Paint Me Red

Chapter 27: Cult

Nakatulala lang ako habang nakatitig sa bangkay sa harapan ko. 'Di ako makagalaw at salita sa sobrang panghihina sa nakita ko. Wala man lang akong nagawa kundi panoorin siyang mamatay. I felt useless.

Nakaramdam ako ng presensya mula sa likuran ko kasabay nang pagtakip ng isang kamay sa aking mga mata. 

"I'm here now, I'm sorry." 

'Di ko namalayan na umiiyak na pala ako. Nanginginig ang aking katawan kaya binuhat niya ako papalayo sa bangkay.

"Come here as soon as possible. I found a body . . . Yes, it needs to be disposed of immediately. The location is . . ." he said through the phone. After a while, he entered my office and laid me on the sofa. Lumuhod siya sa harapan ko at kinuha ang mga kamay ko saka niya ito hinalikan.

"Are you okay? Can you tell me what happened, love?" he asked in a concerned tone. "It's okay. You don't have to if you can't—"

I covered my face with my palms and shook my head. "Bigla na lang siya umubo ng dugo t-tapos may sugat siya sa leeg niya." He gently removes my hands away from my face saka niya pinunasan ang mga luha ko habang nagpapaliwanag ako. "M-Mukha itong kagat ng isang bampira . . . tapos umubo siya ng d-dugo . . ."

"Hush, it's fine. I'm here, I'm here." He kissed my knuckles one more time. "I'll look into this."

There was a knock on the door and a man dressed in a white suit entered. He has jet black hair and green eyes. 

"Aziel," Ivan greeted.

The man pouted saka niya pinagpagan 'yung blazer niyang namantsaan ng dugo. "Dude, why did he have to die at this time kung kailan nakasuot ako ng white? 'Di ba siya pwedeng mamatay kapag 'di na white ang suot ko?"

Then he proceeded to laugh and he only stopped when he noticed my presence. Napatakip siya sa kanyang bibig at lumapit sa amin. Tinanggal niya 'yung suot niyang itim na gloves saka niya nilahad ang kamay niya.

"I know this is not the best time for self-introduction but my name is Aziel."

Agad namang sinapak papalayo ni Ivan 'yung kamay niya papalayo. "F*ck off."

"Amp! Chill! Nagpapakilala lang!" Tumawa ulit siya saka siya may kinuha sa bulsa niya at ibinigay sa akin ang isang panyo. 

Inagaw agad 'yon ni Ivan sa kamay niya at siya na ang nagpunas sa mukha ko.

"Sana all," bulong niya. 

"I'll take you home." Kinuha niya ang kamay ko ngunit nagsalita na naman si Aziel.

"Wait! I still have questions for the lady about the corpse."

"She can do it next time, she's still in a state of shock." He grabs my hand but I shook my head. Tumingin ako kay Aziel.

"You can ask me," sabi ko kahit nanginginig pa rin ang boses ko.

"She can do it next time. Come on, let's go."

"It's okay." Ipinatong ko 'yung kamay ko sa kamay niya na nakahawak sa akin. He sighed and sat beside me.

"Okay. The body was an employee here in your company, right?"

I nodded. "He's a senior employee from the marketing department."

"Can you tell us what happened?" 

"He . . . He mistakenly entered the female comfort room as if he was out of focus and he kept on coughing." I rub my thumb as I continue. "Ubo siya nang ubo hanggang sa may lumabas na dugo at napansin kong may sugat siya sa leeg."

"Right. That's probably one of the causes of his death." Tumango siya.

What does he mean by one of the causes?