Taming the Vampire

CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR

M I L L E R

Isa na namang normal na araw... well, not really the type of normal day a human would think of.

It has been almost a month since the rescued vampirized victims came to the Red Mansion. They have been staying in the rooms behind the walls. Although ganito ang sabi nila, it is more or less like they are occupying the whole main bedroom of those spacious spare rooms.

Marami pa palang vacant rooms ang mansyon, at isa pa, hindi naman stay-in ang mga bampirang nakikita ko dito sa Red Mansion araw-araw. May iba naman na nakatira lang sa pinakamalapit na residential area sa mansyon. Since they can teleport, wala ng kaso pagdating sa kanila ang transportation.

Magkasama sa isang silid ang mga babae, at sa isa naman ang mga lalaki. Pablo often visits Kim every three days. She's doing great but not the others. Dalawa sa apat na unang kinagat ay nagkaroon ng hindi magandang reaksyon sa vampire essence sa katawan nila. Kaya magdamag na naman na nasa laboratoryo niya si Axel kasama si Mr. Martin at iba pa na intern researchers nila para maghanap ng lunas. They just need to come up with something that could ease the pain of those vampirized.

Kung dati ay hindi nila ito magawa. Ngayon na may nakuha ng samples si Axel mula sa katawan ko – a body that has little to none side effect experienced – ay napapadali ang paggawa nila ng lunas.

Ako naman, sa kabilang banda, ay nagsimula nang mag-training ng teleportation kasama si Mateo.

"Nagawa mo na bang mag-teleport ng malayo?" tanong sa akin ni Kristoff.

Katatapos lang namin na mag-training ni Mateo. He immediately left to do another job. He is a busy man after all. At mukhang bakante ata sa mga sandaling ito si Kristoff kaya nandito siya ngayon sa training ground, naghahanap ata ng makakausap.

"Hm? Hindi pa. Pero nakakaya ko na ng konti ang mula rito hanggang sa kwarto namin," I told him.

It only has been a week and a half since I started the teleportation training. Noong unang tatlong araw ay pakiramdam ko ay niloloko ko lang ang sarili ko. Kahit ano kasing sabihin ni Mateo sa akin ay hindi ko pa rin ito magawa.

He told me to imagine the place that I wanted to be teleported to and to feel every fiber of my body slowly dissipating in thin air. But to no avail, I could still find myself standing on the exact same spot every time I opened my eyes.

"Ah. Hindi na rin naman bago 'yan. Mahihirapan ka talaga sa simula. Para ngang imposible, 'di ba?"

Kristoff is absolutely correct. Because during the fourth to sixth days, I couldn't still see any progress. Although I can feel a little exhaustion, hindi naman ako gumagalaw sa kinatatayuan ko kahit anong gawin kong imagine sa sala ng Red Mansion. Nasa training ground pa rin ako. May mga sandali na para na akong ginu-good time ni Mateo. But he remained calm and serious, which only implies that this training is real.

"Oo," tumango ako tapos ay nagpatuloy sa pagkukwento. "Kaya nagulat ako nung nagawa kong umalis sa point of origin ko. I was about to get pissed back then."

The first time the progress happened was on the seventh day. Yup, exactly one week.

I was just standing in front of Mateo again, doing the exact same thing I was doing for a week. Nakapikit ang mga mata ko at ini-imagine ang lugar na gusto kong patunguhan, yet this time I imagined a much closer destination – the bushes behind Mateo. Inimagine ko rin ang unti-unti na pagpawi ng katawang lupa ko sa mismong kinatatayuan ko. Just like how a sand would vanish gracefully with the strong gust of wind.

Nakaramdam ako ng matinding pagod, at kakaibang paghila sa buong kalamnan ko. It was pretty similar to how I teleported with Axel and Kristoff. I felt a strong pull, heat enveloped my body, and to top it all, I felt the exhaustion intensified.