♥♡ CHAPTER 42 ♡♥

♡ Author's POV ♡

As he walked through the dark and creepy corridor, he couldn't help himself but to think that something might have happened to his brother, as well as his friend who saved him 28 days ago when he was about to be killed by the other member of the council named Sylester de Vera, known to be a genius and the one responsible for creating the gamble room where he always executes his dirty games of killings and torturings. 

Where the hell are you, brother? tanong ni Julez sa sarili niya habang nag-uumpisa na itong makaramdam ng takot. Magkasama lang sila na nakatago sa isang bakanteng laboratory kung saan hindi sila madaling mahahanap o makikita ng mga taong gustong pumatay sa kanila. 

But why do students really want to end Julez's life? Because probably of what happened to their building after they were all cursed by the girl whom Julez had always rejected since from the start. Wala silang ibang inisip kundi ang patayin siya. He was the source of all this accidents and in order for all of these events to stop, the source must be killed once and for all. All of a sudden, their plan of killing him stopped as the dreadful and cold-hearted leader of the most powerful group Blood Rebels came on their way to save their one and only target. It was Dean Carson who stopped the mess...but as one of the officers commanded na kung sino man ang makakapatay sa kanya, surely they would be saved with the help of the council. That's why, he became the target of many while others still can't try to attack him as they have known him for killing brutally and mercilessly. The merciless Dean Carson who came all the way to their building just to save his younger brother. Is he really that brutal and merciless when he came to save someone?

He came to save, not to kill.

Magkasama lang sila ni Julez but all of a sudden when Julez woke up, he found himself alone inside the laboratory. F*ck! Don't tell me it happened again?! He asked to himself dahil alam na niya kung ano ang nagiging sitwasyon ni Dean ngayon. He is not the scary Dean Carson anymore, he changed...a lot. Hindi alam ni Julez kung ano ang nangyari but one thing he knows, they need to go to the highest supreme territory dahil malaki ang posibilidad na bumalik si Dean sa dati. 

Kaagad siyang tumayo at maayos na inoobserbahan ang hallway habang hinahanap si Dean. He carefully took any step para lang mahanap ang taong tinuturing na niyang kaibigan, as well as his older brother just like Zorren. Naisip na lang niya that Dean came to save him, that's why he will find him no matter how many risks he would need to take. As he continued looking for Dean Carson, finally he stopped with his eyes widened in shock. 

There he saw Dean Carson with a girl, unknown girl. The girl was passionately kissing him while he was still unconcious of himself about the reality he was in. He totally became ruined and completely void of emotions.

"Get off of him!" sigaw ni Julez na agad itinulak ang babae papalayo kay Dean. 

"Leave him alone or else..."

"What?" tanong ng babae with a sarcastic smile not being affected of what Julez had told her. She was wearing a red dress which is above the knee showing a lot of her skin, with thick red lips and her red high heels which makes her look like a wh*re. A really bad b*tch!

She took one step again towards Dean while smiling badly at Julez, "One step, you b*tch! I'm f*cking serious!" Julez said as his eyes darkened in anger while looking at her. He took out his knife from his pocket and took a step towards the girl. Ang mala-demonyong ngiti ng babae ay biglang nawala ng makita ang itsura ni Julez, "One last breath." dagdag pa ni Julez kaya't napaatras ang babae habang nilalapitan siya nito hanggang sa wala na siyang maatrasan and her back, leaning against the wall. 

Itinutok sa kanya ni Julez ang hawak nitong kutsilyo sa kanyang leeg, enough for him to make the girl feel so scared and almost black out in fear, "Tell this to your dearest Sylvester, if ever something happened to Dean Carson, it will be the end for him also. Tandaan mo kung sinong kinakalaban niyo, the whole Blood Rebels groups will not retreat if ever something bad happened to their leader. And one thing..." mas lalo pa niyang itinutok sa leeg ng babae ang kutsilyo hanggang sa may tumulong dugo kasabay ng pagtulo ng luha ng babae, her bad beauty almost faded, "Stop seducing him o lumapit sa kanya. Warn everyone na kapag may nakita ulit akong lumapit sa kanya and take advantage of his weakness, I won't hesitate to kill, understand?" he said with an angry eyes and serious tone.

Julez changed a lot simula ng mawala si Zorren. He didn't want to be involved in any of the killings and torturings happening inside the campus. Simula ng ilipat siya sa Curse Building, pinili niyang magtago sa dilim at mamuhay ng tahimik not until when someone fell in love with him, becoming so obssess towards him. Kahit mahirap, pinili niyang huwag lumaban except if it is really necessary to fight, of course he will really fight for his life, in order to survive. 

