Chapter 7: VII

Emotions are a fuse of storms.

It comes out natural, out of control.

Like a cloud that can't contain anymore, it cries rain.

Who would you choose to hold when a flood of emotions hit you? Is it a hand of a stranger or a hand of a companion? What if the hand you choose to hold is the hand that helped you drown?

° ° °

YEAR 2017

Droplets of water devoured the silence of the night.

"Hello, do you hear me?" A man full of blood in his mouth whispered to himself. He caresses his face using his hands tainted with blood. A sly leer formed on his face as he saw its reflection in a pool full of water.

"How are you in there?" he asked again, but this time to the man who was soaked into the water with chains on his arms and body. The froth was visible on the water.

He's in a state of fight-or-flight as he struggles to hold his breath.

He pulled him up and the man is panting; trying to catch his breath.

"You f*cking Traitor, I'll tell everything to D--" the man's word cut off when he pushed him back to the water of the pool.

The man was now in great despair as he was hardly fighting for his life.

"How dare you shout at my face for being a traitor, when it was you who put a burden on my back first!? You are the real traitor!" He shouted to the man. "You always took off my place from my parents!" he added.

The man in the pool managed to respond despite his dead situation.

"They were my parents, not yours!" He shouted, full of anguish while blood from his neck are flowing due to the stab created by the perpetrator. "Kill me! At the end of the day, Father will know you did this! You're still a loser!"

"A loser? I don't think a loser can kill you. You can't outsmart me. No one!" The killer's tears drop on the pool water.

"All I did to be the best in their eyes wasn't enough. I did everything to prove to them that I deserve to be called a son... without them being ashamed of my failures and accepting what I accomplished. But still, they didn't recognize everything I've done; my sacrifices. Every day I am dying just to prove them my worth! I cried rain and drown myself in emotions just to satisfy them, but nothing! All they see is still you! You! Only you!" Pain and anguish mixed his emotions. "Even though you did nothing, you're still the best! Their beloved and favorite son! And I hate you for being the only best in their eyes!"

"Attention seeker! You saw me as an enemy!?" He shouted.

"You're not my enemy, my enemy was what I feel towards you..." An evil smirk formed on his face. "You know rather than ourselves, the greatest and worst enemy is our emotions." Laughter came out from him.

"Do you remember the last line from the excerpt you took from me?" he asked, "I want you to recite it in front of me, before I end your precious breathing."

"I'll give the credit back to you, just let me out of here," he begged but the perpetrator didn't listen to him.

"Recite it in front of me!" he shouted.

"I b-burn soul with flowing liquid flames..."

"Louder!" The man was trembling with fear now.

"It grew overtime until darkness descended. Time comes I'll take over pain

Until the soul is deemed evil! Now get me out of here!"

"You delivered my work well. But for you to know, that's exactly what I feel towards you!" He stood up and get the gallon of gasoline beside him. "Now, let me show you what it feels like to drown without a hand to hold!" The perpetrator spilled the gasoline on the pool. And he lit it up with fire.

"How does it feel? It's hard to breathe right?!" He asked while overwhelmingly looking at the man drowning in pain due to the fire.

"Bastard! There were CCTV cameras on the house. They will still know everything!"

"I maybe not smart as you think but I'm not stupid as you. I am no killer if I let myself caught that easy." He smiled. He watched the man in great despair.

"You're insane! Do you think you can get away from this!? Never! I'll bring you to hell!"

"No need to wait in there... I'm already in hell," he said, smiling while tears are slowly dripping down his cheeks as he watches him drown in the flaming fire in the pool.

KAMPO MORTE | DAY FOUR

A sudden buzz awakens my sleeping soul. I look at the bracelet that was given to us and I saw the tick of the clock at exactly six post meridian.

I rubbed my left eye while my right one was still close. I feel like my heart dropped when a hand rested on my shoulder.

"Ano’ng nangyayari?" Of course, it's no other than Dem. This man will definitely stab me to death with what he is doing.

