Cross and Conflicts

CHAPTER XXVII: Behind His Mask

Noumenon couldn’t erase her sullen countenance even after the meal. Certainly, she assured the host that it wasn’t because she was unsatisfied with what she ate; only that appalling memories left a bad taste in her mouth, and this—she’s convinced—will not be going away for a while or possibly will never leave her for the rest of her life.

 She watched Dr. Dunong stand from his seat after he dabbed a napkin to his lips. He looked at his watch and then seemed surprised.

 “Noumenon, I know this may be rude, but may I bother you to tidy up the table?” he told her.

 The novice immediately got up and enthused. “It will not be a bother, doctor! Leave it to me.”

 Amused, he smiled at her. “Well then, I’ll just be in my grimy workroom. Excuse me for now, Noumenon; I’ll see you later.”

 He slowly walked away from the dining table while she could only watch his lean back. There were supposed to be a lot of things she wanted to ask him. She still wanted to know who’s that friend of his who brought her here; she has an idea, yet she didn’t entertain it. There was no way that Cross went back to save her; there’s no way—she thought—that he changed his mind to help her.

 Other than that, she also needed to ask where exactly she is: if she’s still inside Intramuros or if she’s already outside of the high walls. Who really is the doctor? Who was the girl in the picture inside the room where she woke up? And the most important inquiry is: what should she do next?

 Yes, indeed. She vowed to kill her father; however, she knows it too well that it isn’t enough to have the resolve. She must concoct a good plan to do it.

 In the midst of her thoughts, Dr. Dunong paused then turned to look at her. It was as if he suddenly had eyes in the back of his head that he sensed she had something she was wondering about so much.

 “By the way, Noumenon,” he spoke, “If you want to meet your savior, walk down the hallway to the left. Past it and at the point where you hear some disturbance, he’s there.”

 Dr. Dunong continued to be on his way until his figure was swallowed by the concrete partition ahead of him. Nonetheless, his words, to her, were somehow ambiguous. After all, a mark of disturbance signified to her a trademark of an infamous individual.

 She finished her task at hand first before she proceeded to march to the hallway she was directed to trail. As she skimmed through the details she passed by, she observed that this doesn’t only serve as a narrow passageway in which there are doors that lead to rooms. More than the white toned walls, clean lines and black embellishments, she can see that this has been transformed to a timeline with pictures of a family’s most cherished moments in silver-colored frames. Dr. Dunong is in several of the long column of pictures, as well as the girl whose face she saw back at the blue-themed room and a beautiful couple who mostly are embracing her in those. 

 The man in his thirties, she surmised, may be the doctor’s son since he looks like a carbon copy of him. He has his eyes and his face shape except that he’s a younger version with black hair. His wife, on the other hand, is a pretty woman with coffee brown hair and eyes, and she resembled the little girl.

 When Noumenon reached the end of the hallway nevertheless, she heard something which told her that she’s already where she’s meant to be that morning. It was beyond just a disturbance, for it came in piercing cries of terror.

 “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” 

She heard the scream of a male voice. A chill crawled down her spine since it resounded to her ears, and she’s certain that whatever he was going through, he endured a great deal of pain.

 The clamor came from the room now just a foot ahead. The door was open, so she gathered the courage to look at what was inside. By the entrance, she stood to witness a scene which made her freeze in horror. On impulse, she clamped her palm to her mouth; it was nauseating to see what was there.

 There were two men inside: one was tied to a chair covered in a blanket of blood and the other one was in the middle of cutting off the remaining finger in his right hand. The latter felt her arrival, and as one of the most intimidating episodes in her troubled life, he turned to look at her.

 That was when she validated that he really did go back and paid attention to her plea. She couldn’t be mistaken that this is the same man who tried to kill her on their first encounter. And what she was seeing informed her of what he will always be: a murderer.

 The crimson liquid that besmirched his shirt accentuated his forte. His hooded eyes, ironically that of a rose, are pink and deadly. His hawk nose appeared sharper than the knife he’s holding. And significantly, he is slightly built and not very muscular. There was no mistaking it, and she was right. Cross is an albino.

 She wanted to run away. Her entire body urged her to. It was later that she realized that she was shaking. She shouldn’t have come here. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have to be caught up in his deathly gaze. 

 He stood which made her unconsciously take a step backwards.

 “You,” he then spoke and this started to sound like a threat that she didn’t dare back away further.

 She gulped as she did her best to at least fake composure. She didn’t reply, yet she couldn’t tear her eyes from him. She felt that by the moment she did, something bad might happen to her.

 Cross, nonchalantly, walked towards her. He looked like a predator casually approaching his prey. 

 Noumenon, on the other hand, held herself in place. She felt that there wasn’t anywhere else she was allowed to go. Right there and then, she has to face the master murderer.

 He was already close to her, and he loomed like a monster bathed in the blood of the man he was torturing. She, on the other end, had her hands clasping her skirt. She now felt like she shouldn’t have approached him in the first place.

 He however, unexpectedly, grinned down at her. It was sinister enough to immensely disturb her. 

 “You want me to help you kill your father, right?” he said. “Then, I’d like you to prove to me that you’re capable of murder.”

 Her eyes widened in alarm as he presented her a gun. 

“Shoot that man behind me dead.”