Dead City

Crimson

"The gangs are there. My friends.... they're still injured, and the others aren't supposed to fight. They are not made to fight, in battling."

"Sige na. Kailangan na nating bumalik ngayon na." Aniko. Tumigil siya ng bahagya atsaka humarap saakin bago bumalik sakaniyang ginagawa.

"As if you can do anything. Can you fight?" Kalmado niyang tanong at parang walang alintana sa mga gang na nandoon na sakanila Ian.

"I don't know. But all I know is we need to go and help them. Anything to help them. Damn it!"

"You're being controlled by your emotions, Dahlia. Try to calm down." She replied and finishes what she were doing. She then give me a deep sigh before calmly walk away.

As we are walking-like-running, I heard the voice of Hans in my earpiece.

"Calm down, Dahlia." He calmly said as if there's nothing wrong, but I didn't listen to him and just trying to call Ian's name.

"Ian? Answer me, for pete's sake!"

"Gale?" Tawag ko ulit.

"Dahlia. Listen to me, please." Sabi ni Hans.

"Just try to calm down, Dahlia. It's okay, focus on what you're doing." He said.

"How can you say that? Your members are there, even your captain who is still injured and unconscious."

"I can't just calm down. Knowing you guys aren't focus on battling like Captain Stone and his group." I firmly said as I can see the top of the building where Eula and others are located.

Even if from this far, I could hear the rumbling sound of fighting in the building.

"I understand perfectly, Dahlia."

"Then you know how I'm sincerely worried for others in the building."

"I understand, Dahlia, and I thank you for your deep care for us. But please, just calm down. Don't underestimate our team." He said.

Pagkasabi niya nito'y nakita ko ang ilang mga miyembro ng gang na nagsisilaglagan sa building galing sa palapag na kinaroroonan nila Mia.

What the hell is happening?

"No!" Athena said.

"It can't be. The worst is happening! No! It cannot be!" Sabi niya atsaka nagmadaling tumakbo papasok at paakyat sa palapag namin.

Habang tumatakbo ay may mga nakakasalubong pa kaming ibang mga miyembro ng gang na tumatakbo palabas na animo'y takot na takot at parang tumatakas kay kamatayan.

What is happening?

Pagkarating namin ay biglang sinipa ni Athena yung pinto. Hindi naman ako makapaniwala sa nakikita ko.

Bumungad saamin sila Eula na nagtatawanan sa gilid, samantalang sila Ian ay diretso pa rin sa pagtatrabaho sakanilang computers na kung saan hiniram lang nila dito, ngunit, ang kanilang mga upuan ngayon ay ang pinagpatong-patong na katawan ng mga walang malay na gangs. Ang ibang miyembro ng gangs ay nasa gilid at naka-tape ang bibig at kamay sa bawat isa.

"Oh? Bakit parang ang bilis niyo naman?" Nakangiting tanong ni Gale saamin.

"No! The worst have happened!" Malakas na wika ni Athena at napaupo sa sahig habang hawak ang ibang kinuha namin.

"They didn't even let me touch a single conscious being." She said.

"What happened here? Why are they taped, tied, and unconscious, while some flew through the window and some are running for their lives?" Mahabang tanong ko sakanila Mia.

"Ian and his team took care of these bad guys. They're only 5, but they manage it anyway. Isn't it awesome, Dahlia?" Wika ni Eula saakin na mukhang bighaning-bighani sa nasaksihan kanina lamang.

"H-how's that possible? I thought you guys are.... how did this happen?" Utal kong tanong.

"Where's Theo?" Tanong ko rin.

"Dylan, what's the update?" Rinig kong tanong ni Hans sa earpiece ko.

"We're fine. It's just a piece of cake. Ian, Gale, Owen, Mia and I, took care of the brutal gangs. No one is hurt." Pagbalita ni Dylan kay Hans.

Sila nila Mia at Owen ay naka upo sa tabi ng sa tingin ko'y lider ng mga gangs na sumugod dito, samantalang si Dylan ay nasa gilid at nagsasalamin.

Sila Eula, Irish at Tin naman ay nagpatuloy ulit sa paguusap at pagtatawanan na animo'y walang nangyari kanina.

I can't believe this!

"See? I told you to not underestimate my team." Parang nagyayabang na sabi ni Hans saaking earpiece.

"Captain's fine. He's still inside." Sagot ni Owen saaking tanong kanina.

