Simula

Simula

I drive as fast as I could. He can't be out of it. Hindi siya makakatakas.

He should rot in jail. A fucking druglord and murderer. Nagawa ko na dati. Nagawa ko nang maipakulong siya. Gaano ba kahina ang mga pulis at natakasan sila?

Policemen these days can't do their job well. Tss.

May iisang lugar akong nalalaman kung saan siya tutuloy ngayon o magtatago. I can read his criminal mind. I just wish that he will come there.

I just came from their residence. Azea and I forced his daughter, Shane, to talk. Well, of course she didn't. It's her father.

Pinaiwan ko si Azea doon para magbantay. Baka roon tumuloy, pero malabo dahil iisipin niyang matutunton siya agad.

These fucking Caceres are shits.

Hinarurot ko ang motor dahil sa galit na nararamdaman. Fuck it. The policemen said he escaped using their police car. Kaya habang nagmamaneho ay sinusuri ko ang gitna ng kalsada.

I smirked devilishly when I saw one police car. Patay ang sirena noon kaya hindi kumukuha ng atensyon. I tried to drive faster than I did so I can overtake him.

Matalim ang tingin ko sa sasakyan. Nang halos maabutan ay gumilid ako sa kanan ng sasakyan, katapat sakto ng driver's seat.

Bahagya akong lumingon. Malinaw ang kaba at balisa sa kaniyang mukha. Bumusina ako para kuhain ang atensyon niya.

Saktong paglingon ko sa kaniya ay ang pagbaling niya.

I smirked devilishly to him. Even I'm wearing a hoodie now, I know he can recognize me. Hindi pa siya ganoon katanda para makalimot agad.

In extreme shock, he glanced at me. I know he felt creep on my smirk.

Alam ko na agad ang gagawin ko kung sakaling may baril siyang nakuha mula sa mga pulis. Pero mukhang wala dahil kanina pa ako nasa tabi ng sasakyan. Binibilisan niya na lang ang takbo at sinusubukang tumakas.

Sometimes he's trying to hit me. Well, he can't 'cause I'm a drag racer.

Kung kasama ko lang si Azea at Atasha, malamang ay tuwang-tuwa sila sa nangyayari ngayon lalo na't matagal na ang huli naming karera.

He suddenly opened the window.

"Umalis ka na nga!" sigaw ng matanda sa akin.

"Mr. Caceres, sumuko na lang kayo," I said in a monotone. "Hindi kayo makatatakas sa akin."

"Bwisit kang bata ka!" sigaw niya ulit at mas binilisan ang takbo.

Thank goodness that I used my racing motor. Halos wala pa sa kalahati ng totoong bilis nito ang ipinakita ko. I pity him, knowing the end of his bullshits.

Malutong niya akong minura bago ulit isinarado ang bintana bilang pag-iingat sa akin. I glanced on the road we are going through.

Sa isang bakanteng lote sa Gorostiza?

I prepared myself for it. I need to control myself from killing him because of what he did. Fucking bastard.

I furiously drifted my motor in front of his car. It made him stop. Nasa bakanteng lote na rin kami. Isinuot ko ang hood ng hoodie bago bumaba ng motor.

I hold my dagger inside my hoodie's pocket to be ready. This dagger is exclusive for me only. I have my initials engraved on it.

"Mabuti pang sumuko ka na," malamig kong panimula. "Bago pa kita mapatay."

Nanginginig ang labi ng matanda habang nakatingin sa akin. Unti-unti siyang umiling at ngumisi. I closed my fist tightly to control myself.

"Matagal na 'yon kaya patakasin mo na ako, hija," nanunuya siyang tumawa pero kita pa rin ang kaba.

Kalmado at matalim ko siyang tiningnan.

I slowly took out my small dagger and played it with my hands. Nakita kong napatitig siya roon habang eksperto ko iyong pinaikot sa kamay.

"Matagal na? Matagal na rin akong nagtitimpi sa'yo," I sarcastically said.

"Teka-,"

"Mata sa mata. Ngipin sa ngipin. Buhay sa buhay."

Matalim ko siyang tinitigan. Itinaas niya ang dalawang kamay at umiling-iling. Umalingawngaw ang halakhak niya na parang baliw sa gitna ng tahimik na gabi.

