Somewhere in the Shallow Sea: A Novel of Suspense

by Dennis Macaraeg

  His hired goons and ragtag mercenaries fanned out and searched the ground for footprints.

  * * *

  With the sun beginning to set, the thick canopies of tree leaves formed broad shadows on the ground. It became difficult to navigate through the decreasing light. Danny checked the compass dial on his watch again. He remembered going uphill on the way to the rendezvous point with Vincent and his men. Going downhill, he was assured that he would get back to the Jeepney driver waiting for them.

  “Susmaryosep!” Melchor said, raising his hand. “Hold up.”

  “What’s he saying?” Helen asked.

  “It’s an expression—‘Jesus, Mary, Joseph,’” Danny said. “Let’s stop here for a moment.”

  Danny helped Melchor sit on a tree lying on the ground and checked to see if any bullets or fragments of shrapnel had hit him. Helen moved closer to check his back and the side of his torso.

  “I don’t see bullet marks,” Helen said.

  “My stomach hurts so bad,” Melchor said, his face grimacing in pain.

  “You need to lie down for a moment,” Helen said.

  Melchor took several deep breaths to calm his nerves. Danny handed him their water bottle and he took a couple of swigs. After a few minutes, Melchor calmed down and his rapid breathing returned to normal.

  “We need to go. This place will be crawling with soldiers soon,” Melchor said, getting up.

  * * *

  Danny was relieved to see their driver anxiously standing by the Jeepney, still waiting for them.

  “We need to take him to the hospital now,” Helen said as she approached the driver.

  Not wasting a second more, the driver put Melchor’s arm around his shoulder and gently laid him on the long bench in the back.

  “Let’s go,” Danny said.

  With the setting sun already sinking in the western sky, it became increasingly difficult to drive through the island’s unpopulated area. It was dark on the two-lane asphalt road. The driver flipped the Jeepney’s headlights on. The faint yellow light pushed out against the dark night in front of them.

  “Did you say excuse me three times while you were crossing the open field?” the driver asked, his eyes fixated on the road.

  Helen was mystified with the driver’s comment. “Why would we say that? There wasn’t anybody else there.”

  “Of course there was! There are Nuno sa Punso living in the mound on the open field. He might have stepped on a Nuno and now he is pissed off and has cast a spell.”

  “What’s he talking about, Danny?” Helen asked.

  “Some of the people around here still believe that spirits freely roam the lands as soon as night falls. A Nuno is a dwarf, an old man with a long beard. Bad things could happen to the person who offends him.”

  “We’re capable of sending tourists up in space, but people still believe in that?”

  Danny heard Melchor moaning in pain and turned to him. His skin was getting paler by the minute. Helen placed his head on her lap, picked up the water bottle, poured its contents in a white cloth, and placed it on the Professor’s forehead to comfort him.

  “How far are we from the hospital?” Danny asked.

  “A few more miles,” the driver replied.

  “No…no hospital,” Melchor interrupted. “The army and the police might be waiting for us there. They will detain us if they find out we were involved in the shootout earlier.”

  “We need to do something,” Helen said.

  “I know an albularyo, a medicine man who lives close by. Maybe he could do something,” the driver said.

  * * *

  The driver parked the Jeepney in front of the albularyo’s house. It was a small house with a corrugated roof and unpainted cinder block walls. Danny and Helen assisted the professor off the Jeepney.

  The driver knocked hard on the front door. A man in his late fifties with a thinning hairline and a mouth with half of his teeth missing answered. The driver spoke to him in a local dialect Danny couldn’t understand.

  “Let’s take him in,” the driver said.

  The albularyo disappeared into the kitchen. A few minutes later, he came back with a washbasin, a long candle and a metal spatula.

  “Does he really know what he’s doing?” Helen asked.

  Danny just shrugged his shoulders in response.

  The albularyo took Melchor’s shirt off and examined his stomach. His face quickly contorted into an expression of disappointment and worry. With broken Tagalog, he asked Melchor where he had been.

