NATALIA, Cjay, and Akira quietly followed Luigi who headed the museum tour while explaining each exhibit to them. None of them said a word or asked him questions, not because of disinterest or Luigi being able to elaborate his narration completely. The three were just too pre-occupied.

Cjay seemed to be having flashbacks in his head during the tour. There was just this faraway look in his eyes, and he did not reciprocate it when Luigi would occassionally glance at him to get a reaction from him. Meanwhile, Akira was highly alert. His eyes always scanned their surroundings and observed Cjay everytime he makes an abrupt stop from walking or moving. On the other hand, Natalia kept shifting her eyes between Akira and Cjay. Akira’s observant eyes made her feel self-conscious and at times, he would glance at her as if he was having suspicions about her. So, to relieve her anxiety from Akira’s looks and authoritative presence, she would look at Cjay, which was not helpful either, because her worry only doubled.

Cjay’s silence throughout the museum tour was like watching a ticking bomb. Natalia was wondering if his silence meant he was starting to lose his human consciousness and would attack them any minute or not. Fortunately, no zombie attack occurred.

After the tour, they turned back.ans Luigi began leading them to the main door. Their order got reversed this time because it was Natalia who was already walking alongside Luigi. Akira walked behind her and Cjay was the last one to get out of Galeria.

“Is it true that the mass murder happened here in Galeria?” Natalia asked Luigi in a low voice so that the guys at the back would not hear. She even brushed her arm against his’ at the closeness of their proximity just so that he could hear her. At this time, they were still at the second floor of Galeria.

Luigi kept his eyes to the front. His nose scrunched up, a sign that he was trying his best to tolerate Cjay’s rotting smell. He could use a mask to, at least, minimize his suffering but that would be offensive to the onion-skinned zombie. “Haven’t I already said that during our tour?”

“You already did, but I just can’t believe it.”

“The photos of the victims are displayed here and you still can’t believe it?”

Natalia stopped because, coincidentally, they reached the big display of the photo that Luigi was talking about. Her eyes pierced through the glass wall and landed on the concrete wall at the opposite of the room. On that wall, a huge grid of picture frames were hanging. Each frame carried the profile photos of the victims of the mass murder.

Earlier, during the tour, Luigi told them the story about the mass murder. It was the only time when Natalia forgot Akira and Cjay’s existence because she got so drawn to the story. Three years ago, Galeria used to be a melting pot of people from all walks of life in the Philippines, seeking safety during the epidemic. It used to be called the ‘evacuation center’ which was deemed safe from the zombies because a group of doctors were staying there, including the doctor who was tracing the progression of the zombie virus. Unknowingly, they rescued someone from outside Galeria who brought in the virus. That was why, everyone who were infected were mass murdered, hence the ‘mass murder’ incident that Natalia was talking to Luigi about.

Natalia stared at the photos. She didn’t know which is which, because only the victims’ names were printed below each picture frame and their status in life or profession were excluded.

“Who’s running Galeria? The doctor that was studying the virus?”

Luigi’s silence concerned her. Natalia peeled her eyes away from the photos to give him a questioning glance. She caught the museum caretaker looking at Akira and Cjay who were lagging a bit from behind them then, he turned back to her with hesitation in his eyes.

“That doctor is Jocely Aguirre,” Luigi answered with a sad smile and downcast eyes.

Her eyebrows furrowed, recalling that the woman from the very first picture she saw on the exhibit of the mass murder victims was named ‘Jocely Aguirre.’ This tensed knowing stirred in her chest, bothering her. “Aguirre?”

“Cjay’s mother.” Luigi glanced at Cjay and Akira who already caught up with them.

Cjay looked at her darkly while Akira with his blank face stepped back and positioned behind the zombie while cradling his gun over the palm of his hand.

‘Now I know why Zombie is being too quiet. This is where his mother died. A visit to this museum is like a walk to her graveyard for him.’

Natalia gave Jocely Aguirre’s photo one last look. She took her time to take in how she looked so beautiful with her round face and plump cheeks framed by her finely curled black hair that fell past her shoulders. There was this sparkle in her ebony eyes, like a star in the darkness of the night. And her smile was this toothy grin where her white pearls gated straight between her upper and lower lips.

“Natalia,” Akira called. He did not shout at her but the hardness of his voice made her jumpy.

When she turned to look at Akira, Cjay limped swiftly past her. Luigi immediately followed after him before walking alongside the hurrying zombie. Akira nodded at her, prodding her to walk ahead before he would follow. Natalia did not obey him though, instead she stood beside him. Akira took her hint and let her walk with him.

“I don’t want to be rude,” Natalia started, “but does President Carlos really have to hire an additional staff for Cjay?”

She just had to know, especially up to what extent Akira had to guard Cjay. Because if more and more people would be assigned to be around Cjay, the more it will be hard for Natalia to hide her true identity . . . her true form.

