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Chapter nineteen

COURAGE

Hindi ako makapaniwala sa nakita ko kahapon. Ni hindi nga ako makatulog dahil doon. Acting like everything is fine in front of them is easy, but to grasp the reality on where we are is difficult. Nagising nalang akong nasa loob na ako ng kuwarto ko. I would've escaped yesterday with my wits, but the bad thing is, I chose not to. This is probably the biggest and worse decision I've done but something in this place pulls me like a magnet.

And I couldn't forget something what the doctor said to me before leaving me alone, it may be a lie but I chose to believe it. "MC seeks to find answer." That was he hath said, in a pity voice. Honestly that wasn't the only reason. Well it's mainly because...

"Wakey wakey~ I have a surprise for every one today so I hope no ones late~ Hihihihi~" Matching her weird voice that I haven't get to hear for a day is a children song I didn't know could give such chills. Hindi na ako gaanong takot sa kaniya dahil narinig ko na ang totoo niyang boses kahapon. It's oddly familliar. But the thing is, siya ba talaga 'yong kahapon? No one really can assume who the real 'MC' is because they're hidden behind that creepy mask.

It's Day 4 already. Every day feels so long and tiring... Hanggang kailan ko pa ba kakayanin 'to? I sigh as I remove my clothes to change to our uniform. Alam ko ring ako 'yong surprise na sinasabi ni MC kaya mas mabuti pang ma-late ako nang kaunti. She told me beforehand, way beforehand... in the hospital.

Isusuot ko na sana ang uniporme pero napatigil ako nang mapansin ko sa salamin na may nakasulat sa may kanang bahagi ng katawan ko, kung saan ako nasaktan nang sobra dahil sa pagtama sa akin ng bola. It looks like I had a tattoo, but when I felt it using my hand, it seems like just an ink. Lumapit pa ako lalo sa salamin para i-check kung ano 'yong nakasulat.

Then, rhetorical questions popped off my mind.

Can you decipher hallucination from reality? I bet you can't. Our mind is so complicated that it could make you shift realities. Heck, even make you ballistic. Right now as I'm standing in front of the mirror, checking what the hell is just going on on the right part of my rib. It's seems like a bruise with its gradient dark colors... that when I touch it I feel no pain but my fingers. Was it the medication? What would they put in my skin? Napaparanoid tuloy ako. What if ito na kamatayan ko? I'm still trying to analyze what it could be. A virus, perhaps? There are only possible two things I could think of. One, it's really just the medication. Two, it's definitely a bruise from the impact on the ball, it's going to make me terminally ill until the next few days and die suffering from analytic paralyzes.

Binaba ko na ang damit ko when I've come to realize that I've been standing here for too long. What I mean by too long is, I'm too late for the assembly! I tied my hair before going downstairs. I composed myself, "Everything's going to be fine, Courage."

Lumabas na ako na walang iniisip na kaba. As I step down the stairs is when I've come to realize what they were watching on the screen. I stood here, frozen. I keep wondering what's on MC's evil mind that the video playing right now is where I was admitted at the hospital... talking to "MC". Right, she's evil, she's a villain. Why am I still even asking?

"What do you need from me?" Was a question coming from the admitted prisoner, which is me. Come to think of it, my voice do sound kind of weird on audio. But I do not care! Everything that is happening is seen from a back view of mine. Meaning, they can't see me, but they can see MC moving around my room like a little kid.