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Chapter 3: Botanical Garden

A dead man wearing the same uniform as ours is now bathing in his own blood.

Napahakbang ako paatras dulot ng gulat sa hindi inaasahang tanawin. I know I'm used to seeing such things but the sight of this guy that is brutally killed can't alleviate my sight.

Nakahandusay siya sa sahig at puno rin ng saksak ang kanyang dibdib. Geez, sobra naman yung gumawa nito. Hindi na siya naawa plus nagkalat pa siya tsk! Papatay nalang ng tao hindi pa maayos.

Pero napatigil nalang ako at nanlaki ang mata sa napagtanto. Hindi ba't.. galing din dito si Lhei? Shocks! I don't know pero nakita niya kaya ito?? Or siya ang-- no, no, no! What am I even thinking? She can't do that!

But even if she did, that's not possible because I've been with her the whole time. I should have seen some blood stains on her clothes and heard some weird noises when that happened. It wouldn't also make sense dahil siya pa ang mismong nagbanggit kanina tungkol sa back building. At kung siya man, she should have asked me kung papaano pumatay ng maayos at malinis because I'm an expert at it. Nah, I'm just kidding. But I'm actually being honest nung sinabi kong expert ako.

Dali-dali akong umalis ng lugar at lumapit kina Lhei but before that, I made sure na wala nang ni isang bahid ng dugo sa aking mga sapatos dahil na rin sa pagtapak ko doon kanina. Ayoko kasing madamay pa sila sa kung ano mang nangyayari dito and I also don't want them to drown me with tons of questions.

Ginamit ko yung piraso ng tela na nakita ko sa gilid at ipinunas iyon sa aking sapatos. Gross..

Pagkatapos kong punasan ang nakakadiring dugo ay dumako na ako tungo sa lugar kung nasaan sila Lhei kanina.

The foul smell was faint in this area na lagpas ng pader na nakapagitan kaya hindi naman nakapagtataka kung hindi nila ito napapansin. Pero there is really something that I need to know bago ko pa sila paalisin.

"Maygash Race andiyan ka pala! Saan ka ba galing ha? Akala namin bumaba ka na kasi kanina ka pa namin hinahanap" wika ni Lhei habang sinasalubong ko siya.

Ngumiti naman ako sa kanya at nagsalita "Namasyal lang ako sa paligid-ligid. Ang cute kasi ng view. Nga pala, diba naglibot ka rin dito kanina?"

"Yeah, bakit?" sagot niya naman sakin habang ipinupusod ang kanyang kulot na buhok.

Ok Race wala naman sigurong masama kung magtatanong ako diba? Hindi naman sa pinaghihinalaan ko siya dahil naninigurado lang naman ako. "Uh, Lhei?"

Napatingin naman siya sakin "Oh?" Waahh! Tatanungin ko ba siya o hindi? Wag na lang kaya? No, I need to ask her. Basta tatanungin ko na siya. There's no turning back now.

"Habang nandoon ka, may napansin ka bang kakaiba sa likod nung nakaharang na pader?" tanong ko sa kaniya at tinuro ang part ng rooftop na pinuntahan ko kanina.

"Yeah of course and it was terrible" W-what? So nakita niya nga--

"Grabe, napakabaho doon! I never went farther kasi hindi na kinaya ng sense of smell ko ang kung ano man doon. I'm starting to think nga na may tumae doon eh. Heck, I can't even imagine someone na tumatae doon!" sunod-sunod na sagot niya na ikinaginhawa ko naman. Buti naman at hindi na niya nalaman ang kung ano man ang nandoon. That was close!

"Bakit Race? Ikaw ba yung tumae doon?? Kadiri ka naman!" Hwat? Wika niya sabay hampas sa akin. Ouch! Daheck? At saan niya naman napulot ang tanong na iyan?

"Baliw ka ba?! I would never do that! I'm a very cultured person noh!" Ayos na sana yung sagot niya kaso panira talaga yung tinanong niya. Sa ganda kong toh? Ni hindi ko nga naisip na gawin yun minsan eh.

