As the serenity of the day cascade into the dawn of doom, the endless screams of despair echoed along with the loud growls and groans of the uninvited guests. The night whispered the cold, eerie wind, and the moon lying into the thin sheet of clouds in the horizon reflected the crimson leering eyes of the bozos.
“Cara, 9 o’clock west—Jesters!” I commanded through our earpiece. I frustratingly bit my lower lip and pulled Spencer down the roof’s RV, which made him stop shooting the boomers in front, “Let me do that.”
“No! You are so epal—” He wasn’t able to finish his sentence when I positioned me in command of the machine gun. I pointed out the Molotov beside him, and with a grumpy face, he gave it to me. As I lit the Molotov, I immediately threw it in the crowd of boomers in front, “Epal, epal, palibhasa ninakaw ni Kuya Alex ‘yong katana n’ya. Palibhasa hindi siya pinayagan ni Kuya Peter lumabas. Palibhasa pinagtawanan siya nina Ate Cara at Ate Kelly.”
“There is a swarm of bozos in front, and all you did was shout how amazing you are. Ilang bala na ang naubos mo,” sambit ko habang binabaril ang mga bozos na hindi nahagip ng Molotov. Nang mapansin kong lalo siyang bumusangot ay hindi ko maiwasan ang maawa ng slight, “Open the back of the RV. Your father customized the RV yesterday and docked another machine gun at the back. Use it to help Peter and Kelly to drive away the Nighties in the West.”
Spencer grinned. And when he pressed the button to open the back door, another platform appeared with the new machine gun attached to it. Tuwang-tuwa siya na umupo sa built-in chair nito at tila akala mo’y hindi naming ikamamatay ang masugatan ng mga nakapaligid sa amin.
“Guys!” Tyler shouted. Nasa front seat s’ya at hinihintay ang komando upang makapunta na kami sa Alpheus City habang pinupuntirya niya gamit ang sniper ang mga bozos na may animal genes, “Tito Pierre just said that half of the Apostles are already in the Alpheus City. Kaunting tiis na lang.”
Nasa gitna kami ng Besodiah City at kami ang naging bait upang hindi matuon ang atensyon ng mga bozos sa nag-iisang ligtas na lagusan patungo sa Alpheus City. At oras na nawala ang scent ng Lycoris Albiflora ay ganoon kabilis ang naging pagsugod ng mga bozos, ang mga guwardya naman na nasa komando ni Ginoong Samuel ang nakikipaglaban upang ligtas na makatawid ang mga Apostles na hindi kayang makipaglaban dahil sa kakulangan ng mga armas.
“Shit! Amira, dodge!” I was flabbergasted. It was dim, and the light emitted by the moon wasn’t enough to light the entire city. Someone suddenly pulled me away from the roof, and the door used in the RV’s roof suddenly flew away.
“Hindi ko makita nang maayos.” Dahil sa masamang tingin sa akin ni Parker ay hindi ko maiwasan na mapabaling sa ibang direksyon. Buntong-hininga siyang umakyat sa bubong habang may dala-dalang LMG sa magkabilang kamay habang nakasukbit sa gilid n’ya ang baseball bat. Sumunod naman ako sa kanya at muling pumwesto sa machine gun.
“Here.” He handed me the night vision goggles, which I immediately wore. His attention was occupied by the bozos in my East, making me target the flock of bozos in the South.
“Fake mommy! Ang weak mo naman! Muntik ka pa maging headless ugly Amira!” Dinig kong sigaw ni Spencer. Tanginang bata ‘to. Nagsisisi na talaga akong pinakain ko siya ng isang dosena ng Hershey. Gusto ko lang naman maging active siya ngayong gabi e. “Amira! Ave Amira—”
“Tangina. Please manahimik ka na!”
“Gagalit, nilalambing lang naman kita, Fake Mommy!”
“Pwes! Ayoko ng lambing mo!”
Hindi na muli siyang umimik ngunit dinig na dinig ko ang hagalpak niyang pagtawa. Kagat-labi kong tiningnan ang mga fucking clown ngunit sobrang creepy talaga nila kaya’t bumaling na lamang ako sa ibang direksyon.
“Did you just turn away from a swarm of bozos?” Parker asked with disbelief.
I pouted, “Then, why don’t you fucking face and kill them?” I grimaced at him and focused on helping Alex. In front of him are muscular bozos, whose weakness was by piercing their most complex muscle in the body—the heart, which primarily consists of cardiac muscles. And because of the mutation, its skin was harder than it should be, and bullets without enough force wouldn’t be enough to pierce through it.
“Tyler, switch!” I shouted, his sniper is more lethal and accurate than my machine gun, “Help Alex and target their heart. I’ll help Cara,” I mumbled.
“Got it!” Mabilis kong binaling ang mabigat na machine gun sa direkyon ni Cara. Naghalong mga boomers at little Pigmalone ang nasa direksyon niya kaya’t isang ideya lamang ang pumasok sa isip ko.
Saglit akong bumaba upang kumuha ng grenades at agad umakyat, “Cara, yuko!” Pagkatapos ko higitin ang safety pin ay mabilis kong binato iyon sa direksyon ni Cara. At dahil hindi pa siya nakatatakbo nang malayo, yumuko siya at tumago sa isa sa mga bozo.
Nang matapos ang malakas na pagsabog ay agad akong pinakyuhan ni Cara. Tatawa sana ako ngunit ang ulo ng isa sa mga bozo ay tumalsik sa direksyon ko at bago pa ito makalanding sa tabi ko, isang malakas na hampas mula sa baseball bat ang bumati rito.
