I woke up sweating, chasing my breath, and my hands trembling. A sudden chill ran up my spine so I backed away until I hit the headboard, my fingers clasped together, in an attempt to calm the nerves.
The bedside clock reads two am. When the room felt suffocating, I got on my feet and sauntered to the veranda, opened the double doors, and let the early morning breeze press on my skin. I closed my eyes shut for a second and inhaled deeply, then opened my eyes. I did my breathing exercises and sat on the couch when I felt my heartbeat calming down.
I never expected that I would have that nightmare again. I don't know what this means: it could be a premonition, foreshadowing something darker that's about to happen. I just hope that my gut feeling is wrong, because I don't want to cross paths with that man ever.
His dark eyes were so sinister; it held pure evil, and the way he seemed to be enjoying carriers getting auctioned off like a piece of meat... it makes my hair stand. I don't think I can go back to sleep again. I'm afraid that when I close my eyes, I'll see him again and he will come back for me.
No. Calm down, Arden. It happened years ago. He will not remember you anymore.
Releasing another staggered breath, I just stared off into space, preoccupied with my thoughts. I just can't shake off that unpleasant and foreboding feeling that something huge is about to happen and my shaking intensified at the thought of my child's safety about to be compromised. I heard bad things about that man, especially from my mother's husband. That man apparently did things beyond human comprehension; he already left whatever makes him human and enjoys dissecting carriers just for fun.
What he does is that he will offer a huge sum to those who can bring him a quality carrier. That useless man that my mother married was immediately tempted. I did not know that several days after my mother's death, he already signed a contract with that man and sold me off.
That horrifying memory felt like it happened yesterday. I was still grieving in my room when suddenly, armed men broke into my room, pressed a handkerchief onto my nose, and the strong chemical knocked me down. When I regained consciousness, I was in a dark warehouse, the only illumination was the moonlight streaming from the small window on the wall close to the ceiling. From that, I was able to notice that I was in the company of other boys who were the same age as me.
From the limited information I gathered, we are all carriers and we are about to get auctioned off. "Just summon all the gods you know so that you won't get picked by that masked man," one of the carriers softly muttered, his eyes filled with fear and resignation.
"What does that mean? Who are you referring to?" My heart started to beat nervously from the horrified reaction of the carrier, as if he didn't want to even mention the identity of the masked man, but decided to tell me anyway.
He shook his head. "No one knows who he is, but I heard from one of the guards that he collects carriers like prized items. He cuts their head off after he's done experimenting with them and preserves them in a glass jar. Poor them. There was no ounce of dignity in their deaths."
I held my breath when I heard a thump in the door, and a huge man came in, holding a pistol. He stuffed the keys in his back pocket as he scanned his eyes around, as if he was picking a nice piece of meat from the market. "Number 28," came a gruff voice, almost threatening. The number doesn't add up because we are only a few, only to realize that it must mean that I was the 28th carrier that was abducted or sold off.
Silence fell in the room until the carrier I was talking to earlier whispered to me. "That's you." My throat dried up and my body froze up in fear.
The man squinted his eyes and met mine, walked toward me, and pressed the gun on my forehead. My body went cold and when he ordered me to stand up, I almost stumbled, my knees almost turning to jelly from fear. "Go on, keep walking. We wouldn't want to lose any other merchandise," he said almost in annoyance. I heard soft whimpers from behind and all I could do was obey.
We stepped out in what seemed to be a clearing in the middle of a thick forest. I could hear the muted sound of car engines speeding through the highway, which meant that if I made a run here, I could easily escape.
Think, Arden. Think! You are better than this. The surroundings are dark; there were no lamp posts around, as they wanted to keep their operations hidden.
As if the heavens heard my prayer, the man stepped away for a second after locking the warehouse to answer a call. He kept his eyes on me and showed me his gun, a silent order for me to behave or I'm dead. I nodded, but when he removed his eyes from me, I quickly scanned my surroundings and found a rock big enough to break a person's skull.
Now, I have never hurt anybody, but it's a different story when my fight or flight system is turned on. I chose to fight in order to flee, and that's what I did. I slowly walked to where the rock is located and when the man finished his call, he seemed grumpier than the last. He was grumbling about his boss wanting to auction all the carriers in the warehouse and whining about the incredible amount of work it would involve.
When he turned his back on me, I bent quietly and fuck, was the rock heavy, but with a strength I never thought I had, especially with my slim arms, I hurl the thing on his nape and he was out like a light. I didn't have the time to panic so I fished out the keys from his back pocket, unlocked the warehouse, and when they saw it was me, they were able to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hurry! We need to get out of here."
The carrier who spoke to me earlier took the lead and he gave brief instructions to everybody. There were only six carriers, seven, including me. We headed to the dark and thick part of the forest in order to hide our presence. Just then, a huge alarm blared.
"What was that?"
"That's an alarm they set up. They had a security camera inside the warehouse and they probably realized that we escaped," replied Zee, the person I talked to earlier. He has a different aura now, oozing calmness and silent confidence. A contrast to his scared expression earlier, leaving me confused.