"You guys didn't even told me you have the ability to fight." I said.

"We're not made to fight, but we're not defenseless, Dahlia." Mia stated.

"I'm sorry I underestimated you guys." Aniko at napangiti rin ng bahagya dahil ayos lang silang lahat.

Bigla naman kaming napatingin kay Theo nang lumabas siya sa silid kung nasaan siya kanina. Halatang kagigising niya lang at may mga sakit pa siyang nararamdaman.

"What happened? How long was I unconscious? Who are these people?" Sunod-sunod niyang tanong.

He's kind a cute when his hair is messy and eyes are still half closed.

"s**t!" Mahina kong mura nang mapansin ko ang sarili ko.

What the hell am I thinking?

Sinagot at pinaliwanag naman nila Owen ang nangyari, samantalang ako'y nagpunta sakanila Ian kahit pa hindi ko naman alam kung anong maitutulong ko sakanila, para lamang malibang ko ang aking sarili at hindi mapansin ang presensya ni Theo.

"So, how are you?" Dylan casually asked Theo as he drinks the medicine Athena have instructed him to drink.

"My head and body is still hurt. But I'm fine." He answered.

Ang akala ko'y magagalit siya dahil sa kung paano siya tinanong ni Dylan. Bigla ko naman naalala yung mga sinabi nila Ian saakin tungkol sa kapag naka patay ang captain mode niya.

"Er... damn it." I silently cursed myself again.

This time, I focused myself to the screen of Ian and Gale's computers.

After some time, Dylan and the others caught my attention.

Si Dylan ay nakaupo sa lamesa na parang tamad na tamad, si Theo ay nakatayo sa harap ng mga gang leaders, samantalang sila Mia at Owen ay nakaupo upang mapantayan ang mga ito. Nakatali pa rin ang kanilang mga kamay ngunit ang tape sakanilang bibig ay inalis na nila Owen.

"Who sent you here?" Tanong nila Mia.

"Enemy's approaching! Why the hell are you guys not moving?!" Ian exclaimed.

Nakita ko sakaniyang screen ang parang mapa galing sa satellite. May nakita akong dot na blue at red. Ang kulay blue ay hindi gumagalaw samantalang ang red ay gumagalaw papalapit sa blue.

"Vice-captain? Do you copy?" Tanong ni Gale.

"They probably lost their signal." Sambit ni Athena.

"Damn it." Pagmura ni Ian.

"Vice-captain, do you hear me?" Paulit-ulit na tanong ni Ian.

"Hello?" Halos putol-putol na sagot ni Luke.

"Why are you guys not moving? Enemy's approaching. Do you copy?" Mabilis na sabi ni Ian.

"We lost our signal. I think someone's trying to intervene our connection." Putol-putol na sagot naman ni Luke.

"Where are you guys?" Tanong naman ni Gale.

"We're still at the place." Hans answered.

"I can't connect to the satellite, Ian. I can't sight our perimeter. Do you copy?" Tanong ni Luke.

"Yes. I copy." Wika ni Ian atsaka may mga pinindot na kung ano ano.

"Dylan." Rinig kong tawag ni Theo kaya nabalik ang atensyon ko sakanila. Tumango naman si Dylan atsaka bumaba sa lamesa at nagtungo sa mga lider ng gangs.

Nagpakawala muna siya ng malalim na paghinga bago isunod ang di ko inaasahan na kaniyang gagawin.

"It's been a long time. How are you guys? What's up?" Nakangiti niyang tanong atsaka naupo ng bahagya upang sila ay mapantayan.

Ang isa sakanila na kanina ko pa napapansing kakaiba ang tingin kay Dylan ay halos nabigla nang magsalita siya kanina lang. Ang dalawa naman sakanila ay parang kilalang kilala na nila siya. At ang isa naman sakanila ay masama ang tingin sakaniya.

"M-master." Wika ng lalaking kanina pa may ibang tingin kay Dylan.

Master? What the hell?

Tumayo naman na sila Mia at Owen atsaka sumunod kay Theo na dumiretso papunta sakanila Ian.

"Irwin. What's up?" He casually asked the man who is giving him the bad look.

Naupo siya ng tuluyan sa sahig na parang bata na handang makinig sa kwento.

"What's he doing?" Mahinang tanong ko kay Mia nang makarating sila dito sa pwesto namin. Bumuntong hininga muna siya bago ako sagutin.

"Are you familiar with the group named 'Crimson'?" She asked.