Wala pa ito sa wisyo ngunit nakaupo na ito, nakapikit rin ang mga mata nito nang itanong niya 'yon sa akin. Tril was behind him sitting while sleeping at his back. I let out a smile because of what I saw. Despite them being the cat and dog of our group, I can still see some sort of trust building between them.

"You're dreaming, wake up," I said and slap him in the face; not that hard. Nabuhayan ito ng kaluluwa at napahawak ng pisngi. Nagtataka rin itong napatingin sa akin.

"Sorry, there's a fly," pagpapalusot ko.

"Saan? Napatay mo ba?" tanong nito habang hinahanap ang langaw.

"No, I realized their lives are precious too," pabirong sagot ko sa kaniya. Napatingin ito sa akin.

"Sa bagay, pero ang swerte naman no'n nakadampi sa poging nilalang," lakas loob na sabi nito. Dem is really overconfident sometimes.

"Natutulog ako pero rinig pa rin ng kaluluwa ko ang kakapalan mo," Tril said, groaning. Umayos ito ng upo at napatingin naman si Dem sa kaniya.

"Totoo naman kasi," giit nito habang nakangiti.

"Ang alin? Na makapal ang mukha mo?" saad ni Tril. Kahit kailan talaga, kapag sila ang nag-uusap wala nang ginawa ang dalawang ito kun'di mag-asaran.

"Makakapal talaga ang mukha ng mga poging kagaya ko." Ayaw magpatalo ni Dem. Napangisi na lamang kami nina Haliya at Elyt na kakagising lang din.

Nabaling ang atensyon ko kay Haliya nang i-check niya ang mga namumulang sugat niya dahil sa nangyari kagabi. Bakas pa rin ang mga pantal sa balat namin, ngunit mas malala ang natamo ni Haliya.

I think we need some remedies for this.

"What time is it?" Elyt interrupted, kaya nabaling ang atensyon namin sa kaniya.

"It's six o'clock in the evening," I answered. Tumingin din siya sa bracelet para siguraduhin.

"We still haven't received any announcements?" Napatingin kami sa isa't isa at biglang naging bakas sa pagmumukha namin ang pangamba. Halos buong araw na rin kaming nagaantay sa susunod na gagawin, nakatulog na kami lahat-lahat dahil sa pagod kagabi ay wala pa rin kaming natatanggap. Hindi sa gusto naming makatanggap ngunit ang weird lang kasi. I want unexpected surprises but not this one.

"G-guys... huwag na muna nating isipin ang mga bagay na 'yan. Let's eat first," ani Tril.

Pagkatapos naming magligpit ay lumabas na kami para magluto at maghain ng kakainin namin. Matapos kami ituro sa lokasyon na ito gamit ang bracelet ay nakaabang na rin sa amin ang mga pagkain. As usual, gano'n pa rin ang mga pagkain. Ready to eat foods, at halos mag-iisang linggo na rin kaming hindi kumakain ng kanin. Mabuti naman at kinakaya ng mga sikmura namin. Isang dahilan siguro kung bakit hindi na namin alintana ang pagkain ay dahil sa nararamdaman naming takot araw-araw.

Gumawa na ng bonfire si Dem, mabuti na lamang at laking boy scout siya kaya marami siyang alam sa camping. Habang tinutulungan ni Elyt sa bonfire si Dem ay naghanda na rin si Haliya at Tril ng mga lulutuin. Kahit na may iniinda pa na sakit ang bawat isa sa amin ay 'di pa rin nawawala ang pagtutulungan para lang maka-survive kami rito sa Kampo Morte.

Lumayo muna ako sa kanila ng kaunti para maghanap ng mga herbal plants para sa mga pantal sa balat namin. Ilang minuto rin akong naghanap bago masilayan ng mga mata ko ang Mayana plants. Kumuha ako ng mga dahon nito, marami-rami rin para sa aming lahat. Pagkatapos ay bumalik na ako sa puwesto.

"Alakin, ano 'yan?" Haliya asked me while I was approaching them.

