Sombi

by Jonas Sunico

  “Di ka pa rin ba marunong mag-Tagalog? Kahit na konti? Wala ako sa mood mag-English e. Di ko alam kung nasan sila. We were poisoned ata. Sorry, nadala talaga ako sa pagkain e. Sarap ng foods na di nasa can.”

  “It’s okay.” I can’t blame them. They’re still my only allies in this world. It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay. “Mr. Senator... For on-... Ngayon lang ulit ako natakot. I don’t... Di ko alam kung bakit pero natatakot ako. Nag.... Nag-aalala ako para kela Carla. What if—pano kung? Nasa pahamak sila?”

  “Di ko alam. Wag kang mawalan ng pag-asa. Magtiwala ka kay Carla. Alam kong nag-aalala ka para sakanya. Natural lang yan sa mag-nobyo.”

  Nobyo? What’s that?

  Kamusta na kaya sila? Buwisit. Kinulong pa ’ko. Pinabantayan pa ’ko sa dalawang eng-eng na may hawak na baril. Oh well, at least di ako pinagsamantalahan. Matapos magsibagsakan sina Joe sa mesa kanina sumugod na ’tong mga alagad ni ChiNoy. Ako lang ang di nakatulog. Ewan ko ba kay Joe kung bat pa siya kumain e obvious naman na may hinalo dun. Ang tao talaga, bumibigay sa harap ng tsibog.

  Di ko alam kung san sila dinala. Si Joe at si Rapid kinaladkad papuntang kusina. Si Father inakyat sa kwarto. At si Askal... si Askal kinuha ni ChiNoy. Uuuugh. Sa dinamirami ng panahon para maisahan ngayon pa talaga. Kung sabagay, ngayon nga naman talaga dapat manloko kung kelan tag-gutom lahat. Pero mukhang di naman pagkain ang habol samin e. Kung pagkain lang ang pag-uusapan sandamakmak ang ganon dito. Depende lang kung tao ang kinakain nila... Di naman siguro. Alam kong buwaya lahat ng pulitiko pero di siguro sila mga cannibal.

  Di ko napansin, pumasok na pala si ChiNoy sa kwarto.

  “Kalbo, este panot! Ano bang trip mo? Bakit mo kami ginanito? Di pa ba sapat yung impyernong dinaranas namin sa labas? Kelangan pahirapan mo pa kami? Duwag ka. Kung may gusto ka samin, kunin mo nang harap-harapan, hindi yung lalasunin mo pa kami.”

  Di siya umiimik. Nakangiti lang sya. Nakakaloko ang ngiti niya. “Hoy! Ano?? Di ka ba sasagot ha? Duwag ka ba? Wala kang kupas, bago gumunaw ang mundo masama na ugali mo! Ngayon na nangangailangan ang mundo ng matitinong tao di ka pa rin nagbabago. Gusto mo pa ring manloko! Sumagot ka! Para ka namang ga—”

  “Shh. Sa tingin mo ba, para san ’tong ginagawa ko? Sinasagip ko ang mundo. Di mo ba napansin ang sistema rito sa palasyo? Napakaayos diba? Walang krimen dito. Sistematikong-sistematiko ang pagkilos namin. May magtatanim; may mag-aani. May magluluto; may maghuhugas. Lahat sila sumusunod sa isang pinuno: ako! Di ka ba masaya na ganito kami kaayos? Walang nagkakagulo oh; walang nagra-rally. Etong... sombi apocalypse na ’to na ang pinakamagandang nangyari sa mundo. Nagkaron tayo ng pangalawang pagkakataon. Napakadaling maging pinuno pag lahat ng under mo ay naging uto-uto, at madaling umasenso pag lahat ng under mo, uto-uto. Diba mas maayos na ’to?” sabi niya.

  Hala to... Nasiraan na ng bait.

  “E ano namang kinalaman namin dito? Bakit di mo na lang kami hinayaan? Bakit kelangan mo pa kaming idamay? Ano, para lumaki populasyon ng kulto mo?”

