LUIS:
The liquid from having sweated a lot trickled down my skin. And at this time it was a lot uncomfortable for me because I could not reach out to wipe it off lest it made the tingling sensation in my body like it is doing now.
I wiggle my body a little, with the hope of reaching for my pit. The rattling of the chains that I am bound to make a lot of noise from my tiny movement that I am sure I am going to alert those who put me in here.
It was a useless bid to try to change the course of direction of the bead of sweat because I can suddenly feel it go down my right pit in a manner that has me wanting to shake it off me.
I may have gone a week bound this way. I have no idea what the time is or how long I have been placed in this hellhole. I just know that I opened my eyes to this place and have been like this all along.
I have yelled a lot and requested to know the mastermind behind this but what I get in response every time is men in black coming in here to beat the shit out of me for disturbing their peace. Pretty sure I have sustained a lot of injuries now.
Would have attempted to free myself from the chains even though there seems to be no way out of this due to how they chained me. However, what discouraged me from even considering it or something is the way the chain burns into my skin. It feels like a waste trying to struggle from it because anytime I do so, I only worsen my situation as the burning increases.
The rate at which I am both weak and annoyed is something I cannot decipher. Because I am raged to the extent that once I see myself out of these chains, I am sure a head is coming with me. And I mean it.
All of a sudden, the door leading into this hellhole opens up and it has me wondering what is going on. The weird thing is that instead of two or more of them that do come in here, just one shows up as the door closes behind him.
“Are you here again to beat me up? Oh, so I made a lot of noise again, right? I wish I could say I’m sorry but I’m fucking not so come here and do your worst!” I yell as I taunt whoever it is this time around. And I do not even care about the burning sensation from the chain as I struggle to get my grip out of it.
But the one I tried to taunt was not making a move to where I am. Instead, he stands not too far away from the entrance, and even though I cannot see his masked face, I can tell how much penetration his gaze is making into my skin.
I feel a little chilled because there seems to be something different about this one. Certainly something different. And I confirm that when he starts to approach me where I am chained.
The aura. Yes, the aura said something different. I can tell despite my weak senses that he is a strong one. Much stronger than the ones I have ever encountered among them.
“Who are you?” I ask, a little scared because I cannot say what is going to happen to me now. And I am sure about this that he is either their leader or something related to that. “And what do you want with me?”
I get ignored as he continues to approach me. Now I feel like a chicken because for sure I am being overwhelmed by this masked man. Never felt so much pressure like this in a while.
My heartbeat was beating loud against my chest. I can feel the weariness in my legs which were most likely going to give in to this so much pressure. The only thing I have now was my brave font which I am not sure would save me in any way. No way it could do so with me being chained by the hands and legs like a criminal.
The masked man eventually gets to me and I feel myself swallowing an invisible lump in my throat. What he does next is start to walk all over me and then I hear him say in an unrecognizable voice, “Dear Luis. Is that fear I smell in you?”
I shut my eyes close and quickly get them opened. Even with everything dark and me still being able to see through, I feel like I am being choked with the scene of a lot of people watching.
“What do you want?” I ask, my voice a shadow of itself.
The man continues with what he is doing until finally, he stops in front of me. He then puts his hand on the mask on his face, seeming like he is about to take it off. But no, he doesn’t do that.
“What do I want? Hmph, let’s see,” and then I am expecting something worthwhile from him until he says, “Nothing.”
“Then why am I here? If you do not need me for anything, then why do you have me chained? Why did you have to attack my pack? This is insane!”
I have gotten my composure back which gives me the courage to yell in his face, not minding the pressure that is still overwhelming my entire being.
“There is nothing special about having you here, Luis. You are just a piece of a puzzle for me. A piece to get the actual target. And it is none other than the one you have a supposed entanglement with... Soma.”
Flashbacks of the times I told myself I was going to get into trouble by being with Soma get into my head. It is a lot of times but she always found a way to assure me that it would be fine. But now it is much more obvious that I eventually fell into the trap that I was trying to avoid. Probably even worse than I imagined.
“So all these, the stalking, the invasion, killing my best friend, it was just so you could get Soma?” I feel the hurt that comes out from my speech when I make him aware of the whole contradiction that came with being a piece in his supposed puzzle.
I mean, how could one just sit and make others suffer because he was going after someone? Even it is unsure if the someone is aware that it is because of her.
“If you put it that way, then yes. But a man has got to cover his ways with something else sometimes.”
“If you need her so badly, why not go for her directly? Why me?” I cannot help but wonder because it sounds like the stupidest thing ever to even think that he could use me because he was after Soma.
“Because you, my friend, are the easiest way to get to Soma,” he says, putting me in a situation where I am wondering what relationship he has with her. “I’ve known Soma for a long time now, so you should know how tough she is to overcome situations like this. If I had gone directly for her, the tendency that it would fail was at its highest. So when I found out she has a man now, and not just a man — a mate, I decided to act on it. That’s why you are here. And as expected, your little lady in shiny armor is coming to save you. Sounds like the beginning of the way the world has changed,”
Although he tried to hide it, I could hear the hurt in his voice. Whatever it is that has transpired between him and Soma must have been so disheartening for him to make out a plan like this.
My curiosity leads me to ask, “What did she ever do to you?”
“My personal life is none of your business. You should be more focused on how you are going to leave this place, which is not going to happen because whatever that is not of this place that gets in here never finds its way out,”
“I don’t care about leaving this place. At least you made it clear now that I cannot leave so why not make me understand what she did to you that would make you cookout such a plan to most likely destroy her. I still can’t figure out the relationship between you two,”
He doesn’t say anything to me for a while. And when he turns around, I start to think that he is about to walk out. Until he eventually speaks, “The thing about Soma... You know, I cannot place my hand on what kind of luck she has. Everything seems so perfect for her and the annoying thing is that she misuses it all. She makes it seem like it is something not worthy of her and yet it is always something that another would want to have at all cost.”
“There is nothing really special about all that she has—”
He suddenly turns around. “Don’t talk like you know her that well!” he snaps. “So the gift she has is something we should neglect? The gift to put down anyone who challenges her. The gift to be stronger than her limit at any time. Do you think that just came out of nowhere? It is special. And if you do not know, her being the Alpha is also something I will consider lucky because that should never have happened. She herself cannot deny that,”
I know about the last part. But I never thought about her fighting ability as a gift. I just see her as someone who trains herself beyond limit but the explanation given sounds like she hardly even trains.
“One thing I noticed about you, Luis, is that you are just like her. I will call both of you misinformed, or better still — naive, because how can you not know about the Black Lotus? It is something that instills fear in the minds of a lot of people and yet you have not heard about it. You guys are really made for each other,”
He brings that to my notice and I realize he’s right. The rate at which I ignore important info baffles me. And no, he’s not done talking to me.
“It’s the naivete that didn’t make you do the right thing when you first started getting stalked. It’s the same naivete that makes Soma think she can save you from this,” and after shaking his head, he turns around as he starts to leave. When he gets to the entrance, he stops to say, “And you know what? I’m so expecting her because she’s going to be in for a show,”