!" one of Kianu's colleagues shouted. And so, Kianu and his colleagues ran away from the t-rex while they are being stalled by the spear.

Cielo and Ken watch them running away in the distance. Cielo bows down to face the ground. He begins to choke. He wants to puke but there is nothing coming out of his mouth. Turns out, a thought can't bring out anything from his system even if he feels and wants to puke.

The girls curled up. They cry as they remember what they just saw. They got traumatized. Ana feels the sorrow and despair that Kianu is feeling. The four also felt the pain due to their empathy connected to her.

They have entered the world of thought. In that world, the memory of Kianu has also become their thought. They can feel what he remembers the pain feels like. They can feel the sorrow he feels every time he remembers that moment. In that world, they are like inside their dreams, but that dream is Kianu's memory.

Cielo stands up straight. He realized it is useless to choke if there is nothing to vomit. His eyes are tearing up. He looks at the dinosaur. The creature successfully threw the spear off its eye after so many times of shaking his head from left to right.

Then, he realized..."No. This is not the Spiritual Reality," he said to himself.