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CHAPTER 36: ALLY

DAWN'S POV

"Where are they?"

Hindi ko pinansin ang tanong ng asawa ko at sa halip ay napatayo ako mula sa kinauupuan ko habang ang mga mata ko ay hindi humihiwalay sa isa sa mga monitor na nandito sa control room. Eris and Blaze's trackers are not moving.

"Why did they stop?" I whispered more to myself than the room.

Saklot ang tapat ng dibdib na tumayo sa tabi ko si Enyo. "I don't like this, Dawn."

I don't like it either. Kanina pa nakaalis ng airport ang sasakyan nila Blaze. I told them to check the car just in case someone rigged it. Iniwan kasi nila iyon doon nang pumunta sila ng Canada. "Freezale, can you try to contact Eris again?"

"She's not answering."

Damn it. "Find any security cameras around that area. We need visual." I look at the direction of Allesandra. "Any luck on Anton Giovanni?"

"Not yet. Should I extend the search on police stations?"

"He's not that stupid." I doubt if he'll alert the authorities about Blaze's attempt to kill him. "His hired men came from a pool of ex-convicts. Find one that acquired estate or resources recently."

Anton Giovanni made himself popular. He's facing multiple counts of murder and rape from Milan. He came from a rich family and he's known from buying the silence of his victims' families or paying desperate people to admit the crimes for him in exchange of money. He was pretty much invisible, except one of his victim that he thought was a tourist was actually the daughter of the Capo of the Italian-American Mafia, Ezio Cascella.

He flew in the Philippines to hide. Iyon nga lang ay nakuha niya rin ang pansin ng awtoridad dito. That happens when you can't stop your itch to murder women and children after you violate them.

Both the authorities of Milan and the Philippines were looking for him, but he's not easy to catch. I have no doubt that Cascella was looking for him as well. But then he appeared as an Ender mission and we entered the picture. Blaze captured him and he killed him.

Now we know he didn't. The police received a tip that there was a sighting of Giovanni.

Lumapit si Triton sa intercommunication-system. "I'm dispatching agents on the area. I will open the underground tunnel so that they could reach Manila faster."

Hindi pa nagtatagal pagkatapos ng announcement ng asawa ko ay pumasok na sa loob ng control room ang isa sa junior agents na si Hugo na kasunod si Erebus. I let Triton explain to them what's happening while I walked towards the monitors and took one of the seats.

"One camera near the location. Medyo malayo sa kanila pero sapat para matanaw sila sa footage. But there's no visual," Freezale informed me. "I notified agents that have missions near the area to abort their current. Mas mabilis silang makakarating kaysa kaila E."

"Why?"

"I looked at the map. The location is weird. I don't know if it's glitching." Itinuro niya ang monitor kung saan ngayon ay kita ang tulay na hinintuan nila Blaze. "They're supposed to be here, but I can't see them."

Pinakatitigan ko ang mapa at ang kuha ng kamera. Kahit sana maliit na parte ng sasakyan ay kita dapat doon. Eris and Blaze's trackers are still blinking. Tinuturo no'n ang kinaroroonan nila na dapat ay kita sa footage. But there's no car in sight on the bridge.

On the bridge.

"How far is the nearest agent?" I asked Freezale.

"Ten kilometers. It's Killian."

He's too far. "Tell him to step it up. They are not on the bridge. They're under it."

I heard Enyo's cry of denial, but I forced myself to ignore her. I know that when I look at her, I will see the same thing that I saw in my own family before. I could handle the blame, disappointment, and even fear. But I can't handle seeing their pain.

I'm not going to fail them again.

"We'll lose their trackers." If that stupid camera can just be rotated to face the water then this would be easier. "They will pull them out. Search the surrounding area for any cameras. Kahit malayo sa tulay. Follow every water vehicles."

"You think they will hold them hostage? To provide an escape in exchange for them?" Triton asked.

My fingers were a blur. Nang makita ko ang hinahanap ko ay kinabisado ko ang mga numerong lumabas sa screen.

"No, but they will take them. Anton Giovanni won't let them die on that bridge." Nilingon ko ang asawa ko. Both of our family is at stake. His cousin and mine. "Giovanni is known for his creativity and cruelty. Murder is his art."

Tumiim ang bagang niya. Tumayo ako at lumapit ako sa kinatatayuan niya. I reach for his hand and squeeze it for a moment, before I took the phone near him.

"Who are you calling?" he asked.

"A potential ally."

CHAPTER 36: ALLY

BLAZE'S POV

Inangat ko ang braso ko at hinarang ko iyon sa katawan niya nang umikot ang sasakyan pagkatapos ng malakas na pagbangga sa amin.

