Lash
WE WATCHED the rescue team put Damien's body down. Artemis was crying while hugging Anya, burrying her face on her friend's hair as Anya bawled. I caressed her back.
"Can you bring Anya downstairs, please? You aren't allowed to watch the whole process of this," I whispered to her.
There was a glimpse of disapproval on her face, but she still nodded and guided her friend away from the crime scene.
I watched their backs. I sighed and refused to look at the body of my friend again. The SOCO team closed the black bag, finally hiding Dam's body.
"Can I ask you some questions, Sir?" The investigator with a notebook approached me.
I nodded.
The interrogation started and I answered the questions as much as I can. I gave them information including our background before we came here in our new orphanage.
"We were brought here by our previous orphanage's company since it's going bankrupt, it was not supported by the government. It was a charity program," I said.
"Do you know anyone that had conflicts with the victim?"
I shook my head. "We were friends since we were todlers. We never met someone that we had conflicts with."
"Do you know anything about his family background?"
I shook my head. "We've been an orphan since we were new born."
The investigator nodded and closed his notebook. "Thank you so much for the cooperation, Sir. Our deepest condolences..."
He offered me his hands. I accepted it and I saw his scorpion tattoo on his wrist.
I accompanied the team. People in the living area were already crying, together with the nuns, and of course, Father Erick who ran to pray on Damien's body which was already inside the black bag.
"Miss Claudia..." I called her. She looked at me with her bloodshot eyes, she was holding her rosary. "Does the CEO and President know about this?"
She shook her head. "The CEO won't answer our calls. The President sent this team, and he already prepared people who would arrange Damien's funeral. This is truely heartbreaking..."
"Our lives here are at risk. Mister Castro should be here!" My voice raised a little.
"I'm afraid he won't acknowledge this-"
"Miss Claudia..." I almost sounded pleading. I can't believe the CEO could do this to us?! How could he act unbothered by this?
"I know... That's why we're formulating a plan ourselves. The CEO's secretary called. He said he won't be available for the whole week, he's in business trip-"
"How about the life that lost? How about the lives here? Is he really going to..." I trailed off. I felt frustrated. I felt helpless. "Is he abandoning us this time? Is he planning to let us get all killed in his own built home?!"
"Hijo!" Miss Donna ran towards us and she sounded so worried at my sudden outburst. "What are you saying? Calm down!"
"Where's the CEO?! He is the one who should be helping us in times like this! How come the President is more concerned than he is! There are many lives at risk, it is not just us teenagers, but there are kids in this orphanage! This is obviously a serious matter!" Aeron, the same age as me, protested.
"I agree, Miss Claudia, Miss Donna! For sure, the culprit didn't do this just to warn us, he or she is obviously starting his or her plan! Are we all gonna die?!" a girl shouted.
Everyone panicked at what she said.
I massaged my temples. Fuck...
"Settle down, everyone. Let's wait for more hours, for sure the CEO would address this problem. He's probably just busy," Father Erick said.
My eyes roamed to look for Artemis. I panicked a bit when I didn't see her in the crowd.
Shit!
I left the on going chaos. I saw Anya hugging Father Erick! That made me more nervous.
Where's Artemis?!
I didn't know where to start first. Is she in the kitchen? In her room?! For sure she'll get scared if she goes there all by herself!
I roamed all over the ground floor first and I entered the female bathroom. There...
I gasped for air, I was panting the whole time in so much nervousness.
"Are you okay, baby?" I ran to her to check on her. She was throwing up while crying and shaking. I rubbed the small of her back. "Artemis, what happened?"
She shook her head. Her thick and long eyelashes flicked as she blinked. I watched her pale lips.
She threw up again. I scooped a handful of her long hair and held it with my right hand so that it won't get wet. I opened the faucet and scooped a water so that I could wash her face with it gently.
She held my hand that wahsed her face. "I-I can do it..."
"Let me..." I insisted and she let me do it for her. "Are feeling okay now?"
