A M I H A N

“We found this house,” Belinda explained while we made our way inside a two-storey apartment they found while looking for us.

“Well, technically, we robbed it. But no one’s inside.” Marahang inihiga ni Pierce si Alixe sa sofa habang ako naman ay iginala ang tingin. My eyes are already blurry from exhaustion, parang wala na akong maintindihan sa paligid ko but I can tell that this house is a decent hiding place. The street was also quieter earlier as if there were no maggots around.

“I’ll try to lower Alixe’s temperature.” Mabilis na kinuha ng kamay ko ang hawak ni Belinda na basang maliit na tuwalya.

“Let Belinda do it, you also need help.” Mataman kong tiningnan si Arc na nakahawak sa pulsuhan ko. Tinanggal ko ang pagkakahawak niyang iyon at dumiretso kay Alixe na namumutla na ngayon sa sakit. Belinda put a basin down, may maligamgam iyon na tubig. Sinimulan ko na ang pagdampi ng tuwalya sa mukha ni Alixe. Damn, I can’t even feel my own hands. It’s like it’s moving on its own.

“Amihan,” Pierce called me pero patuloy lang ako sa pagpunas kay Alixe.

“Amihan!” He yelled. Pinigilan niya rin ang kamay ko sa ginagawa nito saka ako iniharap sa kaniya. Parehas kaming nakaupo sa sahig.

“Look at me, Amihan. Naririnig mo ba ako?” I nodded, my mind’s still cloudy.

“Tell me, ilan ‘to?” He raised one finger. One…

“Hey, speak.”

“Anong nangyayari?”

“She’s unresponsive. Her body’s moving pero I doubt she knows what she’s doing. It’s like she’s on automatic mode. She’s been silent since we got in the car, she opened the door to get off and she’s doing everything pretty normal… Strangely normal,” dinig kong paliwanag ni Belinda.

“Isn’t that a freaking zombie thing to do?” Keva blurted.

“Amihan…” That’s Arc.

I can clearly hear them pero parang wala ako sa sarili ko. Tama si Belinda, I have been doing things on automatic mode simula pa kanina. And no, don’t get me started with the zombie thing. I wasn’t bitten, I did not smell anything specific earlier. I’m just… tired.

“She’s been fighting non-stop simula pa noong isang araw. Her mind and body are exhausted. She needs to rest.”

“As if siya lang ang pagod--”

“Please lang, Keva, tama na.” Seryoso ang pag saway ni Arc. Naramdaman ko naman ulit ang kamay ni Pierce. This time, he’s placing his hand on my forehead habang ang isa niyang kamay ay nasa sarili naman niyang noo.

“You’re cold.”

“I’ll take care of Amihan, Pierce, ikaw na bahala kay Alixe. Arc, just… Just take Keva. Magpahinga na kayo, we all need to rest.” Naramdaman ko ang pagalalay sa akin ni Belinda sa pagtayo habang mas lalo pang lumabo ang paningin ko. I could feel my body getting heavier as if my system was shutting down. Hanggang sa marinig ko na lang ang pagsigaw nila sa pangalan ko.

“How could you do this to me?”

“Aloha…”

“You killed me. You’re a traitor… you’re an evil!”

“No… Please… Aloha…”

“Tigilan niyo na si Alixe! Tama na!”

“Amihan…”

“Supplies… Supplies…”

“You killed me, Amihan… Hindi kita mapapatwad…”

“Amihan.” Napabalikwas ako sa pagkakahiga nang marinig ang boses ni Belinda. Pagmulat ko ay nakita ko ang may pagaalala niyang tingin habang nakahiga sa gilid ng kama kung nasaan ako. I looked around and saw na nasa isa akong kwarto. Everything looks normal.

“Dahan-dahan lang,” inalalayan niya akong makaupo ng ayos sa kama. Isinandal ko ang likod ko sa dingding tsaka kumuarp-kurap.

“What happened?” I asked. Hindi ko na maalala kung anong nangyari kahapon pagkatapos naming makawala kina Sun.

“You fainted last night. Kamusta ka ngayon?”

“I’m fine…” Inilapat ni Belinda ang kamay niya sa noo ko saka marahang tumango.

