The Great Pretender

Chapter 31: Him and Her

Vaughn Miguel

Luckily ay nakalabas ako ng tunnel nang hindi nila ako naabutan. I quickly ran away instead of going to my car in the parking lot. I am sure that the moment I entered the establishment, they already tagged my car with gps in case I tried to use it.

I kept on running, and blended with a lot of people, hanggang sa may naabot akong bar. May bouncer sa harap kaya umikot ako upang pumunta sa gilid ng establishment kung saan may pintuan na may nakalagay na 'employee's only' sign. I picked the lock and when I swing open the door, sumalubong sa akin ang malilikot na mga ilaw at ang kumakabog na musika. Maraming tao ang nasa dance floor at may mga umiinom din sa mga tables.

Dito ako pumunta dahil ito ang huling lugar na iisipin nilang pupuntahan ko. Walang nakapansin sa duguan kong damit habang dumadaan ako sa gitna ng napakaraming tao, as I continue to make my way through the crowd, I palmed someone's phone. I apologized silently and made a promise to give it back.

Nang malagpasan ko ang mga tao ay agad akong tumakbo patungo sa banyo ng mga lalaki. The smell of urine and puke flowed through the air but I didn't mind. Nilagpasan ko lang ang isang lalaking lasing na umiihi sa urinal. I then shut the cubicle door and sat on the toilet.  Napadaing ako nang hubarin ko ang aking bag. It took me a few seconds bago ko iyong tuluyan na naibaba sa sahig. I took my hoodie off and hissed when I saw how bloody my wounds were.

Kinagat ko ang aking hoodie upang hindi iyon mahulog sa sahig. I then crouched and started looking for the first aid kit in my bag. I unzipped it when I found it and started looking for the packets of cleaning cloths. Binaba ko sa sahig ang first aid kit, bago ko mabilis na binuksan ang panlinis ng sugat. I bit my hoodie harder as I wiped my bullet wounds. When the cleaning cloth is already soaked with my blood, I threw it inside my backpack because I cannot leave a trail. I did the same process hanggang sa maubos ang cloth at hindi na masyadong madugo ang aking mga sugat. I then pulled out a bottle of povidone-iodine and poured it on both of my wounds to prevent infection.

After I threw the bottle inside my bag, dinampot ko ang isang roll ng white medical gauze at ginamit iyon upang lagyan ng pressure at balutin ang aking through and through na bullet wound sa balikat. Habang mabilis ko din na binalot ng gauze ang aking graze wound sa braso.

Mabilis kong ibinalik ang natitirang gauze sa first aid kit. I threw everything back inside my backpack and zipped it. I then quickly but carefully wore my bloody hoodie again. Isinukbit kong muli ang backpack, bago ko kinapa ang nakaw na cellphone sa aking bulsa. I almost screamed 'hallelujah' when I saw that the phone doesn't have a password.

Sandali akong tumitig sa mga numero na nasa phone keypad....I certainly cannot call any of my family and even Ate Carmel. I only have one person in mind. With a cuss, I dialed Kuya Si's number. He answered on the second ring.

"I gave different numbers to family members, so I know that this is you Miguel even if it's a stranger's phone number. What do you need?"

I sighed in relief.

"Are you in the country right now?"

"What, why–"

"Just answer me because my life quite literally depends on you."

"Yes."

"Okay. Track this phone and pick me up at the side of the establishment." I replied in a very serious tone. Through that, he knew that I was in trouble, because he didn't even say anything but 'Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes.'

Matapos kong ibalik ang cellphone sa bulsa ng lalaki ay agad akong lumabas sa pinanggalingan kong pintuan. Kuya Si was precise with his words because less than fifteen minutes later, he pulled up wearing a dark leather jacket and a pair of black denim jeans.