"Really?" pabirong tanong niya sa akin pero inirapan ko nalang siya na dahilan para tumawa siya. Ha-ha-ha sige tawa pa.

I suddenly stopped when I remembered something "Another thing," I said at muling natuon sa akin ang atensyon niya. "Were you being serious nung sinabi mo na parang alam mo na kung sino ung killer na pinaguusapan natin kaninang umaga?"

"No, I was obviously joking noh. Bakit? Na-uto ba kita?" She asked, grinning.

"Hinde." Atleast nalaman ko na ngayon na nagbibiro lang pala siya. I honestly thought that she really is being serious.

"Hey, nandiyan pala kayo" napalingon ako sa direksyon nila Ysa at Freeda na magkasamang naglalakad papalapit sa amin.

"Ay hindi, wala kami dito Freeda. Naghahaluccinate ka lang" paasar na sabi ni Lhei kay Freeda with matching hand gestures pa. Ok, ayan nanaman po tayo.

"Hindi ikaw kausap ko" banat pa ni Freeda.

"Uh, sabi mo kaya 'kayo' so that technically means you're also talking to me" ganti ni Lhei. Hayst! Napafacepalm na lang ako dahil sa mga pinag gagagawa ng dalawang ito.

"Okay lovebirds tigilan niyo muna iyan at sa baba niyo nalang ituloy. We need to head back" pag-awat ko sa kanila. I really need to find out what's going on about that dead body. Well, it's not like I'm playing detective or anything pero my guts are telling me something that I think I should follow even once.

"Huh, agad-agad? Gusto ko pang mag-enjoy ehh" wika ni Lhei.

"Go enjoy yourself somewhere else later dahil kailangan na nga nating bumalik. Ayokong mapagalitan noh and I don't want my mom to find out that I've gone missing half the period of my first day! Ayoko pang mabilanggo sa kwarto huhuhu" yeah, I feel you too Ysa. Ganyan din ang ginagawa ni mama sa akin sa mga oras na nagiging pasaway ako. And trust me, it really is depressing.

"K fine!" pagsuko ni Lhei.

Nagsimula na kaming maglakad pababa ng hagdan hanggang sa makarating na kami sa pinakababang palapag. That was tiring.

"Hey, what time is it?" tanong ko kay Ysa.

"11:47 am" She told me after checking on her wristwatch. Siguro naman gising na si boss sa mga oras na ito. "Bakit mo nga pala naitanong?"

"Uhm, wala lang" nakangiting sagot ko sa kanya at nagpatuloy sa pagalakad.

"Tara na bilisan natin para makaabot pa tayo sa next period" wika ni Lhei na siyang nangunguna sa paglalakad namin. Actually, kayong tatlo lang makakaabot sa next subject because there is something that I need to work on.

Medyo nagpahuli ako sa kanila at kinapa ang aking bulsa para hanapin ang phone ko. Nang makuha ko na ito, I pretended na nagriring ito in order for me to have an excuse for not coming with them. Sorry ito lang naiisip kong palusot ngayon.

"Race, naiiwan ka na diyan. Sasama ka ba sa amin?" Tanong ni Lhei nang mapansin niyang hindi na ako sumasabay sa kanila.

"Uh, sorry guys its urgent. My mom is calling. Pwede bang pakisabi nalang sa next subject teacher natin na may ginawa lang akong importante?" wika ko sa kanila habang pinapatunog ang ringtone ko. Waahhh sana naman maniwala sila sa pinaggagagawa ko.

"Oh, alright. Just update us if something happened given that it's urgent. Mauna na kami!"

Tinanguan ko sila at nagkunwari akong may kinakausap sa phone habang hindi pa sila nakakalayo. I waited for them to get away hanggang sa hindi ko na sila maaninag. Since bilang lamang ang mga estudyante sa parteng ito ng campus, hindi na magiging mahirap sa akin ang mga gagawin ko.

I climbed back to where I saw the corpse and immediately dialed the number of my boss while taking the stairs.

"Spade, what's the occasion?" I heard his voice on the other line.

