by Jonas Sunico
“Ha? Di kita maintindihan kuya,” she answers.
God! I can’t believe she’s still playing this game. And Askal! The little shit’s running around Carla like it’s play time. What’s wrong with my companions? I appreciate the enthusiasm but I’d appreciate a little concern for life more.
I grab my dictionary and start to look for the right words to say to the lunatic. “Uuuuum.... Hoy baliw! Tawa ka?”
She just stared at me and was about to open her mouth when we hear an incoming train... Not one train. But two trains. It’s kinda weird that two trains are both going the same way, but I guess since the apocalypse, everything that happens is weird.
The sound was smooth, but the trains sounded heavy. I look forward and there they were, very close to us. The infamous LRT trains—headed right for us.
“Tae...” Carla and I say simultaneously. Could our luck get any worse?
We stop. It looks like it’s the end for us... That is until Askal makes us total asses by simply jumping up the elevated platform that runs alongside the entire tracks... Ugh so stupid.
The zombies behind us will get taken out as well, that’s for sure. Carla and Askal are on the other side of the tracks. The trains pass and a very putrid smell fills the air. I look and see that it’s filled with students. It’s a really jam-packed trip. I kinda feel lucky for not studying in this country... I mean if that’s how the daily commute to school looks like, then count me out.
It gets very gory the moment the trains start to ram the zombies. Blood starts to splatter everywhere—blood, guts and bones! The train starts to creak and some zombies are even screaming... I think.
One zombie gets up the platform and starts to rush towards me. My first thought is of Carla and Askal. What if more than one zombie got up? But who am I kidding? Carla can protect herself.
The platform is really narrow. To my left is a high fall down to the streets; to my right is a speeding train and to my front is a running zombie. It grabs me by my shoulders and what I do next is probably instinct.
Before it gets its jaws on me, I place my hand on the zombie’s head. I then push it to the right so that it will collide with the speeding train. Its blood and brains shower my face. I feel some teeth as well but what sucks the most is how the nerves from the back of its eyes get stuck inside my nostrils.
By the time end of the train passes, all that’s left of the zombie is its batok, on which I placed my hand. Everything from the neck down is still in place. So yeah, I think I killed it.
I am very relieved to see that Carla and Askal are safe. They are also clean... unlike me. The zombies were squashed. They look like spaghetti sauce from here. I think I see some limbs still moving there as well. I take a deep breath but something’s clogged my nose up. Yup, nerve endings. Can someone get me a tissue?
“Mamaaaaa!” Carla shouted. “Yan ang pangalan nung bruha kanina, hehehe.”
That’s kinda weird to say but I think that name fits so “Mamaaaaa!” it is then.
Malacañang Palace.
“Magaling, nasagip ang mga bata gamit ang reserve energy ng LRT. Bantayan niyo lang sila; ayoko silang masaktan. Lalo na yang asong yan. NiNion! Magaling, eto banana.”
“... Banana!”
22
“Uuuuum... Ano ’tong tag ni Askal sa tenga? Anong meron sa No.8?” Carla asks me while petting the manliness out of Askal. He’s really enjoying it, but I can’t stand to see such a fearsome looking dog become a sweet adorable tuta when scratched behind the ears.
“Di ko alam. I just.... uuum. Nakita ko siya na may ganyan na sa tinga.”
Carla bursts out laughing all of a sudden and I ask why. She says I pronounced the tagalog word for “ear” wrong. Apparently I just said that Askal had a tag in the food caught in between his teeth when I saw him.
Carla finally tells me the whole prophecy that Father told her. She speaks in Tagalog again but I’m think I’m starting to get better because I can catch what she’s saying. It’s funny how I can see through the blood and dirt on her face. She looks very dirty but she’s pretty nonetheless. To be honest, the only reason I find it hard to understand her is because I often get distracted by her. And it’s actually getting worse by the second. I’ll pray to God every night just so I won’t fall in love with her. I can’t and I shouldn’t anyway.
“Hoy! Nakikinig ka ba? Nga pala, tignan mo ’tong notebook ko. Sinulatan ko sya ng mga data tungkol sa mga sombi.”
She gives me this spiral notebook with a picture of some “Wowee De Guzman” at the cover. It’s a really old notebook. I wonder if it’s the only one left at home because I would’ve picked any other notebook than this.
Anyway, I open it and inside are some sketches of the zombies we’ve run across. There are the TESbuns and BADings. There are also drawings of some regular zombies. Besides the sketches, she put in descriptions and ways to defeat them. She drew them really well—probably while we were resting at her house. It took her 90 minutes to draw these? I can’t even draw straight stickmen if my life depended on it.
