THE RED MASK

The Red Mask -Chapter 2-

AMINA did not let baby Shola leave her; she hugged her and closed her eyes, waiting for them to fall to the ground. She knew that they would not survive if they fell; her bones would surely be broken, as would her head. Otherwise, if they can make it, they will not survive because of the wild animals in the forest.

"Boss, are they still alive?"

"If they're alive, I'm sure they're not safe from the wild animals where they fell; I know this place; if Leiden calls me an animal, the animals in the forest below are even more animals than me; come on, I want to rest; I'm tired because of that stupid maid!"

Many have tried to enter the corner of the mountain, especially hunters. Because this mountain has many different species of animals that live here, But none of the hunters made it out alive.

There is a rumor among the people of Monticello that there is a tribe that lives under this mountain. But no one knows; in their minds, it's just a thought because no one confirms this story.

"Father, is something going on?"

"Yes, Son."

"My husband, does it look like something fell from above?" the woman said.

"We'll look at it tomorrow; it's dark so we can't see what it is."

"But, Father. Maybe what fell over there needs help."

"Maybe these are just animals, son. Before dawn, we will go to there to look what happened."

"Your father is right, Anig. If we go there now, we might encounter a wild animal that we don't know because it was dark."

"Okay, Father, Mother; I'm going to go back to my bed."

"That better son, your mother, and I go to sleep again."

Anig has already returned to his bed, but his mind is restless, and what they heard fall from above is crowding his mind, so he plans to visit it later. He waited for his father and mother to sleep soundly. When Anig felt that the parents were quiet and snoring. He slowly got up and went out of their hut.

Anig is the bravest of their tribe; he can fight the wild animals that stray from their tribe. That's why he was fearlessly walking into the darkness of the forest.

Amina couldn't move her body when she fell; it's a good thing there were branches that seemed to catch her while she was falling. Without the branches, she would not be conscious right now. She felt pain in her arm where there was a bullet wound. Baby Shola was hurled quite far from her.

Amina's hand was looking for baby Shola; she can only move with one hand, and she knows she won't last long either; at any moment the animal will pull or eat her. "Hmmm, hmmm," she wanted to speak, but nothing came out of her mouth. "Lord, you will take care of baby Shola; please don't take her away," she prayed in her mind. She closed her eyes. And tears rolled down her cheeks, and she fainted.

Anig walked fast so that he could immediately reach the place where they heard the noise. Anig sharpened his senses and felt every blow of the wind on him. Anig has the ability to sense and feel what is around him. "They are close; one is a baby," he feels that there are only two people around.

He stepped to where he sensed someone. "The baby?"

Anig couldn't make a light because he knew there was another creature in the mountain. When the baby was at his feet, he knelt down and picked it up. "The other one," he said, then walked slowly.

He felt the other one again. "She's just around the corner."

When he found the woman, he immediately placed the unconscious Amina on his shoulder, quickly walking back to the tribe

The spirit of Anig's mother woke her up, just now while laying her though what she heard about it earlier. She got up, went to his son's bed, and seeing nothing in it, she quickly woke up her husband. "My husband, Anig, is not in his bed."

"That boy really never let go of what he wanted to do."

"Let's go follow him, my husband."

"Don't worry, after sunrise he was here, my wife."

He was right after a while. "Father, Mother!" Anig shouted.

What they heard, they quickly went out side the hut. As well as the rest of their tribe, they came out because Anig was shouting loudly.

"Son, why?"

"Mother, Father, look at what I found."

Anig parents looked to each other because their son carried two people.

"My wife, help your son."

Anig's mother took the unconscious baby.

"Father, what happened to them?"

"Let's lay them on the pallet."

Anig's father looked at the woman. He is the one who will treat sick people in their tribe.

"Father, what?"

He shook his head.

"This baby, my husband, look at her too; she's pathetic."

When he touched the baby, he also shook his head.

"Father?" Anig said.

"My husband?"

"They're gone," he replied to them.

Anig stared at the woman; suddenly, his heart skipped a beat. "Father, is there something you can do for them?"

"No more, son."

"Father, there is."

"Anig, you can't!" he rejects what his son wants to do.

"But Father, they are pitiful. I think they are victims of violence." This is what Anig immediately thought. Who is this person who wants to fall off a cliff with something mysterious wrapped around it?

Anig's father looked at the baby, and his eyes were drawn to the message embroidered in her cloth.

"SHOLA PADILLA MONTICELLO."

"Father, is she a Monticello?" Anig asked.

"Why did they do this to them? The Monticellos are kind, I know it."

"Father, let's revive them; their bodies are still warm."

"Son, this is too dangerous."

"I will, Father. If you don't want to."

"Son, why would you do this, huh?"

Anig looked at the girl again. The father understood this.

"But, Son."

"Father, please!"

"If we do this, it should be the whole tribe, Anig."

"I'm begging them, Father."

"Son, they don't want it; we've done it once, haven't we? What a disaster it has caused us."

"Mother, Father, I would bet my life for this."

"How stubborn you are, son!"

"If you don't want, Father, I will do it." Anig was determined to save Amina and the baby's lives.

His parents looked like they couldn't stop their son from getting what he wanted. And they see in his eyes that, for the first time, he is in love.

MONTICELLO.

People help each other arrange the corpses of the Monticello family. They did not see the baby; they thought it was alive. But they also thought that it might be dead; they just don't know where the person responsible for the evil done to the Monticello family took it.

The town of Monticello is saddened by their loss. The police are unable to investigate the m******e that happened to the family because they already have suspicions about who did it. They were afraid of bumping into it because they might be next to the Monticello family.

"I win; now nothing will stand in my way. This town is mine; long live Morale!" Fernan shouted.

"Live long Fernan Morale!" shouted his staff.

"I will be the one to follow in this town. And of course I will change the name of this town. From Monticello to Morale," he laughed.

This is the beginning of evil in the town of Monticello under the leadership of Fernan Morale.