Sunkissed

Six months passed since the verdict has been made for the murder of Daisy “Disney” De Oro. The efforts of the defense where futile, the whole trials where sat up against them to fail; because of severe public disturbances protesting, vandalism and even harassing some members of the defense and their families, public unrest grew... resulted to anarchy, the local government had no choice but to intervene to ensure the decision of the court that satisfies the people.  For what they lost is their “Sun maiden”, a very significant figure to the town’s culture and native religion. Though no one knows the exact qualifications for how these maidens are chosen, but they do  know who chooses them: The elites of the town said to be the founding members of the Salida Del Sol. The title brings no specific duties but, to the people it represented divinity and treated with utmost reverence. And every religion has its fanatics and the state could not handle its people, to put someone on the cross, someone to burn and pay for their loss, the mayor had no choice but to urge the court of justice to not only hasten the trials but to ensure the victory of the prosecution. And it happened, even if there was a body recovered and no witnesses could give a concrete narrative of what had happened. Still the verdict was guilty. This raised many red flags among its neighbouring states, and human rights advocates protested and appealed against the court’s decision reaching national news. The town of Salida del Sol is once again in the spotlight. But even before the “Tragedy” (is what the residents are calling it.), the city of the sun shared its time in the limelight, bought no other than Disney herself; as the captain of the local football team the “Rays” she bought pride to the town even before being chosen to be the sun maiden, and this year thanks to her leadership the team is once again has a shot for the nationals. Not only known for her skills and athleticism, but she is also the envy of her peers and the fantasy of most men. To say that Disney is beautiful would be an understatement. Even before being the sun maiden, Disney was already considered a town hero. With someone to answer for her disappearance, the town can now be at rest. And as the ceremony closes in, new doors opened for aspiring replacements for the title or in Margo’s case: a window…   It was past ten in the evening on the east wing of Nuestra Del Sol College. The Biology lab’s window slowly nudged open; Margo crept her way in to the laboratory. She was doing her best to stay quiet as much as possible, She was never the athletic type, she barely finished the 5 kilometer fun run for the town’s fundraiser for the upcoming ceremony; but now she had run past the college’s guards and stealth fully made her way inside- it was all surreal to her… it was necessary. Having gained her footing, Margo took a second to catch her breath, staying quiet as much as she can, but her tiredness and uneasiness caught up to her- with each breath she heard as if it were echoing throughout the building. Some part of her wanted to turn back while she still can, while she’s not been caught yet, but she ran out of options-this was her only way. Margo knew this had to be done; her resolve made it possible for her to ignore the small voice in the back of her head. And after a few seconds, she made her way out of the lab. Walking through the halls she used to stride at daylight, usually with confidence and with her friends, now lurking in the shadows, anxious and alone. “Like a thief in his own home” she thought. Making her way from the Bio lab, which was labeled “104”, Margo passed several lecture rooms, reading the plaques at the top of the doorway of each room.  “105, 106,107,108 and… 109” She made it this far. What could go wrong? She asked herself whilst picking the lock of room 109- the registrar’s office.   About a few lecture rooms from the registrar’s office is the security office, dubbed “The nest”. Inside the nest there cleans Leroy, the night shift janitor who’s in dire need of money, so he “insisted” to take on double shifts. In order to double in on his salary. Inside the cramped room, where a large table takes up most of the space from the center, on top is piles of paperwork ranging from office memoranda to violation reports and empty Styrofoam cups, the lockers that had nine storage spaces- one for each officer, it was dented, rusted and reeked of damp sweaty clothes. Leroy was sweeping the floor; every time he glances outside the fluorescent lit room to the shadowy hallway, it gave him the chills. While finishing up, the ham radio at the nest startled Leroy into dropping the trash bin he was carrying. “s**t!” The clanging of the bin echoed in the hallway. For him it sounded much louder than it really was. “Officer Guzman, are you there?” Leroy walked up to the radio, looking at which buttons to push another message came through: “Officer Guzman, we need backup at the front entrance, I repeat, we need backup!” It was Officer Del Toro’s voice, nicknamed: “the bull” unlike the beast, Bull is a composed and disciplined individual, the personality you would find in the military. But far from his usual tone, Leroy heard a few hints of panic in his voice. This only made it harder for him to tell that Officer Guzman left early to drink with his high-school buddies. After all, it is a Friday night.   