MHIAMB Fanshot #13

BLACK ORGANIZATION AND THE HUNT
MHIAMB Fanshot #13
[September 12, 2018]


—

KATANA's NARRATION

  The clattering of our swords echoed in the quiet area of woods. I kicked her from below that made her almost stumble. One more turn and I slashed her knee. She jumped backwards but barely dodged my attack. As I have expected, the girl fall onto her knees and screamed for pain.

  Itinapon ko na ang hawak kong espada sa damuhan saka binunot ang baril na nasa tagiliran ko at dahan-dahang naglakad palapit sa kaniya. "No more play, kiddo."

  She looked at me helplessly, begging for her life. But I am too drowned in anger to consider having mercy and spare bullcraps. She must still be thankful though because she would have to live longer. I hit her hard on her head enough to make her fall unconscious to the ground. She would have to live longer to endure the torture that awaits them.

  Using my blade, I made a cut on the girl's forehead that has been covered with a black group headband. Dahilan 'yon para matanggal ang tumatakip sa noo nya at makita ang isang number na nakatattoo doon. Her number in their assassins group.

  I turned on the earpiece of my receiver by pressing its only button on my ear and gave an update. "Assassin #12, down." I looked around the quiet forest after making sure the assassin's unconscious. There are still preys roaming around and I would still have to look for them. I got to find the big catch.

   Several assassination attempts to our lives and to the ones important to us. All done by an underground assassins group. Black Organization wouldn't spare these kind of adversary. And we wouldn't kill them as well so easily. By Raven's skill, we have found this place. Their hideout.

  I ducked when a boomerang almost hit me. I turned to where it came from and a girl in assassin's suit greeted me with a swung her blade onto me. I managed to avoid it. Well, barely. Hinawakan ko ang cheek bone ko nang maramdaman ang hapdi. Nadaplisan.

  This is a game. Black Organization attacked the hideout of these assassins at this night. However, our aim is not their death. We have to keep them alive. Assassins are hired. And so, these must be tortured to death until they speak of truth. There were 14 of us from Black Organization and this hideout has 25 assassins. Since we wouldn't kill them yet, we decided to play this hunt. Paramihan. We are the predators in the very home of our preys.

  Bumagsak ako sa damuhan nang talunan ako ng babae. I held her hands that have been holding a blade to stop her from stroking it straight to my eyes. Tinuhod ko ang tyan nya but she was on guard. Damn. I gathered my strength and pushed her up. It was strong enough to make her fly away from me. The bad case, she was caught by neck of someone's arms. Nang sundan ko kung sino, nakita ko si Lindsay. And before I could even react, she already hit the assassin's nape to make her fall onto unconsciousness. Just like what I did earlier, she took her blade and made a cut on her forehead to take a glimpse on her number. When she saw the number, she held the receiver on her ear and updated.

  "Assassin #5, down."

  I scoffed. "Nicely played." I sarcastically commented. I was the one who fought and she got the point.

  She chuckled and approached me to offer her hand. "C'mon, there are still lots of them around." Aniya.

  Tinanggap ko naman ang kamay nya saka kami nagpalitan ng mabilis na pagtango at walang salitang nagpatuloy sa pagtakbo. Fast yet quiet. The perfect run for our likes. And through the years, Lindsay and I already mastered the said technique.

  "How many are still alive?" I asked in the middle of running.

  She glanced at me and replied. "Probably around 7."

  "That's unusual. We already spent 30 minutes and there are still some around." I turned to the right and Lindsay followed. There were a lot of woods and the place is still dark under the midnight moon but we could see everything.

  "Well, they are highly-trained assassins and this is their home ground." Lindsay replied. "Marunong kang umakyat ng puno?" Bigla'y tanong nya. That is probably because of...

  I gave her a look. "Oh, yes."