  “I was just on the other side of the island near the mountain.”

  The albularyo said that Melchor might have stepped on a Nuno and that offering food and drinks might appease the spirit. Since there were several Nunos roaming the island, he needed to know which one. He erected the candle on the table, lit it and placed the metal spatula over the flame. When the metal spatula was glowing red hot, he blew out the flame, picked up the candle and pressed it on the metal spatula. The melted wax dripped into the water in the washbasin. An unrecognizable figure formed in the water. The albularyo was muttering something to himself as he attempted to interpret the mystery taking shape. After he was sure that he knew what was in front of him, he turned to Melchor and told him what he saw.

  “What’s he saying?” Helen asked, turning to Danny.

  “The albularyo knows which Nuno Melchor stepped on and will recite special prayers, and ask the Nuno to forgive Melchor by offering him food and water.”

  The albularyo closed his eyes, held Melchor’s hands and muttered some undistinguishable words. From the gist of what he was doing, Danny could tell that he was communicating to the spirit that Melchor had offended. When he was done a few minutes later, he offered a combination of rolled-up herbs and asked Melchor to chew it to help relieve his pain.

  * * *

  After leaving a pack of cigarettes and a few hundred pesos, they left the medicine man’s house as soon as the ceremony was finished.

  The driver drove cautiously, trying not to speed and hoping to avoid getting stopped by the military patrolling the streets. Melchor’s pain was subsiding through the power of the herbs. His skin had returned to its normal dark brown color and his lips, ashen just a few hours ago, were back to their light pinkish tone.

  “I don’t trust the hospital here, so don’t bother taking me there. I’m not going to get butchered here.”

  “You need medical attention,” Danny pleaded.

  “I’d rather take the chance flying two hours back to Manila and get the best care,” Melchor said.

  “What are your plans now, Melchor?” Danny asked.

  “We should be in Manila by 10 o’clock tonight. You’ll stay in a hotel and I’ll ask my pilot to fly you directly to Tawi-Tawi in the morning.”

  “We don’t know anyone there. How’re we going to find Commander Berto and his men?” Helen asked.

  “I’ve done some business with a councilman in Tawi-Tawi. He owes me a favor for developing one of his beach properties into a resort. He’s a good man and a former officer in the army. He will help you find Blake,” Melchor responded.

  “Do you think that a councilman would know where he is? If the military couldn’t locate him, how could he?” Danny asked.

  “There are a lot of things you don’t know about how things work around here. Everyone knows pretty much where everyone is. If he does not know where Commander Berto’s hideout is, I’m sure he has people who can locate him.”

  “Why do we need to get him involved?” Helen asked. “What’s in it for him?”

  “Because we need a go-between. We need to reestablish some trust with Commander Berto. Popoy Arevalo is one of the richest guys in the area and was one of the leaders who helped arrange the release of a Frenchman who was abducted while scuba diving near the Balabac Islands.”

  “What if he doesn’t want to get involved?” Helen asked.

  “More likely he will help you. He’s not stupid and he’ll g
et something from this deal.”

  “If he refuses?” Danny asked.

  “Then I have no choice but to text Commander Berto’s messenger and, hopefully, he still trusts me after what happened in the forest and will meet with you. But that would be a long shot.”

  Danny felt the Jeepney decelerating. He peeked outside and saw several military armored personnel carriers blocking the road.

  “Looks like there’s a checkpoint up ahead,” Danny said.

  “Helen, cover your head so we don’t raise any suspicion,” Melchor said.

  Helen dug in her bag until she found a scarf, hurriedly concealing the sides of her cheeks and folding the scarf’s ends around her neck. Wanting to hide part of his face, Danny searched his immediate area, found a straw hat on the front passenger side and quickly placed it on his head.

  As soon as the Jeepney stopped at the long bamboo barricade, the soldier sitting on top of the armored personnel carrier directed the bright lights at them. Danny raised his hand to shield his face. A soldier with an M-16 rifle, wearing a military fatigue uniform, peered inside. Danny bowed his head down and Helen avoided eye contact.

