THE ADVENTURE OF AUGUST BACK TO EARTH

66. Chains and Pain

Paakyat na sana ako sa dorm namin ng biglang may tumawag na lang ng pansin ko.

"Baby!" Rinig kong tawag ng kilala kong boses. Napalingon ako kaagad dito at nakita ko si Lucas na humahangos but he's not laughing or smiling. Kasunod din nito si Cayden na pakiramdam ko ay walang emosyon ang mga mata nito. Kinikilabutan akong nakatingin kay Cayden and he's not freaking talking! Looking at him screams that something is not right.

"Bakit?" Yun lang ang naitanong ko dahil base sa itsura nila, pakiramdam ko ay may problema. I can already tell with their expression.

"Have you seen August?" Tanong kaagad ni Lucas sa akin.

Umiling kaagad ako. Simula kaninang tanghali ay hindi ko na nakita si August. Kasama ko si Lucas kanina and we discussed about my return to Earth. Kaya simula pa kanina ay hindi ko pa talaga nakikita si August.

"Hinanap ka daw kasi ni August kanina. And since then, hindi na siya pumasok sa mga klase niya." Paliwanag naman ni Lucas sa akin.

Nagtaka naman ako ngayon sa mga sinabi niya. Hindi ugali ni August ang umabsent. "Teka, tingnan ko lang sa kuwarto namin baka nandoon lang siya." Saad ko rito at agad akong tumakbo paakyat sa kuwarto namin.

Wala na akong pakialam kung tinitingnan ako ng mga kapwa ko estudyante doon. I need to check our room immediately dahil baka nandoon lang si August. Agad ko naman narating ang aming kuwarto at walang sere-seremonya ay binuksan ko iyon. Tumambad sa aking mga mata ang dalawang kamang walang nakahiga. Walang tao. Kaya pumasok naman ako at binuksan ko ang C.R namin at wala din tao doon.

I tried to look at the table kung meron bang note na iniwan doon pero wala akong nakita. Biglang sinimulan na ako sa aking kabang nararamdaman. Pakiramdam ko ay may hindi tama. Hindi ugali ni August ang umabsent na lang dahil kahit pasaway yun noong high school at college kami ay hindi nito magawang magcut ng class o kaya magbulakbol.

Lumabas na ako sa kuwarto namin at patakbong bumaba na naman ako. Natanaw ko kaagad ang dalawa and I can see how restless are the two men is. Kahit ako ay hindi na rin mapakali dahil hindi ko rin alam kung nasaan si August.

"She's not in our room." Naisaad ko habang hinihingal ako. Mas lalo lang na nadagdagan ang kaba namin. "Teka wala ba siya sa clinic?"

Umiling naman si Lucas. "We looked everywhere pero hindi namin siya mahagilap." Sagot ni Lucas sa akin.

Bababa ba sana ako pero biglang napansin ko naman si Cayden na napalingon at biglang naglakad na tila may napansin ito. Naglakad ito at huminto sa isang pwesto. Nakatayo lang ito dun at kami naman ni Lucas ay parang tanga na nakatingin sa kanya at nagtataka kung ano ang ginagawa niya.

Biglang yumuko si Cayden at inabot niya ang lupang tinatapakan niya and swear to God when he touch the ground, pakiramdam ko ay nagvibrate ang lahat. Biglang hinawakan ako ni Lucas but he's still looking at Cayden with uneasiness. After a few moments ay tumayo na si Cayden at bumaling sa amin with dark menacing expression.

"She was taken." Saad ni Cayden sa amin. "By Dani."

•••

August's POV

Hindi ko na alam kung gaano ako katagal dito sa silid na ito. Limang oras? Anim? Walo? Hindi ko na mahulaan. Nakaramdam na rin ako ng gutom kahit ganito ang sitwasyon ko. Hindi pa naman ako kumain ng maige ng tanghalian bago ako dinukot ni Dani.

Yung ganitong gutom ako ay talagang nawawala ako sa mood, gaya ng pagkakawala ko sa mood tuwing inaantok ako o ginigising sa pagtulog. I am starting to get irritated at mas lalong naiinis lang ako sa sitwasyon ko dahil wala akong magawa.

