Chereads / La Isla del Abatido / Chapter 3 - Paloma de Alma

Chapter 3 - Paloma de Alma

Abraham comes out of the hospital, talking to his grandma on the phone. "He's currently fine. Thankfully it didn't hit any major arteries. They say he should be out within a week."

"Bendiga Atabey." She sighs in relief. "Thank you for checking up on him. I wish I could be there for him, but I have to stay to take care of the kids.

"Don't worry. He understands. Anyways, I'll be around the area and walk around." He says.

"Bueno. Be careful out there, okay? Enjoy the beauty."

"I will. See you later." He hangs up and pulls out a bag of the chocolate to eat. The high noon sun has caused the treats to slightly melt.

"Qui qui qui~!" He knows that laughter. He turns to find the Coqui woman peeking from the corner of the building. She's wearing a white cloak. "Taking care of a child that's not even yours? I made the right call laying my eyes on you." She approaches him in the open. He's already a tall man, but she towers over him when standing upright.

"Are you sure you should be out like this?" Abraham looks around, but the people are not noticing the woman.

"No te preocupes. This cloak makes me look like a normal person to the ones who don't have the gift. Watch this." She waves at a young man. The man waves back and moves along. "See?"

"Huh. What crazy shit." He says while munching.

"I see you're already used to me." She giggles. "I don't believe I've introduced myself. My name is Rururua. You can call me Rua."

"I'm Abraham."

"Ooooo. Lindo nombre~!" He stays silent. "So what is your Zemi's name?"

"Um. I didn't know I had to name it."

"She's your protector! The least you could do is give her a name."

Abraham thinks for a moment. "I don't know. I'll come up with it later. Do you have one too?"

"Of course! Although, I still haven't refilled my offer." She groans. Then an idea pops to her head. "Do you think you could get me some?"

"That depends. What do you need?"

She pulls out a flier from her satchel to show him a bottle of alcohol. "Bacardi!"

"No." He walks away.

"Quiiii! Wait! Why not!?" Rua chases after him.

"I'm not going to encourage your addiction." He says sternly.

"But without it, I can't summon Absofacto!" She gets on her knees and starts crying. "Por favor! Te lo suplico!" The scene is causing people to look at them.

"Okay! Fine! I'll get it for you." He pulls her up.

She hugs him. "Gracias!" He lighty shoves her away. "Let me give you my number." They exchange phone numbers. "Oquiay! Just give me a call when you get it. I recommend going t-" a sudden feeling of terror courses through her body. Rua quickly hides back from where she came.

A short olive skinned man walks past them. He's wearing a white shirt with Jotaro doing his iconic pose in the front and Star Platinum on the back, short brown pants and sandals. Abraham is more amazed by his long brown dreadlocks that reach his thighs and the bangs that obscure his eyes. He also reeks of smoke. The man stops and turns to look at him for a moment, then keeps walking.

"Damn. He looks cool." Abraham says.

"That man has death by his side." Rua says with venom as she walks towards him.

"I mean, I think he should definitely tone down his smoking habit." He waves away the smell that lingers.

"Be wary. There are people who share our gifts, but that doesn't mean they're our ally."

"Are you saying he has a Zemi too?"

"I'm not sure. But there's definitely something weird about him and Absofacto warned me. Which is why I need the offering." She pats his shoulder. "Now hop on to it! And don't forget the name!" She runs towards the nearest building to then she jumps on to the rooftops.

"So much for being undercover." He sighs. Abraham walks around the streets looking for a local liquor store. He enjoys the colorful buildings that have cool graffiti on the walls. "It sure is much livelier than America." He enters a store. The shelves have rows of both local and imported drinks. He finds a bottle of Bacardi. The cashier is a chubby middle aged woman in a red dress messing with her boombox.

"Huye que te coje la muerte-Huye que te coje la muerte-Huye que te coje la muerte-Huy-" the song keeps repeating before finally shutting down.

"Maldita sea." She punches the top and the music plays normally. She attends Abraham. "Eso será todo? Yo estoy también vendiendo casete clásicos." She points to the shelf full of music cassettes. Ruben Blades, Eddie Santiago and Él Gran Combo to name a few artists.

"Sorry. I don't have a radio." Abraham says.

"Ah. No need to worry. I'm sure it'll be a great gift to your older folk." She picks out a cassette. "You seem like you like to party. I recommend this one." She hands it to him. It's from an artist called Proyecto Uno.

"Thank you." He did not want to get it, but it's cheap and doesn't want to deny her recommendation. He pays and leaves the building.

