SOMA:
“Did being a Black Lotus fill a void in your heart? A void that no one else knew was there?” I was tempted to ask and so I do. It was mostly out of sentiment that I proceeded with that minutes later because I had to let him dwell in his regrets. There was no doubting how bad he feels about his action.
He turns around to stare at me in disgust. And to be honest, it made me feel like shit. “Why do you care?” he asks. “It’s not like you were not blessed to be outstanding in all things while I was not. So don’t come at me trying to make it seem like you’ll understand how I feel.”
“Have you always had a problem with me? I didn’t ask for any of this for me,”
“That... That right there is the problem I have with everything. You got all of that without requesting but it was given to the wrong person. You are the wrong person, Soma. And no matter how you try to look like you deserve it all, you don’t. It only became worse when I was forced to forget the idea of being the Alpha. Made me realize what ill luck I have,”
If I say I know what else to say, I would be deceiving myself because right now my head is blank. I can’t think of the proper words to put together so that he would at least hear what I have in mind. It kind of sucks real bad that I am face-to-face with a situation that is beyond me.
“Do you want to know another problem I have with you?” he starts to say again, making me look back up so he could speak out my flaws right in my face. Good thing that I am willing to listen. “I’ll tell you. You do not know how to keep things yourself. And the worst of it all is that you are too trusting. To be honest, I don’t understand how you choose the people around you but it seems you have no idea how it works. It’s like you cannot see through them,”
“Mark...” I blurt out, recalling the occurrence of today that had me realizing my best friend was here. “Does Mark have anything to do with this as well?”
“Your supposed best friend? Well, he does. And at the same time, he doesn’t. I was looking for a means of getting back my rightful position and that was when I thought of Mark. I was skeptical about it but decided to try my luck. Never knew he was vulnerable as hell that period. Turns out he was brooding about not getting a chance to be with you and so needed someone to talk to. I offered a listening ear and every information that got us to this day was spilled out by him. Yeah, your supposed best friend did most of the damage here,”
“And suddenly he knew it was his spilling that made the Black Lotus use Luis as a bait?”
“Not everyone is naive like you, little sister. A smart one like Mark knows how to put two and two together, which is not the case in your situation. You need to learn how to open your mind to a lot of other things than just fighting and strategizing. Although I’m sorry, you won’t be doing any of that after today.”
I try to get up from the chair but I cannot even move my hands as freely as I want to. I actually get up from this chair so I could at least face him off a little.
“Why not do it now, you coward? Prove how manly you are and finish the job this instant!” I growl.
He shakes his head, mockery laced on his expression. “If I was that desperate to finish you off, I would have done that at the immediate sight of you.” he then walks close to me while I am still growling. “I like to take my time. Taking my time made all of this possible. Just like I have always done, I will continue to do. And you won’t be the one to ruin my plan!”
And the punch he dishes right to my face sends me falling to the floor sideways along with the chair I am bound to.
Pain seeps through every of my skin and the feeling of betrayal starts to eat me up. I cannot help but brood over my situation, such that I do not think of it when he summons his men to free me and take me back to where I was taken out from.
My mind was not with them all the way. And it wasn’t until they roughly pushed me down to the floor in the previous hellhole did I finally react to the fact that I am still more like a prisoner. Until a decision is made on me.
After I have been bound to the floor of the room, they leave, and at the same time, my eyes fall on the jacket that I used to cover myself beforehand. So I proceed to pick it up from the ground and then cover myself up again.
“Soma,” my name is called and it is by Leonard, “are you okay? Did they do anything to hurt you?”
I shake my head, the hurt still filled in me. “No,” I say. “I’m fine.”
I keep looking at the floor for such a long time that I can say I lost count of the time. I feel so messed up now that I can’t think straight. And all the while, I am trying to understand how my flaws resulted in my brother becoming this jealous of me. Because what else can I call what he did if not jealousy?
I know I am not perfect. And no, I did not ask to be lucky with a lot of things in my life. But who am I to understand how nature works? And who is he to query nature?
“Turns out my brother is the mastermind behind all of this,” I announce to the hearing of everyone in here.
There is no sound from them all. Not even a gasp to show surprise from the announcement. That is until Leonard exclaims, “What the hell!”
I look at him, my eyes certainly filled with worry for them. I know he would be surprised and I am not surprised about it. Even I was a little although I was close to believing I was betrayed when I first saw Mark here. Don’t know if he’s still alive or even where he’s being kept if that is the case.
“I’m sorry I got you and your pack into this mess. I didn’t know your pack would be used as bait to get me here. I’m so sorry.” I apologize to Leonard. I cannot bear the guilt of knowing I am the reason they lost a lot of men on the day their pack was infiltrated.
“It’s not your fault. I’m sure you didn’t such a thing would happen. It was certainly unforeseen,”
“Thank you, Leonard. If we eventually make it out of here, I promise to make it up to your pack. Trust me,”
“Of course, you will,” and he gives me the creepy smile of his again. But for the very first time, I do not react negatively to it. Instead, I give him back a smile, which is a tiny little bit. “So what did he say to you?”
“Nothing other than reiterate what Luis has said initially about falling into their trap of getting me here. Although I found out he did everything because of jealousy. My blood brother is jealous of me and I still cannot process it.”
“Anything is possible,” Leonard says in response. “He’s got feelings too. And so when things do not seem to be going his way but us doing that instead for someone that close to him, he is going to feel the pain from it.”
“Doesn’t warrant him doing this. He's caused a lot of damage and you know that. Wait, are you trying to justify his actions?”
“I am not justifying anything. Trust me, I know what I’m trying to get with this. I do not want you to see him as a monster with no mindset. The problem is that he made the jealousy consume him and that is the wrong thing a man with dignity should do,”
I am not intrigued with his act to play wise here. I have a lot of things to worry about and not this kind of act. What I need isn’t a justification for my brother’s wrongs. I need to find a means to get out of here before I get killed.
“Did you find out where the rest were kept?” Leonard brings me back to him with his questioning.
“No,” I say. “Perhaps you could ask Luis as he was here before us.”
And Leonard proceeds to do that but to our surprise, he responds in a way that I do not understand. “What others are you talking about?” was what he says. And it takes a lot of willpower not to look at him in disgust.
“The others that were taken out of the pack with you. Surely you do not think you were the only warrior taken out of the pack,” Leonard is calm with his statement and I must commend him for that.
“I do not know of the others that were taken with me. All I know is that my best friend was killed right in front of me. That is enough burden for me to handle and not some other warriors that I have no attachment with asides being from the same pack,”
So, that was his best friend? Oh geez. This situation is getting worse at every passing minute. Until a little glam of hope flashes through my mind.
“Luis, do you still have my gear with you?” I suddenly ask after recalling it.
“What gear?” he seems confused as he raises his brows at me.
“My gear... That bracelet-like thing I gave to you before we left for this mission,”
“Hmph,” he hums, and then I watch him roll up the sleeve of his shirt. And after that he pulls something out from it, holding it up for me to see. “Are you talking about this?”
“Yes,” excitement is laced in my voice when I respond.
“What’s the usefulness?”
“Hand it over first,” I tell him, “you’ll find out later.”