Chapter 2
Three days later...
Days ago, I talked to guests in the front desk. Assisting them to their rooms, greeting them with all kindness, giving them all the smiles I could give, waving as they checked out, talking to my coworkers, laughing our asses out. But now, everything has changed.
Ngayon ay kasalukuyang nililinis namin ang labas ng pader. Five changers down, isa lang ang sa akin doon sa apat na balang pinalabas ko. Muntik pang di tumama sa ulo nito ang huling bala.
I'm just wasting precious bullets at buti nalang hindi nila ako pinapagalitan.
Sa bawat pagkalabit ko ng gatilyo ng baril ay napapaatras ako dahil sa pwersa nito. I even jerk the gun right before I fire dahil ineexpect kong puputok ito and it pissed Phoenix off mula pa kahapon at noong unang araw. Nanakit rin ang balikat ko kagabi dahil sa bigat, pero sabi ni Selena, masasanay rin daw ako. They made me do dry-firing noong una. Phoenix taught me to control my breathing and made me use my dominant eye in aiming. Pero sabi nya na kailangan kong masanay na bukas ang dalawang mata ko when aiming for the target. I also still need to fix my stance in firing. In short, I'm not good enough and I still need a lot of practice but at least, nakakatama na ako at madedepensahan ko na ang sarili ko.
Yesterday, I was hesitant in killing a changer. Nanginginig ang kalamnan ko tuwing naiisip kong papatay ako. Tears run down my cheeks on my first aim to a changer. Then memories of how I killed my mother and my brother flashed in my mind. Their souls are long gone.
There are a few of them na napapadpad dito. I bet they are from nearby houses and they suddenly just turned. They're not that rot. Bites and scratches are all over their bodies. Sometimes, their eyes are gone and they just rely on their senses, or they're left with one ear. On my first day, I can't help but retched all the time.
Not all of them are still in a good state. Well, they will never be good because they're dead or a changer already. I mean, others aren't that rotten yet but some are in a really bad state already. At hindi lang yun ang nakakasuka. Their smell, damn. They stink real bad.
Selena has been always busy with her radio. Hitting several frequencies. Hindi nya ito iniiwan. I heard voices from different frequencies pero hindi nakikipag usap si Selena dito. Most are news since wala ng lumalabas sa tv, the last time we heard of CNN was on my second day kasama sila. Then it shut down. Ayokong isipin kung anong posibleng nangyari sa kanila dahil nakakawala ng pag-asa.
I also heard some radioing for help and calling all associated with the armed forces to be in service immediately. Isa na si Selena dun, I know she wants to help outside but she has priorities.
Somehow, nabubuhayan ako ng pag-asa tuwing naririnig ko sa radyo ni Selena ang mga boses ng ibang sundalo. Ipinagdadasal ko ang kaligtasan nila.
The other day, we filled the gallons in the basement with water and also the tanks in the back of the house. We better be prepared dahil hindi rin magtatagal ay mawawalan na rin kami ng tubig at kuryente.
Yesterday, Phoenix went out of the gate to check the road to the city. Nagkalat daw ang mga sasakyan sa daan. Good thing that the roads are not blocked yet. Well, maybe the roads that he checked are not block. But for sure, there are other roads out there that are blocked by traffic or car crash. Especially in the national roads. May mga ibang survivors pa daw syang nakikita. Ang iba daw ay nasa kanilang mga bahay. Ang mga bintana ay natatakpan ng mga tabla ng kahoy.
"You still have to work on your aim and control your shaky hands." Sabi nya bago ako iniwan at pumasok sa truck nila.
Hindi ako sumagot. Nagkakausap na kami pero hindi masyadong madalas dahil parang may dalaw lagi si Phoenix. Parang palaging may ginagawa akong masama.
"Don't mind him. It's good enough compared to your first day." Selena pat me in the back before she jogged to open the gates, making sure it's clear outside as she pointed her rifle in front of her, doing one eighty.
