Nights Like This

CHAPTER 20

"Are you guys ready?" tanong ni Vance sa amin while he's roaming his eyes on us.

Naka palibot kaming team sa isa't isa while we wait for the signal to start. Punong puno ang lahat ng fighting spirit at competitiveness because we want to win this flag hunting activity, the first activity that we are going to do.

In that activity, we have to look for our team's flag. The staffs hid each team's flag within the campsite and we have to look for it and place it on the flag pole here on the base camp. The first winner will earn a ten points and whichever team has the highest point accumulated on the last day, they'll gonna get the prize. The teams also has each color and ours is yellow. Therefore, we have to look for a yellow flag.

"Ready na sir! Let's go for the prize!" determined na sigaw ni Toby.

Tumango si Sir Vance. "Yes, team. Let's go for the prize but don't forget to enjoy. Our goal here is to find our flag and not to get hurt. Understood?" sabi ni Vance.

"Yes sir!" sigaw ng lahat.

"Excuse me," singit ko. All their attentions went from Vance to me. "Please stay with your buddies and never leave each other okay?" paalala ko sa kanila ulit but I know naman na gets na nila iyon.

"Yes. And if you guys happen to find the flag, please secure it first and then dalhin nyo na kaagad rito sa base camp. Be mindful of your surroundings dahil nasa gubat tayo and we don't know what's out there," dagdag pa nya.

Mas okay sana if we have our phones with us kaso wala ngang signal and they all confiscated our phones because they want us to detach ourselves to our usual daily lives. Walkie talkies would be fine so we could still communicate kaso nga lang ang dami namin.

"Attention! Attention!" tawag ni Kuya Esteban gamit yung loudspeaker to get everyone's attention. "Gaya ng alam nyong lahat, naka tago na ang mga flag nyo palibot dito sa campsite. Mayroon kayong isang oras para hanapin yung flag. The flags looks like this," kinuha nya yung duplicate ng mga flags na naka patong sa katabi nyang lamesa where the poles are. It's just some colored cloth na naka attack sa stick. Pretty simple and basic. "Paalala ko lang na hindi nyo maaaring kunin and flag ng hindi nyo grupo. Kung mangyari mang nakita nyo ang flag ng ibang grupo, nasa sa inyo kung sasabihin nyo. Isa pa! Hindi lang ito physical game kundi mind game. May hint kami na hinanda. Ang hint na iyon ay ang kasabihan na, 'Huwag malayo ang tingin mo, malay mo nasa tabi mo lang ang hinahanap mo'," nakangiti at may kahulugang sabi ni Kuya Esteban.

Laughter echoed at the camp base dahil sa sinabi ni Kuya. We expected for a mind blowing an extravagant hint but he gave us a cringe worthy hugot line but if you think of it, oo nga naman. It's kinda related to the activity because we are searching for something.

"Are you ready?" tanong ni Vance. He's already warming up his body.

"Alam mo, I don't know if it's right for me to have you as my buddy for this activity," sabi ko sa kanya.

"Why? Trust me, I'm pretty good at this kind of games. This is not different to the video games that I always play. You know, hunting ang looking for hidden things," sagot nya.

"But this is real life. Walang hidden na mga booster or HPs dito," I answered back.

"Just think of this as real life simulation of the games and do our best," aniya.

I chuckled and nodded. Right. Hindi nga talaga ako mananalo sa kanya.

"Ready campers!" hudyat ni Kuya. Nagkatinginan kami ni Vance.

I saw in his eyes the flame of wanting to win this. I encouragely nodded at him like saying that let's do this.

"On your mark, set, go!"

The whistle is our indication for us to go on our ways and start finding the flag. Tinuro ni Vance yung direction where the members should go and find the flag. We both waited for them to go before we went on our way. Nagkaka gulo na rito sa base camp dahil kanya kanya na ng direction ang mga tao.

"Let's go sa tapat ng boy's dorm. Ilang dipa lang ang layo nun sa may greenhouse and I think they might hide something there," sabi nya.

