Chapter 131: Truth
I didn’t like how the sack looked. It was made from the kind of rough burlap typically used for hauling rice, and from the looks of it, it had seen better days. Dirt clung to its surface like crusted mud, and the cloth was mottled with stains. It must have been stored in some dingy, rat-infested bodega where the rain got in.
The bottom portion was darker—wet, with red-tinged blotches that had soaked through the fibers. A round bulge suggested something heavy and solid inside.
Dimalanta accepted the sack from the man with visible reluctance. He and Capitan Mendez had been stationed in a nearby barrio, awaiting further orders from me. Earlier they had received my messengers and had marched into town with two hundred men under their command—an even split of Santa Cruz and Mogpog recruits.
They were given a more cautious welcome by the townsfolk, whose expressions betrayed a blend of relief and fear. Three hundred soldiers squeezed in a small town was no doubt, intimidating.
The teniente winced as he caught the scent wafting from the sack. Then he looked to me, uncertain.
I already had an idea of what was inside. Still, I needed to be sure. I needed to see it with my own eyes.
He dropped the sack a meter from my boots. He stepped back quickly, relieved to be rid of it. The stench of coagulated blood, metallic and sour, reached my nostrils. I took a brave step forward, crouched down, and peeled open the already loosened seam at the top.
Hair. Matted, black with streaks of grey. Coarse strands clumped together. It was the sort of hair you’d expect on a man in his forties. A man like someone I knew all too well.
"We have brought you Señor Paras," the man declared, trying to sound diplomatic. "We demand that you release Papa Hilario... and that hostilities cease."
He glanced behind Teniente Medina, who stood beside me. Perhaps he wondered why the Spanish officer was now on my side. The armed cultists flanking him shifted uneasily, their grip tightening on their weapons. Clearly, they were confused as well.
"We accept defeat," the man added.