Do Not Touch Me!

Chapter 6: Bound by something

Chapter 6: Bound by something

I was rooted on my spot. I felt helpless. My mind was in a haze as well and all I could ever think of is that we were going to die. Nagulat ako nang hinawakan ako ni Athanasius sa aking kamay. I was thankful that I was wearing my black gloves, so there was no direct contact between our skins. In this moment, though, everything seemed to blur. It felt like in this world, it was just him and me. Maybe because I was touched by someone, because he wasn't afraid of me, to comfort me.

"Calm down, Mary." He said, after that, he smiled at me as if encouraging me that everything will be alright. Ngunit nang tingnan ko ang kalagayan ni Sayuri, totoo nga ba? "I won't let anyone die on my watch." He said, and with that, he stood up and looked at Portgas and Sunhell. There was something between their gazes, as if there was this silent language wherein they communicated with just their looks. Mukhang nagkaintindihan naman silang lahat at tumango.

"Mary, go hide in the van." Utos sa akin ni Athanasius. Tumango naman ako at agad na tumakbo papunta sa loob ng van. Somehow, his encouragement helped me. Hindi na mabilis ang pagpintig ng aking puso. I could think rationally now as well.

Mula sa loob ng van ay sumilip ako sa bintana at nakita ang gawi ng aking mga kasama. Portgas walked first while Sunhell and Athanasius hid behind his buffed body. Doon ko lang napansin na may hawak-hawak si Portgas na isang maliit na butones, he seemed to have pressed the cube, then it started to expand until it looked like a round shield. Namangha naman ako dahil sa teknolohiyang iyon.

"You messed with the wrong team." I heard Athanasius say to the remaining seven CALM soldiers. "You pay the consequences." And with that, the seven soldiers tried to gun them down, but Portgas blocked it with his shield. When the seven soldiers lost their bullets and tried to reload their guns, agad namang binato ni Portgas ang kaniyang kalasag. It hit one of the seven soldiers and the shield pierced through his right arm, decapitating him. Blood spewed out and he screamed.

"I have successfully taken control of Anti-Cheetah Radio and disabled it—your powers are back, Shinigami, take Sayuri to Athanasius, now." Utos ni Viveron. Nanatili akong nakatago sa aking puwesto habang nanonood sa mga nangyayari.

I saw how Shinigami grabbed Sayuri in the speed of light and after that, he was right behind Athanasius already. Meanwhile, Portgas and Sunhell lunged towards the enemy.

"She's barely alive." Even at this distance, I could hear everything because of Viveron's feature, I can hear every word they utter and even their breaths through the speakers of the van. Shinigami sighed, "Kusokuso, they caught us off guard."

As he said those, Athanasius ripped the dress of Sayuri and he inserted his finger towards her wound, she screamed in pain, afterward, Athanasius retreated his bloody finger while holding the bullet. "It's okay now." He said to Sayuri who was very pale as hell. After that, he threw the bullet away and he started to slice his palm and let the beads of his blood to drop towards Sayuri's wounds.

From my point of view, I couldn't exactly see everything that was going on, but after a few seconds, Sayuri stopped panting for breath and she stood up, "I will make sure they'll pay for what they've done to me." She hissed, her wounds now non-existent. I watched how Athanasius's wound stitched themselves together as well, until there was no sign of it.

Sumama na rin silang lahat upang tulungan sina Sunhell at Portgas sa mga sundalo. Not long enough, the remaining soldiers were all defeated and dead.

"I already called RAGE, they'll be sending men to clean all of the mess up." Viveron declared after a few seconds. "Well, anyway, that was a warm greeting."

Sayuri scoffed, "now my dress is ruined." Halata ang bakas ng inis sa kaniyang mukha habang sila ay naglalakad palapit sa van.

"Well, you can buy a new one, idiot." Portgas mimicked, as if mocking her. She just glared at him. He raised his arms as a gesture of submission and laughed.

Ngumiti naman ako dahil walang masamang nangyari sa kanila. I mean, Sayuri almost died, but thanks to Athanasius's regeneration ability, everything turned out okay.

"Mary! Behind you—"

Before I could react to Viveron's warning, someone already covered my mouth and nose with his bare hands. Bumilis ang pintig ng aking puso, I struggled to remove his hold on me but his grip was tight. I wanted to gasp for air... Kinaladkad niya ako palabas ng van at saka niya ako binitawan sa aking mukha, after that, tinutukan niya ako ng baril. "Don't move or you'll die!" Utos ng lalaki sa akin habang kaharap ang aking mga kasama.

"I'm sorry, I was not able to track that man as there was no sign of him being affiliated to CALM, they must have hired an assassin."

"It's okay, Viveron." Athanasius said.

"Wrong move touching her though." Sayuri smirked.

After that, the man who covered my face with his bare fingers lost his grip on his gun, he screamed afterward, tinulak ko naman agad siya palayo sa akin at saka ko pinulot ang baril at tinutok ito sa kaniya.

"Mary, there's basically no need for that." Sayuri chuckled. We all watched the assassin—ang kamay na ginamit niyang pantakip sa akin ay biglang naging kulay dilaw, hangga't sa tila bulaklak na nalanta ang kaniyang kutis, his guts started to pop as well and there were purple lines that travelled from it up to his face with his veins as the passageway.

He gasped for breath the same way I did a few seconds ago. I just watched him suffer—blood started to come out of his eyes like tears, then he had a nosebleed, then he coughed more blood. "Ugh, gross." Sayuri shivered. "Remind me not to touch Mary." There was a hint of a joke on her voice.