  “Ayokong magamot ’tong virus na ’to. Ayokong makahanap sila ng gamot.”

  Wala akong masabi. Di ko maintindihan ang pinagsasabi niya.

  “Di niyo talaga alam ang importansya nyong tatlo no? Halika, sumunod ka sakin.”

  Biglang may pumasok na mga armadong lalaki at tinayo ako, sabay utos na sumunod lang ako. Gigil na gigil ako sa galit. Gusto kong pumalag ngayon kaso gusto ko ring malaman ang totoo. Ano ba ’tong pinagsasabi ng kalbong to?

  Nakita ko na ang kwartong pupuntahan namin. Di nila sinasabi kung san kami patungo pero sigurado akong etong pintuan na may poster ni ChiNoy ang destinasyon namin. Ilang hakbang pa kami bago umabot dun pero naririnig ko ang sigaw ng isang taong kilala ko. Sigaw na nakakapanindig ng balahibo. Kasabay ng sigaw niya ang tunog ng telebisyon na nakafast-forward.

  Pagbukas ng pinto, eto na nga. Si Father. Nakatali sa upuan, panot ang ulo at pilit na dinidilat ang mata nya gamit ang mga ga-daliring bakal na nakapaligid sa dalawang mata niya. Sigaw siya nang sigaw at pilit siyang nagpupumiglas. Sa pagpupumilit niya, puro dugo na ang kamay at paa niya. Gusto ko siyang tulungan, kaso alam kong wala akong mapapala pag ginawa ko yun. Sa telebisyon, wala kang makikita bukod sa static. Pero ang tunog, parang may nag-uulat na tao. Alam ko ang ginagawa niya. Napanood ko ’to sa TV e. Brainwash. Bine-brainwash nya ang mga biktima niya.

  “Ganito ang ginagawa ko sa mga taong napupulot ko: Inaayos ko sila. Ginagawa ko ’to para lahat ng tao kontrolado ko. Kanina tinanong mo ko kung bakit kayo nadamay diba? Hindi dahil nagpapadami ako ng populasyon. Sa totoo lang sobra-sobra na nga kami rito e. Kinuha ko kayo kase kayo ang sasagip sa mundo.”

  Biglang pumasok sa isip ko ang sinabi ni Father saken na KAMI ang magliligtas sa mundo. KAMI ang pipigil sa mga sombi.

  “Ngayon, sa tingin mo ba hahayaan ko na sirain niyo ang paraisong binubuo ko? Sa tingin mo ba hahayaan ko kayong pumunta kung saan na sa inyo ang GAMOT sa virus?”

  Gamot sa virus???

  “Etong sakit na ’to ay di basta-basta hija. Ginawa ito ng gobyerno para ‘mabawasan’ ang mga salot sa lipunan. Siyempre, hindi naman pwede na mamatay lahat diba? Kaya siniguro nila na may pag-asa pa ang bayan. Ang pag-asang iyon ay si Askal.”

  Di ako makapaniwala sa mga narinig ko. Bakit nila kailangan pang gawin ang sakit na ’to? Sinisira nila ang mundo ng tuluyan... Kahit na ba nasa amin ang gamot, wala din kaming magagawa kung mamamatay kami dito.

  Hindi. Hindi pwedeng dito na magtatapos ang lahat.

  29

  It’s been a long journey. I can’t let it end with me dying at the hands of some lunatic and his crazy band of followers in suspenders. But willpower and determination aren’t going to break me away from these handcuffs. I need to do something to get me and Mr. Senator out of here. Once we’re free, those NiNions are done for.

  One thing suddenly comes to my mind: these NiNions... they’re not zombies. They’re brainwashed. They’re as human as me, Carla, Mr. Senator, Father and ChiNoy... You know what? Scratch that last part. Take him off the list. I hate his guts. Anyway, I’m not sure I’m up to killing them. They live, they breathe, they “think” and they survive like us. Plus, it’ll be messier when I kill them. Also, they got big guns. I got my fist. Mr. Senator, well... He has himself so I guess we’re pretty okay in that department.

