Chapter 9
Hindi bumaba si Phoenix para maghapunan. I was the one who prepared the food. Hindi nga pala nila alam na may mga pagkain pa kaming nakatago pati na rin ang tungkol sa basement.
Ang alam lang nilang mga pagkain ay ang kung anong meron sa loob ng pantry.
Ayaw ni Selena na may iba pang makaalam tungkol doon.
"I don't think I've said anything wrong." Carol said, hindi sya mapakali sa kinauupuan nya.
"Maybe he's just tired." Dagdag pa ni Carol.
Kanina pa umakyat si Selena kaya naiwan kaming apat dito. Alas nuwebe na ng gabi pero hindi pa sila dinadalaw ng antok. The boys actually sleeps in one of the guest rooms here in the ground floor. We don't used lights that consumes electricity from the solar anymore, we used candles instead. Nasa single couch ako nakaupo, nakahiga naman si Chase sa hita ko. Kahit mabigat ay minsa'y kinakarga ko pa rin sya.
"You're just too talkative." Ani Hebrew pero hindi sya sinagot ni Carol, inirapan lang sya nito.
Hebrew smirked. He really likes to pissing Carol off.
Bukas ay aalis kami para maghanap ng ibang kakailanganin. I asked Selena kung maghahanap na ba kami ng mapagkukuhanan ng mga armas but she said no. Sasama daw sya sa araw na 'yon. We still have lots of ammos and guns aside from what's stored in the basement. Pero bukas ay hahanap kami ng mga prutas na may citrus scent at pagkain and also oils to be used in making citrus oils. We moved the date our looting plans dahil umuulan na. Baka sa tag-ulan ay wala na kaming makain.
Sinabihan na ako ni Selena kanina na sabihan ko ang dalawang lalake para sa gagawin bukas. Ang isa ay maiiwan dito.
"By the way, may isang sasama sa inyo bukas para kumuha ng kakailanganin." Ngumiti ako ng kaonti.
I know that they're terrified out there. Especially Simon. But one must come. May nakikita rin akong takot sa mukha ni Hebrew pero kinokontrol nya ang sarili nya. They're still nineteen years old, nalaman kong magkaklase pala silang dalawa. Nasa iisang skwelahan lang sila ni Carol. That explains why they're still wearing their PE pants when we saw them. Nadumihan daw ang kanilang damit kaya ang pang itaas lang nila ang kanilang napalitan. While as for Carol, she was wearing jeans that time and a turtle neck long sleeve.
"I—" Simon started to say something pero pinutol iyon ni Hebrew.
"I'll go with you, Ate. Simon is good with planting and stuffs around the house so mas mapapakinabangan siya dito." Mas lalo akong napangiti sa sinabi ni Hebrew.
Nakatingin sa kanya si Simon pero sinuntok lang ni Hebrew ang kanyang braso bago tumawa.
"It's okay, Simon. Kayo ng bahala dito bukas. We'll be back before lunch or past lunch sometimes." Pag aasure ko kay Simon dahil mukhang nahihiya sya.
Tumawa si Carol ng malakas.
"Just admit that you're scared to go there, Simon." Pang-aasar nya kay Simon.
"Tingin mo ba, buhay ka pa ngayon kung hindi dahil sa akin?" Nagtitimpi sa galit na tanong ni Simon.
Carol grinned. "I never asked you to save me. You're just trying to prove yourself na hindi ka gaya ng iniisip ko that time. But you are, pretty one. You don't belong in this place."
Nakita ko ang pagkuyom ng kamao ni Simon. Namumula na rin ang kanyang mga mata.
"Careful, Carol. You don't want me mad." Banta ni Hebrew gamit ang mahinang boses.
Mas tumawa pa ng malakas si Carol.
"Hebrew, why do you always interfere? Are you also gay that's why you always defend him?" Nakatayo na ngayon si Carol at tinuturo si Simon.