"Here use it for your burns," I offered her the Mayana leaves.

"What is this?" tanong niya habang kinukuha ito sa kamay ko.

"Mayana leaves. Crushed it first and apply it to your burns. It has natural anti-inflammatory properties, and it can reduce the swelling," I explained and sat on the ground.

"Thank you, Alakin," wika nito at ngumiti sa akin. I just smiled at her.

"You guys can also use it on your burns," I said to all of them.

"Palagyan ako, Haliya," Dem asked Haliya. Lumapit ito kay Haliya at nagpalagay.

Tril lighted the bonfire using her lighter. My attention focused on that lighter she had. It's still a mystery to me what that rune means.

"Alakin? Okay ka lang?" tanong nito ng mapansin akong titig na titig sa lighter niya.

Tumango lang ako at nginitian siya ng pilit.

She looked at her lighter. "Do you want my lighter?" she asked and handed it to me. "You can have it," she added.

I looked at her in awe. "R-really? But it's important to you, right?"

"Ye... yes but just consider it as a token of our friendship." She smiled and started cooking the hotdogs. Nagsi-upuan na rin ang lahat at kaniya-kaniyang luto ng hotdog.

A moment of silence first until I let out a word that got their attention.

"Friendship..."

"Do you accept it?" Tril asked. I looked at the lighter and after that, I gazed at them.

"You still don't want us?" Elyt asked. I kept silent for a while and didn't respond to that question. I don't know what I would feel, despite our differences, our trust issues, and me being pretentious, I value them for trusting me in every life and death situation. Maybe, what I watch in movies is true; life and death situations would create a great bond especially when their hands lift each other to survive.

"Silence means no. Okay, we get it." Elyt chuckled and cook his last hotdog.

"N-no, it's not that way." Sabay-sabay silang napatingin sa akin.

"It's another way around? Wait, do you mean?" Tril confusedly asked while a portion of happiness was seen on her face.

"After we've been through, I saw the trust you've given to me. All my life I thought my voice would forever be trapped in a dungeon of unheard voices. I mean... I always feel that nobody was willing to listen to me, so I shut myself." I let out a deep sigh and continue, "Until I met all of you in here. Despite the tension and high emotions that triggered us to our core. I realized I should be more vocal in my words... to be able to hear and be heard because sometimes exchanging thoughts is one way to be heard. I am always an outcast, but in here I found a perfect circle to fit in." I stopped for a while and looked at them seriously. "Kampo Morte might be the worst nightmare I would live up forever but at least we made each other friends. That for sure is a treasure I found on this camp." A plain smile formed on my face.

I observed Haliya and Tril's teary-eyed.

"Alakin, you made me cry," saad ni Tril habang pinunasan ang tumulong luha sa pisngi nito. She put her lighter on my hand.

"Thank you for the friendship, everyone!" she exclaimed.

"Friendship lang? Baka kailangan mo ng magmamahal sa'yo, dito lang ako," nakakalokong wika ni Dem kaya napatingin kami sa kaniya.

"Dem, alam mo namang sakit kita sa ulo pero I appreciate you. But..." Tril smiled at him and continued, "I don't need a man in my life. I'm fine on my own."

Napahawak naman si Dem sa dibdib nito. Maybe as a sign that he was hurt being rejected.

"Ikain mo na lang ng hotdog 'yan, Dem. Tapos damihan mo ng inom ng tubig, magpakalunod ka sa tubig para mawala 'yang sakit ng nararamdaman mo," sabi ni Elyt sabay akbay rito.

Nabaling ang atensyon namin ng sabay-sabay na nag-appear ang screen ng bracelets namin sa braso.

Deep is the word

Sink in the ground

Drown in time

"Here we go again," sambit ni Tril saka tumayo at inayos ang bagong suot na damit na may disenyo ng Kampo Morte na binibigay sa amin. "Tapusin na natin 'to," dagdag pa niya habang tinatali ang buhok.

