Alycia and Reubert brought Stella far from them so they wouldn't be caught by Edmond and his friends. Stella couldn't keep up with how fast they ran and instantly stopped at a place she doesn't know. She won't get used to the feeling of it. She's just trying not to vomit all the time. They stood in the steep of the hill where they could see the whole-small town of Freymount from the position they were in. It's like a piece of lego houses in which the ants are the people living in a miniature town.

They were surrounded by prolific trees and sheltered themselves under the branches not to be exposed from the direct sunlight. They could burn under the direct sunlight but they possessed an enchanted material called a daylight ring that helped them to walk under the sun.

Reubert gripped Stella's arm so she won't be able to run from them. Wala rin namang kalaban-laban si Stella where these vampires possessed supernatural abilities.

"Anong gagawin niyo sa akin?" tanong ni Stella, binatuhan niya ng masamang tingin ang dalawa.

Umangat ang mukha ni Alycia at mariing tinitigan ang dalaga. Lumaban din naman ng tingin si Stella. She's trying to look tough kahit alam niyang buhay ang magiging kapalit nito.

"I can hear your heart beating so fast, Stella," ngisi pa ni Alycia. "Are you nervous?"

"No, I'm not!" she exclaimed. "Anong ginagawa natin dito? Ano na namang kailangan niyo sa akin?!"

"We have a deal, right?" Alycia taunted. Umiwas na naman ng tingin si Stella. Alam niya na kung saan hahantong ang usapang ito. Para lang sa big break nilang dalawa ni Ully, maging ang buhay ay itataya niya. No one may not understand how she took her actions, Stella knew what she has been doing all along. "Three blocks away from the motel, narinig namin 'yong pinag-uusapan ng apat. And here you are, exposing us then you have the audacity to look brave in front of us? How pathetic."

"Why would you do that, bitch?" Reubert grunted.

"It supposedly not to happen," she explained. "They're defying me. Hindi ko mapipigilan ang bibig ko kapag na-ta-trap ako sa isang sitwasyon, okay? Bakit hindi muna kayo magpakatao para maramdaman niyo ang nararamdaman ko? Siguro kahit maging tao kayo, wala pa rin kayong puso at malasakit."

Nagulat na lamang si Stella nang lumagapak sa kanyang pisngi ang kamay ni Alycia. Napasinghal na lamang ito. Nalamatan nito ang pisngi ng dalaga at bahagyang nagdugo ito.

Reubert eyes landed on the blood. He wanted to taste it pero iginiya ni Alycia ang paningin niya upang hindi ito matakam at bago pa mawalan ng kontrol. Napangisi na lamang si Reubert, pagkakataon na sana niya iyon para pagpiyestahan si Stella. Hindi naman ininda ng dalaga ang hapdi ng sugat sa kanyang pisngi. Gusto niyang umalis sa pagkakahawak ni bampira sa kanyang braso pero hindi sapat ang kanyang lakas.

"Hindi mo ba alam kung anong ginawa mong panlalaglag sa amin, Stella?" tukoy ni Alycia. "Ginawa mo lang komplikado ang lahat na gusto ko na lang kunin ang puso mo at pagpiyestahan ng mga hayop. At dahil sa ginawa mo, you won't be able to get that book. You've messed up so bad, Stella."

"Where's the poison?" Reubert asked with authority in his tone.

"I don't know what you're talking about," aniya.

"Fuck you," Reubert smirked. "Remember the vial of poison I gave you earlier? Nasaan na 'yon?"

"I don't have it anymore."

"Did you use all of it?" he asked and she nodded. "Fuck! Axiom poison is hard to get that! You could've used a drop, that'll do the work! You really messed up, Stella. Big time! Maybe we shouldn't have trusted you. You're selfish dahil ang gusto mo lang ay makuha ang history book. And now... maybe it's the best time to kill you."

"No, no, no," Stella stammered, trying to stop Alycia and Reubert from killing her. 

Alycia was already preparing to bite her, polishing her fingernails to rip out her heart. Stella creased her furrowed, wondering what she was doing. 