"Hindi mo gagawin 'yan!" humalakhak siya.

"Paano ka nakasisiguro?" I coldly asked.

Tumawa na naman siya nang malakas. I think he needs to go in a mental hospital. I really think he's crazy now. Seems like he's still taking drugs inside the jail.

Natigil ang tawa niya at napalitan ng sigaw sa sakit. Napaupo siya sa damuhan habang hawak ang binti.

I can see the glint of pain on his face while holding his leg shot by a dagger.

I vividly saw the pain but I can't look at him commiserating. Not even a bit.

Madiin ang pagkakatarak ng punyal sa binti niya. Kita ko ang unti-unting pag-agos ng dugo.

Someone is meddling with us. I put my own dagger back inside my pocket. I stayed calm on the situation.

Bahagya kong tinagilid ang mukha at tiningnan ang likod. Sa likod nanggaling ang punyal na lumipad. When I finally turned around, I saw a group of men in the dark.

They were walking away.

Who are they? Some sort of gangs? Disgusting gangs. It's for weak only.

Agad kong ibinalik ang tingin sa matanda nang marinig ang sirena ng paparating na mga pulis.

Nakaluhod lang siya at tinatamasa ang sakit na dulot ng matalim na punyal. Tingin ko'y hindi na siya makakatayo.

I waited a second, calculating the time. Then I harshly pulled out the dagger. I'm not helping him though. I need it to know who the fuck meddled with us.

Umalingawngaw muli ang sigaw niya nang marahas kong hinugot iyon. Blood started flowing harshly from its wound.

"Sapat na 'yan para mahuli ka," I whispered dangerously.

Pinunas ko sa balat niya ang sariling dugo na bumalot sa punyal. Nanginig siya nang dumampi ang matalim na bakal sa balat niya.

Siguradong ramdam niya ang lamig ng metal kahit puno iyon ng mainit niyang dugo. I can feel him shivering when I did it. No way in hell that I'll take this with his fucking blood.

I immediately got on my motor and started driving away. Lumalakas na ang alingawngaw ng sirena, papalapit na sila.

I took out my phone from my pocket. I dialed Azea's number to inform her. I did it while driving.

"Ayos na," bungad ko.

"Okay, I'm going now. In your mansion?"

"Yeah, I have something to tell you," I said before hanging up.

Humarurot na ako ulit pauwi sa mansion. Wala sina Lola at ang iba kong pinsan, pati si ate, ngayon sa mansion. Kami nila Mako lang ang naiwan, pinsan ko.

The guard immediately opened the gate when he heard my beep.

I saw Azea's motor from the outside of our mansion. I smirked.

Bumungad sila sa akin sala. Lahat ng kasamang pinsan ay narito maliban kay Mako at Kael. They all looked at me when I entered.

"Ate Leux, where have you been?" Avani asked, Tasha's younger sister.

She's the youngest Levesque now, just turning grade 11 student.

"Nagpahangin," I simply said.

She gave me doubtful look. Well, she's a Levesque. What should I expect? Hindi na rin siya nagtanong kahit hindi naniniwala.

Naroon din si Hattie kasama na sa isang gawi sina Azea at Tasha. I gestured them to follow me on my room. They nodded before following me upstairs.

"It's okay now," bungad ko pagpasok ng kwarto.

"How did you?" Hattie asked.

"He got shot by a dagger on his left leg," I paused. "I'm sure policemen caught him already."

"Sinaksak mo?" naniniguradong tanong ni Azea.

"No, it's not me."

"Then who?" Atasha asked perplexedly.

I shrugged.

Kinuha ko ang maliit na punyal sa bulsa. Lahat sila ay nakatingin doon na may pare-parehong ekspresyon.

"I don't know," I said and pointed the knife. "Iyan ang ginamit, hinugot ko sa binti niya bago umalis."

Tinitigan ko ang punyal. Hindi siya pangkaraniwan. Halatang pinasadya ito gaya ng sa akin.

"It's familiar," Tasha blurt out. "Do you guy know about the hoods here in Gorostiza?"

"What?" I perplexedly asked.

"Not familiar to me," Azea said.

"Of course, puro kayo karera ni Leuxia," Hattie chuckled. "I know a little thing about the groups."

