Chapter 21. Another Kill
Aeon's POV
Pagkalabas namin ng unit ay nakita naming maraming estudyante ang naglalakad sa hallway palabas ng building namin. Lumabas din kami saka pumasok sa katabing building kung saan namin narinig ang tili. Mabilis kaming umakyat sa kung saan naroon ang pinanggalingan nito at pagkarating namin doon ay maraming estudyante ang nakikiusosyo. Pinagsiksikan namin ang aming mga sarili hanggang sa makarating kami sa may harapan ng isang unit. Mabilis kaming nakapasok sa unit dahil kay Thalia.
Halos matumba si Thalia sa kinatatayuan niya sa nakita namin. A lifeless body hanging in the ceiling.
"I-i was about t-to ask h-him something w-when I saw h-his bo-body up there" hagulgol ng isang tinig. It's Holly, and she's crying. Napansin kong akmang lalapitan ni Dark si Holly ng pinigilan ko siya. Nakita kong napatingin siya sa nakahawak kong kamay sa kanyang braso saka napatingin sakin. Umiling lang ako para pigilan siya.
We watched Holly crying while explaining to the teachers who came after hearing a scream.
"What are you going to ask him anyway? Do you know him? What kind of relationship do you have with him?" dirediretsong tanong ni Dark kay Holly. Napatingin sandali si Holly kay Dark bago yumuko at sinagot si Dark.
"I-i just want t-to ask for his help" sagot niya. "Tapos nang pumasok ako dito sa pad niya, I-i s-s-saw his bo-body ha-hanging on the ceiling" dagdag niya. Her body is trembling in fear.
"Did you notice something odd before coming here?" si Thalia naman ang nagtanong. Umiling lang siya bilang sagot saka bumalik ulit sa pag iyak.
"You didn't touch anything from here, did you?" tanong nanaman ni Thalia at iling nanaman ang sinagot ni Holly.
"Okay. Let's go. The school officials will handle it from here" ani Thalia. Tumayo naman si Holly sa pagkakasalampak sa sahig saka yakap ang sariling lumabas sa unit. We three didn't bother to help or comfort her, tanging ang mga babaeng ang sa tingin ko'y mga kaibigan o kaklase niya ang tumulong sakanya.
I glanced at the room for a moment before walking out. Saktong paglabas namin ay dumating na rin ang mga opisyal ng eskwelahan. The student government can't meddle with the situation because it's beyond their power so the only thing Thalia did is to ask questions.
Naglakad kami pabalik sa pad building namin saka kami pumasok sa unit na nakasunod parin si Thalia.
"What do you think?" tanong ni Dark pagkatapos ng mahabang katahimikang namayani sa amin mula kaninang pagpasok namin sa pad.
"Is your source legit?" tanong naman ni Thalia na ang tinutukoy ay ang pinadala ni T na impormasyon kanina na nabasa nila.
"Yes," simpleng sagot ko. "Why did you investigate her anyway?"
"Because I don't trust anyone" diretsong sagot ko. There's no point in lying now.
"Do you think she's the one who killed that guy?" tanong naman ni Dark.
"After the information we saw earlier, she's the prime suspect" sagot naman ni Thalia. Tama siya. Dahil tanging siya lang ang nakakita sa bangkay. Siya lang ang naroon sa pinangyarihan ng krimen.
"But what's her reason for killing him?" nagtatakang tanong ni Dark.
"There are two reasons for killing" panimula ko. Napatingin silang dalawa sakin.
"It's because you need to or you want to" turan ko. Those are the only reasons we have for killing someone.
"Then what is she between those reasons?" tanong ni Dark.
"I don't know. We don't know her enough to say what's on her mind. She's either the former who needs to kill or she's the latter who wants to kill because she enjoys it" sagot ko sakanya. Natahimik sila sa sinabi ko.
"It's not in her facade to kill someone" ani Thalia. Tss.
"You're too naive if you think that way. In this world of ours, you wouldn't last. Identifying a killer is not based on someone's facade" sagot ko sa sinabi niya. Hindi na siya nagsalita pa pagkatapos ng sinabi ko. Wala rin naman siyang mahahanap na sagot sa sinabi ko. Because I didn't ask, I just stated a fact. Wala sa itsura ng isang tao ang pagkatao nito. Even the nicest person can kill. Everyone is a killer, a murderer, no one is an exemption to that.
"But I notice something" ani ko pagkatapos ng mahabang katahimikan. Napatingin sila sa akin dahil sa sinabi ko.
"The whole room is a mess as if a sign of struggle. I think he tried to fight" pagpapatuloy ko.
"Now that you said that, I also notice that there's a bruise on the guy's arm" sabi rin ni Thalia. May napansin rin pala siya.
"Do you think she's the one who did that?" dagdag pa niya.
"I don't know but I saw something in her shoulder" napakunot noo kami sa sinabi ni Dark. Dark is an ex-agent so no wonder she managed to notice the small details.
"What is it?" nagtatakang tanong Thalia. Napakunot noo si Dark bago sumagot.