Leaning his body at the locked glass door, the man breathes heavily while staring at the two security guards. The man was about in his mid-thirties, he was one of the island’s aristocrats, owning many businesses and deals in international trade; he was well-known and respected. But apart from being naked and the spine-chilling grin, there was something that made him indistinguishable from the two officers or even from his closest relatives- it was his eyes. Officer Bull radioed again, asking for backup, but still no response from Guzman. Officer Piatt warned the man and flashed his Taser-gun, but the man remains unmoved and becoming more of a threat by the second. Bull signaled Piatt to move in sync with him, his plan was to open the door for the naked stranger and give Piatt a clear shot to taze him; it would only be mere split seconds, but Bull and himself were confident he could make the shot. After a short mental-communication, the two moved in, Piatt went to position, just a few meters diagonal from the front doors, and Bull carefully treaded to the doors doing his best not to provoke the stranger. Bull knew this situation had to be in their control immediately, he knew several tactics on diffusing tension on would-be dangerous situations. But this time he can’t think of anything to say. What they am I supposed to say to this guy anyway, he thought.   “Bingo” Margo moved in quietly in to the office and closes the door behind her quietly. She sees the moonlight that cuts through the blinds of the windows, slightly making the interior of the office visible to her. Even if the room was poorly lit, it was easy for her to see what she came for- the Registrar’s computer or the records it kept. By now the small voice became quiet; it wasn’t telling her to stop anymore. Maybe it grew tired or she just simply ignored it out of existence… until she heard thunderous footsteps in the hallways.  “s**t!”  Margo blurted out and quickly placed her hands on her mouth. She went back to the door and opened it, enough for her to peek through. She saw that the running man has already passed her. Recognizing the outfit, it was the janitor. But why is he in a hurry? She asked. The already-tense feeling that she was fighting through the whole night became much worse, her stomach tied into knots, her hands became jittery. She was terrified, but she didn’t know why. The small voice made its comeback and gave her an answer: Get out there! The dam that’s been keeping her emotions from flooding broke, after all the things she’d done tonight only to be put into panic by a janitor. Margo sprang out of the office, slamming the door behind her. She gave more force to it than expected; the sound of the door only made her panic worse, as she was running back to the bio lab, was struggling to catch her breath.  Gasps for air out only made more noise than she was already producing, but the panic has numbed her from caring, now she just wants to get out. The hallway run seemed longer than it actually took and more exhausting. When she got to the lab, she quickly popped open the window and lunged for an escape.    A few minutes ago: “Hello? C-can anyone hear me? Guzman already went out… I think.” Leroy radioed. “It doesn’t matter now! Call the police and an ambulance –Bull’s down!” Leroy was overwhelmed by what he heard from Officer Piatt, trying to imagine what was going on just a few meters from him. “What’s going on down there?” “Just do what I asked, dammit!” “O-okay!” Leroy grabbed his phone and did what Officer Piatt asked. “They’re on their way.” Leroy radioed and waited for a while for a response from Piatt. “Kid, stay where you are and lock the door!” Officer Piatt was never the one to joke around; he was always the serious type. This may be a very elaborate prank to get him and a very convincing one, he thought. But he’s not taking any chances, it’s better to hole up in a secured room than to go out there to God knows what, he thought to himself. He quickly walked towards the door, carefully avoiding the trash bin and its contents on the floor. He was about to close the door when… “Oh, wow. W-what happened to you, sir? And why are you naked, where ‘re  your clothes?”  Leroy has trouble making eye-contact when talking to other people and the man was no exception.  “Here you go. It’s better than nothing, right?”  Leroy handed the towel which was left on one of chair the. Now he knew that there’s another thing he can’t stand to look at: it was another man’s p***s. Times like these when he’s put into uncomfortable situations, he turns to humor. I guess the meeting didn’t have a dress code. Wait a minute. Does this have anything to do with the commotion at the entrance? He asked himself and took a few steps back, from the man who’s just standing there, unmoving and silent while eyeing him from the doorway.  “Kid, I lost him, make you don’t open up for anyone!”  Piatt radioed in. The nude stranger took a few steps forward, easily cornered Leroy in the nest. He put his arms forward  “Hey, I don’t want any trouble, okay?”  Leroy only heard the echoes of his voice. Leroy backed up to the table and put his right behind his back, patting the table for something he could use to defend himself if ever needed. He did not hear the last message from the radio, he was unaware that this man was the one causing the commotion down at the entrance; it was purely instinct, to back away from a threat and find to something he could use as a weapon. It was self-preservation that kicked in. His muscles tensed, his heart beat faster than before, and Leroy was preparing to defend himself as the man walks to him with his s**t-eating grin.  