Wala na kaming choice kun'di tumayo na rin. Napatigil ako saglit at saka napatingin kay Elyt na ngayon ay naiwang nakaupo pa rin. Nakapokus lamang ang titig nito sa screen at sa aking obserbasyon ay malalim ang iniisip nito.

Maybe he's just analyzing the clue on another mystery and deadly journey.

"Elyt, are you okay?" I asked him. He gazed at me slowly.

"Y-yeah! I just tried to study the clue," he answered and get up.

"Guys, I know we're already sick of this hell camp, but we've reached this far so we need to survive until we find out the root of all these sufferings and until we can get out alive and embrace our freedom again," Elyt said. I know he wanted to uplift us. Kasi wala namang ibang gagawa no'n kun'di kami-kami lang din. We need to uplift each other.

We looked at each other.

"We will. This is not a place to give up," I said.

"Then let's go," Tril said.

We started to navigate the wilderness. Wala kaming direksyon na natanggap, ang tanging alas lang namin ay ang clue na binigay sa amin. Sa palagay ko ay kailangan namin itong hanapin.

We already walked 30 minutes but still, we are looking at no sign of clues.

"Pagod na ako. P'wede ba na magpahinga muna tayo?" Tril requested.

"Himala napagod ang tanging kilala kong strong woman," sarkastikong wika ni Dem. Tinignan ito ng masama ni Tril.

"Strong women are vulnerable with exhaustion too. Ano'ng akala mo sa akin, robot na walang pakiramdam? Bawal mapagod, gano'n?" pagtataray nito.

"O’, huwag ka nang magalit, nagbibiro lang e'," giit ni Dem at saka inabutan ng bottled water si Tril. Kinuha naman ito ni Tril at inirapan si Dem.

Bago niya inumin ang tubig ay tinignan niya muna ito. "Baka may gayuma 'to a’?" tanong ni Tril.

"Edi swerte mo," tugon ni Dem. Winisikan muna ito ni Tril ng tubig bago niya ito inumin. Itong dalawa talaga kahit kailan ay aso't pusa. I can't really imagine them being together. Sometimes God has its ways, I guess.

"Ang cute niyo. Bagay kayong dalawa," Haliya interrupted, and that made Tril spit the water from her mouth.

"Haliya!" Tril exclaimed.

"Mabuti pa si Haliya nakikita na may future tayo," sabi ni Dem kaya lalo lang nainis si Tril.

"P'wes, ako hindi!" usal ni Tril sabay balik sa dibdib ni Dem ng tubig. Napainda naman ito.

Pagkatapos magpahinga ng sampung minuto ay bumalik na kami sa paglalakad. Habang naglalakad kami ay napapansin ng dulo ng mga mata ko na may kasabayan kaming naglalakad.

I just silently observe it, while its identity is still unclear to me because of the tall plants in this wilderness.

"Wait guys, saang direksyon na ba tayo?" Napahinto kami ng bahagya ng magtanong si Haliya.

Napatingin ako sa babaeng sumasabay sa aming maglakad.

"I think this is the way," I said while pointing in the direction where I saw the lady.

"Are you sure, Alakin?" Tril asked. At first, I was hesitant to confirm but there was this unexplainable feeling I am getting every time that woman appeared to me.

"I g-guess... there's no wrong in trying," I said.

"But there's harm," giit naman ni Elyt, at saka walang pakundangang naglakad papunta sa direksyon na tinuro ko. Well, he's kind of complicated sometimes.

"Ha? Hindi ba dapat 'there's no harm in trying' 'yon? Hindi naman ako na-inform nabago na pala," wika ni Dem saka sumunod na rin kay Elyt.

"Need mo pa ba 'yon, Dem?" pabirong saad naman ni Tril at sumunod na rin.

Ngayon ay kami na lamang ni Haliya ang naiwan dito. I looked at her who is deeply staring at me.

"What?" I asked, with no bit of emotion.

"Alakin, okay ka pa ba?" tanong nito. I guess Haliya knew that there was something wrong with me already. Since I became cryptic with her the last time, for sure she's really confused right now.

