Outrun The World

Chapter 12

He Tian kicked the door of the nipa hut but it didn't budge so he shone the flashlight on the lock. Silently cursing himself, he angrily punched the padlock that was still in place. Cold fear crept to his gut with the realization.

Mo Guan Shan didn't make it out here. He's out there somewhere in this fucking darkness.

"Mo Guan Shan!" he called out with all his might, and with all the anger, fear, worry and frustration laced along with it. He whispered between clenched teeth, "I swear to the gods if I see you I'm gonna fucking ruin your face."

It's better than finding a corpse. Killing him would be better than losing him just like that, without knowing why he would suddenly disappear when they were having so much fun the day before.

What would he do in that situation? Who would he kill just to vent his anger and pin the blame, when the fault was his in the first place?

He went down the stairs and ran back towards Rica's house to get help. Morning wasn't that far ahead but with Mo Guan Shan, with every ticking second of him out of sight was something to be afraid about.

He Tian was aware of his own paranoia. But with all these fucking persistent rain and a storm that has no sign of stopping, his mind was bound to think of the worst possible scenario.

He bit his lip and felt warm water on his cheeks. Choking back a sob, he ran as fast as he could.

***

Strong, rough hand squeezed his shoulder and shook him out of sleep.

Startled, Mo Guan Shan quickly raised his head and squinted at a person standing in front of his own crouched figure. This person was carrying a flashlight trained on the ground next to him, avoiding his face. He remembered He Tian warning him about directly pointing a flashlight on a person's face because folks find it rude.

"What are you doing here, Shan?" the old man asked in English. A dog whined as it stuck close to its owner's heels so the man shone his flashlight on it. "He's a friend, Kabang. Good girl."

"Uh, I. . . I got lost," Mo Guan Shan answered and rubbed his eyes. So he fell asleep while crouching on the ground and he's still feeling sluggish and extremely cold.

"Is that so," the man said without asking another question. "Follow me, okay?"

He stood up and silently followed the old man who was dragging a rope attached to a carabao that was silently munching on carabao grass. They walked for a short while, the man deliberately slowing down his pace for him to follow close enough, until they arrived in a familiar house. Mo Guan Shan almost smiled at the coincidence. The first time he came here, it was also at dawn, just the other day.

"Get inside first," the old man, Rica's father, said with a grin. "Dang! Dang! Daniella, honey! Please prepare a clean towel!"

And then he smiled at Mo Guan Shan, "I'm just gonna tie Hidalgo to the barn, okay?"

"Thank you, sir," Mo Guan San said and the man just smiled and nodded. The dog followed the owner eagerly, as if they didn't just arrive together.

"Oi, why are you suddenly spokening dollars so early in the morning eh? Sus, suddenly calling me "honey" after all these years when I'm way past my menopause!" Rica's mother called out from inside but she was already on the move and fussing around. There was already smoke in the kitchen, a sign that she's been awake and preparing breakfast. "Practicing for those handsome youngsters? You'll get along just fine with body language, if I say so myself."

"Just hurry up or else, we'll be down to just one youngster and one corpse if you don't come out here immediately!" the father answered calmly from the back of the house.