Hindi ko na papalagpasin kung may lalabas pang masama sa bunganga ng babaeng 'to. Humalakhak sa tawa si Hebrew dahilan para matawa rin si Simon. Tumayo si Hebrew at nilapitan si Carol. Nanlaki ang mata ni Carol sa ginawa ni Hebrew. Sa aming apat na nandito, si Hebrew ang pinakamatangkad. Mas matangkad nga lang at mas malaki si Phoenix kaysa sa kanya.
"You know what? You're pretty. Pero wala kang utak. Just focus on flirting with Nick because that's the only thing you're good at. Okay?" Hebrew finished his sentence grinning.
Nakita kong parang iiyak na si Carol dahil sa sinabi ni Hebrew. Bumalik si Hebrew sa kung saan sya nakaupo kanina. Akala koy aalis si Carol pero hindi, nanatili syang nakatayo doon.
"Aide, I will come with you tomorrow." Matigas na sabi ni Carol.
"No. You're not allowed to come with us. Selena has given you a task." I replied but Carol just rolled her eyes bago nameywang.
"I'll do what she told me when we get back! You'll tell her that I'll come with you tomorrow!" She whined.
Tumayo ako at nilapitan sya.
Kanina pa ako nagtitimpi sa babaeng 'to.
Napaatras sya pero hindi ako tumigil hanggang sa napaupo sya sa kinauupuan nya. I smiled sweetly.
"Are you giving me orders, sweetie?" I asked her gently.
"I'll come with you tomorrow." She replied.
"Do you want to leave this house?" I crossed my arms around my chest.
"No!"
"Then follow Selena's orders." I whispered to her ear.
"Hebrew, we'll hit the road at four thirty. Have a good night guys."
Tinawag ko si Chase at isinama sa taas. Kinuha ko ang unan at kumot ko para makatulog na. Maybe Carol is not aware that everything is different now. Hindi pwede sa akin ang ganyang pag uugali nya.
Kasalukuyang tinatahak na namin ang daan.
"Do you know how to use a gun?" I asked Hebrew.
Tumila ang ulan ng mga hating gabi na. It's not cloudy anymore and I can see the sun already even though it hasn't rose up yet.
Nakaupo si Hebrew sa backseat. Halatang kinakabahan sya.
"Y-Yes. I've used it twice." He stammered but I gave her a reassuring smile.
"I was also that nervous the first time we went out after they saved me. Try to breathe properly and calm yourself." Sabi ko sa kanya bago iniabot ang hawak kong baril at pabango. "That's Glock 19. This here, safety on, safety off." I said showing him. "Selena told me to give that to you and to spray that all over your body before we get out of the car."
Tumango sya kaya umayos na ako ng upo.
Tinignan ko si Phoenix na seryosong nagmamaneho. Hindi ko sya narinig magsalita simula kanina. Hindi ko rin sya sinubukang kausapin. Mukhang hindi pa sya nakamove on sa sinabi ni Carol kagabi. Maybe they weren't in good terms with his wife and he's blaming himself now that they're already apart.
Tumingin na lamang ako sa daan at nagdasal na sana'y hindi namin makita kung ano 'yong mga nakita namin kahapon.
Puro kakahoyan pa lang ang nakikita ko ngayon. May isang changer akong nakita sa daan at hindi na nadagdagan pa.
Hawak ko ang baril ko. Ang espada ko ay nasa tabi ni Hebrew.
We are now living in a rurban area. Miles of farms in Granjero then you'll pass the woods before you reach the proper area. The Roastrel. After a half an hour drive of over 100kph, we are back here again with a different truck.
Like the first time we've been here. No signs of living. I wonder kung nandito pa rin ba 'yong lalaking nakita ko.
Nadaanan muna namin ang ilang mga kabahayan bago namin marating kung saan may mga tindahan at establisyemento.
The intersection lane are covered with garbage and rotting boddies. The traffic lights doesn't work anymore. I imagined people crossing on the streets through the pedestrian. They're walking fast, some are running on the way to work. Cars are waiting for the green light. I won't see those kind of scenes anymore. Everything is dead. The cars in the streets are broken. There will be no more traffic jams, running people for work crossing that lane. The traffic lights won't work again. If it does, it will be for nothing or ghosts.
This time, we tried a different supermaket. We will get as many citrus that we can get, perfumes, alcohols and foods.
