NOAH'S POV
Someone is shaking me aggressively but I can't open my eyes because they are so heavy and at the same time, my head is throbbing. I have no memory in my head so I assume that I'm sleeping on my bed since someone is trying to wake me up.
The shaking continues so I force myself to take a glance at the person in front of me.
"Clay, look, I'm sleeping—" natigil ako nang magtagpo ang mga mukha namin ng taong gumising sa akin.
It's not Clay.
My eyes widen as I tried to step away from the man who's grabbing my shoulders because I'm shocked and terrified at the same time, but my body is strapped on a chair and so are my arms. The guy is wearing an eerie mask of a rabbit and I also don't like his smell. Masangsang ito sa ilong at tila puno ng kemikal ang sinusuot niyang damit. Nang yumuko naman ako upang tingnan ang aking mga paa ay biglang natusok ang aking baba ng isang matalim na bagay kaya mabilis kong itinaas muli ang aking ulo upang matanggal ang hapdi ng pagkakatarak nito.
"What's this?!" I ask the guy in shriek with a tremendous tone. Gustuhin ko mang hawakan ang aking leeg upang tingnan kung anong bagay ang mahigpit na nakatali rito na tumutusok sa akin ay hindi ko magawa. My entire body is strapped and the only parts that I can move are my fingers.
I'm also terrified with the thought of being the chosen chess piece.
I mean, all of my friends are still alive, but I witnessed how much they've suffered and I don't want to experience the same pain that they did.
And what if I didn't survive? What if I will be the first person to die?
I am inside the torture room. And the percentage of dying here is higher than the percentage of surviving.
The guy in the rabbit mask chuckles but he's so manly and even his laugh is authoritative. I shiver but I didn't show it.
"Heretic's Fork," he answers then someone cackles at my back. Another person is here, too. He walks and I can hear his footsteps behind me. I can only see the half of their masks including the ears of the rabbit because I can't lower my head due to this metal thing that's poking my flesh.
When he finally reached the other guy in front of me, nag-akbayan sila bago muling nagsalita ang isa sa kanila.
"Kapag binaba mo ang ulo mo 'toy, matatarak sa ibaba ng baba at sa dibdib mo 'yang tinidor na nakatali sa 'yo. Tapos, boom! Patay!" he mocks while demonstrating how I will die if I lower my head then he laughs at nag-apiran na naman sila ng kasama niya.
"So how is this gonna work?" I ask with a stern tone even if my soul is trembling to what I just heard. I know that time will come at mangangawit ang aking leeg kaya bago pa man mangyari iyon ay kailangang matapos na ang kahibangang 'to. Besides, the only thing that I need to do in order to survive is to stay put while raising my head, right? My past two friends experienced even worse than this.
"Maghintay muna tayo ng instructions ni Boss," usal ng isa saka ito tumingin sa itaas.
Then after a few seconds, I heard the familiar speaker rumbles. The sound that I usually hear in the Casa whenever the gamemaker is going to say something. I can't see where the sound is coming from since I can't freely move my head and I'm stuck staring at the ceiling.
"Hi there, Noah," a familiar voice appears from the nearby speaker. The gamemaker, of course.
I didn't answer because I can feel my throat trembling in fear. I have no idea how worst this people can be just to satisfy their psychopathic pleasure, or according to them, to punish sinners like us.
"Oh, won't you greet me, too?" tanong niya gamit ang tonong nagdaramdam.
Again, I didn't answer.
I don't want to piss him off, but I can't answer him with this voice. If he knows that I'm afraid, who could tell what he will do about it? If he uses my weakness as his strength against me, then the battle is over.
And I won't let that happen.
We're going to find a way how to get out of this place. Together with my colleagues.
"That's so rude," he spits childishly then he chuckles again. His cackle is annoying and terrifying at the same time.