"Well, some amateur killer is on the loose and he left some dirty work in the school that I'm attending to. What should I do with it? Hindi naman pwedeng makawala ang sino mang iyon at basta nalang gumawa ng kalat kung saan-saan"

"Investigate the body and send me the details. There may be something valuable to know. Don't call the police yet and take care of the suspect once you find out. He might be the one my friend has been looking for"

"Investigate? You know I'm not a detective, right? And wait, what do you mean by that?" takang tanong ko.

"Someone working from Villan Corp. stole some exorbitant high tech device that are just newly fabricated and not yet to be released to the public. Gagamitin sana iyon sa auction next week kaya hangga't maaari, mabawi na ang bagay na iyon. Fortunately, someone just told me na ang taong iyon ay nasa area na kinaroroonan mo" pagpapaliwanag niya.

"And what if he isn't the one your 'friend' has been looking for?"

"Edi hindi. Go and proceed to your job. Don't waste your time. Remember to send me the details" he said for the last time and hung up. Sungit naman.

Anyway, nang makarating na ako sa pinakaitaas na palapag, tumungo ako sa pwesto ng bangkay. I covered my nose using the handkerchief I found in my pocket and tied it around my head so that I wouldn't be holding it while doing what I should be doing.

Let's see. The man has multiple stabs on his chest, which may be the cause of blood scattered here at pansin ko rin ang mga nagkalat na fertilizer na nagmumula sa maliit na balde na halos wala nang laman sa tabi ng bangkay. So that explains the foul odor. The man also showed some signs of repression and struggle dahil sa mga sugat sa kaniyang mga palad na para bang humawak ng dulo ng kutsilyo upang pigilan itong maisaksak sa kanya.

Pinagmasdan ko ang paligid ngunit wala naman akong mahanap na kutsilyo o kung ano man na ginamit sa pagpatay rito sa biktima. The culprit must have hid it with him or somewhere na hindi ganoon kadaling mahanap.

But there is also something that really caught my attention and that is the dirt in his fingernails. Well, that made me confused.

Lumapit ako sa bangkay at akmang hahawakan na sana ito nang mapagtanto ko na baka magiwan ako ng fingerprints ko kapag ginawa ko iyon and that would make the situation much more risky. Muntik na yun ah. But where the heck will I find some gloves o plastic man lang na pambalot sa kamay ko? Hindi naman ako pwedeng umalis dito dahil baka may iba pang makakita sa walang buhay na lalaking ito. Hayst! Isip Race, isip.

Wait.. pwede kaya iyon?

An idea popped in my mind ngunit hindi ako sigurado kung pwede ba iyon and is it really possible na hindi iyon madedetect? Well, its worth the try at kung pumalpak man ako, bahala na si boss dun. Kasalanan niya ito eh! Hindi naman kasi ako detective.

I went closer to the corpse and searched through the pockets inside his blazers using my mid knuckles while avoiding the tip of my fingers to touch the surface. Yeah, its hard I know.

It seems like he just died recently within this day. Earlier I guess because he's still a bit warm.

I felt something in his blazers and grabbed the object from the pocket inside. I found a black wallet containing his money and two identification cards. One is from the school and the other is from.. oh, so he is no doubt the one who was said to have stolen something from the friend of my boss. How unlucky of him to waste his efforts and end up being dead. That's sad.

So what do we have here.. Noe Salazar and it says that he's an intern from Villan Corp. But, if he's the thief, nasaan ang ninakaw niya? Why is he killed by the way? And who is the killer? Waahh, this is giving me a headache!

I rummaged through his clothes and every possible places where he could hide the stolen object with him but unfortunately, I can't find anything. Naisipan ko nalang i-text si boss at balitaan siya sa mga natagpuan at nalaman ko sa biktima.

From Masungit kong boss:

That's it? Try to find out more useful information. I'll send some of my men there to tidy things up because I don't want the burden from the authorities. As for now, try searching that boy's room sa tinutuluyan niya. I'll send you the address. Malay mo nandoroon lang pala ang ninakaw niya.

