HARRIET

NARAMDAMAN KO kung gaano ka-awkward ang sitwasyon sa aming cabin. The four of us had no choice but to share the same space and breathe the same air.

The heavy rain was pouring outside and the wind was blowing so hard, hammering at our wooden windows. Kahit na gawa sa kahoy ang bahay na 'to, wala namang pumapatak na tubig sa loob.

While Mina and I were busy fixing our own beds, Aiden went near the fireplace and shoved some wood into the flames. Kahit paano, may silbi naman pala siya, hindi gaya ng isa riyan na nakahiga sa kama at pa-relax-relax lang.

"Dapat talaga inihiwalay ang mga lalaki at babae," I complained. "Baka kung ano pang gawin sa atin ng dalawang 'yan. Mina, you must always be on your guard."

Dahil walang power outlet sa aming cabin, hindi tuloy nakapag-charge ang kasama naming Watsonian ng kanyang iPad. She had no choice but to communicate with us the way how normal person communicates with others: through talking.

"I trust them," tugon ni Mina. "They won't harm us."

Umiling ako. "Trusting them is the last thing that should cross your mind, lalo na sa Moriartard na 'yan."

"Was trusting me a bad decision, Mina?" Morrie addressed the Watsonian. Trying to get her on your side, huh? Tingnan natin kung ano ang isasagot ni Mina.

"Morrie is not bad," she replied.

Halos magdikit tuloy ang mga kilay ko. Hindi pa naman siguro ako nabibingi, 'no? Note how she used the term "not bad" instead of "good." But the context was still the same. She wasn't thinking ill of my mortal enemy.

"How about me, Mina?" tanong ni Aiden, lumapit sa amin matapos ang kanyang ginagawa sa fireplace. "Nagtitiwala ka rin ba sa akin?"

"You are not bad either," she answered.

Pakiramdam ko tuloy, dumoble ang magkadikit kong kilay. I hope she wasn't threatened or blackmailed by either of these two to speak good of them.

"Wilhelmina isn't the type of person who would lie," Morrie said. "She did not think twice of trusting me when I stood as the team leader earlier. While someone was fast asleep, we were out there, trying our best to win despite our disadvantage."

"Do you think I really wanted to be bitten by a snake?" Napakapit ang aking hawak sa unan. I would have thrown this thing at him out of disgust, but I controlled myself. "At huwag mo akong sisihin kung nalagay kayo sa isang disadvantageous na posisyon. Sir Dred offered you the choice to postpone the activities while I was recovering. Ano'ng ginawa mo? You still went on with the games kahit wala ako."

"If we chose retreat, the other teams would think low of us," Morrie defended his position in the calmest way possible. "Victory would taste better if a team with one incapacitated member beats them. Without your help, we managed to outwit Team Quattro and Team Crux. We could have won if it weren't for that dog."

"Oh," I smirked. "Nabanggit mo ang malaking aso na humabol sa inyo kanina. To whom do you owe your lives again? Kung hindi ako dumating, baka naputulan ka na ng braso o kaya ginawa ka nang dog food."

"Ah, guys—" Aiden tried to ease the tension, but he wasn't helping.

"Kung may masamang nangyari sa inyo, it would be your fault!" Idinuro ko ang Moriartard na parang wala lang sa kanya ang topic namin. "You insisted on competing because you wanted to prove something, 'di ba? You wanted to show that you could win even without me."

"As I said earlier, we could have won," he reiterated. "There were ways that I could escape from the fangs of the hound. You came at the most opportune time for a hero to show-off."

Show-off? Talagang pinapainit ng lalaking 'to ang ulo ko, ah!

"How dare you call me a sho—"

"SILENCE!"

My mouth froze and my eyes rolled to Mina's direction. Maging sina Morrie at Aiden, nabaling ang tingin sa kasama naming Watsonian. Never have I thought that I would hear her voice that was louder and almost closer to a shout.

Natahimik tuloy kaming dalawa ng kadebatehan ko. For about a minute, no one dared to speak. My mouth was left hanging, waiting for our companion to speak.

"You two. Are you children on a playground?" Mina started. "You disagree on almost everything. You find a way to trade barbs. Always. Can't you two make peace?"

I thought that she was already intimidating even if she wasn't speaking. But hearing her say more than three or four words—scratch that!—more than one sentence was way scarier. Her voice, though rarely heard, had that power.

