Paalam ko lang sa inyo. Gagawin kong taglish si Caelum dito. Hindi ko kakayanin kung ipupurong englisero ko 'yan! Hahaha! Bawi na lang ako sa dialogues niya, pure english na 'yon. Geh, 'yun lang. Eto na!
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*Caelum
- Castrafort
A mist and scent of smoke greeted me as soon as I stepped outside of the apartment building. I roamed my eyes to witness a number of men in groups with each doing activities they usually do. Just in my left were two thugs taking turns to gain pleasure from a stick. It was obvious in their worn-out faces that their minds were somewhere else.
On a long wooden bench just a few steps in front of me were another group sharing good laughs with a bottle of beer on their hands. Nang malipat ang tingin ko sa gilid ng bench, my brows went up to my surprise upon seeing several empty bottles lying there. It seemed that they were having the time of their lives.
Seated on the wet floor at the corner were another group where loud sounds from the game they were playing on their mobile phones could be heard. Bahagya akong napasimangot dito. Hindi man lang sila naghanap ng magandang mauupuan to play. Well, maybe they've gotten used to the surroundings of this place. It's been a while since I stayed here, so I also should be, but imagining the feeling of my butt sitting on a wet floor was disgusting.
Letting out a sigh as I place my hands inside the pockets of my leather jacket, I took a step to finally get going. For more than a month that I've been staying here, I always see this exact same scenario whenever I leave around this time. I'm not even sure why I was sparing a few seconds of my time watching them do those things. Maybe it was due to my amazement. Just like me, they couldn't care less of the f*cking curfew. And it's not just them. Habang binabagtas ko ang eskinita ay may iilan pa akong nasasalubong.
This is Castrafort for you. A hellish city with strict rules made by a tyrant General. He and his cocky dogs run this city. As obvious as it is, they're failing miserably to control the whole city. Even simple rules like the curfew is being ignored by us. Well, at least for the people in the slums. However, these rules are well-observed in the main city. I saw that with my own two eyes when I used to stay there.
More than a month. It's as if that suddenly echoed inside my mind. Time seemed to fly so fast that I actually failed to realize that it has been that long since I left the main city, specifically his place. Which also means that it's been that long since I started a life of a hopeless rat just waiting for its prey to abduct him.
I made a sudden pause when I felt a vibration inside my pocket. Agad kong kinuha ang phone ko and accepted the call. "Hello?"
"Ano na, 'tol? Asan ka na? Kanina pa kami naghihintay dito ah," a man spoke in an angered tone.
I scoffed and replied, "Be there in a minute."
Hindi na ako naghintay ng sagot niya at agad ko nang pinutol ang tawag niya. What am I thinking? I told myself. Ako 'tong nagyaya to unwind to shake off these stressful thoughts. I should give myself a break I deserve and have a little bit of fun. That's what I should be focusing on right now.
*****
"Cheers!" hiyaw ko with a half full of glass of Tom Collins on my hand. The two men joining me in the table lifted their drinks with a wide smile painted on their faces. Uminom ako mula sa basong hawak ko and I just felt the alcohol flowed down my throat as it sent pleasure and satisfaction all over me.
"Mukhang ang saya mo na naman, p're ah!" bulalas ng lalakeng nasa kanang gawi ko. He has a black hair that accompanies his young-looking face well. Kung hindi ko lang siya kilala ay iisipin kong dapat ipinagbawal siyang makapasok dito.
Shrugging my shoulders as my lips formed a cheap beam, I replied. "Of course. Who wouldn't have fun with a glass of this?"
Tom Collins, my ever favorite drink. There's just this special and absolute feeling within me whenever I drink those. Napakasarap sa pakiramdam. It's like the warmth it gives me just explode from the inside and that bails all my problems and thoughts away. That's what I liked about it the most. At alam kong alam iyon ng dalawang kasama ko.
"Tsk, sana lang din alam mo na naabala mo na naman ako sa ginagawa ko," he playfully continued and took another sip. I shook my head in disbelief of how blunt this guy is. Sinasabi niya talaga ang gusto niyang sabihin without holding back.
"Ah, so am I expecting a new toy from you soon?" I asked with anticipation. Instead of giving me a word, he gave me a wink which made me grin. "Nice! So when can I come over and try it out myself?"
