CHAPTER 58: The Men in Cloaks
EVANGELYN FORBES
I woke up gasping for air. Nang magmulat ako, wala nang ulan na bumabagsak sa mukha ko. The rain stopped, I realized. Napataas ako ng tingin sa langit. Medyo maaliwalas na iyon. Parang mga bolte ng kuryente ang gumapang pataas sa paa ko nang bumalik ang sakit mula roon. Nakaipit pa rin ang paa ko sa ilalim ng nabagsak na puno. Fuck, I muttered to myself. Patuloy pa rin ang dugong lumalabas mula roon. Impit akong napaiyak sa sakit. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Nagpalinga-linga ako sa paligid ko. Where the fuck are they? They should be looking for me, sabi ko sa sarili ko.
"Help—" I was about to shout when I heard something strange. It was the sound of an engine. Saka ko naramdaman ang tuloy-tuloy na paghampas ng hangin sa mukha ko. Gumewang ang mga puno na nasa paligid ko. The rush of air was coming from above me. When I looked up, there was a blinding light coming from it. Kinailangan kong takpan ang mata ko gamit ang aking kamay. It was a flying hovercraft. Ano ang ginagawa nito rito? I wanted to ask aloud but thought better of it.
And the fucking hovercraft was above me—directly above my spot. May nakikini-kinita akong maliliit na bintana. It was like a huge disk in the sky. Kulay puti iyon.
Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang may bumagsak mula roon ang isang bagay. Natagpuan ko na lang ang sarili kong nakakulong sa isang malaki at makapal na net. I tried removing it from my body but I couldn't. Tila ba may sariling buhay ang lambat at tumiklop iyon sa ilalim ko. It's as if it was swallowing my body. Hindi ako makagalaw sa puwesto ko. And then there was another hovercraft. It landed a few yards away from me. There was a hissing sound when one of its doors opened. The thing was massive, I realized. It loomed over the tall trees around it.
I had never seen anything like it in my whole life. And I realized that I was trapped. That I couldn't move or run. Shit.
Sinubukan ko muling ialis sa akin ang net pero parang pasikip lang iyon nang pasikip.
Halos malaglag ang bagang ko nang makita ang mga pamilyar na pigura na lumabas mula sa pinto ng hovercraft—the men in read cloaks.
"HELP!" I cried out. "HELP, SOMEBODY!" mas nilakasan ko pa iyon.
An army of men in dark cloaks started walking towards my direction. Their familiar cat-like mask sent chills down my spine.
"AAH!" I screamed. "'WAG KAYONG LALAPIT SA 'KIN! DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!"
But they weren't listening. What was I expecting?