“Dadagdag ko na yung Mamaaaaa! Mamaya pagtitigil na tayo, dodrawing ko na.”
“Why do this? I mean it’s just a waste of time.”
“Ha? Di kita maintindihan.”
“UUUUUUUUgggh! Really? That is getting annoying! BAKET MO GAWA ’TO! ANO... (Carla says “mapapala”) Salamat... ANO MAPAPALA MO RITO? Sayang oras lang ’to eh.”
She stops. Looks at me dead in the eye and says:
“Yun nga e. Pano kung eto na yun? Ayaw mo ba na kahit papano makilala tayo sa mundong to? Balang araw may ibang makakagamit ng notebook na ’to. Kung tayo man ang saviors... Di pa sapat na puksain natin ang virus. Dapat ilahad natin ang mga kahinaan ng mga hayop na ’to na sumira sa mundo naten. Kelangan natin gumanti. Para kay Mr. Senator, kay Father... Para sa lahat. Tsaka bata pa lang ako, gusto ko na sumikat e. Artista kumbaga. E sa kinonti ng populasyon ngayon mas madali nang sumikat diba? Pag nakumpleto ’tong notebook ko, surebol na sisikat na ’ko.”
I barely understood her. She’ll probably beat the crap out of me if I make her repeat the whole speech again. But I got the gist of it. To help others yadda yadda... to become famous blah blah.
“Aaaaaaaah okay. Push mo yan ’Te,” I said.
She asks me where I got the term from. I think it was from a movie poster.
Anyway, it’s almost dark out and we’re pretty tired. We’re only a few stations away from Recto. Right now, we’re in Gilmore. Carla says we should stop here. So we clean up and kill some dead guys and take room inside the ticket booth.
It’s tight in here but it looks safe; you take what you get.
I woke up to some rattling sound outside. I look at the clock here and it’s 5:30 AM.
I peek at the door. I avoid waking up Carla and Askal who look like they’re pretty comfortable in each other’s embrace. All night long I used Askal’s legs as a pillow while Carla used him like a teddy bear to hug.
There are two figures outside. I can’t make out who or what they are but judging by their movements... they’re not yet dead. It’s still dark out so all I see are shadows. I grab my sticks and slowly, quietly open the door.
I know they’re human but I can’t trust anyone so easily anymore. The first humans I encountered here shot me. It’s best if I get the upper hand on them.
It looks like they’re looking around for food or supplies. My instincts tell me to move away from the booth first and hide in the Siomai Haus booth nearby. I’ll wait for them to get near the ticket booth before I attack them. It’s dark and all I see are their shadows but I’m sure I can still hit them.
It looks like they’ve finished rummaging through the ticket booth on the other side. They’re now going to where Carla and Askal are resting. Now I’ll just wait till they open the door and....
Now!
I hear a familiar voice, “Pre sa likod mo!”
And another familiar voice says, “Huli ka balbon!”
And before I know it, t
here’s a fist which I am sooooo gonna catch with my face.
23
Ang laki ng black eye niya. Halos 30 minutes na siyang knock out.
Grabe talaga siya sumuntok. Halatang dalubhasa sa pananakit e. Kung wala lang sombi apocalypse, siguro kaya netong patalsikin ang pound-for-pound king ng boxing. Kung wala lang sombi apocalypse siguro siya na ang bagong champion sa boxing. Dati inakala ko na di siya naiiba sa mga ibang basagulero, kaso ngayong nakatayo siya rito tapos ng kalbaryong hinarap niya sa simbahan... Bilib na ’ko sakanya.
Si Father buhay pa!
Bilib ako kay Father na nabuhay kahit na napapaligiran na nga daan-daang sombi.
Siyempre bilib din ako rito kay Rapid. Sinong mag-aakalang di matitinag ’tong dalawang ’to pag nagsanib-pwersa sila?
“O, kamusta ka na? Kala ko deds na kayo e. Sorry nasuntok ko ’to aah. Pano kase bigla-bigla na lang sumulpot,” sabi ni Father.
“Okay lang po. Ilang beses kaya akong napikon diyan. Di ko lang masaktan e. Buti nga nasapak mo. Hahahaha,” sabi ko.
Napatawa silang dalawa. Bilib na bilib ako sakanila. Tuwang tuwa ako na nandito sila ngayon pero kelangan kong alamin kung pano sila nakatakas sa simbahan.
“Sa totoo lang, di namin kinaya yung mga sombi dun. Ang dami na naming napapatay pero tuloy lang nang tuloy pagdami nila. After 30 minutes pagod na pagod na kame. Ang nagagawa na lang namin e umiwas sa mga kagat. Nung naramdaman namin yung lindol, sabi neto na nakatakas na kayo. Magtiis na lang daw kami nang konti para makalayo kayo. At nung tumagal, suko na talaga kami. Humilata na lang kami sa ilalim ng malaking krus.”