"There's blood in her shirt" sagot niya. Blood? Napakunot noo ako sandali saka bigla nalang nagflash sa utak ko ang nakita ko kanina na bumabagabag sakin hanggang sa makalabas ako sakwartong iyon.
"His hands" bigla kong sabi. Sa akin naman natuon ang atensyon nilang dalawa.
"What hands?" tanong ni Dark. Now the puzzle has been completed.
"May dugo sa kamay niya kanina. Especifically on his nails" sagot ko.
"Now, I'm starting to believe that she's the one who killed that guy" ani Dark.
"But we're not sure about that. We don't have strong evidence. We can't just jump to conclusions" Thalia is really too innocent and naive when it comes to the cruelty people makes.
"Can you lend me your phone?" tanong ko kay Thalia. I have already have speculation in mind but I need to prove it.
"What are you gonna do with that?" si Dark naman ang nagtanong ngayon.
"We need to track the video sender, and I have the perfect person for that job" sagot ko sakanya. Inabot naman niya ang kanyang telepono sa akin.
"Wait, don't tell me" hindi tinuloy ni Dark ang kanyang sasabihin sa halip ay tumingin siya sa akin. Tumango lang ako sakanya. We're thinking the same thing.
Kinuha ko ang aking telepono saka tinext si T.
Hack Viennathalia Evans' phone and track the video that has been sent to her- A.
*
Someone's POV
"I don't have a choice. I had to do it" singhal ko sa nasa kabilang linya. What happened aggravate me but this guy adds fuel to the fire even more.
"Ano ba kasing mahirap intindihin sa salitang 'be careful and discrete' hah? If you could have been careful sana hindi ito mangyayari. Ano ba kasing pumasok diyan sa utak mo hah?" singhal rin niya sa akin. Alam kong mali ang ginawa ko, but I don't have a choice. That guy didn't give me a choice. Oh, he did give me a choice. Death.
"We're pulling you out in the mission" nagpantig ang tainga ko sa sinabi niya.
"What? You can't do that" galit kong sabi sakanya. Nagpabalik balik ako sa paglalakad. They can't pull me out right now.
"Oh try me," he said mockingly. I tightened my grip on the phone that I am holding. Imagining that what I am holding is his neck. I want to kill him right now. Nag isip ako ng paraan para hindi nila ako tanggalin sa misyon. Hindi ako maaaring umalis sa eskwelahang ito nang hindi natatapos ang inumpisahan ko.
"If you relieve me out of this mission mas lalo lang silang maghihinala. You can't afford me being investigated and extracting information for me because once you pulled me out here" sinadya kong bitinin ang sinasabi ko.
"Hindi ako magdadalawang isip na ibigay lahat ng nalalaman ko" I threatened. I don't want to threatened them but I need to.
"What the- are you threatening us?" alam kong mas lalong nadagdagan ang inis na nararamdaman niya sa akin ngayon.
"You gave me no choice" I stated. "Please. You know how much I wanted this mission. Of all people, you should know how hard it has been for me to enter this school" I don't have a choice but to beg.
Naranig ko siyang bumuntong hininga sa kabilang linya.
"Okay," he agreed. I was about to thank him ng bigla siyang nagsalita ulit. "But once they found out about you, I don't have a choice but to pull you out. I can't afford anyone to mess up my plan" dagdag pa nito.
"Fine" sabi ko nalang saka ko pinatay ang tawag. Now, what should be my next move?
Aeon's POV
"What's the progress about the video?" tanong ni Dark habang kumakain kami sa may cafeteria kasama si Thalia. It's already lunchtime.
"He'll send it later" simpleng sagot ko saka pinagpatuloy ang pagkain.
"Do you really think she's the one who killed that guy?" biglang tanong Thalia. She's been quite the whole time.
"We don't have proof that she's the suspect" dagdag pa niya. Napakunot noo ako sa sinabi niya.
"No one is a victim here, everyone can be a suspect but she's the closest lead. If she's not guilty, then where is she? She's been MIA for what? Almost a week?" sagot ko kay Thalia. Tama naman ang sinabi ko. Lahat ng tao sa eskwelahang ito ay hindi biktima. Lahat ay maaaring paghinalaan. No one is innocent.
"We can't judge her that easily just because she's there at the crime scene" she defended.
"You're right," I said then pause. Napatingin sila saking dalawa sa sinabi ko. Akmang magsasalita na sana si Thalia ng inunahan ko siya.
"We can't judge her not because she's not guilty but because she is" pagpapatuloy ko. Hindi ata nagustuhan ni Thalia ang sinabi ko dahilan ng biglang pagtayo niya.
"I thought you're her friend" naiinis niyang sabi.
"Friend? And who gave you that idea?" I ask her mockingly. Tumayo ako sa kinauupuan ko saka ko siya tinignan ng diretso sa mata.
"I don't have a friend. No one is" sabi ko saka ko sila iniwan. How dare she said that? It's just her illussion giving her that idea. Don't get the wrong idea. Just because I've been close to them these past months, that doesn't mean that they are my friends.