Chapter 25. Perpetual Slumber
Aeon's POV
"You were into an eternal sleep?" nagtatakang tanong ng dalawa. Hindi ko sinagot ang tanong nila. I already said it once, that's enough.
"Why?" tanong ni Dark.
"I don't know. Something is not right" sagot ko sakanila. Katahimikan ang namayani sa kapaligiran namin ng ilang sandali hanggang sa ako lang din ang bumasag sa katahimikang iyon.
"Wala bang nabanggit si Fiery sayo tungkol sa kahit na ano?" tanong ko sakanya. Umiling muna siya bago sumagot.
"The only thing she said to me is about the island and the outside world but unfortunately hindi niya nasabi lahat sa akin dahil iyon na ang huli naming pagkikita" sagot niya.
"Are you here to investigate her death?" tanong ni Dark. I paused for a while.
"No" sagot ko.
"Then why are you here?" tanong naman ni Thalia.
"I am here to kill the perpetrator" dagdag ko.
"Do you... know who it is? The one who killed her?" maingat na tanong niya. She's being careful about the things she's asking when it comes to her. Tumingin ako sa mga mata niya ng diretso ngunit siya ang unang bumawi.
"Yes," simple kong sagot. "But it has nothing to do with you anymore so you better keep your nose out of it" dagdag ko pa.
"How can you say that it has nothing to do with me? Fiery is my best friend" galit na sigaw ni Thalia.
"Thalia, calm down" saway naman ni Dark.
"You're just a friend. I don't even know what your real intention is and why was she here in the first place" nanatili akong kalmado. "Besides, I am her twin sister. Blood is always thicker than the water" dagdag ko pa.
"Then why are you telling this to us? All these informations? I don't believe it when you said that we are not your friend" ani Thalia. Nanatiling tahimik si Dark. I can't believe that Thalia is this stubborn.
"Just because I told you such pieces of information, it doesn't mean that you're my friend. Don't be so full of yourself" tiningnan ako ni Thalia ng masama. "And mind you, such information can kill you. I know that from the beginning but I still told you. Do you still want to believe that I considered you as my friends?" dagdag ko.
Napayuko siya sa sinabi ko. I want to take back what I said but I can't. Mabuti nalang at hinila na ako ni Dark paalis sa unit na iyon saka kami lumabas ng pad building.
"I don't think that you meant what you said" ani Dark ng makarating kami sa sarili naming unit.
"I can't drag her into this. She's already involved when my stupid sister befriended her" sagot ko kay Dark. Napahiga nalang ako sa kama.
"Then why are you telling me this?" nagtatakang tanong ni Dark. "You said earlier that such information could kill us, then why are you telling me this?" dagdag tanong pa niya.
"It just means that I don't really care if you're already involved with my mess" sagot ko sakanya.
"So you don't really care if I die because of these information?" napatingin ako sakanya. She's grinning from ear to ear. What's her problem? Nag iwas ako ng tingin ng hindi parin mapuknat ang mga ngisi niyang iyon.
"Yeah" sagot ko. "Besides, you can take care of yourself. You're an ex-agent after all. So it's not my problem if you get dragged into this" hindi na siya nagsalita pa pagkatapos non.
Naramdaman kong kumalam ang sikmura ko. Fuck. I'm hungry. Magsasalita na sana ako ng biglang sabay na tumunog ang tiyan namin ni Dark. Nagkatinginan kaming dalawa saka sabay na natawa.
"I'm hungry" komento ko.
"Yeah, obviously" aniya. Naglakad kami palabas para pumunta na sa dining hall. Alas syete narin kasi at hapunan na. Habang naglalakad kami ay tinanong ako ni Dark.
"Do you think Thalia will let this go?"
"I don't know. She's a pretty little stubborn one" sagot ko sakanya. Thalia is persistent when it comes to things that she wants kaya imposibleng hahayaan niya ang bagay na iyon but sometimes that's what I like about her because her stuborness might lead to something good but what will I do if it leads to something bad?