Abraham waits to the nearest bus stop, when he notices the same man with the dreadlocks walking with a notebook. He recalls Rua's warning. But his curiosity gets the better of him and decides to tail him. He is careful not to be spotted, so he blends among the crowd.

Abraham watches from a distance the man sitting on the bench at the park. He lights a cigar and checks his phone to write notes in his book.

A Caucasian woman with a kid approaches him. "Excuse me. This is a public space. You shouldn't be smoking." He responds by grabbing a handful of dried corn next to him and throws it at her. The pigeons immediately fly towards her to peck the food on her body. "AAAAAAAAAH!" She runs away, while the kid chases after her.

"Puto turistas." He says and returns to his task.

"What a grouchy fellow. Since I'm here, I might as well enjoy the sights." Abraham goes inside and looks out at the sea. There's a Disney cruise nearby. He takes out his phone for a picture. Something lands from behind and turns. His blood freezes at the sight.

It's a very tall humanoid woman. She has long white hair that covers her eyes. The defining features are her long black sharp claws. Her skin is brown while wearing black sports top and shorts. She has scaly reptilian legs and angel wings on her back. "OoOoO." She is on the floor imitating the pigeon's call. Upon noticing Abraham watching, she snarls at him. Revealing her sharp canines.

"Así que tú la puedes ver." The man says standing next to her.

"W-what?" He's still in shock.

The man exhales the smoke. "Hmm. Not from around here." He smirks. "I know you have been following me. Which means you've been sent to take me out."

"Take you out? I don't even kn-" the monster flies to attack him with her claws.

"DURO!" The shark emerges from Abraham to uppercut the monster's face, blasting her to the skies. "Shyoo." She crosses her arms, standing in between her user and the man.

He is unfazed, as he takes another smoke. "So that's your Stand, huh? Jeje. She looks cool. I'll give that. Nearly Witches! Show them what you can do!" He inhales the entire cigar. From above, the monster regains her composure and spews a stream of smoke at them.

The shark sinks to the floor as Abraham jumps out of the way. She swims underground towards the man. She emerges from the ground to punch his face, but Nearly Witches dive bombs her to protect her user. Abraham feels the impact on his ribcage and falls. "Augh!" He can barely breathe. The shark tries to sink back down. Not before Nearly Witches slashes her arm, causing Abraham's left arm to have the same claw marks. "AAAAAAAAAH!!!" He tries to cover the injury to stop the bleeding.

A police officer runs up to the scene and pulls out his gun at the man. "Manos arriba!" He turns towards the officer and puts his hands up. "Te digo que cooperes!"

"Yo estoy siguiendo lo que dice." He says calmly. That's when he notices the tattoo on the officer's neck. It's a rose on fire. "Mierda! Newi!" His Zemi is still focused on locating the shark.

The officer smirks. "Estás resistiendo arresto. Envíame saludos a tú tío en el infierno, Quiles." He's about to pull the trigger.

"PROYECTO UNOOOO!!" Abraham shouts. The shark emerges from the ground below the officer and punches the gun. The weapon fazes through his hand and is stuck inside the palm. He screams in pain.

"DURO DURO DURO!" Proyecto Uno punches him repeatedly. The officer is dazed by the attack and falls off the rails, landing head first on the rocks before reaching the waters.

"Oh shit!" The man and Abraham look over to see his corpse floating on the sea. The blood surrounds him. "Oh nononono. I didn't mean to kill him." Abraham is having a mental breakdown.

"Don't worry. He wasn't a real cop." The man reassures him. A crowd gathers around. "Let's get out of here. Vamos, Newi!" He runs away. Abraham follows him.

They stop once they are far enough. "What the hell was all that!?" Abraham asks.

The man is catching his breath. "He was part of a gang called La Rosa Quemada. I've been trying to hunt down their leader, since they most likely killed my uncle." He explains. "Sorry about earlier. One can't never be too careful around here." He lights another cigar. His Zemi stands behind him to inhale the smoke. "My name is Miguel. This is my Stand, Nearly Witches. Newi for short." She waves happily at Abraham.

"The fuck you being friendly for now? You attacked me and made me kill someone!" Abraham punches Miguel's face out of frustration.

Newi is about to defend him, but Miguel grabs her arms. "Tranquila. I deserved that." She calms down. "Regardless of how you feel, you're now a part of this." He massages his cheek. "I'm sure he wasn't alone and his partner is right now going back to their HQ. And I'm sure they have Stand Users." He gives him a note. "That's my number. Call me whenever you need help."

"Hold on! I'm not done with you!" Abraham tries to grab him, but Miguel jumps on Newi and flies. The people are too focused on the commotion at the park to notice him flying away. "Damnit! What have I gotten myself into!?"