"Shit shit shit" I kept cursing as my trembling fingers fumbled over the keys. One by one, i slid them inside the door knob, desperately wishing for it to unlock. Hindi nakatulong ang kulay pulang ilaw sa paligid na sobrang sakit sa mga mata, pati na ang mga tuhod kong parang bibigay na.

"Jordan, okay lang ba talagang iwan natin si Tita Letty sa kuwarto niya?" Mangiyak-ngiyak na tanong ni Masha mula sa likuran ko.

"You heard her yourself! She has narcolepsy! It's going to be hard for her to stay awake! Ayoko nang mabugbog!" I whispered through gritted teeth, equally annoyed and desperate to get out of the hell hole we were in. "Bwisit! Bakit ba ang dami-dami nilang susi tapos wala pang label! Ang tatanga!"

When Tita Letty came into consciousness, her mind was as fogged up as the island on a December morning. However, she was still able to respond to our cries and rambles. When we begged her to stay awake, she revealed she has narcolepsy. And when we asked her for a way out, she gave us a set of keys that lead to what she's calling a basement garage. 

Basement garage means car. A car means there's a way out. With a car and a way out, we can run over any fucker who tries to come for us. Madam Laura, especially.

Bilang pa-thank you sa mga susi, hinatid na lang namin siya sa kuwarto niya at pinangakuang babalikan oras na bumuti-buti ang sitwasyon. Kung makakaligtas kami.

"I can do this. I can fucking do this," I whispered as I continued lodging each keys.

"J-Jordan?" Narinig kong suminghap si Masha mula sa likuran ko, bagay na sandaling nagpatigil sa akin sa pagkilos, at pati na rin sa paghinga.

"Nakatulog na naman si Tita Letty at papunta na ulit siya sa atin?" Halos bulong kong sambit, parang sasabog na ang puso sa kaba.

"H-Hindi naman pero bilisan mo pa rin as in super bilisan mo just in case." Tinangka niya pa talagang magsinungaling eh para na siyang rapper dahil sa bilis ng pananalita.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" bulalas kong muli kasabay ng pagbulusok ng mga kamay ko—pasok, ikot, hugot, repeat!

"Ako na! Tabi!" Nagulat ako nang biglang inagaw ni Masha ang keychain sabay tulak sa akin. Because I was on a squatting position, one push from Masha and I was quickly thrown to the ground. I propped myself up using my elbows, but before I could even sit, my legs were paralyzed again by what felt like thousands of prickling sensation. 

I unconsciously tilted my head to the right side of the corridor and saw that the door to Tita Letty's room was already open. Everything about it looked really creepy, especially with the lights being all red. And then I saw it . . . a pair of legs slowly walking out of the room. Tita Letty's.

Hindi ko alam kung nag-slow motion lang ba ang lahat dahil sa sobra kong takot na mabugbog ulit, o sadyang mabagal lang ba talaga siyang maglakad. 

"M-Mash . . .  " Mariin akong napalunok. "M-Mash, ayoko nang mabugbog. Puwedeng bilisa—"

Nakita kong tagumpay na nabuksan ni Masha ang pinto. Dali-dali niyang hinablot ang paa ko at patakbo akong kinaladkad papasok. Hindi ko alam alin ang mas masakit, ang mismong pagtama ng likod ko sa sahig o ang mahigpit niyang paghawak sa namamanhid kong mga paa. Sa kabila nito, wala nang rekla-reklamo pa. Nang nakita kong dali-daling sinara ni Masha ang pinto, bumangon na ako't naglibot ng tingin sa paligid. 

Para kaming nasa loob ng isang bodega. Napakarami ng mga gamit sa paligid at nanunuot sa ilong ko ang amoy ng alikabok at moth balls. Sa kabila nito, dali-dali kong nilapitan ang unang bagay na nakita ko—isang coffee table. Akmang hihilahin ko na ito upang gawing pangharang sa pinto, pero biglang naagaw ang atensiyon ko ang mga nakasabit sa dingding.

"What the hell?" There were like ten stuffed animal heads hanging above the wall. Mayroong kalabaw, baboy ramo, usa, pati na musang. Before I could even berate whoever hunted the poor animals and turned them into some trophy wall decoration, I saw a pair of hunting rifles in the middle of it all. 

Imbes na hilahin ang coffee table patungo sa pinto, dali-dali ko itong hinila patungo sa direksiyon ng dingding at ginamit itong patungan.

It was unsettling being face-to-face with the poor animals, but my eyes were dead set on the rifles. I hate people who hunt animals for sport, but with our situation, I was thankful Chad's grandpa was a hunter. 

"Jordan, dito!"

I turned around and saw that Masha was trying to open another door leading to God knows where. I quickly jumped down the table and tried to see if the rifle had bullets in them. Luckily, they were both loaded—but it was still not enough for me.

Desperate for spare bullets, I looked around again, this time spotting the enormous display cabinet with random stuff all over it. I quickly ran toward it, desperate to find the bullets as fast as possible. The red emergency lights made it so hard for me to see things clearly, but it didn't stop me from looking around . . .  until I saw a picture frame just lying on top some old folders and random objects.

Questions flooded my mind when I recognized some of the people in the group photo. They were all sitting on the grass, dressed in white t-shirts. I could see the cathedral just behind them.

