Matias: The Forgotten Civilization

Chapter 5

Danerie's

VALERIE, WHERE ARE you? Your voice was shaking earlier. That tremble and that tone—someone who is doing good at the moment would not sound like that. It is for sure that you are not fine right now. Something must have happened right? I knew it! Why did I even fail to recognize you in that encounter earlier. Ang bobo mo talaga, Danerie.

Kasalukuyan kong pinipilit na isiksik ang sarili ko sa kumpol ng mga tao. Growing up with little to no interaction with people, I am very anxious with the crowd. I find it hard to converse with people. However, it is Valerie's safety that is at stake in this very minute. I cannot have my social anxiety get the better out of me. Without hesitation, I would selflessly abandon my comfort in exchange for Valerie's well-being.

Still, there is this question that bothers me the most… Valerie, are you really a Matia? If so, then how come? You should be captured by the authorities long time ago given how well-known your name is. O baka naman itinago mo nang mabuti ang kapangyarihan mo? Pero bakit ngayon pa nabunyag ang sikreto mo? My thoughts are messy at this moment. Sa bawat tanong na hindi nabibigyan ng kasagutan, mas lalo lang itong nardaragdagan.

"What is happening with my Valerie right now?" I screamed in my mind. I'm so overwhelmed with so much questions and anxiety.

Ibinalik ko ang aking atensiyon sa paghahanap kay Valerie. For once, I became thankful with how tall I stand as it is of use right now. With my 6 footer height, I am able to see the heads of people. Malaya na nalilibot ng aking mga mata ang loob ng coach na 'to. This is the third section of the train already that I have inspected, but I still have seen none of Valerie's shadow. Valerie, where could you be?

You should be here in this vehicle—anywhere in the coaches. Nakita kitang sumakay sa tren na ito. Hindi ako puwedeng magkamali. Boses mo rin 'yung narinig ko kanina. Iyong-iyo rin 'yong kukong bagong pinta. If I remembered it right, you were wearing a dirty white hoodie. In my inspections earlier with the first to the second section of the train, I have approached a lot of people with the same cloth as yours but you weren't one of them.

Still, these things won't make me give up. Marami pa namang coach ang tren na ito. I have come this far and I know that you need me right now. Hintayin mo ako, Valerie. I am coming for sure. You won't be alone for long for long. What I need you to do is to wait for me and keep safe. I don't know what to do if something bad happens to you. I would probably go insane or berserk with my powers. I am afraid of myself if that happens as well.

As I roam free my eyes, another dirty white hoodie captured my attention. Nang makita kong maliit ang pigura nito, kaagad akong pumunta sa direksyon niya. Nagagalak at buong kakapalan ng mukha ko itong kinalabit. However, the moment the person turned its head to me, it wasn't Valerie. Yes, it is a she but wasn't Valerie and she is looking at me fill a face full of query and after a while, her face is filled with redness.

"Po? Ikaw po ba ang kumalabit sa akin?" with a smile she asked in the middle of the noise.

"I'm sorry. I thought you were the person was looking for since you wear the same clothes. Sorry for the inconvenience," full of embarrassment, I replied. This is so awkward. Still, for Valerie I can endure this.

I decided to proceed deeper to the remaining sections of the train to avoid the another shame that I just experienced. If I am not mistaken, this is the seventh section of the train already. Ang haba pala ng isang tren. To no avail, there is still no presence of Valerie in this portion of the train—the very same situation with the previous coaches. How many coach do I have to venture to declare this search as over? Valerie, please let me find you.

Sa bawat segundong dumadaan, mas lalong lumalala ang kaba ko ngayon dahil hindi ko alam kung malapit o malayo pa ba kami sa susunod na istasyon. I don't have much propee knowledge on how this vehicle works. Kaya naman kailangan kong bilisan ang kilos ko. Hindi kasi malayo na bababa si Valerie sa susunod na istasyon. Who knows what she will do next? I need to work better and faster.

The scariest thing about it is not the fact that my chances of finding her will be slimmed but the fact that the cops have secured each station already and they are just waiting for Valerie to get off and capture her. Dad showed me a lot of videos on how the police handles a situation against a Matia. Kaya naman sigurado akong maraming nakaabang na Matia sa babaan ng tren.