What if wala pala doon? Sayang lang ang effort ko kapag ganun. But something is really unusual. How did these fertilizers end up here? Ano kinalaman nito sa taong ito? Based on what I've learnt sa orientation kanina, may botanical garden hindi kalayuan sa building na kinaroroonan ko. Maybe that has something to do with what's going on here. Posible kasing galing doon ang mga fertilizers dito.

Napagdesisyunan ko nang bumaba ulit ng building as I have some plan in mind. Since I don't like to just go to the office and ask for the cctv footage, I will be doing things my way. Para safe and sure na rin. Papadating naman na ang mga kabig ni boss kaya wala nang problema kung iiwan ko na ito rito.

Nagpaalam na ako sa bangkay at tinahak ang daan pababa. Yes, I bid the corpse goodbye because I'm very polite.

Nang makababa na ako, dumeretso ako sa SHS building sa upang kunin ang gamit ko sa aming classroom. Naginhawaan naman ako nang maabutan kong walang tao roon nang makarating ako. Maybe they went to the science lab since ang subject namin sa oras na ito ay general chemistry. They might be doing some introductions or something.

Pumunta ako sa upuan ko at kinuha roon ang bag ko. Matapos kong gawin iyon, umalis na ako rito at dumeretso sa main building kung saan naroon ang room kung saan minomonitor ang mga cctv footages.

Hindi naman sa nakakapagod pero parang ganun na nga. Bakit ba kasi napakadaming building dito?

Habang naglalakad, binuksan ko ang bag ko upang kunin ang bagay na gagamitin ko para sa plano ko. Wait, nasan ko nga ba nilagay yun? I'm sure its in here somewhere-- oh there it is. Buti nalang naisipan kong dalhin ito. I just had a feeling that I'd be using this and I guess I'm right. Napakagaling ko talaga.

Well, this is going to be amusing.

When I finally arrived at the door of the control room, I roamed my gaze through the hallways and everywhere around me just to reassure that I won't look too suspicious and won't be crossing paths with a teacher here.

Nang masiguro ko na iyon, derederetso na akong pumasok sa loob without even knocking at the door. Gusto kong manggulat eh and I guess I didn't fail.

I wore an innocent face the moment I got in. Sumalubong sa akin ang nagiisang staff sa loob which I think is in his late 30s. He is wearing a blue staff uniform at medyo may katabaan ang kanyang pangangatawan.

"Anong kailangan mo? This room is strictly prohibited for students" wika niya na para bang nananakot. Too bad, hindi mo ako matatakot.

"Sorry sir, I'm just new here and I think I'm lost. Pupunta po sana ako sa faculty pero hindi ko po alam kung saan. Can you tell me where it is?" mala-inosente kong sabi sa kanya.

Napatingin siya sa taas na tila ba nagiisip at habang ginagawa niya iyon, dalidali kong binuksan ang pakete laxative na kanina ko pa hawak sa aking likuran.

Mabilis na iginala ko ang aking paningin upang maghanap ng bagay na pwede kong paglagyan nito and luckily, I saw a cup of hot coffee on his desk.

I went closer to the table where the coffee is placed and gently poured the contents of what I'm holding while avoiding to be noticed.

Nang matapos kong gawin iyon ay sakto naman siyang nagsalita at napatingin sa akin.

"Sa fourth floor ng main building, room 305. Nasa tabi lang iyon ng computer lab. Pwede kang magtanong sa mga madadaanan mo kung sakaling maligaw ka ulit" sagot niya. I saw something flicker in his pockets and if my hunch is right, it might be the keys for this room.

"Ok thanks, sir!" I said, smiling as if nothing happened. Lumabas na rin ako at napangisi nalang nang makita kong kinuha niya ang kanyang baso. Wahaha! Sorry kuyang staff but I really have to do this.

I closed the door of the control room and stood right by the wall beside it. Now I only have to wait for the miracle to happen.

Habang naghihintay, sumandal ako sa pader na nasa likuran ko at pinagmasdan ang mga schoolmates ko na dumadaan.