She nodded weakly. I sighed and pulled a tissue from its roll on the wall. I patted it gently on her face, making sure to not cause any redness on her delicate skin.
"You need to rest. I'll send you to your room and bring you your dinner-"
She held my hand and I let go of her hair. It kind of became wavy now from my hold. She looked up at me.
"I'm scared... L-Lash, I'm scared," she said, tears streaming down her face.
My heart tightened. It was as if I made a goddess cry. It pained my chest, it weakened my whole being. Her tears... is my biggest fear and weakness.
"This place... I thought this is my safe space, my home... But it all changed now, Lash... I see it as a nightmare now! What happened today... is not part of what this place should be! This huge place... is hell!" she said hysterically, I could feel her panic and fear.
I reached for her hands. "I'm sorry..."
She pushed my chest with her small fists. "Then, what's next now?! Who's going to be the next victim?! I heard what Miss Claudia s-said! Mister Castro abandoned us! He doesn't care about us-"
"Artemis, you have me and the sisters... I'll do anything... We'll find a way to solve this. We can ask help from the cops," I assured her, trying to convince myself that this problem is as simple as asking for help.
I don't think cops could solve this. Mister Castro is a business tycoon, I heard. This mystery, these crimes are not just a simple crime where a random person thought of commiting, this is a well-planned one.
If he's into business, huge business... That means huge enemies... That surely want to bring him down by ruining his image.
This orphanage program is one of his major source of good image, and if this gets ruined, his whole image in the entire globe will be affected.
And if he really abandoned us, that just leads us to the real answer.
His enemies are big evils he couldn't tame. He's probably out of the country now, hiding and saving his ass.
Leaving us here, as a bait to mislead his enemies.
"Shh..." I combed her hair as she burried her face on my chest. "Remember what I promised?" My voice softened. I forced myself to erase my worries and anger for a bit. She doesn't need any negativity for now, her young mind is exhausted from all these problems.
She's too young to understand all of this.
She nodded.
"I'll make sure that we'll gonna solve this. Father Erick won't let us down and die in here. We'll get out of this organization... together," I oathed.
"But what if... Father Erick and other adults doesn't want to carry us, or they don't want to be in trouble, what are we gonna do?"
Even I, don't know what to do if that ever happens.
Uncertain, I was able to speak.
"We'll escape on our own."
We went out and I made her sleep on the sofa. Artemis doesn't want to sleep in her room, and so do I. I won't let her be alone during this time.
Father Erick and I were sitting on the sofa, trying to contact Mister Castro when suddenly, there was a sudden commotion.
"Leonarda!" Miss Donna's voice.
Everyone got alarmed. I saw Miss Leonarda, crying silently while pulling a suitcase.
"What are you thinking? How could you!" Miss Donna said in so much distress and disagreement.
"I'm so sorry..." Miss Leonarda said coldly, never looking back at us and went out of the door without any other word. Miss Donna followed her.
"Is s-she leaving us?" Anya asked.
I looked at Artemis who's peacefully sleeping on my lap. I sighed.
It's starting now.
"Mister Castro won't pick up his phone," Father Erick said, hopeless. "I received text messages from the officers. They said the investigation is still going on. Mister President sent more guards. Also, he already reported this to the higher-ups, but still no response from Mister Castro."
"Why weren't the guards able to notice the intruder?" I asked Father.
That doesn't feel right. Is someone pretending to be on our side?
"I question that, too, hijo..." He shook his head. "Let's pray more... God is what we truly need this time. He won't let us be in danger."
I bit my lower lip.
As the night deepened, Mister Castro's number became unreachable anymore, meaning, he must have threw his Sim Card, or his phone away.
I lost hope. He obviously left us hanging.
"Damien was cremated," Miss Claudia announced, making Anya burst into tears.
I clenched my jaw. If only I have the power...
The days went by fast. I didn't fall asleep for too long. My naps were like minutes. I felt like anytime soon, there will be a sudden attack.
