Dead City

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Pagkarating naming lahat dito sa bangko ay ginamot muna nila Tin si Mia dahil sa mga nakuha niyang gasgas.

"We can't get inside. We're like a wanted." Wika ng lalaking kasama nila Brian.

He has an eyeglasses just like Giz. He has three piercings on his left ear and, he has a semi-bald haircut and color blue hair.

"My name is Luke." Pagpapakilala niya saamin nila Eula.

"How do you say so?" Tanong ni Ian sakaniya. Inilabas niya ang maliit na parang cellphone galing sakaniyang bulsa atsaka may pinakita kay Ian.

"But how did captain get inside?" Tanong ni Gale.

Sabi kasi nila kanina ay nasa loob si Theo.

"He's Theo. He have million ways to get what he wants." Sabi ni Stone.

"I'll go inside to help him for whatever his plan is. Brian, come with me."

"Wait, wait. We'll go too." Pigil nila Dylan at Owen.

"No. They need security. Watch them out while they're finding the tetrahedron."

"Luke. Be our map." Utos niya.

"Roger, captain." Tugon niya.

"I'll go too." Pagbangon ni Mia.

"No. You can't." Mabilis na pigil sakaniya ni Stone.

"Let me go too. I don't want to be burden. Please, at least let me have some use." Aniya. Napansin ko naman ang biglang paglambot ng tingin ni Stone sakaniya.

"I'll go. But can you be my guide?" Aniko kaya napatingin saakin si Mia.

"You must stay here. Magpagaling ka muna. At habang nagpapagaling ka, binibigyan mo ako ng gabay. Pwede ba yun?" Tanong ko. Pati sila Dylan ay nakatingin din sakaniya na iisa lang rin ang nais mangyari.

Bumuntong hininga muna siya bago pumayag.

"Okay. Just take care." Nagaalala niyang sabi saakin matapos ang ilang segundo.

Tumango naman ako sakanila Kurt bago kami umalis nila Stone.

"Luke. Can you hear me? Do you copy?" Tanong ni Brian habang nakalapit ang kaniyang palapulsuan sakaniyang bibig.

Oh... I think that's where their mic is.

"Dahlia. Can you hear me?" Tanong ni Mia saakin sa earpiece.

"Yes. I hear you." Tugon ko.

Tumigil kami sa harap ng bangko mismo atsaka nagsalita si Brian.

"8 mens." Aniya kay Stone kasabay ng pagsabi rin saakin ni Mia nito.

"We're not gonna kill them." Wika ni Stone kaya tumango si Brian.

Pagpasok namin ay mabilis nilang hinarap ang mga lalaking mukhang sundalo. Habang nakikipag laban sila ay nakita ko ang isang lalaki saaking gilid habang nakatutok ang Taser saakin.

Shit. That's a high-voltage.

Agad akong yumuko kaya tumama ito sa isang kalaban na malapit kay Brian.

Lumipas ang ilang minuto ay napatumba na nilang dalawa ang walong lalaki.

"Where to?" Tanong ni Stone.

"He's in the basement." Sabi saakin ni Brian.

Habang naglalakad kami ay may biglang dumating na maraming lalaki ulit. Mabilis akong natulak ni Brian papasok sa isang opisina kaya hindi ako nakita ng mga ito.

Nakita ko naman ang isang kompletong corporate attire kaya ko ito agad kinuha kahit hindi ko naman alam kung saan ko ito gagamitin.

"Get to the basement. Help him on his plan. We're gonna take care of them." He said.

"Go to the left and you'll gonna find the basement there." Dagdag niya, ngunit lahat ng mga ito'y nauna ng nasabi saakin ni Mia.

"But how about you two?" Tanong ko.

"We can take care of ourselves. Don't worry about us." Stone assures me.

"Okay. I got it." I nodded.

"Dahlia." Mabilis na tawag saakin ni Brian kaya ako agad napaharap sakaniya.

"Be careful." He uttered.

"I will. You two as well." I replied and then we all nodded at each other.

Habang nakikipaglaban silang dalawa ay tumakbo ako papunta sa sinasabi niya habang hawak pa rin ang mga damit at sapatos na kinuha ko. Nandito ako ngayon sa hallway.

"It's all clear. Just keep moving forward." Mia said.