“He has to. Because what if Cjay goes berserk for real?” Akira answered with his eyes directly looking to the front. His hand still cradled his gun, a position that was very telling of his readiness to use the weapon as soon as the situation calls for it. “Mr. President has a point too. If we want Sir Cjay’s assistants to stay longer, then they must feel safe around him.”

“Are you trying to say that your job is not just all about keeping an eye on Cjay? That it is also your job to make sure I won’t . . . leave?

Akira finally glanced at her. For a moment, his face seemed to brighten up a bit, like clouds parting at the sky for the sunshine to stream through. “Yes. It may look like I am guarding Cjay, staring at him all the time, but I had to do that to protect you from him. My full loyalty is yours, not his’. So if ever, he loses control . . . it’s not my job to detain him or save him. That’s for this other bodyguards. My only task is to take you away from him when that time comes. I will kill him if I have to, just to keep you safe.”

All of a sudden, Natalia felt embarrassed for staring at Akira’s face for too long. She immediately returned her eyes to the hallway that they were walking on. “Isn’t the president against that? You know, you killing his son when . . . when he becomes a threat to me?”

“Not at all. He specifically gave me that protocol.”

She could not help a swift, shocked glance at Akira. Upon looking at his stoic face, Natalia was finally convinced that he was dead-serious.

“He didn’t tell me this, but you have to understand Mr. President’s situation to perceive how I see his instructions. Sure, some parents will be glad to see their children still alive, even if they’re viral infected as long as they are managing their zombie state. But for the president, he doesn’t seem to see Cjay’s survival as a blessing. How could it be a blessing when you still get to see your son but you see him suffering every day from rotting skin, eating disgusting human flesh meals, and being constantly detained? As a parent, it isn’t that easy witnessing your son struggling daily, limping while they walk, becoming grumpy, going berserk at times . . . being alive just to live a life full of suffering in a world where people walk on eggshells whenever he’s around them.”

Natalia lowered her eyes, considering everything that Akira just said.

“So, I don’t blame the president if . . . if getting his son killed becomes one of his options on how to end his son’s suffering,” Akira stared at her.

There were better ways to steer away from the topic of the tragic case of Cjay, because she didn’t like this small budding of sympathy growing in her chest, but Natalia could not help asking the most awkward of all questions.

“Do I stink?” If the president assigned Akira to protect her, then the soldier might as well bear with how she smells.

“Yes,” he answered casually.

“And you’re fine with it? I mean, my smell . . .” she shrugged. “ . . . and Cjay’s rotting smell . . .” she shrugged and gestured a hand forward, to Cjay’s direction. “ . . . combined.” Then she glanced back into Akira’s eyes. “Can your nose manage it?”

She was expecting for Akira to laugh at her silly question, but he didn’t. His face remained hard and cold, emotionless, but a hint of amusement twinkled in his narrow eyes. “I’m used to it. Encountering a hoard of zombies on the daily for years helped, I think. You see, I’m under Agila Special Ops.”

Natalia recalled what Agila Special Ops was—the government’s militia who was assigned to patrol outside the dome of Citadel. They protect the citizens of Citadel by terminating the wandering zombies out there. Ideally, eliminating zombies could up everyone’s chances to leave the dome and start a new life anywhere in the country but at this rate, killing zombies aimed to clear more areas and find survivors. Most of them were sent off on far islands in order to discover places that were safe enough to rehabilitate so that more survivors will be relocated there to avoid the overpopulation in Citadel.

Upon finding out that Akira was from Agila Special Ops, Natalia averted her eyes cautiously. “Did you only encounter zombies out there?”

Akira was already looking to the front, specifically at Cjay. “Yes. Just zombies.” He was silent for a while and that seemed to give the soldier the wrong impression. Natalia did not ask him to, but he began clarifying his statement. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t part of the operations where they encountered survivors so . . . no. I only encountered zombies. I haven’t seen survivors in the operations that I took part of.”

“When’s the first time that you’ve been part of the operations?” She stole a glance at him as her doubt for him slowly crept all over her body in the form of a tingling sensation.

“Two years ago.”

Natalia was relieved. ‘Two years ago . . . This means he wasn’t there . . . He wasn’t one of those soldiers that killed my clan . . .’

Natalia was still discreetly looking at Akira until she bumped onto something. She gasped in shock and turned to see that it was Luigi. He immediately turned to face her, puzzlement was on his face.

“Sorry! Sorry!” she waved both hands to the level of her chest as she apologized frantically.

Then, Natalia caught Cjay’s glare from outside the door. Luigi sidestepped to give way for her and Akira so they could get out of the museum.

As the three of them got out, Luigi stayed by the door. “Thank you for visiting, Sie Cjay.” He politely bowed at Cjay’s direction and just have her and Akira a simple upward nod. “Thank you, Natalia. Akira. Have a safe trip back to the palace.”

“Thanks,” Akira responded before glancing at her.

Natalia gave Luigi a polite nod before she followed Cjay. Apparently, Cjay did not thank the caretaker of Galeria. Instead, he snobbisly headed straight to the car that was waiting for them. As soon as Cjay got in, Natalia felt a hand on her elbow. It was Akira.