I planned for days, I formulated how to escape with nearly fifty children. I figured out that it would be hard. I couldn't handle all of that all by myself.
Miss Donna followed what Miss Leonarda did. She left. No words, no explanation, she just left.
The next days were even tougher. The President stopped sending the guards, making the whole orphanage unprotected.
"Lash..." Artemis woke up in her deep sleep one midnight. She cupped my face with her two hands. I was sitting on the edge of her bed. "Lash, you have to sleep..."
I smiled at her. "Don't worry about me. Go back to sleep now, Art," I said and fixed her blanket to make her feel more comfortable.
She shook her head. "Please?"
I don't think I can. Our food supply is running out, even the sisters contributed their own money so that we could survive since the President stopped sending the budget for the orphanage. He's also unreachable now. And other nuns left, only Miss Claudia and Father Erick are left with us.
How could I sleep when I know nearly fifty children is unprotected here? How could I afford to rest when I know... a ten minute sleep could harm this girl in front of me?
I can not risk that.
"Should we run away now?" I whispered, looking at her eyes intently.
Her eyes widened. "H-Huh?"
I bit my lower lip. "Let's run away now..."
"How about... the o-others?"
She's right. And where will be our destination after running away?
"Let's run away, all of us," I said.
"We should tell them," she agreed.
That's what we did. I don't know if this is a stupid idea but it's better to leave this place now. I don't even know if Father Erick and Miss Claudia will agree about this. But we can actually ask help from the government.
I actually don't know...
"Are you stupid?" A small boy scoffed at Artemis. That pissed me off a bit.
"Hey," I warned the little boy.
"Do you think we're safe outside the orphanage?" another one said.
"We won't leave Father Erick and Miss Claudia here!"
"We'll only starve outside!"
"Stupid decision!"
I pulled Artemis out of the kitchen, where we decided to tell everyone about our plan.
This isn't working.
"Should we leave them?" I asked her.
She looked at me with a shocked expression. "Lash..."
"Do you trust me?" I caressed her chin. "Let's escape this place, Artemis. I'll find a job, I'll let you go to school... We'll live outside and escape from this mess..."
She shook her head. "Lash, no, I can't leave them-"
"We'll find your family," out of desperation, I said. I regretted it a lot when I saw her pained eyes.
She looked down.
Fuck! Dumbass, Lash!
"I-I'm sorry... I'm-"
"If we escape this place together, Lash, I'm only gonna be a burden to you... I'm only fifteen, I don't know anything in this world yet. But... I wanna live..."
Her words pierced through my heart.
"But I think you're right," she chuckled out her sadness. "Let's get away from here-"
"Are you out of your mind, Art?"
We both looked at our side and saw Anya, looking at us with disbelief.
"You're planning to escape?"
Artemis walked to her. "Anya... Let's escape from here... Let's move out before everything is too late-"
"How could you?! You're alive because of this orphanage, Artemis, how could you leave this just because... Lash promised you a good life outside?!" Anya spat.
"Ayna," I called her but her anger bursted.
"Are you guys eloping?! Oh, my God?!" She laughed sarcastically. "A ninteen-year-old man... Eloping with a fifteen-"
"Shut the fuck up, Anya," I said, pissed.
This little girl obviously was not there earlier when Artemis announced our plans. And heck, she's obviously not thinking straight. I understand that Damien's death affected her mentally, and she might not understand anything in this situation due to her emotions.
"Lash!" Artemis warned me.
"You traitors!"
"Hey! What's happening here?!" Miss Claudia heard the argument.
That night ended vaguely.
I formulated another plan the whole night. The next morning, Artemis assured me something that boosted my spirit.
"Let's follow your plan... Let's escape here..." She smiled through the obvious pain.
"Together," she added.
We were in my room the night we decided to escape, I already plotted the plan. It was all perfect.
But the moment we were already preparing to leave and was about to run away from the orphanage, there was a sudden explosion.
"Fuck!" I shouted and hid behind the wall, with Artemis between my thigh.
And everything slipped away from my hands.