a more lengthy chapter. enjoy reading :>

 

[And then, there were nine – rest.]

 

 

Point of View: Irene Bae.

 

“Hayaan niyo muna.” Sagot ni Moonbyul habang nakatingin lamang silang lahat kay Sinb na nakatulala na lamang sa isang tabi pagkatapos na biglang gumaling ang sugat na natamo niya pagkatapos ng nangyari, as if our wounds would heal after every horror.

 

I see her holding onto the same knife that wounded her, staring at it na parang yun ang makakapagpabalik kay Soojin—na parang babalik siya kapag tinitigan niya iyon ng matagal.

 

I knew that the woman would be the first one, judging by how she had volunteered nung una pa lang—pero hindi ko naman expect na ganito kabilis.

 

I thought that she was persuaded when I heard her and Sinb talking kanina, since she smiled habang naglalakad kaming lahat kanina papuntang safety, but I didn’t expect her to actually do that. To pull that thing off and sacrifice her life just so this could end.

 

I could never do that.

 

There’s something deep in me that is afraid to die—aren’t we all?

 

So how can she throw away her life so easily?

 

I don’t really believe that she threw away her life for us, for the group to live, dahil alam kong kalahati ng mga kasama naming nabubuhay ngayon ay hindi naman niya kilala. So there must be some other reason—or she just wants to die.

 

Either way, I know that we have to move on. Buti nga at binigyan tayo ng isang linggong pahinga na walang kahit anong susugod nanaman sa atin, or else it would be very tiring.

 

I can’t shake off the fact that this is real.

 

That it didn’t sink in to me na totoo ang lahat ng ito, na patay na almost lahat ng tao sa mundo except for the ten—nine of us because of the things that had happened, at ngayon na unti-unti kaming mababawasan, I can’t help but feel fear and panic set off in every part of my body.

 

“I… I have to… I have to bury her, at least.” Sagot ni Sinb na bumasag sa katahimikan habang nanlaki naman ang mata ko nang dali-dali siyang tumayo at nagkukumahog na umalis papunta kung saan, maaaring pabalik sa kung saan namatay si Soojin, at agad naman siyang pinigil nila Moonbyul at Seulgi.

 

“Sinb, hindi pwede. We have to conserve energy as much as we can—”

 

“Let her. Sasamahan ko na lang.”

 

Halatang nagulat silang lahat nang kunin ko ang tubong binigay sa akin ni Seulgi kanina at marahang tinulak siya papunta sa direksyon na pinagmulan namin, taking some of the things in mind and hoping that me and her could go back here safely pagkatapos niyang tapusing gawin ang balak niya, and she nods as I follow her towards her destination.

 

Medyo nasanay na din ako sa katahimikan habang sinusundan ko siya at tahimik siyang naglalakad habang pansin kong medyo humihikbi siya habang mahigpit pa rin niyang hawak yung kutsilyo at tinitignan ang kanang kamay niya, the place where the woman had stabbed her to make her release her hand.

 

I know from the stories that she had once dated that girl—lagi ko silang nakikita noon whenever I would visit Moonbyul at her dance studio, since I knew that the woman—Soojin Seo—is another dancer, newly hired, under Sinb’s referral, I think.

 

I know that they’ve got history, and that they had broken up in good terms, pero hindi ko alam talaga kung sino yung bago, but she isn’t here anymore to answer who it is—pero malakas ang kutob ko na siya nga ang dahilan kung bakit napagdesisyonan ng babaeng iyon na mamatay na lang—

 

“I can see it in your eyes; you’re thinking about her and the things that had happened.” Pagbasag ni Sinb sa katahimikang dala ng pag-iisip ko at ang tahimik niyang paglakad, and I didn’t even notice that she had already stopped walking and had faced me, staring at me for an unknown timeframe.

 

“Stop thinking about it. You have no right to think about her when you don’t even know an inch of her.” She says, gritting her teeth habang nanlaki naman ang mga mata ko sa sinabi niya, especially with how she’s staring at me right now, like she could kill.