Tumango lang ako at sumunod sa kanya. Vance extended his hands at me. I just looked at it. Confused, what should it be for. Napansin nya siguro na hindi ko pa rin kinukuha yung kamay nya kya ginalaw nya iyon like he's rushing me to take it.

"Come on, Cami. Nauubusan na tayo ng oras," sabi nya. Halata na sa boses nya na nagmamadali na sya. Panay na rin ang tingin nya sa paligid.

"Let's just go. I can walk," sabi ko sa kanya, not minding his hand that's reaching out to me.

"Kulit nito," aniya and then before I could even react or say anything, hinila na nya yung kamay ko and almost dragging me to the greenhouse. "Ma- bato nga kasi doon saka madilim pa. Baka mapaano ka pa," sabi nya.

Hindi naman ako su- shunga shunga and I certainly know how to handle myself and I don't really need anyone to look after me kasi kaya ko naman yung sarili ko but for some odd reason, it didn't make me feel uncomfortable or what. I don't like when I feel like I am pushed or cornered into something lalo na kung alam kong may magagawa naman ako but this? Ayos lang.

The way to the greenhouse is certainly dark and the only thing that gives us light is a small flashlight that I got sa base camp. Buti na lang talaga at dinala ko 'to dito because not all places are illuminatted with light.

"Wala pang tao?" nagtataka kong tanong. Ang tahimik ng lugar and it looks like it's haunted and we're catching ghosts. "Wala man lang naka isip to go here?"

I am really puzzled kasi sa dinami- rami namin and considering that we got here late, wala man lang nauna kahit isang tao rito?

"Who would want to go here alone when there's no light?" tanong nya pabalik.

I looked at him because I have thought of a great reason dahil sa sinabi nya. Hinatak ko yung kamay kong hawak nya so I could get his attention. "What if they really switched off all the lights here so nobody would come here? And what if they really hid something here?"

Right? Possible naman yun.They could be tricking us with the lights off so we would think na off limits rito. Kuya Esteban said that it's hidden within the camp and technically, this is still within the camp. Wala namang sinabing bawal sa area na 'to or bawal sa area na walang ilaw. Oh my gosh!

"Right? May kutob ako na baka may naka tago dito. Let's look for a switch first," aniya. Hinila ko ulit sya to stop him from moving

"Don't! Don't open until we're sure that no flag is hidden here. Other teams might go here kapag nakita nilang bukas ang ilaw rito and steal the chance from us! It would be better kung tayong dalawa lang ang nandito."

Parang transparent na plastic lang kasi yung cover nitong greenhouse and there's just a metal frame that holds it kaya if we're going to open the lights, makikitang may tao rito sa loob. Hindi kakayanin ng competitiveness ko na i bypass yung opportunity na i- gatekeep itong lugar.

He looked at me and a small smile rose from his lips. "Alam mo ikaw..."

"What? Ayaw mo bang manalo?" I asked him. Baka kasi pala his mind already changed and he don't want us to win the prize?

Nagpakawala sya ng mahinang tawa sak iniling ang ulo nya na like he's letting ho of some thoughts. "Wala. Let's just look for it."

Because iisa lang ang flashlight na dala namin at kinupit lang, Vance and I stayed close to each other.

"Yung kamay ko baka lang gusto mong ipahiram sa akin para naman magamit ko?" sabi ko sa kanya.

Hindi pa rin na binibitawan yung hawak nya sa akin like I am gonna disappear here or someone might snatch me when literally dalawa lang kami dito. Hindi rin naman ako takot sa dilim and ghosts are not real so I don't know why he's still holding me.

I don't really mind but it would be better and more comfortable kung dalalang kamay ko ang gamit ko sa pag hahanap.

"Oh. Okay," aniya saka binitawan na rin ang kamay ko.

It's a a good thing din kahit na paano that transparent ang cover nitong greenhouse because the moonlight helps us to see kahit paano and it's not pitch black.

I looked at betwen, above and under sa mga tanim nila na samu't saring gulay while being careful na hindi ako maka putol o maka sira ng anything. I am eager to win but I don't want to cause a damage to property at sirain yung pinaghirapan nilang itanim na gulay.