“Nung inakala naming wala nang pag-asa, bigla kaming may narinig na mga putok ng baril. RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT PEW PEW PEW PEW.”
Okay na sana pagkwento ni Rapid e. Kaso nag-sound-effects pa.
Bakas na bakas sa mukha nila ang mga kalmot na natamo nila sa loob ng simbahan. Halatang pagod na pagod na rin sila. Pero mukhang ganado pa silang magkwento.
“Napaupo kami. Pagtingin namin, may 30ng lalaking panot... Alam ko weird pakinggan pero panot silang lahat. Tapos nakasalamin sila. Di shades, ah. Salamin, yung may grado, tas makapal yung frame! Nakasuot sila ng mga suspender na yellow. Kung di lang nila sinasagip buhay namin, tawa na ’ko nang tawa. Magkakamukha sila. Pinulbos nila lahat ng sombi tas lumapit sila samin... Sabi nung isa... ‘BEE DO BEE DO BEE DO BU TA NA MA KA LA BODA LUK AT TU.’”
Nakatira ata ng rugby si Rapid. Pati si Father. Anong kalokohan ’tong sinasabi nila? Di ako maka-imik.
“Di ko alam kung maiintindihan nila kami pero nagpasalamat pa rin ako sakanila. Inalalayan nila kami patayo, tas may kotse pala silang dala. Lahat sila parepareho ang itsura. Akala ko kulto sila pero nung dinala nila kami sa Malacañang... Gumaan ang loob ko.”
Malacañang? Teka dun kami papunta aah. Anong kalokohan to?
“Pinapasok kami sa loob ng office ng presidente. Laking gulat at tuwa ko na buhay pa si ChiNoy. Agad-agad kong hinalikan panot niya, hahahaha. Niyakap niya kami. Pinalamon niya kami (ang tagal kong di nakakain nang matino). Nag-usap kami at napunta ang usapan sa mga alalay niya. Sabi niya di daw niya alam kung bat ganun mga kasama niya sa Malacañang. Nga pala, “NiNions” daw tawag nila sa sarili nila.”
Ang weird... parang di ako naniniwala na walang kinalaman si ChiNoy sa mga yun.
Nang matapos magkwento si Rapid, si Father naman nagsalita.
“Hija, malaki ang utang na loob mo sakanya. Biruin mo, siya ang nag-utos samin na sunduin kayo. Siya pa nga nagbigay ng lokasyon niyo e. Gusto kasi ni ChiNoy na masagip ang lahat ng dapat masagip. Tignan mo, pati kami tinulungan niya.”
Wait... Ano? Speechless ako. Una yung radyo na sumakto sa airing ng panawagan ni ChiNoy, tapos yung biglaang pag-andar ng tren sa LRT. Di ko alam kung maganda o masama ’to. Sa ngayon wala akong magagawa kundi manahimik muna. Sigurado akong pati si Joe magdududa rito.
Si Askal nasa tabi lang ni Joe. Mukhang nag-aalala siya. Kelangan makausap ko siya in private paggising niya. Di naman sa wala akong tiwala kela Father at Rapid, pero may amoy malansa e... Something smells fishy.
“Eto ang plano: tuloy-tuloy tayo rito sa LRT papuntang Recto Station. Pag andun na tayo, pipindutin ko lang ’tong binigay sakin ng isa sa mga Minion, tapos susunduin na nila tayo. Kaya nating makaabot dun nang hapon mamaya,” sabi ni Rapid.
Pinakwento nila ang mga nangyari samin simula nung magkahiwalay kami... Akala ko kinwento na ni ChiNoy ang lahat ng nangyari e.
Si Rapid natutuwa at marunong nang pumalag si Joe, at lalo siyang natuwa nung nalaman niyang nagtatagalog na siya kahit papano. Di na daw kasi siya ma-no-nose bleed. Si Father naman natutuwa kase kahit papano nagkasundo na ang mga “saviors.”
“Hija, magpahinga ka muna. Maaga pa naman e. Malayo-layo pa biyahe natin mamaya. Kami na magbabantay rito. May dala kaming pagkain, bigay ni ChiNoy. Almusal kayo mamaya,” sabi ni Father.
Tama siya. Magpapahinga muna ako. Pero kelangan magising ako paggising ni Joe para masabi ko agad sakanya mga nasa isip ko. Antok na antok pa man din ako.
At nung patulog na ’ko, narinig ko ang isang boses na kelangan kong makausap.
“Owww. Motherf—what happened? Sakit na mukha at ulo ko.”
