c h a p te r t h i r t y n i n e
RAIN'S POV
"Clovers," sabi ko. It's them...the twins. Before I got to command Cliff and Harry, the twins were working their way to me with shots of arrows. I dodge and threw two more daggers towards them and luckily one got through. Tinamaan sa hita ang isa at nadaplisan naman sa braso ang isa. I should've aimed for their heads but I need to find out something.
"Queen, there's too many of them," Harry said. How did they knew? I'm almost done with this school. "There's too many civilians here," Cliff also reported. "There's a route Northside," saad ni Cliff kaya naman doon ako patungo. "They're after the pieces." Tumakbo ako papunta sa isang side. But there's no way out. Naglabas ang dalawa ng kanilang double blade sword. "Hand it over," one of the twins said. She was holding a double blade with a red handle. The other one was holding it with a blue handle. I never thought I'd see them again. I smirked before I threw them quadruple daggers. Umakyat ako at tinignan ang maikling overpass mula sa taas papunta sa kabilang building. They were distracted so I jumped.
"AHHHHHHHH!" Gulat na sigaw nang mga nakakita sa akin nang tumalon ako at biglang nasa harapan nila. May mga estudyante pala. Tsk. Tinakpan ko ang mukha ko gamit ang nakalugay kong buhok. Tumakbo ako papunta sa kabilang dulo ng overpass saka tumalon sa isang puno. Laking gulat nila sa bigla kong pagsulpot. Hinila ko ang jacket na nakasabit sa isang upuan katabi ng mga estudyante saka tumakbo habang isinusuot ito. Panay ang takbo ko papuntang parking lot nang biglang makasalubong ang anim na kalalakihan. Tinignan ko kung saan ang may pinakamabilis na sasakyan. "Who owns this?" turo ko sa isang black Lamborghini. Hindi naman sumagot yung may ari kaya sinipa ko ang side mirror at sumigaw nga ang may-ari. "Are you nuts?!" sigaw ni Rude at tila ba sasapakin na ako ngunit nakita ko ang susi niya at ang mga paparating na twins. I immediately attacked him and took his key. "Let me borrow this," litanya ko saka sumakay sa kotse.
Mabilis ko itong pinatakbo palabas. Hinabol naman ako nang mga kasama ni Rude ngunit hindi nila nagawa. Bago ako makalabas, nakita ko ang twins na sumakay sa sasakyan nila. Panay ang overtake na ginagawa ko sa mga sasakyan. Panay rin ang busina ng ibang mga sasakyan.
I need to lost them. There were four black cars coming at me. I cannot pull a trigger. Masyadong maraming sasakyan. People will get hurt. I took a left turn. Hindi pa mandin maayos ang mga daan dito. Masyadong masikip. It's dead end. May sasakyang nakahinto sa likod. I can see from afar, it was the Clovers.
Hinarurot nila ang kanilang sasakyan papunta sa akin. "Buckle up." I told myself as I drove backwards. We were both at our fastest speed. I smiled and took a right to a piled woods. May mga kahoy na nakaayos na parang slide kaya naman doon ko pinadaan ang sasakyan ko. Umakyat ito kasabay ng pagdaan ng sasakyan ng Clovers. Nasagi ng gulong ko ang itaas ng sasakyan nila. Parang lumipad ang sinasakyan ko saka ito bumagsak sa lupa. Kasabay nito ang pagbangga ng sasakyan nila sa semento.
"Nice."
I made my way as fast as I could to get out of that alley. Then there were two cars that saw me. Damn they don't know how to stop. Fine, brace yourselves I'll give you what you deserve. Mas binilisan ko ang pagpapatakbo at lumiko pakanan. Nakasunod pa rin sila. One man in black popped at the sunroof of the car and brought a freaking gun. This is not a good place to start gunfires. Tss. And before I knew it, they were firing. People were startled and cars were honking everywhere.
"You've asked for it." I said to the air, put my car to auto and took my guns out, then manually drive again. Once I've seen an open space, I went straightly right in. Just as I get near the fountain, I did quite a drift around it and pulled the trigger pointing to the car nearly parallel to me. I found a hidden gun under the passenger seat of this car and so I used it. The loud sound of the gun firing got the people running away. I shot the driver and the person next to him and their car went straight to the tree.
