Soulbound

Soul 52: Pendant

"The end is coming near..."

ZIRRIUS

My clothes were already ripped. Nakaposas ang dalawa kong kamay habang nakadikit ang mga tanikala sa pader. Hindi ako makaupo kaya nangangalay na ang mahahapdi at dumudugo kong pulsuhan. The chains were just too short to sit. I could still taste the blood from the cut on my lips. Halos hindi ko na maimulat ang mga mata ko dahil sa pagod at antok. Kumakalam na rin ang sikmura ko. Nanunuyo na ang lalamunan ko.

I'd been receiving blows for the passed days. Pakiramdam ko malapit na akong mamatay. Kaunti na lang hindi na talaga kakayanin ng katawan ko ang lahat ng latay at suntok na ibibigay ni Severus. He'd been torturing me nonstop.

Tila wala siyang kahit kakaunting awang nararamdaman sa tuwing pahihirapan niya ako. His eyes were just too cold. Too dark. Too distant. As if he was no longer acting by his own will. As if he already lost himself to somebody. Maybe a demon.

Sa tuwing mapapapikit naman ako dahil sa sobrang pagod at antok, mukha lang ni Avery ang sumasagi sa isip ko. There was an unfamiliar ache in my chest that was worried for her. I should be the one to save her but I couldn't even do anything.

Hindi ko alam kung bakit sobrang naninikip ang dibdib ko sa tuwing maiisip ko siya. Maybe I was just too guilty. Especially when I was thinking that she's suffering too. Pakiramdam ko may malaking bikig sa lalamunan ko nang unang makita ko siya. Hindi ako makapagsalita. All I wanted was to touch her. To make sure that she was real. That she was really alive.

It was like she was made of stardust and breakable bones and if I don't hold her right there, she would suddenly disappear and I would be left behind. Alone.

Pakiramdam ko tumigil ang oras o ang mundo. Maybe the world really stopped rotating around its axis for that special moment and I would never know. Pakiramdam ko aatakihin ako sa puso anumang oras nang makita ko kung paano siya sakalin ng itim na usok na nagmumula kay Severus. I gritted my teeth in frustration. Hindi naman sinasagot ni Severus ang mga tanong ko kung ano na ang nangyari kay Avery. He's also torturing me mentally.

Nawala na rin ang isang seal sa braso ko matapos makabalik si Avery sa katawan niya. Tatlong paa na lang ng hexagonal star ang natira. Pero ang kapansin-pansin lang, buo pa rin ang hexagon. Tanging ang mga paa lang ng hexagonal star ang nawawala. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang ibig sabihin nito. Naguguluhan ako. I could feel that there was something special on that hexagon too.

Natigilan ako nang marinig ko ang pagbukas ng selda. I could smell the dangerous wind hanging around Severus. Kahit hindi ko imulat ang mga mata, alam kong siya na ang dumating.

Naningkit ang mga mata ko nang mapansin sa na hawak niya sa kamay ang sulat ng aking ina.

"Do you know where your mother kept the pendant's half?" seryosong tanong ni Severus. Halatang bago niya ako patayin, nagbabaka sakali siyang alam ko kung nasaan ito. And he wouldn't let me die yet until he gets an answer from me. He really didn't know how to give up.

I silently gritted my teeth. "Wala akong alam sa sinasabi mo," mariing kong wika. "Wala kang makukuhang kahit anong impormasyon mula sa 'kin. Nagsasayang ka lang ng oras!"