#PahingaFinn2k21

-chapter thirty-seven-

FINN

Just my luck to have no presence at all, the portal decided to move right behind me.

And now I'm two seconds away from being squashed by a beast.

My body's not at its top condition, but at least it's not very drained anymore. Kaya nagawa kong magroll over sa gilid, barely dodging the beast's humongous claws as it destroyed the cemented floor.

There were small horns that stretched from his head, hiding behind furry ears. Mahaba ang buhok niya at nagmumukha ng mane. He was also very large, almost the same size as the portal/mirror behind him. Ang kaniyang mga mata ay kulay pula. Fangs protruded from his mouth and he looks very beastly.

Kagaya noong nabasa ko sa isang fairytale.

Though now it's a nightmare.

The beast growled, eyes flikering towards me. He raised his hand again, and I dodged my head to the side, a gasp falling out of my lips as the claws scratched beside me. Doon nakalagay ang ulo ko kanina. I would be beheaded by now.

The beast gave a guttural cry before punching his fists in the floor with insane speed. After the first four punches, I predicted the speed of his attacks. It takes a total of two seconds for him to retreat his fist and slam it again. Ginamit ko 'yon para maiwasan ang mga atake niya, saving my head from being crushed.

Nainis na ata siya dahil binawi niya ang kamao at sinamaan ako ng tingin.

The beast stopped trying to punch me, and decided to elbow me to death instead.

Ang problema lang ay expected ko na 'yon. Before it could hit, I reached out to hug the arm and flipped myself upwards, avoiding another crushing attempt.

The beast growled again, his other hand coming for me. I summoned a kunai in my right hand, watching as the palm got closer. Agad kong isinaksak ang dagger sa kamay niya at sumama nang bawiin niya ito dahil sa sakit. I jumped over his bleeding palm, running on his arm to get to his neck. The beast's hands flailed, trying to catch a little bug like me from wandering his upper body.

The advantage of being small is that I could go anywhere I'd like, while smoothly dodging any incoming blows.

Nang makarating ako sa may leeg niya ay namataan ko ang paparating na kamay sa gilid. I hurriedly jumped off him, landing on solid ground as the beast let out a pained roar after slapping his neck.

I ran away, hoping my empty presence would be helpful, but then my legs suddenly tripped against each other. Isang malakas na tunog ang namayani nang matumba ako sa sahig.

Ang malas ko.

Naramdaman ko ang paglingon ng halimaw sa banda ko. The ground seemed to shake when the beast took a step. I stayed there, letting the pain subside and reading his steps, movements, and breathing patterns.

It was pretty simple. Nang tumigil siya'y kaagad niyang itinaas ang kamao. It's not as fast as his continuous attacks earlier, so his punches this time will be slower. I counted about to five seconds before turning around.

And stabbing the beast's previous wounded palm with my kunai.

I activated one of the kunai's skills, Thorns of Daggers, and instantly the kunai impaled on the beast's palm multiplied. Isang dosenang throwdaggers ang kasalukuyang nakasaksak sa kamay niya, kaya walang nagawa ang halimaw kun'di umatras.

I tried to push myself up, ignoring my aching ankle to run away again. With my current condition, sigurado akong hindi ko kayang labanan o patayin ang beast na 'yan.

If I use my shadows, my body will take even more damage. If I ever burn or work myself to the very core, my body may just crack itself from being overused.

"What?" mahinang usal ko nang marinig ang tunog ng dagger na nahulog sa sahig.

I looked back, just in time to catch the four kunais that the beast threw towards me. Tumalon ako nang muli niyang ipinalipad ang apat pa. And for the last kunai he threw, I spinned midair, catching the black dagger on my mouth, and landing gracefully back.

For some reason, my childish mind wanted to tease the beast for effectively dodging all his attacks. Lalo na't ang ginamit niya pa ay ang sariling weapon ko.