The thought of Phoenix being eaten in the middle of the road scares me to death. He won't allow us to come with him dahil mabilis lang naman daw sya. Kaya hinahatid ko na lamang sya ng tingin at ipinagdadasal sya.
After what happened to my family, which still saddens me, I consider every life around me precious. Ramdam ko parin ang nakadagang mabigat sa dibdib ko. Gabi gabi ay umiiyak ako dahil namimiss ko sila. Walang minuto na hindi sila laman ng isip ko.
On my first half day of practice, hindi muna nila ako tinuruan kung paano bumaril. They taught me first the type of guns that I could possibly try. They taught me how to assemble a gun from seperated parts and split them up. They gave me a Beretta M9A1. But what I used in clearing outside is an AK-74 rifle. Damn. I don't have a broad knowledge about guns. I'm just good at memorizing their names but they're all the same to me. They can kill a changer and that's enough.
Nanatili ako sa harap ng bahay, malayo sa gate pero tanaw ko ang daan na tinahak ng sasakyan ni Phoenix na hindi ko na nakikita ngayon.
Si Selena ay kasalukuyang nasa likod ng bahay dala ang radyo nya. Nagmamasid sa mga puno sa labas ng pader. Kahit doon ay sinisigurado nyang walang umaaligid na changer.
The walls that separated us from an open field before the road surrounded by trees is a ten feet-high wall. May mga luwang ito kaya nakikita parin namin ang mga nasa labas. Pero hindi ito basta bastang maakyat ng sino man.
We hadn't hit the road yet to gather supplies. Selena said it's still too early, pahupain daw muna namin sa labas. And besides, hindi pa ako ready. Hindi na umangal si Phoenix kahit alam ko namang gusto nya ng makakuha na ng mga kakailanganin namin bago pa may makauna.
Tumingala ako, I saw birds flying in the sky. How I wish I could fly too and see what's going on in other places.
Too bad. Hindi ako marunong magpalipad ng eroplano. Sometimes, I wonder how other people are doing in the urban places. I'm sure mas maraming changers ang nagkalat doon. May mga buhay pa kaya? It's not impossible dahil buhay ang isang tulad ko ngayon.
I heard a groan kaya agad akong napatingin sa pader. Wala akong nakikitang Changer. I swallowed and took a deep breath bago dahan-dahang naglakad palapit sa pader which is five meters away from me. The groan went clearer nang dalawang metro nalang ang layo ko sa pader. And there, I saw it.
It's a woman, I bet the same age as mine. Sniffing in the air because she did not see me.
She has several bites in her body. Brown thick blood spreads across her face. Wala na ang isang kamay nya. Nanginginig ang mga kamay kong itinutok sa kanya ang baril kasabay ng pagtingin nya sa akin. She gnashed her teeth then hobbled towards me.
I fired. It hit her neck and made her paused for a second but she continued walking groggily towards me hanggang nakaabot na sya sa pader. I took a step backward. This time, inalala ko ang mga itinuro sa akin ni Phoenix. I don't want to disappoint him always.
I breathe and held it, focused and aimed for her head. I fired and her body fell lifelessly.
Nakahinga ako nang maluwag pagkatapos non.
But I gagged as soon as I took a step forward. Damn. When will I get used to their stench? Or will I ever get used to it?
Dumating si Selena at napagdesisyonan naming kami na lang ang magligpit sa mga patay sa labas. Since the outbreak and clearing outside the walls, we burn their bodies because it requires a lot of strength and time to dig a hole para dun sila ilagay. For now, this is the easiest thing to do.
We vigilantly drag their bodies in one part of a wide area, 20 meters from the house. Our eyes are widely open for other lurking changers and glad that there were none.
Well, this area here are mostly farm lands. There are other houses but it's far from here dahil sa mga tanimang nagbubuklod. I'm just so lucky na nakarating ako sa lugar nato. Dahil paniguradong hindi ako mabubuhay sa lugar namin o sa lungsod sa dami ng posibleng infected.
