Chapter 26. Disappearance
Aeon's POV
"What happened to her?" rinig kong tanong ng isang pamilyar na boses sa paligid.
"I don't know. Bigla nalang siyang nawalan ng malay" sagot naman ng isa pang pamilyar na boses.
"Seems like she's in pain earlier" napakunot noo ako sa sinabi ng tinig na iyon. Binuksan ko ang aking mga mata only to find myself in a white but unfamiliar room with people around me.
"Where am I?" tanong ko.
"She's awake" ani ni Thalia saka niya ako nilapitan.
"You're in the infirmary" sagot ni Dark sa tanong ko. Sinubukan kong bumangon.
"Don't push yourself too hard" ani Thalia saka inalalayan akong umupo. Sinandal ko ang aking likuran sa headboard ng kama.
"Did they say anything about what happened to me? Wait, how long was I out?" dirediretso kong tanong.
"They didn't say anything yet. Hindi pa namin nakakausap ang doctor na tumingin sayo and you were out for almost an hour" sagot ni Dark sa mga katanungan ko.
"I have one more question" ani ko.
"What is it?" tanong naman ni Dark. Tumingin muna ako kay Trasher na kasama ang buo niyang barkada.
"Why are they here?" tanong ko. Sasagot na sana si Dark ng may biglang kumatok sa pintuan saka ito bumukas at pumasok ang dalawang tao na ang sa tingin ko ay isang doctor at isang nurse.
"Oh, you're awake" ani ng doctor.
"What's wrong with her?" biglang tanong ni Trasher sa doctor.
"A-Ahh..." nauutal na panimula ng doktor. Tss. He seemed afraid of him kaya ako nalang ang nagtanong.
"So? What's wrong with me?" I asked.
"To answer your question, may I ask a few questions first?" tanong naman ng doktor.
"Okay" simpleng sagot ko.
"Were you stress this past few months?" tanong niya. Tumango lang ako bilang sagot.
"Were you able to sleep completely?" umiling ako sa tanong niya. I didn't have enough sleep this past few months actually. I think it started when I first passed out because of excessive pain in my head at nadagdagan pa ito simula ng mawala si T. Wala pa akong ideya kung nasaan si T. Thus, there's something inside me that says I can do something that can help me find T but the problem is, I don't even have a clue what it is.
"That's a sign of fatigue" ani ng doktor. So I was just exhausted, I lack sleep and I was stress.
"Wait, does vampire gets sick?" naguguluhang tanong ni Thalia. She has a point in her question.
"Yes, of course, if they didn't get enough blood on their system" sagot ng doktor sa tanong ni Thalia. Nabaling naman ang tingin ng doktor sa akin. I think I know what he's going to ask next.
"Did you?" tanong niya.
"No" maikling sagot ko. I think I have a lot of things in mind lately for me to even take a sip of blood.
"You just need to get enough sleep, free yourself from worries, and take enough blood" payo ng doktor. Free me from worries? How can I even think about freeing myself from worries when I have a lot of things in hand?
"How about the pain in her chest? Does that have anything to do with the fatigue?" nagulat ako sa tanong ni Trasher. Now that I think about it, that pain in my chest is foreign to me.
"Pain in your chest?" nagtatakang tanong ng doktor habang nakatingin sa akin.
"I saw her clutching her chest earlier" dagdag pa niya.
"That's nothing and I'm fine" ako na ang sumagot dahil ayokong magtanong pa sila. I gave my thanks to the doctor and dismissed him to wrap things up but I became wary about his stare at me. It's like he wants to tell me something but in the end, he didn't and he just left.
"Are you sure you're really okay?" tanong ni Thalia sa akin.
"I'm fine" paninigurado ko naman saka ako tumayo mula sa pagkakahiga sa kama at paalis na sana ng pigilan ako ni Thalia.
"Where are you going?" tanong niya.
"Lalabas na ako" sagot ko naman sakanya.
"What? Wala pa namang sinasabi ang doktor na pwede ka ng lumabas" aniya.
"Thalia, this is an infirmary, not a hospital. Besides, I'm fine. I just have to get some sleep and take a blood" simpleng sagot ko sakanya saka lumabas ng kwartong iyon.
*
Kinabukasan ay maayos na ang pakiramdam ko. I take a sip of blood and I'm good as new again. Kasalukuyan ngayon ay naglalakad ako sa koridor patungo sa classroom. Hindi ko kasama si Dark dahil nauna siyang pumasok kaysa sakin.
"Is it real? That there's a student who's missing?" tanong ng isang estudyante sa isa pang estudyante habang ako ay naglalakad.
"There's actually a rumor about this school that there are students who disappeared here for the last few years" ani naman ng isa pang estudyante. Nang makarating ako sa klase ay ganun rin ang naririnig kong usapan kaya ng makaupo ako sa upuan ko ay tinanong ko si Dark.
"What's the fuss about?" tanong ko kay Dark ng nakatalikod sakanya.
"There's a student who's gone missing" sagot niya.
"Baka naman lumabas lang" ani ko naman.
"You know that no one can leave this school besides there's nothing out there because this school dominates the island, well, of course except for the villages" turan niya. For someone who has connections with the higher-ups of this school, she's using it pretty well.
"So? What do you think happened?" tanong ko naman.