There is really a need for me to find her right now. If I fail to do so, that's the same as delivering my Valerie to her death bed which is the same of failing myself. She would become a guinea pig of the authorities—I cannot picture out of my sweet and precious Valerie in that state. She is too innocent and powerless to protect herself, at least that's how she appeared to be in my mind.

I am starting to lose hope. This is the last section of train. Wala pa rin akong nakikitang Valerie. My last strand of hope shattered when it occured to me that no one in this coach is wearing a hoodie that is dirty white in color after some time of inspecting thoroughly the area. Valerie, nasaan ka ba? Anong nang nangyari sa 'yo? Nahuli ka na ba ng mga authorities bago pa kita mahanap?

I began to weep inside my mind. My emotions are unstable right now. I can feel my disturbing gathering in my left eye. I'm trying so hard to suppress it right now by guilt-tripping myself. I could have done better! Danerie, you are a failure! Out of disappointment, I averted my gaze upwards and I watched my hand tightly gripped the handrail. I am expressing my anger in the handrail.

Sa gitna ng pagda-drama ko, isang yakap ang nagpagulantang sa akin. Someone smaller than me is embracing me—whether it's a he or she, their hands are locked in my waist. Ang higpit ng yakap niya na parang wala ng bukas. It happened that his head is covered with an oversized hoodie that I cannot see the face of this person. Who are you to hug me?

I began to panic. My social anxiety is starting to take over me. My mind is definitely telling me to shove away this person, but then some unknown force is stopping me from doing so—I cannot command myself to brush the person away nor push him. Sa halip, parang hinihila ng puso ko ang katawan ko papalapit sa kanya. There is this calling that is happening inside my heart.

"Thank you." It's a voice coming from a girl.

Halatang-halata ang garalgal sa timbre ng boses niya tanda na kasalukuyan siyang umiiyak. Nonetheless, the tenderness and the demure of her voice stays the same no matter how hard she cries. Why did I fail to recognize this person earlier? Sorry for waiting, Valerie. Thank you for waiting as well. No one will dare hurt you now with me by your side.

"You are home," I mumbled as I welcomed her in my embrace and I bring myself to hug her back.

"IM VALLESA NERIE, pero do you perhaps heard of a streamer known as Valerie? Ako 'yon," she smiled. The first thing she did after she recovered was to introduce herself. How cute of my Valerie—well-mannered and modest as usual.

"Yes, I-i definitely know who you are. You a-are Vallesa Nerie Escobar. I'm Danerie Jace, by the way," I stuttered halfway of my sentence but I still managed to introduce myself—barely.

Nakakahiya palang ipakilala ang sarili mo sa bagong tao lalo na sa mahal mo pa, idagdag ko pa ang aking social anxiety. My heartbeat is irregular. I also cannot believe that I am standing right in front of Valerie and is currently chatting with her. This is very me in my introverted state. I couldn't literally contain my nervousness right now—my head can not look at her straight to the eyes.

I was doing fine when I hugged and assured her earlier. That's mainly because I was so restless and concerned with Valerie's safety that it took over my supposed to be shy and timid personality. Now that everything has calmed down, I am back at being the introverted guy again. I am starting to question myself about what course of action should I do next.

My instincts are a life saver and took took over me as I then gestured my hand to shake hands with Valerie. Hindi naman niya ako binigo at masayang tinanggap ito. The moment my hands touched her's, I am amaze given how tender her hands are—I would not really mind holding these hands forever. Although my hands are trembling, this shall do as a starter.

"How do you know? Fan ka ba? That's nice!" she declared gladly.

Although from her eyes you could tell that she cried a bucket, she's better than the Valerie minutes ago. She's so fragile. I then came back to my senses. How could I afford to look nervous in front of her? I immediately gathered myself and composure. What I should do is to act like a man as I should be. If I continue to present myself in this state to her, she would eventually think that I am an incompetent person and is incapable of keeping her safe.

"You got it right. I'm the one nicknamed ErieJace111." Yes, nail it, Danerie. Act normal, talk normal. Yes, I am doing good job.

I can see her eyes enlarged slowly. "I know you. Isa sa mga star senders ko always."

"Woah, you remembered me!" I didn't realize that I happily blurted it out loud. I can as well feel my lips smiling involuntarily.