I bet the gunshots attracts other changer's attention, but we're lucky enough na iilan lang ang napapadpad dito. Today we killed six.
After burning them, we jogged back to the house and closed the gates.
Changer's body isn't that stinky when burnt. Hindi masyadong nakakasuka ang amoy which I prefer more kung ikumpara sa gumagalaw pang changer.
Malayo ang tingin ko habang sinasarado namin ang gate. It's almost lunch at hindi ko parin naririnig ang truck ni Phoenix. Nagsimula na akong kabahan at nabalot ng pag aalala. I want to talk to Selena. I know she's worried too dahil kada sampung minuto ay napapansin kong tumitingin sya sa labas ng gate. Pero hindi nya ito ipinahahalata sa akin.
Isang oras ang lumipas at hindi ko na maitago ang kaba at pag aalala ko. Ganoon din si Selena. It's almost 12pm.
Dapat ay 10am pa lang ay nandito na sya.
"I think I should head out and find him." Ani Selena.
"Sasama po ako." Mabilis na sabi ko.
Without plans, we instantly gather our weapons and head outside the house. Sobrang kabado ako sa gagawin namin dahil alam ko sa sarili kong hindi pa ako handa. Pupunta na sana kami sa isang truck nang marinig ko ang tunog ng makina ng kanilang truck.
Nabuhayan ako ng loob dahil don. A smile crept to my face at tumakbo kami papunta sa gate para pagbuksan sya.
Nang makapasok ay agad kong nakita ang pagod na mukha ni Phoenix.
"What took you so long?" Una kong tanong sa kanya.
He stared at me before sya bumaba ng truck. Naisara na ni Selena ang gate. Narinig ko ang mabibigat nyang paghinga. He did not answer me.
"Phoenix-"
"Call me Nick. My family are the only ones who can call me by my real name." I winced.
I felt a little embarassed. I don't usually call him by that since we don't talk that often but now that I've known about that, I'll still call him Phoenix. Kung mag uusap kami ay hindi ko naman sya palaging tinatawag sa pangalan nya. Parang hindi pa kasi dapat dahil malayo ang loob namin sa isa't isa.
"What took you so long, then?" Tanong ko ulit.
He has to answer because we were worried sick and we were about to go in a mission of finding Phoenix.
"I loot some stores beside the streets."
"What?!" Sabay naming bulalas ni Selena.
"Help me get this inside first and then we'll talk." He said glaring at us.
We unload his truck like what he said. I carried three large plastic bags while they carry two in each hand. Ang dami nga nyang nakuha. But it is too dangerous to be done alone.
Nang makapasok ay isinara na namin ang pinto. Ibinaba ang mga kurtina sa bintana na hindi pa namin natatakpan ng mga tabla ng kahoy sa labas. We spread the curtains to cover the whole window frame. Have you ever heard of lightproof curtains? We'll, I've heard and seen it once in a korean drama but I never think of it as real though. Pero totoo nga, we changed their curtains yesterday into lighproof curtains. So at night, we can have our lights on pero papatayin naman namin kung hindi na kailangan. Lucky that we still have our electricity but we've started clearing out the fridge and freezing water downstairs so that once they are frozen, we can use them in cooling some stocks that needs to be in the required temperature.
"Phoenix," Marahas na iniharap ni Selena si Phoenix sa kanya. "Promise me that you will never do that again!" She exclaimed.
"Ma, I'm not a kid and I did it for us. I've seen other survivors looting some houses. I don't want us to be left with nothing by the time she's ready." He answered in a low voice.
Napatingin si Selena sa akin. I don't know what to say.
It's because of me that's why he did it alone. Dahil sa palamunin na gaya ko.
"She will be, son. At hindi mauubos ng ibang looters ang lahat ng mga nandoon. Next time, we will do it together. That's an order." Matigas na sabi ni Selena.
I can't interrupt in their conversation dahil alam kong wala ako sa lugar. Phoenix clenched his jaw while looking intently at me na para bang sinasabi nya na ako ang dahilan kung ba't pinapagalitan sya ngayon.