"Ahm... yeah. I think I heard it before. I think I know it."

"Is it the famous large criminial organization for being the most fierce and dangerous on the whole world?" I asked, then she nodded.

"Why'd you ask?"

"He's a former leader of that large criminal organization." She answered that made my jaw dropped.

Him? Dylan? A former mafia leader?

Kaya pala napaka kaswal ng pagbati niya sakanila kanina. Kaya pala yung mga tingin nila sakaniya ay kakaiba.

"If you remember the incident that happened on the famous date, 3rd of November, it was them who've done it. It was him who is the current leader and the one leading the group." She stated.

Sa pagkakaalala ko'y itong petsang ito ay napaka sikat dahil sa dami ng taong namatay. It was all over the news, back then. They said almost twenty percent of the human population has been wiped out because of the hydrogen bomb and the war they made.

Base sa natatandaan ko, ang dahilan yata ng ginawa nilang iyon ay kinuha kasi ng isang malaking bansa ang anak ng presidente ng grupo ng Crimson. Hindi ko lang alam kung bakit nila iyon ginawa sa presidente ng Crimson.

"The one who looks young is his former student. The one who's giving him a bad look is his former right hand man and a childhood friend. The other two is his former subordinates." She added that made my jaw even drop.

"You guys made it. You became the leader of your own gangs." Dylan said to them while smiling.

"Don't act like you have a genuine feelings for us. Don't be such a hypocrite. You left, remember? You left us!" Madiin at pagalit na sabi nung estudyante ni Dylan, ngunit hindi siya nagsalita at parang hindi niya ito pinapansin.

"Irwin. It's been a long time, my old friend." Wika ni Dylan habang nakangiti sa lalaki na may masama pa rin ang tingin sakaniya.

"Nothing's change. I still hate you. I still wanted to s***h your throat with my knife." Ani ng lalaki.

"Same thought, my old friend." Tugon ni Dylan habang may ngiti pa rin sakaniyang mga labi.

"I need to know their location in order for me to calculate the time of their arrival." Rinig kong sabi ni Luke kay Ian kaya napunta sakanila ang aking atensyon.

"I don't know! My resources aren't enough to tell you their location."

"Just tell me anything. Like the meters or so." He said.

"I told you I don't know." Ian said.

"Approximately 12 miles west." Pagsingit ni Owen habang nakatingin sa screen ni Ian.

"Thank you, Owen."

"If they're using aircraft, they'll probably gonna be there for about 20 minutes. If submarines, 30. And if on the land, about an hour." Dagdag ni Owen.

"They're moving faster based on our screen, meaning they're using an aircraft. About 20-- no, 18 minutes, they'll be there. Do you copy?" Sabi niya ulit.

"Yes, I do." Sagot ni Luke.

"How'd you know?" Pagharap ni Ian kay Owen na parang manghang-mangha.

"I'm a sniper. And if you look into the map, you can see that from this to this is a thousand yard. You can assume that from their exact location to the enemy's location is 21,120 yards by looking at this map. 21,120 yards is approximately 12 miles. It's a simple math."

Ito siguro yung tinutukoy ni Mia dati na human calculator.

"Oh! You're genius." Sagot ni Ian.

"In east, is there any safe way?" Tanong ni Luke.

"Mia." Pagtawag ni Owen na parang ibinibigay na ang posisyon na susunod na magsasalita. Tumango at lumapit si Mia kay Ian atsaka tinignan ang mapa.

"Nope. The bridge there is broken. In North and South, it will only lead you back to where you are. The only possible way is in the West."

Paano niya kaya nalalaman ang impormasyong mga ito? Wala naman nakikita sa mapa sa screen ni Ian.

"Do you want us to meet them?" Tanong ni Luke kay Mia.

"Of course not, you idiot! There is an intersection 18 kilometers from your exact location. You guys need to drive as fast as you can in order to not meet them in the place. The safest range of your travel is 15 minutes. There is a 3 minute window before they can able to see you."

So this is what she said she can be define as a human map.

"In that 3 minute window, you guys should conceal yourself first. Try to hide in a building, together with your vehicles, since they're using an aircraft."

"We'll try to hide your locations in the satellite as much as we can." Mahabang sabi ni Mia.

I'm just amaze how they're synchronizing. Ito siguro yung sinasabi ni Mia na dati silang iisang grupo. They're like a puzzle made to fit each other.

