Sombi

by Jonas Sunico

  “Go,” she says. I guess we have no other choice.

  I turn around to take another way but just as I pass Carla she grabs my hand and she hugs me from behind. I needed this. I needed this for a long time. “Don’t kill him. If you do, you’ll be no better than him. Subdue him and that’s it. Don’t let this world change you for worse. And please... promise me that we’ll get through this... alive,” she whispers.

  “I... promise.”

  I shouldn’t kill ChiNoy? Maybe she’s right. I’ll try my best to keep him alive.

  I run as fast as I can to the fifth floor and a few turn later there it is, his nest. I’ll do this quickly; I need to help them downstairs. Please stay alive.

  I kick open the door like a total badass and just a few seconds in, I feel a sharp pain on my left shoulder. I’ve been shot. Again.

  “You’re tougher than you look, you know. I didn’t expect you to make it past the third floor but I guess the game ends now.”

  Why did I kick the door open? Why didn’t I sneak in?

  “Wag na natin patagalin ’to. Ituwid na natin ang daan.”

  35

  Putok ng bala yung narinig ko, ah? Galing sa taas yun, baka nanggaling kung nasan sina Joe. Saglit pa lang siya nawala, nagkaputukan na agad. Sana okay lang siya at sana di pa niya pinatay si ChiNoy

  Kami naman dito hirap na hirap din. Kung di dahil kay Ganda, siguro patay na kami ngayon. Iba ang lakas niya, yung isang BADing pinisa niya yung ulo nung tumalon papunta sakanya. At yung isa naman, hinugot niya yung dila hanggang maputol bago niya ihampas at durugin yung ulo nito sa pader. Sana di mangyari sakanya yung nangyari kay Father noon. Baka di namin kayanin pag nahigop ng baklang ’to yung lakas niya.

  Yung TESbun naman pinunit niya yung tiyan. Nung lumabas yung baby, sinipa lang niya. Kaso mukhang napapagod na siya. Sa ngayon, puro depensa at iwas na lang ang ginagawa niya. Si Rapid naman nakapatay rin ng isang TESbun. Ayun, niratrat niya nang nirarat hanggang mamatay. Kaso, naubos na lahat ng bala niya. Buti na lang dinala rin niya yung brass knuckles ni Father, although I doubt na may epekto yung mga yan sa mga sombi na ’to.

  Bale dalawang BADing at dalawang TESbun na ang patay. So isang BADing at dalawang TESbun na lang. Di na namin kayang ubusin ’tong mga ’to. Ang magagawa na lang namin ay umiwas at umilag hanggang sa bumalik si Joe kasama ang susi. Di ko lang alam kung gano katagal pa namin kaya. Kahit ako pagod na.

  “Matagal pa kaya si Joe sa taas? Parang nahihilo na ’ko sa pagod e.” Pagod na rin si Senator. Di ko alam kung gano pa katagal si Joe sa taas. Di ko rin alam kung sino ba ang nagpaputok at naputukan.

  Saglit lang ako natutulala, pagtingin ko may nakapatong na sakin na TESbun. Grabe ang bigat niya. Naririnig ko sila Rapid at Ganda na sumisigaw at natataranta kahit na nasa tapat na ng mukha ko yung bunganga ng TESbun. May narinig din ako na nabasag na mga salamin. Ang baho ng hininga niya sobra. Parang mas mauuna pa ’kong mamatay sa lunod sa baho kesa sa kagat niya. Di ko na alam kung gano pa katagal kong kakayanin yung bigat nito.

  Sorry, pero mukhang hanggang dito na lang ako. Di ko na kayo masasamahan pa. Sorry, Joe.

  *BANG!*

  Sa isang saglit lang din, sumabog ang ulo nung nakapatong sakin. Lahat ng dugo niya tumalsik sa mukha ko. Lumabas yung baby sa likod nung TESbun pero binaril din agad sa ulo. Di ako makabangon kasi nakapatong pa rin yung TESbun sakin pero pagsilip ko kela Rapid at Ganda, natulala rin sila sa nangyayari.