Yung iba dire-diretso lang pero may iba din na napapatingin sa direksyon ko. Nagtataka siguro sila kung bakit nakatambay lang ako dito lalo na't nasa tabi ko pa ang 'No Loitering' sign. Uhm, medyo suspicious ba?

Nah, bahala na sila magisip ng kung ano-ano. What's important here is my business.

Speaking of which, what's taking him so long? Ang tagal naman umeffect ng laxative sa kanya. Ang alam ko kasi kakaiba yung ginamit ko na iyon and it only takes a few minutes or even seconds to take effect.

It's a special laxative kasi na ibinigay sa akin ni boss dahil nga special ako. He said that I might need it in the future. Pero.. nung sinabi niyang baka kailanganin ko ito, is he referring to my missions or something else?

Wait, iniisip niya ba na baka magkaroon ako ng matinding constipation at kakailanganin ko ng ganoong klase ng laxative?! Geez, grabe naman si boss sa akin huhu.

My stream of thoughts came to a halt when I felt the door being opened. Ok, this is it!

The door swang open as the staff hastily went out, holding his abdomen with both of his hands.

The moment he went across me, I quickly took the chance to swiftly grab the keys form his pocket. I waited for him to be meters away from me then I immediately entered the room.

Well, that was quite easy.

Ni-lock ko kaagad ang pinto para wala nang ibang makapasok at makialam sa kung ano man ang gagawin ko. Teka, ano nga ba ulit ung hahanapin ko? Oh, right! I almost forgot. Yung sa botanical garden nga pala.

Let's see..

I typed something from the keyboard, clicked some few things and then voila! I pressed the rewind button until it reached a particular timestamp from the footage.

There you are.

A figure of two male students in front of a greenhouse flashed on the screen. They seem to be chatting. Medyo matagal ha.

I pressed the fast forward shortly and stopped until I saw the taller figure harshly shoved the shorter one. If my guess is right, the short one must be the corpse I saw earlier. May pagkakahawig kasi sila.

The shorter one or Noe Salazar didn't fight back but it looks like he was yelling at the taller one. Obviously, they seem to be arguing. Pero tungkol saan?

Seconds later, the tension between them seem to vanish. Noe went inside the greenhouse but the other went the opposite way.

I clicked some few things in the monitor and followed where the taller one headed. Buti nalang at halos buong campus ay may naka install na cctv kaya mukhang hindi na ako mahihirapan dito.

Nang masundan ko na kung saan patungo ang kasama ni Noe kanina sa footage, halos magluwa ang mata ko nung malaman ko na sa back building pala ito papunta. My goshness! So siya nga.

I tried searching for the footage in the back building area but unfortunately, there was none. Well atleast I found out kung sino ang posibleng makalat na killer na iyon.

Binalikan ko ang footage ni Noe na ngayon ay kakalabas palang ng greenhouse habang may hawak na balde ng fertilizers. And just as I expected, he went straight to where his taller friend went.

Hindi na ako nagpaligoy-ligoy pa at pinindot ko na ang fast forward hanggang sa makita ko ang sa tingin kong killer na bumalik at pumasok sa loob greenhouse nang wala ang kanyang kasama.

I also tried searching for the cctv footage in the interior of the greenhouse ngunit wala rin nito. Ano ba meron sa loob nun? At bakit naman sila parit-parito doon? Wait, hindi kaya--

TOK! TOK! TOK!

Bigla akong napatingin sa pinto kung saan ko narinig ang pagkatok. Hayst! Bakit ngayon pa? Kung kailan naman malapit na eh!

"Hoy! May tao ba diyan?!" sigaw ng staff na ngayo'y nagaabang sa labas habang kinakalabog ang pinto.

Oh sheet!

He continued banging the door at kasabay niyon ang pagkabog ng aking dibdib.

Luhh ano nang gagawin ko?!

I briskly searched the room for possible escape routes. When I almost thought that all hope was gone, something caught my sight that made my eyes glimmer.

Lifesaver ka talaga kahit kailan, noh?

