Amidst Havoc

Chapter 13

A M I H A N

“We found this house,” Belinda explained while we made our way inside a two-storey apartment they found while looking for us.

“Well, technically, we robbed it. But no one’s inside.” Marahang inihiga ni Pierce si Alixe sa sofa habang ako naman ay iginala ang tingin. My eyes are already blurry from exhaustion, parang wala na akong maintindihan sa paligid ko but I can tell that this house is a decent hiding place. The street was also quieter earlier as if there were no maggots around.

“I’ll try to lower Alixe’s temperature.” Mabilis na kinuha ng kamay ko ang hawak ni Belinda na basang maliit na tuwalya.

“Let Belinda do it, you also need help.” Mataman kong tiningnan si Arc na nakahawak sa pulsuhan ko. Tinanggal ko ang pagkakahawak niyang iyon at dumiretso kay Alixe na namumutla na ngayon sa sakit. Belinda put a basin down, may maligamgam iyon na tubig. Sinimulan ko na ang pagdampi ng tuwalya sa mukha ni Alixe. Damn, I can’t even feel my own hands. It’s like it’s moving on its own.

“Amihan,” Pierce called me pero patuloy lang ako sa pagpunas kay Alixe.

“Amihan!” He yelled. Pinigilan niya rin ang kamay ko sa ginagawa nito saka ako iniharap sa kaniya. Parehas kaming nakaupo sa sahig.

“Look at me, Amihan. Naririnig mo ba ako?” I nodded, my mind’s still cloudy.

“Tell me, ilan ‘to?” He raised one finger. One…

“Hey, speak.”

“Anong nangyayari?”

“She’s unresponsive. Her body’s moving pero I doubt she knows what she’s doing. It’s like she’s on automatic mode. She’s been silent since we got in the car, she opened the door to get off and she’s doing everything pretty normal… Strangely normal,” dinig kong paliwanag ni Belinda.

“Isn’t that a freaking zombie thing to do?” Keva blurted.

“Amihan…” That’s Arc.

I can clearly hear them pero parang wala ako sa sarili ko. Tama si Belinda, I have been doing things on automatic mode simula pa kanina. And no, don’t get me started with the zombie thing. I wasn’t bitten, I did not smell anything specific earlier. I’m just… tired.

“She’s been fighting non-stop simula pa noong isang araw. Her mind and body are exhausted. She needs to rest.”

“As if siya lang ang pagod--”

“Please lang, Keva, tama na.” Seryoso ang pag saway ni Arc. Naramdaman ko naman ulit ang kamay ni Pierce. This time, he’s placing his hand on my forehead habang ang isa niyang kamay ay nasa sarili naman niyang noo.

“You’re cold.”

“I’ll take care of Amihan, Pierce, ikaw na bahala kay Alixe. Arc, just… Just take Keva. Magpahinga na kayo, we all need to rest.” Naramdaman ko ang pagalalay sa akin ni Belinda sa pagtayo habang mas lalo pang lumabo ang paningin ko. I could feel my body getting heavier as if my system was shutting down. Hanggang sa marinig ko na lang ang pagsigaw nila sa pangalan ko.

“How could you do this to me?”

“Aloha…”