Leroy was never the one to fight, but he can stand-up for himself and defend for himself and the others he cares about; like the time back in high school when he confronted three bullies whose picking on his friend, it was a futile act but he put up a fight both him and his friend, only to be completely overwhelmed by their adversaries in less than two minutes. He was preparing himself to fight, tightening his grip on what he had held behind his back. A cup. This is it, fight or flight, he thought. As the naked man crept up slowly to him, finally, he was under the light. He recognized him. He is a member of the island’s affluent members of society. He loosen his grip a bit and tried to reason with him. Before he could finish speaking the words got stuck got stuck in his throat as it dried up. All he could utter was “Sir-” He heard a small pop, and the man fell before him. “I told you to lock the door.” Piatt said. “What have you done!?” “I saved your life, you’re welcome.” “You just screwed us both. That’s Mr. Algonquin!” “What are you talking about?” Piatt abruptly used his foot to flip the naked man lying on the tiled floors. “I didn’t recognize him earlier… He looks different what are those on his face, veins? Come to think of it, his head's covered in them. f**k,” “But that’s him! What are we going to do!?” “You called an ambulance, right? You should check on Bull, make sure he’s still breathing; he’s just by the doorway and report back to me. Someone’s got to stay here with him,” Piatt pointing his tase gun the naked man. “Unless you want to watch over him until help arrives.” Leroy could feel he’s being mocked. He cursed Piatt on his mind.  “I’ll go.” “Good.” As Piatt pulled a chair close to him and sat. “You should hurry… and what are you doing with my favorite mug? Put that down.” Leroy placed the mug at the side of the radio and set out to check on Bull.   Margo was running along the campus, not caring if any personnel saw her. At the college’s parking lot, where only few cars parked in the reserved spaces and the rest were unoccupied, Margo bumped into the college dean –Ms. Sandra Algonquin.  Margo immediately apologized and excused herself from the dean without giving her a chance to respond. But her effort was vain as she was halted by the dean and asked what she was doing the college grounds this late. Before Margo could make up her story, the sirens of both the police and caught both of their attentions. Margo overheard the dean cursed her brother. While the dean was looking at the lights and the sirens came close, Margo excused herself again and quickly left. The dean  seemed to pay little attention to the girl; she was caught up in the moment. When she got to the entrance, Sandra saw Officer Bull, who’s being tended by the paramedics; he was unconscious, he’s clothes covered in blood. The paramedics were drawing him by the use of a stretcher. As the paramedics were bringing the Bull through the doors, Sandra stepped aside and gave way for the paramedics; after they passed through; one paramedic held the door for her and greeted her good evening. She responded with a faint smile and with a good evening as well. At the end of the hallway she saw another group of paramedics moving in her direction, drawing another stretcher. She recognized her brother lying on the stretcher as she passed by the paramedics; she was headed to the security office. Both Leroy and Piatt greeted her good evening. She responded with a stern look. Even if her facial expression was made to intimidate the two, she still looked beautiful. Her round face radiated of youth, eyes of auburn that spoke of passion and lips that are softer than it looks. Under her red coat she wore a white blouse and red skirt that’s slightly above the knee, her outfit gave out a seductive and professional impression. The two men focused on her.  “Tell me what happened here.”  She said to them both. Leroy and Piatt gave their narratives to the dean. For both men it seemed like a competition- a contest of who will keep his job in the end. Leroy was very confident in telling his part, but he left out the detail where he was about to hit her brother. Leroy looked at Piatt as he was about to tell his side, Leroy thought Piatt might lose his cool and his job when the dean hears of what he did to her brother. But he was wrong. Piatt left no detail behind in his narrative; he told everything in a composed and poised manner that made Leroy’s speech sound like a grade school recital. He hated Piatt even more.  “Okay. It seems like you’ve painted me the whole picture here, but just in case I’ll also be checking Del Toro’s account of the events, when me makes full recovery… just to make sure it all fits together”  Leroy was not expecting her to handle the situation that well, some part of him was actually getting ready to comfort her when she losses it. Both stared at her every time she spoke or did something. They were completely enthralled by the dean. And aside from her, the two kept looking at the small emblem about a few centimeters wide in diameter pinned on the right side of her coat. The design was: Three concentric circles colored: White, Black and Red, separated by gold linings. And with  a an even closer look, the design becomes more intricate. Leroy recognized the emblem, it is the elites.  “For now, I don’t want the two of you speaking about this “incident” to anyone. That is, of course, if you still want to keep your jobs. Good night gentlemen.”