Biglang napatingin na lang ako sa bakal na pintuan ng biglang kumalabog iyon. Pagkatapos ng kalabog ay lumangit-ngit ang pintuan at bumukas yun. I don't know but everything is a freaking deja vu. Pakiramdam ko ay nangyari na ito dati na hindi ko lang maalala kung saan.

Lumakas ang tibok ng puso ko habang nakatingin sa pintuan at nag-iisip kung sino ang lalabas doon. Then the girl I expected appeared from the darkness. The black veins is popping to her every skin and her eyes are black. With her appearance, she's not yet been taken fully by a demon. She's still in phase three. She still has human reasons but not that strong.

"You're finally awake." Saad ni Dani. There is something in her voice that made me wanted to fear her. Hindi ito kagaya ng normal na boses niya. This one is like a different person. I can hear the menace on her voice.

Hindi ako sumagot. I was eyeing her and thinking of a way how can I run through that door if I am stuck with this freaking chains. How on earth will I be able to break free from these chains?

"It's too surprising, you're silent and not freaking out. I expect you to scream and cry and cry out Cayden's name for help... Isn't that usually humans do?" Tanong pa nito sa akin habang papalapit. I can even sense the mocking tone on her voice.

Ngumisi naman ako rito. "Too bad, I am not human so I could not relate with that." Sarkastikong sagot ko rito. I am freaking nervous and scared but I cannot let it show. I am not a freaking kid and I am sure that I am older than Dani.

"You still have the guts to talk back when you are already in this situation." Ngising turan naman sa akin ni Dani. "Aren't you afraid of your situation? I can do anything to you, like killing you this instant." I don't know if that threat is empty or not. But right now, she's a psycho to me so I really don't know.

"Yes, you can do whatever you want, but still no matter what you do. Kill me or not, still the same thing. You can never have Cayden." Sagot ko naman rito and I saw how her face turned into grim.

Ngumisi ito sa akin pero kitang kita ko na nangangalit ang mga panga nito. "I wonder what he sees in you. You are not even a noble and you are just an orphan. What makes you sure that if you're no longer around, Cayden will never fall for me?"

Ngumisi naman ako. "Should I still answer your question even the answer is already right in front of me? Look at yourself in the mirror Dani, and ask yourself if Cayden can love someone like you, who has the ability to kill the woman he loves." Derechang sagot ko rito.

I know I am already asking to be dead with what I am doing right now but before I die, I don't want her to insult me and I don't want to feel pathetic not talking back to this psycho. Pero nagulat na lang ako na sa bilis ng pangyayari ay tumabingi na ang mukha ko dahil sa lakas ng dumapong palad sa pisngi ko.

She slapped me and it was hard na pakiramdam ko ay maghihiwalay na ata ang leeg at ulo ko. I even tasted the iron taste blood inside my mouth. I clenched my jaws at pinigilan ko ang sarili ko na mawala sa huwisyo. Pucha ang sakit nun!

"You really still have the guts to say that. You are helpless now. Without you existing, I can be happy with Cayden—"

"How can you say that you'll be happy when in order for you to be happy, you have to kill someone or get rid someone to obtain it? How can you call it happiness, when you need to hurt someone just for you to be happy—"

"Aren't we the same thing? In order for you to be happy with Cayden, I was hurting to the point I was driven to insanity. So what makes it different? Between me and you? It is already a nature, in order to be happy, we cannot avoid to hurt someone." Sagot naman sa akin ni Dani.

I was left speechless. She makes sense. In order for me to taste the little happiness, there was Dani who was hurt tremendously. It was not even her fault but with Cayden's statement. She's the one who assume with their relationship.

"We can never be the same Dani. We can never be. Dahil kung meron man sisisihin kung bakit ka nasasaktan ngayon ay walang iba kundi ang sarili mo lang." natawang saad ko rito. "Nagtataka ka ba kung bakit? You are the one who assumed with your relationship, while Cayden was just playing along because you are a complete psycho."

"Noooooooo!" Biglang sigaw ni Dani sa akin at sa lakas ng pagkakasigaw ko at parang pwersa itong naitulak ako at tumilapon ako sa dingding at  naramdaman ko ang sakit ng likuran ko. Napapikit ako sa sakit. Pucha, ang sakit ng likod ko. "If I will not be happy, then I'll make sure you will never taste happiness for the rest of your life!" She roared at napabuka na lang ako ng naramdaman ko nakakakilabot na aura ni Dani.

To be continued...