Slave Of Destiny

by Derek Easterbrook

  “What, just an Australian and one Filipino girl. Get real! Ask the Australian government to help you” they suggested as they dismissed him.

  It had taken him several hours to get back to Angeles City and arrange the volunteers for the search. They all knew it was NPA territory, but they were all too upset with what their own people had done to one of their own.

  He pulled up the old jeepney when he couldn’t drive any more. This was about where the NPA stopped the bus and walked into the cane field. He watched the lightning flashing above the mountain in front of him. He hefted the backpack, unzipped it and felt for the pistol. He studied it for a minute before jamming it in his pocket.

  “Are you gonna use it, Papa?” Juni asked him.

  “If I have to. Only if I have to” he mumbled as the volunteers gathered around him. “Are you ready, men?”

  Every one nodded their heads, so they set off. He hated leaving his jeepneys in the jungle at night, but Juni and Boy were going to remain with them. The sun would be rising soon, so they should be alright.

  “Ok, the five of you walk up there. When you find a trail going into the jungle; follow it. Casama, you select five people to go that way. Those who remain can follow me. I don’t have to remind you to be careful” He said grimly.

  * * *

  Rain began to cascade down as lightning flashed behind them and Michael began to mouth his disappointment. “What else is going to hinder our progress?”

  His muscles ached and he was tired, but he pressed on; too tired to care about snakes and other dangerous creatures. Morning arrived; its weak light barely penetrating the overcast sky. Michael stumbled and nearly dropped his precious load.

  “I have to rest for a while. I need a piss” he mumbled wearily, as he put Sally down.

  “Yea, I have to pee too” she added.

  Michael helped her off with her pants, but he knew she couldn’t squat.

  “Sit on my legs and pee between them” he suggested.

  Awkwardly he helped her sit on his legs and she tried to pee. The urine burnt like acid, but she continued to empty her bladder; muffling her cries. One of her eyes was swollen, her face was puffy and her lips were split and bruised, but she was alive.

  “Is there any water” she asked him as he helped her with her pants.

  “Yea, there’s a small bottle in the pack” he mentioned.

  Michael removed the pack, fumbled around for the bottle then passed it to her.

  “That’s all we have” he said as another rumble of thunder sounded in the distance.

  Michael walked a few steps away from Sally and unzipped his pants. As he relieved himself, he wondered what horrors she had been through. Michael had heard her wince with pain as she peed, so he assumed the soldiers must have raped her. How in the hell did she manage to kill all of them? She quietly passed him the bottle of water and he took a sip, recapped it and slipped it back in the pack. Michael walked over to check on her wounds, but it was still too dark see anything properly. Sally had passed out and, when he tried to wake her, she mumbled something incoherently. The bandages were still in place and they were wet; either from the rain or soaked with blood.

  “We have to keep going” he mumbled to himself, when he decided she was in shock. “I won’t let you die.”

  Michael scooped her up in his arms and continued away from the mountain of hell. Sally felt hot; as if she was burning up. Please don’t die. He carried her as quickly as he could; the track easier to see with every passing minute. Suddenly he had a dilemma. The trail he had been following petered out and he couldn’t see any way through the thick jungle. Michael eased Sally to the ground and tried to make her comfortable. He walked up and down the track, but he couldn’t see any way through.

  It was an enormous relief when Michael saw a beautiful woman walking up to them. As she approached Michael could see she had long black hair and white flowing robes, but there seemed to be something unusual about her; something he just couldn’t work out.

  “Come this way” she whispered; her voice pure and sincere.

  “Who are you?” Michael asked hesitantly.

  “I am your protector. Come this way” she suggested as she turned around.

  Michael quickly scooped up Sally and followed their savior.

  “Why are we going this way, because we have already travelled this path” he asked, becoming worried.

  “You will be safe with me” she whispered in that same sincere, almost-singing voice.

  They travelled back along the path for about five hundred yards; until it paralleled the edge of a small stream. Without warning Sally began trembling violently, before weakly opening her eyes.

  “Mariang Sinukuan!” she whispered, before passing out again.

  Magically the bushes parted to reveal another trail across the stream and their savior led the way. Michael found an inner strength from the knowledge that Sally knew the person leading the way and he pressed on.

  Twenty minutes later the woman stopped and turned around.

  “I have to go now. Follow this trail and you will be safe” she whispered in the clear sincere voice.

  Sally groaned, so Michael looked at her to see if she was alright. When he looked back up their savior had disappeared. He was bewildered how she could have moved so swiftly, because it had only been a matter of a few seconds he had taken his eyes of her. Michael kept following the trail, but all of a sudden he heard shouting, somewhere in front of him. “Saleeee. Saleeee, Saleeee.”

  “Over here” he yelled as loud as he could; hoping it wasn’t the NPA.

  Sally stirred in his arms, shivered and then she was still again. The clouds had begun to clear above his head and the sun’s rays pushed through the gaps on the eastern horizon as he continued his journey. It must have been about 6 am. Suddenly a group of five people emerged in front of him. Michael didn’t recognize any of them.