  Isa-isang nagbagsakan yung mga natirang sombi.

  Lahat ng bala nanggaling mula sa dalawang taong nakaitim. Para silang naka-armor. May nakasulat na “P.O.T.A.” sa uniporme nila. Anong kalokohan na naman ’to?

  “Get down on the ground. Now!” sabi nung isa sakanila. Base sa boses niya, lalaki siya.

  Nakahiga na ’ko. Si Ganda, nakatunganga lang. Si Rapid, umupo. Hinihingal. Di ata niya naintindihan e, nagkataon lang na umupo siya. Inalis nila ang mga helmet nila. Yung nagsalita kanina, isang Amerikano. Tipikal na Amerikano itsura niya: maputi, blondie at mapanga. Kung hahanapin mo ang salitang “Amerikano” sa diksyunaryo, ang mukha niya siguro ang lalabas. Yung isa naman, babae.

  Shet ang ganda niya. Di ko alam kung ano nationality niya pero mukha rin siyang Amerikano. Maputi, napakaganda ng mata, at kulay pula ang buhok. Nakakatibo siya, grabe. Baka siya na ang sambahin ni Ganda. O baka naman siya ang magustuhan ni Joe...

  “I am Sgt. John Doe. I am from a secret organization tasked to protect and serve whenever the world is in grave danger. We are elite soldiers, handpicked by world leaders and trained by only the best. We are the Punishers of The Apocalypse. POTA for short.

  “Hay... ang pangit talaga ng pangalan ng grupo namin. Wag na tayong magpaligoyligoy pa. Medyo gumuguho na kasi ang mundo e. You know naman, may zombie apocalypse. Ako si Yvette Ivanoski. So... may nakita ba kayong aso? May tag siya sa tenga. Cute daw. Balita ko kasama niyo. Medyo importante siya e.”

  Wow. Straight Tagalog. Di ko inexpect yun. Hinahanap nila si Askal? Alam ko na kung bakit. Baka sila rin yung sumira ng pader kanina. Pero di ko muna sasabihin sakanila kung nasan si Askal hangga’t di pa nakakabalik si Joe. Baka kasi iwan nila si Joe. Mukhang si Askal lang ang priority nila. Sasabihin ko na lang na nasa taas yung aso kasama ni Joe. Para matulungan din naman siya.

  “Aso? Yung may tag sa tenga na 8? Kinulong namin siya. Babalikan namin. Naghahanap kasi kami ng susi para sa helicopter, kaya iniwan muna namin yung aso. May malaking sugat kasi e. Nagfififty-fifty na ata siya. Medyo nagmamadali rin kame e,” sabi ni Rapid. (Minsan gusto kong hugutin bigote niya.)

  “Tayo. Kailangan natin yung aso. Dalhin niyo kami sakanya. Liligtasin na rin namin kayo. Bilisan niyo,” sabi ni Yvette.

  “Teka, may kasama pa kaming isa! Bawal namin siyang iwan. Nasa taas lang siya—daanan muna natin siya please.” Paulit-ulit kong sinabi, pero mukhang wala silang pake. Mukhang nag-aalala rin si Ganda kay Joe.

  “Ay oo! Sige na, balikan natin yung kasamahan namin sa taas,” sabi ni Rapid. “Engot ka kasi e. Sana di ka na lang nagsalita kanina.”

  “I’m sorry pero kailangan talaga natin yung aso. Malakas naman ata yang kaibigan niyo. Mabubuhay yan.” Kalmadong-kalmado ang mukha ni Yvette pero nakahawak siya sa baril. Handa siyang gumamit ng pwersa kung magmamatigas kami.

  Lumapit sakin si Ganda at inalis niya yung TESbun na nakapatong sakin. “Tumakbo ka sa taas. Puntahan mo si Joe,” binulong ko sakanya. Agad-agad siyang tumakbo pataas. Sumigaw si John “He-hey you! Stop where you are!” Babarilin na dapat niya si Ganda pero inawat siya ni Yvette. Tinutok niya samin ang baril niya.