"Did you find something?" tanong ni Vance. Nasa likod ko sya and he's looking at the equipments and tools na naka tambak sa gilid.

The problem with the flags is that it's too thin. It's just like a thin cloth pasted on wooden chopstick na kapag nirolyo yung cloth sa hawakan mas lalong lilit at mas lalong mahirap hanapin.

"Wala pa. Is it really here?" I said, slightly doubting kung tama ba yung desisyon naming ilaan yung oras namin para mag hanap rito.

Ilang minuto na kami rito at halos baliktarin na namin yung spots that they could possibly hide the flag pero wala pa rin talaga. Wala pa rin kaming nakikita.

"Let's just look here for the last time and then kung wala talaga tayong makita, let's just go to another place," he said habang inuusog yung mga pataba ng lupa because it could also be hidden there.

Sa liit nun, it could really be hidden anywhere.

"What was the clue again?" tanong nya.

"It's something like, 'Huwag malayo ang tingin mo, malay mo nasa tabi mo lang ang hinahanap mo'."

I literally looked at my sides but of course, it wouldn't magically appear there.

"I think it's near the base camp. Sabi kasi nasa tabi lang. It's just around here," aniya.

"Saan nga yung here na yun?" tanong ko sa kanya at tuluyan na ngang naka wala ang frustration sa boses ko.

I am not frustrated at Vance. I am slowly starting to get stressed about the whole search na para bang naghahanap kami ng wala. We literally don't know where to find it because this camp is huge and the thing that we're looking for is so tiny.

"I don't know. We don't know. Let's look for it. Okay? We'll do our best to win this Cami." His voice is still calm and unbothered na parang hindi man lang na yanig yung fighting spirit nya even just a little bit.

Yung akin kasi kaninang taas taas but now that I feel like our search is becoming fruitless at wala kaming nakikita kaagad, nag uumpisa na akong mag doubt.

"Okay. I'm sorry. I'm just getting a little impatient," sabi ko sa kanya.

I heavily sighed.

I don't know if I touched a nerve because of my tone ealier so it's better to be sorry than not to be. The least we would want to do here is to argue and have a hard feelings towards each other. That's clearly not the goal of this camp.

Good for me that he's still cool and calm about everything.

"Wala yun. It's fine. I don't mind hearing your rants and frustrations," he said.

Oh shoot. Here we go again with the loud thump in my chest as I look at him in a slight shock.

"Are you sure about that? I have a lot---"

Napatigil ako sa pagsasalita when Vance throws his body on me and pulled me down on the ground to duck.

"Shh. Don't speak loud," he hushed.

Habang naka duck ako sa ilalim ng mga halaman, his body is completely covering me dahil he's on my back and then he's not completely ducked because he's peeking in between the plants so medyo naka squat sya. I can literally feel his presence behind me.

"Anong meron?" bulong ko sa kanya.

Ang lagay nito, hindi na kami nag f- find the flag. We're like playing hide and seek at hindi kami magpapatalo sa pagtatago kasi we're that competitive.

"Shh," is his only answer to my question.

Ilang saglit pa, I heard footsteps like somebody's walking on the dried leaves outside the greenhouse. That must be the reason kung bakit kami yumuko.

"Pati ba dito?" boses ng isang babae.

Lalong lumapit yung boses like she's on the entrance already.

"Oo siguro. Campsite pa rin naman 'to eh. Baka may tinago dito," sabi ng boses pa ulit ng isa pang babae.

"Sure ka ba? Wala ngang ilaw dito sis?" ani ate girl na una.

Tama 'yan ate. Encourage your sis to get out of here so we could continue our search without any istorbo.

"Tingnan lang natin sandali. Baka meron," ani ate girl na kasama na ayaw magpa kabog sa kaibigan nya.

Narinig na naman namin ang pag hakbang nila and the footsteps are getting nearer and nearer towards our direction so Vance ducked completely behind me kahit na ang lawak lawak ng tabi ko. Hindi rin ako maka usog because that would create noise.

Ang lapit lapit nya na naman sa akin like he's almost back hugging me.

"Pag may multo dito Kate ikaw talaga una kong itutulak ha," sabi ni Ate girl number one kay ate na Kate pala ang pangalan.