Nakita ko ang banyo kaya ako agad pumasok dito dahil sa naisip kong plano. Sinabi ko rin ito kay Mia na sinang-ayunan niya. Nagpalit ako at isinuot ang kinuha kong damit at sapatos. Inayos ko rin ang aking buhok.

I'll disguise myself. Maybe this might help me a little.

Pagkalabas ko'y may bigla akong nakasalubong na tatlong sundalong tumatakbo papunta doon sakanila Stone na nasabi rin ni Mia saakin kaya inasahan ko ito. Hindi nila ako pinansin, dahil siguro saaking suot.

"Dahlia, approaching. These men is different than before. You must not get caught." Mia warned me.

Nakarinig ako ng mga boses ng tao na paparating kaya ako agad pumasok sa nakita kong pinto. Halos mawalan ako ng balanse nang bumungad saakin ang hagdan pababa.

I think this is where their basement is located.

Narinig ko ulit ng medyo mas malinaw ang boses ng mga tao kaya ako tumakbo pababa ng hindi gumagawa ng ingay.

Habang lumalalim ako ng lumalalim ay nagiging madilim at halos limitado na lamang ang hangin.

Pagkarating ko sa dulo ay nakakita ako ng pinto. Dahan dahan ko itong binuksan. Nasilip ko agad ang liwanag na nanggagaling sa loob.

Pagpasok ko'y dahan-dahan ko rin sinarado ang pinto. Haharap pa lang ako'y may biglang humila saakin ng marahas atsaka ako idiniin sa pader habang ang mga kamay ko'y hawak-hawak niya saaking likuran.

Halos pigil ang aking hininga at ang puso ko'y nagwawala na. Nagpumiglas ako ngunit mas idiniin niya lamang ako sa pader.

Nakita ko sa gilid ng aking mga mata ang pamilyar na hubog.

"T-theo?" Halos walang boses kong tanong dahil sa pagdiin niya saakin. Mabilis siyang humiwalay at dito lang ako nakahinga ng maluwag.

"Dahlia?" Tanong niya ngunit hindi ko pa masalubong ang kaniyang mukha dahil sa paghahabol ng aking hininga.

"What the f**k are you doing here? Where are the others? Why are you wearing that?"

"I almost died." I said.

"They're outside." Tugon ko.

"How did you get here alone?"

"I'm not alone. Captain Stone and Brian are with me earlier. But there were many soldiers intercepted us that's why I came here alone."

"Were you followed? Nobody saw you, right?"

"I'm not followed. Three soldiers saw me but they didn't care because of what I'm wearing" Sagot ko.

"Where did you get that?"

"One of the office."

"What are you doing here anyway? What are you finding?" Tanong ko ng nakita ang mga papel sa sahig.

"Informations." Aniya atsaka bumalik sa mga ito.

"About what?"

"ETP's, tetrahedron, the government, and our headquarters. Basically anything connected to what is happening right now." He said.

"Okay. Let me help you." I said. Hindi naman niya ako pinansin kaya ako napairap.

Why am I always end up being with this demanding and bossy guy?

Habang naghahanap ay ngayon ko lang napansin na nawala na pala ang koneksyon ko sakanila Ian sa labas.

Damn it.

Ibinaling ko na lang ang atensyon ko sa mga papel upang hindi ko mapansin ang kaniyang presensya.

.

Lumipas ang ilang oras ay saka lang ako nabalik sa kasalukuyan nang tawagin ako ni Theo.

"Dahlia. Someone's coming." He emphatically said again.

If it's captain Stone or Brian, we shouldn't be worried. But what if it's not them? Afterall, they said we all should meet at the place where I last saw them. We can't be reckless.

"s**t. Papers are everywhere." Aniko at napatingin sa nagkalat na mga papel sa lapag.

"Oh, fuck." Pagmura niya.

Napatingin ako sa paligid at saaming dalawa.

"Okay. I've got an idea." Sabi ko atsaka lumapit sakaniya.

Ginulo ko ang kaniyang buhok pati ang aking buhok at hindi siya pinansin sakaniyang sinasabi. Binuksan ko ang ilang butones ng aking suot at nailantad ang aking dibdib.

"What the f**k are you doing? This isn't the right time for--"

"Shut it. What do you think when you saw a man and woman in a secluded room together?"

"Just get along with this. Now, open your belt and buttons." Sambit ko.

