Chapter 4: Strip

Uno did not respond and gave his men a look. They come out of the warehouse. Sa loob ng ilang segundo ay may limang lalaki na pumasok sa loob ng bodega; mga tauhan din ni Uno ang mga iyon. Each of them held a baseball bat and a brass knuckle on their fingers. They walked over to Roan and surrounded this man.

"What is the meaning of this?" Roan inquired, but no one answered.

Uno was still at ease as he sat on the chair and let his men handle Roan. Ang isa sa mga ito ay lumapit sa lalaki. Itinayo si Roan at tinanggal ang taling nakagapos sa mga kamay.

Roan scrutinized the situation, and soon realized their intention when one of Uno's men threw a baseball bat in front of him. He gulped, intently looking at the people around him. Nakaramdam kaagad siya nang matinding kaba para sa sarili, dahil kailangan nitong lumaban ng mag-isa sa limang tao. Muli niyang sinulyapan ang nobyo. Para itong isang yelong nanigas sa kinatatayuan habang nakatingin din sa kaniyang kinaroroonan. He cast his attention to Uno. Napakalamig na aura ang sumalubong sa kaniya nang magtama ang mata nilang dalawa. He examined him. Those sharp eyes of Uno made him quiver.

"Who is he? Why is he doing t—"

A strong hit on Roan's face stopped him from analyzing Uno. Napalingon ito sa kabila at bumagsak muli sa baba. The pool of red ran down from his mouth to its neck. Sunod-sunod itong napaubo. Ang dugong umaagos sa bibig nito ay masaganang pumapatak sa semento.

"Ro—" Uno cut the woman's word when he noticed she was about to step toward her man.

"Stay," he told her in his deep voice, instantly sending shivers down her spine.

"Hahh!"

Another scream echoed through the vast warehouse. That still came from the guy. Uno turned to it and saw the man spitting blood.

"Lumaban ka!" sigaw ng isa sa mga tauhan ng binata sa lalaki na mukhang nanghihina na. They laughed at Roan, and found it hard to believe that just two strokes could make this guy's body so frail.

"Ano ba! Sabing lumaban ka!"

One of the men hauled Roan by his shirt sleeve, forcing him to stand and lugging it in front of the girl. He grabbed his hair from behind and yanked it down, pressuring him to look at her. She heard him groaning in pain as his hair seemed to separate from his scalp. "Pagmasdan mo ng maigi ang umiiyak mong pinakamamahal na babae." Mas lalo pa nitong hinigpitan ang pagsabunot sa buhok ni Roan. "Iyan, tingnan mo nang mabuti ang nobyo mong walang magawa kung 'di panoorin ka lang na nahihirapan." Sinuntok nito ng malakas sa tiyan si Roan gamit ang suot na knuckle sa kaliwang kamay. Kitang-kita ng dalaga ang pamimilipit ng nobyo sa sakit at napadura ulit ng dugo. Tumawa na naman ang lima sa kahinahan ng lalaking ito. "Hindi ka ba talaga lalaban, ha?"

Roan did not respond. His vulnerable eyes were on his girlfriend, who could do nothing but only cry as she watched him in pain. He briefly closed his eyes and clenched his hand into a fist, trying to stop thinking about his girlfriend's pitiful face.

"Tang ina nito! Ayaw mo ba talagang lumab—"

Sinapak ni Roan ng malakas sa mukha ang taong ito, malapit sa ilong ng hindi pa pinapatapos mula sa pagsasalita. Nabitawan nito ang kaniyang buhok at tumilapon sa mga kasama na dumudugo ang ilong. Biglang sumeryoso ang mga mukha nito habang nakatingin sa kaniya. And he appeared to be fully aware of what will going to happen next. He picked up the baseball bat from the floor and faced the five men. They grinned at him. He ran over to attack them, but one of these men hit him on the face with a baseball bat. Sa pangatlong pagkakataon ay bumagsak siya sa sahig. They began to pummel him. Every part of his body was hit continually with kicks, strikes, and punches, leaving him unable to defend himself.

