Aeon's POV
Mag a alas dos na ng madaling araw at eto ako sa may gubat pabalik na ng university, dito ako naglakad sa kung saan ako dumaan kaninang lumabas ako. I have to be careful and discrete, I can't be careless, dapat walang makakita sa akin, kaya nagpalinga linga ako sa paligid kung may tao ba dito sa gubat at ng masiguro kong wala, tumalon ako sa kinatatayuan ko mula sa mataas na pader that serves as a shield from the outside world. Napalingon ulit ako sa paligid at nang wala akong makitang tao tumalon na ako pababa. Bago ako maglakad patungong pad sinuguro ko muna kung walang estudyante o mga guards na nagkalat sa compound, kahit na madaling araw palang, I can't still risk it, dahil malay ko lang kung may mga officers o mga guards na naglilibot ng ganitong oras. Nagsimula akong maglakad patungo sa pad pero kailangang maingat parin ako kaya sa may mga puno sa gilid ng pad ako naglakad. Nang malapit na ako sa pad namilog ang mata ko ng makita kung sino ang papasok rin dito at mas lalong lumaki ang mata ko ng bigla siyang huminto sa pagpasok, lumingon siya at napatingin sakin. Nakita kong kumunot ang noo niya habang nakatingin sakin, pagkatapos ng ilang segundo, ako naman ang kumunot ang noo ng bigla niya akong nginitian. Hindi ko alam kung anong klase ng ngiti iyon dahil hindi ko nakikita sa mga mata niya na seryoso siya, nauna siyang nag iwas ng tingin saka siya pumasok sa building. Mas lalong lumalim ang gatla sa noo ko ng mapatingin ako sa lalaking nakasunod sakanya. Hindi ko siya kilala.
"Sino yung kasama ni Ire?" tanong ko nalang sa sarili ko. Ng wala naman akong makuhang sagot sa utak ko, naglakad ako sa kung saan ako bumaba kanina ng tumalon ako mula sa pad, hindi ako pwedeng maglakad sa main hall dahil baka may makakita sakin. Tumalon ako mula sa ibaba patungo sa itaas at ng akmang bubuksan ko na sana ang pinto sa may balkonahe papasok sa kwarto, nakita ko si Dark na nakahilig ang katawan sa may hamba ng pintuan.
"San ka galing?" she asks seriously while crossing her arms. Nag iwas ako ng tingin para hindi niya makita ang gulat sa mga mata ko.
"Diyan lang" simple kong sagot saka ako naglakad papasok ng kwarto.
"Alam mo bang mapanganib yang ginagawa mo?" tanong niya saka siya humarap sakin. Nagkunot noo nalang ako, acting as if I don't know what she's saying.
"Akala mo ba hindi ko alam?" nag aalalang tanong niya.
"You're always sneaking out in the middle of the night" dagdag niya.
"Nagpahangin lang ako" walang pakialam kong sagot habang tinatanggal ang leather jacket ko tsaka ako nahiga sa kama.
"Matulog ka na, may klase pa tayo bukas" sabi ko sakanya tsaka ako nagkumot, nakita ko siyang umiling saka siya nahiga sa kama.
*
Maaga lang din akong nagising kinaumagahan, ilang oras lang din akong natulog and now I'm a f*cking zombie walking.
"Ayan kasi, tignan mo ang nangyari sayo, eh di bangag ka" natatawang sabi ni Dark saka kami lumabas ng pad at naglakad palabas patungong classroom.
Wala namang nangyaring hindi kaaya aya sa araw nato maliban nalang sa halos lahat ata ng professor namin ay pinagalitan ako dahil natutulog ako sa klase. Anong magagawa ko? Eh sa inaantok ako tsaka wala rin namang patutunguhan pag nakinig ako kasi nakakaantok lang din namang makinig. Ang pinagtataka ko lang, hindi ko nakita ang grupo nila Ire buong araw and the guy who's with him last night keeps on bothering my mind. Hindi ko pa nakikita ang lalaking yon o baka naman tauhan nila but that's not what's bothering me the most, it's the way he smiled and the way he looked at me last night, it's like there's something wrong with him. He seems like...not himself at hanggang ngayon na tapos na ang klase at nakahilata ako sa kama siya parin ang naiisip ko. Napamura akong nagmulat ng mata at bumangon ng mapagtanto ang iniisip.
"Why the hell am I thinking of him, anyway?" napailing iling nalang ako. I should hate him. No, hate is an understatement. I should loath him. Mabuti nalang at wala si Dark dito dahil kung hindi pagtatawanan nanaman niya ako kung nakikita niya akong kinakausap ang sarili ko. San pala nagpunta yun? Sabi niya kanina lalabas daw siya ng university and the moment she said that mas lalo akong nagdududa sa kung sino nga ba talaga siya. Only higher ranking officials and who has connections on the inside can leave the university kaya nga ako tumatakas pag gabi eh, dahil wala akong hawak ni isa. So it's either she's on the ranking officials or she has a connection inside but that doesn't matter, what matter's is I have to know her first bago ko pa siya pagkatiwalaan and by the word "know" that means to investigate. Kinuha ko ang phone ko sa bedside table tsaka ko tinext si T.
"Dark Angel Witham. I want to know every single detail about her" I texted him tsaka ko binalik ang phone ko sa mesa.
