Depression Plutus (Curse #4)

CHAPTER 10 Second Victim

OTTILIE VIRSES POV 
 
 
 
I woke up feeling like my head was about to explode. Everything was spinning, and when I tried to move, I realized that I was hanging upside down, tied up like a bat. My arms were bound tightly to my sides, and the rough rope bit into my skin. 
 
"What the... " I groaned, trying to move, but all it did was make me sway like some kind of human piñata. 
 
Taragis talaga 'tong si Plutus!! Last time ibinaon niya ako sa hukay, ngayon naman naisipan niya akong ibitin patiwarik?! Pakiramdam ko nasa ulo ko na ang lahat ng dugo ko.

Ilang oras na ba akong nakalambitin dito? 
 
"Plutus!" I yelled, the anger bubbling up despite my dizziness. "Plutus, what the hell is this?"
 
Sure enough, he appeared, dragging a chair across the grass with an annoyed look on his face. His eyes were red and puffy from earlier tears, but his posture radiates arrogance as he sat down and crossed his legs while his arms folded tightly across his chest. 
 
It felt like some twisted déjà vu.
 
He sniffed dramatically before speaking, "We need to talk about what you did to me."
 
"Pakawalan mo muna ako dito!!" I demanded, struggling against the ropes that only tightened with my movement. "Mamamatay na ako dito, ano ba!!" My head felt like it was going to explode from all the blood rushing down.
 
Plutus wagged his finger dismissively. "Uh-uh, not until we settle this."
 
I groaned, the dizziness making it hard to focus on anything but my growing discomfort. My thoughts were a haze, but Plutus just kept going, completely ignoring me.
 
"Wasn't the older brother to blame for Setsuko’s death?" he asked, as if this were some normal, casual conversation. "Not the war, but him."
 
I blink through the dizziness. Taragis talaga ng lalaking 'to! Hindi pa din ba siya maka-move on sa palabas kanina? Oh come on, this guy has really some screw loose, but what he said really bothered me, so I voiced out my opinion.
 
"What are you talking about, you idiot!" I snapped, gritting my teeth as I tried to ignore my dizziness. "They were both victims of the war! They both died because of it!"
 
Plutus wasn’t convinced. He shook his head slowly, his voice steady. "Seita was selfish. He let her die from starvation and malnutrition. He refused to go back to the aunt’s house for help, and he didn’t do enough to feed her. He could’ve stolen food for her."
 
"Alam mo, may saltik ka ata sa utak eh," I groaned, the rope cutting into my arms as I struggled to think clearly.
 
"Seita was twelve years old, you dummy! He made mistakes, yes, but he was a kid too. His mother died, he couldn’t even grieve her properly, he had to hide everything from his sister. He didn’t know where his father was. He was just a child put in an impossible situation because of the war!"
 
Plutus went silent, his chin resting on his fingers as he thought deeply. I could barely hold my head up anymore, the world spinning dangerously around me. My body felt like it was about to give out, and then finally, Plutus sighed dramatically.
 
"Okay, fine," he muttered, "they were victims. Both of them. It’s tragic." He made a sign of the cross dramatically and murmured something like a prayer for the two brothers. "And to think it was based on a true story."
 
I felt myself slipping, the dizziness overtaking me. But before I could pass out, Plutus swiftly untied the ropes and let me drop onto the cold grass below. The shock of it made me gasp, my lungs burning with relief. He kneeled beside me, untying the last of the ropes as I lay there, staring up at the night sky full of stars.
 
"Y’know," I muttered, still too weak to move, "it’s easy to blame someone who makes bad decisions when they’re desperate. But in those moments, it feels like it was the only choice they can make."
 
Plutus, for once, was silent, then glanced up at the stars. "Yeah… I guess their bond as siblings was beautiful, even in all that tragedy." He stood up, stretching his arms above his head. "I miss my six brothers already."
 
I snorted, still too tired to get up. "I hate you." 
 
With that, Plutus shot me a look, "The feeling is mutual," then turned and left me lying there in the grass.
 
May saltik talaga ang lalaking 'yon. Muntik na akong mag-agaw buhay kanina. Akala ba niya kakalimutan ko na lang basta 'tong ginawa niya sa'kin kanina? Hah! Maghintay lang siya at makakaganti din ako. 
 
~~~
 
Kinabukasan kahit masama ang pakiramdam ko, pinilit kong pumasok. Himala nga na wala si Plutus sa paborito niyang pwesto tuwing umaga habang nagkakape. Dumekwat lang ako ng tinapay sa ref bago ako pumasok para may laman kahit papaano ang tiyan ko.
 
Kasalanan ni Plutus kung bakit hindi na ako nakapaghapunan kagabi. Makakaganti din ako sa asungot na 'yon, hintayin niya lang. Nang makarating ako sa school, kapansin-pansin ang kakaibang kilos ng mga estudyante. Madami sa kanila ang nagbubulungan habang naglalakad papasok sa building ng school. 
 
Nang makapasok ako sa loob ng classroom namin, napansin kong namumugto ang mga mata ni Dylan habang hinahagod naman ni Jenna ang likod nito. Pagkalapag na pagkalapag ko sa bag ko, agad ko silang kinalabit. Sabay naman silang napalingon sa'kin.
 
"Napapano ka, Dylan?" Takang tanong ko sa kan'ya. 
 
Tila namungay naman ang mga mata ni Dylan at tanging pag-iling na lang ang naisagot nito. 
 
"Hindi mo ba nabasa sa school forum?" Tanong ni Jenna sa'kin na ikina-iling ko lang.
 
I shoked my head. "Hindi ako active sa social media, Bakit? Anong nangyari?" Tanong kong muli. 
 
Napabuntong hininga na muna si Jenna bago ito nagsalita. "Si Lucas Raven ng soccer team natin natagpuang patay kagabi diyan sa sports field." 
 
Silence.
 
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. I felt the air leave my lungs, my entire body freezing up as my mind tried to catch up with what she’d just said. Dead? Lucas Raven? 
 
I felt a cold sweat break out along the back of my neck. My mouth went dry as I slowly, mechanically, turned my head toward the window. The sports field was visible in the distance, and sure enough, there was a section cordoned off with yellow police tape. Several figures, police and investigators, were moving about, examining the scene. It was far, but not far enough. 
 
That’s the crime scene.
 
It was happening again. The same way it had happened before. The same way it had happened to her.
 
Jenna’s voice snapped me out of the trance. "They said his leg was missing when they found the body," she whispered, her voice barely above breath, like she was afraid to say it too loudly.
 
Napapigil hininga ako sa sunod na sinabi ni Jenna. Ayokong mag assume, pero mukhang naulit na naman ang nangyari noong nakaraang buwan. 
 
Dylan sniffled, his voice breaking as he whispered, "How could something so horrible happen to my idol?"
 
I barely heard him. My mind was racing, my skin crawling with terror and anger. Why now? Why again? My hands clenched into fists on my lap. I could feel the bitterness rising in my throat. Ang buong akala ko si Elena lang ang una't huling biktima ngunit may panibago na naman.
 
Jenna leaned closer, her voice barely audible as she added, "It’s not the first time. Last month, a second-year girl was found murdered too. They said her heart was missing."
 
My chest tightened as if an invisible hand were squeezing the air out of me. I knew all too well because it was my bestfriend who she was referring to. And it wasn’t just any murder. They have the same murderer.
 
I knew it for sure.
 

 
To be continued...