  “Salee?” one of them enquired.

  “Yes!” he said, sounding relieved.

  “I am Casama. Capuno, carry Salee” he ordered.

  “No! I will continue to carry her” Michael shouted. “Please carry my pack. We may need its contents.”

  Michael didn’t realize how heavy the backpack was until Capuno slipped it off his arms.

  “How far do we have to go?” Michael asked the leader.

  “Maybe less than one mile” he replied.

  The group set off again. Michael was bone tired and his fingers were numb, but he wanted to be the one who carried her to her family. Casama spoke softly on a two way radio; alerting the other searchers that he had found the two of them. Forty minutes later they emerged out of the jungle and into some farmland.

  “That way” Casama pointed. “You want us to help?”

  “No, not at the moment” Michael struggled to say. “How far now?”

  “Maybe five hundred yards” he suggested.

  Michael carried his wife proudly along the narrow track which skirted a cane field and then they entered the bushes again. The vegetation wasn’t thick here which suggested it once had been farming land. He soon realized that the plants around them were in fact crop trees, but the land hadn’t been maintained in a long time. Four hundred yards later the group came across a clearing and Michael recognized Boy and Juni.

  “How is my sister?” Juni asked.

  “She’s lost a lot of blood and she needs to see a doctor. Can we lie her down in the back of the jeepney?” he asked.

  Boy cleared the right bench seat, while Juni and Michael carried Sally in through the open back of the vehicle. He could see the other helpers in the distance; returning to their point of origin. Honesto came out of the bush with his group and ran over to them.

  “Oh my gosh. What happened?” he asked.

  “Sally needs to see a doctor, because she’s lost a lot of blood. We have to go now” Michael stressed.

  “Ok we go now to the General Hospital” he said.

  Nothing more was said. Everyone
piled into the two jeepneys and began their slow journey back to Angeles City.

  * * *

  They were at the Angeles City General Hospital and Sally had been rushed into surgery. Michael sat down with Honesto and Corazon to wait for some good news.

  “Who is Mariang Sinukuan?” he asked deliberately.

  “Why do you ask?” Honesto enquired; looking at him.

  “Well….I saw her” Michael said.

  “What are you trying to tell me” Honesto said curiously.

  “A woman with long white robes helped us when I became lost and she showed us the right path. Sally whispered her name” Michael said.

  Honest explained to him the legend of Mount Arayat. It was a myth that had been handed down through the generations. Mariang Sinukuan was God fairy who provided fruit and vegetables for the people. The mountain was covered in fruit trees and vegetables grew wild. She provided for them all the time and the people never went hungry. He went on to say that some men went against her wishes and stole from her, so she stopped providing food to the people and they went hungry” he explained.

  “You’re trying to tell me I’ve seen a fairy” Michael scoffed.

  “How else do you explain her presence?” he suggested; shrugging his shoulders and raising the palms of his hands in an upward motion.

  The doctor came out through the doors and said “She is very weak, but she will be alright.”

  “Can I see her?” Michael asked before anybody could talk.

  “And who are you?” he asked.

  “I’m her husband and these are her parents” Michael explained.

  “No one can see her today because we’ve given her morphine. She’s very weak and is in intensive care. Maybe tomorrow” he said, before he returned from where he came.

  “We go home and eat” Honesto suggested.

  The three of them walked outside to the jeepney in the car park, hopped in and they left for Gomez Street.

  Chapter 27

  The three of them return to the hospital the next day, but they weren’t allowed to see her all at once. First her mother went in to visit her daughter, then her father and finally Michael was allowed to see his wife. He thanked Sally’s parents for everything, before they left the hospital.

  “Juni and Boy will come later with their sisters” Honesto mentioned as he walked away.

  Michael made his way slowly to the hospital ward. There were seven other women in the eight bed ward, but he knew which bed she was in.

  “Hello darling” he whispered as he bent over to kiss her on the cheek.

  “Hi” she mumbled; her lips too swollen to say too much.

  “Don’t talk. I’ll just sit beside you for a while” he said.

  Michael sat down and held her hand, but she pulled it out of his grasp. She was frightened that he wouldn’t want her any more.

  “I’m sorry” she whispered.

  “It’s not your fault all this has happened. It’s more my fault” Michael said.

  “No” she replied.

  “Hush. We’ll talk about this another time. I love you darling” he whispered as he kissed her cheek again.

  Tears ran down her cheeks as she sobbed, so Michael reached for her hand again and this time she didn’t pull it away. Slowly she fell asleep again, so he stayed beside her.

  She woke up two hours later and saw Michael was dozing in the chair, still holding her hand. She moved to try and make herself comfortable, but he woke up.

  “Here let me help you” Michael suggested.

  He stood up and rearranged her pillows and tugged up the blankets before he sat down again.

  “I’m sorry” she whispered again.

  She took a deep breath, before continuing. “I fought them. I fought them as hard as I could.”

  “I know you did; I saw the bodies of the dead soldiers” Michael said.