Nagtataka kaming nakatingin ni Azea kay Tasha.

"Try to ask Mako or Kael about the dagger, Leuxia," Atasha suggested.

"Do you know anything?" my eyes narrowed at her.

She just shrugged. I surveyed again the knife on my room's table. I grabbed an alcohol and sprayed a lot on it. Pagtapos ay sinubukan kong hiwain ang gilid ng mesa.

"Fuck, it's so sharp," I whispered.

Napatingin ako sa pinto nang marinig ang pamilyar na sigaw. Atasha and I looked to each other. I decided to go to his room.

Kumatok ako ng tatlong beses sa kwarto ni Mako. I heard his growl inside before opening it.

"Bakit?" he asked.

Itinaas ko ang punyal at inabangan ang reaksyon niya.

It came as a bolt from the blue when I raised it in front of him. I saw his surprised face while staring on it.

"Bakit meron ka n'yan?"

Pumasok siya tuluyan sa kwarto kaya sumunod ako. Nakapamewang siyang humarap sa akin. He raised his brow to me.

"Ano munang meron dito?" I asked back.

He grabbed his phone and started browsing it. My brows furrowed on him.

"What the fuck, Mako?" iritado kong tanong. "I didn't say-,"

Naputol ako nang bigla niyang iharap 'yon sa akin. An app? I looked at him perplexedly.

"What is it?"

"Obviously, you don't know," he said and faced his phone. "This app was created for different hoods. Few only knows about this."

"What do you mean by hoods? A gang or what?" I asked again.

"Vigilant groups that started here," he explained. "May namumuno ng krimen, may pumipigil din pero hindi sa magandang paraan."

Nagtataka ko siyang tiningnan. I looked back again to the dagger.

"How did you know a lot about it?"

"I'm a member of one group," he said.

My brows furrowed on him. What the fuck?

"You are in a vigilant group?" paninigurado ko.

"Yeah," he nodded. "And that's our official dagger."

Napatitig ako ulit sa punyal. Ang panganib na dala nito ay nagtatago sa magandang disenyo.

"What hood?" I asked.

He turned his back.

"A brotherhood... Bloodfeud."

Bloodfeud? Sounds dangerous, hmm. I wonder how many are they in the group? Or if it's a fucking useless hood?

So that's the reason why Mako always missing in action here. I think Kael is also a member.

"Ipasok mo 'ko sa grupo," kalmado kong sabi.

Agad siyang napalingon na nanlalaki ang mga mata sa akin.

"What? Are you kidding me?" he raised his brow. "There's a rule for every brotherhood Leuxia. Only boys allowed."

My brows furrowed.

"I don't care."

Nasapo niya ang noo sa sinabi ko. He slightly chuckled.

"What do I expect from you?" he laughed in disbelief. "But there's a test. Maybe if you'll pass it, you can join. I'm not sure though."

"What test?" I curiously asked.

"Baka kakalabanin mo ang ilan sa amin," he concluded. "But, I'm giving you a warning. Hindi sila basta-basta."

I laughed so hard.

Iritado niya akong tiningnan dahil sa reaksyon ko at pambabaliwala sa banta niya. What the fuck? It's so easy, maybe our test in basic calculus was harder.

"Kayo ni Kael nakapasok tapos ako hindi?"

"How did you know that Kael is a member?" he asked.

"Maghihiwalay pa ba kayo?" I sarcastically said. "Pero huwag mo muna sasabihin sa kaniya na ipapasok mo ako."

He nodded. Madaldal si Kael baka malaglag ako agad. I wanna shock them. Magugulat nalang sila, napasok na pala sila ng babae.

Stepping on their egos in other way. That's what they get from meddling with me.

"Okay I'll try," Mako said defeatedly.

"Change my name for a while, Mako," sabi ko kaya napatingin siya. "Don't tell them that I'm a girl."

Kinuha ko ulit ang cellphone ni Mako. I stared on the app's icon. 'H' it's the name of app. Itim ang background ng icon at pula ang kulay ng letrang H doon.

"Who created this app?" I asked him.

He shrugged.

"Sa totoo lang, hindi ko rin alam... at burado na 'yan sa kahit saan simula nang nakita namin ang anino niya lang."