As I've already seen the man suffer long enough already, I pulled the trigger and the bullet went right through the middle of his forehead, thus, saving him from his misery. Then, I dropped the gun. I looked at everyone and they just stared at me, Athanasius walked towards me though and he smiled, as if showing sympathy. "You must have been frightened."

Unconsciously, I shook my head. "No... I think it's even the contrary." My fast heartbeat and the adrenaline I felt... I realized it now, it wasn't because I was scared, it was the opposite. I was thrilled. With that, I smiled. "At first, I was scared... But then, after that, it felt good." Maybe because I have proven myself wrong, I am not useless.

I looked at the dead man. He died, by my hands. This is the second man I killed. Unusually, I didn't vomit like before. It felt like I am starting to get used to it. However, there is this pang of pain in my heart. Like I was heartbroken and sad.

"It felt good..." Pag-ulit ko. Was I saying it to convince myself, though? Did it really feel good?

"Of course, it feels good to be powerful." Portgas replied. Pagkatapos niyang sabihin iyon ay sumakay na siya sa van.

***

Tahimik lamang kaming lahat sa biyahe hangga't sa tumigil ang van sa harap ng isang matayog na tarangkahan. It was color black and there were two statues of wolves beside the gate. They were human-sized and they were also black.

"We're here." Viveron announced and the gate automatically opened. I already got it that it was the doing of Viveron. Muling tumakbo ang van papasok. Mula sa harap ay nakita ko na agad ang isang malaking mansion. "Welcome home." Home. Family. These are fancy terms, but I know they hold no real meaning. This isn't home, this is our headquarter. We weren't a family too, but just a team of superhumans working for RAGE, the shadow organization of the Central Government.

Tumigil ang van sa harap mismo ng porch ng mansion. Lumabas na kaming lahat pagkatapos. "Ah, it's good to be back again!" Sayuri grinned, "time for a bath! Pinagpawisan ako nang sobra kanina!" Aniya at nauna nang pumasok. Sumunod naman sa kaniya sina Shinigami, Portgas, at Sunhell.

Naiwan kaming dalawa ni Athanasius sa labas.

"Athanasius, you can go ahead. I'll take charge of showing Mary the way to her room."

"I appreciate the kindness, Viveron, however, I want to have a personal talk with Mary, so I'll take it over here."

"Right, then. Bye, Mary. I'll go back to sleep. If you need anything else, just say my name."

"Will do." And with that, the hologram of Viveron vanished in thin air.

Tumingin ako kay Athanasius at ngumiti, "ano ang gusto mong pag-usapan?"

"Let's talk about it as I show you the way around." Aniya. Naglakad na kami papasok ng mansion. The interior was grand, with a big chandelier that hung on the ceiling that was decorated with paintings of angels. The place was aesthetic too. I saw no sign of other members, it seems like they've all gone to their rooms already.

"This used to be my family's house—but it is just me and dad, actually. My father said that my mother died when I was still a baby, because of terrorists." Athanasius begun saying as walked. Tumango naman ako dahil sa aking nalaman. Somehow, it felt like I got a better understanding of Athanasius's reasons why he has become a part of the Seven Deadly Sins, because of what happened to his family. "However, when RAGE was formed, dad and I moved to the island, where the main headquarter is. So, this mansion was converted into a sub-HQ, where only the Seven Deadly Sins are allowed enter."

Tumango lang ako. "Is this what you wanted us to talk about?" Tanong ko.

Ngumiti si Athanasius, "actually, no. What I wanted to talk about is something else." We ascended the grand stairs of the mansion, he was three steps ahead of me. Then, he stopped midway, causing me to stop as well. He looked back afterward, his eyes piercing right through mine. I stared back.

"I know you are curious about many things and it's normal to be curious." He started, "but Mary, there are things that are better off left as unknown."

"Why?"

"Because the truth will hurt you." This was the first time that I saw him with his serious face.

"Yes, it may hurt me. But what if the truth is actually the thing as well that will set me free?"

"Do you honestly believe that we are all free? We are never free; we are always bound by something or someone." Ngumiti si Athanasius matapos niyang sabihin iyon, ngunit halata ang bakas ng kalungkutan doon. O siguro ako lang.

"But that doesn't take away our right to still know the truth. Because oblivion is scary sometimes, Athanasius."

"And so is knowing too much." He said, "I know Viveron has taken a liking to you and she has probably said things she should have not. She is a human being after all and she has a will of her own. But don't rely too much on her. She may be young, but that's only her looks before she was turned into that. She is actually the oldest member of the group."

Tahimik lang akong nakinig sa kaniyang mga sinabi.

"Whatever it is, I know Viveron is up to something. Like for example, back when you were hiding in the van and someone tried to steal you away, did you honestly think that Viveron didn't know? She may have said her reason that it's because the man wasn't part of CALM, but she could have detected someone entering the van. She has her own schemes."

"What can she possibly gain by lying, though?"

"I don't know, but don't let this get into your head. Gusto ko lang sabihin na piliin mo kung sino ang pagkakatiwalaan mo."

"But you said it yourself, we are family. We are supposed to trust each other."

"Yes, we are family." He smiled, "and what we are supposed to do is to watch each other's back, not trust each other. There's a difference."

"So, should I trust you?" I asked.

He smiled, "I won't say no, I won't say yes neither. But it's up to your good judgment, Mary."

And with that, we silently walked towards my appointed room.

"Thank you for showing the way." I told Athanasius. "I very much appreciate it. And our talk as well."

He just nodded. "If you need anything, my room is just on your left."

"I'll take note of that." And with that, I opened the door of my room and entered it.