Ano ba ang dahilan at bakit pa pinaghiwalay ng kanilang Heneral ang grupo nila dati?

Bigla ko tuloy naalala si Giz. How is she? I hope she's fine.

"Okay. I copy. I just finished doing something in our vehicle. We're about to go." Luke replied.

"How about the worst case scenario? Can they win them? Using the weapons they have, can they win the enemies approaching?" Tanong ni Eula kay Mia. Hindi naman siya agad sumagot.

"Based on their speed, yes. But we don't know how many of the enemies are approaching yet, so we don't know for sure." Mia answered.

"It's over now." Wika ng isa sa mga liders na kausap ni Dylan kaya kami napatingin sakanila.

"We're a decoy." Sabi ng isa atsaka tumawa ng bahagya. Kasunod naman nito ang pagsalita ni Gale.

"Captain! The enemy's approaching here in 3 minutes." Wika niya na biglang nagpakabog saaking dibdib.

"They concealed their location professionally, that's why I didn't see them on the map." Aniya.

"No. This type of way how they are concealed is familiar. It's the work of Giz. She still can't fully conceal location compared to us." Ian said while typing.

"Then we can't attack either of the enemies approaching. What if Giz is in either one of them?" Biglang singit ni Irish.

"If we attack, Giz might get hurt." Dagdag naman ni Tin.

"Captain, 2 minutes." Kabadong sabi ni Gale kay Theo.

"How much time squad Hans have before they reach the intersection?" Tanong ni Theo.

"13 minutes, captain."

"Okay. Code blue." He said. Mabilis naman gumalaw sila Owen at nagsimula ng ayusin ang kanilang mga gamit.

Hanggang ngayon ay hindi ko alam kung anong ibig sabihin ng mga code nila.

"Code blue means seek safety." Pagsabi ni Irish saakin nang mapansing hindi ko ito alam.

"How'd you know that?" Tanong ko.

"Because the time he said the code blue is when we're at their aircraft, before they gave us a parachute to jump out."

"Ohh... make sense. You're really genius." I said that made her giggled.

Napatingin ako kay Theo na nakatingin sa kaniyang hawak na basong may lamang gatas.

What are you gonna do now? What's your plan? What's in your mind?

Pagkalagok niya ng gatas ay nagsalita ulit si Gale.

"45 seconds." She said.

"Let's go." Pagtawag saakin ni Athena.

"We will meet again." Sabi ng lalaking may pangalang Irwin kay Dylan. Siya yung sinasabi ni Mia na dating kanang kamay at kaibigan ni Dylan noong bata pa sila.

"My pleasure." Dylan answered before bidding goodbye to them.

Dumiretso kami sa underground na pinangungunahan ni Athena. Ang sabi niya ay dito sila nagtatago o dito ang pinagtatakasan nila sa tuwing hinahabol sila ng mga pulis sa ilegal na ginagawa nila.

Pagkarating namin dito ay bumungad saamin ang tatlong sasakyan. Isang white na van, isang kotse na kulay itim, at isang motorsiklo.

"Van." Ani ni Theo kaya mabilis kami ditong dumiretso.

Pagkasakay namin ay nagkatinginan pa silang tatlo nila Athena, Mia at Owen nang sumakay si Athena sa driver's seat.

"My van, I drive." She firmly said.

Wala naman ng nagawa sila Owen kaya na lamang sila bumuntong hininga.

"Okay." They both said.

Pagkabukas niya ng makina ay pinaandar niya ito agad. Halos magtumbahan kami dito nang mabilis niyang tinapakan ang gas.

Hindi ko alam na mas may lalala pa pala sa pag maneho ni Owen.

"10 seconds." Gale said.

"9, 8, 7, 6."

"5 seconds." She said before we reached the opening.

Pagkalabas na pagkalabas namin ay kasabay ng patapos ng bilang ni Gale ang pagsalubong ng mga kalaban saamin.

Ang maganda dito ay tanging sasakyang pang lupa lang ang kanilang gamit.

"Lose them." Owen said to Athena.

"I know." Athena calmly reply.

"How much time squad Hans have left?" Tanong ni Theo.

"11 minutes and 20 seconds left, captain." Ian answered.

"How far are we to squad Hans?" Tanong niya ulit.

"About a hundred kilometers, captain." Sagot ni Owen.

"Okay." He nodded.

He is on the passenger's seat that's why I can't see his face.

So, what now, Theo? What are you gonna do?