"Ahhh!" Roan groaned due to the pain. Not only just once but several times. The sound of helpless screams reverberated throughout the enormous warehouse.

Uno was still tranquil, seated on the chair, watching the scene as though it were on a television show.

While Via could not bear to see her boyfriend's condition. Roan was covered with blood and could not be even recognized. The men were not satisfied yet with what they were doing at pinagpasa-pasahan pa ang nobyo habang ginugulpi. Ang pang-itaas nitong damit ay napunit.

"Tama na!" Via screamed, making them stop, except—for Uno, who glanced at her. She shifted her focus on him, with tears flooding her eyes. His devilish gaze met her that seemed to be sucking out the air from her lungs. She could not define what it was like to feel being skinned alive and tormented to death by his eyes; Nevertheless, she must endure it to stop them from beating her man. "P-Please. . . Stop your men. I-I will do everything you want," she begged.

Uno grinned slightly at her willingness to do everything for her boyfriend. What a sh*t! He turned to his men and signaled for them to go out. Binitawan ng mga ito ang binubugbog na lalaki at hinayaan bumagsak sa sahig sa sobrang panghihina ng katawan. He went to his feet from the chair and kicked it hard toward the woman. He walked over to Roan, who crawled across the floor to the girl. But before this man could come close to her, he stomped his right foot on Roan's head, causing this guy to face the cold floor. He heard it whimper in pain, spitting out blood onto the floor. Then he looked at Via and saw all kinds of mixed emotions written on her face, crying in her stance.

"Pakiusap. . .Tama na." She sniffed. "I-I will do whatever you want. J-Just don't torture him," she desperately pleaded.

"Hang yourself," he said and left her puzzled.

Honestly, Via did not get what he meant. But she soon realized what he wanted her to do when she remembered the rope hanging by her side, tied in a bowline knot. "W-Wha—" She did not finish her word when Roan screamed because Uno pressed his foot on her man's head with pressure. Naipikit niya kaagad ang mga mata na walang tigil ang pag-iyak. She was haunted by hearing her man groaning. How could someone treat them this cruelly? It was worse than a nightmare that they never thought would happen in their life. Hindi na ito nagtaka pa kung bakit sinipa ng binata ang upuan nito papunta dito. He was genuinely merciless! Nanginginig man ang katawan ay inabot pa rin niya ang upuan.

"Don't! D-Don't listen to him."

Roan tried to stop her. She turned to him. His body was utterly feeble. It seemed like there was no way to listen to him. Pumatong siya sa upuan, holding the rope and ready to hang herself.

"WAG!" sigaw ni Roan at nag-ipon ng lakas para tanggalin ang paang nakatapak sa ulo nito, ngunit hindi kinaya dahil sa lakas na mayroon si Uno. "Ahhh! P*tang ina!" he screamed and looked into Uno. "Stop her. Nakikiusap ako sa 'yo at gagawin ko ang lahat ng gusto mo. Pakiusap pigilan mo siya!" Roan begged him.

Of course, Uno had no sympathy for them. He grinned secretly at these people who would do anything to protect the ones they loved. Ridiculous! He removed his foot from Roan's head and squatted. He grabbed this man's hair from behind and pulled it down to look up at him. "Do you want to save her? Tell her to strip."

"F*ck!" Roan cursed and laughed at what he had heard. He turned to Via and wondered what else he could do to save his girl. Pinagmasdan nito nang mabuti ang nobyo. He was pretty sure that was the only condition Uno gave him. Sinabihan niya ang dalaga na bumaba at pumunta sa harap nila.

Although Via did not have any idea of the meaning of this, she obeyed. Nasa harap na nang dalawa ang babae at naghihintay sa mga susunod na sasabihin dito kung mayroon man.

Uno smirked at them. He motioned for Roan to do what he had said. This guy glanced at the girl and gritted his teeth.

"S-Strip. . ." Roan commanded in his vulnerable tone.

Via was perplexed, looking back at her boyfriend. She was about to open her mouth to ask Roan why, but her man shouted at her.

"What the f*cking hell are you waiting for, strip!"