"Geremy!" Rebeka gripped my arm so tightly that I felt her nails digging into my skin.
I was too stunned to move, rooted to the spot. My mom—whom I had thrown words at, and who I had been searching for ever since these strange events began—suddenly appeared before me.
And then, in the most shocking twist of all, she drove a knife into Geremy, the one person who had stayed by my side despite everything.
"M-ma!" I hurriedly ran toward them when Rebeka's hold to my arm loosened. "What are you doing?!"
I shoved her hand with enough strength, hoping she'd release the knife, but it didn't move an inch. I wanted to question her, to ask when did she become so strong that even my push couldn't make her flinch.
"B-Beau," Geremy stammered, his blood dripping from his mouth, a silent testament to the pain the knife had inflicted on him.
"Geremy!" Rebeka panicked.
"Call an ambulance, Rebeka!" I shouted.
I glanced back and saw Rebeka, her eyes wide with shock as she frantically scrolled through her phone.
Sinubukan kong hilahin ang kamay ni Mom palayo sa hawak niyang kutsikyo ngunit para iyong bato na hindi ko man lang magalaw dahil sa sobrang tigas nang pagkakakapit doon.
I looked at my mom, who was staring blankly at Geremy, and a shiver ran down my spine when she turned her gaze on me. I stepped back, but I remained there.
I felt a deeper surge of fear when she smiled, that evil, malicious grin. It was something... else. As if she wasn't the mom I knew. Or... she isn't?
"&%+=#%#%&*#!"
H-huh? What is she saying?
"#%*¥&#%!..."
Amidst the shocking scene before me, I was thrown into different world alone. She was unmistakably talking to me. She was telling me words and language I couldn't understand. I took a steps back, but paused when I felt that she was emitting scary aura. The kind of thing that will drain you if your will aren't strong enough.
It was at this moment that I heard the correct words coming out from her mouth. "Ah. Ah. How's that? Phew, that was tough. The language patch wasn't cooperating."
I was a bit taken aback. She's... speaking. She's clearly speaking. But this isn't how my mom talks. I don't even know what expression is on my face right now, and frankly, I don't care. This... isn't my mom.
I was contemplating whether to speak up or just remain quiet, took my time and plan a escape. But in the end, I decided to let some words.
"Where's my mom?" I managed to ask even though my voice was trembling with every word.
"Mom? Oh, you mean me?" She smiled, and within seconds, her entire form seemed to dissolve, shifting before my eyes.
What... the hell? Nagulat ako nang masaksihan ang nasa harap ko. He let go of Geremy, his body falling hard on the floor with a thud.
My gaze stayed fixed in front. I was confused, and perhaps already growing numb to the strange events happening around me. I didn't even feel shock when something unpleasant appeared right before my eyes.
The woman I once knew was gone, and was replaced by a man—probably around my age, twenty or twenty-one.
With dark hair that fell into soft and disheveled style, sharp jawline, deep shade of brown eyes that held intensity and felt foreign, unsettling, he stood before me. His broad shoulders and defined chest were unmistakable—muscular, yet lean, as if he had spent years sculpting his body.
I blinked, trying to process the sudden change. The woman from earlier was now a man, wearing a tight-fitting outfit that clung to his body.
What happened to my mom? To him? This... man, who was standing in front of me, wasn't just a stranger; he was someone who had just stepped into the reality, someone whose very presence felt both powerful and terrifying.
"Surprise! I'm your mom!" He laughed, almost hysterically.
I couldn't bring myself to move, nor could I find the words to express. He's a fucking psychopath! Ang mga nangyayari ngayon ay hindi na makatotohanan. But then, something deep inside me told me that this was reality. The world I knew, the people I loved, everything was shifting and changing.
My mind screamed for answers, but all I could do was stand on the same spot, paralyzed, as the man who was once my mother watched me with an intensity that made my blood run cold.
"Come on, man. Speak up. Don't bore me."
In an instant, he disappeared from my sight. I took that moment, so I turned and sprinted toward Rebeka, who was now sitting on the cold floor, trembling.
"Rebeka, run—"
I hadn't even finished my sentence when the man who had vanished just moments before reappeared right in front of me.
"No running," he said coldly, his voice devoid of emotion, as he plunged the knife into me.
"Beau!" Rebeka screamed.
I didn't know what I felt, or what to feel when the knife ran through my chest. I was expecting the pain and the blood, but there's none. I didn't feel... anything.
"Oh," the man looked surprise. "That's weird."
I heard a loud bang, followed by the sharp sound of shattering glass echoing through the house. Napatingin ako roon, at ganoon din ang lalaki sa harap ko.
I saw a figure—a human shape, a woman. It looked like she had jumped straight through the window to get inside.
With a black corset that hugged her body perfectly, it made me silently question if this was some throwback in fashion. Yet, somehow it worked. It was paired with a black skirt that hung just above her knees, and even her black boots that tightly wrapped mid-calf was screaming elegance.
"What are you doing? Let's go," the woman said coldly, and in the blink of an eye, she disappeared.
Napaupo ako at napahawak sa dibdib ko. I looked down at my black button-down shirt and noticed a tear, as if a knife had sliced through the fabric. But there was no blood, no sign of injury at all.
"Now, now," I looked up at the man and saw a small, amused smile tugging at his lips. "May we meet again."