"Hold on!"

There wasn't a hint of fear in her when she met my eyes. "We're going to be okay."

This is my fault. She's in this situation because of me. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's okay, Blaze." The car slammed into something and it wasn't long when I felt us plummeting. "I'm not scared. I'm with you. I'm going to be okay because you're here."

I coughed out water, but it wasn't what pulled me back to my consciousness. It's the painful stabbing of electricity around my wrists, and ankles. It feels like I'm being pricked by thousands of needles over and over again.

"Ahh. Looks like you are finally awake."

My blurry vision started to focus, revealing a man that is familiar to me. One that eyes I watched as life slowly leaved him. I watched him die, now he's making sure that he could do the same.

I never felt fear when it comes to facing death. I always thought that as it comes, I will be standing and waiting for it. But now I can feel it. I can feel it running through my veins; searing everything it touched.

"I'm not scared."

I am. I am scared because there's no greater fear than to lose her.

"W-Where... where is she?" I rasped out.

"Hmm? You mean that beauty?" Anton Giovanni walked closer towards me. May ngiti sa mga labi niya. "It took every bit of my control not to take a sample. She looks good enough to eat."

Lumikha ng ingay ang mga kamay kong nakatali sa itaas ng ulo ko nang tangkain kong atakihin siya. He just laughed as if he found me amusing.

"Where is she?"

"Don't worry. She won't experience what I'm going to put you through. You'll see her in a bit after I'm done with you." He stepped closer to my left, reaching for the switch adhered on the side of the metal posts we're I'm currently hanging. May nakapalibot sa mga kamay ko at ganoon din sa mga paa ko. "She'll die faster than you that's for sure."

Nangalit ang mga ngipin ko para mapigilan ko ang sarili ko na mapasigaw nang muling binalot ng libo-libong mga karayom ang katawan ko.

"I should thank you. You gave me a bit of peace when those fools stopped searching for me because they thought I died on that motel. The management called the police telling them that the wanted person they've been searching for was found dead in one of their rooms, and being the perfect crime... the place suddenly burned into flames. The authorities in deed found a body right where the witnessed told them it would be found."

I can feel my muscles contracting when he pushed the button of the switch, stopping the electricity. "I didn't burned that place."

"You didn't. I did."

"How... how did you survive?"

He shrugged. "Mithridatism. Simple right?"

Resistance to poison. It's an act of consuming a portion of poison gradually to achieve immunity. "You're a sick fuck."

Tumawa lang ang lalaki na para bang papuri pa iyon para sa kaniya. I know what he have done. I know the number of women and children he violated.

"You're a fly that thought of yourself as a spider. You are harmless to me because you're far from being a predator." Pagak na tumawa siya na animo hindi siya makapaniwala. "Really? Poison? Do you know that that's the easiest thing to survive from? I eat poison as a dessert, coglione."

"Those that came before you didn't complained," I spitted out.

My eyes strayed to the small window near me. Natatanaw ko mula roon ang labas kung saan kita ko ang hanay ng sunod-sunod na mga puno. We arrived at noon, but outside I can see that the sun already set.

"Don't treat me on the same level of those that were stupid enough to die by your hands. A hired gun living coin for coin won't be enough to end me."

The pain that enveloped me once again was excruciating. I swallowed the noise that wanted to escape my mouth. I won't give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream. I know he will stop eventually. He won't kill me fast.

My breath sounded ragged when he turned off the switch again. I took advantage of the absence of pain to look at my surrounding.

Nasa maliit ako na kuwarto. The place looks dirty and I know the stain on the floors and wall came from blood. He probably brought his victims here as well. Kung dito siya nagtatago ay hindi na ako magtataka kung ang paligid ng lugar ay sementeryo na para sa mga biktima niya. Anton Giovanni feeds on his victims and this is his feeding ground.

They placed a metal post at the middle of the room. May mga pinagsama-samang tila mga kable ang nakalawit sa apat na bahagi ng frame ng poste at nakakabit ang mga iyon sa akin. The ones on my feet were loose and all my weight relies on my hands.

He's holding on to the post every time he flips the switch. It means the metal is not being touched by the electricity. It only runs through the conductor he set up.

"At first I didn't want to look for you. After all, you helped me fake my own death. But then I saw you one time with that girl of yours in Pampanga. You were living life so carefree and it irks me. I wanted to tear off that smug look on your face and show you how you failed."

"I didn't fail." Sa kabila ng panghihina na nararamdaman ay pilit na nginisihan ko siya. "Your death got delayed but it doesn't mean that I failed."

