Chapter 8: Mystery

I was still surprised by the cracking noise Wolff made when he punched the wall. I'm sure it wasn't the wall, but his fist. Kahit madilim, bahagya akong lumayo sa kanya. But then, I was surprised when he called my name.

"Dani?"

"Y-yes?" medyo natarantang sagot ko.

He breathed heavily. "C-can you... can you please hold me?" There was anger in his voice, but above it, I sensed fear and panic. He sounded so lonely when he said it too.

I battled with myself kung susundin ko ba ang sinabi niya. Odds are he's trying to do something bad to me in the dark, pero kalahati ng isip ko ang ayaw maniwala sa isiping iyon. Hello, pag-iinteresan ba naman ako ni Wolff? Besides, he doesn't seem to be that kind of person.

But he really sounded desperate.

"P-please... Dani."

Inalis ko ang agam-agam sa isip. "Just stay still, lalapit ako sa'yo."

"T-thanks..." he said in a low but relieved voice.

Unti-unti akong lumapit sa kanya. Una kong nakapa ang kanyang braso, so I slid my hand down to his wrist. Bahagya akong nagulat nang inalis niya ang hawak ko sa pulso niya at siya na mismo ang humawak nang mahigpit sa kamay ko. It was so tight, as if I'd leave him behind kung hindi siya humawak nang mahigpit sa kamay ko.

Now that I noticed it, he's shaking a bit. His hands were cold, and he was still catching his breath.

"By any chance, are you claustrophobic?" tanong ko.

Huminga siya nang malalim. "Sort of. I just panic when it's cramped and dark."

Mahinang tumango ako kahit hindi naman niya iyon nakikita. "Siguro naman makakalabas tayo rito mga ilang sandali lang, hindi ba?"

"I don't think so," sagot niya. "An unauthorized person crossed the lab, and then there's Code Black. Power won't be activated sooner para maiwasan ang mas malalang resulta dahil sa Code Black."

Hindi ko iyon masyadong naintindihan, but I know it's really dangerous. "What? Then how long do you think we'll stay here?" tanong ko. It's starting to get warm too.

"That depends on the level of emergency," sagot niya. "More or less, we'll stay here for 4 to 6 hours."

"Ano?!" I didn't mean to panic too, pero apat hanggang anim na oras? Seryoso ba siya? "Ganoon katagal? Wala ba kayong standard procedure sa ganito? Is this the first time something like this happened?"

"It's not the first time a Code Black was declared. Hindi rin ito ang unang beses na may nakapasok sa lab na hindi authorized. But it's the first time that someone breached the lab and there's this kind of emergency, which means it's the defector's deliberate effort, which is why we issued Code Black," sagot niya habang humihingal. "J-just please bear with me for a few hours."

I sighed. I didn't really have much choice. "Fine," sagot ko. My hands were getting sweaty, but Wolff had no intention of letting go. "Uh, can we at least sit on the floor?"

"Yes, please," sagot niya.

We silently settled on the floor, our backs against the wall. Wolff was still holding my hand, and I could still feel him shaking. I tightened my grip a bit, wanting to ask questions, but I held back.

"You can ask," sabi niya.

"Ha?" I heard him clearly, but I didn't think he'd actually say that.

"You're gripping my hand. I know it's out of curiosity," sagot niya. "You can ask."

"It's just... surprising to know you're somewhat afraid of the dark," sagot ko. "You're Wolff Glass Bane. I didn't think there's anything you can't do, or anything you're afraid of."

He sighed again. "I think you're overestimating me. I'm still human. There's a lot I can't do."

"But you've done a lot of notable things even at a young age," sabi ko. "Rumors say you could solve college algebra at three."

"Totoo iyon," sagot niya, without a hint of arrogance. "At four, I could speak multiple languages—English, French, Latin, and Russian." I felt him tighten his grip on my hand slightly. "But at five, I was still wetting my bed out of fear."

He sounded sad when he said it. It was surprising to learn these things about Wolff. He's far from the arrogant person I thought he was.

I couldn't help but laugh a little, remembering an old friend. Well, not exactly a friend—someone I met when I was five. I never knew his name, but he left me with an angry memory because he wet my bed, which made me poke his eyes out of frustration. Pinagalitan ako ni lola noon, so I was mad at that kid. Now, looking back, it seems funny that something like that happened in my childhood.