"So this is how your game works," panimula niya dahilan para mas lalong kumabog ang dibdib ko sa kaba. "You just have to stay put and don't let your head go down because if you do, blood will drip from your neck and it can kill you. We don't want you to die," he adds with an informative and sympathetic tone. How fake.
Hindi ko mapigilang mapangiti dahil sa kaniyang sinabi. I know that this will be hard for me, but knowing that they are capable of doing the worst things to punish someone, this one may be the easiest.
The voice of the gamemaker falters me. "Too early to be happy, my love," he utters before chuckling. "But I like your spirit."
Unti-unting nawala ang ngiti sa aking labi dahil sa inusal niya. Too early? Isn't that all?
"However, that's not how simple the rules are."
Oh, shit.
"You have to find your colleague Ylise while the Heretic's fork is strapped on your neck," saad niya dahilan para magpantig ang aking tenga. His words echoed through my ears.
"What?!" I finally jerk in disbelief on what I just heard.
Ylise is here, too? But why-
"You're probably wondering how come the two of you are the chosen chess pieces. But writing only one person's name in the death note all the time would be boring, wouldn't it?" he explains then he chuckles. Narinig ko rin ang pagtawa ng dalawang lalaking nasa aking harapan.
Mas lalong lumakas ang kabog ng aking dibdib dahil sa sinabi ng gamemaker. Ylise is also here and I have to find her. And finding her would probably be as hard as counting the stars in the sky with thousands of clouds as a hindrance.
"Then?!" nanggigigil na tanong ko. My tremor is hidden by my rage at them.
He chuckles first before proceeding to his explanation. "We'll only give you fifteen minutes to find her by choosing among the three doors in front of you— oh, too bad you can't see it right now." bumunghalit ng tawa ang dalawang putang ina dahil sa sinabi ng boss nila.
"In order to find her, you have to pick the right room and you have to open it."
"And how can I fucking open it?!" gigil na tanong ko.
"By using a key of course. And the key, will be coming out of your body."
"What?!"
His tremendous laugh continues. "You heard it right. There are list of questions about photography at the front of each door- which is your strength, and you have to answer them. After that, gather all the first letters of each answers and arrange them to form a particular part of your body. And whatever part comes out as the answer, you have to slice your flesh so you can get the key inside of that part by using the knife on the table that is located in front of the doors. Yes, the key is inside your body and how did we put it without leaving any trace? That's a secret," saad niya saka siya muling natawa na sinundan ng mga alagad niya.
"Fuck you."
"Fuck me? Thanks. But that's not just all. There are more, so you will fuck me deeper and harder, Noah." his annoying cackle continues.
"Ylise, will be inside on one of those three rooms. And if you pick the wrong room, you have no choice but to choose another one. And you know what that means? Another slice of your flesh."
"Why don't you just kill me directly?"
"That would be boring," he answers with a chuckle.
"Also, Noah-"
"There's more?!" I shout in rage and I can't prevent myself from moving my head vigorously dahilan para tumarak nang bahagya sa aking baba ang maliit na parte ng makapal na tinidor.
I wince in pain and I have no choice but to stay my head up in the ceiling. I can feel some blood dripping around my neck onto my chest.
"Oh, you better be careful." he chuckles. "As an addition to what I'm saying, Ylise is inside of a cage with a mask that has a voice detector. As she screams for help, the voice detector will trigger the bomb at the back of your head. Yes, there's also a bomb. And you know what will happen if the bomb reached its limit. Your brain will shatter in pieces. We'll give you fifteen minutes to finish your mission and if you ran out of time, then the game is over."
Nagsitaasan ang bawat balahibo sa aking katawan dahil sa binanggit ng gamemaker. But as much as possible, I need to stay calm, even if death might be waving at me in just a few minutes.
It will be okay, Noah. You just have to instruct Ylise to keep calm and not shout as much as she can-
I was stopped by the gamemaker's voice. "Noah, I want to inform you that the cage where Ylise is being imprisoned... is full of leeches. And if she dies because of losing too much blood from her body, the voice detector will automatically make the bomb explode. In other words, if she dies, you'll die, too. Once you open the right room where Ylise is imprisoned at, then you'll win this game. But if you don't... bang!" he adds at tila pinagbagsakan ako ng langit at lupa dahil sa kaniyang binanggit.