  “Kakampi niyo kami. Maniwala ka sakin. Kung di ka maniniwala, well... wala ka namang ibang choice bukod sa sumama. Kasi kung hindi ka sasama, babarilin kita. Kayang-kaya kong hanapin yung aso niyo. Gusto ko lang makatipid ng oras. Naiintindihan ko na nag-aalala ka sa kasama mo kaya hinayaan ko na yung baby damulag mo na tumakbo papunta dun. Tayo na. Sayang ang oras.”

  Di ko alam kung ano magagawa ni Ganda pero for sure mapoprotektahan niya si Joe. Di nga lang niya ma-e-explain kay Joe kung ano ang nangyari.

  Lumapit sakin si Rapid at sabi niya, “OMG. Sorry. Di ko sadya. Sorry talaga.”

  Okay lang. Pero kung may mangyaring masama kay Joe... papatayin ko talaga ’to.

  36

  I’ve been shot again. Some think that the pain is more bearable the second time around.

  No

  It actually hurts even more. I think it has to do with the fact that your body is trying to take revenge on your nervous system because it got every other system hurt again.

  I ain’t even mad. I mean, I rushed through the door despite knowing that this entire place is rigged with cameras. I am his enemy anyway so he had every right to shoot me. What was he supposed to do? Hug me? I’d rather be shot at than hugged by him.

  “Are you stupid? Why did you rush through that door? You’re making this easy for me.”

  “Shit. I’m as confused as you are,” I said.

  He keeps his eyes on me; I keep switching my stare between him and the monitors behind him. To my
surprise, every screen is pitch black. When I get back to staring at him, he’s smirking at me. He tells me he shut down every CCTV in this place so that I won’t get distracted. As he put it, “It’s our moment.”

  “You know what I like about you? Meron kang bayag e. Ang laki nga ng sayo. Sobra.”

  Bayag... Wait, is he talking about my balls?

  “You also have no idea how important you are. Do you think that your flying into the Philippines just when the apocalypse started was a coincidence? You’re so naive. I could shoot you right now but what kind of villain would I be if I finished this without exposing the truth first? Yes, someone could barge in and kill me but what are the chances of that happening anyway? I’m pretty sure your friends are dead. Just like you, after I tell you the truth.”

  What is he talking about? Is he really going to say something first before he kills me? It works well for me but it puts him in great danger. He’s really insane.

  “You see, your father was a scientist who worked on a project that would “lessen” the population. Sadly, you’re father went rogue—” he’s interrupted by someone. Someone stupid enough to barge into enemy territory but someone who’s way tougher than me: Ganda! He tackles ChiNoy to the ground and starts to pummel him. After just a few punches, ChiNoy’s face is already bruised and bloodied. I have to stop Ganda before he kills him. I made a promise to Carla that I’ll keep ChiNoy alive.

  I pull Ganda away from him; he’s as hard as a rock. No wonder ChiNoy got crushed instantly. Got knocked out quick too. I tell Ganda to wait outside for a while, while I talk to ChiNoy first. There’s no need to rush. If Ganda is here then that means Carla and Mr. Senator are safe. But as I direct him to get out, he starts blabbering again. I still can’t understand him. He continues to say “ganda” but I really can’t understand him. After a few minutes, he gives up saying what he wants to say. He frowns and then he leaves.

  Now, on to ChiNoy who is just on the verge of waking up.

  “Listen to me, I don’t care what secrets you hold. And I will not let you drag down the name of my father into this. He is a good man. You’ve done enough to me and my friends and if it were up to me, I’d kill you right now. I came here to get the key for the helicopter. Killing you was just a little something for myself. But Carla’s right, I’m no killer. I don’t know why you did what you did and frankly I don’t care. I know we all have to struggle to survive but harming others along the way isn’t right. These people here... what you’ve done to them is worse than what the virus can do. If I can’t kill you, I’ll make sure you never hurt anyone again.”