“Your fever’s down. Dadalhan na lang kita ng pagkain, get some more rest.” Tumayo na si Belinda saka nagsimulang maglakad papunta sa pinto para lumabas nang tawagin ko ang pangalan niya.

“Thank you… For taking care of me, of us…” Hindi siya lumingon pero sumagot siya.

“You’re doing the same thing for us… So, thank you rin, Amihan.” A smile curved across my lips after hearing that. Since this mess started, ngayon ko na lang ulit narinig ang mga salitang iyon. Muling bumukas ang pinto kaya nilingon ko agad ito sa pagaakalang bumalik si Belinda. But instead of Belinda, I saw someone else standing at the doorway. Her face’s dripping with blood but I could see a sad expression on it.

“A-Aloha…” Ramdam na ramdam ko ang pagtindig ng balahibo sa buong katawan ko at ang pamumuo ng luha sa mga mata ko. I wanted to scream, I wanted to run but at the same time, gusto ko siyang lapitan.

“You killed me…”

“No… I’m sorry…” I covered my mouth with my own hand while my tears started falling. Aloha’s image changed from a monstrous form to a normal one. To the Aloha that I know. Papalit-palit ang itsura niya habang ako naman ay patuloy sa pag iyak hanggang sa maramdaman ko ang sarili ko na nakulong sa yakap.

“Shh… shh…”

“Pierce…” Pierced caressed my back and I could feel that he was not even trying to stop me from crying but instead, he made it easier for me to cry. Patuloy siya sa paghagod sa likod ko, sa buhok ko, and he kept me warm with his hug.

“Ami--” Narinig naming ang boses ni Belinda saka ako marahang pinakawalan ni Pierce mula sa yakap niya habang pinilit ko naman ang sarili na tumigil na sa pagiyak kahit na walang patid ang paghikbi ko.

“A-are you okay?” tanong ni Belinda at tumango-tango naman ako habang pinupunasan ang sariling luha.

“I think she’s still in shock. Hindi natin alam kung anong pinagdaanan nila ni Alixe.”

“Alixe… Nasaan si Alixe?” Napatayo ako agad nang maalala si Alixe. Belinda and Pierce gave me an assuring smile but I still ran outside of the room and searched for Alixe. Hindi pamilyar sa akin ang lugar kaya hindi ko pa siya agad nahanap. Until I came to the dining area where three people were eating.

“Amihan--”

“Alixe!” I ran to him and hugged him tight. Umangal pa siya dahil ang higpit daw ng yakap ko pero hindi ko siya agd na pinakawalan. Naramdaman ko ulit ang mga luha ko na tumutulo pero ngayon ay may halo na itong saya.

“Buhay pa ako, Amiha pero parang papatayin moa ko sa yakap mo…” I let out a chuckle while checking on him. He looks okay pero bakas pa rin lahat ng bugbog na ginawa sa kaniya. There are bruises all over his body pati sa mukha niya. Mga hayop talaga…

“Amihan… Are you okay?” Mula kay Alixe ay nalipat ang tingin ko kay Arc na nakatayo na ngayon at kay Keva na patuloy lang sa pagkain. Now, I remember. Even after that slap yesterday, she still managed to be a bitch last night. Pasalamat na lang talaga siya at wala na akong enerhiya pa para patulan siya.

“I’m okay,” tipid na sagot ko kay Arc nang ibalik sa kaniya ang tingin ko. Mabilis ko ring iniiwas ang mga tingin na iyon. I don’t like the look on his face. I realized it would be better to distance myself from him… From him and Keva. This zombie shit is too much to take in and handle, hindi ko na kaya pang idagdag sila sa problema ko.

Matapos kumain ay nagpunta kaming lahat sa living room kung saan naroon ang isang malaking TV na nagf-flash ng balita. Unlike the first news we watched at my apartment, hindi hamak na mas malala na ang sitwasyon ngayon. Pero kahit papaano ay may nagbigay sa amin ng pag-asa.

“The government has started its search for more survivors and started deploying military armies for this.” The screen showed footage of helicopters roaming around as well as people entering what looks like a safety camp.