"This is the exact opposite of what the team building is all about," Mina went on. "We must come together. We must set aside differences."

"Sang-ayon ako kay Mina," Aiden raised his hand after a long pause. "Alam naman nating may matinding House rivalry sa pagitan ng Holmes at Moriarty. Dahil doon, nadadamay ang teamwork natin. At Harriet, huwag ka sanang magagalit, ah? Alam kong may personal issues ka sa akin, pero baka pwedeng isantabi mo muna 'yon?"

Naintindihan ko pa ang grievances ni Mina sa mga pinaggagawa namin at aminado akong may punto siya. But Aiden? Halatang nakikisakay siya sa sitwasyon. I remember him trying to convince me earlier to start again with a clean slate. Um-okay ako sa sinabi niya, but the recent circumstances changed everything.

"Just this once, can we be thankful that everyone's safe?" tanong ni Mina. "Can we be thankful that we are still together?"

I took a deep breath. Hindi ako magpapanggap. Ma-pride akong tao kaya mahirap sa akin ang basta-basta makipag-peace sa mga kaaway ko. Morrie was obviously one of them.

"For the spirit of our team, I'm willing to make a truce with Harriet," Morrie stood and offered his hand to me.

Lumapit din ako sa kanya at sa harap mismo ni Mina, nagkamayan kaming dalawa. "This may not be a genuine peace, but we can start here. Hopefully, we can truly set aside our differences."

Ipinatong ni Mina ang kanyang kamay sa ibabaw. Gumaya na rin si Aiden.

"Remember that Team WHAM is not complete if one of the four letters is missing," Mina reminded us, flashing a rare smile.

"For Team WHAM!"

"Team WHAM!"

A flash of lightning painted the dark skies outside. As it faded, the lights in our room went off as well. Tanging ang apoy sa fireplace ang nagbigay-liwanag sa aming cabin.

"A blackout?" I muttered, peeking at the window to see if the same thing happened to the other cabins. Wala na rin akong makita sa labas dahil mukhang pati sila, nawala rin ng ilaw.

"Napakamalas naman yata natin?" komento ni Aiden. "Kung hindi tayo hinahabol ng aso, namatayan naman tayo ng ilaw. Umamin nga kayo. Sino ang may balat sa pwet sa—AAAHHH!"

Lumingon ako sa tumiling Adlerian. What's wrong with his sudden scream?

"Napa'no ka?" tanong ko.

He pointed at the window where I was just peeking at earlier. "G-Gh-Ghost!"

"Hmm?" I returned my gaze on the window. I took a step backward when I saw someone outside. I couldn't recognize the face because it was covered by a scary mask. "What the hell are you?!"

Bigla siyang nagpakita ng patalim na may bahid ng dugo. Bakit naging isang episode ng horror story ang pag-stay namin dito?

Unlike Aiden, I wasn't totally terrified by the appearance of whoever's outside. Mabilis akong tumakbo palabas ng cabin, dala-dala ang isang kahoy na isinuksok sa fireplace para may pamalo ako.

When I stood by the window, wala na ang mysterious figure na nagpakita kanina. Dahil madilim sa labas, I could barely see the footprints leading to wherever he went.

Bumalik ako sa loob at ini-lock ang pinto ng aming cabin.

"Sa-Saan siya pumunta?" tanong ni Aiden.

I shook my head. "It was too dark outside."

"We must inform Professor Dred and the others," Mina suggested to which I nodded.

"Pero anong klaseng nilalang 'yon?" tanong ni Aiden. "At bakit may dugo ang hawak niyang patalim kanina?"

"Perhaps he had already killed someone or some people," Morrie replied. I wasn't sure if he was just kidding or telling a legit deduction. "The fact that he took time to show himself to us means that we are next on his target list."

"Posible kayang siya ang nakikialam sa team building activities natin dito?" Aiden guessed. "Imposibleng coincidence lang ang lahat ng nangyari dito ngayong araw."

"If we wanna find the answer, we must go out and see for ourselves," I said, resting the wood on my shoulder. "Wala tayong mapapala kung magtatago tayo rito. At gaya ng sinabi ni Mina kanina, kailangan nating balaan ang mga tao sa kabilang cabin."