Ngayon niya lang ulit nagawang manakot and to threaten someone because he knows, one of these days wala si Dean Carson sa sarili niya. If being like a monster once again is needed para lang makaligtas silang dalawa, then he won't hesitate to become a monster again. It only proves that everyone unleashed the beast inside Julez, turning him almost like one of the group.

Ibinaba na niya ang hawak niyang kutsilyo at nang tumakbo na ang babae papalayo sa kanya, he finally face his older brother. Dean Carson is panting, his white skin almost turning pale and his breathing is not normal, he was reaching for it as his sweat went down from his face to his neck. His lips whom Bliss Syden really misses a lot, turned pale and dry. They finally succeeded in turning him so ruined. He couldn't really remember what was happening around him. His blurry vision slowly consuming him. He couldn't even managed to see Julez clearly.

"Ano bang nangyayari sa'yo? Kung hindi ko kayo agad nakita, malamang ngayon pinatay ka na ng babaeng 'yon! They can always take advantage of your weakness, so come back to your senses!" he said angrily but keeping his voice down. F*ck! What did they do to you? Julez asked himself being so worried dahil sa sitwasyon ni Dean.

"Let's go back. It's not safe here...kuya." he said hesitantly. He really misses his older brother a lot and Dean Carson somehow resembles Zorren through Julez eyes. 

Inalalayan niya ito pabalik sa bakanteng laboratory kung saan sila madalas magtago. As he laid down Dean on the floor at sinandal sa malamig na pader, naririnig niya pa ang malalim na paghinga nito at wala pa ring pinagbago sa itsura niya, "Don't worry about me." finally Dean managed to speak kahit malabo pa rin ang paningin nito. He smiled a little bit which made Julez sighed in relief. 

"Kuya, kahit sino naman mag-aalala sa sitwasyon mo. Look at yourself, ano ba talagang nangyari? That day when you saved me, hindi ka naman ganyan." tanong nito at halata pa rin ang pag-aalala. When Dean saved Julez, hindi siya ganito. He was absolutely fine desperately wanting to save Julez..but now, everything has changed. On the third day na pabalik na sana sila, they could have managed to come back in time, but they couldn't just leave.

Dean didn't respond hanggang sa unti-unti nitong hinawakan ang ulo niya gamit ang dalawa niyang kamay, "It d*mn hurts!" halos wala na itong boses ng sabihin niya 'yon because of the pain, dahilan para mas lalo pa siyang pagpawisan and he almost screamed in pain, agony and misery but he chose not to let out a single word out of his mouth after he told Julez na nasasaktan siya. Clearly, no one can understand how much it really hurts. Siya lang ang nakakaramdam ng sakit na 'yon.

Nilapitan siya ni Julez and asked him, "What should I do?!" he almost panicked pero silang dalawa, alam nila na wala silang magagawa. Hindi sila makakilos knowing na silang dalawa ang target ng lahat. 

.....

Almost four weeks, walang araw na hindi sumakit ng sobra ang ulo ni Dean. No one knows kung bakit siya nagkakaganito. Only one thing na alam ni Julez, kailangan nilang pumunta sa Highest supreme territory building, alam niya kung sinong kailangan ni Dean. Clearly, it is Bliss Syden. Kahit si Julez, hindi niya magawang mapakalma si Dean. It really hurts seeing his 'kuya' being mentally tortured, physically tired and psychologically harmed. If you hadn't come to save me, then all this wouldn't have happened to you he said blaming himself for Dean's sufferings. 

...

(Flashback)

Binuksan nila ang pintuan at itinulak papasok sa loob ng isang kwarto si Julez. Nakatali ang mga kamay nito sa likuran niya that's why he lost control at tuluyang nadapa sa sahig. It hurts but he endured the pain. He was so sure na nasa harapan niya lang ang nagsalita kaya napatingala ito, "It's my pleasure to meet everyone's target. Casius Julez Estacion." he exactly knew who was the person right infront of him kaya napangiti na lang ito ng masama.

"Sylvester de Vera. What does the council want from me?" Julez asked habang nakatayo ang kausap niya at nasa sahig pa rin siya. 

"Everyone wants you dead, why?" Sylvester went down on his knees para tapatan si Julez.

"At bakit ko naman sasabihin sa'yo?" sagot ni Julez dito with an arch of his smile. He didn't really care kung anong gawin nila sa kanya, but he always has his contingency plan if ever they were planning to torture him, which is really possible to happen dahil hinuli nila siya under the command of the man infront of him. 

"At a young age like this, I didn't expect na ganyan ka na pala katapang." Sylvester said. It's really obvious na natutuwa siya sa ipinapakitang katapangan ni Julez. 

"Are you planning to kill me? Then do it now."