  I hear Mr. Senator choking on something. I get worried instantly, especially now that I can’t do anything to help him after being handcuffed to this chair. My hands are behind my back and so are his. My feet are tied to the legs of the chair; so are his. We’re facing each other yet I feel so useless.

  “Okay ka lang?” I ask.

  He continues to choke. I begin to panic. I can’t have him die now. What the hell is he even choking from? A strand of hair from his ever so magnificent moustache? I doubt it. I bet that titanium tweezers can’t even pluck out that thing on his upper lip (which has always distracted me with its elegance), it just looks so well groomed.

  He finally finishes choking and with a sigh of relief, he spits out a chicken bone. The end is pretty sharp and it looks like it’s been roughly bitten off.

  “Action star ako. Alam mo ba yun?”

  Ha! I knew it.

  “Andami ko nang pelikulang ginawa. At sa dinami ng pelikulang yon, dun ako natutong maging maangas. Nung dinadala nila tayo rito, humingi ako ng manok sa mga kumag na alipin nya. Yung buto, kinagat ko tsaka nilunok ko. Ipambubukas ko ’to sa posas. Resourceful noh?”

  “What?” I said. He spoke so fast, how was I supposed to get him?

  “Uuuugh. This chicken bone, I got from the alipins. I use it as key to the handcuffs. I learned this from my films.”

  Oh okay. He then proceeds to slowly wiggle his legs so that the bone would be placed just at the knee. How the hell is he going to get his hands on that? I’m not even sure how he plans on unlocking the handcuffs with a bone for crying out loud. And if that bone falls, we’ll have no chance of getting free.

  “Ano ang ginagawa mo??? Baka ma-fall yung bone? How are you gonna pick the lock with that? How are y
ou even gonna get your hands on that? That’s impossi—”

  Before I even finish the word, he does the impossible. With the little room he has in his legs, he manages to jerk his knee up to fling the bone behind him... and he catches it. He looks at me and gives me this arrogant smirk. After a few seconds of struggling, he shows me that his hands are free. He positions his index finger and thumb in a check-like form, he then places this check sign under his chin and he says “Swabe.” Pretty damn arrogant... and he’s got every right to be.

  He releases me as well. We’re in this room where there’s pretty much nothing but our chairs, the door and the light. We have nothing to use as weapons except our hands, elbows, knees and shins. I’ve always wanted to try martial arts but I never got the chance to do it. I got lazy. Always.

  Mr. Senator again uses the bone to open the door. Behind the door is a long hallway with stairs at the end. At least it’s easy to get out right?

  At the end of the hall, just above the staircase is a speaker. A red light appears and I know that shit’s about to go down again. A familiar voice begins to speak.

  “Galing mo talaga, Rapid. Simula nung nasa senado ka, nahahalata ko na iba ka sakanila. May angas ka, gaya nga ng sabi mo kanina. Siyempre di ko hahayaan na makalabas kayo basta basta diba? Enjoy muna kayo diyan. Di pa tapos plano ko e... Tsaka may bisita nga pala kayo. Hahaha.”

  The light disappears. And the door at the end of the stairs opens. I hear slow footsteps. They sound like they’re coming from wooden soles.

  When the stranger comes down, we realize that he isn’t a stranger. It’s Father. He’s bald, his head’s twitching, his body’s trembling, his right eye is partly closed, his mouth is foaming and his fists are closed. They’re closed so tight his palms are cut and bleeding.

  He looks nothing like the person I knew. It’s as if every ounce of humanity was stripped away from him. I feel so sick, yet I feel so sorry for him. Why couldn’t they just kill him?

  “... Alam kong marami siyang nagawang krimen pero di niya—tsk. Di niya—”

  “Di niya deserve ’to.” Mr. Senator can’t even finish his sentence. I see him tearing up. It wasn’t a long time but they fought side by side for a while. I’m sure they’re pretty damn close now. They didn’t get off on the right foot but when I saw them again I felt a bond between them. This is too much. Maybe the zombies aren’t the worst part of this reality.