So there's no way that this game is easy. It's actually the worst so far.
I can't hide my tears anymore. There are no words that can explain how terrified I am right now. Hinayaan ko na lang na tumulo ang aking mga luha at humalo ito sa dugo na dumadaloy sa aking leeg.
"And what's the percentage of surviving?" I ask while staring blankly at nowhere. I'm hopeless.
"Twelve percent," the gamemaker says with a chuckle at tuluyan nang gumuho ang aking mundo.
At least they gave me chance to live right?
No. That's rubbish.
Napahagulgol ako at hindi ko man lang magawang itago ang aking mga pagtangis dahil hindi ko maaaring ibaba ang aking ulo. I have no choice but to let them see me at my weakest state.
"Good luck Noah. And may God forgive all your sins," the gamemaker mumbles at tuluyan nang nawala ang boses.
It's ironic how he asked for my forgiveness even if he's killing people. He should repent for his own sins and stop caring for others'.
Lumapit sa akin ang dalawang lalaki at marahas nila akong kinalagan. "Galingan mo bata," saad ng isa nang tuluyan na nilang matanggal ang lahat ng nakagapos sa aking katawan. I feel physically relieved at parang medyo lumuwang ang aking paghinga ngunit muli na namang sumisikip ang aking dibdib nang maalala ko kung gaano kaliit ang tsansa kong mabuhay.
Naglakad palayo sa akin ang dalawang lalaki at saka pumwesto ng magkabilaan sa tapat ng pulang timer.
Nang makatayo ako ay tumambad sa akin ang tatlong pintuan na may mga numerong 1, 2 at 3 na isinulat gamit ang pulang pintura na tila dugong tumutulo. I shiver when the timer starts ticking from 15 minutes.
Nagmamadali ngunit maingat akong naglakad papunta sa harap ng mga pintuan. That's when I realized that they can watch us from the Casa, which means my colleagues can somehow help us to escape and lengthen our chance of surviving.
"Guys?" I ask at narinig ko ang pag-echo ng aking sariling boses sa torture room. Nakapangingilabot ang itsura ng lugar at ang amoy dito.
"Guys?" I repeat but I didn't get any answer from anybody.
Silence surrounds me.
My brows furrow.
Why aren't they responding?
Why is no one at least crying?
Why can't I hear their voice?
I guess we were wrong all along. Maybe the chosen chess piece can't hear anything from the Casa.
I sigh in frustration. I take a glance at the timer. 14 minutes and 28 seconds.
I wasted half of my minute already. I only have fifteen before it turns me into a cold corpse so I better do everything that I could.
What door will I choose? There are only three rooms here but I shouldn't pick the wrong one. My flesh is at stake and so is my life.
I should choose the right room.
Think, Noah, think. Which room will I pick?
Room 2.
Right, I'm picking the room in the middle. Nang kukunin ko na ang isang itim papel na nakadikit sa pintuan ay bigla kong narinig ang sigaw ni Ylise.
I swear, my blood drips down into my feet because of her scream. Napatigil din ako sa paglalakad at tila nanigas ako sa aking kinatatayuan. "Stop screaming, Ylise!" I shout but she seems not to hear me because she kept on shrieking out of her lungs. Nanatili pa ring nakataas ang aking ulo at nakaramdam ako nang kaunting kirot sa aking batok.
"Help! Please let me go!" muli niyang sigaw at parang nanlambot ang aking mga tuhod dahil doon. Muntik na akong bumagsak ngunit mabilis akong nakahawak sa doorknob ng pintuan na nakakandado. Because of the impact, mas lumalim ang pagkakatarak ng matalim na metal sa aking baba at dibdib.