"That's actually a mystery. It's been a mystery for quite a decade or more"
"A decade? They said students have been gone missing just for a few years?" nagtatakang tanong ko naman.
"It's just a rumor" sagot naman niya. Hindi ko naintindihan ang sinabi niya.
"What is? The years or the missing students?" tanong ko.
"Both?" she said with a question mark.
"If that's the case, then where are the students?" tanong ko. From the moment I entered this school, there's something inside me that says it has many secrets.
"Children like to goof around. They'll be back before you know it" sagot naman niya. She doesn't seem interested in this topic so maybe it's really just a rumor so I decided to keep my mouth shut. They'll come back on their own but the rumors seem to be true because as days go by, more and more students not only high school and college students but also those children in the primary level keep on disappearing causing the school to take precautions. The parents are also becoming more and more agitated.
"So, as we all know, there have been cases of the student's disappearances this past few days" panimulang anunsyo ng headmaster. Naririto kaming lahat sa assembly hall. Primary to tertiary level and even the parents.
"that's why we were force to take necessary precautions" nagsimulang mag ingay ang buong paligid dahil sa sinabing iyon ng headmaster.
"Quiet" dumagundong ang boses ng headmaster sa buong assembly hall dahil sa gamit niyang mikropono na dahilan ng pagtahimik ng mga estudyante.
"We will have an earlier curfew starting today. If your old curfew is, students should be in their quarters at exactly 10 pm now we will lift it after the dinner. Students who will break this rule or seen loitering around after the dinner will be severely punished" dagdag niya. They are really taking it seriously. I think it's worse than I imagined.
"While the students are still missing, we require you to be extra careful. This is not a threat only to the school but to the whole island which leads us to another decision. We will be canceling the ball until this matter is solved" sabi pa niya.
"Are the students safe to stay in the school given that they are staying on the crime scene? Can we trust the staff or everyone on the committee right now?" rinig kong tanong ng isang pamilyar na boses. It's Holly. Napuno ng bulungan ang buong paligid ngunit natahimik nalang ang lahat ng biglang ibagsak ng headmaster ang hawak niyang notebook sa podium.
"I didn't expect those words to come out from your lips with the likes of you" the words that the headmaster said have some meaning behind them. Nagtinginan ang mga estudyante kay Holly na nakalinya sa departamentong kinaroroonan niya. They're scrutinizing her.
"Don't worry Ms. Cozbi, the school is safe even with the likes of you" dagdag pa niya. Nanatiling tahimik si Holly ngunit nakita ko ang ginawa niyang pagkuyom sakanyang kamao habang nakatingin ng diretso sa headmaster.
"I'm surprised though, of how you managed to enter this school so you might be right when someone in this school cannot be trusted, but I didn't expect it to come out from you, given your origin as the Cozbi Uragiri" nakita kong mas lalong diniinan ni Holly ang pagkakakuyom ng kanyang kamao. Uragiri? A traitor?
"Anyway, that's all. You should go back to your classrooms" pagwawakas niya sakanyang anunsyo.
"I didn't think that this matter is more serious than we thought" rinig kong sabi ni Dark sa tabi ko habang hinihintay naming makalabas ang mga batang nasa unahan ng pila.
"Is Holly trying to slander the school?" biglang tanong ko.
"I can't even imagine that he tried to oppose the headmaster but she doesn't know him at all. The headmaster didn't make his way up because of his connection, it's because of his cunningness and cleverness" ani Dark.
"Did you hear what the headmaster had said earlier? About the Cozbi Uragiri?" I asked Dark. Hindi ko alam kung anong ibig sabihin ng headmaster but Uragiri is the Japanese term for a traitor.
"I don't have a clue about it. Maybe it's some ancient title?" sagot naman niya. Mukhang wala ring alam si Dark sa bagay na iyon.
"Uragiri means betrayer" sabi ko sakanya.
"Maybe she belongs to a family of traitors but if the headmaster already knows about her background then why did she got accepted here?" nagtataka namang tanong ni Dark. Iyon rin ang pinagtataka ko. Unless...
"Unless, he doesn't know from the start" ani ko.
*
The days went by smoothly and surprisingly normal. The matter about the missing students didn't seem to shake the others or they just don't care about the missing students, but little did they know that everyone can be their next target.
"Goodmorning class" bati ng aming adviser na siyang una naming propesor sa umaga.
"I have an announcement to make" panimula niya ng mapagtanto niyang wala namang babati sakanya.
"It's actually a surprise given the school's crisis about the students but we have a new student who'll be joining us from now on" aniya. New student? It's rare to have a new student given the season and the problem of the school.
"You can come in now" utos ng aming propesor. Bumukas ang pintuan at pumasok ang isang lalaking hindi ko inaasahang makita. Napatayo ako ng wala sa oras.
"T"
"Tam" sabay na sabi namin ni Trasher habang nakatayo. Nagkatinginan kaming dalawa. How come he knows T?
"Goodmorning everyone. I'm Timothy Ace Mavrille. It's nice meeting you" bati niya sa buong klase saka bahagyang yumuko. Hindi ko napigilan ang sarili kong umalis sa aking upuan saka ako tumakbo palapit sakanya saka ko siya niyakap.
"Thank God, you're safe. I'm so sorry" sabi ko sakanya. Narinig ko siyang bahagyang tumawa saka niya ako niyakap at bahagyang hinimas ang ulo ko.