Awakened (Bloodline, #1)

Chapter 1

01: I Just Witnessed My Death

"No, no, no, anong nangyari?" I mumbled, trying to look for my grandparents at their room, but there was no one there except for the wreckage scattered on the floor.

I sobbed and crumpled to the floor, worried that something bad might have happened to them.

"We were late," the guy muttered and cursed under his breath.

Agad akong tumayo at lumapit sa kanya. "You . . . you know what happened here," I seethed, anger rising in my chest.

"Yes," he said nonchalantly, "but they were already gone."

Lalo lang nagpantig ang tenga ko dahil parang wala lang sa kanya ang nangyari. I almost got killed and my family was missing. I didn't even know what was happening, and all he could tell me was that they were already gone?

"How could you—!"

"Don't worry," he said, cutting me off. "They got away. Your . . . ah, grandparents are alive. Besides, I would know if a fellow Abkhim got killed."

It took seconds for his words to sink in my head. They got away? Was that true? Then, were they alive?

Somehow, hearing that from him kind of got my hopes up, as if a thorn were pulled out from my chest. Hindi ko alam kung paano niya nasabing buhay pa sila pero iyon din ang nais kong paniwalaan. They should be alive, or else, I would not know what to do anymore.

After several minutes of panicking, I finally managed to calm down. I looked around the house once again, hoping to find some clues on what had occured. Everything happened so fast that I could not comprehend the entirety of it.

"We need to get out of here," the guy suddenly said. "A Morana's charm won't work if she's far from you."

"A what?" tanong ko.

My head had been spinning since that incident in the jeepney. Those guys mentioned some confusing words, too. Hindi ko na alam kung nagha-hallucinate lang ba ako dahil wala akong tulog kagabi sa sobrang excitement ko o totoo talaga ang mga nangyayari.

"Seriously, ano ba ang nangyayari?" I snapped. "Bigla na lang may mga lalaking gusto akong patayin. My grandparents are missing. Our house got destroyed. I just wanted a peaceful birthday!"

"Oh, nothing peaceful happens when someone like you turns seventeen," he said, smirking.

"What—!"

My body suddenly tensed. I felt the temperature drop several degrees. The air felt heavier and sinister, too. Hindi ko alam kung paano pero pakiramdam ko ay may nakatingin sa amin.

The guy muttered something, maybe a different language, but it sounded like a curse. He gripped my wrist and the cold sensation coursed through my arm.

"They have followed us," he murmured. "What did you do?"

My mouth hung open upon hearing his accusation, and anger swelled inside me. "What the hell? Wala naman akong ginagawang—!"

Hindi ko naituloy ang sasabihin ko dahil bigla niyang hinawakan ang kamay ko. He raised my hand and I saw a cut on my thumb. I narrowed my eyes as I stared at my newfound wound. Ni hindi ko alam kung paano ako nagkasugat. Siguro noong nagpa-panic ako habang hinahanap ang grandparents ko. He grumbled, muttering something in a foreign language I couldn't understand, and grabbed a cloth from the floor, tying it swiftly around my finger.

"C'mon, it's just a cut!" I complained as I looked at thick cover around my thumb. "Hindi—"

Napahinto ako nang makita kong muli ang expression niya. His eyes were mad, and I thought I saw the colors changing from stormy gray to a tinge of red, as if a volcano erupted from his irises.