Alejandro's Hombre

Ch. 8: He found Him

the onslaught of continuous blows resonated on the corners of that filthy alley. the place reeked with the smell of rancid urine, spit and all things rubbish. the area is secluded on the left, but bare on the right. and the only thing that's giving light to the place is the one lamp post few meters away. and you can't count on that source of light, for it's not even working well. it keeps going on and off, so if a soul passes by, they won't notice not unless they'll look carefully to make out someone's silhouette.

and there, at the wide stretch of an abandoned hallway of what seemed like an old, salvaged building are several people: beating up one person. The person's arms are spread wide, both his arms are tied by a rope used to moor ships on the dock. the ropes are tightly knotted on two steel post, so the person won't be able to untie himself if he wants to escape. and since the rope are those that are used to moor a ship, just imagine how painful it is to the person being tied up, his wrists now dripping with blood due to the cuts the rope made on his skin. He's kneeling on the floor, head hung low. He's nearly lifeless.

"heads up, stupid ass!"

WHACK!

a baseball bat hit the person's abdomen, making him cough up blood. the red liquid splattered on the dusty and grimy floor. The person holding the bat inhaled the smoke from his cigarette and blow out the smoke vehemently. He then drop the cigar on the bloody floor, stomping his shoes on it.

"is he dead?" the other person asked the one facing their victim, looking at him passively. The guy turned to him.

"you check it out." the guy said, handing him the bat. "here. Your turn. sa 'yo sya may atraso, hindi ba? Ikaw naman ang gumawa, kanina pa namin tinrabaho yan."

The guy grab the bat, looking at the others in the place. these are the guys he payed to drag this one in this area, the abandoned street at Calle Encantador. He watched all this time how they drag him here, tied him up and beat him nearly to death. nagawa pa nitong manlaban nung una ngunit wala itong panama sa bilang nila. He's  like an aggressive dog being cornered.

He fisted the guy's hair, forcefully lifting his head. He smirked upon seeing seeing his face.

"you're not so handsome now, aren't you... Gabe? hmm?" he said, sneering at him. He squeezed Gabriel's face and without a word, the back of his hand hit the guy's already damaged face. "ang angas mo sa racetrack, alam mo ba yun? para kang kung sino, you act like the king. ngayon, tingnan natin hanggang saan yang angas na meron ka."

WHACK!

sumuka na naman ito ng dugo ng walang kaabog-abog nya itong hinampas ng baseball bat, sa parteng pinatamaan ng lalaki kanina. halos lugmok na ito kung hindi pa dahil sa tali na pumipigil sa katawan nitong bumagsak sa marumi at duguang sahig. hindi pa nakuntento, sinuntok nya ang kanang pisngi nito saka marahas na hinawakang muli at piniga.

"I'll make Estella regret of choosing you over me. Ikaw na walang tanyag na apelido at mahirap pa sa daga, you moronic slumdog." he hit Gabriel once again and spit on his shirt. "dito ka na mabubulok, Castanueva. hindi ka na sisikatan pa ng araw. at kung may makakita man sa 'yo dito... ang malamig mo na lang bangkay ang matatagpuan nila."

The guy turn his back but abruptly stopped when he heard a faint snigger. He's stunned to see that the beaten up man's shoulder is shaking. tumatawa ito. This enraged him even more. they have beaten him so bad, and yet he had the audacity to laugh like this?

"d-duwag. d-duwag.. ka... Patrick Tanut...chai." the guy lifted his head and spit out both blood and saliva. "you brainless motherfucker. you're an imbecile, idiotic coward. You c-can't fight me alone dahil alam mong... w-wala kang laban sa 'kin. duwag ka, w-wala kang bayag hayop ka---"