Chapter 4

“Get up,” the man demanded while pointing the gun firmly at me.

Nanginginig akong sumunod sa utos niya. I was so petrified for dear life and I almost wish na sana pala ay nagpakalunod na lang ako kanina kung ganito naman ang sasapitin ko ngayon.

“P-please, don’t do this. Don’t hurt me please. I’ll leave..” I begged and he chuckled without humor.

Ang kaninang malakas na ulan ay unti unti nang tumitila.

Naalarma ako nang humakbang palapit ang lalaki. I automatically took a step back and I watched as his eyes darkened, as if he didn’t like what I just did.

“Isang maling galaw mo pa at pasasabugin ko ang ulo mo.”

My eyes watered at his despicable threat. I looked at him, matapang na sinalubong ang matiim niyang titig kahit pakiramdam ko ay bibigay na ang tuhod ko sa takot.

“P-please….wala naman akong masamang intensyon. I j-just need help-“

Humigpit ang pagkakahawak nito sa baril at wala sa sariling napapikit ako. My lips quivered in fear when I felt him walked closer to me before I felt the gun on my head again.

“Open your eyes!” he hissed and I do not want to anger him more so I immediately obliged. Agad kaming nagkatinginan, tulad kanina, malamig pa rin ang ekspresyon ng mukha nito. “Any last words, darling?”

Hindi ako makapagsalita. Nanatili akong nakatitig sa kanya.

“Alright. Have fun in heaven, little lamb.” The side of his lips curved into a vile grin as his eyes darkened with mischief.

“One,” he started counting and my knees almost gave out. Mom and Dad, I’m sorry if I’d have to go first.

“Two,” he continued. Amadeus, please take care of our parents. I love you guys. I’ll see you all someday.

“Three!” his voice tinged with finality and that’s my cue to close my eyes. I felt him gripped the revolver tighter before he finally pulled the trigger. There was a hushed click before I felt the cold metal left my forehead.

I was waiting for the impact or any pain pero halos dalawang minuto na yata akong nakapikit ay wala pa rin akong nararamdaman. Nagmulat ako ng mata at nalilitong tinitigan ang ngayon ay nakangising lalaki.

Itinaas nito ang hawak na baril. “You look funny. This is a pellet gun.” Pagkatapos ay malakas itong tumawa.  Bahagya akong nairita sa narinig. Anong ibig sabihin noon? Pinaglalaruan niya ako?

Gayunpaman ay nakahinga ako ng maluwag. Akala ko ay katapusan ko na.

“You scared me,” I mumbled and he smirked triumphantly.

“Let’s get inside. Baka parehas pa tayong magkasakit dito.” Nilagpasan ako nito at nauna nang naglakad papasok sa magandang bahay. I sighed before following behind him.

The house looked simple and stunning. The floor to ceiling glass walls isn’t really my kind of home because it feels so exposed but the large curtains hanging around both sides comforted me a bit. Wala sa sariling naglakad ako patungo roon at pinakialaman ang kurtina.

Napatigil lang ako nang maramdaman ang paninitig ng estranghero kaya’t nilingon ko ito. I smiled apologetically at him. “I’m sorry. I just don’t feel comfortable-“

“You touch one more thing in my house, I’ll kick you out.” Matigas nitong banta kaya’t napipilitang lumayo ako mula sa kurtina.  “The bathroom is right there,” he pointed at the hallway on my left side. “Fix yourself and meet me here once you’re done.”

Pinasadahan niya ako ng tingin bago ako iniwang basang basa sa living room niya. Noon ko lang muling naramdaman ang lamig at naalalang naka-two piece lang ako.

I sashayed towards the bathroom and almost scream in shock when I came face to face with my reflection on the mirror. I looked pale and my hair was covered with sand, ganoon rin ang katawan ko. Upon realizing that, bigla akong nakaramdam ng pangangati kaya nagmadali akong sumilong sa ilalim ng shower para magbanlaw.

