Halo - 9. Chapter Nine

I opened my eyes, only to have some sort of cloth covering them. I was also restrained by my wrists and ankles as I lied horizontally on a bed. I then heard a door open and I decided to stop my fidgeting.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Mike!” a man’s voice fumed. “You’ve already jeopardized the safety and secrecy of our people by exposing our existence to him! What you’ve done—”

“I know what I fucking did! I already lost my father to that bastard, so I wasn’t just going to let someone I also care about die right then too.”

Mike.

“I can’t even imagine the devastation you felt when you lost your father, Mike, so I understand,” a woman’s voice said empathetically. “But you must understand that you didn’t just save him. You also—”

“I know what I did, okay? And I’m willing to accept the consequences for what I did…and I understand that I allowed my feelings to override my better judgment and I apologize.”

The man scoffed. “You’re going to need to more than an apology for the chief. Seriously, Mike, have you not learned anything from Maria? How we can’t just express our kindness or generosity through our abilities because they will undoubtedly backfire on us? And this guy you saved isn’t just anybody. He’s the heir to the seat of a very large and infamous oil company. You couldn’t have picked a worse person unless he was Hirohito reincarnated!”

The woman sighed. “Mike…we also can’t ignore the possibility that this connection you have with this person is more than just a coincidence.”

“And I don’t think the heir of a large gold mining company being found by the people associated with the gold of an area he was kidnapped to was only a coincidence either.”

“Don’t you even start with that shit! The chief could’ve left you to die that night. But no, he saved your life and healed you because he believes that we shouldn’t completely abandon what made Maria worth admiring in the first place… And look where it has gotten us all. History does repeat itself it seems.”

Stomping footsteps were heard.

“Don’t Mike! The last thing any of us need now is an infight between the two of you. Right now, we need to find a solution to this current situation. That’s why the chief sent the two of us here to assist you. The repercussions over your past decisions can wait.”

“All right… I understand why you’re here, but I can’t understand why he had to come too, though.”

“It’s complicated. What matters now, however, is making sure…”

“Duncan. His name is Duncan.”

“Right. Duncan. We need to continue to monitor Duncan’s vital signs until he finally wakes up. After that, we need to run multiple tests, and that’s only the beginning,” the woman informed.

“I…I understand. If there’s any way I can help—”

“I think you’ve done enough already if you ask me,” the man inserted.

“Just shut up already. Don’t make the chief regret sending you here, okay? And don’t worry, Mike, I have everything handled. Allow yourself to mourn your father’s passing, so you’re at a better mindset when Duncan wakes up. All right?”

“All right. And his prognosis is good, correct?”

“Well, not in the medical sense, but yes, I have no doubt he’s going to pull through this. You knew what you were doing when the situation called for it. His body has completely regenerated, so his physical state is accounted for. However, his mental state will only be known once he wakes up. Now, if it’s okay, I need to continue monitoring Duncan.”

“Okay.”

“…And that means you too.”

The man scoffed, and two sets of feet were heard before a door closed.

A warm hand was felt on my forehead and the woman said, “You can stop pretending you’re still in a comatose state now.”

“Oh…you noticed?”

The woman chuckled. “The monitor pretty much showed that you were conscious. How are you feeling?”

“Um…good. Not really feeling the blindfold or the restraints, though,” I admitted.

“Just allow me to the close the curtains and I’ll remove your blindfold and the restrains as well. You only needed the blindfold, but Adam insisted we needed to take every precaution we could with you. So, I apologize.”

“It’s okay. So…what happened? Why am I here?”

“First, let me run some tests on you, then you’re free to ask any questions that you want. I’m Angelica by the way.”

I felt the restraints being released, which allowed me to sit up. I then felt Angelica untie the blindfold from behind my head and I was introduced to a dark room where the only source of light came from the monitors to the right side of the bed.

Looking at Claire whose face was only dimly illuminated by the monitor screens, she placed the palm of her hand close to my face. She then took her hand back and I saw that a hologram-like image suspended on the back. There was a scroll of moving text along with what appeared to be an image of eyes, my eyes, that were rotating next to the text.