"Of course! Lage ka kayang nasa stream ko." My heart can't stop pounding louder. Valerie is so thoughtful and sweet. My urge to protect and keep this girl safe grows stronger every moment.

"So, what's the catch? Why were you crying earlier?" I can't help but to be curious. But then I remember, maybe she is not feeling it. Kung kaya ay kaagad kong dinagdagan ang aking sinabi, "It's fine if you don't feel like telling. Just tell me when you are ready."

She released a sigh before opening her mouth. "No, okay lang. So its like this…"

AFTER LISTENING TO my Valerie's story, it is confirmed that she is a Matia. I am enraged and I wanna go and kill that Hernan. I want to torture him with the Level 10 Gathering all over again. For her to went through those things, it must be hard for her. And the thing is, she doesn't deserve all those mental torture. Pagbabayarin ko 'yong sundalong nagbigay ng trauma kay Valerie. He won't get away after inflicting so much damage to my Valerie.

"I can keep you safe." As I said that, she smiled back at me.

Kitang-kita ko sa mga mata niya ang tiwala. There is no hint of doubt in those words and eyes. How could I see no hesitation in her eyes? She trusts me so much with my words. I was expecting to see a skeptical look or I was her expecting her to be contemplating right now on how will I be capable of protecting her. However, there are no hints of those. Kung gayon mas patitibayin ko pa ang tiwala niya.

I placed both my hands in her cheeks. I then looked straight into her eyes and she did the same. Nagtama ang aming mga mata. I started gathering the light in my surroundings which resulted to my left eye slowly being surrounded by a glow. Glad that I wore a hoodie today which made the peculiar thing that is happening to my eye be not visible to the people around us.

Wala sa wisyo siyang napatakip ng kanyang bibig. "Yo—you are the same as me! You are a Matia!" she exclaimed. Napalakas ang pagbanggit niya noon kaya naman napatingin ang mga tao sa paligid namin. Fortunately, I was able to withdraw my power immediately.

"Oh my. Nape-predict mo rin ba ang magiging future?" This time she lowered her voice to the point it was like a whisper.

Future? How did she come up to the conclusion that my ability is related to seeing visions? Wala naman akong sinabi sa kanya patungkol sa kapangyarihan ko. Or is it that I was right—no it was not me but the theory of the fan in the comment section earlier. Valerie's gift might be related to visions–she can see the future.

"You can see the future?" I asked to confirm my speculations.

She gave me a nod before responding, "Yes, kaya niyakap kita nang biglaan earlier. Nakita kita in my vision—that you are going to save me. I also nakalimot na magsabi na when my left eye nag-ilaw sa car ko gaya ng story ko sa 'yo just recently, I saw the future rin."

This is a shocking revelation. Although I have anticipated it, I am still getting this surprise. Now, I see… so this is actually the case. This makes sense—now I am getting an explanation for everything. Because firstly, No person that is in the right mind would hug a random stranger. Secondly, Valerie is not that kind of person. Now, I am enlightened with her actions.

"Why are you shocked? Kaya mo rin gawin iyon," she smiled.

It is now confirmed that my kind does not only specialize in illusions. There are eyes who are capable of predicting the future as well. And maybe there are a lot of things that my kind is capable of doing... let us not erase out that possibility. If so, what are the other abilities that my kind's eyes are capable of? Who knows?

"I can create illusions," I casually said.

Since I am not good with explanations, it is better to show it to her. I then turned on my power again. And after gathering enough light in my eye, in an instant, my eyes glow. The people around Valerie and I vanished into thin air and instead it is being replaced with dancing trees. I am wearing a noble armor while Valerie is wearing a royal blue dress embedded with intricate designs.

Velerie's lips opened widely and her eyes are filled with amazement. I can see her roam her eyes in the surroundings until it landed to her dress. However, as much as I want to impress her, I need to save my energy for later. We are going to be in trouble if I lack the energy. I need to prepare and conserve my energy for later. I accordingly halted from using my powers. Now, the busy crowd is right in front of our eyes again.

"Wow! Ang galing—that was amazing. Ako si Odde in that 'di ba? Tapos ikaw si Lance?"

"Yes, we were inside the mobile game. And that is only a few of the things that I can do."