  “Is everything all right here?” the soldier asked, sticking his head in the Jeepney while pointing the flashlight in their faces. “Where are you guys going?”

  “Boss man,” the driver replied, “I just took these guys to the albularyo, a few miles up that way. They heard about his mystic powers and we’re just coming back after getting treatments.”

  With Melchor grimacing, he didn’t have to exaggerate the pain in his face.

  The soldier walked towards the back of the Jeepney, bent down and searched the open spaces under the seats. He swept the flashlight side to side looking for weapons and contraband. Helen pulled the scarf forward to conceal her exposed light skin cheeks. Danny’s throat felt dry and he worried about the gun in the bag next to him. If the soldier found it, they could spend the night in jail or worse.

  After a few tense moments that felt like an eternity, the soldier switched the flashlight off, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. He tapped the side of the Jeepney a couple times and signaled a soldier with a machine gun sitting on top of his armored personnel carrier to let them through. The driver shifted the gear to first and slowly rolled away.

  Danny finally breathed a sigh of relief.

  * * *

  Nearing the city center with the checkpoint far behind them, Melchor reached for the radio scanner inside his bag and turned it on. The chatter on the radio was nonstop. They listened intently but it was difficult to discern whether the Philippine National Police or the local officials were talking as their sentences came out in quick bursts. Then the next message sent shivers up Danny’s spine.

  An all-points bulletin was being broadcasted: “Be on the lookout for a Caucasian female with two male companions. May be armed and dangerous.”

  “Damn! Everyone is looking for us,” Danny said.

  “Who sold us down the river?” Helen asked.

  “I’m pretty sure that the people who fired on us earlier weren’t the military,” Danny said.

  “Why would you say that?” Melchor asked.

  “Because I saw Dr. Klein.”

  Helen and Melchor’s faces immediately contorted into puzzled looks as if they couldn’t comprehend what Danny was talking about.

  “And?” Helen asked.

  “He is my old professor who has been after the Cube for years. I believe he’s here and wants it for himself.”

  “This complicates things. Not only are the police looking for us but also your Dr. Klein. If we’re not able to deliver the money and the Cube to Commander Berto, he might kill Blake. Forget about our original plan. We can’t go back to the airport together. Someone might already be waiting for us,” Melchor said.

  “What are you planning now?” Danny asked.

  “Do you want us to stay here overnight and wait for the airplane to return in the morning and then fly to Tawi-Tawi?” Helen asked.

  “That’s too risky. I don’t trust anyone here. I think there’s a regularly-scheduled boat that goes to Tawi-Tawi.”

  “You sure?” Helen asked.

  Melchor turned to the driver to confirm his assumption. “Is that right?”

  “Yes. Every night,” the driver said.

  FOUR

  The ship’s engines were already revving when they arrived at the pier. Danny climbed down from the Jeepney’s rear exit with his rollaway bag, Helen following behind him.

  Danny studied the ship that would take them all the way to Tawi-Tawi and contemplated whether to abort or to press on to see what was on the other side. He felt a slight uneasiness as he gazed at the women with long headscarves accompanied by men with brimless white caps. Danny wondered if he was doing the right thing by meeting Commander Berto on his own. Maybe it would be better to just turn around and let the Philippine authorities rescue Blake. He feared the potential for disaster was just too great. What could he do anyway? He was just an oceanographer and not some kind of superhero who can save the day and return everything back to the way it was.

  “Are we doing the right thing?” Helen asked with doubt in her voice.

  A part of him wanted to tell her to turn around, go straight to the Jolo airport and fly back to Manila. Their task was daunting and dangerous. He doubted that going to Tawi-Tawi, a place he had never heard of until today, would result in in Blake’s release. He felt little control over the series of events that seemed to get worse with each passing hour. Coming to Mindanao was supposed to have been simple. He was supposed to meet with Commander Berto, give him what he wanted, and then fly back to Manila with Blake. Now, faced with another island to go to, he thought of Odysseus wandering in the Greek islands and taking years to get back home. Dr. Klein could already be one step ahead of him and waiting for his arrival in Tawi-Tawi. But he had no choice and couldn’t trust anyone to take care of his personal business. Like a moth attracted to a lamp’s light, all he could do was to fly right through the flame and hope he’d come out on the other side with Blake freed from his captors.