Narinig ko ang malalim na pagbuga ng hininga ni Hebrew sa likod.
We parked in front of the supermarket with capital letters on top, it says Grab In. After we sprayed the perfumes sa katawan namin ay lumabas na kami.
"Just stay with us, Hebrew." I told him and smiled.
May isang changer ang lumapit sa amin pero sinalubong ko na ito ng espada.
The glass door squeaked as Phoenix pushed it open. Huminga ako ng malalim bago sumunod sa kanya. I don't know how many changers are in here but maybe there are dozens of them here since it's bigger than the first one we pillaged.
We slowly walked inside. I told Hebrew not to use his gun since it will draw more attention. And now I saw him standing with a baseball bat in his hands which I didn't know where he took from. Sinenyasan ko muna syang sa may pinto muna sya bago nagtakip ng ilong ko.
Sobrang baho dito dahil siguro sa pinaghalo-halong nabubulok.
This one is large so we will have to expect the worst.
Sinenyasan ako ni Phoenix na sa kabilang side ako kaya doon ako nagtungo. A changer greeted me with a snarl and I greeted him back with my sword. I saw about eight of them. Napamura ako sa dami but I'm confident now that I can take all of them down at wala akong ititirang pwedeng magpahamak sa akin.
They don't smell us. They're just busy walking back and forth. I smiled bago nilapitan ang isang nakatalikod. This is so disgusting, kung nabubulok yung sa unang supermarket, mas nabubulok na ang mga ito.
I took them down one by one in a swift. I even checked the other sides hanggang sa magkasalubong na kami ni Phoenix.
"How many did you killed?" I asked him.
He's still not showing any emotions.
"I lost count but it's at least ten." Aniya. "But there are a dozen of them behind that door. They don't smell us yet so we better hurry."
Pinuntahan ko si Hebrew kung saan namin sya iniwan pero wala sya dun. Kinabahan ako bigla. Hinanap ko sya sa loob pero hindi ko talaga sya makita. Hindi ko sinabi kay Phoenix dahil baka magalit sya hanggang sa nakita ko si Hebrew na papasok.
"Where have you been?! I told you to stay with us!" Galit kong sabi sa kanya.
"Sorry, Ate. May narinig kasi akong sasakyan sa labas." Napatingin ako sa labas.
I wish they're not bandits or Ferrer's bondmen.
"Let's go and make this quick bago pa tayo maamoy ng mga nasa loob ng yan." Sabay turo ko sa pinto sa malayo.
Nanlaki ang mata nya pero agad ring kumilos.
I took everything that I think we will need. Kumuha na rin ako ng mga disposable na bagay, perfumes and colognes, alcohols, lahat na may matapang na amoy, kumuha rin ako ng ilang alak. We can use them too. I told Hebrew na siguruhin nya ang mga pagkain. I guess we are too lucky dahil palaging kami ang nauuna sa mga pinagkukunan namin. But we make sure that we left something for them.
Or maybe kami ang nauuna dahil wala ng survivors dito. I don't think so. I'm sure the soldiers from the Camp loots too.
May nakita akong mga damit at kinuha ko na lang lahat ng iyon. Nakita ko si Phoenix, puno ng mga citrus fruits ang plastic ng kanyang cart. Most of them are rotten already but there are still na mapapakinabangan pa. He wore a gloves.
After almost an hour ay nakarga na namin sa sasakyan ang lahat ng mga nakuha namin. Making sure na may natitira pang ibang makakain sa loob. Pero syempre ay siniguro namin ang para sa amin. We even got chocolates and more sweets.
Nakakatuwa ang ginagawa namin. Everything is for free, no need for money. What's sad is that we're the only living person in this place.
"Are we going home now?" Hebrew asked.
"We'll find some cement first. Right?" I asked Phoenix at tumango lang ito.
Malawak na bakanteng lote muna ang nadaanan namin bago kami nakarating sa mapagkukunan namin ng semento. It's a small store. Maliit lamang iyon.