  I grab a knife I’ve been keeping in my pocket since we made our way up here. I really meant what I said I was going to do to him. Break his bones and all that. I also said that I’d slash his wrist. That’s why I brought a knife. As ChiNoy sees the knife, I don’t see fear in his eyes. In fact, he smiles at me. “Tuloy mo gagawin mo bata, hahaha. Ang laki talaga ng bayag mo.”

  He still continues to taunt me. How utterly annoying. For a political figure, he’s pretty persistent in doing what he sets out to do.

  He’s clearly defenseless. First, I cut out portions at the end of his pants. Long portions, long enough to tie around an open wound securely. “It’s not for me. It’s for you,” I said.

  I’ll let him live but I don’t want him leading again. I forcibly open his mouth and pull out his tongue. I slash it off as fast as I can. His body is so beaten up he can’t even fight back. He squirms and for the first time ever, I see fear in his eyes. I’ve broken him.

  I’ll let him live but I don’t want him killing anyone again. I stand up and place my feet on his left hand so he can’t move. I proceed to amputate his arm by slashing his forearm just below the elbow. The knife is sharp enough to go through muscle and skin but the bone is hard to cut. I have to hack at it several times to get it off: it takes 7 full swings. As promised, I’ll keep him alive. I tie up the wound with the torn portions of his pants to prevent him from dying of blood loss. At this point he’s probably in shock. He can’t even squirm now but he’s still conscious. I proceed to do the same with his right arm but this time, he passes out from the bone hacking.

  I feel nothing while doing it. I’m not disgusted or anything—heck I feel kinda sorry for the guy. Maybe he prefers death to this but that’s none of my business.

  I wipe the blood off my face and walk away. I look back and see that he’s waking up again. He looks at me with more hate than usual. He begins crawling towards me but he’s really slow. By my estimate, he’ll make contact with me after an hour of crawling. He’ll make it through this but what’s the worst that he could do?

  “Paalam ChiNoy. Sana di na tayo magkita ulet.”

  I try to look for the keys to the helicopter but they aren’t anywhere. Not in ChiNoy’s pockets, not in any corner of this room. I guess we’ll have to find another way out.

  As I step out of the room, the first thing I see is Ganda rushing towards me. He picks me up and begins to run as fast as he can. What’s the rush? Did something happen?

  37

  Ganda’s running like there’s no tomorrow. We pass by the fourth floor and the only thing I see are the bodies of zombies. At least they’re alive. But where are they? I ask him where the others are and of course, he replies with “ganda”. What was I expecting?

  I ask him to go where we kept Askal and he nods in agreement. Maybe they’re there. I hope so. I’m starting to get a bad feeling.

  Shet naman. Ano na kaya nangyari sakanila? Bakit ang tagal nila? Ilang minuto lang ang binigay samin ng P.O.T.A. Limang minuto lang ang hihintayin namin dito tas lalarga na kami. Buti nga binigyan kami ng palugit e. Pinilit nga lang ni Ate Yvette si masungit na John Doe para hintayin si Joe at Ganda.

  Sabi ni Yvette, “If not for Joe, the dog would’ve been dead. He took care of it for us while we were gone. The least we can do is wait for 5 more minutes.” Umirap na lang si John at tumungo siya. “Just 5 minutes. After that, we’re outta here.” Sabi niya. Aabot sila promise. Kung talagang binabantayan niyo kami dati pa, dapat alam niyo na di basta basta mamamatay si Joe.

  Nilapatan na nila ng first aid si Askal kanina. Sabi nila okay siya sa ngayon pero kailangan pa rin niya ng tulong ng professional kasi malaki ang sugat niya sa ulo. Ang dami daw ng nasayang na gamot. Ngayon ko lang ule naalala na si Askal nga pala ang pag-asa ng bayan.

  “That’s 5 minutes. Let’s go,” sabi ni John.