Kinuha ko ang swivel chair sa aking gilid at pinwesto ito sa tapat ng air vent. Aakyat na sana ako pero bago ko gawin iyon, inilabas ko muna ang aking phone at kinuhanan ng litrato ang itinuturong salarin sa mga kaganapan dito. Baka kasi makalimutan ko yung itsura niya.

Matapos kong gawin yun, I arranged the contents on the screen of the monitor to its usual state, placed the keys back on the desk then I jumped to the air vent and crawled inside it.

Buti nalang talaga at bukas ito kasi hindi na ako nahirapang pumasok. And I'm really-really-really, glad that the insides of the air vent is clean. Luhh, paano nalang kaya kung madumi toh? I may not die for being caught, (yeah, I'm a bit over reacting) but I might die from allergies! Did I mention that I am actually allergic to dust? Ok I just mentioned it right now. Pero nag e-evolve kaya ako kapag natitrigger ang allergies ko.

I was busy crawling when I suddenly heard the noises made by the turning of the doorknob. Tumigil ako sa aking ginagawa nang makarinig ako ng pagbukas ng pinto at mga yabag papasok ng control room.

I turned and took a peek through the air vent cover and I saw the staff walking inside the control room while holding another key. Iyon siguro yung duplicate.

He walked around and took a glance at the swivel chair below the airvent. My eyes widened when I realized something. Waahh! Nakalimutan kong alisin yung upuan!!

Shocks! Sana hindi niya na pansinin.

Nararamdaman ko ang bilis ng pagkabog ng dibdib ko habang palapit ng palapit yung staff sa direksyon ko. I think I have no choice but to resort to plan B. Yes, may plan B ako incase na mahuli at iyon ay ang sapakin ang staff. Hindi naman yung sobra-sobra ah! Yung sakto lang naman para makatakas ako at hindi niya makita ang maganda kong pagmumukha.

I was about to raise my fist, ready to blow a punch when he unexpectedly grabbed the swivel chair and pulled it to his direction.

I heaved a sigh of relief when nothing bad happened next and continued crawling quietly inside the vent. Akala ko kung ano na!

To be honest, hindi ko alam kung saan patungo itong vent kasi hindi ko naman kabisado toh and I haven't even memorized the places and directions in the campus. Hayst! I guess I'm going to have a hard time escaping.

I resumed crawling to random directions, hoping that I would get out soon. Nakakangawit din kasi.

Ilang minuto ang lumipas hanggang sa may maaninag na akong liwanag. Sinusundo na ba ako ng langit? Or makakalabas na ako? It must be the latter.

Patuloy lang ako sa paggapang hangang sa marating ko ito. Sumilip ako sa may vent cover at tumambad sa akin ang loob ng... Cr?

Dali-dali akong bumaba mula rito at buti nalang talaga hindi ito gaanong mataas.

Haaayy sa wakas!

Saktong pag landing ng paa ko sa sahig ay may biglang bumukas na pinto mula sa isa sa mga cubicle.

"Race?"

"Freeda?" halos sabay naming wika. Shocks, si Freeda nga toh! "Anong ginagawa mo dito?"

"Hindi naman siguro obvious diba?" natatawang sabi niya. Oo nga naman. Nandito siya para mag cr Race. Pero, sa main building? Ang layo naman ata ng narating niya. Or baka naman dito sila nagklase since nandito sa main building ang computer lab at baka ginagamit nila iyon.

Dahil wala akong maisip na sasabihin, nginitian ko na lang siya. Waahh my mind is so preoccupied. Speechless tuloy ako! Napaka-unexpected naman kasi ng meet-up namin dito.

Nagkunwari nalang akong maghuhugas ng kamay nang bigla siyang magsalita.

"Something came up huh? So anong nangyari?"

"H-huh? Wala naman hahaha" wika ko. Paanong something came up? May sinabi ba ako sa kanila na nakalimutan ko? Nako, ulyanin na talaga ako.

"Come on. Halata kaya sa mukha mo. Is it about doon sa tawag ni tita?" wika niya at naghugas na din ng kamay.

Tawag ni mama? Ay oo nga pala! How come I forgot about that.

