Chapter 15

​Bigla na lang akong napatigil sa paghinga at nagulat ako nang hatakin ako ni Akane papasok. Agad niyang sinarado ang pinto kaya lalo akong kinilabutan. Being in the same room with a dead body made my skin crawl.

“S-stay alert,” mahinang sabi ni Akane habang nanginginig ang boses niya. “I…I…think the killer is…is… still around.”

Lumapit ako sa kanya at natigilan ako nang makita ko ang mukha niya. She looked pale and she was shivering but still tried to stay calm for my sake.

Muli naman akong napasigaw nang bigla na lang bumukas ang pinto at bumungad sa amin ang mukha ni Ken.

“Why are you—what the…hell.”

He stared at the dead body hanging on the ceiling but it just surprised him for a few seconds.

“Akane?” tawag ko pero nakatulala na lang siya sa kawalan.
“Oh, shit,” Ken cursed as he ran toward Akane. “Akemi! Get away from her!”
“Bakit—!”

Akala ko ay katapusan ko na dahil bigla na lang akong sinugod ni Akane habang may hawak siyang kutsilyo. Buti na lang ay nakaiwas ako agad at napigilan siya ni Ken. He restricted her movements and pinned her to the ground.

“Calm down, Akane! She’s not your mother!” he yelled but Akane continued thrashing and my heart sank when I saw the pained expression on her face.

Narinig ko naman ang papalapit na footsteps ng mga tao at paglingon ko ay nakita kong pumasok sa kwarto sina Reiji, Riye at Hiro. They were also greeted by the dead body in the middle of the room but they immediately helped Ken in restricting Akane. May hinawakan si Riye sa bandang leeg ni Akane at bigla na lang siyang nawalan ng malay. Pagkatapos no’n ay napaupo na lang si Ken sa tabi ni Akane habang hinahabol ang hininga niya.

“It’s been a long time since I last saw her like this,” bulong ni Ken at binuhat niya si Akane sa likod niya. “Buti na lang at sinundan ko kayo. Kundi ay baka kung ano na ang nagawa niya sa’yo. Sorry.”

Nag-collapse na lang din ako at tiningnan ang natutulog na Akane sa likod ni Ken.

“P-paano mo kami . . .”
“Because of her perfume,” he said while tilting his head toward her face. “The scent was getting fainter so I decided to follow it.”
“W-what happened to her?” I asked and their expressions became grim.
“It’s a trauma,” Hiro answered and he looked at the victim’s body. “Her mom was also hanged like this.”

Napatakip naman ako ng bibig nang marinig ko ‘yon. I didn’t know that her mom was already dead.

“I’m sorry nee-chan. Hindi ko nasabi sa’yo,” Riye apologetically said. “Hindi ko naman alam na may mangyayaring ganito.”
“It’s okay,” bulong ko naman at saka ko tinap ang balikat niya.
‘Did she attack you?’
‘Mmm. Pero hindi naman niya ‘yon sinasadya,’ sagot ko naman.
‘Yeah. Her mom’s murderer is not yet caught and identified, so she’s trying her best to find him or her.’ I see. Then that was why . .
‘Kaya ba inatake niya ako? Kasi akala niya ako pumatay sa mom niya?’
‘Exactly.’

Pagkatapos niyang sabihin ‘yon ay magkahalong awa at takot ang naramdaman ko para kay Akane. To think na hindi pa nahuhuli ang pumatay sa mom niya at makita ko siyang nagkakaganyan, kahit na ilang araw pa lang kaming nagkakilala, it still hurt me.

“Akemi, pwede bang pakibantayan muna si Akane?” sabi ni Ken. “Ibababa lang namin ‘yong babae.”

Tumango naman ako at marahan niyang isinandal si Akane sa pader. Tumabi naman ako sa kanya at hinawakan ang kamay niya. Pinanood ko sila habang nagtutulungang ibaba ang bangkay pero agad din akong napaiwas ng tingin dahil mulat na mulat pa ang mga mata niya.