"Pinagtatawanan mo ba ako?" he asked, sounding slightly annoyed. That sounded more like the Wolff I knew than the lonely one from a while ago.

"Hindi, may naalala lang ako," sagot ko. "There was this kid back then who wet his pants too, so tinusok ko ang mata niya."

He let out a sigh. "That was me, Dani."

Now, it was my turn to freeze. "I-ikaw?"

"Yeah," kalmadong sagot niya. "Governess Emily brought me to her home that night. No one was at home since everyone was busy with business stuff. I begged Miss Emily to stay, but she said her granddaughter was waiting at home, alone. So, I tagged along."

I recalled the kid from back then, but that was almost 19 years ago, and the memories were blurry. What I remembered was waking up to the sound of the door opening—only to find my grandma with another kid in pajamas and a hoodie jacket.

I was jealous back then, so I didn't welcome the kid. Sa isip ko, nagdala pa ng bata si lola, gayong wala na nga siyang panahon para sa akin. The kid stayed with me in my room, but then he peed in the middle of the night! Hindi ko na masyadong maalala kung ano pa ang nangyari.

"Governess Emily said I should sleep in your room," kuwento ni Wolff. "So she tucked us back into bed. You were glaring at me then, kahit nandoon si Governess Emily. I pretended to sleep just to avoid your glares, kahit hindi ako inaantok. When she left, you turned off the lights, thinking I was asleep. I panicked and ended up peeing on your bed."

I couldn't fully remember the details of his story, but I got the gist of it. Napangiti ako dahil doon. "That's when I poked your eyes, right?"

"Yeah. There were so many times I'd been in that house, but you always locked yourself in your room and refused to let us in—not even Governess Emily."

"I was a bad kid back then," mahinang sambit ko.

Mapait akong ngumiti. Of course, I grew up hating my grandmother. I thought Mama ran away because of her. She was never around for me and chose to work at the Glass Palace instead. Ignoring her was my form of rebellion.

He remembered it so well—iba talaga ang matatalino. I stayed quiet, no longer wanting to start another conversation, and Wolff did the same. I had no idea how long we'd been stuck there. I felt my eyelids grow heavy, and moments later, sleep overtook me.

***

I woke up to a soft tap on my cheek. When I opened my eyes, Sage's face greeted me. He blinked at me, adjusting his glasses. I quickly sat up and rubbed my eyes.

The elevator doors were open, and the area was well-lit. How long had I been asleep? And where's Wolff? I looked around, hoping to spot him, but he was nowhere to be found.

"If you're looking for Wolff, he just left," sabi ni Sage. "There was an emergency in one of the most dangerous facilities here."

"Hindi ko siya hinahanap," tanggi ko, sabay ngiwi. Why would I look for him? Okay, fine, a part of me hoped he was still here so I could thank him... you know, for holding his hand in the dark.

I glanced at my palm. I wasn't really expecting him to say thanks! I'm sure we'll go back to our usual fiery exchanges soon enough.

"Gaano katagal nga pala kami na-stuck?" tanong ko.

Sage checked his wristwatch. "Utmost five hours. Wolff didn't wake you—"

"It's okay," I interrupted before he could finish.

Sage offered his hand. "H-here, let me help you up."

I took his hand, and he helped me stand. I dusted myself off and smiled. "Thanks. Is everything okay?"

He shook his head sadly. "Honestly, no. A defector tampered with the security system and roamed around freely. He caused the power outage, which forced us to issue Code Black. He also stole some biohazards, and we're still not sure exactly what was taken," Sage explained. "Maybe I'll run another inventory check on the stored chemicals to see what's missing. It's almost dinner—let's grab a bite at the lounge."

I walked with him towards the lounge. The entire facility was buzzing with activity. Everyone seemed to be in a panic over the stolen biohazards.

As expected, I didn't get to spend much time with Sage. He ate quickly, clearly in a rush to attend to the aftermath of the incident at Bane Lab. The food was good, but I had no appetite after the theft. I may hate Wolff or any of the Glass family, but I do not tolerate criminal acts like this. Whoever stole those dangerous chemicals, I hope they don't use them to harm anyone.

But thinking about it, who would dare cross a Glass? Whoever they are, they must be incredibly bold.