"Ah, oo tama. May nangyari kasi"

"Is it bad news? What happened ba?" huhu bakit ka pa nagtanong Freeda.

"Namatay" ay nadulas! Pwede ko pa bang bawiin? Pero nabigla siya eh. Hayst malulusutan ko din yan.

"Oh? Sino??" biglang naglaho ang kani-kanina lamang na kalmado niyang mukha at napalitan ito ng gulat at alala.

"Y-yung aso namin" medyo nag aalangan kong sagot. Sana naman maniwala siya.

"Huh? Paano nangyari yun? You don't even have a dog" Shoot! I'm dead.

Lupa, pakilamon na ako please?

Sasabog na sana ako nang bigla ulit siyang magsalita "Well, ok if you said so. Condolence nga pala"

Whooo! That was really close.

Ilang segundong katahimikan ang namagitan sa amin ng muli niya itong basagin "By the way, have you heard the news? I mean gossip pala since hindi pa naman iyon confirmed at sabi-sabi lang"

Luh, chismosa ka din pala Freeda. Akala ko si Lhei lang yung dakilang chismosa sa atin pero ikaw rin pala. Dahil na rin siguro ng kuryosidad kaya napalingon ako sa aking kaibigan. "About what?"

"Noe Salazar"

Ahh si Noe-- wait, what?! Halos napatigil ako sa aking paghinga ng marinig ko iyon mula sa kanya. Saan niya napulot iyon?

"I heard that he went missing just this day and he was supposed to be in our class. You looked surprised. Bakit, kilala mo ba siya?"

Oo kilala ko at sa totoo nga lang, patay na siya ngayon "N-no, I just thought that his name was familiar"

Tumango-tango na lang siya "So, see you later na. I gotta go, I still have classes"

"Same here" but not really. Huling sambit ko na iyon sa kanya bago siya umalis.

I let out a sigh the moment she was gone. Ang bilis pala ng signal dito noh? Just hours after Noe was killed, halos kumakalat na pala ang balita na nawawala siya. Little did they know that he's already dead.

So where are we?

Lumapit ako sa pinto ng restroom at sumilip sa labas. I looked left and right to see if the coast is clear. Glad, there were only few students here. Nang masiguro ko na iyon, muli akong pumasok at ni-lock ang pinto. Pinuntahan ko rin ang bawat cubicle at chineck kung may mga tao ba roon. Luckily, mag-isa lang pala ako rito.

Do you know why I did that? May gagawin kasi akong kakaiba dito and no one, NO ONE should see me. Heck, katapusan ko na siguro kung may makakahuli sa akin rito.

I grabbed my backpack, opened it at tinanggal ang mga laman nito. Matapos kong gawin iyon ay inilabas ko ang bagay na nasa ilalim ng bag stiffener.

Ang aking mahiwagang antipas.

You're probably curious kung bakit ko ito dala-dala dito noh? Well, its just for emergency purposes. Hindi naman kasi natin alam kung ano ang pwedeng mangyari sa ating buhay, diba? That's why I decided to bring it with me.

I placed the black laced object on my face, covering the half of it. Honestly, nakakalungkot isipin na nakamaskara nalang ako palagi sa mga misyon ko. Hindi man lang kasi nagkakaroon ng chance ang mga nakakakita sa akin na masilayan ang maganda kong mukha even on their last moments in life. That's just sad.

I took off my spruce blue blazers, leaving my white blouse on my torso then tucked it inside my bag together with my necktie. I don't know kung bakit ko toh ginagawa but the idea that someone might think that some masked stranger is suspiciously roaming around this school might be the reason why I'm taking precaution. But what am I going to do with my skirt? Hayst, bahala na. Malay natin hindi na pansinin ng kung sino mang makakakita sakin. I know that is plain stupid pero bahala na talaga!

Umalis na ako sa cr at dumeretso tungo sa mga nadaan ko kanina. There were no students rambling here kaya hayahay na lang akong naglalakad dito. I still don't know the places here yet kaya doon muna ako dadaan sa mga alam ko.

