Stay Awake (ORIGINAL DRAFT)

Chapter Twenty-Six: Glowing Eyes

Chapter Twenty-Six: Glowing Eyes

"Jared's right," pangsang-ayon sa akin ni Holly na ikinagulat ko. "We don't have any other choice but to stay here until those dogs leave. Hindi natin sila kaya."

"Why not?" katwiran naman ni Pauline. "I have my swiss army knife, and Jared have his baseball bat. Aren't they enough to fight those dogs off?"

I shake my head. "As I've said earlier, they're way too strong. We can't attack them, not without one of us getting seriously hurt."

No. Hindi lang isa sa amin ang masasaktan kapag tinangka naming lumabas dito at kalabanin 'yung mga aso. Siguradong mamamatay kaming lahat kapag ginawa namin 'yung gusto ni Pauline. We can't just make a reckless decision. Not when our lives are at stake.

"What if I tell you that I have a plan?" Pauline asks me, a strange glint in her eyes. "One that might work."

"If it involves getting out and fighting those dogs, then the answer is no," Holly answers firmly before I even open my mouth. "If you still want to do it, then go do it by yourself. We can't risk our lives doing a reckless plan formulated by a reckless girl."

Pauline glares at her, and Holly glares right back.

And so, the staring contest begins.

They are both strong, one girl refusing to surrender to the other. While Holly is fearless, she knows when to step back if she senses danger. Unlike Pauline who is so brave that her actions are already bordering into recklessness.

Finally, tumayo si Felicity sa pagitan nila. "Girls, that's enough. Hindi makatutulong sa atin kung mag-aaway kayo." She looks at the other two girls alternately, her gaze fierce and unyielding.

"Let's hear what Pauline has to say first," Ian suggests. "Then we'll see if it really is a solid plan or not."

Pauline finally tears her gaze from Holly, giving Ian an appreciative nod.

"Katulad ng sinabi ko kanina, there are only four of them and six of us," she starts. "I know that we can't defeat them by just attacking. We need to think better than that."

"So what's your plan?" I ask.

She looks at me, her piercing gaze so strong I almost look away. "We need to divide them. Three versus two."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"We need to sneak up on them. Kailangang may mag-distract sa kanila para ma-divert 'yung atensyon nila."

"Sino 'yung magdi-distract sa kanila?" Andre asks. Napatingin sa kanya si Pauline, and a grin slowly spreads on her lips.

"Oh, hey. Are you volunteering for the wonderful task of distracting those dogs?" she asks, her voice sweet and dripping with sarcasm at the same time.

Andre scratches the back of his head nervously. Siguradong mahihiya siya na tumanggi dito. Syempre, kailangan niyang magpakitang-gilas sa crush niya. Before he can open his mouth to speak, bigla siyang nilapitan ni Pauline at niyakap.

"Thank you, Andre! You're a real hero."

I don't know if I should keep a straight face or burst out laughing.

When Pauline lets go of Andre, his face is so red he almost resembles Anger from the movie, Inside Out. I see Holly covering her mouth with her hands on an to keep herself from laughing. That sight almost made me lose it.

Pauline's smile fades, and she starts speaking again. "Use your lighter to distract them. You'll stay here, and do everything that you can to divert their attention from us."

Andre nods. "I'll do my best."

"May nakita akong gunting sa loob ng drawer," Felicity says suddenly, waving a yellow-colored scissor. "I can use this as a weapon."

Pauline nods. "Good. Go with Ian and Holly. You'll go out after me and Jared. Clear?"

"Clear."

Muli akong naglakad papunta sa bintana at sumilip. Upon seeing me, the dogs started growling again. Hindi ko namalayan na nakatayo na pala si Andre sa tabi ko.

"Good luck, man," I say, giving him a light tap on his shoulder.

Napalunok siya nang makita 'yung mga aso na naghihintay sa labas.

Lumapit ako kay Pauline na nakapuwesto sa tapat ng pinto. Nasa kabilang side ito ng kwarto, katapat ng bintana. Kung magtatagumpay si Andre na kunin ang atensyon ng mga aso, hindi kami mapapansin ng mga ito kapag lumabas kami.

Hinawakan ni Pauline 'yung doorknob at tumingin siya kay Andre. "Are you ready?"

Andre nods, the light coming from the near-dying candle casting weird shadows on his face. He takes a deep breath, and blows the fire away.

I hold on to my baseball bat tightly as we get engulfed in utter darkness. I can hear myself breathing heavily, so loud against the silence of the night. I don't know what time is it right now. I just hope that daylight will be coming soon.

I hear the turn of the doorknob, and the unmistakable creak of the door. I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder, but I'm not sure who it belongs to.

After a moment, a light emerges in the place where Andre is standing. Sinindihan na niya 'yung lighter niya.

"Be ready," Pauline whispers to me. If she's scared out of her mind, she doesn't show it. "When Andre starts to act, kailangan na rin nating kumilos."

I take a deep breath, clearing my mind of any negative thoughts. We can do this. We can do this. We can do this. We can--

We hear Andre gasp. The light from his lighter illuminates his shocked expression as he look outside the window.

"What is it?" Holly asks, loud enough for him to hear.

Andre slowly turns his head towards us. "T-they're gone..."

At first, hindi na-process ng terrified kong utak 'yung sinabi niya. But when it does, the only thing that I can think of is: what the hell?

"Where did they go?" tanong ni Felicity na nasa likuran ko. "Umalis na ba sila?"

I almost let out a sigh of relief because of what she said. It can only mean one thing: we don't need to fight off those dogs anymore. We're safe.

Just as I'm about to shout with joy, we hear a low growl.

And it's coming right in front of us.

As our eyes adjusted in the dark, we see two pairs of almost-glowing eyes staring right at us. My heart stops as the realization hits me right in the face.

How can we be so stupid?

There is one thing that we had forgotten about dogs. One crucial characteristic. And now, it might cost us our lives.

It doesn't matter if they can't see us. Because they have a keen sense of smell.

Holy mother of cows, we're fucking doomed.