I tossed the dagger I was biting aside before falling into another run. The beast loudly chased me, claws grappling forwards. I made sure to avoid every attack, so instead of my neck, claw marks appeared on the wall. Natumba ang mga cabinet at nabasag ang mga frames. Nanlaki ang mata ko nang makita ang inner balcony na nasa dulo ng corridor.

Naramdaman ko ang muling paggalaw ng kamay niya papunta sa'kin. Kaagad akong yumuko para maiwasan iyon, but his claws caught my hair and it cut the tie that was holding my bun. Long black hair dropped down to my waist, moving to dance with my actions.

I huffed an annoyed breath as my hair distracted me. Mabuti na lang at may enough mind pa ako para tumalon sa gilid nang marinig ang paparating na hampas. Ngunit ang pagtalon na 'yon ay tumungo sa sumasakit na ankle ko.

"Shit." I gasped out as the pain shot up.

But then it's not like I could stop and tend it. Not when I'm in the middle of a chase which has the highest possibility of resulting to my death.

So when the beast moved, I did too.

I quickly jumped over the inner balcony, hand immediately grasping the railings to prevent myself from falling. Napakagat ako sa ibabang labi nang maramdamang pagod na rin ang mga braso ko. I let out a calculated breath, just to avoid being heard.

Can they all hurt later?

The beast, who was too focused on chasing me, went past the balcony. A loud crack was heard along the quiet halls after it landed on the now-broken floor. I hurled myself up, right ankle stumbling at the force, and didn't waste any time to run and hide on a corner.

There was another angry sound before I heard the beast run away.

Nakahinga ako ng maluwag doon. Dumausdos ako sa pader at tuluyang napaupo. I glanced up, inhaling deep breaths. That was close.

I huffed out a tired laugh, closing my eyes. That was really close.

A stinging pain made me open my eyes. There was a deep cut on my arm, tearing the clothes out. Mabuti na lang at nakasuot ako ng itim kaya hindi masyadong kita ang dugo. Hinimas ko ang sugat bago muling tumingala at pumikit.

I can treat them later. Just for now... I want to rest.

"Finn! Finn!"

Narinig ko ang natatarantang pagtawag sa pangalan ko. I didn't want to open my eyes. They're already heavy with exhaustion. Maybe... Maybe I can set them aside for later.

"Finn! Wake up!"

Kumunot ang noo ko do'n? Wake up? I don't really want to do anything right now. I'm perfectly in peace, even though my body aches and I don't feel comfortable, but it feels much better than the earlier events.

It's pretty calm here. Quiet.

"Finn, please wake up!"

Again with that word. Bakit ba nila ako gustong magising e ang sarap nga ng tulog ko.

Wait, I believe I slept in that beast's castle with no one around. Am I currently dreaming? Will they come up next or will the nightmares haunt me again?

Or- Or what if the whole game was just my dream? A sleep-induced drug the company made that run our imaginations wild, right? That would be more pleasing-

"Shit. Finn!"

Naalerto ang buong katawan ko nang maramdaman ang paggalaw ng hinihiligang pader. My eyes immediately opened, wide and searching. That's when my gaze fell outside. There's the corridor, which means I'm still inside the game, in the castle. And there's-

Nanlaki ang mata niya nang magtama ang tingin namin. Theo was quickly running, arms out to reach me. But it was too late.

The door already closed off, trapping me in a dark room.

From outside, I could hear Theo's calls and pounding.

Biglang nagliwanag ang buong kwarto. Ang akala kong sasalba sa'kin ay mukhang magiging reason of death ko pa. The previously dark room didn't just light up because of the large chandelier.

The glowing eyes of every living furniture on the room were enough to make a sane human run.

"Damn." I blurted out. "Karma ba 'to dahil hindi ko nabasa ang story niyo?"

The only answer they gave was to attack me.