After finishing my meal, I prepared to go home. I passed through several security checks since there was still the possibility it was an inside job.

As I finally got past the security, I stopped when I saw a huge LED display of the organizational chart. Another screen showed a less detailed map of the place. I was about to walk past it when Sage's face flashed on the big screen.

I couldn't help but smile. He looked so anxious in the photo, as if he had to be forced to pose for it. I'm sure their database gets updated yearly, so the picture must be recent.

I stayed a bit longer, waiting for Wolff's picture to appear, but only his name and position flashed on the screen. Wait, no photograph? What does that mean?!

"If you're looking for the chairman's photograph, of course, you won't find any."

Napalingon ako sa nagsalita sa likod ko. Isa iyon sa mga staff ng cryogenics section, base sa nameplate na suot niya.

Does Wolff hate being photographed?

"Bakit?" hindi ko napigilang tanungin.

Humarap muna siya sa iris recognition machine, the biometric system of the lab. When her timeout was stamped, saka siya sumagot. "He doesn't like to show himself. Siguro totoo ang sabi-sabi na Wolff Glass Bane is fictional."

Nagulat ako pero hindi ko pinahalata. "F-fictional?"

She nodded at bahagyang hininaan ang boses. "Nonexistent, gano'n. Or maybe he existed before but died at some point. No one has actually seen him. Matunog lang ang pangalan niya dahil media outlets owned by the Glass family are hyping up that name. Just a name! Not a single picture of him circulates on the internet. Tsk, Wolff Bane can solve complex math problems at three? Hard to believe. A fifteen-year-old Wolff Bane founded this facility? That's crazy and impossible. This is just one of the Glass schemes."

"Pero—"

Tumawa siya at napailing. "But who knows, maybe he really exists. But he refuses to show himself to the world. Siguro may nakakahawang sakit siya and the cure hasn't been found yet," nakangiting sabi ng babae. "Oh, don't mind me. Naaapektuhan lang ako ng mga naririnig kong conspiracy theories about the Glass family." She read my nameplate. "Bye, Dani!"

I watched her walk down the hall, palabas ng laboratory. Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala sa narinig ko. But Wolff... Wolff is just roaming around this place freely, paanong nangyari...

Napabuntong-hininga ako at tinapik ang pisngi ko. Maybe being trapped in the elevator messed with my head.

Pero paano kung hallucination ko lang pala ang Wolff na nakakausap ko? You know, some sort of trauma because of what happened at Zone Z? Kaya siguro kamukha ni Seven ang Wolff na nakikita ko.

... But...

... But I know what I've seen. I'm not hallucinating when I said I've seen Wolff Bane several times. He's real!

Argh, I don't know what to think anymore!

"Trust your own mind, Dani."

Muntik na akong mapatalon nang marinig ko ang boses ni Wolff sa likuran ko. See?! He's real! I am not imagining things!

Sinamaan ko siya ng tingin at hinagod ang braso ko upang alisin ang takot na dulot ng mga naiisip ko. "You have a habit of sneaking up behind me."

He shrugged a bit. "No, you have a habit of ignoring what's around you."

He was no longer wearing his lab gown, and he wasn't carrying anything except for a set of keys. He wore a button-up shirt, bukas ang tatlong butones, at nakatupi ang mga manggas.

"I'll drive you home," sabi niya at nilagpasan ako.

"No, thanks."

"I insist," sagot niya nang lingunin ako. "Think of it as payment for what happened inside the elevator. And a way to prove to yourself that I'm not an apparition or something."

My mouth gaped; hindi ko na alam kung ano ang iisipin. "You can read my mind?"

"Is that even possible?" pabalang niyang sagot. "Of all things in this world, Dani, human thoughts are the hardest to deal with. You can mess with them, have a bit of control, but reading what's behind those thoughts? That's impossible. Even if you gain access, there's always a part of it that not even the most advanced science can figure out."

Mas lalo akong naguluhan sa kanya. Napatingin ako sa palad ko—hawak niya kanina. I can still feel it, so I'm sure Wolff is real. But what is he playing at?

He toyed with the keys. "Shall we go?"

I took a deep breath before stepping forward to follow him. "You are a great mystery, Wolff Glass Bane."

His smile hinted at something more. "Am I? Then don't strain yourself trying to unravel me, Dani."

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