"Perhaps once the rain stops," sabi ni Morrie sabay tingin sa labas. Kumpara kanina, unti-unti nang humihina ang ulan. "The darkness and the drizzle are working in favor of the shadow that lurks in the abyss. We would be at a terrible disadvantage if we go now."

Hinintay muna naming tumila ang umulan bago tuluyang kumilos. We brought a lamp to guide us in the midst of darkness and we armed ourselves with wooden weapons. Ako na ang nag-lead sa aming team. If there would be a confrontation between the armed man and us, I'm the only one who could match his physical prowess. Marunong akong mag-deflect ng mga blunt weapon kaya hindi magiging problema sa akin.

Una naming pinuntahan ang tapat ng bintana kung saan ko nakita ang mysterious figure kanina. Mina, who was holding the lamp, lowered the light so we could see the damp ground. We could still smell the moist of the earth.

Upon checking, there were only two sets of footprints outside. One was obviously mine while the other was leading to the direction of the cabins.

"We must hurry!" I told my teammates as we ran toward the other cabins, following the mysterious footprints left behind by the unknown guest in the island.

"Naunahan na ba niya tayo?" tanong ni Aiden nang tumigil kami sa tapat ng western cabin. We could see the muddy footprints on the doorsteps.

"Be on your guard," I whispered, pushing the wooden inward and slowly walking inside.

As our lamp illuminated the whole room, we all stared in horror when we saw pools of blood on the beds and on the floor. Magulo rin ang pagkakaayos ng mga kama na tila nagkaroon ng struggle dito kanina.

"This is Team Quattro's cabin, right?" Mina said, placing the lamp on the center wooden table. "What happened here?"

"Ayaw kong i-entertain ang idea na baka naunahan na tayo ng killer," Aiden said, observing the pool of blood on the floor. "Pero ano pa bang pwedeng explanation para dito?"

Morrie went on one knee and dipped his hand into the blood. He sniffed the crimson liquid before commenting, "Human blood. Probably came from the occupants of this cabin."

"You serious?" tanong ko.

"The question is, where are the bodies?" Morrie's eyes roamed around the wooden room. "The traces of blood are only found on the bed and the floor. If that mysterious man dragged them outside, we should have seen some skid marks from the bed going to the doorway,"

"As if they vanished into thin air," Mina whispered. "The culprit might have carried the bodies outside in a way that they won't leave traces of blood."

"Baka ibinalot niya sa malaking plastic o kaya isinakay sa isang wheelbarrow," sabi ni Aiden. "Pero bakit pa siya magpapakahirap na itago ang mga katawan? Pwede naman niyang iwan dito at tumakas."

"I suggest that we check the main cabin," Morrie said. "We might find the answers there."

Lumabas na kami sa cabin ng Team Quattro. Bago kami pumunta sa susunod na destinasyon, sinuri muna namin ang labas ng cabin. There were only five set of footprints outside. Four were from us while the fifth one was probably from the culprit. Wala rin kaming nakitang bakas ng dugo na tumulo sa may doorstep.

What's going on in this island? Ganito ba kamisteryoso ang maalamat na isla ng mga Ibarra?

We only noticed one set of muddy footprints in front of the main cabin. The wooden door was left unlocked, so we had to take extra precaution. Baka nandito pa ang salarin. We couldn't ket our guard down.

Pinuntahan namin ang kuwarto kung saan ako pinagpahinga kanina. No one was inside. Tumuloy kami sa room na posibleng pinag-i-stay-an ng mga instructor namin. To our surprise, we observed the same set-up doon sa naunang cabin na pinuntahan namin. There were pools of blood on the bed and on the floor.

"They also got Professor Dred? And Doc Wendy?" I muttered, staring at the crimson liquid. "But how?"

"If they were indeed killed, the culprit must be too skilled," Morrie caressed his chin as he looked at the same spot. "Professor Dred is an expert when it comes to self defense. There's no way he could have been easily defeated."

"Kung napatay niya ang mga nasa katabing cabin natin, that would only mean na tayo na lang ang natitira." Sumilip ako sa bintana kung saan tanaw ang isa pang cabin na tinutuluyan ng Team Crux. "And strangely, the supposed killer hasn't made any move to hurt us."

"Maybe because we are on our guard?" Morrie's eyes stared at one corner of the room to the other. "It was easy for him to attack the others because they might be unaware of his presence."