Muli namang nabaling ang atensyon ko sa itim na bulaklak sa paanan niya at parang biglang nag-click sa utak ko kung bakit ako naba-bother doon. I gasped and that caught their attention.

“Why, nee-chan?”
“That!” sabay turo ko sa shirt ng babae. They looked at her and they immediately realized what I wanted to say. Nilabas ni Hiro ang wallet sa jacket niya at kinuha ang isang pirasong papel na pinakita niya sa amin kanina.
“They have the same design,” he said while glancing at the paper and the woman’s shirt.

That was why it was familiar. Nakita ko na ang design na ‘yon sa shirt ng babae: that heart-shaped figure with the word “passed” around it. This was definitely not a coincidence.

Pagkababa nila sa bangkay ay agad na tinawagan ni Reiji sina Sir Ryuu para ditto na dumiretso.

“It’s not suicide. She wasn’t strangled, either,” biglang sabi ni Akane kaya napatingin kami sa kanya. “Her hyoid was not destroyed.”
“Hyoid?” tanong ko sa kanya.
“Ah. That’s the bone in our neck, nee-chan. Almost half of homicide by strangulation victims had their hyoid fractured or broken.” Hinawakan niya ang leeg ng babae. “Hers wasn’t damaged. Suicide by hanging wasn’t also the cause since there were no ruptured blood vessels in her eyes and her lungs weren’t inflated. That means front lang ang pagtali sa kanya para matakpan ang totoong cause ng pagpatay sa kanya . . . just like what the murderer did to the first victim.”

Kahit nasaksihan ko na ang sixth sense niya last time ay patuloy pa rin akong namamangha. It felt like she was a doctor with her analysis.

“He was also killed by poisoning,” sabi ni Ken. “I could smell the same chemical in her body. I’m positive that it’s hydrochloric acid.”
“I think it was injected,” dagdag naman ni Reiji. “Her mouth wasn’t corroded. Riye, what happened to her esophagus and stomach?”
“They didn’t waste away but some of her blood vessels are damaged. Here,” sabay hawak niya sa braso ng babae at nakita ko ang maliit na needle mark doon sa gitna.
“Sa bandang gitna,” sabi ko at saka ko itinuro kung saan siya posibleng tinurukan.

Dumating naman sina Sir Ryuu kasama ang ilang police officers at napanganga ako nang makita kong magkaiba ang kulay ng mata ng isa. One was green and the other was yellow.
“If you are done with your analysis, you can rest. Sinabihan ko na rin si Miyu kaya nandyan siya ngayon sa baba,” sabi ni Sir Ryuu at agad nilang kinuhanan ng picture ang bangkay saka dinala sa baba. Sumabay na rin kami at nalula ako sa dami ng tao. May mga nakikiusisa na rin pala. Siguro dahil na rin sa pagsigaw namin kanina ni Akane.

Ah! Si Akane!

Napatalikod ako agad para hanapin si Akane at muntikan pa akong matumba dahil nabunggo ko si Hiro.

“She’s fine. Don’t worry,” sabi niya at tumingin siya sa likuran niya kaya napatingin din ako.

Nakapasan sa likod ni Ken si Akane at wala pa rin siyang malay. Napatingin na lang ako sa kanya habang inaalala ang nangyari kanina. Most of the times, she looked cheerful. I didn’t know she was carrying this kind of pain behind her smiles.