“Me first,” he said before releasing her elbow as he walked past her.

Cjay did not object when Akira seated beside him. His eyes remained to the front while he was sitting at the left end of the car’s back seat. Natalia guessed that reminiscing his mother’s memories by visiting Galeria deeply affected him, hence the silent treatment to everyone around him.

No one moved in their seats when the car took off. In the new arrangement, Akira was seated in between Natalia at Cjay. She did not question it because she understood the purpose. The soldier was turning himself into her shield in case that Cjay lose his self-control.

Natalia expected the car ride to Malacañang to be quiet, but Cjay suddenly spoke.

“Can we drop by the mall?”

Her eyes widened at him. “The mall?”

Natalia could already imagine what would occur the moment that people saw them arrive in the mall. They would be running for their lives for sure, as if it was already Doomsday. Aside from the fact that Cjay was a zombie, they would be held back by the power of their combined rotten stench.

“Yeah.” Cjay looked past Akira to stab her with his glare with precision. “Besides, I’ve got a ‘platoon’ of babysitters already, so I guess it’s safer for me to go wherever I want to, isn’t it?”

It would be useless to argue. “And what are you going to do in the mall?”

“What do you think?”

‘He’s being sarcastic. Welcome back, Zombie, I guess.’ She exhaled exasperatedly. “There’s a lot of things that you can do in the mall, so help me, and answer my question!”

Meanwhile, Akira remained straight-faced, but she knew he was listeningly to them attentively.

“Use your common sense. I’m shopping,” Cjay muttered.

She could not help wondering why Cjay would never, just once, consider how other people would feel in his presence. And what happens when the president hears about people’s reaction to Cjay’s little stroll at the mall? He would feel sorry for his son again? Would he feel so tortured that it would completely convince him to order Akira to assassinate his own son? ‘Wait. So what? What’s it to me then? So what if Mr. President decides to get Cjay killed?’

“Can’t you just go online shopping?” Natalia suggested as calmly as she could.

“Is there an Internet connection here?”

“Well, guess what?” she puffed smugly to conceal her irritation. “Recently, I just cracked another government conspiracy open.”

His eyebrows furrowed with intrigue. “What conspiracy are you blabbering about?”

“That there’s really no Internet problems here, but some greedy authorities who limits its availability to those who, I don’t know, privileged, maybe?”

“How could you assume things like that? Don’t tell me you hate my father’s administration now, just because you hate me.”

“If there’s no Internet, then how does your GPS work?” Her eyes widened cockily at him. “That’s how they found you in my apartment, right? By your GPS!”

“Go ahead and ask Dad’s I.T. experts about that,” he answered dismissively before his frustrated tone pitched. “Now can you please let me go to the mall?” Cjay did not wait for her answered. He looked at the driver who was on the seat in front of him. “Kuya Rick, take me to the mall.”

“What are you even going to buy in the mall?” she sighed in surrender as she leaned back on her seat.

“Anything!” he answered raspily and faced the window to his left. He seemed to have already had enough.

“Let’s just get used to Sir Cjay, Natalia,” Kuya Rick (Elder Brother Rick) gently explained with a low chuckle in defense of his boss. “Everytime we come from Galeria, he does this thing called ‘stress shopping.’”

“Wow. Stress shopping.” Her tone was both sarcastic and flat. Natalia crossed her arms. “Good for rich kids like you. When you get stressed, you just go out and shop. While when we are stressed, we’re just stressed!”

“If you’re envious about it then just go and buy something for yourself,” Cjay retorted without moving an inch away from the car window.

“All I am trying to say is that you should deal with your stress properly. When has shopping for stuff became a solution for stress?”

“It’s therapeutic! Especially when it’s on sale!” he blurted, peeking at her from Akira’s side. “Of course, you won’t understand! You’re poor!”

Natalia pointed a finger at him, appalled at him so passionately that it burned in her eyes and made her nose flare. “That offensive, foul mouth of yours, you elitist fool—”

“That’s what you get for talking back! You only have the guts to disrespect me, because you know that Dad didn’t want to lose you as my assistant! But your day will come, Natalia, I assure you!” he flared while almost leaning over Akira’s left arm to give her a furious look.

‘You’re the one who’s supposed to be scared, Cjay . . . One chomp from me and you’re finished!’ Natalia thought while trying to control her emotions. She looked away and sighed. “Let’s go to the mall then.”

Cjay went back into looking through the car window. Their heated confrontation was followed by an eerie silence. But they haven’t enjoyed the silence that long because when the car made another turn, they got caught into this heavy traffic.

The traffic was a big deal because it very rarely happens within Citadel. From their car, everyone could see the lone hospital of the city ahead of them. As soon as they pass by thay hospital, they should be able to reach the mall.

But that same hospital was surrounded by the ash gray vehicles of Lawin Special Ops. Its perimeter was thick with a crowd spectating what could happen next as they came together behind the barricade made by the lined-up military vehicles, and armed, uniformed men.