Ilang minuto pa kaming naglakad hanggang sa makarating kami sa dining hall. Binuksan ko ang dalawang naglalakihang pintuan ng hall. Nang tuluyan itong bumukas ay may nakita akong mga pamilyar na mukha at lahat ng tao sa hapagkainan ay nakatingin sa akin ngunit ang pinagtataka ko ay ang hall na ito ay may ibang disenyo. Are we in the right room?
"Aeon?" napatingin ako kay Dark na tinawag ang pangalan ko.
"Are you alright?" tanong niya sa akin. Hindi ko siya sinagot bagkus ay binalik ko ang aking paningin sa hapagkainan ngunit nang makita ko ito ay nagiba na nag buong paligid. Bumalik ito sa orihinal niyang itsura. Napakurap kurap ako ngunit ganun parin. Did I just imagine things? Hindi ko maiwasang tanong sa sarili ko.
"Are you okay?" tanong muli ni Dark.
"I'm fine" sagot ko sakanya saka binalik ang tingin ko sa mga estudyanteng masayang kumakain.
"Let's go" ani Dark sa tabi ko. Sinundan ko siya at nakita kong papalapit kami sa direksyon ni Thalia na may bakanteng espasyo sa tabi niyang upuan.
Nang tuluyan kaming makalapit sakanya ay tumingala siya sa akin dahil nakaupo siya. There's no hate in her eyes. I pat her head and that made her smile. I want to apologize to her but maybe not apologizing is for the best. Mas mabuti kung hahayaan na niya lang ang mga bagay bagay para sa sarili niyang kaligtasan.
*
The next day wala namang masamang nangyari but things are turning out to be annoying. Holly is acting innocent as always and we're doing our best to play along. Binisita niya ang klase namin kaninang first period and she's grinning from ear to ear mabuti nalang at dumating rin kaagad ang professor namin dahilan ng pag alis niya. We still have 10 minutes before our second period starts so Dark and I decided to buy some snacks in the cafeteria at pabalik na kami ng klase ngayon. Papasok na kami ni Dark sa pintuan ng biglang nabunggo ako. Who the hell closed the door? Hindi pa naman second period. Hinimas ko ang noo ko.
"Tss. Watch where you're going" ani ng isang tinig na nasa harapan ko. Nang tumingala ako ay nakita ko si Trasher. Sakanya pala ako nabangga.
"Sorry" hingi ko ng paumanhin. Maglalakad na sana siya palabas ng classroom ng pigilan ko siya. "Wait" pigil ko sakanya. Hindi siya nagsalita ngunit hindi rin siya kumilos.
"Thank you for carrying me back to my unit yesterday" pagpapasalamat ko sakanya. Natahimik siya sa sinabi ko. Ng hindi siya umimik ay nagsimula na akong maglakad pabalik sa upuan ko.
"You're welcome" sagot niya saka naglakad palabas ng classroom kasama ang mga kaibigan niya.
Ilang minuto pa ang nakalipas ay dumating narin ang professor namin na pagkaraan ng ilang sandali ay sinundan ng grupo ni Trasher na may dalang mga libro maliban sakanya. Of course, he refused to help. What would you expect from the one and only Ire Trasher?
"Distribute it to your classmates then after that open your books, page 37" utos ng professor namin sa History.
Nang may binigay na libro sa akin ay binuksan ko ito sa pahinang sinabi ng professor namin.
"Eternal sleep" basa ko sa pamagat nito. Talking about coincidence?
"So who knows a thing about our topic without referring to the book I gave you?" tanong ni Mr. Hawthorne ang aming propesor.
"Yes Dark" ani ni Mr. Hawthorne. Narinig ko ang pagtunog ng upuan ni Dark sa likuran ko.
"Eternal sleep means death for creatures like vampires since they can't be killed. It's where they are put into a deep and endless slumber" sagot ni Dark.
"You have a point Ms. Whitham" komento nito sa sinabi ni Dark.
"And who are the creatures that can be put into such sleep?" tanong nito sa buong klase.
"Vampires" sagot ng isa sa mga kaklase ko.
"Especifically?" tanong pa niya. Walang sumagot sakanya dahil ito lang naman ang tanging alam ng lahat tungkol sa eternal sleep.
