Anathema

May 18, 2019

Ngayon lang ulit ako nakapag sulat. I'm sorry.

Halos isang araw pa lang ang lumipas, but it feels longer than that. Sobrang daming nangyari. Nawala na sa isip ko ang magsulat dito. With the terrible things that have been happening, this seems to be the last thing that I should be doing right now.

But this is important. This is a way for me to make sure that everything will be documented (aside from the pictures that I took using my phone. Devices can be hacked and corrupted). The people needs to know what's happening.

I'm going to write everything that has happened so far. It's a good thing that I'm an experienced writer. My hands are still shaking, so please bear with me.

Yesterday. May 17, 2019, 6:30 AM

I heard a knock on the door. Akala ko maagang nakauwi si Mama, pero nang buksan ko ang pinto, hindi siya ang tumambad sa akin.

It was Hannah.

She was sweaty, her hair was messed-up and there were tears running down her face. She tried to explain what was happening, but I couldn't understand the words she was saying. So I asked her to calm down. Pinapasok ko siya sa bahay at pinaupo sa sofa.

"It was my parents," she said after a moment. "Since bumalik sila galing sa ospital, hindi na sila lumabas ng kwarto nila. Ilang beses ko na silang niyaya para kumain pero...hindi nila ako sinasagot.

"Tapos kanina, bigla na lang akong nakarinig ng mga kalabog. Then, my mom was screaming and I tried to open their door but I can't." A huge sob escaped from her mouth. "I can't."

"Did you call the police?" I asked.

"I did. Pero bigla na lang naputol 'yung tawag habang kausap ko sila. I tried calling them again pero wala nang dial tone 'yung telephone namin."

"Sa cellphone mo?"

"No signal."

Inilabas ko 'yung phone ko para ipahiram sana sa kanya, pero wala rin akong signal. The first thing that came to my mind was "that's strange." Our subdivision has its own cell tower. Imposibleng mawalan ng signal dito.

I stood up, went to the kitchen to check the telephone. Sure enough, there was no dial tone. I fished my phone out again to check the internet. I got a full bar of WiFi signal, but I was not able to connect to the web.

What's happening?

Bumalik ako sa living room kung saan umiiyak pa rin si Hannah. She looked up when she noticed me approaching.

"We have to do something, Murph," she pleaded. "May nangyayaring masama sa parents ko. I know it."

My mind was racing. I have no idea what to do.

"Tara," sabi ko. Hinila ko si Hannah patayo. "We have no way of contacting the police, kaya kailangan natin silang puntahan." There's a police station just outside the subdivision. We can get help there.

Mabilis kaming naglakad papunta sa front door. I was about to touch the knob when the door opened and Dodge came in.

"Dude," he said, out of breath. "May mga sundalo sa entrance ng subdivision. They barricaded the gate. No one is allowed to leave."

Hindi pa kaagad nag sink-in sa utak ko 'yung mga sinasabi ni Dodge nu'ng mga oras na iyon. Ramdam ko na malapit nang mag-switch sa panic mode 'yung buong katawan ko, at hindi ko na alam ang gagawin.

"Why the hell would they do that?" narinig kong tanong ni Hannah. Her voice cracked on the last word dahil hindi pa rin siya tumitigil sa pag-iyak.

"I don't know," sagot ni Dodge. "We tried to ask them the reason, but they wouldn't give us any answers."

With my panicking mind, ang tangi lang na lumabas sa bibig ko ay "We?"

"Yes, we. There were people waiting there, demanding the soldiers to let them out."

Huminga ako nang malalim. Hindi ko pwedeng hayaan ang sarili ko na mag-panic. Pinilit kong kumalma. I took long, steadying breaths, trying my best to calm my fast-beating heart.

"Let's go," I said. "Pumunta tayo sa entrance."

"Gamitin na natin 'yung kotse ni Dad para makarating tayo kaagad doon," suhestiyon ni Hannah. "Kailangan na nating humingi ng tulong. Alam kong nasa panganib ang mga magulang ko."

So we went to the subdivision's front gate using Mr. Carlos' car. Pagdating namin doon, marami nang taong nag-aabang. Galit na galit ang karamihan sa kanila at sinisigawan ang mga sundalong nagbabantay.

There were at least fifteen soldiers on the other side of the gate, they were wearing some sort of face mask, and their guns were pointed to the people who were trying to go out.

"Gods," Hannah breathed. "Anong nangyayari?"

Bukod dito, may apat pang entrance ang subdivision. Pinuntahan namin lahat ng iyon pero nakasara rin lahat at may mga sundalong nagbabantay sa lahat. We have no idea what's happening. Sinubukan naming magtanong sa mga sundalo na nagbabantay sa isa sa mga gates, pero hindi nila kami pinapansin. They just advised us to stay home and wait for further instructions.

Wala kaming nagawa kundi ang bumalik sa bahay. Pinuntahan ko kaagad si Marty sa kwarto niya, and I was relieved to find him awake, playing with his toys. Pagkatapos, niyaya ko si Hannah na pumunta sa bahay nila para i-check 'yung parents niya.

But when we arrived there, the door to her parents' room was wide open, and they were nowhere to be seen.