Don't Leave it at Three • A IV Of Spades AU

i :: prologue

12:00 AM.

It was quiet. Not a single sound was heard. Suddenly, loud and heavy footsteps. Sirens. And then an eerie laughter. A sinister laugh that sent shivers down the spines of those who heard it.

"Hindi kayo naniniwala? Hindi kayo naniniwala?"

"Tumahimik ka! Nurse, paabot nung syringe."

The guy sitting on the wheelchair laughed again. He knew very well that nothing could drug him. He smirked in reply and looked at the nurse pushing his wheelchair.

"Subukan mo lang, subukan mo lang. The drug is expensive. You gonna waste that on me?"

The nurse paid no attention to the man on the chair. All psycho patients acted like this. Crazy, and in dire need of help. The nurse then met the patient's eyes, only to realize that it was a huge mistake. The patient's eyes glowed menacingly, and the nurse felt a wave of nausea hit him.

"Alam ko ang iniisip mo," the patient said with a smile. "Gusto mo lang umuwi at 'di na bumalik sa lugar na ito." The crazy man grinned even wider as he saw the fear reflected on the eyes of the poor nurse. The nurse looked brave, sure, but the eyes never lie.

"Gusto mo lang makalaya. You've been trapped in these shackles for years, but you couldn't escape. Ah? Gusto mo pala maging abogado, pero nanatili ka bilang isang nars sa isang mental hospital? Bakit kaya?"

The patient's laughter became louder. Most of the patients were already awake because of the commotion, but then the patient on the chair didn't care. He never did. He was a carefree soul, who got away with most things. He was now peering inside the soul of the nurse.

"Hindi ka umalis dahil pasyente ang tatay mo."

Before the patient could say more, he was shot with a drug so powerful even the patient couldn't resist. The patient was taken aback.

"H-Huh? Th-this is impossible! P-pa'no?"

The patient's eyes grew heavy, and then his head lolled to one side. He was finally unconscious.

1:00 AM

The hospital was finally quiet, until another set of sirens blasted off and more footsteps were heard.

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1:00 AM

Unlike the first patient that came that night, this patient was very quiet. So quiet that the quietness was almost deafening. The patient wasn't completely quiet, though. He was muttering to himself. The nurses beside him just looked at him. People muttering to themselves is a normal thing. After all, they were in a mental hospital. The thing about this patient though, was that he wasn't as crazy as people thought he was.

"Bob Bryar. Died 2005. Pa'no ka namatay? Car crash. Nakakalungkot naman. Ilan anak mo? Wala? May banda ka? Sayang naman. Ahh, disbanded pala."

"Allan Silonga. Died 2019. Pa'no ka namatay? Pinatay ng anak. Patricide? Ayos din. Dadating anak mo dito sa MH? Nakakatakot naman. May banda ka? Kabanda mo ba si Bryar? Ah, hindi pala. Geh."

The patient continued muttering to himself, and he didn't give a damn on what was happening around him. He continued talking to himself, and then the nurses decided to put him to sleep. The patient willingly submitted himself to the dose that will make him sleep.

"Tanggap ko naman eh. O sige, good night guys. 'Wag n'yo ako takutin sa mga panaginip ko ha."

The last thing that the patient saw was the nurses conversing, telling each other that he was having "delusions". The patient chuckled to himself, "Those people are real, but dead. Totoo sila. But you guys would never know."

1:30 AM

Was the mental hospital finally at peace? No. Another was coming. In fact, the hardest to keep. So hard that the nurses began screaming.

The patient woke up. He was already in bed, and across him was a patient sleeping soundly. The patient across him looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place the face with a name. The screams of the nurses echoed in the hallway. He smiled. He's come.

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1:30 AM

The nurses were now silently cursing to themselves. Three patients, all a catastrophe. The worst patients they've had. The first has traumatized a nurse. The second has  made the hairs of the nurses stand. And the third was a murderer.

The patient was staring blankly at the wall. He was softly muttering things to himself. When the nurses got hold of him, the patient screamed, "Magtatapos na yung mundo! Mamamatay tayo! Kayo! Hoy, ikaw, bitawan mo 'ko o mamamatay ka!"

The nurses backed away slowly. The fire in the patient's eyes were enough to burn you down.

The patient smiled, light flashing in his eyes . "Ako si Blaster Silonga. Minsan barbero, always lutang."

He laughed, but nobody laughed with him. They were still scared of this 15-year-old murderer, and his joke wasn't funny.

The patient, seeing that nobody was amused, suddenly collapsed. Then a nurse's eyes flashed the same color as the patient's, and had the same smile as Silonga.

The nurse gave a  menacing smile. "Isa sa inyo ang maghahasik ng kadiliman sa mundo. One of you, will bring darkness." The nurse collapsed, and Blaster was back on his feet.

"Saan ang kwarto ko? Hatid n'yo ako please."

Nobody dared to move. After the scene they just witnessed, their minds were not able to process what their eyes have seen. This indeed angered the patient.

"Pili ako ng kwarto. Bahala you."

Then he entered the room of the first two patients that day. The first patient was awake, staring at the wall, laughing his head off. The second patient was playing Go Fish alone. How that was possible, Blaster never knew. Once in a while, the second patient would complain, "May two ka pala, ba't 'di mo binigay sa'kin?"

Blaster just scoffed and slept.