24. The Women In Their Lives 2
(6 A.M: Santa Theresita proper)
Three hours, that's how long it would take before Nathaniel arrives in the town of San Fernando. He stopped by a convenience store for breakfast and called his wife to ask about Maria. The marine almost punched himself at the stupidity of his action because Valerie started to cry the moment he asked about her mother's condition.
"She regained consciousness an hour ago, but she fell into another coma minutes after," his wife answered. Nathaniel could hear her trying to subdue a hiccup that came along with her tears. He knew her so well, that her voice alone allowed him to see the way she looked at that moment. Her shoulders were probably shaking, while she held on to one of their grandchildren to find comfort. He could almost see the tears falling from her eyes, which would leave her head pounding after an hour or so.
"Don't worry Val, I will bring your brother home before...” Nathaniel didn't have the heart to finish his sentence. His wife must have felt it, so she ended the call with the words, "I trust you."
After the call, the former marine finished his breakfast with haste and immediately got back to the road.
***
(6 A.M: West Wing, San Fernando Correctional)
"Use anything you can find to reinforce the door!" Mark commanded. His voice was reminiscent of that of their warden. He kept instructing the three guards he had with him as he knelt in front of one. A man, whom they found with a knife sheathed on his back.
"Do you know where the warden kept his medicine box?" Mark asked Melinda. They found the young woman hiding inside the office, under the warden's desk, when they came running inside.
"I think he kept it inside that cabinet,” Melinda answered while pointing at an old wooden filing cabinet.
"Go get it," Mark screamed; he almost failed to keep his hands steady as the injured guard on the floor whimpered and grimaced from the pain, which Mark knew was plaguing the poor man.
When Harold asked him to lead the others to the warden's office, they met a couple of prisoners along the way. They managed to subdue them but Sheldon received a nasty stab wound on his arm. They were also able to save one guard from being attacked and pulled out another from the claws of what seemed like a deranged-looking inmate. Unfortunately, that last guy is the same man who is now lying on the office floor. Mark could only pray that his wounds were not too deep.
When Melinda found the first aid box, she immediately brought it to Mark. As her former lover asked her to take care of the injured guard, the young woman could only thank her mother for being a nurse. Her mother's profession taught Melinda a thing or two about handling wounds.
"Did you manage to get a hold of someone?" Mark questioned after he approached Raffy, the guard who was tasked to contact for backup.
Raffy shook his head and said, "I keep getting a busy tone."
***
(South wing)
Sebastian sat beside the big man on the floor. Ernest stopped crying but his shoulders were still shaking from the amount of control he needed to subdue his tears.
"It's alright, man; at least you got revenge and proved how much you valued Miranda. I, for the record, failed at that miserably.
"What, did you cheat on her like this handsome Prince over here?" Noah asked as he ruffled Kennedy's hair.
"Nah, I offed the bitch." Sebastian answered coldly.
Noah raised an eyebrow upon hearing what Sebastian said. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back on the wall behind him.
"Since we've already begun with the whole Maria thing, let's hear your story. Besides, I don't think we will ever get out of this place. Let's wait it out. Amuse us with the story of your fallen lover." Noah murmured.
Kennedy failed to hide the shock in his voice when he asked, "You killed your Maria?"
Sebastian smiled to himself. Where should he begin? As he stared into the eyes of Kennedy. He couldn't help but wonder. Did the young man believe that love was all about sparks and sweet-smelling roses? Was the young man even aware of the depth of pain that love can truly inflict on a person? Had he not heard the words written on the letter? Love easily evaporates in the face of misfortune. Love is fickle.
The warden, Sebastian knew that his wife died some time ago. So, who was this Maria he was writing to? Ernest made it clear that it fell out of the warden's pocket. The letter could only belong to him. Otherwise, why would an old man keep a cheesy letter inside his pocket? But Sebastian had to admit, every man probably has or had a Maria in their life. He, for sure, had one. Unfortunately, it did not end with a sweet love song, but with a procession of two caskets.
"So, are you going to tell us or should we wait it out by sleeping on the floor?" Noah sneered when Sebastian failed to respond, allowing a pregnant silence to reign instead.
"Well, her name was Antoinette; she was my neighbour. We grew up together and did everything together. We even attended the same school together. As kids we were inseparable. When we got to high school, we started dating. Everything was as normal as you could imagine."
"So, why did you off her then?" Noah asked.
"We got married, the bitch cheated. Caught her in bed with a fuck'n plumber. I went to the kitchen, got a knife, and stabbed the life out of them." Sebastian explained nonchalantly.
"Just like that?" Kennedy questioned, eyes wide with shock.
Sebastian looked the young man in the eyes and replied, "Have you ever loved someone so much that loving them becomes a burden in itself?"
Kennedy gazed at him, frowning, as he asked, "What do you mean?"
"You're young, so you probably think love is as simple as breathing. Well, it’s not. To love someone is like giving them power over you. A string, a rope that could become fatal if knotted differently."
Kennedy shook his head and answered, "I still don't get it."
Lawrence, who was silently listening from a corner, walked back towards them, emerging like a ghost from the other hallway. "What he meant shit head, is if you give your heart to someone, and I mean truly give your all. Love, trust, and respect. It would be like allowing them to point a knife at your chest or to put a rope around your neck that could snap the life out of you. That's the truth behind love. You bare yourself to someone, hoping they would treasure what you've laid down in front of them.
"Well doesn't that go both ways? It's nothing to be bothered about. Both would be doing the same. So what's the problem in baring it all?" Kennedy retorted, confused by the senior prisoner's words.
"Well yeah, but what we're trying to convey here is...” To justify murder, Ernest butted in.
The four prisoners looked down at the big man. Sebastian shook his head and solemnly answered, "We can never justify a murder, Ernest; we could only pay for it."
"Well, we should find a proper place to wait this out. I believe Rudolf got some of his men in here. That lunatic will not spare us if we so as pose a threat to his plans,” Noah murmured as he cranked his neck from left to right.
"We have no intention of getting on his way, we want to get out, just as much as he does," Kennedy explained.
Noah patted the young prisoner on the shoulder. "We can't risk him seeing us as a liability or someone who might stand in his way. Ernest here is enough to invoke fear inside that guy."
"Alright, let's go!" Sebastian commanded. The others nodded in acquiescence.
Just as the prisoners decided to go back to their cells in the North wing, warden Protacio appeared in the hallway with the senior guard Harold in his arms.
The prisoners and the warden made eye contact as soon as they sensed each other's presence. It became a test of nerves.
Sebastian immediately noticed that the warden himself looked weak and the man he carried was dripping with blood. A minute, that's how long it took before Sebastian smiled and asked jokingly, "Did the two of you decide to tie the knot amidst all this?"
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