“Just what I expected. From just scanning your eyes, I have detected that your brain vitals are normal… However, I have also detected major spikes with your consciousness, so it was good that I decided to shut all the light from this room,” Claire informed.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

Placing her hand down, Claire said, “Your conscious is currently unstable and allowing any light to be absorbed through your eyes will only cause a dangerous reaction, to yourself and anyone around you... Think of it as a chemical reaction. If I just poured a whole container of a flammable substance into a fire, a dangerous reaction will undoubtedly occur. However, if I gradually add the same substance in even increments as I also adjust the intensity of the fire, I can better control what happens and will most likely form beneficial byproducts in the process. To translate, I need to expose your eyes to only a limited amount of light for a short duration of time for now. This will allow you to begin training your conscience on how to manipulate light at a safe rate that will not result in any negative side effects. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Y-Yeah…I think so.”

“Good. I already have a custom set of tinted contact lenses for you to wear during the duration of your training. The first pair you’ll wear will be the most tinted, and as you progress with your training, you’ll switch to a different pair that will allow more natural light to enter your eyes. Be patient with this, Duncan. Do not attempt to take in more natural light until your conscience is fully capable of doing so without causing any unstable reactions. Mike took an extreme risk by giving you our people’s gifts to save your life, but if you follow all the necessary precautions and steps I have prescribed to you, I don’t see any problem that could arise… You might even be the catalyst to something even greater, not just for you, but also for our people and the future of the Philippines.”

“Oh, um…thank you.”

Claire smiled. “Well, if you don’t have any other questions, I’ll let you continue resting. That will also help your conscience adjust to its new circumstances. There’s a bathroom at the right side of the room and if you need anything, just press the button to your left. Okay?”

I nodded.

Claire patted my shoulder before standing up from her chair and walking out of the room, leaving me alone and so freaking confused. The last thing that I remembered was that man with the blindfold slicing me open before everything faded with a bright light being the last thing that I saw. I then felt my neck and stomach, realizing that there were no stitches, scars or any reminder of what that man did to me back…whenever that happened.

I sighed heavily, placing a hand on my forehead and wondering what my family was thinking about right then. Did they even know about what happened to me? Did they know that I was almost killed by having my skin literally ripped open like I was freaking Christmas present? This all must be just a bad dream, right? I can’t believe everything that I just discovered about Mike and his association with the Filipino tribe and the gold and Maria and the aswang and…God!

Now I’m in a hospital bed with my mind racing to find some sort of conclusion to why this was all happening, but alas I didn’t. I already felt a headache coming through, and I hoped to the gods and goddesses that this was not another thing that I had to go through, though it was minor compared to everything else that came at me like a herd of rampaging buffalo. It was all just building up, and I don’t know whether it’s going to collapse or not, and with me right where it’s going to fall. That would be my luck.

I decided that I really needed to take a piss, so I got out of the bed and walked into the restroom where I did the deed. And as I washed my hands with a new bar of soap, I looked at the mirror that displayed my appearance. I look deeply at myself and notice that my eye color was lighter, almost a hazel tone that differed from my usual brown, almost blackish eye color. I kind of liked what my eyes looked like now, and I was willing to take any good news.

“Duncan?”

Hearing Mike’s voice sent my heart fluttering as I quickly dry my hands and hurried out of the restroom. I stop when I see him who looked like a complete mess with his hair all ruffled, like he was pulling at it, his clothes all disheveled like he was wearing those same clothes for days and his face had several days’ worth of stubble that turned into a light beard that made him look much more mature, but also abandoned if that made any sense.

“Duncan!” Mike exclaimed as walked to me and hugged me so tightly that it almost hurt.

Despite that, I hugged back, feeling the firm body of Mike around my arms instantly made me feel a lot better and most made me forget all the crap that went down back at the fundraiser. However, when I felt the same body shaking and the sound of sobs was heard escaping from Mike’s mouth, that easiness morphed my relief into concern for the man I grew to care about a lot despite only truly knowing him for just a short time.