"Hep!" He immediately exclaimed as he raised his index finger. To my surprise, bigla niya na lang nilahad ang kamay niya na para bang may hinihingi sa akin. Agad akong napabusangot dahil dito.
"Come on, Jake!" I exclaimed right back at him which made him laugh.
"Joke lang! Kapag na-finalize ko na. I still have to do some test fires," he said and it was as if the last word he uttered was given emphasis.
"Oooh!" Me and the guy on my left cheered in unison. Doon pa lang kasi ay nagkaroon na kami ng ideya in what he's working on.
This is just one of the perks of being friends with a genius and arms inventor like Jake. He has invented a wide arsenal of equipments and weaponries ever since we met in an old warehouse where he has his own laboratory containing scraps and junks. As far as I could remember, I was 10 and he was 8 when we met.
"Oy, sali rin ako diyan!" Screamed the guy on my left with obvious excitement on his face. "Iba rin talaga 'tong si Jake, ano? Parang kailan lang may binida kang shock stick sa amin ni Caelum ah? Genius ka talaga."
"No objections there," I seconded what the guy with the curly black hair said.
"Masyado mo naman ako purihin, Renz. Oo na, sabihan niyo na lang ako ni Caelum kung kailan kayo dadalaw," sabi ni Jake na tinawanan namin ni Renz.
"Maiba ako, Caelum," banggit ni Renz na kumuha sa aking atensyon. I was about to take another sip, but his call halted me. "Bakit nga ba nagyaya ka na naman dito sa Silhouette bar? May problema ka na naman ba?"
My brows furrowed with what he said as I placed my drink on top of the table. "Should I have a problem first before inviting you guys here?"
"Hindi ka na nasanay, Renz. Malamang mambababae na naman 'yan," stated Jake looking rather annoyed as he took a piece of chip into his mouth. Tila nagkaroon ng sariling buhay ang mga labi ko at kusa itong umunat upang ngumisi. What Jake said was halfly right, that's what I wanted to do aside from drinking. The entire reason for this night out was to have fun.
"Malay ko ba, eh 'yung huling punta natin dito problemado 'yan eh," pang-aasar ni Renz which made me twitch my head in irritation. I felt my face frowned due to the fact my friend just stated, but does he have to bring that up again? Geez.
Bilang alam ko naman na ang gusto niyang iparating, I just ignored it. "I hate to break this to you, Renz, but it's completely different now. I just want to spend the night here and enjoy," I proudly said with a wide smile on my face.
"Oo na, binibiro lang naman kita kanina," said Renz as he scratched his head in defeat. That made me chuckle because I knew that he was trying to annoy me by mentioning that again, but he failed to do so. Sorry na lang siya since I was having a good time.
This actually had become a hobby of Renz. It's like he's amused whenever he annoys me, and it amuses me when he fails. Thinking about this made me remember how we used to fight in the streets as a kid. Back then, he was so weird and aggressive that I started calling him jungle kid and that's the reason why we started exchanging punches. After several fights, he opened up to me that he actually used to live alone in the jungle with no one else to rely on. For some reason, I felt no different from him. Tulad niya, wala rin akong kahit sino noong pagkabata pa.
"That reminds me--" I paused for a bit as I swallowed my drink. "Where are the girls?"
Umiling si Renz habang nilalapag ang inumin niya sa mesa. "Negative. Hindi raw sila makakarating."
"Hmm... bakit parang malungkot ka?" Stated Jake with a playful tone which got Renz.
"W-wala! Baliw 'to," he stuttered that had me and Jake burst out laughing.
"You're so lame at faking, Renz," I said in between my laugh.
"Mga g*gu! Cheers na nga lang ulit!" Iritado niyang sabi sabay angat ng kanyang baso.
I shook my head as I placed my drink on top of the table. "You guys continue. I'll be back."
"Oh?" Surprised Renz muttered while roaming his eyes. "May target ka na agad?"
Kusa akong napauyam sa sinabi niya umiling. "Nah, I'll just take a quick trip to the comfort room."
"Ahh... ok!" Jake mischievously said while taking another drink. It was obvious that he wasn't buying what I said so I just ignored it.
"Whatever," sabi ko na lang habang bumubungisngis saka umalis.