I want to puke. I feel like anytime, my brain will splatter in the whole torture room as soon as the bomb explodes at the back of my head. Dagdag pa sa aking kaba ang nakabibinging tunog ng timer na nagpapaalala sa akin na bilang na lang sa minuto ang tsansa ko para mabuhay.
"Ylise, stop! Please! Shut up!" I scream but Ylise is still wincing in pain. Dahil sa pagsigaw ko ay tumama ang aking baba sa tinidor at muli na naman itong tumarak sa aking laman.
"Fuck!" I have no choice but to open the room immediately in order to shush Ylise's mouth.
I abruptly grab the paper and read the questions on it. It also includes a ballpen that I can use in writing my answer so that I won't be able to forget them.
This will be easy for me since photography is my thing. Thank God that I studied everything about it.
I came up with six answers and I gathered their first letters.
Offprint - O
Reprint - R
Ectype - E
Carbon Copy - C
Nature - N
Accessories - A
'O R E C N A'
Cornea?
I wander for a few seconds on which part of the body where the cornea is located at and when I realized where it is, my knees finally collapsed to the floor.
It's located in the eyes.
So I need to cut one of my eyes.
No way. There's no way I'm gonna be cutting my own eye.
And also, which eye?
Moreover, it seems so impossible that there's a key inside in one of my eyes and I can't even feel it. They might be tricking me.
But they might not be.
Ibinagsak ko sa sahig ang pinagsulatan kong papel at nagtungo ako sa huling pintuan.
I can't take this bullshit.
I look at the timer first. My jaw almost drop when I saw how many minutes I've already wasted just to get a rubbish answer but I prevent it from dropping because there's a fork that will stab me if I do.
8 minutes and 12 seconds.
I desperately pick up the paper in front of the room three and I shakily read the questions. Mariin kong ipinikit ang aking mga mata nang manlabo ang aking paningin dahil unti-unti nang nangangawit ang aking leeg at sumasakit na rin ang aking ulo. Naghalo rin ang pawis at luha ko na nang dumampi sa aking sugat ay naging dahilan upang makaramdam ako ng hapdi.
I need to be alive. For Ysabell.
Because I bet she needs Ylise.
They're in a relationship after all, anyway.
And I want Ysabell to be happy no matter what it takes. Even if this means cheating on me. I need to be alive because if I survived, it means Ylise will be, too.
If happy is her, then it's her.
I hear the screams of Ylise again. Right, I'm doing all of this for Ysabell.
After a few minutes of brainstorming, I came up with three letters.
'G L E'
Leg.
But which fucking leg?
I glance at the timer again.
4 minutes and 56 seconds.
Shit. I'm running out of time.
I immediately grab the glowing knife in the table in front of the rooms at pikit-mata ko itong itinarak sa aking kaliwang binti.
"Ahhh!" sigaw ko nang maramdaman ko ang pagpasok ng matalim na kutsilyo sa aking laman. Napaupo ako at muli na namang tumarak ang tinidor sa aking baba at bumabaon ang dulo nito sa aking dibdib, but I restrain myself from screaming because I know that it will only make the fork dig deeper down my flesh.
Oh, Lord, please help me.
Mabilis kong hinila ang kutsilyo sa aking binti at walang anu-ano'y pumulandit ang aking dugo mula rito patungo sa aking mukha.
I can't cry because of too much pain. Nanginginig na rin ang aking kanang kamay dahil sa pagod na aking nararamdaman.
"I c-can do this," I tell myself before taking a deep breath. Marahan kong iginaya papasok ang aking dalawang daliri sa aking bukas na binti upang magkabakasaling may susi sa loob nito.
I use my other hand to clamp my mouth and prevent myself from screaming loudly.
My head feels dizzier whenever my fingers move inside of my own leg. The scream of Ylise increase my panic and the timer is continuously ticking.
After a few times of scanning my own flesh, I see no keys.
All right, it might be in the other leg.
