Pandemonium | vol. 01 ✓

02 - Welcome to Hell

Marahan akong huminga mula sa aking ilong at inilabas ang hangin na 'yon sa aking bibig para mas makapag focus sa rason kung bakit kami narito, at hindi sa dami ng mga estrangherong narito kasama namin. Karamihan ng narito ay kaedaran ko lang, kung hindi ay mas bata pa. I think there were more or less two hundred people right now, pero dahil sinabihan kaming lumapit sa gate ay naging crowded.

Though I think pinili ng karamihang lumapit sa gate hindi lang dahil sa 'yon ang utos sa amin, kun'di dahil sa madilim na kagubatang nakapalibot sa nasabing gate. It's actually starting to give me the creeps too, I feel like there are eyes on the shadow, watching us like predators does to their prey.

"Ayos ka lang?" Bulong ni Rage. Mababakas sa boses niya ang pag-aalala kahit na walang anomang emosyon ang mababatid sa blangko niyang mukha.

Isang tanong lang ang tanging naisagot ko, although tensed na talaga ako. All my senses are on high alert and I feel as if there were sirens blaring in my head, notifying me about the danger surrounding me. Which I really do not need since alam ko naman from the beginning na walang sinoman sa kanila ang mapagkakatiwalaan ko given that almost everyone in here are supporters of the Lacx clan.

Sobrang stiff rin ng pagkakatayo ko to the point ma sumasakit na ang balikat ko kaya't inikot ikot ko ito, hindi ko lang inasahan na may mababangga ang braso ko.

"Watch it!" The guy hissed through clenched teeth. Bahagya naman akong natigilan, I thought it strange to see a guy with that face to be spitting venom.

He has light pink hair, but a more vibrant shade of amaranth pink for the irises of his eyes, and a red so dark it almost looks black for his vertically slitted pupils, much like that of a serpent. His features are rather soft and innocent, almost feminine; button nose, cupid's bow lips with a natural curve at the ends, and skin as fair as porcelain. But the haunted look on his eyes and the scorn in his gruff voice speaks measure of the things he's been through.

I always thought hearts can be seen through people's eyes. And most people have hearts made of stone; cold and unwavering, in shades of gray hardened by life and experience. Some people have hearts made of river; brilliant blues with mud stains at the edges, ever changing, always rushing.

Rage has a heart of liquid mercury; shiny and poisonous, refined by heat, vaporized, and then captured and cooled, known to devour gold. My grandfather Dylan's heart is a cacophonous of clashing music, even his heart does not know what it want to hear. Kaliza's heart is a mirage ridden desert, I never know where to look to see where her heart truly hides, I doubt even she knows where either.

This guy... his is a heart of carved marble, his beliefs etched into the surface of unyielding stone, crude as if carved by blunt nails, bled through, yet unbelievably beautiful in its honesty.

Nag-iwas nalang ako ng tingin imbis na sagutin siya lalo't sumasama na ng todo ang tingin niya dahil sa pagtitig ko. I wanted to ask but thought better of it. You don't just ask people if you know them in this kind of place lalo na't fake ang identity mo. That ain't it.

A swirl of red smoke emerged in front of the gates and in came two people once it dissipated. One of them stepped forward, running her hollow blue eyes around the place, and a cold tingle went through me when her eyes locked with mine. But I immediately dropped my gaze, not wanting to catch her attention.

Her name is Ellowyn Lacx, a tall female with ash blonde hair and a rich tan. She is Henry Lacx's first born, his army's general, and the so-called heir to the Lacx clan. Ang pamilyang sumira ng buhay ko. Nakakuyom ang mga kamaong pinikit ko ang mata ko upang pigilan ang galit na gustong kumawala sa akin.

"Greetings, challengers! A new year has come to us." Nagpatuloy pa siya sa speech niya tungkol sa Institute, sa lahat ng pagbabagong naganap sa nakalipas na sampung taon, at kung gaano kami kapalad na mabigyan ng pagkaka taong makapasok dito. As if.