Chapter 278: 278
Every single person in the City Hall looked at Iskoh’s darkened expression when he spoke just loud enough for everyone to hear. Kiko is glaring at me earlier but now his expression when he sees Iskoh is now of fear.
“Kiko and Teresa. I’ve known you two ever since I came into office and I could honestly say that we have been more acquainted to be simply called acquaintances and I refer to our relationship as friends. However, not only did Teresa make a mistake of locking up all those people to die and not giving them a chance, you Kiko, of all people tried to cover her wro-” Kiko cut him off.
“But Mayor Iskoh! She’s my wife! WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?!” Kiko bellowed.
“TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT!” Iskoh shouted back furiously.
Everyone including me is silent.
“IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!” Kiko shouted once more.
“No, it is not. An accident is different from a lapse of judgement.” Iskoh replied, breathing deeply.
“I’M SORRY~!!! IT’S ALL MY FAULT~!!! *sobs* IF YOU’RE GONNA KILL THE ONE R-RESPONSIBLE, PLEASE JUST KILL ME~!!! HE’S JUST- HE’S JUST TRYING TO- *sobs*” Teresa suddenly wailed but she can’t finish her sentence. Her hair is ruffled and tears are coming out of her eyes non stop.
“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!! WHAT IF YOUR WIFE DID THE SAME THING?!” Kiko looked at me, furious.
Kaley then glanced at me, same with the rest of my group.
“Hah! First of all, that’s just a hypothetical and she won’t do something so stupid. However, let me still answer your question. If she ever did the same thing, I’d admit that I would do the same thing you did. I’d do anything in my power so that nothing happens to her. It’s only obvious to do that for someone you love. However, trust me when I tell you that the people on the other side of the argument wouldn’t see that answer holding up. In the end, a mistake is still a mistake and we have to make sure that you’re not the one who committed it. We need to remember that our actions still bear consequences even if the world has gone to shit. Let’s add more hypotheticals then if you want to do that, what if your wife is one of the victims locked inside? It’s a different story, huh?” I replied.
Kiko then broke down crying in front of everyone. He hugged his wife tight and now everyone seemed to be deep in thought, thinking to themselves if they’re in the same situation. Iskoh is still breathing heavily though I could see Rod looking at him, waiting for what’s he gonna do next.
“If you keep on waiting to make a decision, it would be harder.” I reminded him.
Iskoh’s gaze shifted to me.
“Do you think it’s that easy?!” he said with a difficult expression.
“I thought you heard enough earlier? I never said it is but if you don’t make one now, the only thing I would be doing for you is to finish my job here for the allotted time, nothing more. After that, I’ll pack up and leave this place with my group. Indecisiveness is something I frown upon. You’re the mayor, you should be used to making tough decisions. Anyway, I’ll leave it to you.” I said as I started to walk away.
“Wait, leave it to me? You’re leaving already?” Iskoh is confused.
“This is your place, you decide for yourself. Kill them, make them live, exile them, and etc. Like I said, our actions bear consequences. It applies to what you’re gonna decide on. I’m gonna bring my group for another run since I’m wasting time here waiting for you. If you’re gonna kill them, aim for the head. You wouldn’t want to waste extra bullets if they rise up again.” I said as I tapped his shoulder once before dragging my earlier team with Kaley and the rest to the truck we would be using.
Avalos and Honassan were left to guard our pile while we drove outside the gate. It was so quiet at the back of the truck and everyone inside seemed to see things through.
“Bro… I kinda want to know what the mayor would do… why do we need to leave early?!” Jared nudged me with his elbow.
“It’s past 2:00 PM already and we still have a lot to do. Don’t worry though, he’ll do it, I think.” I replied.
“You don’t sound too sure.” Kaley chimed.
“The mayor here is still too kind.” Tatiana added.
“Agreed.” Nikolas said.
Cruz and Mike were silent.
“Well if he doesn’t, someone else will. The president’s there too, watching him. He’d lose a lot more if he doesn’t cross the line. Oh, right. Kaley, promise me something.” I said as I turned her to face me.
“Hmm? What? Don’t chain people on the other side of the door?” she’s looking like she’s about to attack me.
