My eyes automatically widened when I felt a heavy, menacing presence behind me. It was coming from LIVE Corporation; all of a sudden, its glass windows shattered all the way from the bottom to the top.
I immediately went inside by sneaking to the from the second floor. It was a good thing that I am a cheerleader, and I am flexible enough to become a sudden trespasser.
Bumungad sa ‘kin ang napakalinis kong kwarto na tila ba’y hindi ako umalis dito dahil gano’n pa rin ang ayos. Nang mapatapat ako sa salamin ay halos mapamura ako dahil sa pangit ng suot ko.
“Tangina… Buti na lang buhay pa ako para magpalit,” bulong ko. Mabilis akong nagkalkal sa closet, hindi naman ako nagtagal do’n lalo na’t alam ko rin naman na walang papansin sa suot ko.
“Yay! Amira Cutie!” I mumbled. I wore a black pleated skirt and a simple fitted white shirt with a black leather jacket and sneaker boots.
Not from afar, I saw my favorite katana hanged in the wall. Agad kong kinuha iyon saka ako tumungo sa kwarto ng mga magulang ko, hinagulhol ko lahat ng gamit nipa ngunit wala na ro’n ang diary. Inayos ko rin naman agad iyon in case na matunugan ni Daddy na galing ako rito.
Nang palabas na ako, narinig ko ang isang kakaibang ingay sa tinatapakan kong kahoy na sahig. Pinanliitan ko ito ng mga mata saka inangat ang bahaging iyon.
“Jackpot.” Mabilis kong inalis ang parte ng sahig na ‘yon, bumungad sa ‘kin ang diary kung saan nakakuha si Kelly ng isang page.
Bumalik ako sa kwarto ko upang kumuha ng backpack, may ilan pang laman ito ngunit shades lang naman kaya hindi ko na tinanggal. Nang tumungo ako papunta sa direksyon ng basement, napansin kong bukas ito dahilan upang hindi na ako mahirapan pa.
The scent was still the same, but I didn’t saw what Alex witness. There are no bozos eating each other here, but the Lycoris Albiflora was not also present. But as I roamed around, I noticed that this basement was an old laboratory. The pieces of equipment were scattered; some of them are already shattered while the others are burnt.
Two large bookshelves welcomed me, most of the books covered with blood and mince of flesh. My eyes automatically squinted when I saw a hole, it was carved, and a sharp, pointed needle was attached inside.
I became alerted when I heard footsteps from above. And I unknowingly inserted my hand, making it prick my finger.
Masyadong mabilis ang pangyayari. Nang ilabas ko ang kamay ko, kakaibang hapbi ang naramdaman ko sa daliri ko na tila ba’y dumadaloy ang sakit sa buong katawan ko, kasabay nito biglang paggalaw ng paligid. Ang buong basement ay bumaba sa marahan na paraan, ang pinto patungo sa itaas ay naglaho. Nang tumigil ang pagbaba ng buong silid, ang dalawang malaking bookshelves ay naghiwalay at bumungad sa akin ang panibagong lugar.
Napanganga na lamang ako nang bumungad sa ‘kin ang makikislap at tila niyebeng mga Lycoris Albiflora. Ang pamilyar na amoy nito ay rumehistro sa ‘kin ngunit nang dahan-dahan kong inangat ang aking ulo ay nanganig ang buong katawan ko.
“What the hell…” A thick, transparent glass wall was separating me from a hoard of bozo. How could I not think that this might be connected to the underground tunnel towards the border between Luzon and Visayas?
I can’t hear their groans and growls because of the glass divider, but their menacing crimson eyes were roaming around, looking for something to devour.
Another peculiar thing caught my attention. In the middle of the entire room, a glass coffin was placed along with a woman, who started this madness.