 

But that stare doesn’t hold on for longer, breaking with every second that it takes for her to turn her back towards me at maglakad nang muli, moving forward as if it did not happen; as if it was only an illusion that I had and she isn’t really like that.

 

Maybe this is her coping with her friend’s death? Hindi ko rin alam.

 

“What if you never find it? Her body, I mean.” Sagot ko habang napatigil siya sa paglalakad pero hindi siya tumitingin pabalik sa akin, the woman probably thinking of what to answer right now.

 

“I’ll find her, no matter what.” Sagot niya at nagpatuloy na maglakad, at napabuntong hininga na lamang ako dahil hindi naman niya nasagot ang tanong ko.

 

“Paano nga kung hindi mo nahanap? The other people had turned into ashes when they died, what if ganun ginawa nung weird na boses na iyon?” tanong ko habang napansin kong binilisan na niya ang paglalakad, kaya nagmabilis na rin ako para makahabol sa kanya.

 

“Then I’d just make her a grave… somewhere. That’s what she did nung naabutan ko siya, and that’s what I’ll do… since she left.” She says, at hindi ko na siya tinanong muli at tahimik na lamang na sumunod sa kanya, making a mental note of the landmarks that we could use to go back to where they all are, since first day pa lang naman ng tinuring naming rest day ito, and we still have six days left to rest and recuperate.

 

“Six days to mourn her properly, and we can’t let anyone die after that—” Sagot ni Sinb habang napatigil siya, at napansin ko ang tinitignan niya kaya siya napatigil ng pagsasalita—it’s her.

 

“Can… can you help me?” tanong niya habang narinig mong pumiyok pa siya sa dulo ng pangungusap na iyon, at ramdam mong unti-unti siyang nanghihina pagkakita niya ng katawan ng babaeng naging kaibigan niya—and possibly someone she had loved romantically before.

 

“Sure.” I say, from the bottom of my heart, with a kind smile I haven’t had in ages.

 

And so we spent the entire afternoon carrying her body covered with Sinb’s coat upon a clearing that has a soil field upon it, at inilagay na muna namin ang katawan niya sa gilid ng huhukayin naming butas para sa huling hantungan niya—

 

“What the—”

 

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang biglang naging abo ang katawan niya bago pa namin siya buhatin sa huling hantungan niya, dissipating into the air as if it was a cruel trick, as if it was that weird voice’s way of telling us that we are wasting our time by doing this.

 

[The rest days are given to all of you to rest, not to do pointless things such as burials. The corpses shall be taken care of.]

 

[Because of this unnecessary behavior, the week of rest shall be cut down to one day, including today; which means that the Second Horror will resume tomorrow.]

 

[Best of luck.]

 

What…

 

What the hell?

 

“ANG UNFAIR MO, KUNG SINO KA MAN!” Sinb shouted at the top of her lungs, and she grips the knife tight upon her hands, at nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang ambang sasaksakin niya ang sarili niya, so I did the most irrational thing I could have thought of and grabbed the blade itself.

 

Napasigaw ako ng konti sa sakit habang pinipigil ko siyang saksakin ang sarili niya, at agad ko namang inagaw ang kutsilyo mula sa kanya nang manlumo siya na nasugatan ang kamay ko, and I pocket the knife for a moment for I know that this thing is important to her, at pinaupo ko muna siya para kumalma naman siya kahit papaano.

 

“Stop, will you? Sa tingin mo ba magugustuhan ni Soojin kung gawin mo yan?” naiirita kong sabi habang napataas naman ang kilay ko nang biglang mawala ang sakit sa palad kong natusok ng madiin ng kutsilyo at biglang wala na yung sugat, the blood even disappearing from my clothes and Sinb’s.

 

[No wounds shall be inflicted in the days of rest. No one can die in the days of rest.]

