Chapter XVI
1075 Words
Rosette instantly closed her eyes back when the rays of the sun blinded her range of vision. She turned her head to the right and opened her eyes. The empty space on her side welcomed her sight.
"Ahhh!!! Trinity!"
A sharp voice woke the other guys up from their lovely sleep. The peacefulness in their faces vanished and was easily replaced by the creased on their forehead.
"What happened?" Marcus yawned, turning his head to look over.
"Was it Ruby?" Jude stretched out his arms as he sat up.
"Help! Guys, help me!!!"
All their heads turned to the direction where the voice came from. And they all saw Ruby who was running to the sea. Ruby fell down on her knees when she reached the shallow part of the sea.
"Trinity, wake up!" she shouted.
"Wait, what?" Rosette got up looked at the guys around her with raised eyebrows. "Trinity?" she asked, hoping that she misheard it.
"Holy sh*t!" Marcus cursed and rushed to the sea.
Rosette tagged along with Jude and Collin. The beating of her heart deafened her. Everyone was shouting but her ears could not process what they were saying. Her eyes focused on the girl who was now in the arms of Marcus, the one who carried the wet body of Trinity.
The girl's long hair hanged down and was still dripping as it swung with Marcus' movement. Trinity's eyes were bulging out like as if she saw something and her lips were losing out its color.
"What happened to her?" Collin asked.
"I don't know. I didn't see her when I woke up so I tried to look for her," Ruby explained, her lips were trembling.
"Here's the blanket." Jude was quick to run back to their spot when he saw what was happening and picked up the piece of cloth. He immediately laid the blanket on the shore.
Marcus put down Trinity's body on it and tilted the head back slightly, lifting her chin. He checked first the breathing before giving her a cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Rosette crouched down to help. "Trinity, wake up," she mumbled as she was gently tapping Trinity's pale face with her cold hand.
"Are you sure you know how to perform the CPR?" Collin asked Marcus who was pumping Trinity's chest as he counted.
"Yes, we were trained for this since we lived in an island," Marcus said as he paused. He re-tilted the head and delivered another rescue breaths. Then, he continued the compression.
"I'll call the elders." Jude ran to ask for help.
"Come on, Trinity. Wake up!" Ruby shouted again. She was grabbing her hair in frustration.
Marcus looked exhausted after the third attempt. He was already sweating and gasping for some air.
"Let me help. Tell me if what I'm doing is right," Collin butted in and changed places with Marcus.
While the two guys were busy giving CPR, Rosette tried to find any signs of life in Trinity's body. As she was pushing her two fingers on the neck, she noticed the red linear marks on it despite its paleness.
"Babe, look at this!" She stole the attention of everyone around her when she pointed the marks on the neck of Trinity.
Ruby bent forward to see what she meant. "Looks like someone strangled her," she commented.
"Who?" Jude, Marcus, and Collin asked the same question and even Rosette.
"Did anyone notice who sleep last?" Ruby asked and it got everyone thinking.
"Last thing I remember is that Marcus and Trinity were still talking before my mind went black. I don't know who was still awake with them," Collin answered as he was giving chest compressions.
"Trinity! An older woman in her 50's ran towards their location. "What are you doing to her? Get away from my daughter!" She desperately pushed Marcus and Collin away, but Collin did not budge.
"Trinidad, we have to continue the CPR in order to save her, so please." Marcus tried his best to block Trinity's mother from interrupting Collin. Even Ruby did the same.
Rosette bit her lips in annoyance. She lost her focus when the woman arrived. Her hand touched the body again, trying to feel it. Beyond its coldness, she could not find warm. She checked Trinity's pulse and had to double check it for another time when she sensed a faint pulse but was beaten by her own heartbeat.
"I think she still has a pulse," she announced. Every pair of eyes turned to her.
"Really?" Ruby squeaked. Her eyes sparkled with pleasant emotion.
Marcus also checked the pulse of Trinity from her wrist and waited for a minute before he smiled at Rosette. "You're right," he confirmed.
"Thank, goodness!" Trinidad cried out as she looked up in the sky with her hands intertwined in front of her chest. Clear liquid formed around in her eyes.
"Here's the towel. Cover it to her to warm her body." Jude intruded and handed the towel to Ruby.
"We should dress her with dry clothes. Did you get some?" Rosette asked as she helped Ruby in covering the body without interrupting Collin. Marcus was assigned with the rescue breaths, while Collin was for chest compression.
"Wait. I'll get her clothes," Trinidad said. She then faced Marcus and Collin. "Please, don't let my daughter die. I beg you." Her voice was on a verge of breaking down.
The two men nodded their heads to her. And Trinidad walked away with a hopeful look on her face.
"What happened in here?" Mang Rolly, together with two elders, suddenly appeared behind them. Their faces are as firm as a trunk, with lines skillfully sculpted by nature.
"We do not know, Amang. We were all asleep when something happened to her," Ruby answered the caretaker of the hostel. They used Mang or Amang when referring to an elder man in their island. And Mamang for an elderly woman.
The elders turned their heads and examined the area and spotted the remains of the bonfire. Their brows met in the middle and their fiery eyes diverted back to them.
"You dared to tarnish the island?" asked the elder woman who was with Mang Rolly.
"It's not like that, Mamang Lydia," Ruby tried to reason out but she was silenced when the third elder broke in.
"No wonder that you disturbed a soul and took Trinity's life as a compensation." The old man's lips lifted up on one side.
- Writer