  “Pasensiya na Carla, wala e. Di talaga sila umabot. Wag kang magalala, pag nakita natin sila at di pa nakakalayo ang helicopter, sasagipin natin sila. Kung ayaw mo talagang umalis dito, then stay.” Ramdam ko ang awa sa boses ni Ate Yvette. Pano kaya kung magpaiwan na lang ako rito?

  “Alam ko binabalak mo Carla. Wag kang magpaiwan. Magagalit lang si Joe pag may nagpaiwan satin. Eto ngang si Father bubuhatin ko pa para lang maitakas dito e. Pinosasan ko nga lang siya, baka kasi maging ulol ulet siya paggising niya. Binigyan tayo ng pagkakataong makatakas Carla, wag mong sayangin. Alam mo sa sarili mo na kahit na si Joe gugustuhin na tumakas ka na.” May punto si Rapid.

  “Sige... Halika na.”

  Buhat-buhat ni Rapid si Father habang si John naman buhat si Askal. Binigyan ako ng baril ni Yvette kasi kami daw ang babaril sa kung ano mang haharang samin. Bago kami lumabas sa kwarto, iniwan ko ang machete ko para kay Joe.

  Nakaka-elib din ang P.O.T.A. kung iisipin mo. Di lang sila basta-basta na sundalo. Laging silang handa. Yung winelding na pinto kanina? Wala na. Bago pa daw nila kami tulungan, sinira na nila ang pinto. Pinasabog na nila para secured na ang exit namin. Direcho sa isang malawak na espasyo ang pintuan na ’to. Exit nga siya.

  Sa di kalayuan, may isang helicopter na lumilipad. Naghihintay siya sa ibabaw ng ilog sa tapat ng Malacañang. Ang dami ng sombi na nakaabang sa baba. Pano naman kami makakatakas neto? I guess di sila palaging handa.

  Dito nga lang sa yard ang dami ng sombi e. Kahit na san ka talaga magpunta, lagi na lang may problema. May panibagong problema rin sila Joe pag lumabas
na sila. KUNG makalabas sila.

  Huminga nang malalim at nagsimula nang magbabaril si Yvette. Isa-isang nagtutumbahan ang mga sombi. Kalmadong-kalmado siya, parang wala lang sakanya ang ginagawa niya. Sanay na sanay na siya. Nagsimula na rin akong bumaril. Dapat maubos namin ang mga ’to para direcho na lang sina Joe sa helicopter.

  Di ako maka-diyos na tao pero... May God keep you safe Joe. May God keep US safe.

  The third to first floor are still riddled with NiNions and zombies. This time, there are a lot of dead bodies. It’s starting to smell horrible. I almost can’t bear it. This is the worst odor I’ve smelled yet. I think that fresh human blood smells more horrible compared to zombie blood. It’s kinda hot here too. That’s probably because of the tons of decomposing bodies.

  The NiNions and zombies are at war right now. It’s like the NiNions were programmed to attack any zombie in sight. Heck, none of them are even looking at me and Ganda. The only things that tried to kill us this time were zombies. There were a few zombies who tried to get us but Ganda just plowed through them. Before I knew it we were already in the huge basement. There are a few zombies here and there but still no sign of anyone. What’s going on?

  Ganda takes me to the room where we left Askal. They aren’t there. No one is there. The only thing that I see here is Carla’s machete. At this moment, I lose it. I snap.

  “What the hell?!? Where are they??? I was gone for a while now everyone’s missing. No Carla, no Askal, NO ONE! YOU! You know what went wrong here, what the hell happened??? Did you turn on them? Did you finally realize your duty and kill them one by one? I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you. Speak damn it. Speak or I’ll kill yo—”

  All of a sudden I hear a helicopter buzzing nearby... Is that them? I look at Ganda. He’s petrified with fear. I was just a few inches away from hacking at his face using Carla’s machete. This guy who could’ve literally torn me to pieces stood still while I was threatening to kill him because I thought he killed everyone. I have never felt this sorry in my entire life.