"I'm sorry," Hindi ko napigilang sabihin iyon kaya napatingin sila sa akin.
"Pero tingin ko ay handa na ako. I've learned a lot though I'll still be needing your help and guidance inside or outside the walls." Nahihiya kong sabi.
"Hindi ka pa handa, Aide." Selena stated.
I bit my lower lip and lowered my gaze to my feet before bringing it back to the two frames in front of me.
"I need to be, Selena. I want to become useful. I promise, if something happens to me, you're out of it. It's my decision to go out anyway." I said and smiled. "I'm sorry."
"I'll prepare the table. Clean up first." Selena ordered his son na agad namang tumalikod at tinakbo ang hagdan.
Sumunod ako kay Selena para tulongan sya. Hindi kami makakain kanina kahit may naihanda ng pagkain dahil sa pag-aalala. Phoenix is six years older than me. He was Selena's first born. She had him when she was a teenager but being a young mom did not stop her from becoming of what she dreamt to be, an army. She's a veteran of the armed forces, same with his deceased husband who died due to cancer four years ago. She told me that Phoenix has a history that's why ganun syang umasta sa akin. She didn't bother telling me itwhat is and I respected it. Maybe she felt like it's not her story to tell. I saw a picture of another guy with the same features of Phoenix and a girl younger than me upstairs pero hindi na ako nagtanong tungkol doon.
We ate in silence. Hindi na tumitingin si Phoenix sa akin which I prefer more para makakain ako ng maayos.
"We'll need diesel and gas. We still have 9 gallons for both but kukulangin rin tayo soon." Sabi ni Selena.
"And I think we should gather seeds to be planted as well or root crops. Para may makakain pa rin tayong fresh aside from those processed foods." I smiled to both of them.
Their yard is big enough at pwedeng pagtaniman ng mga gulay. We can also plant outside but it's a bit risky, pwede ring nakawin ang mga pananim namin. What excites me most about this thing is during harvest. We can also get sweet corns from the corn field I've seen beside the woods at the back kung wala na ang may-ari ng taniman na iyon.
"Yeah, that's what I'm also thinking." Sagot ni Phoenix habang patuloy na kumakain.
"And we can ask for some corns as well. Marami akong nakita sa tabi ng kakahuyan." Sabay kagat ko ng pagkain ko.
"I think we will have no problem with that. The owner of the corn field wandered yesterday so..."
Nakuha na namin ang ibig sabihin ni Selena.
Nang matapos kaming kumain ay kanya kanya naming niligpit ang pinagkainan namin. Mataas pa rin ang sikat ng araw at marami pa kaming paghahandang pwedeng gawin.
Ang bahay nina Selena ay iba sa mga bahay na makikita mo sa kalayuan. Dahil may mga taniman sa pagitan ng mga iilang kabahayan, tanging bahay lang nila Selena ang may konkretong pader, may taniman sa likod pati sa labas ng pader. Other houses has wood fences and it doesn't even cover their whole land area. Clearly they are not a survivalist, like me.
Nagpatay sindi ang ilaw sa may kusina dahilan para mapatingin kami. Low voltage or we are already near in losing electricity. And then the vibrating sound stopped and the lights died.
Kinakabahan akong napatingin sa kanila. This indicates cold and terrifying nights.
Pinaandar ko ang gripo na kakatapos ko lang patayin dahil tapos na akong maghugas at may lumabas pa na tubig ngunit mahina na ito. I'm sure it will be the next na mawawala. Our restroom's tanks are already full of water but we don't know how long they will last.
We really need to conserve everything now.
"We need to list everything that we will need." Sabi ni Phoenix at agad na umalis.
May dala syang papel at ballpen nang makabalik siya. I huddled towards them at nagsimula na syang magsulat. Canned goods, everything that is edible, medicines, weapons and our personal necessities. And salt. Hell! I still wanna eat tasty foods kahit na may outbreak na nangyayari.
