S.T.A.I.D. 1 (COMPLETE) - Published under PHR

12

KANINA pa pinipilit ni Luke ang sarili na itaboy si Myka. Nagpunta siya doon sa lumang swing para mag-isip. Ilang minuto pa lang siyang naroon nang dumating naman ang dalaga. He should be driving her away and not staring at her under the moonlight. Pero hindi naman niya magawang paalisin ito. Damn, she's just so beautiful to look at.

"Tell me, Myka, how did you get into this?"

Napansin ni Luke na nagulat si Myka sa tanong niya. He realized that he liked seeing her this way. Yung hindi nito itinatago ang reaksiyon. "Ano?"

"Tinanong kita kung paano ka napasok sa ganitong klase ng trabaho." Habang nagsasalita ay hindi maiwasan ni Luke na hindi pasadahan ng tingin ang kabuuan ni Myka. She was really a very beautiful woman. Pero ang kagandahan nito ay hindi lang sa pisikal. What made her really beautiful were the passion and intelligence in her eyes. Kahit na hindi pa niya ito lubusang kilala ay kitang-kita naman niya kung gaano ito kaespesyal.

"Tulad ng kung paano nakakapasok sa trabaho ang ibang tao. I filed up an application," may pagkasarkastikong sagot ni Myka na agad nagpangiti kay Luke. Kuntento na siyang panoorin na lang ito nang magsalita itong muli. "Luke, can I ask you a question?"

Nagkibit ng mga balikat si Luke saka nagpatuloy sa matamang pagtitig kay Myka. Alam niyang may pagka-intimidating siya kapag ganoon na siya tumingin. Hell, he used that kind of intense concentration when he was inside the courtroom. Pero ni minsan ay hindi man lang niya nakitaan ng pagkailang si Myka. He even liked that she was matching his stare with her own penetrating gaze. Oh yeah, he liked that alright.

"Gusto ko lang malaman," Myka stopped and tilted her head to the side. Para bang inaarok nito ang kanyang ekspresyon. "How far would you go to achieve your goals?"

Luke contemplated on Myka's question. Goal was indeed the right term. Masyado kasing komplikado ang lahat. There was so much more that was going on aside from the fact that someone out there was trying to kill him. At gusto niyang malaman kung paano nagkakakonekta ang lahat. Lalong-lalo na ang koneksiyon ng mga magulang niya sa STAID at ang STAID mismo. Malaki ang pusta niya na may mas malalim na koneksiyon ang lahat. And his main goal was to understand it all and if given the chance, he wanted to fix what he can. 

Siguro ay may kung anong nakita si Myka sa kanyang mga mata kaya muli itong nagtanong. "Have you ever killed anyone, Luke?"

"No, but I'm willing to kill to achieve my goals and to protect the people I care about." Luke deliberately didn't use the word family. Siguro dahil deep inside ay alam niya na handa din siyang pumatay para kay Myka at pati na kay Jared. But that would mean that he cared about Myka, too. Pero bago pa niya mapag-isipan ang sinabi ay nagsalita na si Myka.

"'Wag mong sabihin yan." Mukhang hindi nagustuhan ni Myka ang sagot niya dahil bigla na lang itong pumiksi at humakbang palayo sa kanya.

"Bakit hindi?"

Umiling-iling si Myka habang lalo pang naglalagay ng distansya sa pagitan nila. "Dahil hindi mo naiintindihan." 

"You're damn right I don't." Luke glared at Myka. "Tatanungin mo ako kung hanggang saan ang kaya kong gawin pero pagkatapos kong sagutin ang tanong mo ay gusto mo namang bawiin ko ang mga yon." Sarkastikong ngumiti si Luke. "You're asking for the impossible."

In a split second, Myka was there right in his face. "I was only fourteen when I watched a man get killed right in front of me. I got over it but I never forgot, Luke. Ni minsan ay hindi ko nalimutan yung amoy ng dugo. Yung ekspresyon sa mga mata niya nang marealize niya na mamamatay na siya. Nakatatak lahat yun sa isip ko. I never forgot that I was the reason he got killed and I always considered him my first kill." Tila kulang pa ang mapwersang pagsasalita ni Myka dahil hinawakan niyang bigla si Luke sa mga balikat. Then she continued with a grave voice. "There are some lines that you just don't cross, Luke. And killing a man is one of those. Because once you kill a man, there's no going back."

"Why are you telling me that?" marahas pero pabulong na tanong ni Luke.

"Because you're a good and honorable man. Believe me, you don't want to cross that line."

Ayaw mang aminin ni Luke ay naapektuhan siya ng mga sinabi ni Myka. At hindi lang iyon dahil sa mga binitawan nitong salita. It's also because of the raw emotion that he could see in her eyes. Noon niya narealize kung ano ang ginagawa nito. In her own twisted way, Myka was trying to protect him. "Myka, hindi mo ako kailangang alalahanin. I've made this decision a long time ago."

"Bakit, Luke? Bakit ganito na lang kaimportante sa'yo na gawin ito?" tila nahihirapang tanong ni Myka. "Patay na si Adam. You can't bring him back anymore. And you might just get yourself killed if you don't stop."

Malungkot na ngumiti si Luke saka sinubukan pa niyang magbiro. "Maybe I just want to help fight and stop all these monsters around us, you know?" Tipid na napangiti siya nang marahang tumango si Myka.

"Pero, Luke, what if... What if stopping the monsters means you'll become a monster yourself?"

"Ganyan ba ang tingin mo sa sarili mo? Do you think you're one of those monsters?"

Mapait na napangiti si Myka. "Matagal na, Luke."

Umiling-iling siya. "No, I don't think so."

"I've killed a lot of people, Luke. Hindi ko na mabilang kung ilan," mapanganib na sagot ni Myka.

"Pero masasamang tao naman ang mga pinatay mo. And if I'd be considered a monster by doing the same thing, then so be it. I don't care, Myka, because the alternative is so much worse. Hindi ba magiging monster ka parin kahit na wala kang gawin? The fact that you know you can do something but you chose not to do it, it also makes you a monster, right?"

At muli ay natagpuan ng mga kamay ni Luke ang braso ni Myka. Nang maramdaman niyang ang sumusukong buntong-hininga ng dalaga ay napangiti siya. Pagkatapos ay napaisip siya sa paggamit ng salitang monster. Para kasing tunog pambata iyon kapag ginamit sa ganitong paraan. But for him, it was the perfect term. Dahil ano ba ang tawag sa mga taong halang ang kaluluwa? Kriminal? Pero tao pa ring maituturing ang mga kriminal. At hindi sang-ayon si Luke doon. Because those types of criminals don't deserve to be called humans, they're monsters.