Tatlong changer lang ang sumalubong sa amin kaya mabilis ang naging trabaho. We got five sacks of cement at ikinarga namin ito sa likod ng truck. Inilipat namin ang karamihan ng mga nakuha namin sa supermarket sa loob ng sasakyan.
When Phoenix hit the gas, we heard gunshots. Sunod sunod ang mga ito kaya mabilis na pinatakbo ni Phoenix ang sasakyan.
Ibang daan ang dinaanan namin pero naririnig pa rin namin ang mga putok.
Nanlaki ang mata ko nang iliko ni Phoenix ang sasakyan patungo sa kung saan nagmumula ang ingay.
"What if they're bandits or Ferrer's bondmen?!"
"They're not." Tipid nyang sagot hanggang sa tuloyan ko ng makita ang pinagmumulan ng ingay.
There's a man covered in blood na nakahiga sa kalsada. Ang isang namamaril ay may tama sa braso. They're being attacked by dozens of changers. Napapalibutan sila.
They're not bandits. I'm sure of that.
Lumabas si Phoenix kaya lumabas rin ako.
There are over three dozens of changers around them and we took them down one by one habang humahakbang palapit sa kanila. We're about fifteen meters from them. Napatingin sila sa amin pero bumalik rin sa pagbabaril sa mga changers.
Hindi nila natatamaan ang mga ulo nito sa isang bala lang kaya napakadami nilang nasayang.
Nasa labing isa na lang ang natitira ngayon at hinayaan na namin silang tapusin ito.
Nang makalapit ako sa kanila ay naklaro ko ang pagmumukha nila. One of them is the man I saw in the supermarket.
Nanlaki ang mata ko. I did not expect him to be here. But I was hoping to see him again.
Nakatingin lang sya sa akin.
Napatingin ako sa iba nyang mga kasama. They're wearing what soldier's wore. Lumapit ang isa sa amin at nag abot ng kamay.
"Sergeant Cooper from Camp Hawkins. We are thankful for your help."
Tinignan muna ni Phoenix ang kamay ni Sergeant na mukhang kaedad nya lang or older. Lumapit pa ang ilan sa amin pati na 'yong lalaki.
"Nick Fournier." Ani Phoenix at tinanggap ang kamay ng lalaki.
Tumingin 'yong isang lalaki sa rifle na nakasabit sa katawan ko.
"Call me Adam." Sabi noong Sergeant at sa akin naman nakipag kamay. Tinanggap ko iyon. "This is Corporal Hakeem. This is Josh, Fred, Lance, Mike and Machia. We are from the Camp. Makakarating sa kanila kung paano nyo kami tinulungan. We can take you there if you want to. The camp would be happy to have you."
"No need. You better head back now, Sergeant. You just draw too much attention." Ani Phoenix. "We have to go. It's nice seeing you."
Machia.
Machia. I heard that name before. On the radio.
"I know you." I muttered habang nakaharap sa lalaking tinawag na Machia.
Lumapit sya sa akin at inabot ang kamay nya.
"Machia Parsons."
Nag aalangan ako kung tatanggapin ko ba iyon o hindi. Pero sa huli ay tinanggap ko.
"Adelaide Sewell."
"Aide, let's go!" Sigaw ni Phoenix sa akin kaya bumitaw agad ako.
"Would you consider joining the Camp? We can take you. You'll be safe there." The Sergeant asked and I don't know what to say.
"I'm sorry. Head back and stay safe." Bago ako tuluyang tumakbo patungo sa sasakyan kung saan naghihintay si Phoenix sa loob.
"We will see you again!" Sigaw ng isa sa kanila.
Nang makapasok ako ay nakaigting ang panga ni Phoenix. He's mad. Hindi ko nalang sya kinulit dahil baka mas lalong magalit.
I answered Hebrew's question. About those soldiers. I told him that they are from the camp. I asked his opinion about them. I told him that there's a chance that we would see them again and they can go with them if they want to. Sabi nya ay pag-iisipan nya daw muna.
Buong byaheng hindi umimik si Phoenix. Hindi ko alam kung anong tumatakbo sa isip nya.
