PANDORA - Book 1 (NWC's 2nd place winner)

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER TWELVE

            On my request, Rohan lines up the LPG tanks, equidistance to one another. Vaughn seems to understand my plan though he’s barely functional anymore. I see him force a nod to me as I position him near a tank.

            Jillian gives her brother one last hug and I break my heart at the sight. I cannot cry. Not now. Not yet. I have to keep my promise. I’ll make sure Jillian is safe.

            After that, the three of us climb down the fire exit’s ladder. I secure Jillian on the platform while Rohan waits for the right time. It’s my plan but he still won’t let me be the one who will pull the trigger and end Vaughn’s life. This blood, he says, doesn’t have to be on my hands.

            It’s a matter of seconds only when it finally happens. The door leading to the rooftop slams open. I hold myself up and watch in horror as a large number of hemophages fill in the roof; sniffing, growling, spitting the foam in their mouths.

            Rohan looks at me. We exchange no words but our eyes communicate. This is it. I climb down on the ladder to join Jillian. She’s crying still and praying. I try to stop myself but a sob escapes my lips. I cover her ears. She understands it and closes her eyes and hugs me. I look up at Rohan. He’s watching us. I nod at him, giving him the ‘go’ signal.

            The moment he takes back his gaze on the monsters on the roof, he fires and the whole building shakes in explosion. The sky is burns before my eyes. For a split-second, I see a whole different world made up of fireworks and blood. How it sprays, it’s heartbreakingly beautiful in some way. Rohan is thrown backwards by the impact and is now hanging by his hands on the railing a few feet down from us.

            It’s raining. Hemophage body parts, burnt matter, blood and fire itself. I hug Jillian to protect her. I’m pretty sure she’s screaming but I can’t hear anything anymore. Our whole world is struck by tremors I cannot stop.

            One minute. Two. Three. I don’t know how long we stay at that position until I feel a hand on my heel. Rohan. He climbed back up to get us. He’s saying something but there’s a loud ringing in my ear, I can’t hear him. He’s gesturing down. Maybe, he wants us to climb down. I nod at him and help Jillian to the ladder.

            We reach the ground in no time and run on the street. The ringing in my ear is fading. I can hear my own breath and Rohan’s and Jillian’s. I can also hear the loud scampering behind us. I look back and see the hemophages running after us. We just blew up tons of them. Why aren’t they decreasing?

            Rohan stops running and I hit his back.

            “What is it?” I ask him, thankful that I can hear my voice again though the ringing is still there. Rohan lifts Jillian up like the way Vaughn did and pulls me towards the other direction. In front of us, another pack of hemophages are coming.

            I run after Rohan but he stops again upon seeing another batch of vampires coming from that direction. There’s nowhere else to go. I can see a wild look in Rohan’s eyes. It’s mirroring mine. We are surrounded.

            “There’s gotta be some other way…” My voice trails off. There is no other way. The hemophages are closing in, eating up the space that means our safety, inducing claustrophobia. I drop down to my knees.

            “We’re not gonna make it, are we?” I say, talking in no one in particular. Maybe, I’m talking to myself. Maybe, I’m justifying the lesser worth I know I should be. Maybe, I should just let myself get bit and kill two or three more vampires with my poison blood. Then, I’ll be of some use now.

            Rohan puts Jillian down beside me. I cup Jillian’s face. She’s looking back at me with undaunted faith and my eyes burn in desperation. I’m sorry, Vaughn. I know I promised to save Jillian. I want to. I really want to. But the current situation won’t to let me do so.

            Rohan hugs the two of us. “I still believe we can make it through,” he whispers.

            “This is not a movie, Rohan,” I whisper back. I want to believe it, too. But I can’t even convince myself anymore. It is too late. We are going to die.

            “Hey. Never lose yourself, remember?” he says, repeating the same advice he gave me in one sparring session. My eyes turn watery again.

            I wonder if he ever runs out of confidence. I look at him with awe. He’s the guy who curses a lot under his breath, the guy who decorated his locker with Middle Earth photos, the guy who taught me how to fight, the guy who supplies me with optimism when I loses it, and the guy who believes that Hope isn’t just my name, it is who I am.

            I grasp Rohan’s hand tightly and finally replies, “Never lose Hope.”

            We stand up and Rohan hands me the dagger. We’ll be fighting for our life, no matter what. We’ll be fighting for Jillian. We’ll be fighting for Vaughn.

            A hemophage screams. At first, I thought it’s inciting the attack but the scream is so bloodcurdling, I think it’s in pain. Another screams and the next thing I know, all of them are scurrying away, trying to escape from the sun.

            The sun. I look up and squint and for the first time today, I feel the heat. The rays are stronger now, pushing the clouds out of their way. Our beacon. Our salvation.

            I let out a distressed laugh followed by a sob. I don’t feel victorious. All I can feel is the loss. For a while, I just stand there, feeling the warmth of the sun, crying my heart out.

            Jillian’s hand intertwines with mine. “Big brother won’t like the idea of grieving,” she says. Her eyes are swollen but she looks determined.

            Rohan hugs us again. He doesn’t say a word. He just holds us in his arms and somehow, his touch makes it easier for me.

            “Let’s get to that camp,” I say, wiping my face clear of tears.

            We walk down the street and find an old pick-up truck with its keys still in the ignition. Nobody questions it. We climb inside and heads north. Within the few minutes, Jillian falls asleep in my arms. The fight and the pain took a lot of her strength.

            I watch Rohan drive. I now understand why he’s here and what his role in my life is. Whatever I lack, he fills in. I think I do the same for him. It doesn’t matter now if I’m a rebound or not. It doesn’t even matter now if we have only hours before we separate ways.

            “Are you okay?” he asks when he sees me staring.

            I smile at him. “I am now.”

            Faith, trust, love… These things used to be strangers. Now, I cannot say the same thing anymore. Rohan made it possible for me to see that these things do exist. They give you a reason to fight. They give you a reason to stay alive. They give you a reason to hope for the better.

            I think of the crowds I used to disappear into. I believe I’ll see them again. Though, this time, I won’t be hiding in it ever again.

 

-The End-