CHAPTER 17

"I thought you weren't coming home anymore."

That was the first thing my mother said when I got home. She was wearing a fuchsia dress while her hair was in a bun, and she had a toothpick in her mouth. After signing the contract, Atlas allowed me to go home, but he had one of his men follow me.

I gave my mother a small smile and went inside the house.

"I have a job now, Mom," I told her.

The tiredness I felt vanished as I saw her smile. My smile widened even though I was tired because it was the first time I'd seen her so happy.

I guess my decision was right because I could see that my mother was happy to know that I had a job.

"That's good. When you get your first salary, don't forget to give it to me. Do you understand?"

I nodded. "Yes."

I expected her to say that, I knew exactly what to say to her. The smile on my lips didn't fade until I reached my room. I took the white towel hanging behind my door and then went to my drawer to get a change of clothes.

"What's your job, and how much do you get paid?" my mom asked me.

I didn't know she was following me. She went inside the room and sat on my bed, still picking her teeth. From time to time, she looked around my room.

I paused from getting my clothes and underwear when I heard her question. I hesitated to answer because I didn't know what job to tell her.

"I'm an assistant," I replied.

She nodded at what I said. "How much is the salary?"

"I don't know yet, Mom."

The truth is, Atlas hadn't mentioned my salary yet. Our conversation was cut short after I signed the contract because he had something to attend to in Section 2 of his laboratory. That's why he allowed me to go home first, but I had to go back later.

"How come you don't know? They should tell you that," irritation was evident in her voice because of my answer.

She stood up, shaking her head, clearly disappointed that she didn't find out how much my salary was. I didn't know what to say, so I had no answer for her.

"What a strange job. This is the first time I've heard of something like that," she said irritably before finally leaving my room.

I shrugged and went to take a bath. My siblings weren't home because I heard from our neighbors that there was a giveaway at our town hall because it was the captain's birthday in our barrio, and he was giving away a grocery pack or food instead of having a birthday party.

I stayed in the bathroom for a long time and cleaned myself thoroughly. I didn't take a bath yesterday and I felt sticky even though it was cold in Atlas' basement. It took me an hour in the bathroom, and when I was done, I got dressed right away. A simple white fitted shirt and black sweatpants. I just wore the white slide slippers that Rafael gave me.

When I saw myself looking neat in the mirror, I ate first and rested in the living room for a while. This was the first time I've been able to enjoy the quiet in the house. My mother was outside, tilling the soil again for her plants.

From Ei:

Are you okay now? You didn't reply to my last text. I'm worried, something might have happened to you.

To Ei:

I'm okay now, Ei. How are you? My fever has subsided a bit.

From Ei:

I'm fine. Just a bit busy with work. Next time, let's hang out, Sarah. I miss you already.

I just smiled when I read her reply. I got back home by afternoon. I checked myself in the mirror on the back of the door before returning to Atlas' warehouse.

I still need to be more presentable whenever I go there. It would be embarrassing to look dirty in front of them.

"Mother, I'm going out for a while," I said as I left the house.

She was still in her small garden. She was still tilling the soil and transplanting vegetables and flowers.

I saw her look at me. Her eyes were up, but she said nothing. I gave her a small smile, but it quickly faded when she ignored me.

She turned her attention back to planting. My grip tightened on my plain white tote bag, and I stood in front of her.

"If there's an emergency, just call me or maybe Hillary. I think they're coming home too."

For the last time, I got no answer from her.  I turned around and went out the gate. I glanced at my mother one last time before walking to the tricycle terminal to be dropped off outside Rarito.

That's where one of Atlas' men would be waiting for me to return to his warehouse.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

"Sit down there, and I'll just go to the laboratory. Feel at home, Sarah."

As soon as I got out of the elevator, I saw Atlas waiting for me in the basement lobby. He pointed to the living area, where there was a black leather L-shaped sofa. It faced a large flat-screen TV, and there was a show playing that I didn't know the title of.

I quietly followed his instructions and sat there. He followed me until he saw that I was comfortably seated on the soft leather sofa.

"Because after I process the contract to our headquarters, this will be your new home," he added, making me look up at him.

"Huh?" I asked him, confused.

He just smiled at me and turned to go to Section 1 of the laboratory. You could easily tell because there was a small sign on the laboratory door indicating whether it was section 1 or not.

My eyebrows furrowed as I continued to look at where Atlas had gone. He was rushing around in the laboratory.

I don't know how many minutes I waited for him, so I decided to wander around this lobby area. It was clean and beautiful, and you could hardly see any dust on the displays.