"The bodies are also missing," Mina pointed out, looking for any bloody skid marks on the floor. "How did he manage to make them disappear?"

"Posible kayang tinunaw ng suspek ang mga katawan?" tanong ni Aiden. "Naaalala n'yo pa ba ang isang case na pinag-aralan natin noon? The killer used a chemical to melt down the bodies of his targets."

"But dissolving the bodies would take time," I said. "Wala pang isang oras noong makita nating buhay ang mga kasama natin dito. At nakalimutan mo na bang kapag ginamitan sila ng gano'ng chemical, mangangamoy ang mga bangkay? But there was no strange smell here or in the cabin earlier."

"Whatever method he used to make the bodies disappear, there's one thing that I am certain of," Morrie said. "The culprit is still inside this cabin."

Napatingin kaming tatlo sa kanya.

"If I remember correctly, there's only one entrance to this cabin: the front door where we came in," he explained, approaching the windows. "The windows here are also shut. There's no way he can escape through here. The ceiling is too high for anyone to reach. Have you also noticed the footprints at the doorstep?"

I nodded. "Meron lang iisang set ng footprints doon. If that's the only way he could escape and he got out of this cabin before we went in, dapat meron pang isang set ng footprints na palayo rito."

"Chineck naman natin ang bawat kwarto, 'di ba?" tanong ni Aiden. "Wala tayong napansin na iba pang taong nandito."

"Your House's specialty is camouflaging, right?" tugon ko. "Baka nag-ala hunyango siya kaya hindi natin siya napansin. Wala tayong ibang ilaw dito maliban sa lampara kaya mas convenient sa kanyang pagtatago."

"Mapapansin ko naman kaagad kung may naka-camouflage," Aiden boasted. "Alam n'yo namang Adlerian ako kaya ang mga gano'ng technique ay hindi makakalusot sa akin."

"Can you then explain kung nasaan na siya ngayon?" tanong ko.

Itinaas pa ni Mina ang hawak niyang lampara at tumingala sa kisame, naniguradong wala roon ang taong hinahanap namin. Thankfully no one was stuck on the ceiling.

"There's only one explanation that I can think of," sabi ng Watsonian.

Napatingin kaming tatlo sa kanya. "And that is?"

"Follow me."

Nagtungo kami sa ward na pinuntahan na namin. She did not say what exactly we were doing here. Kinalkal niya ang mga cabinet, tila may hinahanap.

"What's that?" Lumapit ako sa kanya nang mapansin napatigil na siya sa paghahanap. She was holding a pineapple juice in can. "Huwag mong sabihing nauuhaw ka?"

"I need an object that can roll," she answered, shaking her head. "Something's strange in this room the moment I walked in here."

Inilapag niya nang nakahiga sa sahig ang cannister ng pineapple juice. At first I thought what she's trying to do was ridiculous. But knowing her, she wouldn't do anything that was illogical.

Gumulong ang cannister patungo sa isang side ng kwarto. Mina was apparently happy that the can moved. I was at loss for a moment on why she had that expression on her face.

"Para saan ang experiment na 'yan?" Aiden had the same question as I did in my mind.

"A secret room," Mina answered, picking up the pineapple juice can and staring at the wooden wall. "The culprit is still inside the cabin, but we did not find him in the places we have already checked. I thought there's an area we haven't inspected yet."

"And how's the cannister rolling significant?"

"The steel reinforcements of a secret room would be heavy enough to create a slop at a one to five degree angle," she went on explaining. "If we place a marble on the floor or any object that can roll, it would move."

Nilapitan namin siya at napatitig na rin sa pader. "So behind that wall is the secret room?"

"We must find the switch to opening it."

We scrambled in the room, looking for any button or lever that would grant us access inside the supposed hidden room. Tumingin ako sa ilalim ng kama at kinapa ang base nito. There was none.

"Found it!" Aiden shouted as he removed a book about medicine from the bookshelf. Underneath it was a button that he pressed. Seconds later, we heard a rumbling sound, and the blank wall slowly moved.

We gathered in front of the narrow entrance, each of us looking at one another.

"Don't let your guard down," I ordered, swinging the wood to my right. "Mapanganib ang taong nasa loob ng kwartong 'to.

With a deep breath, we stepped forward into the abyss.

-30-