[12:10 AM]
[August 28, 2018]
[Philippine General Hospital,
Ermita, Manila City]
Gradually, he began to regain consciousness in the real world. A blinding white light pierced his vision, and he realized there were three people around him. He didn't know who they were, but all of them were dressed in blue.
From the steady beeping of machines to the cold breath of the air conditioner, his vision slowly opened. At first everything was blurred, but as time passed, the surroundings came into focus. He found himself inside a white room, the harsh glare washing over his eyes.
Nurse: "Doc, he's awake."
He saw three people inside, all dressed in white. A hospital ward. He was still recovering from surgery. He wanted to move, to speak, to call out - but the anesthesia had left him paralyzed. The only thing he could move were his eyes.
Dr. Gomez: "Don't be startled. We've stabilized you, but you can't move. Don't be afraid - we can understand you."
Terror coursed through Christian. He wanted to speak but couldn't. All he could hear was the low hum of the air conditioner and the faint hiss of his breath through the tube.
Two men entered, clad in black leather jackets with blue shirts beneath. One carried a black clipboard. Both wore dark sunglasses, their eyes hidden.
Man: "I am police inspector EliasGavira. Sorry to intrude, but he's an important witness. May we speak to him now?"
Dr. Gomez: "You may. But do it slowly. He can only answer with eye signals. One blink for yes; two blinks for no."
Inspector Gavira: "Can you leave us with him for a moment?"
Dr. Gomez: "Sure. We can trust you with him."
The doctors stepped out, leaving Christian with the two policemen.
Inspector Gavira: "Don't be afraid. I'm Inspector Gavira - a policeman. We're here to help you. We just need your cooperation.
We'll ask a few questions. Only yes or no. Blink once for yes, twice for no. Simple. Can you do that?"
Seeing the police eased Christian's chest. At last... safety.
Christian: Yes. (He blinked once.)
Inspector Gavira: "Christian Espinoza. Eighteen years old. A scholar at Metro Manila University. That's you, right?"
Christian: "Yes."
Inspector Gavira: "Are you classmates with the seventeen-year-old student recently found dead in an alley near your school?"
Why... why is he asking me that? How does he know?
Christian: "Yes."
Inspector Gavira: "Do you remember the man who was run over by a truck in front of you?"
Why is he asking me this? Does it have any connection for what i just saw?
Christian: "Yes."
Inspector Gavira: "Did he try to kill you?"
Christian: "Yes."
Inspector Gavira: "Then... do you remember what he looked like?"
Christian's heart pounded.
Will he believe me? Should I even tell him?
Christian: "Yes."
Inspector Gavira: "Another cannibal attack case, Jobert."
Lieutenant Jobert: "Inspector, the number of cannibal attacks is rising in Ermita and Sta. Cruz..."
Inspector Gavira: "Their trade must be expanding."
Lieutenant Jobert: "And their reach."
Inspector Gavira: "We've finished questioning you, Christian, but... did you notice anything unusual about the cannibal who attacked you?"
Should I tell them? Should I really say it? But I saw it. With my own eyes... that monster.
Christian: "Yes."
Inspector Gavira: "Do you believe in the conspiracy theories about the killings in this country?"
This is it... they already know.
Christian: "Yes."
Inspector Gavira: "There's an online activist who spread a conspiracy theory on WordPress. He said the murders in the city might be tied to an ancient superstition."
They already know me.
He stepped closer to the bed. Jobert drew the curtains, shutting out the gloomy sky.
Inspector Gavira: "I believe him. Because my own eyes have seen those 'creatures.'"
Jobert sat on the bed's edge. Inspector Santos paced the room, circling.
Inspector Gavira: "They say those things mingle among us, right?"
He stopped and spoke, voice even but hollow.
Inspector Gavira: "That's why I no longer trust people."
