Strings and Chains (The Frey, #1)

32. Sorry

STRINGS AND CHAINS

CHAPTER 32

I'm sitting on the bed while I'm thinking about the things that happened to me in the past weeks. It was crazy. It happened so fast. Sunod-sunod. Walang hinto. A lot of things, happy and painful things, can happen in just one day. Let alone a week, a month, or a year; that's going to be a crazy and hell of a ride. I'm excited and scared with what the future holds. I'm terrified with what's happening in the present. I regret some things and decision that I did in the past.

There are many ifs.

What if I didn't meet Raiden? What would be my life now?

What if the incubi didn't kidnap me? Where would I stand now?

What if I didn't go in that warehouse? What would happen to my parents, the Roscoe, and to Raiden?

What if I didn't agree to Lilith? Would I be dead now? Would my loved ones mourn for me?

Was it a mistake, my choices and my decisions?

It was just the Roscoe, my parents, and the other hunters. Sobra akong natakot nang makita ko si mama na walang malay sa kamay ni Raiden. My father was hurt. He was bleeding in front of me. I couldn't do anything. I didn't know what to do and how could I help. I was panicking. I was scared to death. Was it the last day that I would see my parents? Was it how they would leave me? I wasn't ready for that. And I wasn't going to let those incubi take my parents away from me.

And that night when I saw Raiden covered with blood. I stood there, seeing him showered with blood, my mom was unconscious, and my dad was bleeding to death. My heart stopped beating. I was so damn scared. I would never forget that night. Para akong lumutang nang mga oras na 'yon. Lumilipad ang isip ko sa mga posibleng mangyari. My parents were going to leave me. I thought Raiden was badly hurt. I expected the worst. I already thought a lot of scenarios na mangyayari after kong makita ang tatlong tao na mahalaga sa buhay ko sa ganoong kondisyon.

So I was so relieved nang malaman kong hindi dugo ni Raiden ang nasa katawan niya, na nagising muli si mama, at nagamot agad si papa.

Maybe yes, I made a mistake for not thinking straight. Because the next thing that I said and promised to myself, ako naman. Ako naman ang sasalo ng bala para sa kanila. Ako naman ang magpro-proteka sa kanila.

There were twenty people at the house. They were trained to kill those creatures. They were good and they already prove a lot of things to be called a hunter. Yet they were easily defeated by seven incubi. They had no idea how to stop them. They knew nothing about them. They didn't know how to kill them. It wasn't enough. Those demons were powerful. At kapag wala kang alam sa kalaban mo, ikaw ang dehado.

Maybe I committed another mistake by presenting myself as a decoy. Yes, I was a fool. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang nakaabang sa akin para doon. But it was my decision and my parents agreed to it because they trusted me. It was a gamble to let your one and only daughter walk inside a warehouse full of demons. But they had to do it, I had to do it. We needed to win. We need a distraction and I was so perfect for it. So I walked there, sacrificed everything, and we won.

So did I make another mistake by agreeing to Lilith's conditions? There were only two outcomes for me. I would die by Lilith's hands. Ano bang mapapala niya sa isang babae na hindi niya mapapakinabangan? Or I would make a deal with her, survive, and be alive again. And I chose the latter. I agreed to one last thing that I would choose. I had a deal with Lilith because they were waiting for me. Raiden, I could never leave him. How could I leave them here?