Huminga ako ng malalim at pinilit na tumayo ulit. I kicked off a charging dresser and grabbed the angry refrigerator's handle before slamming it on the ground. Umikot ako't sinaksak ang isang upuan ng dagger, and then throwing four kunais to the flying pillows.

Nagpatuloy ang laban na 'yon. I kicked, dodged, ducked, and threw kunais. There were more than fifteen monsterture - tawag ko sa mga monster na furniture - inside the room. I managed to fight them off until the chandelier came to life and dragged me upwards, chaining me with its steels.

"Cheater." akusa ko dahil sobrang pagod na ako.

A cabinet opened its monster mouth. I stared at it blankly. Nakaposisyon siya sa ilalim ko. Was it planning to eat me? Kasya ba ako sa isang cabinet?

"If you regret it so much that you're hurting yourself, Finley, then live for me. Protect my brother, like how you believed to have failed me. Protect your friends and the family you will make."

The chandelier's hold loosened and it dropped me towards the open-mouthed cabinet. It's already so exhausting that I just want to see how the void feels like. Maybe that would mean I could rest however I want.

But the nightmares would always haunt me.

I split the cabinet's mouth open with my feet. It gave a low cry of pain, aching from the stretch of its mouth and from being unable to eat me alive. It's difficult but as long as I can endure it, it's fine. Another monsterture appeared, a dresser who raised its weird arm to slam me inside the cabinet's mouth.

I grinned watching the arm fall towards me. I may not be the strongest, but I am extremely fast with my reflexes.

The sparrow is small, but its size makes it easier for flying around the predator.

I lightly grabbed the arm to help me in jumping up and landing above the dresser. Then I gave its back a strong kick, forcing it towards the cabinet's mouth. The monsterture flailed around as they struggled to not eat each other.

Tumingala ako at tinapon ko ang kunai sa stem ng chandelier. It exploded and the lighting came crashing down towards the cabinet, knocking them all out.

I lightly nudged them and they didn't move. Tumayos ako sa taas ng chandelier at pagod na tumingin sa buong kwarto. Nakahilata ang mga monsterture sa paligid ko.

Now, there's really no denying that I've found myself in Belle's world. The castle, the beast, the rose petals, and now the living furniture. Ngunit bakit naman kaya ganito ang natripan ng creator? Why would they make a city like this?

More importantly, what would this city imply? I hope it's not another maze.

"Finn!"

The room doors bursted open with Theo who's heaving. Mukhang kanina pa nito fino-force open ang pintuan. Nilibot niya ang paningin sa kwarto, and he looked horrified when his eyes landed on me. However, the horror was quickly replaced with worry.

"Finn, you're..." saad niya habang naglalakad palapit. "How can you still stand? Or even fight?"

At a touch, my body fell like a leaf against Theo. Kaagad niya akong sinalo.

"Theo." I whispered. "Sleepy."

"Yes. Kailangan mong magpahinga-"

There was a low sound from behind. Even though my body's failing, I could still sharply sense the incoming danger. Mukhang gano'n din ang kasama ko.

Theo pushed me aside, dagger out to cut the monsterture's head. Ngunit dahil sa paghila niya sa'kin sa tabi, the vine-attack went straight to him.

It's like the world stopped again.

I watched in horror as the vine pierced Theo's eye, before it eventually died down. He didn't shout or scream in pain. Theo only let out a sharp gasp filled with pain, stumbling backwards and clutching his eye with his free hand.

My eyelids were already growing heavy, the stacked exhaustion coursing through me all at once. I tried to reach out to Theo, but he stopped me, gripping tightly on my waist.

"Rest, Finn." aniya kahit na siya ang mas may malalang sugat. Theo gave me a reassuring smile but it looked pained. "It's all okay now."

Shouldn't I be the one saying that?

Is someone hurt because of me again?

"Theo." unti-unti nang humihina ang boses ko. "Don't die..."

Before I could say anymore or hear his response, the world around me already turned dark.

-chapter end-