 

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko ng marinig ko iyon, at napansin ko namang nakatingin lamang si Sinb sa sahig after also hearing that, at ibinigay ko sa kanya pabalik ang kutsilyo na wala na ring bahid ng dugo ko.

 

“Get up, we have to go back. Sigurado namang narinig din nila yung mga sinabi ng boses na iyon.” I say, sighing as she heeds my order even though I know na nakatulala lamang siya dahil sa mga nangyayari, but we have to go back, since magdidilim na din at baka kung ano pa ang maisip ng boses na iyon na gawin, sicne binawasan niya nga yung araw ng pahinga kuno namin na maging isang araw na lang, at bukas ay sasabak na naman kami sa kung anong pagsubok na ibabato sa amin.

 

“Why… why did you do that?” tanong ni Sinb sa akin habang hawak niya pa rin ang kutsilyo, at tinitignan ko siya dahil baka ulitin niya uli ang ginawa niya kanina, and I think of something to answer her question.

 

“Because you can’t die. Not when she said that you should live.” Sagot ko, recalling Soojin’s last words to her as this woman chased her from getting killed by the undead and even risking her own life, at kita ko namang natulala nanaman si Sinb dahil sa sinabi ko sa kanya.

 

“I’ve lost everything, Irene. My girlfriend, Yerin, yung kaibigan kong si Shuhua, and Soojin… they all are gone now, so I don’t think I really have some reason to stay—”

 

“You have us. And we’re people that would not want you to go throw your life away because you’ve lost everything, Sinb. Oo, hindi natin naprotektahan si Soojin and that hurts so much, so we should care for one another more than ever.” I say, hoping that it would change her mind, hoping that she wouldn’t repeat what Soojin had done—

 

“The rumors are right… you really have such way with words.” Natatawang sabi niya habang nawala na nag pagkatulala niya at hindi ko na rin siya hinihila ng masyado para maglakad padiretso, at napangiti naman ako nang makita kong kahit papaano ay nawala na yung pagkakaganoon niya.

 

Soon enough ay nakabalik na kami sa grupo bago pa man tuluyang dumilim, at kita ko naman ang pagkagulat nila Moonbyul dahil bumalik si Sinb na nakangiti, different from the demeanor she had this morning.

 

“You did something, didn’t you?” tanong ni Jennie na nilapitan ako habang inaaliw ng jowa niyang si Lisa sila Sinb, my so curious bestfriend smiling as she stared at me, waiting for my answer habang nakatingin ako sa kamay kong ipinangharang ko sa kutsilyo kanina, finding a small scar upon the palm; as if it’s a reminder of the things that I chose to do this day.

 

“Oh, please, the only thing I did is get my hand stabbed.” Natatawa kong sabi, a smile settling upon my face.

 

There is, hope after all.

 

Kaya natin to.

 

No one needs to die.

 

Hindi na tayo mababawasan.

 

 

Point of View: Solar Kim.

 

“Akalain mo iyon, si Irene lang pala makakapagpatahan dun.” Natatawang sabi ni Moonbyul habang magkayakap kaming dalawa ngayong gabi, medyo malayo sa iba na malamang ay tulog na din ngayon, pero ako… hindi ako makatulog.

 

How can I, when everything had been ruined like this?

 

We were supposed to go to Jeju, for ’s sake, as vacation since lagi nalang kaming nagtatrabaho and super busy, and it just happens that disaster struck when we were at the airport.

 

We were already on the plane when we were asked to leave, to exit the plane since biglang dumilim daw ang paligid at hindi na daw safe lumipad, and so we just went home, barely finding our way through the terrible darkness na parang nawala na ang araw, and silence followed, until shouts suddenly broke through the night.

 

Takot na takot ako at the time because I heard from the others in our neighborhood that we lived in that people were suddenly dropping dead and turning into ashes randomly at parang walang pinipili, and I was scared for my life but I was even more scared when I think about Moonbyul, the love of my life, getting her life taken so suddenly while she was with me—hindi ko ata kakayanin.