Wala naman na siyang nagawa kaya niya ito sinunod dahil lahat kami ay mapapahamak kung hindi niya ito gagawin. Lumapit ako sakaniya at ganon din siya.

Hinawakan ko ang gilid ng kaniyang mukha atsaka ipinalibot ang isang braso sakaniyang batok, samantalang siya'y nakahawak saaking ibabang likod. Ramdam na ramdam ko ang katawan niyang nakadikit saakin.

Pagbukas ng pinto ay sabay kaming lumingon ni Theo at nakita ang isang babae.

"Oh, my! I'm so-- I'm-- I'm so sorry to disturbed you." Utal na sabi niya habang nakapikit.

"Pretend that I didn't see and come here. I'm really sorry." Aniya at mabilis na lumabas atsaka isinarado ang pinto.

Mabilis din kaming humiwalay sa isa't-isa ni Theo.

"See? She didn't notice the papers." Wika ko habang isinasarado ang aking butones. Ibinabalik niya na rin ang kaniyang belt.

Shit. Ngayon ko lang napagtanto ang ginawa ko.

Bumalik ako agad sa mga papel ng matapos kong ayusin ang aking buhok at pilit na kinakalimutan ang nangyari at ang presensya niya.

Damn it. Kailan ba kami makakaalis dito? I don't want to be here anymore. I can't breathe, damn it.

.

Lumipas pa ulit ang ilang oras hanggang sa may mga nakita na kaming papel na maaari naming magamit. He uses this high-tech eyeglasses and scans all the informations we get and save it.

We saw a blueprint of their headquarters. And it looks like they're analysing everything and everyone in it. We also found the list of everyone's names and their backgrounds and teams, as well as an envelope that has a letter. But it's not just an ordinary letter. It's a code that needs to decipher. And it is neither among the codes that I know.

But it's unusual that Theo has only short description of his background. It just said that he has a small family, and his father is one of the founder of the ETP's and tetrahedron, while his grandfather works as an engineer at the headquarters. Moreover, the accident that happened to them. However, it didn't said much about the accident nor his family.

Based on the list, his full name is Theo Arden. Captain Stone's full real name is Hyde Baldwin.

It said there that Theo's the sole survivor of the accident because of his father's bestfriend -the General now, basically the head or their commander- who's the father of Mia and the one who gave him the other ETP when we're in their headquarters.

Theo said to me earlier that the General sacrificed himself to save the remaining ETP and us so that we can get out, but he couldn't say it to Mia because he don't know how.

Theo and I confirmed that someone's really betrayed them, and that someone is an ally of the government who wants the ETP's and tetrahedron. Probably a spy.

He said that it's probably one of the engineers or in the higher rank who betrays them. But it still sucks that we can't point out who's who. Though, I think Theo has someone in his mind.

Right now, we're trying to get out of this building. But it seems impossible to use the main entrance and exit because of many soldiers. We couldn't also find Brian and Stone.

"To the top. We don't have signal here." He said.

"Top? You mean, roof?" Paglinaw ko.

"Yeah. Let's go."

Balak kasi naming komunekta sakanila Ian tulad ng ginawa ni Gale dati sa gobyerno upang ma-send na namin ang mga impormasyon na nakuha namin doon sa basement na hindi nalalaman ng gobyerno ang lokasyon namin at nila Ian. Ngunit wala kaming signal dito.

Habang tumatakbo kami ay may mga biglang nakakita saaming sundalo na hindi ko alam kung saan nanggaling.

"Shit." Pagmura niya.

Tumigil kami atsaka siya naglibot ng paningin.

"Alright. Change of plans. They saw us, damn it!"

"We'll use my pick and get out of here safely. Hope that we can make it because my pick is almost out. I need to recharge it, but it will take a lot of time." He said and faces me.

"Got any other ideas?" Bigla niyang tanong saakin.

"Ahm...-- look out!" Mabilis kong sabi atsaka siya hinila upang kami ay makayuko dahil sa pagbaril ng mga sundalo saamin.

Nagpunta kami sa ilalim ng front desk atsaka na niya dito ginawa yung ginawa dati ni Mia sa pick.

Paglaki nito ay agad kami ditong sumakay atsaka lumipad papuntang bintana. Binaril niya ito gamit ang hawak niyang baril na galing sa napulot niya kanina atsaka na kami dito dumaan.