Naglakad ako patungong balcony ng kwarto at umupo sa upuang naroon na nakaharap sa field ng university. Napatingin ako sa lawak ng university. It looks peaceful on the outside but I know better. What lies behind this school is more than you can imagine.
"Empire High University" banggit ko sa pangalan ng eskwelahan.
Masyadong misteryoso ang eskwelahang ito at halos konting tao lang ang nakakaalam kung ano ang istorya ng unibersidad at isa ako sa konting taong iyon.
Empire High University is known for its mysteriousness and everyone is curious about this school that leads them here, what can I say curiosity kills, right? Because no one can get out of here alive unless you have one of the aces that I've mentioned earlier, but it takes more than your life to have one of those. You have to sell your soul if you want to be a part of those and when I say sell your soul it's not about selling yourself as if you're in a bidding event, of course, it takes more than that. Kailangan mo lang namang pumatay ng tatlong tao, whether it's a human or not. Actually, there's no difference between a human and a vampire in the real world dahil ayaw man nating aminin halang din ang mga kaluluwa ng mga tao. Well not all of them of course. May mga tao parin namang mabubuti ang loob pero nabibilang nalang and that brings me to the thought kung nasan si Dark sa dalawa, sa mabuti o sa masama? I wouldn't know hangga't hindi ko nalalaman.
Ang eskwelahang ito ay pagmamay ari ng pamilya nila Trasher at nakatayo ito sa isang malawak na isla na sa tingin ko ay sakanila rin. The origin of the vampire bloodline started with his forefathers long before any of our families are here. So no one really knows how this island became a vampire island. What we know is just one day we woke up and we're here. Dito ako pinanganak at sa tingin ko dito rin ako mamamatay.
My forefathers back in 1752 were not vampires, they were both humans, both my father and mother's side but those forefathers have a daughter, that daughter has a son, and so on until in 1873, the world of the vampires arise. My forefathers in 1873 were bitten and those forefathers of mine had a son until in 1915 there was a vampire couple, the wife bore 2 beautiful daughters. Yes, I am an abomination, an abomination because both of my parents are vampires but in the world we're living in abominations are allowed, they are gladly welcomed. Abominations are way stronger than those who are bitten or those who are half human half vampire at mas lalo rin kaming kinakatakutan. Abominations can't fight their urge when it comes to blood, they can't suppress their thirst, not like the normal vampires but we can last long even for a long time not drinking blood because what runs in our veins is pure vampire blood, we can even eat human food without vomiting it, we can eat their food like we are humans but normal vampires can't, their body can't stand it, funny how the world works, they were once humans but they can't eat the food they once love, ironic. We're also way faster and stronger, but we have a weakness that normal vampires do not have. Vervain. Yes, the vervain that you maybe saw in one of the vampire movies. We are averse to vervains, normal vampires are not because of the human blood that is still running in their veins, and wait, did I mention that we, abomination vampires can walk outside even in the broad daylight? Yes. We can walk even if the sun is out but normal vampires don't, and that is what makes us even cooler.
Vampires are not the only supernatural creature who lives on this island, we are not the only creatures who study at this university. Werewolves, wolf bournes, hybrids, witches, shapeshifters. There are so many creatures on this giant island. This island measures 3 big countries combined, yes, it's that big. There are also humans on this island but they are beyond far in our university and that's the reason they built that high wall, as a shield. We, vampires, are being hunted before and even until now. As generations passed, vampire hunters became stronger and more advance than ever. Stronger to the point that normal vampires are running away from them, and this school provides shelter and protection from them, but I know better. They have something on their sleeves. This school stinks, it screams blood. Hindi lang mga bampira ang tinetrain nila, kung hindi lahat ng mga nilalang sa eskwelahang ito.
Werewolves. When we say werewolves, it's not your usual werewolves in one of your favorite wolf movies. Werewolves are those half-human half werewolves creatures. Ang ulo nila ay ulo ng isang lobo na may mga matutulis na ngipin. Their body is like a muscular body of a human being but very hairy, and their claws are very sharp.
Wolf bournes. Wolf bournes are from the werewolf family, but wolf bournes are those creatures who transform as a wolf. They can change during the full moon or they can transform whenever they want to.
Hybrid. Well, hybrids are your usual hybrid. It's a combination of a vampire and a werewolf, not a wolf bourne so they are a lot stronger than a werewolf. They can be whatever they want to be, a vampire with sharp fangs or a werewolf with magnificent claws.
Witches. Witches, warlocks, sorcerers, sorceresses, necromancers, wizards. They are not the kinds of witches who holds a wand. They are those kinds who can chant spells, who can control things, can control elemental powers.
Shapeshifters. These creatures are known for their cunning shapeshifting powers. They can be whatever or whoever they want to be. They can transform or copy human beings and even animals. They are the reason why I need to be careful around people because they can fool me. They can transform into something or someone and make that your weakness.
This school provides training and fighting. We acquire not only knowledge but skills on how to survive in the outside world, so if we somehow leave this island, we can survive outside and when I say outside, not outside this university but outside this island, into the human world, but why bother right? If we can't even get out of this school? We're beyond far from human civilization anyway. Anong kwenta lahat ng natutunan namin kung hindi lang din kami makakalabas dito? And that enters all the fighting and the training, that enters the secret of this school. The secret that I'm about to unveil.