The glass at the back of my car got shot and it shattered. Mabuti na lamang at yumuko ako. Nang makita ko ang daanan palabas, sa hindi kalayuan may isa pang sasakyang mabilis na papunta sa akin. I didn't stop moving forward until I immediately turned left crashing the plants and driving away. This is not good. This will be all over the news at this moment. Dad won't be happy about this but hey, I love trouble and it loves me. Hindi na ako nag-aksaya ng panahon para kausapin sila Harry at Cliff at paniguradong nasa gitna sila ng labanan.
Just as I thought I got them, not yet. The Clovers were back. I can't do this here. This is not a good idea. We were racing through the crowd of cars until one of them shot my tires and it went off the lane. Geez, calm down. Bago pa nila banggain ang kotse, mabilis akong nakalabas at tumalon pakapit sa likod ng delivery truck. They shoot at me while I climbed my way up to the moving vehicle. All the other drivers might think I'm insane but I don't give a shit. Nang may mahagilap akong pick-up sa harap ng sasakyang kinaroroonan ko, tumalon ako rito. Halata ang pagkagulat ng driver at nang kasama niya nang makita akong tumalon mula sa kawalan. I climbed my way to the top of the car again when I saw the Clover's car coming towards my direction.
Hindi masyadong mabilis ang takbo ng sinasakyan ko kasi masyadong maraming sasakyan. I need to change lane. Ngunit sa kabila ng kagustuhan kong lumipat sa kabilang linya, hindi maaari dahil naabutan ako ng mataas na harang sa pagitan. Humarap ako sa likod at tinutukan ng baril ang sasakyan ng kalaban. Sobrang gulat naman ang mga nakakita sa ginawa ko. I fired but it just punched through the glass and they dodge it. Somebody must've trained them so hard. When they fired at me, I nearly fell but I had my hand holding thightly on one of the steel rod placed at the back of the head of the pick up.
"Hop in!" somebody in a motorcycle exclaimed. He was wearing a helmet so I couldn't see his full face. Even if it's not appropriate to explain right now, it's the only way I can get out in that situation. Inilapit niya ang kaniyang motorsiklo. Mahirap sumakay dahil may mga sasakyan na kailangan rin niyang iwasan. "Jump!" I could dive off a helicopter. Tss. It's just so unusual to see someone jumping in a motorcycle. Pero nang makita kong may lumabas na tao mula sa sunroof ng sasakyan ng humahabol sa akin at nagpaputok, hindi ako nag-atubiling tumalon pasakay sa motorsiklo kasabay ng pagtama ng bala sa sasakyan. I just hope the driver wasn't dead. I didn't ask him to drive faster but he did. Good thing he knows what he needs to do in this situation.
"Why are they shooting at us?" he exclaimed while racing through the traffic in between cars. The cars back there were stuck. He drove as quickly as he could until we get to this high place I've never seen before. Pinatigil niya ang motorsiklo at bumaba ako. I pointed him the gun. I have two bullets left and I could kill him with just one. He took his helmet off and surprisingly as it may seem, he's one of the Thanatos. "Lance is the name. And would you mind lowering that thing. I just saved your ass back there," he said in a matter of fact but I didn't lower it. "What do you want?" I asked him straightforward. If he's one of those people who want my head, then I shall kill them first.
"Just answer one question for me," he said. "Who are you? Really? I don't believe your name is Rain Louise." He was standing still. He didn't move a little even when there's a gun pointed at him. "I could pull the trigger in a flick of an eye and you wouldn't even know." I warned him.
"I just want to know who are you. Because from what happened at the university and just now, it only meant the opposite. You're not the new girl they assumed as a nobody. So, answer me. Are you who I think you are?" he stated. There's one rule I got, I don't do answers. "I wouldn't ask for something stupid. Speak," I ordered, fierce and cold. I don't give a damn even if he saved me. If he plans to kill me, I'll kill him first. He was quite for a moment.
