Motel Maria: Beacon of Crimes and Murders

Chapter 4

"Should we trust them?" tanong ni Cody sa kapatid nito. He was skeptical about meeting those two girls who he believed were lying about being psychics. "Hindi ako naniniwala na psychics 'yong dalawa na 'yon. Pa'no na lang kaya kung niloloko lang tayo 'no?"

Napakibit balikat naman si Chris. "Hindi rin naman kita masasagot dahil hindi ko rin naman alam ang sagot, e. If these two weird girls have been planning something then maybe we should get along and see what's going on in their mind. Malay mo mga psychic nga talaga sila."

"Baka nga, and we could use something on their behalf. Sa tingin mo ba totoo 'yong manika na hawak nila?"

Chris laughed. "Bakit para namang interesado ka? Gusto mo bang hawakan din 'yong manikang 'yon? That's weird as fuck, Cods. 'Wag na 'wag mong hahawakan 'yon, ah?"

"Bakit naman?" kuryusado pa nitong tanong.

Umiling ito nang may paynalidad. "I was just telling you. Basta, 'wag na 'wag mong hahawakan 'yon. Hindi natin alam kung anong meron do'n sa manika na 'yon."

"If you don't believe it, too, bakit bawal ko pa rin hawakan?" Cody countered as if he was proving a point to Chris. "'Di ba?"

Chris groaned, shaking his head. Hindi na rin nila itinuloy ang pagpunta sa kabilang hallway ng ninth floor at mas minabuti na lamang nilang bumaba papunta sa parking lot. Hindi pa nila sigurado kung papayag 'yong dalawang babae na ma-post ang video nila online kahit na sinabi na ng mga ito na 'wag sila kuhaan ng video kanina. Si Chris lamang ang may ikipinagtataka sa kilos ng mga babae habang para kay Cody ay isang opportunity iyon makipag-collab.

Nang marating nila ang lobby ay nakita muli nila si Shana, pero hindi na lamang pinagtuunan ng pansin ni Chris ito. Tuluyang lumabas ang dalawa ng motel at tumuloy sa parking. Sa pagkakaalam nila ay may area rin sa gilid ng motel kung saan tumatambay ang mga staff para magpalipas ng oras. Sinubukan namang suyurin ng dalawa ng lugar na iyon at natiyambahan nilang walang tao sa paligid.

May ilang upuan at lamesa at halos open din ito sa publiko. Napag-isipan ng dalawa na umupo muna sa bakanteng upuan habang iniisip ang susunod na gagawin.

"What should do we if they won't let us collaborate with them?" tanong ni Cody.

Tumaas ang kilay ng kambal nito sa tanong niya. "Anong collaborate? Anong pinagsasabi mo? Hindi naman natin sila o-offer-an para makipag-collab sa atin, ha? They didn't even want to record themselves."

"Pero may camera silang hawak kanina," sagot pa ni Cody. "Baka vlogger din sila? Hindi lang nagpapakita ng mukha."

"I don't know. Probably. . . But I don't know if they are."

"But they'll meet us later," Cody said. "Let's just see what they will have to say and we can move forward what can we do with it? I think this would be a turning point sa documentation natin. At kahit na hindi sila totoong psychics, when our viewers watched that and found that we've encountered not just one but two people with that ability, we'll probably get that million of views agad."

"I like your optimism, Cody, but we don't know these people yet. . . They might put us in jeopardy in case we rely on them."

"Sabagay. . ." pagsang-ayon pa nito saka tatango-tango. "Anyway, what do you think about what we saw earlier?"

"Hm. . ." Chris hummed. "It's not what we were after. . ."

"Alright, hindi iyon ang shadow man, but that's something!" Napatayo pa sa kinauupuan niya si Cody. "Imagine, it's not what we were looking for in this investigation, pero may nahuli tayo. Do you think our camera's caught her?"