  “They were too strong and there were too many of them” she sobbed and tears ran unchecked down her face. “They were going to kill me.

  “It’s alright; you’re safe now, love” he whispered.

  “They hurt me. Again and again they hurt me” she cried; unable to stem the flow of tears. “The women even assisted the men. How could they help the men do those terrible things to me? They all laughed about what they were doing. I was just a receptacle to them; something to be used then thrown away.”

  Michael stood up and hugged her as best he could as reality had finally sunk in.

  “I hated them, but I pretended my spirit was broken. I took advantage when they lowered their guard. How could they hurt me like that?” she asked.

  “They were sick people. Ones that have been banished from society” he suggested.

  “I just can’t get the sounds of their voices out of my head” she said.

  “I’ll help you get over it. We’ll do it together” he said as he kissed her cheek again.

  Just then her brothers and sisters arrived, so Michael said, “I need to use the toilet and get a drink. I‘ll be back soon.”

  The General Hospital was actually located in San Fernando, so Michael decided to eat in the first decent place he found.

  Michael returned to her bedside after he ate some lunch and drank a cup of coffee. Sally was asleep, so he sat down with a book to read. It was probably more like a handbook or a guide to Angeles City. The main road into Angeles is McArthur Highway and the night clubs are near the airbase; some of them were in Fields Avenue and others were in Perimeter Road. Some clubs were large, well-built structures, while others were nothing more than wooden shacks. The girls ply their trade day and night and the bars number more than one hundred. Amongst the bars other businesses survive; like clothing stores, hairdressers and restaurants. Most of the larger establishments have a second floor that contains ten to twenty hotel rooms. Half the population of the Philippines is under sixteen years of age. He shut the handbook when he heard Sally move restlessly in her sleep.

  “No, no, please don’t. Ahh” she mumbled in her sleep.

  “It’s ok, I’m here” Michael whispered in her ear as he hugged her.

  She settled down again as the nightmare abated. Michael knew she would take a while to get over the horrors she’s been through, but he knew they could work it out.

  * * *

  Sally was allowed to leave the hospital three days later, but her mind seemed to be distant and remote. They left the General Hospital at ten o’clock and slid into the back of her father’s jeepney. Her sister, Den-den and her younger brother, boy joined their father to them help go back to their unit. They stopped by her parent’s house for lunch before continuing on.

  “I’ll stay with you” suggested Den-den when the two of us settled Sally in the bed after changing her clothes.

  “No, I’ll be alright” Sally said quickly. “Michael’s here to help me.”

  “Are you sure?” she enquired.

  “Yes, I will be ok” she said. “I just want to rest.”

  “Well the food is in the fridge” she said. “All you need to do is heat the rice.”

  “Thank you for everything” Michael said as he escorted her out to the waiting jeepney.

  Her father normally used his jeep to earn money by picking up paying passengers, so he didn’t want to keep Honesto waiting too long. Michael locked the door and returned to the bedroom.

  “Stay with me, please” she begged. “Lie down beside me, darling.”

  He lay down under the sheet and cuddled her.

  “I’ll stay with you as long as you want me to, love.” he whispered as he pecked her on the cheek.

  Her bruises had changed from a dark gray to a yellowish brown.

  “I want to explain what happened.” She sobbed.

  “You don’t have to say any more.” he whispered.

  “No, I want to; I have to. I need to. When we arrive at camp, I understood what was going to happen. The soldiers were speaking Pampangan. They were going to ransom you. They were going to try and get money – f
rom the government, your family. They were going to use me then kill me; the bastards. When they knock you down, I thought you were dead. The men held me and the women, the bitches, cut off my clothes. The soldiers laughed at what they were going to do, so I resisted. They punched and slapped me into submission; I thought you were dead. They entered me violently, roughly. After the second man uses me he joked, as he dressed, that I liked it and they all agreed. Their rifles were not in their hands; just holstered or slung on their shoulders. My mind cleared and I saw their guard was lowered. When the third man fucks me, I steal his pistol and I shoot him in the stomach. Then I quickly shoot as many as I could, before a soldier shoots me in my side. I kill him then someone shoots me in the leg so I shoot him; I think he was Colonel Dacquel. – I’m not sure because it happened so quickly. The two women run away so I shoot them. I couldn’t walk so I crawl over to you. I was so weak and I couldn’t stay awake anymore.” She sobbed.

  “It’s alright darling, it’s all over now” Michael whispered as he kissed her full on her lips.

  “Do you still want me to be your wife?”

  “I love you more than ever; of course I still want you.”

  “Thank you. Please just stay with me.”

  Michael cuddled her until she fell asleep, then he fell asleep.

  * * *

  Sally tried to move, but a sharp stab of pain knifed through her making her wince.

  “Ah” she cried.

  “Are you all right?” Michael asked groggily.

  It was at the crack of dawn and he had slept all night holding her.

  “I’m not sure” she whispered with tears in her eyes. “What did the doctor say? I can’t remember what he said.”

  Michael knew the doctor had explained everything to her, but she probably hadn’t really listened due to the shock she was in.