  After a few seconds of looking at us, Father... or whatever he’s called now rushes towards us with nothing but bloodlust in his face.

  30

  Jab, straight, bob and weave. Father lost his sanity but he did not lose his fighting skills. In fact, he might even be stronger than he was before. Mr. Senator and I are outmatched. Maybe it’s because we’re holding back, we’re giving half of what we got. Because at the end of the day, this guy is still our ally. We’ve been at it for 15 minutes straight and Father’s not showing any sign of fatigue.

  He’s no zombie. He’s just crazy. Maybe, just maybe, we can bring him back.

  “Mauna ka na! Ako na bahala rito, susunod na lang ako. Hanapin mo sila.”

  He wants me to go ahead? No. I can’t leave him here, even if it’s for the best, I can’t leave him here. He’ll get demolished. “5 more minutes. Just 5 more minutes please,” I say.

  “P*ta, tigas ng ulo mo. Limang minuto. LIMANG minuto! Pag wala pa ring nangyari tapos nun umalis ka na agad at hanapin mo sila.”

  “Halimaw ka!”

  “Halimaw? DIYOS ako.”

  Di ko inakalang gagawin niya yun, brainwashed pala ang mga “tao” rito. At lahat kagagawan niya. Ngayon pinasugod niya si Father kela Joe. Wala silang iuubra dun! Nasiraan na siya ng bait. Di siya magpipigil ng bawat suntok, lahat ng suntok niya lalakasan niya na para bang pang WBO title ang laban. E sina Joe? Siguradong magpipigil sila. Wala silang pag-asa kung di ko sila matutulungan. Kelangan may gawin akong paraan. Pero bago ang lahat, kelangan kong malaman kung nasan na ba si Askal.

  “Nasan na ang aso namin?”

  “Nasa kusina kinakatay,” sabi niya.

  “Ha???”

  “Hahahaha, biro lang. Nasa mabuting kamay ang aso niyo. Sinisiguro ko sayong di siya masasaktan. Di ko lang masisiguro kung ano ang mangyayare SAYO at sa mga kaibigan mo.”

  Di ko alam kung bakit, pero parang naniniwala ako na di nga niya sasaktan si Askal. Ang sabi niya kasi nasa amin ang gamot. Sigurado na wala yun kay Joe, Mr. Senator at Father, kasi mukha ngang pinaglalaruan na niya sila. Dalawa na lang ang pwedeng may hawak ng gamot: ako at si Askal. Siguradong wala sakin ang gamot. (Maaalala ko naman kung nasakin ito.) Di ako ulyanin. Baka na kay Askal. Baka mahiwaga ang balahibo niya, baka banal ang laway niya at baka may basbas ng Santo Papa ang dugo niya.

  Sana nga totoo na nasa isa samin ang gamot. Kahit na kanino pa basta sana totoo ang gamot.

  Di namin namalayan na paalis na si Joe ng hallway. San sya pupunta? Ano nangyari at bakit sya tumatakbo? Dirediretso siya sa pinto habang yung dalawa nagsusuntukan lang. Di namin alam kung ano ang ginagawa nila, wala kasing mic, kaya di namin marinig ang usapan nila. Pagtingin ko kay ChiNoy, nawala ang angas sa mukha niya.

  “... Bantay kayo! Magbantay kayo. May binabalak yung bata. Harangin niyo agad,” sabi niya na may halong kaba. Eto na ang hinihintay ko kanina pa. Yung moment na bumabalik ang pagiging tao at ang pagiging matatakutin niya.

  Hindi ako nagdalawang isip na kapitan nang mahigpit ang kakarampot na buhok na nasa ulo niya, hinila ko ’to pababa tapos binulungan ko siya “Mas sira ulo pa ’ko kaysa sayo. Tandaan mo yan.” Tapos, hinambalos ko ang ulo niya sa control panel ng CCTV. Sa unang hampas, nagtalsikan ang dugo kung san san. Sa pangalawa... hinimatay siya. Di ko alam kung natuluyan na siya. Wala akong pake. Kailangan ko nang umalis.