The water isn’t too cold so I had the luxury to enjoy my shower. I was actually just planning to rinse off the dirt all over my body but I ended up using the displayed shampoos and body wash on the niche. Medyo nagtaka pa ako dahil walang kabawas bawas ang mga products doon at parang matagal nang hindi nagagalaw ang banyo.

When I finished, I opened the cabinet under the sink and saw some clean towels and bathrobe in there. I sighed in satisfaction before drying my body and settling myself in the robe, completely naked inside. Ibinalot ko rin ang basang buhok sa puting tuwalya bago iniwan ang bathroom.

The living room remained empty when I got back pero naririnig ko ang kalampag ng kitchen utensils mula sa kinatatayuan. The familiar aroma of beef flavored Lucky Me noodles reached my nose and I suddenly felt my throat parched from the smell.

Nothing beats the feeling of sipping a hot soup after a long chilly day. Pero Lucky Me talaga?

I walked towards the single couch across the long white sofa and sat in there. Wow, bahay mo ba ‘to, Mara at talagang medyo demanding ka?

“I run out of stock so this is all I can offer right now,” someone spoke from behind and I turn to see the man walking towards my direction while carrying a tray in hand. Inilapag niya iyon sa coffee table bago umupo sa katapat na couch.

I finally had a good view of him. From where I was sitting, napagmasdan kong mabuti ang hitsura niya. He has long silky black hair and I noticed the piercing on his left ear. There was an unnervingly serious expression on his face as I met his oddly unemotional dark eyes. His clenched jaw, sculpted in a perfectly sharp line, completed his extremely intimidating façade.

He fished out a gun from his behind and aimed it at me. I gulped when I noticed that it was different from the one he used on me earlier. Still, I tried hard not to feel affected, thinking he was only messing with me again.

I didn’t break the eye contact.

“You’re one brave girl to step here in my island, huh? What’s your name?” he asked, still pointing the gun at me.

“A-amara…” I stuttered nervously. The gun might be fake, be he’s still a man who’s obviously much stronger than me after all. Who knows if this guy is actually a psychopath or something- wait!

“Hmm…Amara,” tumango tango ito, nalilibang akong pinagmamasdan.

“What about y-you?”

Please, I hope my hunch is wrong!

The stranger smirked dangerously at me. He licked his lower lip before answering, “Sage.”

Sage, I echoed in my head and I almost sigh in relief. But, my relief was cut off short when the guy pulled the trigger without warning before I heard a loud crash behind me. Nanlalaki ang matang tinitigan ko siya bago nilingon ang nabasag. Behind the couch, on the wall, was a huge shattered vase. I shifted my gaze back at him.

 It was a real gun!

“Or Sancho….as what everyone calls me.”

I froze on my seat. He stared at me arrogantly, a satisfied smirk stretching on his lips.

“Ah…so you’ve heard about me! That’s a good thing. I do not have to introduce myself any further.”

Sancho. The madman. The serial killer. He is everyone’s primary suspect of the crimes happening in town. And right now that I’m sitting here face to face with the devil himself, on his den, I can confirm myself that he’s indeed what everyone accused him to be. The subtle threats was enough for me to verify it.

Pakiramdam ko ay bilang na ang oras ko sa mundo habang nakatitig ako sa kanya. Halos manlumo ako sa naiisip na baka kinabukasan, matagpuan na lang akong palutang lutang sa tabing dagat. If he’s planning to kill me, I hope he do it in a fast and easy way.

The man laughed vilely as he rose to his feet, sauntering slowly towards my direction while playing with the gun on his hand. Mapaglaro itong nagpaikot ikot sa couch na kinauupuan ko, nananakot at nanunudyo.

“Hmm….are you naked inside this robe?” his voice lacing with malice and I felt my knees shook.

Trisha’s voice echoed in my mind when she narrated how Tata Emil’s youngest daughter was raped and killed by this very man. Nanginig ang labi ko sa takot.

He crouched, his face nearing on me as he chuckled darkly on my ear. “Relax,” I flinched when I felt him tap me on the shoulder.