"I know what to do," bulong ng nasa likod ko.

Nag squat ulit si Vance and this time he extended his arms sa sanga ng halaman and he furiously shook it.

Nangibabaw ang tili ng dalawang babae sa buong green house and then they rushed outside, halatang takot sa ginawa ni Vance.

I turned my body to him at nagkatinginan kaming dalawa. Ilang segundo lang nang mag tama ang paningin namin, ang mga halakhal naman namin ang nag bigay ng ingay sa tahimik na paligid.

We laughed thinking about what happened. That was so funny and so epic!

Sa totoo lang hindi naman namin talaga kailangang mag tago kanina, and I don't know why we did kahit puwedeng pwede naman na hindi. Buti na lang nag taho kami because that was so funny and that somewhat eased the tension that is built nung na frustrate ako.

While laughing, I set my eyes on Vance. He doesn't laugh like there's no tomorrow. He is flashing a great and hearty smile na kitang kita ang lahat ng front teeth nya sa pagkaka angat ng labi nya and then he's closing his eyes and what's cute is he's tilting his head and the nose crunch!

It's a first time for me to see him laugh like this and it's so cute lalo na yung nose crunch nya na himdi bagay sa lalim ng laughing voice but still cute.

I feel like I unlocked another expression from him. It's an achievement for me because it's such a rare sight to see.

"Balik na tayo?" tanong nya sa akin. Nang humupa na yung tawa naming dalawa.

"Yes," pag payag ko. "Let's go and look at another place. Baka wala talaga rito," sabi ko sa kanya.

Lumabas kami ng greenhouse and sumalubong sa amin ang isang malamig na simoy ng hangin.

Inabot na na naman nya ang kamay ko because we have to walk again on the rocky and muddy path.

Nang maka lapit na kami sa may boy's dorm agad akong napa bitaw sa kanya dahil ang dami ng tao na naghahanap ang nasa paligid. And one more thing is that hindi naman na rough yung daanan so it's fine.

"Maam Cami! Sir Vance!" tawag sa amin kaya sabay kaming napalingon ni Vance sa kanan namin.

There, we saw Zeke and Joan na magkasama. They're also on our team.

"Kumusta? Did you find anything?" tanong ko sa kanila.

Tumatagaktak na rin ang pawis nila at may mga putik at dumi dumi na rin yung mga damit at mukha nilang dalawa.

"Negative, maam. Wala talaga kaming makita sa area na to namin kaya nagiikot na lang kami baka may makita kami," paliwanag nya.

"May nauna na ba?" tanong ni Vance sa kanila.

"Wala pa yata sir. Wala pa kaming narinig na horn na tumutunog," sagot ni Joan habang pinupunasan ng likod ng kamay nya yung pawis sa noo nya.

"Alright. Dalhin nyo kaagad sa base kung mahanap nyo."

We parted ways from the two and returned to the base camp saka naupo sa damuhan. Hindi lang kami ni Vance ang narito because I see few people na parang give up na rin. I even see Zara in a distance sitting in a monoblock chair na mukhang hindi lang sumuko, she looks like she didn't even try.

Kami ni Vance, hindi naman talaga kami suko. We're just strateging and thinking where could it be. Sabi nga rin ni Kuya Esteban, this is also a mind game. Kanina pa tahimik si Vance and it looks like he's extracting everything on his mind for this.

"Don't tell me..." Vance blurted out.

I looked at him and followed his trail of vision and I could see na diretso ang tingin nya sa lamesa na may poles sa gilid ni Kuya Esteban na naka tayo pa rin.

"What are you going to do?" tanong ko sa kanya nang bigla syang tumayo at lumakad papalapit sa lamesa.

He got Kuya Esteban's attention because of that. Bahagyang naka ngiti na si Kuya habang pinapanood sya.

Vance reached out for the yellow flag and picked it up from the table. I looked at Kuya and lalong tumaas ang ngiti nya.

Oh gosh! Don't tell me...

Vance inserted the stick at the pole's hole and looked at Kuya Esteban.

A loud horn blasted through the speakers.