Napahagulgol ako nang mapagtantong maling binti ang sinugatan ko. "No..." I mumble and those squeak came out of my mouth. Narinig ko ang paglipad ng kutsilyo papalayo mula sa aking mga kamay.
The timer says 2 minutes and 48 seconds.
I can't do it anymore. My body is starting to collapse and it's surrendering to his own death.
When I already accepted my fate, the picture of Ysabell appears in my head. Unti-unting tumulo ang aking mga luha habang inaalala ang mga pinagdaanan namin. I also promised that I will protect her. That she will be safe.
Then, I saw Ylise.
She's holding the hands of Ysabell.
And I can see the glee in Ysabell's eyes. She loves me, but I noticed that her eyes are happier with Ylise.
And she will be devastated if Ylise dies because of me.
Kahit hindi na ako makatayo ay pinilit ko pa ring gumapang upang kunin ang kutsilyo sa 'di kalayuan. I glance at the pawns and one of them surprisingly walks toward me at inabot nito sa akin ang kutsilyo.
I mutter the word "thanks" in a weak tone but he didn't reply. He strides again towards his position.
Garalgal ang tunog ng aking buntong hininga dahil na rin sa tindi ng aking pagod. Nagsisimula nang manuyo ang aking lalamunan.
My body already accepted its fate but my heart has still a bit of hope. And I need to use my remaining percentage of surviving and donate it to Ylise.
I know how much she matters to Ysabell, so I'm willing to do everything that I could so that she can live, even if it costs my life.
I stare blankly at the shining knife that's positioned above my right knee. Tumulo ang dugo mula rito patungo sa aking kanang binti. It's like giving me a mark on which part of the leg I'm going to stab.
Ysabell's face appears in my head kaya pikit-mata kong itinarak muli ang matalim na kutsilyo sa aking kabilang binti. Ramdam ko ang pagpasok nito sa aking sariling laman at ang marahang pagsaudsod nito sa aking buto.
I scream out of pain, but it's a weak one because I'm starting to get dizzy and my other hand is keeping my mouth shut to prevent the Heretic's fork from stabbing my chest and my chin.
I remove the knife from my leg and blood starts splattering to my entire body. "Oh, god!"
I abruptly enter my fingers to my open right knee as if I'm a surgeon. I bite my lower lip as my fingers stride to my own flesh because my hand can't hold my mouth anymore.
Ipinasada ko ang aking daliri sa itaas na bahagi ng hiwa at nang mapagtantong wala rito ang susi ay iginaya ko ito pababa. Then after a few seconds, I finally found the key that they put inside my flesh.
I didn't waste any second. I immediately crawl towards the room three.
Ipinagpag ko muna ang susi dahil may sumama pang laman mula sa aking binti. I use my remaining energy to enter the key and open the door since I only have a minute and a few seconds left to live.
When the door finally opens ay napahinga ako nang malalim at tuluyan na akong napayuko.
Not because I won, but because there is no Ylise inside the room three.
"Ylise?! Ylise, get out!" desperadong sigaw ko at hinayaan kong tumarak ang natitirang bahagi ng Heretic's fork sa aking laman.
Tuluyan akong namanhid dahil sa aking nakita.
So I wasted my given time and my minutest percentage of living just to open an empty room?!
I want to curse them for being so heartless, but a voice inside my head keeps on blaming me that it was all my fault. That the blame should be put on me because I was the one who chose the wrong room. Not them.
Maybe I'm starting to hallucinate. I'm starting to die and I'm ready to accept it mentally.
"I-I'm s-sorry, Ysab-bell," I apologize at inihilamos ko sa aking mukha ang dalawa kong nanginginig at madugong kamay at ang isa'y may hawak pa ring kutsilyo.
"I'-I'm sorry t-that I c-can't save h-her." tuluyan na akong napahagulgol na parang isang batang sabik sa magulang. I can't stand the fact that three people will die today.
The two will die physically, and the latter will perish emotionally.