  At gaya nga ng naiisip ko, yung unang pares ng matangkad na punong nadaanan namin ay parehas naming mabilis na inakyatan. She was in the left tree and I was in the right one. I had a rope with me, tied on my waist, and so as she. Nagpalitan lang kami ng sandaling tingin bago naghiwalay ng daan. Using the ropes, I jumped from my tree to another three. I am in my assassin outfit like the others so moving wouldn't be a hardship and at this height, I could see everything.

  I stopped upon seeing Amber and Grayson below. They were fighting three assassins. The assassins were good. Nakakasabay sila sa galaw nina Amber at Grayson. So, they receive a lot of attack knowing that it was a 2 vs. 3 combat.

  I took my gun and loaded it. To avoid wasting time, I shot the knee of one of the assassins. That made them all turn to my direction. Ikinagulat ko nalang ang mabilis na pagtapon ng mga kutsilyo papunta sa direksyon ko. I jumped with the help of the rope from the tree to the ground to avoid the blades.

  We had no time to do the greetings. Now, the number's equal. Yung pinaputukan kong assassin ang agad na sumugod sa akin. Taking his wound as an disadvantage, nagpadulas ako pababa sa damuhan at sinipa sya mula sa ibaba. He was caught off guard and so, he ended up falling onto the ground. I wasted no time and bestowed him a jab. Siniko ko rin ang panga nya dahilan para tuluyan syang mawala sa ulirat. To end the situation, I hit his neck to the right spot.

  Nawalan sya ng malay. I immediately check the band on his forehead to learn its number. I held my earpiece device and announced. "Assassin #21, down."

  Tumayo na ako mula sa pagkakaibabaw sa walang malay na assassin nang biglang tumama sa akin ang isang katawan. It was Amber's opponent. Before I could do what Lindsay did, Amber already shot the assassin to its knees. Bigla naman akong kinapitan ng lalaki sa leeg, sinusubukang tanggalan ako ng malay. It was easy for me to kick him away. He fall and Amber ran to us.

  She was so excited which is why she didn't realize his remaining conscious vision. Dahil pagkalapit na pagkalapit nya ay itinaas ng lalaki ang isang baril. Marahil ay kanina pa nya tinatago. My initial reaction was to raise my gun and shoot the guy's hands and so I did. But that wasn't Grayson's reaction. Tinakbo nya ang distansya nila ni Amber para itulak si Amber at iiwas sa bala. Simultaneously, we did. Amber was kept safe. Ibinaba ko na ang baril na hawak ko.

  "Okay ka lang?" Tanong ni Grayson na nakapaibabaw kay Amber.

  But Amber wasn't a normal lady. She pushed Grayson hard. "OO! Okay lang ako kahit wala ka!" Tumayo na sya at pinagpagan ang sarili. Alright, that's double meaning, Amber. "Kaya pwede ba? Ha? Wag mo nang subuk-subukan dumikit sa kagandahan ko? Tabi nga!" Hinawi nya si Grayson at naglakad papunta dun sa lalaking binaril ko. She hit him with his heels, hard enough for the guy to be unconscious. Really hard.

  Nilingon naman ako ni Grayson. "Hindi ko alam na darating ka, Katana."

  Kinabit ko ang panibagong magazine sa baril ko at pinagtaasan sya ng dalawang kilay. "Why? Did I interrupt your moment?"

  He let out a short chuckle. Hindi pa sya nakakasagot ay sumingit na naman si Amber. "Wengya, Katana, ha! Kung pwede lang? Ha? Walang 'moment' at lalong walang 'kami'!" Sinipa na naman nya ang isa sa mga wala na ngang malay na assassin. "Masyado akong maganda para pumatol pa ulit sa g*go." Sabi pa nya bago inupdate ang kabilang linya tungkol sa mga assassins.

  Napailing nalang ako. Grayson walked and then, he suddenly stepped onto something. Nagkapalitan kaming tatlo ng tingin at bago pa may makapagsalita, isang net na ang mabilis na bumalot sa amin at hinila kami pataas sa isang puno!