"Damn it! I can't connect to them!" Rinig kong wika ni Ian.

I have signal.

"Me neither. They're the one who has no signal. Not us." Dagdag ni Gale.

"We'll go now." Sabi naman ni Mia.

"No. Everybody. Just calm down." Sambit naman ni Hans.

"Kuristen, please don't let Mia go. She's still needs treatments." Rinig kong utos niya.

"Okay. Copy that." Tugon naman ni Tin.

Wait. Does this mean that Hans is not with them?

"Ian, try to ask Luke if he could still see them. Try to find them and we'll--"

"Found them! He found them!" Malakas na sabi ni Giz.

"Captain? Captain do you copy?" Tanong ni Ian ngunit hindi sumasagot si Theo kaya ako napatingin sakaniya.

Did he still partially cut his connection to them? Argh! I can't believe this guy. He don't know how worried his groupmates to him.

"Why did you partially cut your connection from your teammates?" I asked. Hindi naman siya agad sumagot.

"I can't risked them. I'm the captain. Probably there are many eyes that's on me. They might hacked my earpiece and uses it to locate me and my teammates." Tugon niya kaya nanlaki agad ang aking mga mata. Mukhang naintindihan niya ito kaya niya agad hinawakan ang aking tenga at nang mahawakan niya ang earpiece ko'y agad siya ditong may pinindot.

"I'm so--" itinikom ko na lamang ang aking bibig.

Sana'y ang katahimikan ko'y ayos na upang magpakita na ako'y humihingi ng dispensa dahil sa nangyari.

Ang tanga kasi, Dahlia!

Mabilis kaming napayuko nang may biglang bumaril saaming likuran.

"s**t!" Madiin niyang mura.

"They located us. Fuck."

Sa hindi ko inaasahang pangyayari ay bigla na lamang natamaan ang aming tinatapakan kaya kami sabay na nalaglag. Mabilis siyang naglabas ng isang baril na kakaiba atsaka ako niyakap. Binaril niya ito sa pader atsaka ito naglabas ng tali.

Dahil dito ay medyo maayos kaming nakababa sa kalsada.

Tumakbo kami at pilit na tumatago sa mga establishimento dahil patuloy ang pagbabaril ng mga humahabol saamin.

Napaharap ako sa likuran namin at nakita ang dalawang tangke. Sa itaas ng isa nito'y parang submarine na mukhang may maraming laman na missiles.

"Shit." Pagmura ko.

"Captain!" Rinig naming tawag ng kung sino saaming harapan.

"General?" Wika ni Theo.

"Duck!" He shouted as he ready his trumpet-like weapon. If I'm not mistaken, it's a bazooka.

Pagyuko namin ay malakas na sumabog ang isang tangke saaming likuran.

Naglabas ulit siya ng isang malaking baril atsaka tinamaan ang baril ng isang natitirang tangke ngunit ito'y sumablay. Ang natamaan nito'y sa ibaba ng mismong baril.

"Oh, s**t!" Madiing mura ni Theo atsaka napatingin sa parang submarine na nasa itaas ng tangke.

"Let's go! Let's go." Aniya kaya kami mabilis na tumakbo papunta sa General kahit hindi ko alam ang nangyayari.

Pagkarating namin ay pagharap ko'y biglang sumabog ang baril ng tangke atsaka tumutok sa itaas -sa parang submarine na nasa itaas nito. Matapos ang ilang segundo'y bigla itong pumutok at natamaan ang nasa itaas nito na may missiles.

He didn't missed the shot. He intentionally did it. Wow!

Nagkaroon ng sobrang lakas na pagsabog at hindi ko na magawang magmulat ng mata dahil sa liwanag at lakas ng mga ito.

"You're welcome." Rinig kong sabi ng General kay Theo.

"How are you still alive?" Hindi makapaniwalang tanong ni Theo.

"No one can kill the General, Theo." He said and then smiled.

He's like he is in his late forties to mid fifties.

"Where's my daughter?" Tanong niya. Hindi naman agad nakasagot si Theo kaya ako na ang sumagot dahil narinig ko naman ang boses niya kanina. Para naman magkasilbi yung nangyaring katangahan ko.

"She's safe. She's with her teammates." I answered. Agad naman napatingin saakin si Theo ngunit nagiwas na lamang ako ng paningin.

Now, at least I've paid my mistake earlier. Or maybe not.