“I wouldn’t want my first ever guest to feel cold the whole night so eat up,” he gestured on the soup. “I’ll get you some clothes upstairs.”

Tsaka lang ako nakahinga ng maluwag nang unti unti itong lumayo at naglakad papalayo. Nang tuluyan siyang mawala sa paningin ko, mabilis akong tumayo at tinakbo ang pinto. I need to escape quickly before this man includes me in the collection of people he had killed.

I twisted the door knob at halos panlamigan ako nang hindi iyon mabuksan. I tried looking around for another exit but every door, even the windows, seemed to be locked with super glue.

When I heard his retreating footsteps on the stairs, mabilis akong bumalik sa inuupuan na parang walang nangyari. I scooped up the bowl of noodles and started eating. He was grinning when he handed the clothes on my lap.

Hindi ko matagalan ang titig niya kaya yumuko ako at nag-iwas ng tingin, pinipilit lunukin ang hinigop na sabaw. I couldn’t even taste anything in my mouth.

Muli siyang umupo sa katapat na couch at pinanood akong ubusin ang ginawa niyang noodles. Hindi ako nag-angat ng tingin ng kahit isang beses pero ramdam ko ang pagkaaliw niya. Maybe he put something on this noodles at hinintay niyang umepekto.

“Are you aware that you’re my first ever guest in this house?”

Obviously. Because who in their right mind would visit a psychopath like you and get themselves killed?

“You came unannounced so I’m sorry if I couldn’t offer any decent meal for today. Hindi ako nakapaghanda,” he then laughed. “Are you done eating? I’ll show you to the guest room so you can finally rest.”

“Can’t you just kill me right away? Huwag na nating patagalin pa dahil doon din naman ang hantong nito. You’re just prolonging my anxiety and fear.”

I’m not sure where I got the braveness to say that to him. But he laughed. Yet, I can’t feel the humor in them.

“Why…why did you kill Ricky?”

His laugh died down. Noon pa lang ako nagkalakas ng loob na mag-angat ng tingin. Nagtama ang mga mata namin at parang biglang umatras ang dila ko nang makita kung gaano kadilim ang mukha nito.

Sancho stood up from his seat. Hinaklit ako nito sa braso at sapilitang itinayo, muntik pang mabasag ang bowl na hawak ko pero sa sinalo iyon ng couch.

“I think it’s time for you to sleep,” he hissed before dragging me somewhere around the house. Mahigpit ang pagkakahawak nito sa braso ko at walang imik akong nagpaubaya. There’s a door at the end of the hallway and he pushed it open before harshly shoving me inside. Is this it? Is this the part where I’ll lose my virginity and my life at the same time?

Inilang hakbang ako nito at sapilitang inihiga sa kama. Pumatong ito sa akin at hinawakan ang magkabila kong braso para pigilan ang pagkontra ko. Naiiyak kong sinalubong ang galit nitong mga mata.

“You listen to me,” he spat angrily. “I’m gonna let you stay here for the night, but if I find you here in the morning when I wake up, you’re a dead meat. Do you understand me?”

Hindi ako agad nakasagot. I was too scared to properly process what was he saying that I didn’t realize he’s already gone and I was left alone in the bedroom.

Kinalma ko ang sarili at inalala ang sinabi niya. The door was open widely and I wanted to curse him for not bothering to close it before he left me there on the bed absentminded. Tumayo ako at isinara ang pinto. Mabigat ang aking paghinga.

Ibinagsak ko ang sarili sa kama. I am for sure not getting some sleep tonight. Hindi ako mapapalagay sa lugar na ito knowing that the devil is near and he could enter my room anytime he likes.

Now how am I supposed to leave this island before he could even wake up? I left the jet ski in the ocean at malamang ay inanod na iyon ng alon kung saan. He probably has something I could use, right? Maybe I should search around the place mamayang madaling araw. But what time does he wake up?

I sighed in frustration. I have the whole night in my hands to come up with a good escape plan.