VERM

Ang init sa pakiramdam, tila kumukulo ang dugo ko sa nararamdaman kong bugso ng lakas. Anuman ang spell na inilagay sa akin ni Margot ay tiyak na nagdulot ng malakas na pang-amoy sa aking katawan.

I can smell everything even the slightest hint of the flowers that I was passing by as I run in human form. Hindi ko puwedeng i-transform ang sarili ko bilang werewolf dahil wala akong maisusuot na damit kapag bumalik na ako sa pagiging katawang-tao ko, considering the fact that I'm in the middle of the forest, saan ako makahahanap ng damit?

Things were not like this back then, pinalaki ako sa camp tirso ng mga magulang ko bilang isang responsableng anak. I did follow their rules, I did learn my lessons. Nakapag-aral naman ako nang maayos nang dahil sa kanila.

But those lessons not only includes how to learn academically, but also the way how a werewolf works in our small camp. Tinuruan akong makipaglaban sa mga kapwa naming mga werewolf. They taught me everything that they know about, starting from the basic, up until the difficult parts.

Kahit si Manuel ay nagawa ko na ring harapin isang beses. At sa hindi inaasahang pangyayari, nagawa ko siyang talunin sa sparring na naganap noong kabataan namin. That led to his concrete decision to choose me as the camp's beta when he took control over the whole camp after his father's death.

Being the beta, I'm the one who would take care of the camp whenever Manuel is not around. Which I did my best, considering that nothing's wrong has happened in our camp since then not until the attack of that feral werewolf has stirred the peacefulness of our camp.

The frequent attack every full moon started when Manuel's youngest brother, Ricardo, has gone missing. Hindi namin mahanap ang kapatid niya, maging ang tatay at ang nanay ni Manuel, hindi magkanda-ugaga sa lahat ng mga nangyari.

A lot of things happened in a span of week, hanggang sa dumating ang unang beses na may umatakeng werewolf sa camp namin. Nobody knows what to do about it, they don't want to consider killing it as everyone knows it was a werewolf, a human just like us.

Hindi lang talaga namin malaman kung sino ang nasa likod ng werewolf na iyon, and Manuel's family safely assumed that it was their youngest family member.

I can't blame them in any ways. Kahit sino iisipin ang gano'ng side ng kuwento, when Ricardo has disappeared, everyone created their own theories, and even stories on what could possibly has happened.

Na-kidnap ba si Ricardo? Did he just wander around and got lost and was forced to live on his own instinctively? Since he was not taught yet on how to handle the power of being a werewolf, malamang ay isa rin itong dahilan kung bakit siya naging feral.

Sa totoo lang, kapag nagiging werewolf kami, kung mahina ang willpower ng isang shifter, nawawala yung sense of consciousness namin sa paligid namin. That's why we need to learn how to handle it. Kailangan naming i-maximize yung paggamit ng senses namin. Otherwise we will become a senseless wolf, craving for someone's flesh to devour.

And that's one of the reason why I became like this.

With Margot's help, I can definitely locate this warlock named Armando in no time. Nararamdaman ko, naaamoy ko, na nasa malapit lang siya.

Bakit kaya hindi nila magawang hanapin ang taong iyon? If only Armando did help Margot back then, siguro hindi na humantong sa lahat ang nangyayari ngayon.

I need to save Monalisa. We need to keep her safe, hindi ko hahayaan na may mangyaring masama sa kaniya. Knowing the fact that she was still alive and just fighting the force of  those witches, we really need to do it today.

Dahil bukas na bukas nang gabi, tiyak na aatake na naman ang feral werewolf na iyon sa Camp namin, and nobody but Manuel and I, could control that creature.

Samantala, hindi ko pa rin mawari kung gaano kalayo pa ang aking tatakbuhin para marating ang kinaroroonan ni Armando. If only I know the whole place, I could certainly find a shortcut wherever I want to go.

Puro kakahuyan na kasi ang nakapaligid sa akin, at dahil sa matalas na pang-amoy na mayroon ako ngayon, samo't saring mga samyo ang aking nakukuha. I can smell different kinds of animals wandering around, at maging ang amoy ng tubig sa ilog sa di-kalayuan ay naaamoy ko rin.

It smells like rust, something that I usually taste whenever I swim into an abandoned lake. One thing is for sure, there's a lake somewhere around this forest.

Seconds has passed, turned into minutes, and later on an hour, yet the smell of Armando's whereabouts is still unclear where to find. I can feel it's nearby, pero sa tuwing lumalapit na ako, bigla na lang nag-iiba ang direksiyon ng samyo nito.

As if the smell is technically luring me out and giving me false direction.