But one thing caught my attention. There was a large black bulletin board. On the upper left side, you could see the name of their organization.

"El Orden Del Abismo..." I read what was written.

It looked like a chart of their organization. I think the person at the very top is their leader. I don't know if I'm right, but he's the only one there, and the others are below.

"That's Cronus," I turned around when I suddenly heard Atlas's voice.

"Atlas," I called out his name.

I looked at the woman with him. She was the one I saw in the laboratory yesterday. Both she and Atlas were wearing lab gowns, but they were no longer wearing face masks.

"Let's go to my office. I need to tell you about the Abyss Order. I'm sorry it took so long and kept getting interrupted. There was a problem with the drug production in section 2 of the lab."

My jaw dropped when I heard what he said.

"D-drugs?" I stammered.

Both Atlas and the woman with him nodded. Atlas walked first, and the woman with him followed. I ran to catch up with them until we reached the office.

"You're now a member of El Orden Del Abismo. Congratulations again, Sarah," Atlas began as he sat in his swivel chair.

The woman and I sat in opposite Sydney chairs in front of his desk. So now we were facing each other.

"The contract is still being processed at headquarters, but I'll tell you what our organization is all about. As you can see, El Orden Del Abismo is a secret organization, not just secret but an illegal organization."

I secretly clenched my fist when I heard what Atlas said. My hunch was right. I had a really bad feeling about their organization. But what can I do? I'm already in.

I can't back out or leave because I've already signed the contract.

"Aside from that, there's also a faction of El Orden Del Abismo. It is called the Faction Uno, Dos, and Tres. We're in Faction Uno."

"Can't we just include everyone in one faction?" I curiously asked him.

He shook his head seriously at me. "No, and if that's happened, it will be a disaster. Some of the factions had a stubborn boss and underboss. If we combine everyone into one faction, it could cause chaos," he replied.

"Our faction has three sections under our big boss named Cronus. He's also a big boss in other factions too."

That's right. Cronus is their leader, but I didn't know that he's also the big boss of the other factions too.

"Under him, there is a boss. The three bosses oversee their assigned countries to manage operations. Hyperion is assigned to Mexico, Pallas to Japan, and Theus to Iraq."

My head was starting to ache from his story, but I still forced myself to listen to what he was saying so I could remember it.

"Mexico, Japan, and Iraq. Keep that in your mind, Sarah. Under the boss there's also an underboss. Hyperion, his underboss is me. I don't need to introduce myself because you already know me. Next is Pallas, his underboss is Lapetus. Last for Theus, his underboss is Perses."

"Every boss and their underboss has a specialty in their work. Hyperion and I were designated to produce and make drugs. We produce it in every country, mainly in Mexico. For Pallas and Lapetus, their specialty was related to hightech gadgets, some of their associates were the admins of the website and the system in our organization. They make high tech tools and things that can help us."

Drugs... I thought I only saw these things in movies. It turns out it's real, and now there's a chance I could be one of the people handling it. I don't know yet what Atlas has planned for me.

"Theus and Perses, their specialty is making bombs and arms trafficking in Iraq. Everything under faction Uno has a specialty, and they've been working very well until now."

The organization chart I saw on the black bulletin board in the basement lobby was small, but it felt like there were so many people working for them. I think only the high-ranking officials were shown there and the others were not.

"I know you've seen our organization chart. If you think there are only a few of us, you're wrong. Every section in our faction has frontlines and associates. We have plenty of frontlines and associates."

The woman answered the question in my mind. Unconsciously, I looked at her in front of me. Her gaze was on mine.

"I'm one of the frontliners and associates under Atlas, Ms. Sarah," the woman said.

"Where will I end up? Will it be like her, Atlas?" I asked, turning to him. "I don't know anything about those things. I'm not like you guys. I'm good at nothing, and I don't know how to make... drugs," my voice trailed off.

I saw them glance at each other before Atlas turned back to me.

"I know, Sarah. That's why we have a plan for you," a hint of excitement was evident in his voice. "After you finish your first mission. Give me one and a half years or more than that to train you."

"Train? For what?" I asked, confused.

"You're working under a secret and illegal organization. Expect that there will be chaos sometimes in every mission that you have. So what will you do?" He asked me.

"I don't know," I replied, shaking my head. "I'll... I'll hide?"

Atlas chuckled softly and shook his head. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"You need to be able to defend yourself in case you're trapped in that situation," he replied.

He straightened up and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. He clasped his hands together and rested his chin on them as he looked at me.

"I will train you to defend yourself, Sarah. I'll train you on how to use a gun and knife. Everything that can be used to kill people."

SHANGPU