"I-I s-still love y-you e-even if y-you c-cheated." nilunok ko ang natitirang laway sa aking lalamunan upang ibsan ang aking pagkauhaw. It's funny how come that I still stutter even if I'm just thinking about her. I am always like this when it comes to her. I always feel like I'm running out of breath.
We even discussed why I talk like that whenever I'm talking to her but we both don't know the reason why.
And I guess we won't be able to unveil the mystery of my stuttering mouth anymore.
I laugh at my own joke and the memories starts playing through my head.
They are all about her.
About Ysabell.
From the day that the we met, to our first date, and on how we became officially in a relationship. I smile as the last piece of tear came out of my eyes until I'm totally drained.
I don't want it to end like this. But what can I do? I'm at my limits and I only have 56 seconds to live.
I close my eyes and I hear a solemn music playing, the one that was usually being played during an internment.
I force a smile because I want Ysabell to see me die in peace. I want her to feel relieved and never blame herself from what is about to happen to me, because that's how crackhead she is.
She always blame herself to the things that she doesn't have control with.
I want her to take my smile as a message that everything is okay about us. Even if things are not yet settled.
Ysabell's face keeps appearing in my head. Even in my last breath, her gorgeousness still stays.
And I don't want her to be devastated.
I open my eyes.
There's no way I'm gonna die here.
I check the timer, 48 seconds left and the bomb inside the back of my head will automatically explode if I didn't open the right door on time.
Natagpuan ko ang aking kamay na hawak ang kutsilyong ginamit ko kanina at ito'y nakatapat sa aking kaliwang mata.
If I'm gonna die in the end, I must make these corneas useful.
Matapang na itinarak ko sa aking kaliwang mata ang kutsilyo at pumulandit ang dugo mula rito. Ramdam ko ang pagbaon nito sa aking laman. The injured eye can't see anything except for blood that comes out of it.
I wince in pain, but I smile because this is all for Ysabell.
God, I'm so in love with that woman to the point that I'm willing to be blind just to at least hear her laugh again.
Because I bet my eyes won't work anymore at that time.
Nakangiti ngunit namimilipit kong kinalkal ang aking sariling mata. Ramdam ko ang pagkapunit ng mga ugat mula rito ngunit hindi ako nagpatinag.
Maybe I would die, but not Ylise.
Her screams informs me that she's still alive.
Luckily, I found the key at the back of my eyeball.
Finally, I chose the right eye.
Marahas kong hinila ang kutsilyo palayo sa mukha ko at nakita kong lumipad sa aking paanan ang aking kaliwang mata.
I smile while staring at the bloody key at hindi na ako nagsayang pa ng oras at mabilis na gumapang ako palapit sa ikalawang kuwarto. The Heretic's fork keeps on stabbing my flesh but I don't care anymore about anything except for Ysabell's happiness.
Which I guess is Ylise's life.
Tiningnan ko muna ang timer sa aking likuran at kinailangan ko pang liitan ang aking kanang mata para lang maaninag kung gaano na lang kaunti ang nalalabi kong mga segundo.
Eight seconds.
Natatarantang ipinasok ko ang susi sa doorknob at marahas kong pinihit ang pintuan.
Ylise is here.
She's in a cage that's full of leeches and her body is bloody.
Hindi ko mapigilan ang aking ngiti kahit pa puno ako ng sugat sa aking katawan at nawalan din ako ng isang mata.
I won.
I fucking won!
When she saw me, her eyes widen. "Noah-"
"Shhh!" I shush my mouth using my bloody fingers then I motion my hand at the back of my head. I take deep breath and I use all of my remaining energy to explain things to her. "Stop. B-bomb. Here." pagtuturo ko sa likod ng aking ulo at tuluyan na akong napahandusay sa sahig kasabay ng pagbaon ng matalim na metal sa aking baba.
Before I close my eyes, I noticed the only girl in my memory.
Ysabell's face smiles at me before I see nothing but black.