Ilang beses akong napakurap nang biglang lumingon sa amin si Alex saka ito nag-thumbs up, “Home run, pre!”
I was languidly looking at them when a sudden static sound made us immobilized. It was only for a short period of time, yet it slows us down. All of a sudden, Tito Tristan’s voice can be heard. It was like he was some sort of argument in the other line, which made us befuddled.
“What are you doing?”
“Let him go, Samuel!”
“He should die!”
“Let go of Samson!”
“Samuel, you traitor—”
Nang maglaho ang mga boses ay tila napunta kami sa panibagong channel kung saan nangingibabawa ang boses ni Tito Pierre maging ang tunog ng nakakalas na mga turnilo. Nag-aalala akong lumingon sa bridge kung saan sila tumatakas dahil ang kaparehas na tunog ay ro’n nagmumula, isa-isang pumapatak sa lupa ang debris ng bridge dahilan upang matuon do’n ang atensyon ng ibang mga bozos.
“Kids, go to Alpheus City! Now!” Tito Pierre commanded.
I glanced to Parker with a worried face. His face was filled with horror as he looked at the bridge, “Dad, what’s happening?!”
“I—I don’t—Samuel wants—kill—”
The static overpowered his voice, making us left baffled with his words. At dahil kumpol na ang mga bozos sa lugar na ‘yon ay hindi naming magagawang puntahan sila, isa pa’y sa aming grupo nakasalalay kaligtasan ng lahat. Inis na tinuon ni Tyler ang atensyon sa manibela at hinintay na makapasok ang iba, magkabay na pumasok sina Alex at Cara. Samantalang tumalon sina Kelly at Peter sa bukas na bukas na back door habang iniinda ang nakabibinging hiyaw at pagbaril ni Spencer.
“Get down,” I mumbled to Parker. He worriedly avoided my eyes and simply got down.
As soon as Parker went down, Tyler started the engine, making Spencer and I use the seat belts for the upcoming impact. Tyler screamed in delight when he massacred most of the bozos when the RV hit them.
“Ang saya-saya mabuhay, mga lods!” Sigaw ni Spencer habang bumabaril sa likod. At kahit parehas kami ng trabaho ay hindi ko pa rin maiwasan ang hindi mapalingon sa bridge, hindi klaro ang naging usap kay Tito Pierre ngunit kung i-babase iyon sa narinig naming kay Tito Tristan—nais patayin ni Ginoong Samuel ang kakambal niya.
Pero bakit?
“Kelly, here! Target the gate’s button!” Cara ordered and handed Tyler’s sniper, “Amira, get down and let Alex used that gun.”
I let my brother take my place without hesitation, especially that my hands somehow felt numb because of continuous shooting. On the other hand, Kelly positioned herself near Spencer’s, making the loud kid ceasefire. The RV was in motion, and because of that, Kelly is a bit frustrated because of the unstable environment.
“Kelly… We are near…” Cara worriedly whispered.
“Damn,” Kelly cursed. She moved slightly, an inch away from falling outside the RV. It made my heart skip a beat just by watching it. Kelly took a deep breath, and when the RV gradually slowed down, I couldn’t help but stole a glance towards Tyler, watching Kelly in the rear mirror.
Dahan-dahan ang naging galaw ni Kelly hanggang sa tuluyan niyang pinutok ang baril. Isang ngiti kumubra sa aming mga labi dahil tumama iyon sa pinundutan ng gate ngunit bago pa man mabilisan ni Tyler muli ang RV ay may pumulupot na galamay sa binti ni Kelly.
Agad nahila nito si Kelly, mabuti na lamang dahil alerto parehas sina Spencer at Peter na nasa tabi nito upang hawakan ang parehas na kamay niya. Kinuha ko ang katana mula sa kamay ni Cara nang makarating sa tapat ng lagusan ang RV.
“Hurry, Amira! Cut the freaking tentacles!” Peter screamed.
I hurriedly went in their direction, but before I could even cut the tentacles. The gate’s heavy door shut, making Kelly’s legs crushed in the process. I was left stunned, my grip in the Katana slowly loose. And when I slowly looked down, I felt somehow deaf by the screams echoing near me.
My eyes were focused on Kelly, who was slowly losing her natural color. Her eyes were closed, and all her blood are streaming down from the RV. Dahan-dahan na tumulo ang luha ko habang pare-parehas kaming hindi makagalaw sa aming puwesto, maging ang sasakyan ay tumigil sa pag andar kasabay nito ang nakabibinging sigaw ni Tyler.
“Kelly! Shit, wake up! Please, wake up!” Tyler pleaded.
It was my fault. If I was just fast enough…
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” I mumbled.
And when I thought the sudden despair was already done. The tentacles appeared on the top of the gate, and it was starving for a meal to devour. As it dances in the midair, it rapidly reaches for Kelly’s body which we failed to stop.
Spencer immediately went back to his machine gun, and when are all ready to retrieve Kelly’s body, a much more hideous, sickening thing appeared. It was just a part of it, a tentacle-like coming from all the way to LIVE Corporation. The tentacle-like pulled up the bozo from another side of the gate without actually destroying it.
Its presence was enough to make us feel fear; it has no face, but it has fangs and a flower-like mouth. And it was thin, and its skin was dry, and centipedes are coming out from it. The tentacle-like being slowly faced us and opened its mouth with the thousand fangs but immediately tilted its body to wrap around the bozo like a snake. The tiny, little flower-like mouth began to be gigantic, much more enormous than the bozo.
Our eyes remained terrified as it slowly devoured both Kelly and the bozo.
And in just a blink of our eyes, the horrifying bozo disappeared.
Along with our friend.
#