“Mike… Are you okay?” I asked.

Well, of course Mike was not okay, Duncan. The man just lost his father and could have lost you as well if he did not intervene in time. And judging by his appearance, he must’ve been through hell, wondering if I was going to wake up again. So, no. Mike was not okay, and I needed to stop asking such ridiculous questions. If only I was a person who could handle someone when they needed emotional support. For Mike, though, I was willing to do my best.

“I’m…I’m just relieved that you’re okay… After what happened to my father, I… Shit.”

“I’m so sorry, Mike,” I said as I pulled back to see Mike’s face that was wet with tears.

“I didn’t know if you were ever going to wake up again…but seeing you, hugging you…it’s all that I ever wanted since everything went to hell.”

I smiled lightly, and when Mike leaned forward for a kiss, I closed my eyes and accepted the kiss that felt so amazing, better than any other form of drugs, food or any other pleasure combined. I moved my lips in rhythm with Mike’s, and soon we were accepting each other’s tongues that danced against one another to the point that we could’ve been tongued tied.

The kiss was so passionate with Mike making these grunting noises that made my other member stand up in attention inside my hospital pants, and when his hand lowered to grab a hold of that piece of me, I gasped from the sensation. Having his hand on my cock made me almost release my load on the spot, but I used my strength to hold it back as I released my lips from his and looked him right in the eyes.

“All I want is you right now, Duncan,” Mike said, panting. “If it’s okay, I want to…”

I immediately nodded and pulled Mike by the front of his shirt to the bed where we both collapsed onto. Our lips quickly joined again, and I relished the feeling of Mike’s firm, heavy body on top of me, a sensation I think no one I knew could ever satisfy, let alone a woman. With both of us grunting and sucking down each other’s tongues, we also fumbled with our shirts that were soon stripped off. And then the unbuckling and tugging of our pants caused me to feel so elated for what was about to happen next. Never have I thought that someone like Mike, or anyone for that matter would be so passionate, wanting deeply to fuck around with me like what Mike was doing right then. But here we were, and though I would have preferred a more private setting than a hospital room, it also added a sense of adventure that sent my hormones shooting through the roof.

When our pants were pulled to our ankles, I swallowed when I saw Mike’s considerable length that then pressed against mine that sent shivers down my body. Looking into my eyes, Mike consumed me again with his lips as he moved his hand around both our cocks and started pumping his hips as well. I was losing my breath from not only the kiss, but also from the shear amount of pleasure I felt from our cocks grinding against each other that was already pulling me close to the edge. The raw masculinity of Mike who would soon cause him and myself to release our essence and manhood onto each was so fucking hot, and when Mike breathed into my ear before biting it, I knew it was all over.

I gasped, no choked, when my pleasure peaked, and my orgasm crashed through me, shattering my very being and sent me to what felt like another dimension. And as I came, Mike shot his hot load seconds later, moaning loudly as his white essence spilled onto his stomach, chest, and even my lips which I lapped up like a dog and tasted the salty goodness that was a part of Mike. We both breathed heavily, exchanging each other’s air right before our lips joined again as the afterglow of our orgasms made me feel so light, and just right both inside and out.

After a moment of making out that simmered down into gently kissing, Mike pulled back and with a small smile said, “Sorry. I kind of lost control there.”

I smile back and pressed our foreheads together. “No, that’s totally okay. That was amazing.”

“It was amazing for me too… Do you mind, Duncan, if I…stay here with you?” Mike asked, oddly shy, but cute.

“Of course not.”

Mike kissed me again, very gentle, yet so loving as well as he took his overshirt from the edge of the bed and wiped the mess from my body with care. He then adjusted our pants back to their original position before pulling the bed sheet onto our bodies and snuggling against me with his arm around my shoulders. In return, I press my face against his lightly hairy chest that was both warm, firm and the perfect pillow for me to sleep on.

Everything was quiet for a while, and then Mike kissed the top of my head. “I’ll take care of you, Dun.”

I smiled, liking the nickname before I drifted off into sleep with the man I cared about very much. There was no way I was going away from him this time.