"We'll head out first thing in the morning. Prepare all that you need." Sabi ni Selena.
Umakyat kami sa aming kwarto pero naiwan si Phoenix sa labas. I didn't hear gunshots this time pero alam kong nililinis at binabantayan nya ang labas ng pader.
Humiga ako at nag-isip kung anong posibleng mangyari sa amin bukas. Pumasok sa isipan ko ang pamilya ko. Our memories together, I can use it as my strength. This time, walang luhang lumabas. Bumangon ako at hinawi ng kaunti ang kurtina para makita ko ang nasa labas. Malapit ng lumubog ang araw. Nananatiling maganda ang ulap at panahon kahit napakagulo na ng mundo.
I heard gunshots, this time sigurado akong hindi iyon galing kay Phoenix. Tinignan ko sya sa ilalim. He's watching where the gunshots possibly came from with his binoculars.
Naningkit ang mata ko. I'm sure nanggaling iyon sa kakahoyan na madadaanan bago makapasok sa mga taniman. Maybe those are survivors.
The house that I'm in aren't fully surrounded with trees but when you are on the road, hindi ito basta bastang makikita ng iba dahil may malalaking puno sa labas ng pader. Yun ang sabi ni Selena.
Matapos akong makapaghanda ng susuotin para bukas at tipunin ang mga natitirang bala ng aking baril ay bumaba ako para makapaghanda ng hapunan.
Naghihintay sa akin si Selena sa baba.
"These are for you." Sabay pakita nya sa akin ng mga nasa mesa.
There's one radio, a blade, magazine with ammos and boots.
"For your clothes, we have to be fully covered to avoid getting wounds and scratches. Wear sweatpants and a jacket. The one that I gave you the other day. Hahanap tayo ng leather clothes sa mga mapupuntahan natin." Aniya.
Ngumiti ako at nagpasalamat.
Tinuruan nya ako kung paano gamitin ang radyo at mabilis naman akong natuto. Iniakyat ko muna ang mga ibinigay nya sa akin. Sabi nyay magagamit pa daw namin ang radyo dahil machacharge namin iyon. May ilang solar panel sila sa kanilang bubong. Kaya nitong ilawan ang kusina at mga kwarto pero hindi nito kaya ang mga freezer sa basement.
We had our dinner before even the sun have set.
Ang ilang mga frozen meat sa kanilang ref ay inilipat namin sa basement noong nakaraang araw. May mga tatlong karne pa ang nakapack na natira at ang ginawa namin ni Selena ay minarinate ito sa iba't ibang spices at soy sauce. She cut most of it into strips and jerked it. I was surprised that she know how to jerked meats. Saktong saktong bago kami nawalan ng kuryente.
"I saw armed civilians spying on us." Bungad ng kakapasok lang na si Phoenix.
Nag angat ng tingin si Selena mula sa librong binabasa nya at napatingin sa kanyang anak. Kinakabahan akong napatingin sa kanya. Ibinalik ko ang tingin ko kay Phoenix.
"If they meant no harm, they are safe from us. We have nothing to worry about as long as we are inside here." Kalmado nyang sabi.
They are safe from us?
What if they're survivors? Or what if they want to steal from us?
These days, hindi lamang changers ang posibleng makapanakit sa mga tao.
"What if they need help?" I asked.
"We can help but we can't let them in." Matigas na sabi ni Phoenix na ngayon ay nagmamasid sa labas mula sa bintana.
Selena closed the book she was reading.
"Let's have a good sleep and prepare ourselves for tomorrow." Aniya na mas nagpakaba sa akin.
Damn. Hindi pa nga ako nakakalabas ay nanginginig na ang laman ko sa takot.
I need to get some sleep now.
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A/N:
Hello, my dear readers❤️❤️ Nakareach na ako ng 800+ followers dahil sa inyo. My goal now is to reak 3k votes before mag 30k reads ang ATFT. I hope you will help me with that by continuously voting every chapter😊😁 Maraming salamat!