Inspector Gavira: "My fellow officer said these creatures have long tongues. They devour the flesh of any living thing, both animal or human. "
*Chuckles*
"If that's true, maybe the government is hiding a lot things from us. In one word, they've been lying to us for a long time.. Or maybe there are just some things the public really shouldn't know."
He leaned over Christian, calm but sinister.
Inspector Gavira: "I know an anonymous activist... I admire his courage. To post these such truths online. Now he's hunted by the 21clans. But he was right. Maybe he saw them too."
The 21 Clans, shit here they are.
Inspector Gavira: "A survivor of a cannibal attack in Muntinlupa said that this attacker's eyes turned black when it touched blood. Did you see the same?"
Christian: "Yes."
Inspector Gavira: "Do you know why I believe all of this?"
He lowered his sunglasses.
Inspector Gavira: "Because I am one of them too."
Christian's eyes went wide. Inspector Santos' eyes - pitch black. No... it's true... it's real... Even paralyzed, his body trembled.
Inspector Gavira: "You're living inside the Uwak ng Kamatayan Clan's Territory."
The inspector jumped towards above the hospital bed, pressing Christian down by the chest. Panic crushed him. He wanted to scream but could only gasp through the tube. The officer's face loomed above, and his saliva dripping to Christian's face.
Inspector Gavira: "I never expected the one exposing us to be a boy of eighteen. Such a courage for the sake of the country... but it would be a greater honor to feast on the flesh our clans desire - and it's yours kid."
Jobert only watched, but deep inside, he's also trembling with fear
Inspector Gavira: "The clan thought you're a middle aged man, but you're just a bratty meatbag!."
I'm not doing this solely for the sake of my country. I'm doing this because I only want to avenge my mother!
Inspector Gavira: "Who will you call if the police themselves are the ones who murder?"
Christian: (i will call God)
Inspector Gavira: "And what if God Himself is a murderer?"
Christian: ...
Inspector Gavira: "It's completely hopeless right? Kid?"
Inspector Gavira: "You can't throw us out of here anymore."
He stuck out his long tongue and licked the side of Christian's cheek.
Inspector Gavira: "And you... humans are nothing but a stock of food here."
Who's them?
Inspector Gavira: "I could tear you limb from limb but I think I need some fun."
Inspector Gavira: "Let's do something unique.."
He removed the tube, pried Christian's mouth open with his long and sharp fingers. Christian's eyes darted, desperate to resist - but his body betrayed him.
STOP!!
From the inspector's throat crept something impossible: a black, hairy creature, like a deformed chick with many legs.
Inspector Gavira: "Let's make a new monster."
I'd rather die as prey to a monster than become the monster who killed my mom. PLEASE STOP!!!
The thing jumped and crawled onto his tongue and slid inside.
STOP!!!!!!!!
WHY?? Why me?? Why?? What have I done to deserve this??
His tears seeped into the bedsheets while his body writhed. The creature sank further inside, his heartbeat racing, his frame trembling under the weight of agony.
Inspector Gavira: "Tanggapin mo ang biyaya ng buwan.." (Smirked)
The policemen put on their sunglasses again.
Inspector Gavira: "Let's go. Jobert."
They walked out, leaving Christian writhing in the bed.
His world stopped. Everything went dark. His eyes turned black. His self was gone. Something else now commanded his body.
He tore through the IV lines and yanked out the drip from his body. He tried to stand, but he collapsed to the floor, and suddenly bones sprouted from his arms like wings. Using them for support, he forced himself up, and opened the window. He stretched his wings like an eagle and soared into the dark skies.
Meanwhile, his true self drifted inside a nightmare. Inside a void, where's he's just alone- talking to his old self. A child stood before him holding a wooden cross.
"MONSTER!!" the child screamed.
The cry pierced his chest.
"YOU KILLED MAMA!! YOU KILLED MY SISTER!! MY UNBORN SISTER!!"
Each word was a hammer on his fragile heart.