  Danny took a deep breath and studied the ship’s decks overloaded with passengers and cargoes. He wondered which would kill them first if things went wrong. Would it be the flimsy-looking ship sinking in the middle of the Sulu Sea or a bullet to the chest from Dr. Klein prowling in the periphery? Just thinking about it made his head throb in pain. Though he feared the possibility of either outcome, his anxiety at the thought of losing Blake was even greater.

  “Bahala na,” Danny replied, as he took a deep breath of the moist salty sea air.

  “Huh?” Helen asked.

  “Let fate decide.”

  Danny climbed up the ramp leading to the passenger ship.

  * * *

  As the ship pulled away from the pier, Danny and Helen searched the upper deck for a place to lay their tired bodies but were disappointed when they discovered that most of the cots were already occupied. Since they bought their tickets at the last minute, they were issued a “chance passenger” status, which meant that they could get on but were not guaranteed an available cot. After searching the entire ship, they found two empty cots side by side, next to stacks of rice sacks and caged chickens at the back of the boat. Danny threw his knapsack on the cot and laid down.

  Going to Tawi-Tawi had never even crossed his mind, and now Danny found himself on a ship rolling along the choppy Sulu Sea on a starless night. He tried to wrap his mind around the fact that Dr. Klein was involved with Blake’s kidnapping and how he got involved with Commander Berto. He opened his eyes and the bright, circular fluorescent lights momentarily blinded him. He noticed a lizard crawling on the ceiling. Did the lizard know which way is up and which way is down? He wondered why Dr. Klein was shooting at the members of the Kulog ng Timog.

  He turned toward Helen who was sitting on the next cot and already making friends with a young girl and her mother. The girl was practicing her English with Helen.<
br />
  “It’s pronounced apple, not eepol,” Helen remarked.

  The little girl covered her mouth in an embarrassed giggle.

  Aware that Danny was staring at her, Helen turned toward him. His dark chestnut eyes locked with the ocean of light inside her own. He thought of the last time they were together…

  On a late summer afternoon, Danny was standing at the ferry terminal waiting for Helen to arrive. It had been a year since he saw her last. The wind blowing from the bay was cool on his face and the anticipation of seeing her lightened his heart. Out of the group of people walking in his direction, he spotted her right away with two cups of coffee in her hands. He walked up to her and she offered him one of the cups. He leaned forward and lightly kissed her on the lips. He realized how much he missed her presence.

  They boarded the ferry to Coronado Island. While on the boat, Helen mentioned that she had just finished her teaching credential program and was considering a position offered to her. Danny said that research for the Cube had taken up most of his time.

  Not having a concrete itinerary, they rode around town in a pedicab as the cool breeze stroked their faces. After deciding on the outdoor restaurant, they sat at the table under the canopy of the night sky, dotted with twinkling stars. Danny ordered wood-fired pizza—barbecued chicken flavor.

  After dinner, they decided to stroll the shops on the main street. At one point, they passed by a jewelry store where a two-carat diamond ring was proudly displayed in the window. Danny noticed Helen’s eyes fixed on the stone glistening under the lights. Danny wanted to buy the ring for her—he was sure she’d be happy but he knew that the time wasn’t right to make a huge commitment. The Cube was his priority and the last thing he wanted was to ask Helen to sacrifice her career for him by staying in San Diego. Especially now that she had just become a credentialed teacher.

  * * *

  With the ship slightly oscillating with the waves, the ceiling lights turned off except for the dim lights along the aisles and the main deck finally quiet, Danny’s nerves finally settled.

  “How did this happen to us?” Helen asked, turning to Danny from her cot.