Tumayo si Sylvester and commanded his members who were also students, "Bring him up." he said kaya sinunod nila siya. When they finally managed to make him stand forcefully, napatingin siya sa buong kwarto, it was dark at isang ilaw lang ang nagbibigay liwanag sa kanya. Ang ilaw na 'yon ay nakatapat sa isang lamesa na nasa likuran ni Sylvester. There were chips on top of the table, chips that are always used for gamble and for other games.  

At bakit may ganito dito? He asked himself in confusion.

At the back of that gamble table, he was completely frozen when he saw someone. Sa pinakalikod ng kwartong 'yon, there was a man. Nakatayo ito but his face was hidden as he faced the cold floor. His both hands and feet were tied up with chains na nakakagawa ng ingay as those chains collided with one another with his every little move. He was full of blood at pinagpapawisan. His blood was still fresh dripping down all over his body. It's really obvious that he was tortured and he was completely in pain. Sinundan ni Julez ng tingin ang mga kadenang nakatali sa magkabilang kamay at paanan nito. At the end of those chains, there were wheels...which only means na kapag umikot ang mga wheels na 'yon, both his arms and feet will completely stretch against one another and it will cause his flesh to be torn apart when being forced.

"Shall we start?" he snapped when Sylvester's voice echoed inside the small room. 

Napalunok ito at nakaramdam ng kaba, "What do you mean?"

Sylvester smiled at pumunta sa likuran. Nilapitan niya yung lalaking nakatali para hawakan ang baba nito and he held him up dahilan para makita ni Julez kung sino 'yon. Julez wasn't surprised at the boy's face dahil hindi niya naman ito kilala but what made him more scared was because of the pain that the boy was in. He was completely tortured. 

"Wanna save him?" tanong pa nito habang masamang nakangiti kay Julez. Julez wasn't able to respond because he didn't even know the boy but he felt sympathy towards the pain and sufferings of the victim. 

"It's just simple." binitawan nito ang lalaki at lumapit si Sylvester sa lamesa para kumuha ng isang chip at maiging tinignan 'yon, "Play with me..." and he looked at Julez, "If you win, I'll release both of you. But if I win..." inihagis nito ang chip pataas kaya't umikot 'yon sa ere at ng pababa na ito, mabilis niyang sinalo 'yon, "You'll both be my victims for today and I will be your tormentor." at lumapad pa ang masamang pagngiti nito. 

Napalunok si Julez at muling napatingin sa kawawang biktima ni Sylvester. He didn't know what to do, he can play and take the risks if ever na matalo siya but he can't risks the boy's life. It's all in his hands. The life of the victim depends on him. 

"Let's start." as soon as his members heard him, sapilitan nilang ipinaupo si Julez sa pinakadulo ng lamesa habang nasa kabilang dulo naman si Sylvester. Tinanggal nila ang tali sa kamay ni Julez and Sylvester's eyes were so confident on winning while Julez was looking at him angrily. He hesitated to play because another life will be lost kung sakaling matalo siya. 

Sylvester explained to him the mechanics of the game. Same symbols are better than alternative ones but that's too impossible to happen saad ni Sylvester. Julez found out na kaya niyang talunin si Sylvester sa larong 'yon but he didn't have the confidence to play dahil alam niya ang ugali ng kalaban niya. There's a big chance and probability that Sylvester will cheat, to win this game. Hindi hahayaan ng council na basta-basta na lang silang matatalo. Until Julez realized na ang apat na members ni Sylvester ay nasa likuran niya mismo. This only proved that they would help Sylvester to win the game because their eyes were directly looking at Julez's hands where his playing cards were directly exposed infront of him. 

Another theory that built up in his mind was, what's the use na binabantayan nila siyang apat when the door was completely locked at mahirap tumakas. He can't even escape easily so they really planned to win this game and torture him by cheating and making sure that Sylvester would win the pathetic game. 

Surely, they have a way of communicating not through their voices but through their eyes. Julez said to himself while observing his surroundings. Sylvester is a genius but Julez...he is a complete genius. They both have glasses na inayos pa nila habang seryosong nakatingin sa isa't isa. 

Genius vs. complete genius. 

And with that...the game started.

....

After an hour of playing, inilapag ni Sylvester and tatlong huling baraha na hawak niya with a demonic smile drew on his face. When he finally placed the three cards, Sylvester was confident on winning the game he invented himself. Three cards, one king of heart, one king of diamond and one king of spade. Julez showed him a serious look at muling tinignan ang tatlong barahang hawak niya, "It's better to surrender." Sylvester said. Sumandal si Julez sa upuan nito at nagbuntong-hininga showing Sylvester that he lose the game, "You said earlier..." his eyes directly on Sylvester, "Same symbols are powerful than alternative ones, right?" 