Dumilim ang mukha niya. "I think you haven't grasp your situation yet. Did I fry too much of your brain?"

"You're the one that haven't grasped your own situation. Did you think that the number of people you killed made you invisible? You prey on what you deem weak. You raped children and women because you know you can overpower them. When a woman fights back, you have men that can hold her down." Iginalaw ko ang ulo ko na para bang itinuturo ang dalawang lalaki na nakatayo sa may pintuan. "And the few men you killed, did you end their lives with your own hands? You didn't right? You might think that you're a monster on top of a food chain but you're just an an imbecile with a fragile ego that is hiding behind the people you paid to do the heavy lifting for you."

Kuyom ang mga kamay na lumapit siya sa isang maliit na lamesa. Muli siyang lumapit sa akin at ikinabit niya ang bagay na kinuha niya sa gilid ng poste kung saan naroon ang switch.

"Do you know why we're different? You might be a monster, but I'm a killer. I poisoned you because I might be tainted by darkness, but I didn't want to be tainted by your blood. You should have died instead. That was the most merciful death I could give someone like you."

He unsheathed what he's holding and I saw that it's a knife. May nakakabit din doon na kable.

The pricking pain covered my entirety again when he flipped the switch on. But the pain from that couldn't be compared by the searing burn that tore through me as Giovanni pushed the knife and stabbed me on my side. He repeated it again and black spots appeared on my vision.

I gurgling sound came out of me as blood filled my mouth. Nang hilahin ni Giovanni ang kutsilyo kasabay nang pagpatay niya sa switch ay nakangising dinuruan ko siya. Nagtatagis ang mga bagang na pinunasan niya ang mukha niya na ngayon ay may bahid ng sarili kong dugo.

At this rate I'm going to bleed to death. "Where... where is she?" I grated out.

Anger flickered in his eyes, but his lips curve into a smile, "I told you. You'll see her once you die. She probably ran out of air right at this moment."

They buried her. "Where?"

"You'll know soon enough since you will be buried alongside her." He cackled, his face full of glee. "I really wish I could have tasted her first, but I was in a hurry. Besides it's more fun to watch that expression on your face than sinking myself inside your slut."

Umangat ang kamay niya palapit sa switch. I readied myself for what's about to come. I gritted my teeth, forcing my consciousness to stay with me even though I can feel myself slipping away. You can't. Eris needs you.

Nang makita kong humawak siya sa poste habang nakangising pinapanood ako ay iginalaw ko ang isa kong kamay. Instead of pulling away from what's wrapped around my wrist, I grabbed the ends of the dangling cable-like rope. I used it as a leverage to push myself up, and before Giovanni can moved away, I reach for the metal post.

Malakas na sigaw ni Giovanni ang yumanig sa paligid. I made myself the conductor of the electricity. Hindi tumatakbo ang kuryente sa frame na pinagsasabitan ng mga kableng nakakabit sa akin, pero dahil nakawak ako ngayon doon ay maging siya ay sigurado akong nararamdaman na rin ang sakit na bumabalot sa akin.

The two men ran towards us but they didn't know what to do. Akmang hahawakan ng isa ang switch nang mabilis kong ikinilos ang mga paa ko at inabot ko ang kasamahan niyang mas malapit sa akin. His screams joined Giovanni's as he too got electrocuted.

I tightened my legs around his neck. Nang maramdaman kong patumba na siya ay siniguro kong magagawa niya akong hilahin. I pushed myself to the side, leaning together with his weight. The frame bucked, and it wasn't long that it toppled sideways.

Flashed of pain hit me when I fell to the side where Giovanni stabbed me but I ignored it. Inabot ko ang kutsilyo na nakakabit din sa switch at hinila ko iyon. It took exactly three seconds when the electricity got cut off and the other man to move.

It took me one.

I sliced the cable, freeing myself. It wasn't easy to do since I'm bound so I wasn't surprised when I cut my own flesh. But that's the funny thing about pain. When you're engulfed by it, one small slice feels like heaven. It became a place to focus on as you try to ignore the bigger agony.

Hindi nagawang makakilos ng lalaking mahigpit ko pa rin na sinasakal gamit ng mga binti ko. I chortle sounded from his mouth when I speared his neck with the knife I'm holding. Blood gushed out from his neck when I pulled it back, using it to cut myself loose from the other ends that are still tied to me.

Nang makarinig ako ng pagkilos sa kaliwa ko ay mabilis na gumulong ako palayo. I slashed the cable tied on my feet. My hands pulled away in a slicing motion, but upwards, striking the other man that went for me.