"What are we going to do--"
He shushed me and ordered us to bend down. "This must be my lucky day. I'll finally see him," he said, incredibly thrilled, when a black car pulled over the clearing, revealing a man with a mask. He's the man that father was talking about.
When he saw the unlocked door and empty warehouse, he screamed and cursed angrily using a foreign language. He threw his mask furiously, revealing his face. I could tell that this man was dangerous, and deadly. One look is all I need to know that this man could kill me without hesitation, in a snap of his fingers.
My breathing picked up when he happened to look in our direction. Sweat pooled on my forehead and my hands started to shake.
"Hey. Get it together. When I say run, run as fast as you can. Don't ever look back, okay?"
I looked at Zee as if he just said something crazy. "What the fuck--"
Zee got something out of his pocket. Oh, fuck. I have seen this from the movies. He removed the pin, threw it in the center, and a blast of smoke erupted. "Run!"
I didn't have time to think. I ran as fast as I could, and where my feet could take me. I ran and ran, never stopping. I ran while I sobbed, regretting leaving Zee and the others. My heart was hurting, but it was never because I was running out of breath but because I was a coward. Tears kept on flowing, not because my calves are burning and my feet are about to give up, but because someone risked their lives for me. For me.
I didn't know how long I was running but when I ran out of gas, I happened to come upon a convenience store. I borrowed a phone, called River, and the rest was history. That worthless man I can never refer to as my father just disappeared into thin air. Maybe he was pursued by the organization of that masked man and then killed. I couldn't care less. He drove my mother to death, and he deserves to suffer, hopefully slowly and painfully.
***
I was surprised when I woke up in my bed. After all, I was out in the veranda earlier. When I glanced there, I saw Mariano standing, deep in his thoughts.
"Mariano?"
He turned to me and offered me a smile, then sat beside me. "Good morning, Arden. I came by early to drop off a fresh set of flowers when I saw you slumped on your couch. I almost had a heart attack. Don't do that again, okay?" He pulled me for a soft hug and brushed my hair. I could hear his heartbeat, slightly faster than normal, and it made me smile. He was worried for me.
"I'm sorry. I had a nightmare, and I needed a breath of fresh air."
He pulled back and looked at me. "How are you feeling? Do you want anything to eat? Why don't I draw you a bath first? Then we'll eat breakfast together. The pantry has been fully restocked with your favorites," he suggested, knowing full well that I loved everything he mentioned.
"Thank you for being so wonderful." Mariano shrugged off, letting me know that it was not a big deal. But it is. Efforts nowadays are underrated, and not all people exert any because they immediately move on from one person to the next.
"Oh, by the way, it looks like the engagement will be postponed. That's a load off our shoulders. I don't want you to feel any pressure; I just want things to progress naturally. I still have to make you fall head over heels for me," he said with a wink and headed to the bathroom.
"If only you knew," I sighed wistfully and trained my attention outside.
***
While we were eating breakfast, Mariano told me why the engagement was moved to a later date. "Our organization is busy chasing a notorious man, and the elders dropped the issue and decided to prioritize this problem."
"Not a problem for me, but can I still stay here?" This issue only sprang up. "The reason why we had this set up in the first place was because we needed to convince your people that you have a lover, right?" Mariano put the coffee down and turned to me with a sad smile.
"I was hoping that you won't bring up this topic so soon, Arden. I like you, and I know that you don't feel the same, and it's just so wrong to keep you here, away from your family. Don't worry, I will deploy my men at River's mansion and ask the servants to help you pack your stuff. Oh, I'm going to be late, so please don't wait for me." Mariano just said everything he wanted to say without hearing my side, and just ran off.
I looked at Hal, both of us sharing a bewildered expression. "What the fuck happened?"
Hal shrugged. "You tell me. Boss has been moody nowadays. It's as if he's the one pregnant, no offense meant," Hal added with an apologetic smile when I glared at him.
"Could it be? But that's impossible, right?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Come with me. I read a chapter in a parenting book. It's called couvade syndrome." Hal and I went to the library and grabbed the book I was talking about. I checked the chapter and showed it to him.
Hal frowned. "Couvade syndrome, also known as sympathetic pregnancy... felt by a partner close to the pregnant person... symptoms including but not limited to mood swings..." Hal nodded and his frown got deeper. "Arden, you have to know but when it comes to carriers, it's a whole other thing. The rules on normal pregnancy do not apply."
"What does that mean?'
"That Mariano is... you have got to be kidding me," Hal gasped breathlessly and widened his eyes in shock as he stared at me.
"What is it? You're scaring me." Hal was staring at me in disbelief, frozen in shock. "Hal! You stopped moving."
Hal shook his head fast and took a deep breath, then gave me a serious look. "Okay. Give me a minute. Call Mariano first and tell him to go home. Say that it's an emergency. I need to check on something." Before I could give him a piece of my mind, Hal was gone, leaving me confused.
"Fine. I'll call Mariano. This better be good."
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