"Listen to me first before you harmed me or do anything," she said, breathing so fast like she's going to pass out in any second. "I'm gonna have to tell you something and you would regret it if you killed me right away without hearing what I'm gonna say. Just listen to me first and I don't care if you believe it or not, but it is what was happening now."

"Go on," she demanded. "You have our attention."

"Could you please let go of me for a second? Imposible rin naman akong makatakas sa inyong dalawa," ani Stella at binigyan naman ni Alycia si Reubert ng permission to let her go. She checked her arms at bumabalik na sa normal ang kulay nito. Sa higpit ng pagkakahawak ni Reubert ay nag-iba ang kulay nito. "Okay, let me explain how it went with the Axiom poison..." Stella took a deep breath.

"What did you do with it?" Reubert questioned.

"I used it on Edmond," she confessed.

Both vampires gasped when she said that.  

"How?" Alycia wondered. Mas lalo siyang na-intriga sa ginawa nito. "Explain it to us so we'll think about sparing your life for now."

"Of course, mabuti nang nagkakaintindihan. But I'm not sure if you're ready to hear this, Aletheia—I mean, Alycia, but I think you need to hear this one," Stella swallowed. Alycia rolled her eyes. "I gave the poison to Edmond and at first, I thought he has no idea what was going on but later on, it affected him differently. Just like what Reubert said, it won't kill him but it made him more susceptible to uncontrollable things. I just want to know some secrets from him until he blatantly told something about his past...

"What past?" Alycia questioned.

"Way back what happened in the year 1843," Stella said. Alycia's eyes widened as if she already knew what's coming next. "Do you remember your cousin named Homer? Edmond killed him."

"Wait," Alycia stiffened. Bago ito sa kanya. She never heard of this before. "Did he really tell that? It's funny how he told me before na wala siyang kinalaman do'n. How clueless he was made me feel so stupid right now. I should've known at that moment."

"But Edmond said he's better off dead," Stella continued. "Edmond caught your cousin watching you change your clothes. He told me he was a maniac. He might have some motives to you before, but maybe Edmond found out about it. That's what he told me. And then when everyone's fast asleep, Edmond feed on him and ripped his heart out. He said it was the most satisfying thing he'd have done before."

"He was a ripper," she gasped. Napahugot na lamang ng malalalim na hininga si Alycia. Hinding-hindi niya makakalimutan ang araw na 'yon. Iyon ang nag-cause ng panic sa buong Freymount na mistulang umabot pa sa mga susunod na bayan. She thought he was there to keep her safe, but he was the monster hiding in plain sight. "He lied to me. Everything he said was a lie. Hindi ko dapat siya pinagkatiwalaan noon."

"But you did because you have a pure heart before, Aletheia—they called you the beacon of hope and peace, right? The purity in your heart made everyone loved you.  You're still pretty until to this day but your heart absorbed so much hatred now. But who would blame you when you became the monster they were all afraid of."

Lumapit naman si Alycia sa mukha ni Stella at mas lalong nagingibabaw kay Alycia ang malalakas na kabog ng dibdib nito. Hindi naman binawi ni Stella ang pakikipagtitigan sa bampira. "You don't know my story so don't ever tell that to my face."

"So, what other stuff he told you while he's under the poison?"

Stella shook her head. "Nothing else. Iyon lang ang sinabi niya sa akin. Maybe dahil sa dami nang nailagay ko, mas na-trigger ang pinakamalalim niyang sikreto. I was waiting for more, but he's resisting it."

"That's why they were all in the motel room," Reubert muttered, nodding his head like it's making sense to him now.

"And he told me that he's not the enemy. He was just doing this to keep this town safe and I'm only doing this because of my job. I know the risk of dealing with both of you and I shouldn't have done it in the first place," Stella scoffed. "And maybe... you should stop killing him even though he was the one who took your perfect life before."

"Don't you dare to dictate to me on what should I do. Edmond deserved to be killed and that's why I'm always coming back here to fulfill my objective of killing the monster."

"Well, you're a monster like him though."