"LOOK AT YOURSELF"
Christian looked down at his hands.
"YOU'RE A MONSTER - YOU DESERVE TO DIE AND BURN IN HELL!!"
They both covered and dripping with blood.
"You're a BLOODTHIRSTY MONSTER!!"
"I'm nolongerhuman.. I'm just one of these creatures who killed my mother."
"JUST KILLYOURSELF ALREADY!!!"
"But God.. why do you chose me to suffer?"
"YOU'RE A PESTILENCE!!"
"Among the 8 billion-there's a thousand of evil people but why did you chose me?"
"GOD DOESN'T HEAR YOUR PRAYERS!! YOU'RE A DEMON!!"
"God, what did i've done wrong?"
"BURN IN HELL"
"Why me??"
"JUST KILL YOURSELF ALREADY!!"
"Why??"
"KILLYOURSELF!!"
He looked again at his hands, soaked and covered in blood, and there he saw his own reflection-as someone he had always been hated.
And when he saw his own black eyes, his hope slowly began to fade. All that remained was a sad smirk on his face.
"Maybe I don't deserved to live anymore... I'm just like one of them."
"Yes, YOUARE!!"
"God chose a wrong people."
"But still, you're ONE of THEM."
"I didn't killed her."
"But your kind did!"
"It feels like my father's situation.. it's really piercing my chest. I'm sorry papa."
The child stepped closer, letting go of the crucifix and allowed it to fall into the void and pulling out a blade.
"I'M GOING KILL YOU!!"
He could only stare at the blood coating his hands.
"Go... Kill me!"
As the child charged toward him, a man in a black cloak appeared, blocking the way and stopping the boy.
Man: "Don't hurt yourself."
Christian (Past): "I'LL KILL YOU!!! I WILL AVENGE MAMA!!" Tears poured from his eyes like rain
As Christian heard this, his cold, stone heart began to crack. The boy vanished into nothingness, and the cloaked man approached him, extending a hand.
Man: "You're not a bad person... You're not a monster either... You're just a man who's just got cursed."
Christian (Present): "Who are you?"
The man lowered his hood, revealing his face-darkened eyes, a mouth stained with blood, and an bleeding eye on one side. Christian's eyes widened in shock as he saw the man's face; he could hardly believe it.
Christian: "PAPA?"
Going back to the hospital, a nurse entered the room, and she suddenly screamed in shock, dropping whatever she had been holding onto the floor.
"Oh my God!!"
The patient was gone. All that remained were the fallen IV lines and the open window, revealing the dark night sky beyond.
Christian opened his eyes, greeted by a cold gust of wind. He was atop a building, watching dark clouds drift above the bright city lights below.
He looked down at his hands, still stained with blood, dripping from his fingers.
In the distance, the wail of ambulance sirens cut through the night air. The dark sky illuminated the city, while the shrill sounds of the sirens pierced the quiet of this night.
He saw himself reflected in the blood-his eyes blackened, his mouth stained with blood. He also noticed his hospital gown, drenched in red.
He stuck out his long tongue and licked the edge of his cheek, then quickly retracted it.
Christian: "My hand is still covered with blood, maybe i attacked somebody."
He stared at his reflection in the blood on his hands and watched his mouth smear red.
"A monster... I'm a bloodthirsty monster."
He dragged his palms across his face, smearing crimson until his skin looked painted in red.
"How ironic. I never thought it would end this way - by becoming what I hate most."
"I'm a monster now. HAHAHAHAHA-"
A bitter laugh ripped out of him and swelled, carrying across the rooftop as the Manila night wind circled him.
"Putang...Ina....ninyong lahat!!"
His laughter rolled into the building's shadowed corners - not born of triumph, but of a mind unravelling and pure suffering.
"I-I will kill you all. Every single one of you... until these words become a symbol of death."
"Gaganti ako.."
[Story Continuation after the introduction of my Another Character and the World Building Arc]