#ElitesHerDarkSide
“Help me.”
This time it wasn’t a whisper. Her lips moved.
Patakbo akong lumapit dito.
“Hey—hey!” I rushed toward her. My body reacting before my mind could catch up. My hand shot out, grabbing her chamber or glass cage, whatever it is.
“Can you hear me? Blink or do something!”
She didn’t react. She didn’t blink or breathe. Her head lolled lifelessly with the motion. No resistance. No awareness. Nothing.
The beeping spiked in my ears.
Beep..beep..beep—
My grip tightened.
“No—no, you were just—” I stepped back abruptly, releasing her like I’d been burned. “You were looking at me.” I stated mindlessly.
“She wasn’t,” Covid said behind me. I turned to him, my vision blurring at the edges.
“She spoke,” I insisted. “She asked for help.”
White walls flashed in my head. There's this led light that too bright for my eyes. My breath hitched. And then, there is again. That beeping sound on my ears.
The room snapped back. Para akong bumalik mula sa panaginip na saglit kong nasilayan. Pero nanatili ang pamilyar na tunog na nagpapating sa pandinig ko. Halos manliit ang mata ko dahil doon. Nakakarindi. Ang tining ng tunog.
Covid’s gaze flicked briefly toward the woman… then back to me.
“She did?” he asked quietly. Something in his tone shifted. Not disbelief. Interest.
“Yes,” I said, more certain now. “She’s awake.”
He tilted his head slightly, studying me,not her.
“Then go,” he said. I blinked.
“What?”
“Help her.” The words were simple.
Saglit akong natigilan. Anong pinaplano n'ya?
“Hey. Listen. Can you hear me?” paguulit ko sa babae ng humarap akong muli dito.
Pero wala ni isang reaksyon akong nakuha. Nakapikit pa rin ito na animo'y natutulog lang. Halos yugyugin ko na ang chamber n'ya pero wala pa ring epekto. May belt na nakatali sa kanyang bewang na nakakonekta sa chamber kaya't hindi ito natutumba mula sa pagkakaupo.
“Wake up!” my voice cracked, then I heard it again.
The beeping spiked again. Mula sa mahina kanina, mas palakas na.
Beep..beep..beep—
Behind me, I heard it, a faint exhale. Almost like a suppressed laugh. I froze, and slowly, I turned back.
Covid was watching me. He's not surprised, not even concerned. He's just..focused. Focused of watching me.
“You saw it, didn’t you?” he said softly. My grip loosened.
“She moved,” I insisted, but the words felt thinner now. Fragile. “She asked for help.”
“Did she?” he asked. Humakbang s'ya ng isa papalapit sa'kin.
BINABASA MO ANG
The Elites
ActionCandid was never meant to be understood. She grew up hiding more than her face. Always hidden behind a mask and scarf, she became the kind of girl people feared without knowing why-quiet, cold, and dangerously unreadable. Some called her freak. Othe...