Jared snorted.
“Yeah.” I still answered and a kick to my shin came.
“Hmph! I promise but you should promise the same thing. I’d do anything for you too…” she looked away.
Instead of my group usually laughing loudly, we all just faintly smiled as we slowly drove towards our destination. Rod’s soldiers and Iskoh’s soldiers shared the same sentiment as us and we chatted normally along the way.
The gate is still the way I left it earlier and made a short sweep towards the place we cleared earlier to make sure none from the hospital area came through to this side.
“This place is bigger than I thought bro.” Jared said, scanning around.
There’s a few stragglers that were slowly walking around that reached the park but it was easily taken care of. They’re moving at different speeds but the ones who made it far are the ones that still have their bodies intact. I’ve left a couple of soldiers with Jared to guard the gate and the ones that are left are to come with us. The truck we’re on earlier was also left near the gate and we started to walk towards the hospital. I divided our team into two groups where the other one is led by Tatiana.
The Malacañang Hospital has several wings unlike the hospital we have at home. It’s much bigger too and there’s a huge parking space that has several vehicles still parked. I looked up and some of the glass walls and windows of the hospital were broken into pieces and some fleshy bits were hanging from them. The electricity from this place is completely gone though sunlight could still pass though most of the areas.
“Let’s go for the smallest wing first.” I instructed them.
Our weapons already have bloodstains from a small encounter with some of them from the parking area and we’re maintaining a safe distance from Tatiana’s group so we could respond or help them in case there’s trouble. My Maxim 9 is on my right hand while my katana is on the other. We’re carefully making progress and we reached one of the areas which is somewhat of a lying-in clinic/ birthing center. We could see some movement from the inside through the translucent glass walls.
I slowly turned the knob and I gently pushed the door.
The smell that wafted from the inside is horrible but it wasn’t as bad as what we saw inside.
It’s not the nurse slowly walking towards me missing half its face and the skin on its forearms but the ones making small movements on the beds strewn about. I’m in front and I couldn’t see the expressions of the people behind me but the short pause they made when they saw what I saw behind the nurse is enough for me.
I thrust my katana towards the nurse’s head and gently laid her body down, carrying her weight with my katana to not make a sound when its body hit the floor.
“Carefully move the curtains so we’re sure that there’s not more of them behind those.” I said.
Luckily, there weren’t more of them but I really thought I’ve seen everything from this shit show.
The first one lying on the bed has its head pierced by a pair of scissors but its stomach is torn from the inside and a small figure is moving inside it. I could see small discolored hands and toes from its belly and the viscous amniotic fluid that was supposed to be inside is just a darkened goop of muck which the small figure inside is now swimming in while it’s head is buried beneath it.
The next one from the curtain partition is something with just a hole in its head which I surmise is from the same scissors but the one supposed to be on its belly is slowly flailing on the floor while it’s umbilical cord is still attached. Its body is still not developed and its body is having a hard time moving around because the drying fluids around it are making it stick on the floor. The umbilical cord connecting them is moving every time the small figure below moves.
There’s a few more rows of beds where the same thing is on display and everyone with me is giving a difficult expression. We’ve seen one slowly making its way to the other side of the partition but it can’t since the cord that connects it to its mother is still not cut off and holding it back. That small figure’s foot is dislocated and it seemed that it fell after it tried to eat its way out of its mother’s w.o.m.b.
The small figures that still have their heads in the open are making small guttural cries every time they move and it adds to the difficulty of what we’re experiencing. Some of them were like the irregulars we saw back then which are eating themselves because a few of them just have stumps for hands. They didn’t bite them off obviously but the rot on their skin made their bodies so soft that even small slurping could take their skin and flesh off.
I just made a very long sigh and I did what I had to do.
I sheathed my katana and pulled out my small knife.
The rest of my group did the same and the only thing you could hear from the room is sounds of blades entering skulls. It’s a very easy target but it’s a very difficult encounter. We all just looked at each other solemnly and we took a small breather before we went to the other room when we’re finished.
“I don’t know about you guys but the decision for the deaths of the persons who did this is f.u.c.k.i.n.g unanimous.” I muttered and everybody nodded.