Escaping Darkness

Chapter 12

ZACK

Life and death. Light and dark. Right and wrong.

You are either on this side or the other. The coin has only two sides. There is no in between.

Is it possible for the right to be wrong? Or for the wrong to be right?

Innocence and corruption.

Innocent is the child when it was born. Corrupted is the child when it has tasted sin.

Zack was innocent once. He was once a child with an untainted soul. Even though life was hard for him, that child remained innocent. Like every child, he yearned for love. But just like every child, his innocence didnt last long.

Corrupted. That was Zack when he murdered hundreds of people in a hospital. That was Zack when he played his parents' lives with his brother. That is Zack now trying to corrupt an innocent girl's soul with darkness.

People say that a demon has no right to be loved. They say that a demon like him has no place in this world. They called him evil, a murderer, the devil's spawn. They judged him mercilessly for his actions. They judged him without knowing why he did those horrific actions in the first place. 

Is it wrong to fight for the one you love?

"If you love her, set her free."wika ni Yohan kay Zack.

"Bullshit"tugon ni Zack nang hindi nililingon ang kanyang kapatid.

Why would he leave the one he love? That line is nothing but a pile of crap. Its stupid.

"Will you still not leave her even when your love kills her?"wika pa uli ni Yohan. Naikuyom ni Zack ang kanyang kamao ngunit hindi niya tinugon ang kapatid.

"Look around you Zack. This is your world. Sa tingin mo ba mabubuhay siya sa ganitong mundo?"pagpapatuloy ni Yohan. 

They are in Zack's usual place. Ang lugar na pinupuntahan niya tuwing mawawalan siya ng kontrol. Dito siya inabutan ni Yohan. Nasa gitna sila ng kapatagan kung saan walang kahit na anong nabubuhay. This is the second time he lost control this month. He is getting worse. 

It was in the middle of the night when he felt himself losing control so he immediately transported to this barren land. He remembered being angry. Angry at Ara for demanding his attention when she won't even give him hers. Angry at himself for what he is. Before he knew it, he was already losing control. Katulad ng dati ay nandun ang sakit at ang kadiliman. Just like before the fear of being engulfed by darkness was there. Everything was the same but that night he felt that something was different. His instinct was telling him that something was wrong. And he was right.

Nang magising siya ay nababalot siya  ng dugo. Nasa gitna siya ng isang maliit na baryo. Around him, he saw the remains of the small town. Everyone is dead. Sa harap nya ay isang batang lalaki. Purong kulay itim ang mga mata nito, umuusok ang bibig at nakita niyang sa mga kamay niya nanggagaling ang itim na usok. Agad niyang kinuyom ang kanyang kamay upang matigil ang pagdaloy ng dilim mula sa kanyang mga palad. Agad na nawalan ng malay ang bata.

Napaluhod siya sa kanyang nagawa. Wala siyang maalala sa nangyari noong mawalan siya ng kontrol. Binuhat niya ang bata at dinala niya pabalik sa patag noong makita niyang humihinga pa ito. Dito siya inabutan ng kapatid niyang si Yohan.

"Bakit hindi mo sinabi?"tanong ni Yohan sa kanyang kakambal. Nakakuyom ang mga kamao ni Yohan. Hindi niya maintindihan kung bakit tinago ito ng kapatid niya. Kung hindi pa niya naramdaman ang malakas na kapangyarihang pinakawalan nito ay hindi pa niya malalaman.

"There is nothing to tell."malamig na tugon ni Zack. Agad na kinwelyuhan ni Yohan si Zack.

"What do you f*cking mean by nothing?! You killed hundreds of people Zack! You turned a child into a f*cking demon! Kinakain ka ng kapangyarihan mo tapos sasabihin mo wala lang ito?!"galit na sigaw ni Yohan sa kanyang kapatid.

"This has got nothing to do with you!"sigaw pabalik ni Zack.

"F*ck it! We are playing a damn game while you are f*ckin dying! sa tingin mo ano ang mangyayari pag nawalan ka ng kontrol bago ka makarating dito?! You'll kill everyone Zack! And you will kill her too!"sigaw ni Yohan.

"Shut up! D*mn you shut the f*ck up!"sigaw ni Zack habang pinapaulanan ng atake si Yohan. His eyes are full of desperation and fear as he wildly attacked Yohan. Mabilis na nailagan ni Yohan ang mga atake ni Zack. Zack's movements are uncoordinated. He is blinded by his emotions that is why when Yohan retaliated, Zack immediately fell.

Malalim ang paghinga ng magkapatid habang parehong nakasalampak sa lupa.

"Hindi ko sinasadya..."mahinang bigkas ni Zack habang nakatitig sa sahig.

"Hindi ko sinasadyang makapatay ng inosente. Hindi ko alam ang nangyari. Ayoko maging ganito. Ayokong maging halimaw. Ayoko..."nanginginig ang boses ni Zack. Ito ang unang beses na sinabi niya ang kanyang kinatatakutan.

"Hindi mo maaaring baguhin kung ano ka Zack."tugon ni Yohan.

"Kaya ko. Kakayanin ko. Ara.. She won't... She will..."hindi matuloy ni Zack ang sasabihin niya. Knowing it is one thing but saying it aloud would make it more real. Ara won't accept him for who he is. She will leave him...

"She already hates me as I am. I can't lose her."mahinang bulong ni Zack. Yohan looked away. Hindi niya kayang tignan ang pagpapakatanga ni Zack.

"The kid. What will you do with that kid?"pag-iiba ni Yohan ng usapan.

"I can't let him live. He'll kill people if i let him go..."tugon ni Zack habang nakatitig sa walang malay na paslit. He hates himself for what he did. He knows what it feels like to have your innocence stolen. If he let the child live, the child would grow up hating himself for what he is. 

"But..?"Yohan asked the unasked question. napayuko si zack.

"I don't want to kill another innocent..."Zack said. Habang tumatagal ay mas lalo niyang kinamumuhian ang sarili niya. Isa siyang halimaw. He used to hate it when people call him a monster. But now he knew. They were right all along.

"I'll dispose of him. Fix yourself Zack. Next time i won't be as nice. Now that I have seen what you could do, I can't let you live either. Sa susunod na magkita tayo , magpapatuloy ang laro. But this time the loser is the first one to die."sabi ni Yohan ng hindi nililingon si Zack. Kinuha ni Yohan ang kamay ng bata bago siya maglakad palayo kay Zack habang kinakaldkad ang walang malay na bata.

"You'd kill your brother huh? That's right. You have to kill the monster..."mapait na wika ni Zack. Yohan shrugged before looking back at Zack.

"Dont get me wrong. I want to kill you not because you're dangerous or any of that shit. I want to kill you because once you lose control, you'll be stronger than me. And I hate being second best so i'm just eliminating the competition while its still early."Yohan said with a bored expression. Tumalikod na si Yohan ngunit bago ito umalis ay mayroon itong binanggit na mga kataga na nagpaigting ng galit ni Zack.

"Plus it won't be hard. I killed our parents remember?"nakangising wika ni Yohan bago ito maglaho kasama ang bata.

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Super late update. What do you think of Yohan?

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