Lumabas na ako ng gusaling kinaroroonan ko at pumunta sa direksyon ng botanical garden ng school which is actually at the back of the main building. All thanks to the cctv footages na pinanood ko kanina kaya medyo familyar na ako sa daan.

Habang naglalakad palapit, pinagmasdan ko ang lugar. This place sure is occupying a lot of space. Napakalawak kasi nito.

I walked pass the fences and the almost endless stretches of plants, then entered the greenhouse. In fairness malaki-laki ito. Well, what do I expect from a quite prestigious school?

The warm, fresh ambiance welcomed me as various colors of the flowers and plants around showed and gave an appealing sight to my eyes. The plants around were labeled according to what type it is. Some were placed in pots while others are hanged, giving a hanging garden vibe.

Ang ganda naman dito.. like me.

Nagpatuloy ako sa paglalakad pero napatigil din nang may ma-realize. Shems, kung napakalaki nga ng greenhouse, how am I supposed to find the stolen item or some important object? Iniisip ko pa lang, naiistress na ako.

But.. If I'm going to use some so-called process of elimination (wow, now I'm sounding like a detective) I think I might be able to find something.

Ok think Race, think..

Teka, oo nga noh!

I just remembered the weird thing about Noe's corpse. The dirt in his fingernails. He must have hidden something under the soil somewhere. Pero saan ako maghahanap?

Nilibot ko ang paningin ko hanggang sa mamataan ko ang ilang mga paso. Obviously, posibleng doon itinago ang kung ano mang bagay na iyon. Eh kaysa naman doon sa artificial pond na tubig ang laman diba?

Dahil kakaunti lamang ang mga paso, hindi na ako mahihirapam maghukay dine. Yeah, call it messy but I have to do it, kind of.

I started with one but sadly, wala akong nahanap doon. Naghukay ako ng susunod pero ala pa rin. I know I might be in trouble dahil una sa lahat, bawal galawin ang mga halaman dito nang walang permiso at baka raw may masira o may mawala. Pero don't get the wrong impression ah. I didn't leave any mess behind. Kahit hinukay ko man ang mga paso dito, parang wala lang ding gumalaw ng mga ito. Ganun kasi ako kagaling.

Halos mag iisang oras na ngunit wala pa rin akong nahahanap. Nasaan ba kasi iyon?? Tapos ang dumi-dumi na ng uniform ko. Ano ba yan! Maglalaba nanaman ako.

I halted my thoughts and went to the three pots that I haven't delved in and dug one of them. I hope nandoon na yung hinahanap ko.

The soil splashed into the exquisite ceramic pot as I probed its insides. Few minutes passed pero laking gulat ko nalang nang may maramdaman ako sa loob nito.

I continued digging until I found something that appears to be...

An eyeglass case??

What is supposed to be the meaning of this? I honestly thought na kutsilyo o kaya high tech na bagay ay matatagpuan ko rito, but this? It doesn't look like something very valuable pero may nakaukit dito na 'Villan Corp.' which is imprinted in gold. The black case is also made out of leather and steel at mukhang mamahalin ang mga material na ito.

Baka yung case talaga yung mamahalin at hindi yung salamin sa loob?

Binuksan ko ito pero mukhang ordinaryong salamin lang naman ang laman. I was about to close the case when I heard someone spoke behind me.

"Ibigay mo sa akin yan!"

I turned around and tumambad sa akin ang mukha ng lalaki na nakita ko kanina sa cctv footage. Yung kasama ni Noe. The moment he saw my face, he was surprised. Aba, who wouldn't be surprised to see someone as intimidating as me?

"Alin ba? Ito ba?" wika ko sa kanya at itinuro ang hawak kong eyeglass case.

"O-oo" mukha siyang kinakabahan. Ay hindi, kinakabahan talaga siya.

"Ayoko nga" sabi ko sa kanya at tumayo ngunit napatigil rin nang may marinig akong pagkasa ng baril. Wait, don't tell me.

"S-SABING AKIN NA YAN!!" I tried running towards him pero huli na.

BANG!