My father . . .  he was sitting in the middle of everyone, smiling brightly and proudly. Sitting on his left was Chad, and on his right was the girl in the ambulance. The same girl who offered me the bottle of water. There were other people in the photo but I couldn't look at them any longer with how much my eyes stung.

"Sila ba talaga 'to?" The red lights around me made me doubt it, but deep inside me, I can clearly see them in the photo... everyone who were in that ambulance that day, including the driver and the other assistant.

It was just a photo, but somehow, something about it made me feel uneasy.

"Jordan, tara na!" Masha's voice dragged me out of my mind and back to reality. I looked around again, this time my eyes landed on what looked like a hunting knife with a leather cover still attached around the blade.

I continued to look around, desperate to find more weapons. I already felt bad about dragging Masha into this hell. The least I could do is not to let our efforts go in vain. 

"Jordan!" Bigla akong hinila ni Masha sa braso. Sa sobrang lakas, napaharap ako sa kanya. "Tara na!"

"I need to find more weapons! We're stuck in this damn basement because of it! I'm not—"

Nagulat ako nang biglang inagaw ni Masha ang isa sa mga hunting rifle mula sa kamay ko. She glared at me as she clumsily placed the large weapon between her underarm. "Stop blaming yourself, okay?! This is not your fault! Tara na bilis!"

Hinila ako ulit ni Masha at wala na akong nagawa kundi sumunod sa kanya. As soon as we passed through the open door, we stumbled upon a tiny corridor with a short staircase leading up to another door.

Masha and I looked at each other before running up the stairs. As we reached the door, she quickly got down on her knees and began trying the keys on the doorknob. Meanwhile, all I could do was keep a lookout.

Moments passed and Masha successfully unlocked the door. We ran inside and to our relief, we found it—the basement garage. And the best part was that it was filled with cars and motorcycles.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" I could only cry out loud as I locked the door right behind us. "Mash, car keys! Baka may susi ng sasakyan diyan sa key chain!"

As Masha fumbled over the keys she was holding, I ran toward the side of the garage where the vans were. After all, it wasn't just Masha and I who needed to get out of there. Our friends were still upstairs, too.

Suntok man sa buwan, sinubukan kong isa-isang buksan ang bawat van. Umaasa ako na may tangang hindi nag-lock ng kanilang sasakyan at nag-iwan ng susi sa loob. 

Nieta. Kung alam ko lang na darating ang pagkakataong 'to, sana kumaibigan ako ng carnapper sa presinto at nagpaturo paano mag-hotwire ng sasakyan!

Sa isang iglap, bigla na lamang umalingawngaw ang napakalakas na tili ni Masha na sinundan ng isang malakas na kalabog. Binundol ako ng matinding takot at agad na napakaripas ng takbo patungo sa pinanggagalingan ng boses niya.

Akala ko kung ano na ang nangyayari kaya naman laking ginhawa ko nang maabutan ko siyang nakaupo sa sahig, nag-iisa. She seemed alright even if her body language looked scared as heck.

"Mash, anong nangyari? Okay ka lang ba?" tanong ko at nagpatuloy sa pagtakbo patungo sa kanya.

Hindi lumingon si Masha. Bagkus, nanginginig niyang itinuro ang nasa kanyang harapan—isang sasakyan na nakabukas ang pinto. I never heard her open any car door, so that was when I realized that the door must've been already opened before we came in.

Nang tuluyang makalapit sa kanya, agad akong napatingin sa loob ng sasakyan. Doon ay napagtanto ko kaagad kung bakit ganoon na lang ang takot ni Masha.

Nanigas ako sa kinatatayuan nang makita ang mga katawang nakahandusay sa loob ng sasakyan, ang ilan ay magkapatong-patong pa sa isa't isa. Pare-pareho silang balot ng likido at hindi na gumagalaw. The lights might've been red, but I can always recognize the look and smell of blood.

"Mash, raise your rifle," I whispered as I quickly raised mine. Despite my observations, I wasn't going to take chances. Baka bigla pang bumangon ang mga lintik!

Dahan-dahan akong lumapit patungo sa pinto ng sasakyan, ang mga mata at baril ay nakatutok sa mga duguang katawan. Humawak ako sa malamig na pinto. Akmang isasara ko na ito nang bigla kong mapansin ang isang babaeng bangkay . . . mayroong malaking hiwa sa kanyang leeg at may pumapatak pang dugo mula rito. Wala sa sarili akong napatingin sa ibang mga bangkay at maging sila'y may mga malalaki ring hiwa sa kanilang mga leeg.

Nagulat ako sa napansin, pero mas nagulat ako nang makilala ang kanyang suot—ang kanilang mga suot.

"The . . . the paramedics?" Napasinghap ako at naramdaman ko ang pagtayo ng mga balahibo ko.

My stomach turned upside-down when I realized that I was looking at the dead bodies of the paramedics who gave me a ride back to the island. It was them, I was sure of it. They were still even wearing the same uniform.

"I really wish you didn't see that." 

Masha and I both turned around and saw Chad covered in blood, his one hand clutching his stomach. His eyes looked cold and tired. On his hand was one of the rifles that we came with, and it was pointed at us.

//