“The root of the virus is still assumed to be connected to the perfume launched by the actress-model figure Aloha Morgan with no confirmation yet. Scientists have developed a device that could track a potential infected person or what are now called the Dripper due to their characteristic of dripping blood when infected. Some of the symptoms before turning into a Dripper include rashes, abnormally low temperature, sudden zoning out, frequent headache, sudden drying of skin, holes in the skin, and hallucination. Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that a bite from a Dripper does not turn a person into another Dripper but it could kill a victim in less than twenty seconds due to the poisonous salivary glands a Dripper has similar to a snake venom.”

“All that in less than a week. The world is so advanced.” Komento ni Arc.

“Which could be a good thing as well. If they were able to make progress with their findings this fast, hindi ba’t mas mabilis rin silang makakahanap ng lunas?” Sagot naman ni Belinda. Hindi ako makasabay sa usapan nila dahil sa lalim ng iniisip ko nang mahagip ko si Pierce na nakatingin sa akin.

I know what that looks mean. He saw me hallucinating earlier and so far, that’s one box ticked off from the symptoms of a potential Dripper.

“Ano nga kayang puno’t dulo ng virus na ito?” Tanong ni Alixe. All of them turned to me pero mabilis din nilang iniwas ang mga tingin nila. Napabuga na lang ako ng hangin saka nagsalita.

“It would be unfair to you guys if I don’t talk about it.” Then they became all-ears.

“Aloha… She participated in making her perfume.” Narinig ko pa ang kung anong sinabi ni Keva pero hindi ko na lang siya pinansin.

“But I doubt that caused it.”

“How sure are you?” tanong ni Pierce.

“The perfume was not released to the public.” Inilabas ko ang cellphone ko saka tumipa rito papunta sa message namin ni Aloha. I was scrolling through our conversations earlier and saw that she sent me multiple messages before the mess started.

“During the launch of her perfume, the company gave away samples of it to the public. But the perfume she participated in was supposed to be introduced when the show started, but the show never started. Also, there was only one perfume for that day because…”

“Because?”

“It was not meant for the public yet. I was the target of that perfume.”

“What?”

“You mean, Aloha specifically made that perfume for you?” Marahan akong tumango hanggang sa magsalita si Arc.

“Amihan’s allergic to perfume. They must have altered the chemistry during the experiment to match those with allergies. Para hindi maka-trigger ng allergy.” I nodded in agreement.

It’s much better this way, a conversation with no feelings attached. Not a positive feeling nor a negative one.

“You do realize that you were going to be a lab rat with that experiment, don’t you?” Seryosong tanong ni Pierce.

“I know. Pero ang point ko lang ay inosente si Aloha.”

“Okay, gets sa part na inosente si Aloha pero how about the released perfumes?” tanong ni Alixe na sinundan naman ni Pierce.

“It was a mass release plus it’s free. With Aloha Morgan’s influence, I’m sure lahat ay magkakaroon noon.”

“No…” Nalipat ang tingin naming kay Belinda na parang kanina pa malalim ang iniisip.

“Not everyone. Most probably not the elderly. Remember kahapon? At Amihan’s place, iyong mga tao sa labas. May mga matatanda rin. I doubt they got the perfume. Aside from the majority of elders who wouldn’t like a strong smell, they would not bother to go out to get one. They turned into a Dripper not because of the perfume and it’s also confirmed that a bite won’t turn you into a predator.”

“Kung ganoon, bakit isinisisi nila sa pabango ni Aloha ang lahat?”

“Because she’s Aloha.” We all turned to Keva who just spoke. I was about to answer back pero mabilis niya ring sinundan ang sinabi niya.

“Sa inyo na mismo nanggaling. Her influence is massive. She’s an easy target for public manipulation.”

“If it’s not the perfume then what’s the cause?” Lahat kami ay natahimik. Kahit ako ay wala na ring maisip na dahilan.

“It’s possibly not in the air. If so, it would be a bold act of them to use Aloha’s perfume because then people would start wearing masks and that would compromise their plan. No one’s wearing a protective suit, not us nor the people who kidnapped Amihan and Alixe.” Napatango kami sa sinabi ni Belinda.