 

But that weird and mysterious shadow never came for us. Even though I could only sleep at limited hours at a time so I could watch whether the shadow would come for us, walang dumating. Hindi ko alam kung bakit, pero nagpasalamat ako sa nakakataas na hindi kami kinuha or hindi kinuha ang kahit isa sa amin, na hindi kami nagalusan or kahit ano pa man—but what the hell is this?

 

Akala ko tapos na.

 

Akala ko na nung natira kaming sampu kasama ang mga babaeng kilala ko at nakikita ko na dati, I thought that it would end, that we ten would have to live through the burden of being the ones who had survived the end of those horrifying events that had happened, pero bakit ganito?

 

I once knew Soojin Seo as Moonbyul’s colleague, since pareho silang sumasayaw dati before she and that Sinb Hwang broke up and that Soojin moved jobs, but it haunts me how she had thrown away her life so easily.

 

It haunts me, since this is real.

 

Not a dream.

 

Not anything else.

 

At natatakot uli ako.

 

What if I’m next?

 

What if Moonbyul’s next?

 

What if we lose our lives tomorrow? Or the day after that?

 

Hindi ko ata kakayanin.

 

How can I, when I had lived my life loving this woman and half of it was in secret?

 

Because she was in love with another woman.

 

Because she was in love with Irene Bae, who had broken her heart so effortlessly, pero hanggang ngayon ay nagtataka pa rin ako kung paanong napatawad ni Moonbyul ang babaeng iyon ng sobrang dali, and closed that chapter so effortlessly as I came into her life—how can she do that?

 

How can she forgive so easily, and forget when she had loved that Irene for a significant amount of time?

 

How can she love me so easily like I am her first?

 

Like I am the first girl that she had loved all of her life?

 

“Yong?” she utters, her tone sleepier than earlier, at agad ko siyang niyakap ng mahigpit, abandoning any thoughts na pwedeng makapagpagulo sa akin ngayong gabi—now, all my focus is on her.

 

“I love you.” I say, like it’s my last.

 

“Bakit naman parang mamamaalam ka?” natatawang sabi ng babaeng kayakap ko ngayon, at ramdam ko ang kakaunting kaba na nasa tono niya, pushed away by her cheerfulness that I don’t know where it’s coming from.

 

“Because it might be my last, who knows?” sagot ko, at agad naman siyang kumalas sa pagkakayakap sa akin, her eyes widened habang nakatitig sa akin na parang nasiraan na ako ng bait, like what I said was very crazy.

 

“Totoo naman, ‘di ba? Pwedeng ako na ang sumunod bukas, Moonbyul, and we both know that one of us might not survive.” Sagot ko habang umupo muna ako at tinitigan siyang nakahiga pa rin pero hindi matanggal ang tingin sa akin, na parang kapag umiwas siya ng tingin ay mawawala ako sa harapan niyang bigla.

 

“Pero hindi ibig sabihin ‘non na pwede ka nang gumanyan. That is still not sure, at hindi pa natin alam ang mga mangyayari, so pwede bang wag ka munang mag-isip ng mga bagay na ganyan—”

 

“Mahal na mahal kita, Moonbyul. I’ve loved you for a very long time, even when you were still in love with Irene, and I won’t hesitate even a second to trade my life for you.” Sagot ko, gritting my teeth as she rushed and hugged me so suddenly, like her life depended on it.

 

“No. Don’t do that, Yong, please. Nagmamakaawa ako, wag na wag mong gagawin iyan.” She says, close to tears, and I hug her back, afraid that she’s going to shatter with the smallest touch, like I’m slowly destroying her by the things that I’m saying.

 

“Mabubuhay tayong dalawa dito, Yong. Gagawin ko lahat.” She says, a smile upon her lips, that familiar twinkle of determination upon her eyes na parang kayang gawin ang lahat, and I find myself smiling as well.

 

Mahal na mahal kita, Byul.

