Depression Plutus (Curse #4)

CHAPTER 37 Haunted Inn

OTTILIE VIRSES POV 
 
 
 
"Ottilie, ingat kayo!" Paalam ni Jenna sa'kin bago sila sumakay ng bus. 
 
"Kita-kits na lang sa Monday," dagdag naman ni Dylan.
 
"Bye! Ingat din kayo." Kaway ko sa kanila hanggang sa makapasok sila sa loob ng bus. 
 
Bugnot na bugnot akong naglakad patungo sa sasakyan ni Plutus habang hinihintay itong makabalik. Nagpaalam ito saglit para kausapin si Mr. Armstrong bago kami bumyahe pauwi. 
 
Sa wakas, natapos din ang 3 days camp namin. Eight ng umaga nag-umpisa ang presentation namin at natapos ito twelve noon. By one pm, nag-announce ang panelist kung sino ang nakakuha ng pinaka-mataas na puntos.

Guess what kung kaninong grupo ang nanalo? Syempre ang group two! 
 
Nagbunga din ang pagpupuyat namin kagabi para lang sa ritual case na 'to. Binigyan kami ng certificate bilang appreciation sa pagkapanalo namin, pero wait, there's more! Nag offer lang naman ang institution ng future job para sa'ming apat after namin grumaduate. So basically, may trabaho na naghihintay sa'min pagka-graduate namin. It's up to us kung gusto namin mag-apply sa institution nila. 
 
Nang matapos ang awarding, nagprepare ang institution ng feast para sa'ming lahat. Nagtagal ang kainan ng mga dalawang oras bago kami pinagready para sa pag-uwi.

And by 5 p.m., nakaready na ang lahat para sa pagbabalik namin.
 
"Let's go," Plutus said, then beeped his car to open the door. 
 
Nang makapasok ako sa loob at maikabit ang seat belt ko, saka ako nagtanong sa kan'ya.

"Ano pinag-usapan niyo ni Mr. Armstrong?" 
 
Plutus started the engine and followed the bus in front of us, "I've got someplace to be before we head back, so yeah, they'll have to manage without us."
 
Napahaba na lang ang nguso ko dahil sa kayabangan nito. Walang pinipili, pati teacher namin hindi na ginagalang. Binaling ko na lang ang tingin sa daan at hindi na nagsalita pa. Bumalik na naman sa ala-ala ko ang itinanong ko sa panelist kaninang umaga. 
 
Pwede pala talagang ma-summon ang kaluluwa ng mga yumao na pero gaya nga ng sinabi ni Ms. Rutherford, kapag hindi ka skilled, malaki ang chance na ibang entity ang matawag mo. Mukhang ngayon lang ako tinamaan ng konsensya dahil sa ginawa ko kay Plutus. Dahan-dahan kong binaling ang tingin ko kay Plutus na seryoso lamang habang nagmamaneho. 
 
"Plutus..." tawag ko sa kan'ya. Saglit naman nito akong nilingon bago muling ibinalik sa daan ang tingin. 
 
"What?" 
 
Matagal bago ako nakapag-salita. Napahigpit tuloy ang hawak ko sa backpack na akap-akap ko. "I'm sorry, dahil sa kapalpakan ko, hindi ka makabalik sa tahanan mo," sincere kong sambit dito. 
 
Wala akong nakuhang reaksyon mula sa kan'ya matapos kong magsalita. Pero nakita ko ang pag-igting ng panga nito, ibabalik ko na sana ang tingin sa labas ng bintana ng sa wakas ay magsalita ito. 
 
"I must say, you’ve really brought trouble to my peaceful life, evil witch. It’s sure a headache," he muttered.
 
I bit my lip, feeling the sting of guilt rise again. But then, his voice softened, just barely.
 
"But… I admit, I’m having fun here. Your world is interesting. Haven’t felt anything like this in a while, really," he said, almost as if he was confessing it more to himself than to me.
 
Doon lang ako nakahinga ng maayos sa sinabi niya. "I’ll find a way to break the spell. I promise."
 
He clicked his tongue in that familiar, annoyed way of his. "Forget about the spell for now. Focus on solving that murder case. Besides," he added with a sly grin, "I’m having fun giving you trouble."
 
I scowled, feeling irritation bubble up at his arrogance. "And what about my peace of mind? Give me a break once in a while!"
 
He let out a short laugh, entirely unbothered. "Absolutely not. As long as we’re sharing a roof, I’ll make sure you never have a peaceful day."
 
I snorted, crossing my arms as I glared at him. "Oh, come on!" 
 
Plutus only smirked, clearly enjoying himself. Itinulog ko na lang ang inis ko sa kan'ya, nagsisi tuloy ako na humingi pa ako ng sorry sa kan'ya. Walang hiya talaga ang asungot na 'to. 
 