"And so?" Sylvester asked in confusion. 

Pabagsak na ibinaba ni Julez ang tatlong baraha niya sa lamesa but still, hindi pa rin makita ni Sylvester and resulta dahil nakahawak pa rin ang kamay ni Julez doon, not really showing the results of his three lucky cards. Dahan-dahan niyang inialis ang kamay niya doon habang unti-unti itong ngumiti ng masama, "It's you who should surrender." saad nito and so the results of his cards were finally exposed. 

Sylvester's eyes widened as he did not expect what he had seen. Three lucky cards of Julez, one king of hearts, one queen of hearts and one jack of hearts. And so it is, same symbols are powerful than alternative ones. It's really impossible but for me it's not, Julez said praising himself for his victory.

"Now, do what you promised." Julez said seriously. 

Sylvester being defeated laughed out louder kaya nagtaka si Julez, "Okay! Okay! Release both of them!" in Julez mind, parang nabaliw ang kalaban niya in losing the game. Sylvester clearly underestimated Julez. Pinakawalan ng mga tauhan nito ang lalaki sa likuran kaya napaupo ito sa sobrang panghihina. Sinenyasan ni Sylvester na lapitan ni Julez ang lalaki kaya agad namang lumapit si Julez doon at inalalayan sa pagtayo ang lalaki. They started to walk para lumabas until Sylvester had speak.

"I didn't know that someone would defeat me that easily. That game was the most intense game I had. Go ahead, the door is open for the both of you." natigilan si Julez nang makitang maayos na umupo si Sylvester sa upuan nito at nagkibit-balikat pa and that moment, they stopped walking. Julez, the complete genius found out that something's wrong with Sylvester's actions. He was confident on winning the game against Julez pero natalo siya at nakita ni Julez and pagkabigla sa itsura ng kalaban niya.

Why does he look so calm after what happened? Hindi man lang siya naapektuhan. Julez asked in confusion. The moment he asked himself, he exactly knew what was the next plan of his enemy. 

Oh, I see. 

"It was a good game for me either." saad ni Julez na masamang nginitian si Sylvester. Hinarapan niya ang lalaking kasama niya na nanghihina pa rin at may ibinulong dito, "Kapag binuksan ko ang pintuan, don't hesitate to run and leave me. Run as fast as you can." bulong nito. Tinignan siya ng lalaki dahil nagtaka ito sa ibinulong ni Julez sa kanya. Tumango lang si Julez saying that it's okey at nag-umpisang magbilang, "One...two...three!" nang sabihin niya ang pangatlo, agad niyang binuksan ang pintuan at agad namang sumalubong sa kanila ang grupo ng mga lalaki. They were so agressive and Julez didn't let his guard down. 

Show them the monster that I've became. He said to himself in order to survive. 

Nilabanan niya ang grupo ng mga lalaki na haharang sana sa kanila but fortunately, that guy na kasama niya didn't hesitate and did what Julez had said to him kahit hinang-hina na siya. Marami siyang nakalaban at naisip niya na baka hindi na niya kayanin but still, he had to fight all of them lalo na ng subukan ng iba na habulin ang kasama niya pero hinarangan niya ang mga ito. That man was so weak, habang siya kaya niya pang lumaban kaya hindi niya hinayaang maabutan nila ang kasama niya. 

Naghabulan sila sa hallway and Julez at his age, hindi niya pa kaya ang mga kalaban niya lalo na't marami sila. He thought he would end there on his place dahil maraming beses itong natamaan ng kutsilyo sa braso niya at may tumama rin na tubo sa paanan niya kaya napasigaw ito sa sakit. 

A knife was about to stab his chest habang nakaluhod ito at hindi niya magawang makatayo because his feet were trembling in pain dahil sa pagkakatama ng tubo sa paanan niya. He waited for the pain but nothing came. Until he heard na unti-unting bumagsak ang mga tao sa paligid niya. Iminulat nito ang mga mata niya at isang kamay ang nakaabang sa kanya na parang tinutulungan siya nitong makatayo. Napatingala siya para tignan kung sino 'yon, "Get up there or else you will have to fight me, Julez." he knew this guy kaya nanlaki ang mata niya.

It was his 'kuya', 

Dean Carson. 

(End of flashback)

Okay pa naman siya noong mga oras na 'yon. But what happened now? Who did this to him? Julez asked himself habang nakatingin kay Dean. Halos mapasigaw na sa sakit ng ulo but still, he endured it but obviously, sobrang nasasaktan na siya. He was in so much pain and suffering. 

Who could have done this to him? What happened to the leader of Blood Rebels?

To be continued...