Gustong baliin ni Alycia ang ulo ng babaeng kaharap dahil hindi niya nagugsutuhan ang mga salitang lumalabas sa bibig nito. Naghihintay naman si Stella ng pag-atake nito kaya ipinikit na lamang niya ang kanyang mata at naramdaman ang mabilis na paglapit ni Alycia, but then something happened.

A strong amount of force came out of Stella that made Alycia and Reubert flew far away from her. Pati ang mga napakapaligid sa kanilang mga puno at damo ay hindi nakaligtas. Kahit ang mga ibong malayang lumilipad lamang sa paligid ay lumipad papalayo. Buong gulat na lamang ng dalawang bampira ang nasaksihan nila kaya dali-dali silang umalis at iniwan sa bundok ang dalaga.

Nang ma-realize ni Stella na walang nangyayari at biglang tumahimik ang paligid ay iminulat niya ang kanyang mga mata. Ikinagulat na lamang niya kung anong mga nangyari. May bilog na umukit sa lupa habang ang mga nakapaligid na puno at damo ay dumapa at mistulang hinalikan ang lupa. Parang delubyo ang kanyang nasaksihan. Napuno na lamang ng pagtataka ang kanyang mukha sa nasaksihan.

She looked up at the sky and the ray of sunlight dazzled her sight and not that long when she felt dizzy and passed out, falling on the ground.

On the other hand, Edmon and Pellegrino continued searching for Stella and followed the traces where could the vampires might've brought her.

Naghiwalay silang dalawa upang mas mapabilis ang paghahanap. Sa Freymount Academy, bars, sa ilang bahay, at maging sa masukal na kagubatan. Hindi naman nila nahanap si Stella at wala silang ideya kung saan hahagilapin ito. Kahit na malunlon si Edmond sa sakit dahil sa ginawa ni Stella, ayaw niya pa rin itong malagay sa alanganin.

Nagkita ang dalawa malapit sa likod ng Freymount Chapel. Wala gaanong tao sa paligid at nagkalat ang mga dahon na nagbasakan mula sa puno. Habang iniisip nila kung saan nila ito dadalhin ay may napansin naman sila na pumasok sa kalapit na abadonadong bahay.

Hindi na nagdalawang isip ang dalawa na tingnan kung sino ang mga iyon. 

Tumungo sila sa abandonadong bahay at pinasok ang loob nito. Doon naman nila nakita kung sino ang nananalagi sa loob ng bahay. Nagulat naman ang dalawang bampira ng makita sina Edmond at Pell.

"Pa'no niyo nahanap na nandito kamii?" tanong ni Alycia.

"I did," pagtaas ni Pell ng kamay. "I saw you both went inside this abandoned house."

"Pero paano kayo nakapasok?" takang tanong Reubert.

"Vampires doesn't need to be invited to an abandoned house," Edmond answered. "You took Stella away and we're here to get her back."

"She's not with us anymore. We left her somewhere."

"You should go now before anything bad happened to your human friend," Reubert smirked.

"If you harmed her, I'll get back to both of you," Edmond warned.

"Whatever, Ed," Alycia laughed, rolling her eyes. "Your human friend doesn't just do normal things. She's a monster and maybe that's the reason why you were keeping her on your side."

"I know what she is, Alycia," he smirked. "I've been aware of that since I saw her. But you should back off to both of them. Where is she then?"

Pell nudged him when he noticed the footprints of their shoes. "I think I know now where they went."

"We gotta go now," Edmond said, but as they were about to leave the abandoned house, Alycia grabbed him on his neck. "Let go of me, Alycia. I'll just it once or you'll be dead forever."

She leaned closer to him and whispered. "I won't stop until you die, Edmondo the Ripper." Mas hinigpitan nito ang pagkakasakal sa leeg habang idinidiin sa dingding. But then Pellegrino kicked her out as she removed her hands from him. Umalis na rin naman kaagad ang dalawa.

Hinawakan na lamang ni Reubert ang kamay ni Alycia. "You'll do what you aspire, babe. We'll make sure of that."

And at the back of her mind, she just thought, all ends prevail time and he will see his end at the time when he already lost himself.

***

AXIOM means a statement accepted as true as the basis for argument or inference. / An established rule or principle or self-evident truth. (Merriam Websters)