 

Kahit na ano gagawin ko para sa’yo, please know that.

 

Whatever it takes.

 

I’ll do anything to keep you alive.

 

 

Point of View – Jennie Kim.

 

“Asungot.” Sagot ko habang nakatabi ako ngayon kay Lisa, her hand holding mine beneath the sheets that we found to ward off the cold—at masasapak ko na talaga siya dahil kanina pa siya tawa ng tawa na parang tanga dahil gusto ko daw makipagholding hands at takot daw ako sa dilim.

 

“Lisa, kapag hindi ka talaga tumigil kay Irene nalang ako tatabi tonight.” Natatawa kong sabi habang napansin kong tumigil naman na siya at nagpasya na lamang na lumapit pa lalo sa akin at yakapin ako ng mahigpit, her hand still holding mine, and somehow I don’t mind, as long as it’s her.

 

Hindi naman kasi talaga ako clingy na tao, and Lisa knows that, but she effortlessly breaks through my barriers and had always been so naturally clingy to me like she had done this before, like we had already done this a lot of times when our relationship was just starting before all this began.

 

Ang tagal ko din naman kasing hindi nakipagdate after that Seulgi Kang, I guess.

 

Bukod sa naging busy ako sa modelling ko na tanging nakapagpabuhay sa akin, I also had to avoid getting into rumors for my own career—so that was why I had to break up with Seulgi when we briefly dated, but no hard feelings, and I didn’t dare date anyone until Seulgi asked me to team up with Lalisa Manoban, a starting model na I had always treated to be my rival.

 

Bottomline is, we clicked so suddenly, and it happened so fast—the next thing I knew, we were already dating secretly, and we were so contented to take things as it is until disaster struck, and here we are now.

 

In each other’s arms, not even minding anything but the horrors of the next day—or that one of us could be the next to die tomorrow.

 

“Scared?” mahinang bulong niya sa akin habang mahigpit ang yakap niya, and I nod in reply, tracing some unknown lines upon the arm that is resting on top of my stomach—I feel her shiver upon my touch, but still let it happen.

 

“Of course. Sino bang hindi natatakot mamatay?” natatawa kong sabi na medyo pabiro habang nakatingin lang siya sa akin, a smile settling upon her lips slowly, and I’ve noticed that she does this whenever I’m talking about something—looking so lovingly, like she’s so in love with me, like I’m the only one in her mind at the moment.

 

“Do you know what I do when I feel scared?” tanong ni Lisa habang tumingin lang ako sa kanya at naghintay ng sagot, and she smiles as she moves closer towards me, placing a kiss upon my lips, then pulling me down to lay down with her, and I hug her tight as I smile against her neck.

 

“I think of you… kasi you make me feel so brave.” Nakangiti niyang sabi habang nakayakap na din siya sa akin, and I could feel her laughing against my embrace, making me smile wider than ever.

 

How can you effortlessly make me feel this way, Lisa?

 

Mahal na mahal na ata kita.

 

“I love you.” I whisper, like I don’t want anyone to know, like it’s a habit that I can’t remove upon myself, but she doesn’t even care about that—I could see her smile so wide, clearly overjoyed upon the words that I said, feeling so giddy that she immediately puts a kiss upon my forehead endearingly.

 

“I love you too, my Jennie.” Nakangiti niyang sabi habang nakayakap siya ng mahigpit sa akin, and in a surge of bravery I lean forward and kiss her gently—but she doesn’t let me pull away just yet.

 

“When this all ends, I’ll marry you. I swear.” Nakangiting sabi niya, and I nod at that, making her smile wider than ever.

 

“Let’s sleep, yeah? We need it.” She says, and I move impossibly closer towards her, burying my face upon her neck, planting kisses here and there until I slowly drifted into the kingdom of sleep, content in her arms.

 

I love you, my Lisa.

 

Even if I’m scared, I love you.

 

Even if everything is against our odds, I love you.

 

[And then there were nine – end of rest.]