Covert Aim

Chapter 5

The dark green van sped up. It was filled with suspense, and silence at the same time. Three new faces greeted the other children.

"Dad, are you alright?!" A capped man three years older than David spoke up, having a very worried tone.

"Do you have wounds?!" A lady four years older than David said, inspecting Leon's arms. "Are you injured, Dad?!"

"No, no, no worries. Don't y'all worry about me, please." Leon smiled bitterly. "I've got no physical injury."

"How about the kids?" A serious tone from the steering man—six years older than David and had small yet visible X-shaped scar on his left temple—sounded, making the other nine people's scrutiny caught. "Are they injured? Give 'em the first aid kit—"

"No, we're alright. We aren't wounded nor bruised," David interrupted, turning his look at their father. "Dad, who are they?"

"Woah." The capped man laughed in silence. "Dad, haven't you told them who we are . . . in your life?"

Leon shook his head sideways then smiled. "Um . . . guys, this comic man in a cap is Jo—"

"Just 'Otep,'" Joseph insisted. "That Joseph thingy reminds me of my brutal past, tho."

When Joseph was in his early teens, his parents and classmates synchronously hit him in a very physical manner. He became too much misanthropic in his whole teenage years until Leon led him to the right path. Leon gave him a second chance—that all deserve to have in trying times.

Leon resentfully tsked.

"Hi," the lady in the front waved her right hand twice, "guys, I'm Mara. I'd love to—"

"This isn't the right time for introductions," the scarred man in the steering wheel said. "Let's go home."

The nine people stayed in their seats in silence. Leon just laid his head on David's shoulder. Joseph and Mara did not bother to talk to the scarred man. They knew he would be more disappointed if they would throw just a word. The drive went silent.

The trip stayed for two hours. In that time, they passed almost a quarter part of Abra de Ilog. They went through a narrow road between yards of jungle trees. The people in the van kept on keeping an eye on the road, hoping no one was spying or after them. The drive lasted half an hour again. All were kind of negatively energized when the car stopped.

"Dad." Mara held Leon's hands then shook those.

She did it twice, then thrice, but Leon seemed to be cold of what was happening around him.

"Otep, Nilo, I guess Dad's unconscious?" Mara kind of panicked.

The other people turned their attention to the senseless Leon. Nilo, the scarred man in the steering wheel, quickly transferred himself to the middle compartment of the van. He signaled to Joseph to help.

Joseph did help him so. "Let's get Dad to the lodge."

David and Marco helped the two men get Leon off the van. The other people followed them. They walked on an unclear path of dry leaves and twigs. They could hear every rustle and steps they made. They could sense mixed silence and vulnerability around the woods. They could perceive they were getting away from cruelty, from dishonor. After some seconds, they reached their destination—a simple hunting lodge—in the middle of nowhere. They entered it.

Joseph and Nilo went into a room and put Leon in bed. Mara promptly got a basin of warm water and a clean cloth. She put it on their father's forehead. She noticed he moved his eyes open.

She told Joseph, "Otep, gimme a glass of water!"

Joseph quickly gave his father the glass.

Leon drank it then sighed, "ugh, where are we?"

Nilo appeared. "Don't you worry, Dad. We're in a lodge in nowhere. This part of Abra de Ilog is hard to find."

"Sure, I trust you all."

"You need to rest, Dad," Mara suggested.

Leon agreed quickly. He felt his head was going dizzy so he let his children go.

"Just rest here, Dad," Joseph said again. "Just yell when you want something."

Leon nodded. The three went out of the room. They stepped to the left then right then reached the living room—where their nine more siblings were at.

David, Rita, Rosana, and Marco were sitting on the right wooden pew while Ben, Calixto, Ana, Diether, and Efren were on the proportional one. Nilo, Mara, and Joseph then sat on the empty narra pew between the two ensembles.

All of them were in silence for almost five minutes when Nilo asked the others, "so y'all are the ones after us, huh?"

David's team nor Ben's did not know what their eldest sibling was meaning—if they were the ones adopted after them or something different.

Suddenly, Nilo chuckled after hearing no response. "What I meant was . . . never mind. How are y'all when this chase still wasn't existing?"

"I and my siblings were studying in different schools in Metro Manila," Ben explained.

"I was in Marinduque and Rita was in Romblon," David managed his seat, "while Rosana and Marco were both in Antique when we heard about the news . . . fake news, rather."

"Why's this happening?" Ana crossed her arms. "Dad doesn't deserve to be in this situation."

"I agree," Rosana replied. "And besides, the government has no proof Dad's able to do what they're accusing."

"Hey, stop this, guys! This's so dramatic." Joseph stood up. "We should be partying we're not in any school and work, tho."

All laughed. The bitterly sweet smiles were cut when multiple and continuous phone ringtones sounded. They all got their phone out and saw notifications—hundreds and hundreds when combined—of online and even text messages. As they read the messages, the count continued to grow. As they read, their perception began to blur. As they read, their safety became very limited.

A message from a stalker. A message from an unknown phone number. A message from the government, hitmen, and assassins. A message from the police force, armed forces, navy, and terrorists. Texts from girls, waiters, published authors, wedding planners, and everyone were on the screens of their phones.

They knew that that time would come, so it began. Harshness, violence, and mixed anger and jealousy were everywhere in their world. The cruel world limited their moves. They became aware—of threats of life.