Intruder

"Is this the place you're talking about? Do you think I should be able to stay here?"

At the very beginning of arriving at Jacob's alleged barracks, Howard's immediate reaction was obviously disgusting.

"Yes Sir. And on the vacant pallet you will sleep," Jacob's formal reply and he was already laughing in his mind.

"Where? I want to see!"

Jacob pointed to Howard, the vacant pallet said. "Over there, in front of you."

Howard narrowed his eyes at Jacob and his blood seemed to boil with annoyance when he saw what the pallet looked like. It was very small and didn't even have a mat on it. "Are you really going to put me to sleep here? Are you upset?" he asked with a sigh.

"Yes. Why? What do you think of yourself? Are you the president to be given special treatment?" Jacob's sarcastic reply.

"Ah, you talked rudely like that? My dad pays you to give me proper treatment. What do you think of yourself?"

What's more, Howard seemed to challenge Jacob for a fistfight because he's disgusted with the way he talks to him. 

"Sir Howard or Howie, your dad doesn't pay me. We're totally talking before you came here, let me inform you that I'm not his staff."

He was offended by what Jacob said. "What?"

"I'm not his staff and you— you'll be the staff for the evacuation center. There are many more pitiful than you, sir."

"I'm here for a vacation, not to help people in need!" Howard bravely turns around but on the other side of his mind, something is going to happen when he doesn’t know what but there is a clue that Jacob threw at him.

"But I know your father. He used to be the CEO of SLI, he handed over his position in the company to you. But because you have an attitude problem, he will give you disciplinary action. So, starting tomorrow, you will be a volunteer in Trias even if you don't want to. "

"What?" he exclaimed in disbelief. 

"You don't want to believe me? Tomorrow, I'll introduce you to your evaluator. Good luck!" Jacob smirked. He turned to Howard and left it frowning in the corner.

He was even more irritated by what he found out his father had done to him.

“He resented me!”

***

Mosquitoes are already feasting on Howard. He had no choice but to curl up on the pallet and he was getting cold at those times. That's how it is in the province and in the middle of the mountain. He could not sleep. He picked up the cell phone to at least fall asleep by browsing social networking sites and checking if his father had a message. But he was doomed, there was no signal so he could not use mobile data and no sms coming in. He still wants to complain to his father because of his situation.

"Damn! Is this the ideal vacation that he's talking about?"  He almost threw away the cellphone in extreme frustration. He looked at the time displayed.

"Oh! It's 12 AM! When I was in Manila, I couldn't sleep at times like this either but I was working. I'd rather have that than kill a mosquito! Damn!" he protested as if something would change in his situation.

He pushed himself back to lying on the small pallet. He tried to sleep but nothing happened, drowsiness did not really occupy him. There is also no music on his phone so nothing can make him sleepy.

He turned around and sighed. It might not be dangerous to go out of the barracks so he thought of peeking at the other side of it and just in case there was another bed that would make him sleep more comfortably.

Outside the barracks, he saw a small room with no lights. He tried to get inside and his cellphone was the light he used. He could see the pallet was bigger than the pallet he had laid before. And with a small electric fan inside, he just smiled when the electric fan was turned on. He observed that there is electricity. No one sleeps there so he can occupy it. He tried to lie down and he was right, it was more comfortable to sleep where he was now. He prefers to be dark when he goes to sleep so he doesn't have to bother looking for the switch or light source.

In just five minutes, he fell asleep right away.

***

The crowing of a chicken outside woke Zannie from sleep. She arrived at two in the morning because her fellow volunteer was still sending him to the evacuation center to repack the goods that suddenly arrived. She slept less than four hours but she could do nothing but get up. She will also be a substitute teacher for children affected by the war in this provincial area. Some schools in the area have been destroyed and in order to continue providing education to the youth, the government has decided to conduct temporary classes with the help of the Educational Department headed by their government unit.

“As for the heat, I'm wearing a thin shirt.” She was still complaining. The only window of his own room near the barracks of other volunteers and rescuers was closed.

She used to take off her shirt when it got hot, she assumed that she's alone in the room. She felt a bit fresh because she had removed her top and was only wearing a bra and pants.

She yawned. She was still really sleepy, she thought of going back to sleep. It was still dark outside. If she is late in going to the evacuation center, the head officer will probably not scold her because he was aware that it took her early in the morning to repack the goods.

"Just now please, about an hour of sleep. Maybe that's enough for me."

She yawned again and went back to sleep. But she heard a crack near his bed. She suspects it's just Nenita, the black cat she feeds when it walks in her room. She ignored that sound but she was distracted when the crackle got louder, as if she wasn't alone in bed.

Slowly, she looked back at the source of the crackle. Because it was dark where she was, she could not confirm if anyone else was there.

She lost the will to sleep, unexpectedly. She felt something that touched her shoulder. No, not something— but someone.

She closed her eyes and moved slowly, perhaps, a civilian or terrorist were beside her right now and she have to act quickly.

'Where is that sharp object that Jacob gave you?'

As she got alarmed, she put it under the pallet but it was well hidden, just in a corner area. She breathed a sigh of relief as she got that object that she could use for self defense.

But her heart suddenly pounded with excitement when she realized that the stranger was already holding the part of her body that no one should touch, her chest with only the bra cover on.

"What was that!" She shouted because she was extremely nervous. She pushed the person next to her and woke him up from falling on the pallet.

"Why the hell did you push me?" A stranger's growl. Because of the darkness around, Zannie could not see the man's appearance. She didn't care if he got injured, she immediately ran to the man and slapped him incessantly.

"What right do you have to try to take my femininity huh!" Zannie questioned in anger. Still not satisfied, she pointed the sharp object at the man.

"Wait! Don't stab me! I'll explain!" said the stranger. He seemed to get his sense back  after Zannie's double slap on his face. 

"Who are you huh?" Zannie asked Howard. 

Someone owned the room where he slept. The surroundings are getting a little brighter because the sun is starting to rise. He could see the look of the woman in front of him. Even though her face is furious, there is still no denying the beauty she possesses. Apart from her appearance, the figure of her body brought her manhood to life and even if he rubbed his eyes a few times, the appearance of the woman who was only wearing a bra could not be changed.

He swallowed repeatedly. There are those who are angry who should not be angry. How come, the color of the undies of the woman in front is skin tone. He did not want to commit sin seriously against God but he could do nothing. He was an Adam who was sometimes stunned when there was an Eve especially when the form of an Eve was charming and deliberately lived out what was supposed to be lived.

"Are you a scout ranger? Are you a rebel? Or are you a terrorist?"

He frowned at the girl's question. By the terms she mentions, he only hears in the news related to the country’s war issues.

"Before I answer your question, get dressed first."

And Zannie realized his order. She was ashamed. She finally let go of the sharp knife and quickly got dressed.