Euclid Shellingford (Volume 2)

CHAPTER 22: The Case of the Suspicious Claws (Part 1)

“Oh my God. Don’t tell me si Sir Fran si… Dr. Faust? A-and you already met them when you were a kid?” shocked na tanong ni Nickan.

“It was probable,” tumayo na ako mula sa kinauupuan ko at saka pumulot ng bato sa lupa. I threw it on the river which formed harmonic motion until it sunk completely. And now that I remembered about it, may suspetsa akong hindi coincidence na nasa loob din ng mansion na yun si Moriarty that time.

“Wala ka bang naging balita na sa kasong yun after that day?”

“Wala na. After that day kasi, kinailangan naming lumipad papuntang China so wala na kong naging balita pa sa kaso gayundin kay Sir Fran.”

“Ahh… si tito Aries, baka alam niya ang tungkol kay Sir Fran?”

“I’ll asked him when we got home. Sa ngayon, tara na sa waterfalls. It’s getting hot in here!” tumayo na ako at saka pinauna siyang maglakad sa tabi ng ilog.

Maya-maya pa ay narating namin ang bungad ng isang kweba. Nakarinig kami ng mahinang lagaslas ng tubig kaya nasiguro naming nasa loob nito ang hinahanap naming waterfalls. May kadiliman sa loob at medyo mamasa-masa pa ang mga batong nilalakaran namin. Kinuha ko ang cellphone sa bulsa ko para magsilbing flashlight.

“Ahh!” bahagya pa akong nagulat sa bigla niyang pagsigaw na nag-echo pa sa buong kweba. Buti na lang at walang mga paniki dito, kundi ay baka nagambala na sila sa sigaw nito.

“What?”

“Ay sorry Dhie… nagulat kasi ako’t may biglang pumatak sa batok ko,” sabi nito at saka nag-peace sign pa.

“Ahh…” I looked up to see where could the droplets came from and saw mossed stones with peculiar color. I gazed at it intently until I saw what looked like a liquid which is about to fall. I lay my hand right below the source and wait for it to land on my palm.

“Bakit?” Nhie asked. And as the wet substance finally dropped, she looked at me shocked.

My suspicion was right.

It was blood.

“D-dugo ba yan Dhie?”

“Yeah,” It was definitely blood mixed with water.

“Is it a human’s blood?”

“I’m not sure,” sagot ko sa kanya at saka tumingala. “Judging from the structure of this cave and the airflow coming from above, I think there was a passage so we can go up and see where this blood came from.”

“Then let’s hurry! Baka galing sa isang tao yang dugo!”

“Careful!” sigaw ko sa kanya dahil tumakbo agad ito para hanapin ang daan paakyat. Nakakita naman kami ng daan ilang metro pa ang layo mula sa pinanggalingan namin kanina.

“Bilisan mo dhie!” sabi niya pa. Napailing-iling na lang ako, mukhang gumana na naman ang pagiging hyper niya. Maya-maya lang ay nakaakyat na kami. Agad naming tinantsa kung saan posibleng nanggaling ang dugong pumatak sa baba kanina.

“D-Dhie!” napakapit si Nhie sa’kin kaya agad kong tiningnan ang nasa harap namin. There was someone lying on his back at duguan. Agad kaming tumakbo palapit dito at ininspect ito. It was an old man on his 40’s or 50’s wearing white long sleeves which was dirtied by blood and torn by something sharp. I can sense his heavy breathing, indicating that he was still conscious.

“Oh my God! Are you okay sir?” tanong ni Nhie dito.

“Tu… long,” the old man answered in between his heavy breaths.

“Mas mabuti kung hindi ka muna po magsasalita,” pinunit ko ang damit nito para mabigyan ito agad ng first-aid. His four slit wounds looked like he was attacked just a moment ago, probably something that looks like a big tiger’s or bear’s claws? Weird. His wound was still fresh and blood keeps on rushing out from his back.