"You know everything's not fine since the first day we step foot on this camp, Haliya," I said to her. She sighed.

"Yeah, you're right," she just agreed. I'm about to walk but she spoke again. "By the way, that day you asked me on the cellar... if I can die with you." I looked at her with guilt. "I actually think of it that moment."

"Haliya... forget what I said. I-I was just high on emotions at that time. I can't control what I think and what I feel. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it," wika ko.

"No, you mean it, Alakin. What you think and feel at that time is what you truly feel. Emotions are nature within us, and we can't control it in such a way... it comes out naturally, and sometimes that's how we respond to the situation."

"Then do you want to die with me?" I asked her without hesitation.

"I-If there are chances dying with you... then I will," she quickly responded. "But what's the price of dying?"

"A simple logic. One life is the cost, and the survival of one is the price. That's how this game works..." I stopped and heaved a sigh, "That's how society works in some ways."

"Do you think it's unfair sometimes? Some people die for others to survive?" she asked.

"It's always unfair, Haliya. I guess fairness has no place on earth. That's why selfishness grew nature in some of us." I looked down and chuckled then continue with some realizations, "I don't know if what's selfish; deprive your life for others to survive or deprive yourself a life--" My statement cut off when Tril shouted at us.

"Guys, we found it! You need to see this now!" Nagtitigan muna kami ni Haliya at saka naglakad papunta sa kanila.

Nang makarating kami sa kanila ay bumuluga sa amin ni Haliya ang isang open space ground. May mga nakabaon na kahoy na placards sa gitna at may mga nakasulat rito. Halos tatlumpong piraso rin ito. Agad-agad naman na napansin ng mga mata ko ang isang placard sa pinakagitna kung saan nakaukit ang clue na 'DEEP'.

Bago pa man ako makapagsalita ay sumigaw na si Tril.

"Deep is the word, there it is!" Sabay turo rito. Agad namin itong nilapitan.

"Ano na ang susunod nating gagawin?" tanong ni Dem.

"We need to find the other clues," Elyt suggested.

"Ano nga ulit ang clue?" tanong ni Tril habang palingon-lingon sa paligid.

"Deep is the word. Sink in the ground. Drown in time," Haliya answered.

While hearing those clues, I already knew there was something wrong with it and it speaks danger.

"Sink in the ground. The clue might be hidden on the ground," Tril queried while started searching for something on the ground.

Tumulong na rin ang tatlo sa paghahanap.

"Guys, friendly reminder, don't touch anything, okay? We don't know what danger is at the stake of our hands," Elyt warned. They all agreed as a response.

Habang naghahanap sila ng clue sa ground ay may napansin ako sa mga wooden placards kung saan nakalagay rin pala ang rules ng Kampo Morte's games.

How come it was included? The rules. I know there's something strange out here.

I focused on myself and think for a moment and then I realized something when one rule got my attention.

"Rule number three," I said, almost in a whisper.

"What?" Elyt asked as he stopped searching and focused his attention on me when he heard me say that.

"Rule number three," I said with a loud voice. Napatingin na rin si Tril at si Dem sa akin.

"We are not allowed to go back to the campsite unless we discovered something..." Napahinto ako saglit at saka seryosong tumingin sa kanila. "We all know that after we solved every mystery the bracelets tell us where we should go," I added.

"What do you mean?" Tril asked curiously as her attention was now focused on me.

"They lured us!" I exclaimed when that realization hit me. I continued, "What if the answer is just there... on why are we here? On all of these crimes?"

Hindi maipinta ang reaksyon nila ng marinig 'yon sa akin. Maybe it also just sinks into their mind what I have realized. A moment of silence for all of us.

"We need to go back to the campsite right now!" I exclaimed.

"Guys, I found it!" sigaw ni Haliya kaya nabaling ang atensyon namin sa kaniya.

She swiped the soil that covered the sign 'Sink in the ground'.

The moment she steps into it, what happened next is unexpected.

We fall and literally sink to the ground.