  "Damn, this is fucking old-school!" I yelled out of annoyance. Siksikan kami sa loob ng net at ang likot ni Amber!

  "Amber, stop moving, will you?!" Grayson voiced out what I wanted to say.

  "Kasalanan mo 'to eh! Hindi naman masasama ang kagandahan ko dito kung hindi kita nakasalubong!"

  "What the he---"

  "You two, shut up! Or else, I'll be the one to kill you both." Inis na sabi ko dahilan para manahimik naman na sila. Tumingin ako sa ibaba. "This is their trap. We should wait for their arrival."

  I held my receiver and updated the others our situation and the changes in plan. Ilang sandali lang, gaya ng inaasahan ay nagpakita sa ibaba namin ang dalawang assassin. They removed their mask and right then, I knew that they were the leaders of this assassins group. The twins. Maria Elizea and Trixia Eunice Aborde. They gave us that winning smirk.

  "The game's over, Black Organization." Ani Maria Elizea.

  I rolled my eyes. "No, our hunt's over." Right after I told them that, biglang lumipad ang isang mahabang blade papunta sa dulo ng net na nagtatali sa aming tatlo at bumagsak kami sa damuhan. The three of us groaned in unison.

  The twins looked around to know where the blade came from. They were back in their fighting stunt. Tumayo na ako kasabay nina Amber. That's when Kuya Trigger and the rest of Black Organization exposed theirselves from the shadows of the forest.

  "Trapped in your own trap?" Bungad ni Kuya Trigger.

  "No, they were not just literally trap." Sagot naman ni Trixia.

  Nagulat kami nang may mga umatake mula sa itaas, mula sa madilim na mga parte ng puno. There were bullets! Dammit. We had no choice but to run yet the bullets are still coming after us. Kayden suddenly threw something at the center of the field. It was a flash bang. Napuno ng usok ang lugar at sapat iyon para magtago sa mga umuulang bala.

  "Don't think you can run away from us." Nakarinig ako ng boses sa likuran ko.

  I was alert enough and trained enough to realize the attack from behind. I was able to dodge it by kicking Elizea away from me. Sa kabila ko naman ay umatake bigla si Trixia. Fucking bitches! Sabay silang sumugod at umikot ako kasabay ng isang malakas na sipa.

  I tried to look for my guns but they were gone. So I proceeded to my last resort, the blades on my vest. Hinugot ko ang mga iyon sa lalagyanan at parehas na hinawakan. Hanggang siko ko ang haba ng mga blade. It was also enough to attack and defend myself from the twins' attack.

  We were all dancing in the smoke, feeling each other's presence and predicting one's attack. My blades were the only ones I could rely on. I was wounded not once but twice. The advantage isn't in my side this time. They are armed with guns and I am outnumbered.

  I turned to avoid another bullet. Unti-unti nang nawawala ang epekto ng flash bang kaya mas nadadalian na din akong makita sila. When I saw Elizea attacking me again, I fell onto my knees and just right on time, I swung my blade to cut her knees. She screamed from pain and that was enough to take her down. Isusunod ko naman si Trixia.

  Kaso paglingon ko sa pwesto nya ay nakita ko na syang walang malay at nakabulagta. Nang hanapin ko ang attacker ay nakita ko naman si Emerald. She gave me a wide smile and a peace sign. The kind of childish smile that wouldn't make you think she kills people.

  "Hehe. She said kasi na Baby Caliber doesn't like me daw, future sis eh."

  "Tss." Isn't that true?

  Hindi ko na sya binalingan ng tingin bagkus ay inikot ko ang mata ko sa lugar. Wala na ang usok na galing sa itinapong flash bang ni Kayden. Everyone in the first 14 of Black Organization was here, panting while looking around. Tired and wounded but proud.

  "The hunt is over." Kuya Trigger announced and gave all of us a quick look. "Shall we now proceed to the execution of these assassins?"