Pero hindi ko siya hahayaang makatakas. If Armando can sense my presence and was trying his best to evade me. Doon siya nagkakamali, I can be brutal in terms of hunting. Gaya nga ng nabanggit ko kay Angel, if only Manuel does not care about that feral werewolf, I would have killed it in no time.

Kaya bago pa mahuli ang lahat ay agad akong huminto sa pagtakbo. I looked around me, I saw more trees and trees after one another. The direction of the smell is branching from twice and suddenly into four direction.

One leads to the north, and the other three leads to the opposite direction. It's like I am using a malfunctioning compass. "Buwisit," napamura na lang ako.

I thought this was easy. Akala ko magiging madali lang ang lahat pero masyado pala akong nag-assume tungkol dito. Armando is indeed aware of me now.

He's probably watching me from afar. Observing all of my actions, thinking whether I bring good or bad intentions.

When suddenly I felt a swift slice of wind that slashed a branch of a tree beside me. Nahulog ang sanga sa lupa at nakita ko kung gaano kalinis ang pagkapuputol nito. It was cut as if a sharp knife was thrown directly at it.

Napatingin na lang ako sa direksyon kung saan iyon nanggaling. The smell that I was following was not even pointing there, what kind of sorcery is this?

That's when I realized, maybe this is not Armando who is attacking me right now. Maybe it's one of those familiar na nakabantay at may balak na pigilan ako sa gusto kong gawin.

I carefully observed my surroundings. I felt the same situation back when I was driving the motorcycle when Soledad asked to go with me on my way to Wichita.

Naramdaman ko na nasa peligrosong sitwasyon noon sina Manuel kaya walang pasubali kong iniwan si Soledad at agad na tumakbo palayo upang magbago ng anyo bilang wereolf.

If I was late at least even a second, siguradong malubhang nasaktan si Angel noon. I cannot let that happen to me, there's no other way. I will need to defend myself in order for me to fulfill my objectives.

Come what may, handa akong labanan ang familiar o anumang klase ng demonyo ang siyang nag-aabang sa akin ngayon.

With my eyes closed, I sensed everything that is moving around me. May mga nakikita akong imahe ng mga ibon na lumilipad sa di-kalayuan, may isang ligaw na aso na tumatakbo sa malapit, hanggang sa biglang mahagip ng paningin ko ang imahe ng isang tila malaking tao na nakalutang sa hangin.

I opened my eyes and looked to its direction and I was shocked when a sharp pang of wind hits me on my cheek. Nasapo ko ang aking mukha at nang mapatingin ako sa aking palad ay doon ko nakita ang sariwang dugo na unti-unting dumadaloy mula sa hiwa sa aking pisngi.

In return, I started to feel the fury over my body as I focused my eyes into the creature's direction. To my surprise, hindi na nagdalawang-isip ang halimaw at sunod-sunod itong umatake sa direksiyon ko gamit ang hangin na hindi ko alam kung paano iiwasan.

I crouched and rolled over my left side as I watch the ground where I stood before bursts in complete succession. Nagkalat ang mga buhangin nang dahil sa pag-atake na ginawa ng halimaw na iyon.

Uminit ang pakiramdam ko hanggang sa unti-unti kong naramdaman ang pagbabago ng aking anyo. My muscles tensed as my legs and arms gets bigger.

Naramdaman ko ang pagtalas ng aking mga ngipin at ang paglinaw ng aking mga mata. Mas lalo kong nakita ang itsura ng halimaw na nakalutang sa di-kalayuan habang nakatitig sa aking direksyon.

May apat itong sungay sa harapan ng kaniyang bungo ngunit wala itong mga mata. Tanging isang malaking bibig na puno ng matatalas na mga ngipin ang siyang makikita mo sa kaniyang wangis.

Its elongated arms swung another attack into my direction again but this time I decided to go on offensive mode. Tumakbo ako habang nasa katawang lobo ako at agad akong tumalon sa mga puno para sunggaban siya mula sa itaas.

But the creature was fast enough to counter my attack. When I jumped over one of the trees near it, the creature blasted an attack on the tree and cut it on half. Dahil sa nangyari ay wala akong nakapitan at nahulog ako sa lupa.

I watched how it cuts the trees around it in half and that's made me feel like it knows what to do.

Paanong gagawin ko rito, this is not the same creature that I fought with the night when Angel and Manuel was attacked. Is there a chance that this is a different familiar owned by someone else?

Hindi ko alam kung anong iisipin ko, bagkus ay minabuti ko na lang na tumakbo palayo para makahanap ako ng lugar na kaya ko itong kalabanin nang patas.