  Maganda sana ’tong damit ko, kaso matitisod ako rito. Gupitin ko na lang hanggang tuhod. Hay. Bet na bet ko pa naman ’to. Joe... Please. Sana alam mo ginagawa mo.

  I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. This plan was not thought through properly.

  The moment I stepped out of the room, I continued to run. The place was a maze. There were a lot of turns and I could only guess where to go next. (Hope it was somewhere worth going to.) I ran till I reached this really long hallway with a lot of paintings, paintings of the history of the Philippines. One showed this dude waving the Philippine flag on a really cool looking balcony. Another showed a dude getting gunned down by some other dudes. I didn’t recognize him but he looked really brave with the way he faced the gunmen.

  But it was this other painting that really caught my attention. It showed a woman in yellow standing in front of countless people. They looked like they were rallying and she looked like a really charismatic leader. I’m sure she had such wonderful children.

  Awe aside, I continue to run. Seeing the paintings makes me feel like I’m going in the right direction. Such a huge place! From the outside, it looks as big as the White House but inside this place is even more huge. I think this part where I’m at is under the ground.

  For a while there, I thought I was going in circles but all hope is regained when I see this different looking corridor. Unlike the others, it has dim lighting and looks really dirty.

  At the end is a large door that looks like the way out. Above it a sign says “Katayan.” I’m still worried about Mr. Senator but I have to trust him. He is a badass or a “masamang puwit” anyways; he’ll make it. I don’t know what “katayan” means but I’d rather look and see what it is than go around in circles.

  As I get closer to the door, I start to hear a familiar sound but this time... it sounds a bit different.

  When I open the door, Askal is whimpering in pain as he lies on the floor. There is a pool of blood under his head. He is breathing heavily and my legs grow really weak as I see this guy that I met a couple of days ago and who has easily become my best friend. Standing a few inches away from him are 2 NiNions. Both of them hold some things that are also familiar to me... My sticks. They’re covered in blood. The blood of Askal. />
  I’ll kill them. I will kill them all.

  31

  Without hesitation I charge the two NiNions. I grab one by the straps of his suspenders and pull him towards me. Once he gets close enough I punch him so hard the other NiNion pisses his pants. Literally. I never knew I had this much power in my hands. Maybe all those years of button mashing in video games did me good. The NiNion I punched was out cold. I then put all my attention on the other guy. This one I kick in the nuts.

  I kinda feel sorry for this other guy. Even I feel the pain after I kick him straight in the balls. Dude’s crying for God’s sake.

  I quickly rush to the side of Askal. I hope I’m not too late.

  “He-hey... Buddy? Are you okay? Askal please. Please don’t die on me. There’s so much we haven’t done yet. Please.” My voice trembles and everything that I’ve been through these past days feels like nothing compared to what I’ms feeling now.

  I keep on petting him. Comforting him because honestly, I don’t know what to do. There’s no first aid kit anywhere. He keeps on wagging his tail as always. Up to now he’s still ignorant of what’s going on. He doesn’t even know the trouble he’s in. I guess what I really like about him is how happy he is despite all the shit around us.

  But not everyone can keep happy all the time, no dog can wag his tail in joy forever. Not even Askal. His tail begins to wag slowly.

  Until finally, it stops.

  Jusko, di ko naman inakalang mala-maze ’tong Malacañang! Kung alam ko lang e di sana di na ’ko nagpakabayani. Nakakapagod kayang magpaikot-ikot dito! Bale ang priority ko sa ngayon ay si Joe. Simula nung tumakbo siya, di ko na alam kung saang lupalop naman siya nagpunta. Sa laki netong lugar na ’to baka di kami magkahanapan. Pero mas okay nang sumubok kesa tumunganga.