Episode 3
1338 Words
"You okay, Nicole?" Samantha asked, noticing Nicole's anxiety. Nicole couldn't speak, unsure how to explain what she was feeling to her friends.
Neil couldn't see the motorcycle anymore, so he sped up, causing Keiffer to hold on tightly and the others in the back to scream.
"Whoa!" Samantha screamed as Neil accelerated. Keiffer hugged her tightly, while Nicole held on to the truck.
"You okay?" Keiffer asked, still holding Samantha. She nodded and looked at him.
"Yes, and you? You ran so far... I'm sorry," Samantha replied, their faces close together, hugging tightly.
Nicole watched them, confused. She didn't remember this happening before. In her memory, she was the one hugging Samantha during a similar incident. Now, watching Keiffer cling to Samantha as she tried to pull away only added to her unease.
Seeing her discomfort, Keiffer smirked and tightened his grip on Samantha. "Your boyfriend got ahead of us, so now you've got no one to hold onto," he teased.
"Che!" Nicole huffed, rolling her eyes.
Keiffer chuckled. "You haven't changed a bit. I heard you made Alex sleep in the living room, and your mom found him on the floor. That's cold, madam."
"That's his fault!" Nicole shot back. "He treated my room like his own—left his briefs everywhere! So, I kicked him out."
Keiffer and Samantha burst into laughter.
"No wonder Alex is scared of you! If he proposes tonight—" Keiffer suddenly cut himself off as Samantha clamped a hand over his mouth, realizing he had slipped.
"W-what?" Nicole stammered, her heart pounding. She had heard it clearly, but she needed confirmation.
Before anyone could respond, Neil shouted from the driver's seat, "I see Alex!"
"There he is!" Samantha pointed at Alex on the road. He was still on his scooter, not too fast but steady.
"I see the van, but it's still a bit far!" Keiffer said, eyeing the distance between them.
"I'll speed up! Hold on tight!" Neil warned as he accelerated. Everyone in the back gripped the truck's frame as they closed in on the van.
They passed Alex, their focus now locked on the van. Samantha and Keiffer stayed on high alert, while Nicole, despite the chaos, couldn't stop thinking about the proposal. Anxiety and excitement twisted inside her.
Neil pushed the truck faster, closing the gap. With a sharp turn, he bumped the van twice and pulled alongside it. The van's window rolled down, and one of the thieves glared at them.
"Stop the van! Return the stuff!" Neil shouted.
"We're not giving anything back! Are you crazy?" the thief snapped.
"Hey! Give back that bag!" Nicole yelled.
Without warning, Keiffer yanked off his shoe and hurled it straight at the thief's face.
"You little—you're dead meat!" the thief cursed, rubbing his cheek.
"Please, sir, just stop the van!" Samantha pleaded, clutching the truck for balance.
"You're all too stubborn! You're not getting this back! You'll just get yourselves in trouble!" the thief shouted.
Hearing those words, something in Nicole's mind clicked. A distant memory resurfaced—those exact words had been said before, clearer this time.
"You stubborn kids! You're not getting this! You'll just get into trouble!" the man holding the bag said back then.
"We won't stop until you return my girlfriend's bag!" Keiffer shouted.
Nicole furrowed her brow, Neil suppressed a laugh, and Samantha blushed.
"You're just kids, no phones for now, this is ours!" the man shouted, speeding up his motorcycle, pulling ahead of them.
"What the?"
"We won't stop until you return my wife's things!" Keiffer shouted.
Samantha blushed and quickly sat down, embarrassed. She knew this wasn't the time for jokes, but she couldn't help the warmth creeping up her face.
Nicole barely registered their banter—her mind was racing. The words, the chase, the adrenaline... it all felt too familiar. A strange certainty settled in her chest.
She gripped the truck's edge tightly, her heart pounding. It wasn't just déjà vu. She knew this had happened before. The way Neil drove, the way Keiffer shouted, even the fear in Samantha's eyes—it was all the same.
Her pulse quickened. Was this a warning? A second chance? Or something else entirely?
"I... I feel like this has all happened before," Nicole murmured, her voice unsteady. But no one seemed to hear her over the roar of the engine and the rush of adrenaline.
"You all have money! Just buy new stuff!" the thief taunted, making the van speed up.
"What the—?"
"Guys!" Nicole suddenly shouted, her breath hitching. "This has all happened before! Don't you see it?"
Keiffer, eyes locked on the van, barely spared her a glance. "What are you talking about?"
"This—everything!" Nicole's pulse pounded in her ears. "Hanging out at Mrs. Hena's store, Sam's bag getting stolen, this exact chase—it all happened before!"
Keiffer frowned but didn't look away from the van. "Nicole, this isn't the time—"
"This truck! Neil's driving, I'm with Sam, then you joined us! It was a tricycle back then, and we borrowed it from Mrs. Hena, just like we did today! The thief was on a motorcycle that time, but it's the same—just different vehicles! The way this is happening, the way we're reacting—it's the same!"
Her voice trembled with panic.
Samantha's breath hitched as a memory surfaced. A rush of images—her bag being snatched, the desperate chase, the feeling of helplessness.
"Oh my God," Samantha whispered, gripping Nicole's arm. "I remember. It was ten years ago. My shoulder bag was stolen, and we did chase them. This... this is the same."
A cold shiver ran down Nicole's spine.
She wasn't crazy.
Something was happening.
And for the first time in years, she was terrified of what came next.
Neil's voice crackled through the tension. "Guys, are you okay back there? What's happening?"
Nicole barely registered his words. Her mind was racing, her pulse pounding in her ears.
"You're right..." Keiffer muttered, his face tightening. "I remember now—we were supposed to go to Santa Cruz back then! And then—"
Before he could finish, a motorcycle suddenly appeared beside their vehicle.
"Keiffer! Is this the black van you're after?" Tatay Berting, one of the barangay staff, called out. Another man sat behind him, gripping his shoulders tightly.
"Yes, sir!" Keiffer answered immediately.
"Yes! That's the van that took my stuff!" Samantha shouted, her voice breaking with desperation.
The two barangay staff nodded. Without hesitation, one of them pulled out a gun before speeding ahead toward the van.
Keiffer stared, bewildered. "Did that happen before too?"
Nicole swallowed hard, trying to steady her breath. "I... I don't know. Maybe not." But the uncertainty made her stomach twist. Something felt even more off now.
Then—
"HEY!"
Nicole's heart nearly stopped at the voice.
Alex.
They heard Alex's shout, prompting them to look back. Nicole suddenly remembered something and began to tremble with nervousness at the thought of a past tragedy.
"HEY!" Alex shouted from behind them, pedaling quickly as if he wasn't getting tired. Keiffer glanced back at him.
...
"Is Nics with you?!"
"She's here, man!" Neil answered.
...
"Sure." Nicole held tightly to the metal bar while Samantha assisted her, and they quickly swapped places. She poked her head out and looked at Alex.
...
"Are you okay??!" Nicole shouted, but Alex couldn't hear her.
"What?"
"Are you okay?" She signaled to him to make her words clearer. Once he understood, he nodded and pedaled even faster.
...
But as she opened her eyes, she didn't expect what would happen. The motorcycle they were chasing crashed into another vehicle, and the motorcycle was thrown in their direction.
...
"ALEX!"
...
She forced herself to stand and look back at Alex.
And just like that, in an unexpected turn of events, she saw Alex's body sprawled in the middle of the road, with his bicycle thrown into a tree.
- Writer