Tae.
24
It’s good to have both Father and Mr. Senator here with us but something’s up. Carla’s been acting weird since I woke up. It’s like she’s trying to get some alone time with me. Maybe it’s just my imagination, or maybe it’s just the serious blow to the head I took. Meanwhile, Father and Mr. Senator look excited and it feels like they’re about to tell me some good news. But just as they’re about to talk, Carla says, “Mamaya na. Masakit pa ulo niya e; mamaya na yang chika nyo.” Which according to my dictionary means that they should speak to me later. I’m not so sure about that “chika” word though. Couldn’t find it anywhere in the dictionary.
It turns out Father and Mr. Senator are going the same direction as us. I wonder if they’re also going to Malacañang.
I’ve got this big shiner from the punch I got from Father and it’s painful as hell. I’m still a bit groggy but Askal walks beside me to make sure I don’t fall down. Good boy.
“Lapit ka mamaya sakin; may kailangan akong sabihin sayo...” Carla whispers to me.
“It’s really urgent,” she follows.
She whispered in a real sensual manner with her hands on my nape. She even raised the part of my hair covering my ear.
Oh. My. God. She’s probably gonna profess her love to me. But why now? Maybe Mr. Senator or Father got her to confess while I was out. Mr. Senator probably gave a “Di natin alam kung hanggang kelan pa tayo mananatili sa mundo kaya ipagtapat mo na ang pag-ibig mo” line (what a mouthful) while Father probably said “Kayo ang sasalba sa mundo. Kelangan na iisa rin ang puso nyo!” I gotta admit though, I do like Carla. So this is gonna be smooth.
After she whispered, she moved forward but she looked back. I gave her this reaaaally sexy look (slowly closing eyes with matching lip bite). She gave me a disgusted look in return. Now I’m really confused.
I wonder what it’s going to be like when she confesses to me? Will things be the same? Or will I have a harder time all around since I got my girl to protect? Don’t get me wrong, I’m devoted to protecting her now but I don’t think I’d want to see even a tiny scratch on her if she were my girlfriend. And what about my BFF, Askal? What if I change and completely forget about him?
A lot’s going through my mind right now but I forget one crucial thing.
Carla’s a fighter. In fact, she’s a monster. I have better chances against 10 zombies than with her. What if I get her angry?
I’m not getting a girlfriend. Oh. My. God. I’m getting a girlFIEND!
Chills run up my spine.
I can’t have a beast like that as my girl! It’s going to be a bad relationship. And that’s not even thinking of the days “na may dalaw siya” whatever that is. Mr. Senator once said that girls are total monsters when they have those days.
We’re nearing Recto Station now
(I got this LRT card which I base our location on). Only two stations away.
“Una na kayo. Nawee-wee-wee ako.” Carla says.
“Joe samahan mo ’ko, para safe.” Oh shit.
“Sige, di kami lalayo.”
We go inside a booth in V. Mapa station. Here comes the big moment. Of course she’s really not going to pee. But I have to say my side first. So here goes nothing...
“Listen, before you say anything, let me speak first. I like you too okay? But here’s the thing: we’re living in a world where dangers are practically everywhere. I can’t live every second fearing for the love of my life. Call it selfish but I really care about special someones. But, that’s not the only problem, see... You’re kind of a psycho. It’s not a bad thing. I mean you can protect yourself—which is good—but the way your mood changes is just too much to handle... So in conclusion, I like you. I like you a lot. But I’ll have a hard time adapting to your attitude, so you’ll have to help me.”
A total of 5 seconds in total silence later...
“WHAAAAAT?? What the hell are you talking about? Me, a psycho? Sira ulo ka ba? Di ako ganyan! Nakakagigil ka, ha! Ano tingin mo sa sarili mo, perpekto? Masyado kang feeling! I don’t like you. You pathetic piece of trash. I’m here to tell you that Malacañang is an odd place and it’s filled with weird people and that Father may have misjudged the people there. I’m telling you this so you’ll be ready and alert. *SLAP to the face* Never talk to me again you jerk!”
Wow. That was a total miscalculation.
And wow. That was the most painful thing I’ve experienced.
Arrrrrrhh! Bakit? Bakit ko ginawa yun?
Sumobra naman ata ang reaksyon ko? Di ko naman siya ayaw e... MEDYO gusto ko siya. Shit naman. Na.ka.ka.hiya. Baka nasaktan siya.
Magsosorry na lang ako sa tamang panahon. Kaso yung pride ko?
Aarrrgh.
At least nasabihan ko na siya. Kahit papano ready na kami...
“Tagal niyo! Tignan niyo, sinundo na tayo ng mga tauhan ni ChiNoy!”