"Perpetual Slumber o kilala sa tawag na Eternal sleep is not just for mere vampires" panimulang sabi ng propesor. Hindi lang ako ang nagtaka sa sinabing iyon ng guro kundi ang buong klase pati narin ang laging walang pakialam na si Trasher ay umayos ng upo at nagsimulang makinig sa propesor.
"What do you mean by mere vampires?" tanong ni Arius. Mukhang hindi rin nila alam ang tungkol sa bagay na iyon.
"Perpetual Slumber is not a punishment for mere vampires. You can't put someone to an eternal sleep if he or she is just a low ranking or ordinary vampire. It's actually a life sentence for high ranking or powerful vampires for committing treason or a taboo" no one knows that such a life sentence exists within the vampire community but that's not what's bothering me. What bothers me the most is the truth about eternal sleep.
"Professor may bampira na po bang sumailalim sa perpetual slumber?" tanong ng isa ko pang kaklase.
"There's actually one who's now into a perpetual slumber, besides, perpetual slumber is made or created because of her" napakunot noo ako sa sinabi niya. Only one?
"A woman?" nagtatakang tanong ni Trasher.
"Yes. She is Cordea Edessa Mi Raavi. The head of the Raavi Ancestry" sagot ni Professor. Hindi ko alam ngunit bigla nalang sumakit ang ulo ko sa sinabi ng propesor dahilan para mapasabunot ako sa buhok ko. Damn this headache. What the hell is wrong with me?
"Aeon, are you okay?" tanong ni Dark dahilan para magsitinginan ang buong klase sa akin. Napapikit nalang ako sa sakit ng ulo ko.
"I'm fine" sagot ko sakanya at pinilit na pakalmahin ang sarili ko.
"Ms. Black are you alright?" tanong ni Professor Hawthorne.
"I'm fine professor" sagot ko sakanya. "May I ask how reliable is your source about the perpetual slumber?" hindi ko ininda ang sakit sa ulo ko.
"It's very reliable actually. There's a book passed down to us for generations" sagot niya. Kinalma ko ang sarili ko para makapagtanong ako ng maayos. Huminga muna ako ng malalim bago nagtanong.
"I want to know what's the reason behind her death," I asked. This is weird. It's not me to ask for such trivial history.
"She actually committed two crimes. She hid the fact that her whole existence is forbidden and she falls in love with a human and concieved a child" sagot niya. What?
"How old is this Cordea?" tanong ni Trasher.
"She's more than 800 years old" sagot ni Professor Hawthorne.
"What? Such vampire exist?" tanong ng isa sa mga kaklase ko. Is that even possible?
"Is she the oldest vampire ever existed?" tanong ni Dark.
"No. There are vampires who lived before her but she is the first who was put into perpetual slumber"
"Wait. Did you say, humans? How did humans come into this island? I thought that they are beyond extinct?" tanong Colton.
"They are hunting creatures on this island for how many decades now. That's one of the reasons why she was sentenced into an eternal sleep" sagot ng guro. Lahat ng pumapasok na impormasyon sa utak ko ay dahilan kung bakit sumasakit lalo ang ulo ko.
"Is there a possibility that ordinary vampires can also be sentenced into a perpetual slumber?" tanong ko. Napatingin ang ibang mga kaklase ko sa direksyon ko gayun na din ang grupo ni Trasher at ang kanyang mga kaibigan sa tanong ko.
"That's impossible. Because putting some ordinary vampire into an eternal sleep requires powerful witches and warlocks to administer the life sentence not to mention they are forbidden" I don't know what to believe anymore that's why I need to find T as soon as possible because he's the only one who can answer my questions.
"By the way professor, who is the man Cordea fells in love with?" tanong ng babaeng kaklase ko.
"Sylfire Cross" napahawak ako sa bandang dibdib ko ng bigla itong kumirot pagkabanggit sa pangalan niya. That name sounds familiar.
"And worst he's a hunter" tuluyan na akong hindi makahinga at nagdidilim narin ang paningin ko.
"Aeon" ang huling narinig ko sa paligid ko ay ang sigaw ni Dark pagkatapos ay tuluyan na akong nilamon ng kadiliman.