Itinulak ko ang bigat niya palayo sa akin nang maramdaman kong bumagsak ang katawan niya.

I can feel my knees buckling, but I forced myself to stand up. Nakapako ang mga mata ko kay Giovanni na pagapang na lumalayo sa akin.

He lost all his self-righteousness and arrogance. He's a monster for doing all those things to those women, but he's not stupid to not recognize now the kind of monster that is standing before him.

"I'll enjoy killing you," I whispered.

"I-I can help you find her."

"That's the difference between us. You need my help, I don't need yours. Because this very second I have no doubt that people are looking for her already. Unlike you... I don't buy people's trust. Unlike you, I am not alone."

Those words barely came out of my mouth when the door of the room blasted open. I expected one of the agent, but instead an unfamiliar man stood there.

I braced myself, expecting the worst, but to my confusion he's looking at the other man, paying me no attention. Hindi ko siya kilala pero base sa ekspresyon na bumalot sa mukha ni Anton Giovanni ay kilala niya ang lalaki. The fear in his face when he was looking at me doubled when he recognized the man.

The unknown man finally turned to look at me. "You can go, I'll take care of this."

"He needs to die." Hinigpitan ko ang pagkakahawak ko sa patalim. "I won't let you help him."

"Help him?" The man chuckled darkly, "I'm the last person to do that after he killed my daughter. He needs to die, yes, but not yet. He'll meet death slower than what he planned for you."

"E-Ezio, let me explain—" Giovanni cried out as the bones of his hand made a crunching sound under the foot of the man. "P-Please..."

The person Giovanni called Ezio looked at me. "Go to her. My men is helping your people find her, but there's a lot of graves here." His face darkened as he looked down at the man on his feet. "This one will beg me to kill him himself, but I will keep him alive enough for you to get a hit in. Find your woman first." He met my eyes again for a moment before he gaze down at my bloodied side. "I hope you'll have a different ending than mine. Start digging, figlio."

I want to tear Giovanni to shreds and a part of me don't want to show my back to the other man. There's something in him that tells me that he's no different from me; someone that have hands full of blood.

But I didn't care. If he stabbed me on the back, sliced me open... I wouldn't care. Sa kabila ng sakit na nararamdaman ko ay pilit na humakbang ako. Again and again I pushed myself forward. My eyes started to become cloudy but even that couldn't stop me.

"Blaze!"

The voice sounded far away. I would have believed that if I didn't feel the hands that grabbed me at the same time that my knees almost gave out.

"He's losing blood, E," another voice said.

"Where is she?" I whispered.

I was being pulled, but no one answered me.

"Where is she?"

I didn't know if it's only me that could hear my question or they're ignoring me. Naramdaman kong may ibang pares ng mga kamay ang tumulong sa akin na makatayo. I fought through the bleariness and I saw Hugo trying to hold me up. His arms are covered with mud and so was Killian who's quickly approaching us.

"Where is she?!" I bellowed.

His mouth opened as if to answer me, but I didn't let him speak, and instead I forced myself to start walking again. Bukod kay Erebus, Hugo, at Killian ay may tatlo pang lalaki na naghuhukay sa iba't ibang parte ng lugar. There are two wooden boxes near them. They've dug enough graves to find two bodies, but they haven't found her. The earth looks wet from what seems like rain. It probably poured while I was unconscious. If it didn't, it would be easier to look for a disturb part of the ground.

"You will be buried alongside her."

"A-An open grave."

"What?" Hugo asked as he stood beside me.

"Did you find an empty grave?" Nang hindi siya kaagad nakasagot ay sinaklit ko ang kuwelyo ng damit niya. "They said she will bury her beside me. Stop hesitating and answer me. She's losing air right now!"

Inalis niya ang kamay kong nakahawak sa kaniya at inabot niya ang palang nasa paanan niya bago mabibilis ang mga hakbang na nagtungo siya sa kaliwang bahagi ng lugar. Even though every step I took was extremely agonizing, I willed myself to endure it.

I saw a deep excavation and it was sized perfectly for a grave. Huminto ako sa tabi no'n. I examined the surrounding area, trying hard to look at any irregularities.

"There," I croaked out.

I heard movements behind me when Hugo called for the others but I beat them to it. I didn't even reach for the shovel and instead I dropped on my knees. I dug through the dirt with my own hands, ignoring the prickle of sharp shards of rocks. Kahit ang sakit na nararamdaman ko o ang unti-unti kong panghihina dahil sa patuloy na pagtulo ng masaganang dugo mula sa akin ay hindi ko magawang bigyan ng pansin.