In a blink of an eye, I'm in front of him with a gun pointed to his head. "I'm not as patient as you are," I whispered in his ears. Tss. If he doesn't speak, I will kill him. I cannot let anyone to just see my face and knew who I am, and wander around the city like nothing happened. "I saw the Clovers." I'm quite appalled by his sudden confession that he knew about the Clovers. How did he? "Try again," I snorted.
"It would be better without the gun," he said. I don't trust him. Tsk. "Make me." I thought he's going to fight me but instead he didn't care. Ibinaba ko ang mga pagtutok sa kaniya ng baril at humakbang palikod ng isang beses. "You took Rude's lambo. I don't think he'll forgive you," he mentioned the car which was apparently somewhere in this city being towed to somewhere or maybe being investigated. Gosh, I hated anything that involves the police and detectives. "When the others came running after you, I saw the Clovers got inside, probably their car, and left immediately," he explained.
"How did you know about the Clovers?" I asked. He was hesitant for the next seconds. He took a deep breath and looked at me seriously. "Five years ago..."
"...at B.A.N.G. Merlin," he confessed. Mas diniinan ko ang pagtutok ko ng baril sa ulo niya at matiim siyang tinignan. Don't tell me, what I'm thinking is true. For five years, no one has ever said anything about one person in B.A.N.G. Nobody knew who it was, including me.
"I'm a Supreme," he said which surprised me. All this time, he was a Supreme. He was one of the Supremes but he had never showed who he was. Why didn't I recognize his actions when they faught me the first time I went to BA6. "Prove it," I'm still not convince. One can easily claim they are the Supreme but I could only tell if he proved what I want him to prove.
He turned back, take his jacket off, and lift his shirt up revealing a perfectly toned body. There I saw what I was asking. There was a barcode in the center of his spine at his back. A barcode mark that only the Supremes get. They were made unique for every individual Supreme. It was not just a tattoo. It was a type of technology inserted inside. The B.A.N.G. Merlin requires all Supremes to get these. I required all of us to get it. It's not just a proof. It was for something else. The former Night Queen, my grandmother, created these and the 8 Shadows held them for years. The moment I participated in B.A.N.G. Merlin, all candidates, Supremes, were informed about this.
That only means that the 8 Shadows already knew who the remaining Supreme is. My grandmother's invention were far beyond expectations and her death still served as a mystery for me. "Do you believe me now?" he casually said and lower down his shirt. I had no other things to say. I knew for a fact that these codes were made for the person itself.
I heard somebody speak through my transmitter. "It's all over the news," Cliff reported. "I'm coming down," I replied. Siguradong hindi nakasunod ang mga kalaban. Cliff and Harry were quick with their work. "I'm taking your motorbike."
"No way. Remember what you did at Rude's Lambo," he snorted, ride at his motorbike and gave me a glance. He tossed the helmet to me and said, "Wear this or else we get killed in an instant," he stated. He gave me one last look before he also shoved me his leather jacket. "And cover those," he said with eyes looking away. Tinignan ko ang sarili ko and damn, my shirt was ripped from the bottom which looka like a croptop now, exposing my stomach. Iniangat ko ulit ang baril. "Can't you just say thank you and get over it?" he said with full sarcasm.
It's the only way I could get to the others and figure what to do with the ruckus that the Clovers caused. They won't stop until they get the pieces. "Where to?" he asked and droved fast. I told him to get me to the mansion. They were all there and almost all the guards, even Pin, Cliff and Harry pointed a gun at Lance when we arrived. "Sick life," he murmured. I got off and took the helmet off revealing my face. "Lance," Pin uttered.
"What's he doing here?" Harry asked. I was about to walk when he grabbed me in the arm and another episode of guns pointing at the same time, happened. "You haven't answered any of my questions," he said. "If you want to leave, alive and breathing, let me go and get lost," I warned. The belligerents aren't easy people. They found a threat, they put it out, immediately.
Binitawan niya naman ako nang tumunog ng telepono niya. Hindi niya ito sinagot bagkus binigyan niya ng huling tingin si Pin bago sumakay sa motorbike niya at pinaandar ito paalis. "Are you sure we should let him go just like that?" Cliff asked. "He's a Supreme," I replied blatanly and went inside leaving them mouth wide open.
***
The Night Queen
by jrhabellie