Bawat hakbang ko papunta sa direksyon ni Alejandra, ang bawat butil ng pawis ko ay tumutulo. Napalunok na lamang ako nang makarating ako sa tapat n’ya. Gaya ng nakalagay sa kakaibang entry sa diary, tila hindi siya tumatanda dahil ubod pa rin siya ng ganda at tila isa pa rin siyang dalaga.
Awtomatiko akong napilingon sa aking gilid nang may marinig akong paghakbang ngunit wala namang tao roon. Nang binalik ko ang mga mata ko kay Alejandra, halos matumba na ako sa gulat at takot ko.
She was suddenly darting her crimson eyes at me, but she’s not moving nor speaking. She’s just looking at me.
“Tangina…”
“You shouldn’t speak bad words in front of your elders, you know.” A cold, eerie whisper suddenly scared the death out of me.
I looked behind and almost screamed when I saw a woman in white. She has long dark hair and was pale. A creeping smile suddenly curved in her lips, making it slip to my back.
“Careful, Amira…” The woman suddenly held my hand and pulled me. I almost destroyed the glass coffin because of her.
My heart is still beating fast non-stop while looking at the woman. Her cold hand was caressing me as if I’m familiar with it; she even called me by my name.
And it only means that this woman is… “Alleona Nakamura…”
“Bingo!”
“You’re the ghost of Alleona Nakamura! Oh my gosh!” I screamed and pulled my hand. I clasped my hand and kneel to the ground as I closed my eyes, “May you rest in peace! May you rest in —”
“Rude! I’m still alive!”
I stopped praying and opened my eyes slowly. She was grimacing at me as if I did something terrible to her— well, I actually did.
Dahan-dahan akong tumayo saka yumuko, “Sorry po. Mukha ka pa kasing white lady, akala ko hindi ka pa masaya sa langit kaya nandito ka pa sa lupa.”
Bigla na lamang s’yang tumawa nang malakas na para bang walang mga bozo na nakapaligid sa amin hanggang sa bumaba ang mata n’ya sa daliri ko.
“Can’t you feel that?” She asked.
“I can. It stings,”
I looked down at my finger and noticed that it was bleeding badly. What the fuck? Napakaliit na sugat tapos uubusin ata ang dugo ko?
She suddenly held my hand gently and pulled a cloth out of her pocket. Tita Alleona looked at the blood curiously and to Alejandra and lastly to me, “Did you injected yourself with Lycoris Albiflora?”
“Yeah… I was actually testing if I’ll explode just like the bozos.”
She smiled and carefully covered the tiny, bitchy wound, “You won’t explode, Amira. It has a different effect in our blood,”
“What do you mean?”
Her eyes looked at me intently. She intentionally gave me cliffhangers from the information she was telling me, and here I am, silently waiting for a new chapter.
“If Lycoris Radiata symbolizes death and reincarnation…” She suddenly paused and glimpse into the surrounding before glancing at me, “Lycoris Albiflora symbolizes purity.”
“I still don’t get it…”
Tita Alleona glanced at her skin and to the field of Lycoris Albiflora, “They cleanse your blood and make something so pure. And those who are corrupted with death are scared of its purity and chastity, and it was like a venom to their body which they couldn’t take.”
I remained silent. It feels like I somehow get it, but a part of me doesn’t.
“And because Alejandra and the infected expunged the idea of Lycoris Albiflora in their system,” she whispered, making me glanced to Alejandra, “People with Lycoris Albiflora within— You and I gained something that could shake their world.”
“Gained something?”
All of a sudden, she wounded her palm and went to the glass wall, the divider between the hoard of bozos and us. Tita Alleona tainted her blood to the wall, but the bozos remained calm.
“We camouflage— we are invisible to them, Amira.”
#
BINABASA MO ANG
OUTCAST (PUBLISHED)
Science FictionPUBLISHED UNDER IMMAC PPH After an unexpected apocalypse, Amira and her friends found themselves trapped inside the border of Luzon, in which the virus was spreading rapidly. And in order to keep living, they needed to reach the capital of Luzon, an...
