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Chapter 33

MACE ALQUIZA

Gunshots after gunshots.

Screams after screams.

Before I could even process what was happening around me, I was pushed aside by the stampede of the crowd trying to escape the area, with some people attempting to hide in corners and beneath tables.

Hindi ko alam ang gagawin. Na estatwa akong napaupo sa sahig nang maitulak ako kaya pilit kong pinrotektahan ang sarili ko nang magpulasan ang mga tao para magtago at makapasok ng mansiyon. I was left frozen in place, crying and hugging myself.

Nanginginig ang buong katawan ko sa takot. Nagtatalo ang isip ko kung tatakbo ba ako o mananatiling nakahiga dahil baka matamaan ako ng bala.

"Move!" sigaw sakin ng isang babae na habol-habol ang hininga habang papalapit sa akin. "We need to get out of here!"

Pero hindi ko magawang sumagot. Parang tumigil ang oras, ang tanging naririnig ko lang ay ang tibok ng puso ko at ang ingay ng paligid. Hinawakan niya ako sa braso at hinila papatayo.

"Come on, we need to move!" pilit pa niya habang ako'y inaakay. Ngunit bago pa ako makatayo, sa isang iglap ay bumulwak ang dugo mula sa kanyang bibig na nakapagsigaw sakin kasabay nang pagtumba niya sakin.

A bullet was pierced on her chest that eventually took her life away.

"God, no!" I screamed, my voice breaking with the horror of what had just happened. Her lifeless body lay heavy on me, her blood warm and sticky against my skin. I struggled to push her off, my hands were trembling.

I was frantic the whole time, trying to suppress my sobs as I try not to look at her lifeless body.  The chaos was still all around me, but I couldn’t even force myself to move.

The masked men from the outside of the mansion were firing their guns indiscriminately, killing every person they saw fleeing or attempting to hide. The sound of the gun was deafening. It was wreaking havoc on my system,  and I feel like the terror will forever be painted in my veins.

Ang mga sigaw sa paligid ko ay nakakabingi at nakakatakot. Sigaw iyon ng kamatayan.

I was shaking like a leaf as I tried to move. I know I needed to escape. I know I needed to save myself.

But then, I couldn’t move. My body was immobile. My body . . . i-it’s not working. I can’t move.

“Mace!”

I heard the voice of Alana calling me, but I couldn’t find her. The light was starting to flicker.

There are others trying to conceal themselves from the bushes. Sa sandaling pagkakatapos ng putukan ay muling pumapailanlang ang sigawan ng mga tao bago muling magtatakbuhan paloob ng mansiyon para humanap ng mapagtataguan.

They all couldn’t go out, no matter how much they wanted to. Ang mga sumalakay sa mansion ng Wilson ay nakaharang sa mismong gate at doon nakabantay na parang mga sugo ni kamatayan at babarilin ang lahat ng magtatangkang makawala sa kanila.

It seemed like they had no plans of letting anyone live.

I lay myself flat on the ground and turned so I would be on my tummy. Kahit hindi ko pa ganoon maramdaman ang aking mga binti, sinikap kong gumapang papunta sa mga nakataob na steel table at magtago.

No one had prepared us for this kind of situation. Kaya siguro hindi agad nag-sink in sa akin ang mga pangyayari dahil wala sa hinagap ko na mararanasan ko ang mga bagay na ito ngayon. That’s why my body was too weak to even move.