As I was making my way towards the comfort room, I saw myself wandering my eyes around the bar. Colorful lights were blinking around as loud energetic music continues to hype the crowd. I could also smell the mixture of alcohol and sweet scents of different flavors of vape. It's as lively as ever here in Silhouette bar.
It got a lot quieter upon reaching the narrow hallway leading to the comfort room. As usual, there were some couples unshamingly making out in the dark corners. It's actually funny seeing it not because it's exciting, but can't they just hold it for a few moment to get a room?
Pagkapasok ko sa men's CR, I saw that the urinals were already occuppied and so I decided to take the cubicle instead. While I was taking my time, I could hear the soft murmurs and slow footsteps of what I think were from the men using the urinals, but I got worried when that slow footsteps I heard suddenly got faster and loud as it trailed away. For some reason, nagkaroon ako ng masamang kutob doon.
Before going out of the cubicle, I took a peek at the small space in the bottom of the cubicle to see if there was anyone waiting in front of it, but I saw nothing. Nang ilagay ko ang kamay ko sa pinto ng cubicle para buksan ito ay hinanda ko ang aking sarili. I slowly opened it and as soon as I stepped out of the cubicle, I heard a deep voice.
"Kapag sinusuwerte ka nga naman," said a man that didn't fail to alarm me. Beside him was two more men as if they were blocking my way out. By the looks of them, it seemed like they are well-built. "Sabi na nga ba't ikaw ang nakita namin."
"Akalain niyong sumaglit lang tayo dito para magsiya, pero parang biyaya na ang lumapit. Sigurado akong matutuwa ang Heneral sa dadalhin natin sa kanya," pagpapatuloy pa ng isa sa kanila at sabay-sabay silang nagtawanan. That's when I fully understood what's happening.
They all took a step in preparation of what's about to happen. Those men were giving me sinister look, but that didn't scare me. As a matter of fact, it made me giggle.
"So even his loyal dogs do not abide by his rule. How ironic," I threw them an insult and based on the serious stare they gave me, it worked. The man in the middle was about to rush in when I spoke again. "Correct me if I'm wrong, you were just here to have fun. Which means you guys are unprepared. I mean-- you do know what I'm capable of, right?"
I then witnessed how the soldiers took a step back in panic due to the sudden blinking of the lights as I was simply clenching my fist. While they were slowly being enveloped in fear, sounds of crackling from my fist which were releasing small amount of electricity echoed in the small room. Amused of the sight, I took a step closer to them which they reacted on by taking several steps backward which made me smirk. I didn't stop marching towards them, and they didn't stop stepping backwards either. Until, their backs reached the wall that struck them fear.
"Boo."
"Ahhh!!!"
Before I could even blink, they rushed outside leaving me with a proud smile. Inangat ko ang kamao ko na naglalabas pa rin ng kaunting kuryente at tinitigan ito. What a bunch of cowards.
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Dedicated sa account ni Caelum. Haha parang akin lang din naman 'yan. xD Check niyo na rin 'yung nasa works niyan. Sinasabi ko sa inyo, tatawa kayo. Hahaha!
Ean:.....
Oy, bakit hindi ka nagsasalita?
Ean:.....
Tae ka, ano ba 'yan?
Ean: Tampo ako sa'yo, Arcie! Bakit wala ako sa chapter 1? Unang entrada ng story namin, wala ako? At si Caelum lang ang nandiyan? Bakit niyo ba ako laging kinakawawa? Ano ba'ng ginawa ko? Wala naman akong ginawa kung hindi pasiyahin lang kayo, ah? Hindi pa ba sapat? Ano pa ba ang kulang?
Ano pinaglalaban mo, Ean? Hahahaha!
Ean: Why you doer this to me? You always awa awa me and all of you is funning!
Masaya kaya! Hahahaha!
Caelum: Haha. Yeah, it is fun.
Kaawa na talaga si Ean. #HustisyaParaKayEan xD
Lakserf peoplers! 'Wag kayo mag-alala, sa next chap, kayo na ang bibida.
Ean: Oh, my! I'm exci- excit- ex- exorcisted! Hahahahah!
Oh, tamo, nabuhayan ng loob ang ugok! Hahaha!
Multimedia:
Ean Caelum Magners