“I doubt it’s something one would see, too.” Si Pierce naman ang sunod na nagsalita.

“What the eyes can see can possibly cause trauma, hence the hallucination.” Saglit kaming nagkatinginan pero nag iwasan rin agad. I hope he won’t tell anyone.

“Hearing things could also affect the brain. But that wouldn’t explain the rashes and the holes on the skin.” Si Arc naman ang sunod na nagsalita na sinundan naman ni Alixe.

“Sa kinakain kaya?” suhestyon niya.

“That would be the most logical reason. Besides, if one thing’s the cause, that would be something in our system. Something we ingest.” Komento ko.

“What exactly?”

“That, we don’t know yet.” Muli kaming natahimik hanggang sa basagin ulit ni Belinda ang katahimikan na iyon.

“Anyways, all of these are hypotheses only. Although we can accept or reject one of them.” May pagtataka naming siyang tiningnan hanggang sa tumingin siya kay Arc.

“You have the perfume, ‘di ba?” Saglit pa bago naintindihan ni Arc ang sinabi niya. He left and came back with a small bottle in his hand. That’s a sample perfume he got from the student when we were on the rooftop.

“You’re not planning to spray that, are you?” Hindi makapaniwalang sabi ni Keva. I also started worrying. I was confident kanina na walang kinalaman ang pabango ni Aloha sa lahat ng ito pero ngayong hawak n ani Arc ang pabango sa kamay niya ay parang nawala ang kumpyansa ko.

Belinda also excused herself and came back with a pen and paper. The same thing she had when I saw her one night writing something.

“It’s a cause-and-effect relationship. The null hypothesis would be ‘Aloha’s perfume does not cause a person to be a Dripper’. An alternative hypothesis would be ‘If one has a direct exposure to Aloha’s perfume, then that person would turn into a Dripper’.” Belinda explained. Feeling ko tuloy isang thesis lang talaga ang pinagdi-diskusyonan namin.

“Hindi ko gets…” sambit ni Alixe.

“Basically, we have to reject the alternative hypothesis. But if we are to follow the rules of statistics, you can’t say an alternative hypothesis is rejected. Although you can say that it was not supported. In the same sense, you can’t accept a null hypothesis but you can find evidence against it.” Ani Pierce.

“Either way, kailangan pa rin nating mapatunayan na walang kinalaman ang pabango na ito sa mga Dripper na 'yan.”

“Shut up, Arc. Don’t tell me you’re really going for it? Nahihibang ka na ba?” Sa hindi mabilang na pagkakataon ay natahimik ulit kaming lahat. We’re eager to prove something but at the same time, natatakot kaming baka mali kami.

Baka mali ako.

Baka mali na naman ako.

I can’t afford to lose him. Not for the second time. Not in this life.

“I’ll do it.” Mabilis na kinuha ni Pierce ang pabango mula sa kamay ni Arc saka tumayo. He did not let us speak nor stop him. Instead, mabilis siyang nagbilin.

“Give it some time. At least one hour. If I don’t go out of the room, knock. If I make any unusual noise, leave the house. If I turn into a Dripper… kill me.” May kinuha siyang baril mula sa isang drawer malapit sa amin saka ito iniabot kay Arc. May ibinulong pa siya kay Arc na wala ni isa sa amin ang nakarinig.

Paalis na sana siya papunta doon sa nag iisang kwarto dito sa baba nang pigilan ko siya.

“You don’t have to do this.” Ani ko. I’m really hoping he won’t do it. Hindi ko kayang isakripisyo ang kahit na sino sa kanila para lang patunayan ang sinabi ko.

“I trust you. But if something happens, please know it’s not your fault.” Lumalam ang mga tingin sa mata ni Pierce. This is the first time I saw him this sincere. The first time I got to see that look in his eyes.

“I’ll be back, sane--”

Nagulat na lang kami nang biglang naglakad si Belinda papalapit sa amin. It happened so fast. The bottle of perfume was suddenly in her hand and she locked herself in the room after leaving us a reminder.

“Do what Pierce said. Even if it’s me, do it.”

TO BE CONTINUED...