Shovels started digging near me. Hindi lang sila Erebus ang lumapit sa amin kundi maging ang mga tauhan ni Ezio. Dirt and mud started flying everywhere but no one cared. It wasn't long that Erebus fell on his knees and started digging with his own hands himself

"It's okay Blaze."

"Come on, baby," I whispered. "Please."

I might not fear death but I know what it's like to fear for someone's life. I know what it's like to feel desperate. But I never felt what it's like to have a part of you slowly die... until now. Because I know... I know that if something happen to her, I will not recover. I will die with her.

"I'm not scared."

A sound of metal connecting to wood flared a bit of life in me. I'm knee deep into mud but I keep on digging.

"Give the shovel to me," I said to Hugo.

Sinalo ko ang pala nang bitawan niya iyon. I struck the surface of the wood again and I again until I heard it split. Basta ko na lang binitawan ang pala at muli akong lumuhod. The men joined me as we all tear the wood apart, pulling it to widen the hole I made.

I mounted the wooden coffin and shoved my hands inside. The moment my hands touched her, I know that it's her. She's still warm... but she's not moving. I pulled her up as the others widen the dent. I found Eris lying on the ground, her body's clad with dirt.

I grunted with pain when I puller her weight up. Naramdaman kong may mga kamay na tumulong sa akin para magawa ko siyang ilabas ng tuluyan mula sa kabaong.

"Take her," I whispered.

Hugo took her from me and he pushed her up to Erebus that climbed up from the grave. Kinuha niya si Eris mula kay Hugo at pagkatapos ay mabilis niyang inihiga ang babae. Hugo helped me up and when I resurface from the deep excavation, I saw Erebus starting to perform CPR on Eris.

He pumped and pumped, but Eris eyes remained close.

"I'm going to be okay because you're here."

I pushed Erebus away and I replaced him. I started doing the compression, ignoring the blinding pain trying to engulf me.

"Come on, baby... please..." I can taste my own blood when I bite my lower lip. My eyes are getting cloudy but this time it's not from the pain. "I can't do this without you. You can't leave me. Open your eyes for me. Please, baby. Please look at me. Please!"

Not her. You can't take her. You can't.

It felt like my own life that were slowly dying with her returned inside me when her body bucked upwards at the same time that her mouth parted with a harsh gasp. Her eyes open, but they were unfocused.

The tears I was trying to held in fell as I enclose her into a hug. I drop my head on her neck and I listened to her breathe.

Narinig kong may salitang lumabas mula sa mga labi niya pero masyado iyong mahina.

"You're safe," I whispered. "You're okay."

Her fingers dug on my arms. "Make... please..."

Bahagya akong humiwalay sa kaniya at nagbaba ako ng tingin sa mukha niya. Her eyes are looking straight at me, but it's like she's seeing pass through me.

"Eris?"

"Make it stop..."

"What—"

"Stop! Please make it stop!" she screamed.

Her body arched away from me and her arms stretch upwards as if she's reaching for her head. She almost scored her own face with her fingers if not for Erebus that knelt down beside us and held her hands down.

Ikinulong ko ang mukha niya sa mga kamay ko. "Baby, it's okay. You're safe."

"Make it stop!"

I looked down at her and I saw clear agony on her face. That's when it finally clicked. I knew even without anyone confirming it for me. I know that this would happen. I just didn't know that it would be now. It's too soon.

I reached for Erebus' backpack and I tapped my hand at the corner of it. Nang maramdaman ko na bumagsak ang bagay na kumawala roon ay itinapat ko iyon kay Eris. She continued to thrash underneath me. I doubt that she heard me or that she knows that I'm holding her.

I crushed the circular thing on my hands in front of her face. It didn't took long when her movements gradually stopped, until finally, her body went limped.

"Don't let her wake up. Not until we're in BHO CAMP," I whispered.

My body heaved and I put a hand on my mouth as a cough tear through me. I looked down and saw blood on my hands.

"D-Do everything to save her..."

I lied, I stole, I killed. Regardless of the reasons behind my decisions and actions, I know that what's wrong will stay as wrong. And through my life where I need to do what I needed to do, I never once asked for forgiveness. I always thought, I deserved to be punished.. that's why I never prayed to the heavens. I never asked for anything.

Until now.

If I die, let my life be hers. When I close my eyes, let her have mine. Don't let her suffer. Let me instead. Torment me not her. Don't forgive me. Let me carry the punishment.

But please... please spare the woman that I love.

____________________End of Chapter 36.