‘Come on. You’re blocking the way,’ sabi niya at bigla naman niya akong hinigit sa braso at hinatak papunta sa elevator. Sama-sama kaming anim na sumakay at tahimik lang kami habang hinihintay na huminto ang elevator.
“What are you thinking?” rinig ko namang tanong ni Reiji kay Riye.
“That this might not be the last,” she said. “This is turning into a serial murder case.”
Kinilabutan ako nang marinig ko ‘yon kay Riye. She was right. The killer might not be finished yet.
“It’s the number thirteen,” Hiro suddenly said.
“Thirteen? Anong meron sa thirteen?” tanong sa kanya ni Ken habang inaayos ang pagbuhat niya kay Akane.
“The first crime happened at the 13th Avenue while the second is at the 14th floor, which could be considered as the 13th, of this building. If our deduction si right about the rigor mortis, then the first victim was killed around four hours before 9:17 A.M. That means around 5 AM. The second murder happened at 6:30 PM, nearly 13 hours after the first crime. And that figure on her clothes with the word passed on it. It was also surrounded by thirteen dots. If this is really a serial murder, then the next victim will be killed after thirteen hours, 7:30 A.M. tomorrow.”

His explanation was ended by the sound of the elevator arriving at the ground floor. Kung hindi pa ako hinatak ni Riye ay hindi pa ako lalabas doon sa elevator dahil namangha ako sa mga sinabi niya. I couldn’t even think of those correlations and connections yet he easily deduced them. He even noticed the minor details and made an inference on what could possibly happen. Anong klaseng utak ang meron siya?

Pagkalabas namin sa building ay nakita ko kaagad si Miyu kaya dali-dali silang naglakad palapit dito, habang ako, dina-digest pa rin lahat ng pangyayari.

“Nee-can, nagtataka ka ba kung paano niya na-deduce ‘yon?” Crap. Bukas na naman ba ang isip ko? O sadyang madali lang basahin ang expression ko?
“Hindi ba dahil sadyang magaling at matalino lang siya?”
“Mmm.” Umiling siya sabay ngiti sa akin. “It’s his sixth sense.”

Bigla akong naging alert nang nabanggit niya ang sixth sense. Sa aming anim, ‘yong kay Hiro na lang ang hindi ko alam at matagal na rin akong nacu-curious doon. Ayaw ko naman kasing tanungin sina Riye at Akane dahil paniguradong hindi nila ako seseryosohin at mang-aasar lang.

“What’s his sixth sense?”
“Out of all the Senshin students, para sa akin, sa kanya talaga ako namangha. He’s the best sixth sense user among all of us,” she said, her eyes twinkling in admiration. “His eyes can capture and remember a given moment. It’s like a photographic memory. Natatandaan niya lahat ng tao at bagay na nakita niya kahit isang beses lang. Kapag tinanong mo siya kung anong nangyari years ago, kaya niyang idescribe kahit ang paligid, oras, and even the exact dialogues. It’s like looking in a history book in his point of view. That’s his sixth sense.”

Nang marinig ko ‘yon ay napatingin na lang ako sa likod ni Hiro. I know it’s a cool sixth sense but I suddenly felt sad. That means he could also remember the sad and painful memories of his life, and even though he tried hard to forget them, he couldn’t. Isn’t that unfair?

No, dear. To have great powers is to also experience great misery. That’s the rule of the world. That’s the rule of our world.

Alam kong normal na may marinig akong boses sa isip ko, but this one was unfamiliar and somewhat…cold.

My eyes wandered around and I knew they were light brown in color because I could see clearly up to 300 meters. Then, I saw a woman in the shadows, smiling coldly, and her green ferocious eyes were staring at me. Hindi ko alam kung bakit pero bigla akong nanghina at kinabahan nang sobra. Gusto kong sumigaw at humingi ng tulong pero parang nawala ang boses ko. Gusto kong alisin ang tingin ko sa kanya pero hindi ko magawa. Para na akong mababaliw pero buti na lang at hinawakan ako ni Riye sa braso at saglit na nabaling sa iba ang paningin ko.

“Are you alright, nee-chan?”

Tumingin ulit ako kung saan ko nakita ang babae pero wala na siya roon. I was still catching my breath as I tried to calm myself down.

Maybe I was just tired. I wanted to convince myself that I was tired but I knew that wasn’t the case.

Who was that woman?
​

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