PABAGAL NANG PABAGAL ang takbo ng tren. I think the vehicle is coming to a stop at any moment. From the glass pane, I can see a lot of cops scattered in the place. Ngunit ang karamihan sa mga police ay nakapwesto sa bungad ng pintuan ng tren. They sure have come prepared and is planning to take Valerie with them. Mukhang kinulang ang ekspektasyon ko.

Together with Valerie, we are standing with the crowd inside the third coach of the vehicle. There is a need for Valerie and I to blend with the crowd. Being in the last coach of the train means the last one to get out and that also equates to less people—in that case, the chances of the cops spotting us is as bright as the sun. That would be unfavorable to our side. Kaya naman inaya ko si Valerie na lumipat ng pwesto ng tren at pumayag naman siya sa kabutihang palad nang ipaliwanag ko ang sitwasyon sa kanya.

Pakabukas at pagkabukas ng pinto ng tren ay siya namang pagbabalak ng mga tao na dumagsa paglabas. Para silang mga sardinas na gusto lumabas sa lata. But before they could do so, the police who are guarding the exists of the train denied them from doing so. Now, the train is filled with buzzes and rants.

"This is PO1 Naro Kalikay. We are conducting an urgent inspection. May hinahanap kaming kriminal. Lahat ng sibilyan na naririto ay inuutusang makipagtulungan. Lahat kayo ay bababa ng tren kahit sa susunod na istasyon pa bababa. Sa mga naka-cap, naka-hoodie, naka-sunglasses, o kahit na ano mang kolorete sa mukha, pakitanggal para mas madali ang imbestigasyon," anunsyo pa ng isang pulis gamit ang speaker ng tren.

Seems like they have no plans of letting Valerie get off to whatever station she wishes. Akala ko pa naman maglalagay sila ng pulisya sa bawat istasyon at aabangan si Valerie. But looking at the number of cops they have gathered and the announcement just earlier, they are planning to have Valerie captured for real right in this station. Huhulihin at huhulihin talaga nila si Valerie sa istasyon na ito.

"Ano ba 'yan, inspeksyon na naman. Para saan na naman ba 'to?" reklamo nang isang ginang sa unahan. Sinundan naman ito ng hinaing ng iba pang mga tao kaya napuno nang bulong-bulungan ang looban ng tren. This made the environment hotter and tenser for Valerie and I.

"Shuta, 'pag ako na-late sisisihin ko ang mga potang-inang pulisya na 'to."

This action made by police disrupted my whole plan. Because looking at the how the things are going for our side, I need to change plans. I was planning to use the Level 3 Gathering, Presence Fooler alone to serve energy. This Gathering will make people be incapable of seeing me. I will be just an air in their eyes if I chose to inflict them with this gathering. But it appears to be that I will be using not just a Level 3 Gathering to get away from this situation.

I am planning to use the Level 5 Gathering, Panic, now. Its usage would be to disrupt the attention of the cops. Then when their attention is divided, I would finally utilize the Presence Fooler to get away from here. This plan should work according to my calculations. Nakapila na ngayon ang mga tao papalabas habang maigi silang tinangnan ng mga pulis at nilalapit ang isang device sa mata nila… ang lighttracker.

After some time of waiting, it is finally Valerie and my turn. Nang aktong lalabas na ako ng pinto ng tren, yumuko at nag-ipon ako ng liwanag sa kaliwang mata ko. When I reckoned that the light was enough, I dispersed it which resulted to the activation of the Level 5 Gathering. The moment Panic was activated, the people around me are walking stupidly.

Their vision is being warped and wobbled right now. They cannot see properly what is in front of them. Pagewang-gewang silang naglakad na parang mga tanga. Ang iba naman ay nagkakabanggaan pa. When the people realized that something is wrong with their a resulted to a massive panic in the area. Naghihiyawan at nagsisigawan na ang mga tao.

"'Di ako makakita nang malinaw! Anong nagyayari sa paligid ko?!"

"Saklolo! Saklolo!"

"My sight is broken! I need a doctor! Call a doctor!"

Now, the lighttracker of the police is colored in crimson red. They know for sure that someone is using a Gathering and a Matia is among the crowd. It's either we escape or we get caught. It's a dead or alive situation. The escape starts here.