It was just another day. Medyo marami ang naattract sa lures ngayon, so we're busy killing them. I saw Orielle on the corner of my eye saying something in her walkie-talkie. And for the first time, bumaba, siya at tumulong sa amin. She looked alarmed.
Hinila niya ako papunta sa pintuan nang building. She also have access to it as Orielle W. appeared below her face on the scanner.
"Guard this door! Ask all of them to get inside. Make sure no dwellers get in", she said.
Everyone stopped and ran towards me as Orielle shouted at them to get inside the building.
We were all confused and realization came down on us as we looked where she was running to.
Clovis and Cassius was behind Sir Samuel who was fighting someone. Nasa ground si Clovis and Cassius na para bang takot na takot at hindi makakilos. Dumating si Orielle at tinulungan si Sir Samuel na kalabanin ang kaaway niya. Natumba si Sir Samuel while Orielle continued to fight the enemy. Medyo malayo sila kaya hindi ko masyadong maaninag ang hitsura nang kinakalaban nila. Akala ko mercenary pero akala ko lang pala. Nang maitarak ni Orielle ang sword niya sa dibdib nito, he shrieked. Hindi galing sa tao ang tunog na yun.
Binaling ni Orielle ang attention niya kay Clovis at Cassius. Tumayo sila. Iniwan sila ni Cassius na tumakbo papunta sa amin samantalang inalalayan naman ni Clovis si Sir Samuel na tumayo at maglakad papunta sa amin. Nakita ko si Orielle na pinutol ang ulo nang kaaway niya.
Dumating si Cassius na hingal na hingal at umiiyak.
"Anong nangyari? Sino yun? ", tanong ni Zinny.
"Hindi ko alam basta ang alam ko hindi tao yun", Cassius said. He was crying, scared.
Malapit na sila Clovis at Sir Samuel ngunit natumba silang dalawa. I heard Orielle shouting at Clovis to hurry up. She was running with a horde of dwellers behind her.
"What the", I heard Brick say.
"Aloutte, you guard here",I told her. "Make sure the door is ready to close pagdating namin".
Aloutte nodded, with a hint of fear in her eyes.
Tumakbo ako papunta kay Clovis at tinulungan siyang alalayan si Sir Samuel. Duguan siya at wala nang malay. We struggled as we ran to the building. Orielle was already behind us.
"Cayden! Close the door when you get inside!", she shouted.
She stopped to fight the horde of dwellers to give us more time. I swear Sir Samuel is so damn heavy. Dagdagan pa na wala itong malay which makes it even more harder.
"We're nearly there", I told Clovis.
We reached the door and told Aloutte to close the door.
"How about her", Aloutte asked referring to Orielle who was running towards us with the dwellers on her heels.
"She'll make it. Just close the door".
Aloutte pressed the button and the door slowly closed. She just barely made it and the door closed completely leaving the dwellers outside. She pressed the button again and another thick door came down.
She pressed the logo and her suit came off. "Where is he?", she asked. Her voice full of worry.
"Cassius what are you doing?" it was Zinny's voice, alarmed.
Lahat kami napatingin sa direksyon ni Cassius. Hawak niya ang baril niyang nakatutok kay Sir Samuel. His hands were shaking. Umiiyak pa rin siya.
"Cassius, drop the gun", I told him.
"No, he was bitten and he'll become a goblin", Cassius said. He was sobbing.
The girls shouted. Orielled punched Cassius in the face. Nabitawan niya ang baril niya at sinipa ito ni Orielle palayo.
She was angry. "If he dies", she said referring to Sir Samuel. "I swear, none of you are going out alive!"
It was not a threat. She was telling the truth. She looked at Cassius angrily and held him by his shoulders. "Where is the case?"
Cassius looked more afraid than ever. Oh my God! Wala siyang dalang case kanina pagtakbo niya papunta sa amin.
"I left it outside", he said, almost a whisper.
Orielle shouted at his face. Anger, frustration, worry, and everything else is evident with the shout. He dropped Cassius. "Get out of my sight before I throw you out to those dwellers!"
Cassius scampered away and ran to our bunks.
"You", she said pointing to me, Clovis and Brick. "Bring him down. The rest, find the kit and every medicines you can find". There was control in her voice now.
Everyone dispersed. Slowly, we lifted Sir Samuel to bring him to the classroom. We strapped him down the experiment table. It was ironic. Dati, siya yung nakatayo pero ngayon, eto at siya na ang nakahiga sa table na to.
Wala pa rin siyang malay. Aloutte and Zinny arrived with two first aid kits.
Orielle asked to put it on the small table beside her. She was looking for the wound and tore up Sir Samuel's clothes when she found it which was on his left arm.
We all gasped. Malaki ang kagat sa kanya at nangingitim na ito.
"Cayden, get the tools inside the cabinet".
Sinunod ko ang utos niya. May tray sa loob na may nakalagay na mga paraphernalias for dissection. Nilagay ko ito sa maliit na table. We observed as she cleaned the wound. It took a while before she was satisfied. May kinuha siyang mga tableta sa gilid nang kit at dinurog ito. She covered the wound with the powdered tablets before she put the bandage.
She stood up and warned us. "Don't you dare do anything stupid".
May kinuha siyang mga syringe at umakyat sa taas. We heard a door open kasabay nag paglaglag nang mga bagay. May hinahanap siya. Huminto ang ingay at bumalik na siya.
We were all silent. We just looked at her as she started sat back again. "Pin him down", utos niya.
Automatically, I held Sir Samuel's right arm. Brick held both feet while Clovis held the upper left arm.
"Lazslo, hold his head", sabi niya. "And don't look at his face".
When she was satisfied, dahan-dahan niyang itinurok ang syringe malapit sa kagat ni Sir Samuel. I felt Sir Samuel's muscle stiffening. And as if waking up from a nightmare, he gasped. Lahat kami nagulat, maliban kay Orielle who seemed to know what's going to happen next. His eyes were whitish as if wrapped by thin clouds. We hardened our grip as he tried to struggle. Orielle continued to inject the cure. After a while, Sir Samuel stopped struggling. It's like he went back to sleep.
Orielle got the last and fifth syringe. I looked at it closely to make sure what I was seeing. The liquid inside the syringe is red and not blue as what Sir Samuel showed us earlier. Then, on her left wrist, I saw five needle marks.
I looked at her with confusion. She did not find a cure when she went up. It was not the cure that she injected to Sir Samuel. It was her blood!
BINABASA MO ANG
Cayden's Crusade
Science FictionI have always longed for freedom. Freedom from the consequences of being my father's son and his high expectations. Freedom from the fears and worries that I might not reach them. And so, I choose the only path to this freedom, even though it is f...