Nang makarating kami ay dumiretso sya sa loob ng buhay. Selena asked me what happened and I told them about our encounter with the camp. Nang tanungin nya ako kung may nangyari ba kay Phoenix ay hindi ko na sya nasagot dahil hindi ko rin alam.
Nananghalian muna kami ni Hebrew bago ipinasok lahat ng mga nakuha namin. Yung iba ay nauna ng ipasok nina Selena. Yung mga damit na nakuha ko, nakapili na ako nun at 'yong akin ay naipasok ko na.
Lumabas si Phoenix nang matapos naming ipasok ang lahat ng iyon maliban sa mga sako ng semento. Sya na ang nagbaba ng mga iyon mula sa sasakyan.
Nang gumabi na ay naghanda na kami para makapaghapunan. Phoenix has been so distant from everyone.
Si Carol naman ay hindi ako pinapansin. Minsay nakikita ko pang masama ang tingin sa akin. Binabalewala ko na lang. Alam ko naman ang rason kung bakit ganyan ang inaakto nya. Gusto nya lang makasama si Phoenix.
"So, they saw troops from Camp Hawkins kanina. You can transfer to them if you want to." Ani Selena.
"No, I'll stay here! Baka gusto nyo?" Mabilis na sagot ni Carol bago tinanong ang dalawa.
"We'll think about it po muna." Ani Simon.
I already drawn myself closer to the both of them. I like them but I have no say to this. Sila ang magdedesisyon.
Night came at hindi ako makatulog.
It's almost twelve pero nakadilat pa rin ang mga mata ko. I was actually bothered by Phoenix. I want to approach him pero hindi ko magawa.
Then the thought of Machia came to my mind. I don't know why it made me smile.
Before we head to that place, I wondered if I'll ever see him in that place again. And I saw him. It's just that I am happy knowing that he's still alive. Safe.
Bumangon ako para maupo muna nang may marinig akong mga yapak. Napatingin ako sa kung saan ang kwarto nina Phoenix at Selena. And I saw his large frame walking towards me. Kumunot ang noo ko nang umupo sya sa single couch. Hindi sya umimik pero nakatingin sya sa akin.
"Ba't gising ka pa?" Iyan ang lumabas sa bibig ko imbes na tanungin sya kung anong problema.
"You like the kids? Which one?" He asked.
I smiled. "Yes. They're nice and I think we can trust them. Except for the lady."
He clenched his jaw. "That's not what I meant."
Nanlaki ang mata ko nang marealize ko ang tanong bago ako natawa.
"Come on, Phoenix. You know I have a brother. I've drawn myself closer to Hebrew because they have the same features." I explained.
Hindi ko alam kung anong tumatakbo sa isip nya. It's almost one already at hindi pa kami natutulog.
I heard his breathing. Nakayuko sya ngayon, mukhang may malalim na iniisip.
"Phoenix," I called him while smiling.
Hindi ako nagpatinag kahit ang sama nyang makatingin.
"Go now and sleep. I guess you need rest." I told him.
Unti-unting umaliwalas ang kanyang mukha. Natawa ako. I really don't know what's going through his mind. Sumandal sya sa couch at ipinikit ang mata.
"I'll sleep here." Aniya kaya napailing-iling ako.
"You are stubborn." Sabi ko sabay higa at nagtalukbong na kumot.
I can't hear him this time. I stayed for a couple of minutes under the blanket. But I really can't hear him. Maybe he went back to his room already. Dahan-dahan kong tinanggal ang kumot mula sa ulo ko to see Phoenix watching me.
"You like that man that you saw in the supermarket, right? You were happy that you saw him again." He's not asking. He's telling me that.
Tumango ako ng dahan-dahan. I won't deny it. I was really happy.
"But I don't like him, Phoenix. I don't have time for that, geez. Matulog ka na nga! Good night." Pananaboy ko na sa kanya.
Sinamaan ko ng tingin si Phoenix nang sumilay ang ngiti sa kanyang labi.
"What's funny?" Naiinis kong tanong sa kanya.
"You are."
Nalaglag ang panga ko sa sinabi nya. Pero tinalikuran nya lang ako at naglakad pabalik sa kwarto nya.
Humanda ka sa akin bukas.