CASTAWAY

1: The Midnight Mysteries

CHAPTER 1 – The Midnight Mysteries

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The faint sound of footsteps on the wooden floor creaked and echoed as if I was watching a horror film until it seized. Yet, after a moment, an endless ramming in the wooden door happened, making me grimace. I roamed my sight around and looked at my company with me, who was also watching the reason behind the noise, disturbing the serene night.

“Is he always like this? Every night?” I asked.

Niko nodded while looking at Spencer, “Yes, every night…”

“Bakit hindi mo agad sinabi sa ‘kin? Sa amin? Alam ba ‘to nina Principal Del Valle—”

“Hindi. At paano ko sasabihin sa’yo kung siya mismong nag-ssleeping walking ay hindi niya alam ang nangyayari sa kanya?”

Nagtatakha ko siyang tiningnan saka muling nagnakaw ng tingin kay Spencer. Sunod-sunod pa rin ang pag-untog niya sa kanyang ulo sa pinto papunta sa labas. Ginising lamang ako ni Niko kanina kaya’t nakita ko ang sitwasyon ni Spencer ngayon, ilang beses na rin namin siyang ginising, ngunit hindi siya magising-gising.

“Kailan pa?”

Dahan-dahan napapikit si Niko’t bumulong, “Last year—”

“What?! You waited for a year to tell me this?!”

“It was hard to talk to you! To any of you!” He glared at me. His eyes and words were like arrows, piercing through me and simply justifying the anger and anxiousness his feeling.

I let out a deep sigh. Niko was right, and I can never blame him for feeling frustrated with me, with everything right now. The bozos, my mother, Kelly, and the others may have vanished, but everything was far from normal. Everything. Cara, Tyler, and I may be physical with them, but in reality, we are far, miles away from them. Losing Alex, losing Chi… left a punctured deep in my heart.

And I know… everything will never be the same as before. Never.

“Niko, I’m sorry…” I mumbled.

I wanted to run away from them, from everything, yet… I also do not want to. This place was my nightmare, but this was also my home. Maybe, just maybe, it was one of the reasons why I agreed to babysit Niko, and Spencer in the first place, for me to stop myself from running away from, from running away in this place I called home.

“Niko,” I called. Lumingon siya sa ‘kin, ramdam ko pa rin ang pagka-badtrip niya sa akin ngunit hindi na ulit siya nagreklamo pa. “D’yan na rin ba gumigising si Spencer?”

He grimaced at me and looked at me with disbelief, “As I told you, he doesn’t know. Just wait for a few minutes, and you’ll find out.”

Nang pumatak ang alas-kuwarto ng madaling araw, bigla tumayo nang diretso sa pinto habang nakaharap pa rin sa pinto. Dahan-dahan siyang tumalikod do’n at nagmartsa paalis do’n. Tahimik lamang kaming sumunod sa kanya ni Niko hanggang sa makabalik si Spencer kanyang kuwarto at nakahiga sa kanyang kama.

“Why did you wait for me?” Tanong ko kay Niko habang pinagmamasdan ang ngayo’y mahimbing na natutulog na si Spencer. Nanliliit ang mga mata kong nilingon si Niko, ngunit tila hindi niya mawari kung saan siya mag-uumpisa. “Is it because you that something is wrong—definitely there is something wrong. But… you think is beyond wrong, am I right? Is that the reason why you waited for me?”

“Yes… I think this is a side effect.”

Niko looked at me worriedly. I sadly smiled at myself. I know. I know what you wanted to tell me. I get it. “Because he became infected… I know.”