✔ Killer in the Attic

[14] QUATTOURDECIM

Hindi ko alam kung gaano ako katagal nakatitig sa lalaking nasa harapan ko. 

All his words were being processed inside my head, and somehow, it made all sense. Siguro nga, hindi kami nabibilang sa mundong ito. Ano kayang mangyayari kapag ako naman ang lumagpas sa sinasabi niyang "expiration date"? Would I go bad and vanish too? Nakakaaliw sanang isipin na hindi kami tao pero kaya rin naming mamatay. Pero tuwing naaalala ko si Oriana, I know I needed to do something about this.

Ayokong iwan siya. Obligasyon kong manatili sa tabi niya sa lahat ng oras.

Nabuhay ako para protektahan siya.

"Bakit mo sinasabi sa'kin ang lahat ng 'to?"

My co-killer shrugged. "Before anything else, my name's Alec. Anyway, there's no use treating you as the enemy, Sebastian. Alam kong hindi ko mapapatay ang babae dahil nandyan ka, and I can't even kill you. So, I say we make a deal."

Humakbang papalapit sa akin si Alec. He then cut his wrist with the dagger, blood oozed out of his open wound. The iron smell mixed with the cold night air and wafted under my nose. Hindi ko talaga alam kung anong mayroon sa dugo, pero gustong-gusto kong nakakakita nito.

Maybe I am a little psychotic.

"What deal? At bakit ba gusto mong patayin si Oriana?" Nanatili akong nakatayo sa pwesto ko. If this guy is planning something against my back, I'd just have to bury him six feet under. Oo, ibabaon ko na lang sya nang buhay, tutal hindi rin naman tumatalab sa kanya ang ibang mga paraang naiisip ko that either involves a blood bath or just cutting his limbs off.

Alec smirked. "The deal's simple. Hindi ko na papatayin ang babae mo, but in exchange, I need you to help me kill enough people in this town para makuha ang atensyon ng taong ginawang impyerno ang existence ko. And about the girl, I can't tell you that yet."

"What's the catch?"

"There's no catch this time. I'm just asking for an alliance. So?"

Ayoko pa ring magtiwala rito. I'm not stupid enough to not consider that he might be lying to me. There's a probability that half of what he's saying is just bullshit but...

"Fine. But if you attempt to lay a finger on Oriana, I'll flip you inside out and feed you to the wolves."

Natawa siya sa sinabi ko. At nang inilahad niya ang duguang braso sa'kin, naintindihan ko kung ano ang ibig sabihin 'non. I held out my right arm and he slashed the dagger across my skin. Ramadam ko ang pagbaon ng patalim sa ugat ko na naging sanhi ng pag-agos ng sariwang dugo mula rito.

"To our alliance."

Inilapit ni Alec ang braso niya sa'kin hanggang sa maghalo ang dugo naming dalawa. We bleed, but we don't feel any pain. We are both unable to kill each other. We are both imaginary killers.

Our deal was sealed with a bloody brotherhood.

*

Hating-gabi na nang makarating ako sa bahay ng lola ni Oriana. I easily made my way across the sea of people playing cards and doing stuff I don't give a crap about. Ganito siguro talaga kapag lamay. Nang balingan ko ang kabaong ni Richard, napansin kong nakasara ito. Funny. Maybe I killed him too much?

Sa pagkakaalala ko, nawasak ko ang dibdib niya.

Dumiretso ako ng second floor sa pinakadulong silid sa kaliwa. I blended in with the shadows until I managed to see my human sleeping soundly on her bed. Nakabukas ang mga ilaw, tulad ng inaasahan ko, at sa tabi niya, nagkalat ang mga libro. I know for a fact that she has always been a bookworm. She prefers romance novels.

Tumabi ako sa kanya sa kama. Wrapping my arms around her, I thought about the things Alec told me earlier. At habang tinititigan ko ang mukha ng babaeng ito, alam kong kahit kailan, hindi ko magagawang patayin siya para lang maging tao ako.

If being human means losing Oriana, then I'll never even let that possibility cross my mind.

But another thing Alec said earlier disturbed me. He admitted that the only persons who can eventually eliminate us earlier than our expiration dates are also the persons who created us.

But where did he learn that anyway? I never knew being an imaginary friend had rules.

Nabuhuhay kami para sa kanila, and once they don't need us anymore, wala na rin kaming rason para manatili rito. That's how it goes.

Kaya akong patayin ni Oriana kung gugustuhin niya. Kaya niya akong ikulong ulit sa loob ng madilim na utak niya...

Pero hindi naman niya gagawin 'yon.

I trust her.

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