The 19th Century Vampire (Wattys 2020 Winner - Paranormal)

Chapter 21

Stella laughed. Edmond looked at her weirdly even though the pain won't subside.

"What do you think feeding does to humans? It made them weak. And in exchange, you became strong and satisfied because of your hunger and to what it cost, blood and if not, a life."

"Fuck!" he growled, pounding the wooden base floor of the treehouse with his bare hands. "What's happening to me? You shouldn't be hearing all those goddamn stories." His breath was getting deeper and faster. Stella promptly moves on to her position in which if the vampire would do something bad to her. "Where are you going, Stella?" he wondered.

"I-I'm leaving..." she stuttered, looking frightened. She couldn't look through in his eyes. It's scary as hell. "You're a monster, Edmond. You killed innocent lives. You're a murderer," she accused while her heart was dominated with fear and panic.

Even if he's still hurling with pain, he tried blocking the doorway which happened to trap Stella inside the treehouse. She kept trying to look tough and brave but all she wanted was to escape and find her way back home. 

Fuck, Alycia. She thought in her head as she remembered the deal they had made. 

She had no choice but to end up with an agreement with those vampires just for the sake of her career, a spotlight she craved for.

"Did you do this to me, Stella? What's going in on you" he groaned in pain and later on, he fell on the floor, couldn't be able to move his body. He passed out. Stella checked if he's already out of consciousness so she could push him away out the doorway. With her strength to push him away, she finally opened the door and stepped down on the ladder. She mistakenly missed one step that made her fall so harsh on the ground.

Pinagpagan naman niya ang kanyang damit. Nang dahan-dahan siyang tumayo ay natusok pa ang daliri niya. Hindi niya alam kung anong tumusok sa kanya pero nagdugo iyon kaya sinipsip niya kaagad hangga't sa mawala ito.

Inikot niya ang kanyang paningin sa paligid at hinanap ang daan palabas pero hindi niya alam kung saan siya tutungo. Hindi niya alam kung saang parte ito ng kagubatan. Iniangat naman niya ang tingin niya sa treehouse sa itaas ng puno at mas lalo siyang dinalaw ng kabog sa dibdib.

Saglit lang ng makarinig si Stella ng mga ingay sa paligid. Ramdam niyang may umaaligid lamang iyon. Mayamaya ay tumambad sa harapan niya si Edmond. Hindi pa rin nito nababawi ang naturang lakas pero kinakaya na nitong gumalaw kahit papaano.

Shit. Napamura na lamang sa isip si Stella nang makita ang mukha ng bampira. Ang malalalim na tingin at ang matutulis nitong mga pangil.

"Don't run, Stella.," his voice was weak, almost tired of resisting the pain. "I'm not gonna hurt you. That was over a hundred years ago and that's life was over. Believe me, I'm not here to do the same thing I did before. I'm not the vampire you think I am now."

"Then why can't you take off that vampire's eyes? I'm not gonna run unless you're not that dangerous anymore. Oh—wait, is that why you'd brought me here? You wanna kill me and feed on me?" she scoffed. "How didn't I know that!"

He shook his head because she's getting it all wrong. She was making things hard for them. Edmond wanted to reach her but clearly, she's avoiding him. Kung hindi naman kasi lalayo si Stella, baka mapahamak pa siya pero alam niyang hindi pa nababawi ni Edmond ang kanyang lakas kaya malakai ang kumpyansa nito sa kanyang sarili. And she just realized that Reubert was right. It changed him and made him vulnerable.

"I know what you did to me, Stella," he confessed. Stella's reaction was neutral. Hindi siya nagbigay ng reaksyon pero sa loob loob niya ay gusto na niyang tumakbo because death was already tailing at her. "But I don't care what you did to me. If you poured something in my drink, but I know it was the Axiom poison. If you want the truth, you could've just asked, and not to the extent you'll be doing this to me."

"So... what you're going to do? You're going to feed me? Compel me?"

He grunted. "No. I won't. I stopped feeding on humans a long time ago. But I never told you anything about Axiom poison before. Who told you, Stella? I wanna know."

She shook her head even if the answer was already at the tip of her thought. She wanted to come clean but she's afraid that Alycia and Reubert would do something to her. So she held back and stood with her decision. Napangisi si Edmond. Hindi naniniwala sa kanya. Edmond had already guessed in his mind.

"Listen to me, Stellla," Edmond said. Kumalma naman ang boses nito. "Hindi kita sasaktan at kung ano man ang narinig mo sa akin ay hindi 'yon totoo. Hindi ko pinatay si Homer dahil sa selos o kung ano man. But I remembered Homer peeping from outside Stella's room and she was changing her clothes from that moment. Manyak si Homer kung alam mo lang."

Napangisi si Stella. "Pwede mo naman siyang pagsabihan instead you killed him like it was your last resort. You should burn to hell, Ed. And clearly, this town doesn't need someone like you."

"Ni hindi mo pa nga ako kilala ng lubusan! Marami na akong nakilalang tao na katulad mo na gustong-gusto alamin ang kwento ng Freymount at isa ka sa pinakamagaling umarte. Bagay na bagay nga sa 'yo ang trabaho ko. A person like you furnished stories with lies."

"Nagkakamali ka r'yan," depensa ni Stella. "For 22 years na nabuhay ako rito sa buhay at sa trabaho kong ito, I didn't lie on my stories."

"Gusto ko lang sabihin 'to sa 'yo, Stella, at kapag sinabi mo ito sa iba ay hinding-hindi na kita tutulungan sa anumang bagay. Kakampi mo ako rito. Hindi ako ang kalaban mo pero kung kaaway ang tingin mo sa akin, ihanda mo ang sarili mo dahil mas may malala pang darating na hindi mo inaasahan."

Mayamaya lamang ay natauhan na lamang si Stella nang ma-realize na nasa labas na ulit siya ng kagubatan. Edmond probably took her out. Binalik niya ang tingin niya sa masukal na kagubatan at humugot na lamang ng malalim na hininga.

Kinuha niya ang bote ng lason sa kanyang bulsa at itinapon niya iyon sa kung saan man. Ayaw niyang maging dahilan pa ng paghaharap nila ni Edmond sa ganitong paraan. Ang inaasahan lamang niya ay malaman ang history ng bayan pero iba ang lumabas sa bibig ni Edmond.

When she returned back to their motel room, she took her spare key and opened the door. She leaned as she closed the door and chased her breath. That's when she noticed that Ully was already there and looked surprised. He stood up from the couch and checked her. His annoyance from her earlier was gone by what he has seen on her now.

"What happened, Stels? Why are you sweating so much?!" he asked.

She's shaking and couldn't speak then she felt her chest tightened. Ully rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a glass of tap water. He ran back to her and gave her the glass. Ully grabbed her hand when she took the glass, something crazy happened. The glass of water is now boiling to the point that the glass shattered to pieces. Stella passed out right away.

Nasalo naman siya ni Ully at agad na inihiga sa kama. Napabuntong-hininga na lamang si Ully dahil sa nasaksihan niya. Tatawag pa sana siya ng ambulansya upang mas masuri si Stella pero hindi niya iyon ginawa.

Nilinis naman niya ang nagkalat na basag na baso sa sahig at minop ang tubig. Matapos ay tumuloy siya sa bathroom at napahilamos na lamang ito ng kanyang mukha. Tinitigan niya ang kanyang sarili sa salamin. Ang daming tanong ang pumapasok sa isip niya gayong sa mga nangyayari sa kanila at lalo na kay Stella.

Hindi niya pa sigurado kung anong nangyayari pero handa siyang malaman 'yon. Para sa kanilang kaligtasan.