 
~~~
 
"Fuck this damn weather!" 
 
 
I woke up to the sound of Plutus cussing under his breath, his hands clenching the steering wheel as he glared out at the road. Nang ibaling ko ang tingin sa labas, nakita kong madilim na ang paligid. There's a heavy rain pouring down, hitting the windshield with such force, it felt like we were submerged in water. And I could barely see the road ahead. 
 
"I can't see a damn thing!" He exclaimed, squinting through the downpour. 
 
The windshield wipers were moving at full speed, but it barely made a difference.
 
"Where are we?" Natatarantang tanong ko.

Parang kanina lang bago ako umidlip maganda pa ang panahon, ah? Bakit biglang buhos ang malakas na ulan ngayon?
 
"We’re lost. Obviously." Plutus said as he shot me a sharp look.
 
"Lost? Saan ba kasi ang punta mo?" Napapa-kurap na tanong ko sa kan'ya. 
 
He let out an exasperated sigh. "I saw some old bookstore a few days ago, okay? Thought I’d stop by and get you some books for this investigation of yours. But now, we’re lost in the middle of a forest." He gave a frustrated growl. "Great plan, right?"
 
Napatameme ako sa sinabi nito. Seriously? Hindi ko alam kung maantig ba ako o maiinis sa kan'ya eh. Napabuntong-hininga na lang ako, mukhang wala na kaming magagawa sa bagay na iyon, stranded na kami.
 
"Maybe we should pull over," I suggested. "It’s too dangerous to keep going like this."
 
Plutus gritted his teeth, clearly fighting to keep his temper in check. "And then what? Sit in the car all night?" He scowled, glaring at the road. 
 
"Baka may mahanap tayong inn, just continue on driving," kinakabahan kong turan. 
 
Mainit ang ulo ng prinsipe ngayon, mahirap na baka sumabog ang isang 'to. Ako na lang muna ang mag-aadjust sa ugali niya, kalmahan mo lang, Ottilie.
 
With no houses in sight, he kept driving slowly, grumbling under his breath as he scanned the surroundings. Finally, a dim light broke through the darkness, a lonely, two-story inn, looking eerie and out of place in the dense forest.
 
"Perfect," he muttered sarcastically. "A haunted mansion in the middle of nowhere. Just what we needed."

But he pulled up in front of it. We just grabbed our on-the-go backpack and both hurried inside, soaked through by the time we reached the lobby. Pagpasok namin sa loob, naabutan namin ang isang mag-anak na basang-basa din sa ulan gaya namin.
 
Nagdire-diretso kami ni Plutus patungong counter kung saan naghihintay ang isang innkeeper na may nakakakilabot na ngiti.
 
"Welcome. A room for the night, ma'am and sir?"
 
"Yes, but we’ll need two," Plutus said firmly.
 
The innkeeper gave him an apologetic look. "I’m afraid there’s only one room left. The other one was reserved for the family over there." She gestured to the couple and their four-year-old son, who were huddled together by the window. 
 
Puno na sila? Bakit dadalawang sasakyan lang ang nakita kong naka-park sa labas? Sa'min ang isa, at nakakasiguro akong sa mag-anak ang isa pang sasakyan. 
 
Weird.
 
"But we need two rooms," Plutus insisted, combing his hair frustratedly.
 
"I'm sorry, sir," the innkeeper said. 
 
Magrereklamo na sana si Plutus ng hawakan ko ito sa braso niya. "Okay lang naman sakin, mag-share na lang muna tayo." 
 
Napatiimbagang na lang si Plutus bago nagsalita. "Fine. Just for tonight."
 
Habang nagbabayad si Plutus, inilibot ko ang tingin sa lumang inn. Gaya nga ng sabi ni Plutus kanina, mukha itong haunted house dahil sa maka-luma nitong design. Sa kakatingin ko sa paligid, aksidente kong naipatong ang kamay ko sa ibabaw ng counter, ang kaso hindi ko napansin na may matulis na naka-usli doon dahilan para masugatan ang daliri ko. 
 
"Aww," daing ko.
 
Nagulat na lang ako ng mabilis na hinablot ng innkeeper ang kamay kong may dugo, at saka nito mabilis na pinunasan gamit ang tissue. Sa sobrang bilis ng kilos nito, hindi na ako nakapag-salita pa.
 
"Sorry po! May naka-usli kasing pako at hindi pa po ito naaayos!" Mabilis na turan ng babaeng innkeeper. 
 
Plutus turned sharply, his eyes darkening as he yanked my hand back from the innkeeper’s grip.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing?" he snarled, examining my finger. "Don’t touch her."
 
Bigla na lang namutla ang innkeeper dahil sa takot nito kay Plutus. "S-sorry, sir! I didn’t mean any harm!" She quickly thrust a rusty-looking room key toward him, adding, "Your room is ready, room 202, upstairs."
 
Without missing a beat, she scurried over to the family in the corner, nervously offering them their key as well.
 
Plutus shot the innkeeper a withering glare before gripping my hand firmly and leading me toward the stairs. "This place better be worth it," he muttered, clearly annoyed as he guided me upstairs, not loosening his hold on my hand even once.
 

 
To be continued...