I simulated an action plan in my mind. This creature can hover in the air, the way how it attack is by manipulating air into thin slices of impenetrable force, and it seems like it doesn't make any noise?

Kailangan ko itong tapusin agad. Tumatakbo ang oras habang kaharap ko ang halimaw na ito.

Narinig ko ang agos ng tubig sa malapit. The lake is nearby and I know I can run there. Open area man iyon pero baka may magawa akong puwede ko ipanglaban sa kaniya.

Meanwhile, while I'm running away, the creature keeps following me in a quick phase. Hindi siya nagpatinag at lahat ng mga punong nadadaanan namin ay pinuputol niya ang mga sanga nito.

Naglalaglagan sa lupa ang bawat sanga dahilan para gumawa ito ng malaking kalat sa gitna ng kagubatan. I am not being stopped by this thought anyway, I'll deal with this monster once and for all.

Then it hits me. Kung sinusundan niya ako ngayon, I can give this creature a quick surprise.

Tumingala ako sa mga nagtataasang puno sa paligid, I calculated my steps as I decided to run and jump on one of those trees. At sa pagtalon ko at pag-akyat ko sa isa mga puno ay agad kong sinunggaban ang halimaw na hindi yata  naisip kung ano ang binabalak ko.

While I'm mid-air, I watched the creature from eye to eye. Bumagal ang oras, ang takbo nito ay tila huminto nang makita kong masusunggaban ko na ang leeg nito.

And I just did it. Nasunggaban ko ito sa leeg at agad kaming bumagsak sa lupa. I didn't take any second chances as I continued biting over its neck and began hearing its loud cry.

Sinubukan akong puluputan ng mga kamay nito, mula sa aking binti, sa aking mga kamay, at maging sa aking leeg, ngunit hindi ko siya tinantanan.

My thirst for blood makes me feel ravenous. I devour the familiar's face going from its neck up until its body. It's trying to fight, to defend its own, pero hindi nito magawang lumaban.

This familiar can only fight when it's hovering in the air. Pero sa lupa ay wala siyang kalaban-laban.

Up until we reached the point that the familiar stopped moving, its arms started to detach itself over my body, hanggang sa bigla na lang itong naging abo.

Nang tuluyan itong maglaho ay bigla na lamang akong nakarinig ng pagpagaspas ng isang ibon sa di-kalayuan. I looked over to its direction and I saw the scent coming from it.

It couldn't be.

An old man wearing a black leather jacket is watching over me from afar. I can sense a huge amount of energy emanating over him. Ramdam ko kung gaano iyon kalakas.

Hanggang sa bigla na lang akong manigas sa aking kinatatayuan. And at that point, my body started to go back into my human form again.

Sa pagbabalik ng aking katawan sa pagiging normal na tao, nakita ko na naman ang sarili kong walang saplot. I am naked.

Whenever I'm naked, I feel so vulnerable.

"Sino ka," I heard someone's voice inside my head. That man, he's asking me. "Anong ginagawa mo sa teritoryo ko?"

Sumakit ang ulo ko, hindi ko kaya ang pakiramdam ng ginagawa niya sa akin. Kumikirot ang bawat ugat sa ulo ko kaya't dagli akong napasapo rito.

Akala ko ba protektado na kami ni Margot laban sa panghihimasok ninuman sa isipan namin? Pero bakit ganito?

"W-wala akong binabalak na masama. May tao lang akong kailangang hanapin," pinilit kong magsalita kahit na sobrang sakit ng ulo ko.

"Sino ang taong hinahanap mo?" the man asked me again.

Another pang of painful surge went to my head. Hindi ko na maiwasang hindi mapa-aray sa sakit.

"S-si Armando... kailangan ni Margot ang tulong ng taong iyon..." napayuko na ako sa lupa, hindi ko na talaga kinaya ang sakit ng ulo ko, pakiramdam ko ay anumang oras ay mawawalan na ako ng malay.

The man started walking into my direction. On his shoulder, a crow is perched silently. Mahaba ang buhok nito na tila ilang buwan na ring hindi nagugupitan, even the features of his face looked rough to me.

He lend his hands to help me get up.

Tinanggap ko naman ang alok niya na tulungan akong tumayo ngunit nang mahawakan ko ang kaniyang kamay ay bigla na lang akong nakaramdam ng kuryenteng dumaloy sa aking buong katawan.

Sobrang sakit ng pakiramdam na para bang daan-daang karayom ang tumutusok nang sabay-sabay sa balat mo, sa loob mismo ng katawan mo. Hanggang sa tuluyan na lang akong mawalan ng kontrol sa aking sarili.

The final thing that I heard from that old man before I feel that I am losing consciousness is, "Nagtagumpay kang hanapin ako."