-Alexi-

WE FOUND ourselves running in the open area of Sonkan. I want to ask Felicity where are we going since she's the one who's supervising us but that I could find out later. Nakaalis na kami sa dorm bago pa dumating ang mga guwardiya. Guard is too common noun for them. They're in the black formal suit with rifles. Wearing shades. They're upgraded guards which any security force agencies could barely afford. Nagulat ako sa pagsigaw ni Coleen kasabay ng paghila niya sa kamay ko para payukuin ako.

"Down!"

May nakita nalang kaming kutsilyo na lumilipad at mabuti nakayuko agad kaming tatlo dahil kung hindi ay isa sa amin ang matatamaan. Sa pagyuko namin ay nakita namin itong tumarak sa leeg ng isang babae. She's staring at us, widened eyes and within a second she fell into the ground with her body stiffened like a statue. I looked at her in horror as my breathing gets heavy.

"Bullseye" dumako ang mata ko sa lalaking sa tingin ko'y nagbato ng kutsilyo. Nakasuot ito ng itim na hoodie at bakas ang saya sa kanyang mukha na tila isang tagumpay ang ginawa. He just killed someone and he's grinning. How could he digest that?

"Hey!" Sigaw ko sa kanya. Tumayo ako at lumapit. Masama ko siyang tiningnan na anumang oras ay lilipad na ang palad ko sa mukha niya. I could tell he's a transferee. "What did you do? You killed her!"

"Alexi! Don't go near on him" narinig ko ang boses ni Coleen sa likod ko.

"Why not? It's Friday"

My teeth gritted as my fist curled. I want to punch him in the face but instead I pushed him hard with full force that he almost fell on the ground. "You're crazy! How could you use that as a reason!" My eyes were raging as I'm spitting those words. Sinabi niya 'yon na parang isang bagay na normal gawin. Humakbang pa ako palapit sa kanya at handa siyang itulak ulit ngunit tinaas nito ang isa niyang kamay na may hawak na patalim.

"It's one of the rules. It's allowed to kill in Friday. You should be next" pagkasabi niya no'n ay napaatras ako at akmang tatakbo palayo pero nahagip nito ang braso ko. He was about to stab me but something hit his head causing it to bleed out. It was a small stone thrown by someone in a right aim. Nang matamaan siya ng bato ay bumagsak ito sa lupa.

Tumingin ako sa aking likuran at nakita si Coleen na nakataas pa ang kamay, indikasyon na sa kanya galing ang pagbatong 'yon. Now it proves even if she's not holding a bow she could aim accurately.

Tinapon ko ang tingin sa paligid at doon palang rumehistro sa akin ang nangyayari. Nagkalat ang mga taong tumatakbo habang may humahabol sa kanila. Mga taong gusto silang patayin. Parang may sunog na nangyari dahil karamihan ay nasa labas ng kanilang dorm. Tumatakbo. Hindi malaman ang gagawin at tanging pagtakbo lamang ang iniisip nilang makakapagligtas sa kanila.

Biglang sumulpot si Felicity sa tabi ko na gaya ko'y pinagmamasdan din ang paligid. "It's happening. They're following the Friday rule"

I flinched when I heard someone's voice on the speaker, and I didn't know where they installed it. My face became furious when I recognized who it was. "I hope you'll enjoy this night. You see, it's not just an ordinary night. It's Friday. We love putting twists. It's not the usual Friday where you're going to stay indoors and wait until it's over. We like thrills. Everything is changing and you gotta adopt it" Sinundan 'yon ng nakakakilabot na halakhak. Red Lady's voice started to get on our nerves. Mukhang wala talaga silang balak bigyan kami ng payapang pamumuhay dito sa Sonkan. "We're giving you freedom to hunt your prey and kill them. For the prey, just run and hide. Let's see how long it would last because everybody is aggressive. No one will sleep until the Friday is over. You're dorms will be locked so enjoy! Exciting isn't it?" I scoffed. She sounds like she's persuading us to kill.

Lumapit sa amin si Coleen. Frustration and shock were evident on her face as if she'd never seen this coming. None of us was. "We need to call the Mobs"

"Yeah," I agreed. "I'm sure they're not exempted from this"

We run again to find a hiding spot. Nandito kami sa likod ng building. Nagtatago sa dilim habang nakabaluktot ang mga binti. Nagmamatyag sa paparating na panganib. Mukhang malayo layo din ang natakbo namin dahil wala akong nakikitang taong napapadaan dito.

"How are you guys? Have you heard the announcement?" Boses ni Kaiden sa kabilang linya.

"We're fine" si Coleen ang sumagot. "Keep your devices open. We should get in touch till it's over"

"Where is Alexi? Is she fine?" Reigan's voice dived in.

"I'm fine" I replied.

I heard him sighing in relief. "Tell us where you are. We're going there"

"We can't leave here, kuya," Callista's voice interrupted. "We should keep our co-Mobs alive"

"Don't come here. We're fine" Coleen said firmly. "Just stay connected. As long as we're staying in a safe place. That would do"

I nodded my head in agreement. "Coleen's right. It will be more dangerous for us if we're summed up together"

"Hello guys" Shane's voice came in. We all responded, and she almost shrieked with her voice rejoicing, "Thank heavens! My device is still working"

"All right, everybody's on the call except for..." Coleen paused "Chad. Where is he?"

I heard Shane snort and probably roll her eyes. "He's with me. He almost got killed earlier, but we're fine here in the janitor's room.." she executes a sharp sigh. "And he's crying. I'm calming him down"

"I'm not crying!" Chad's hissed.

"Yeah, but you're about to," Shane backfired.

"We need to find Fare"

I snapped upon hearing her name. "Where is Fare?"

Saglit na natahimik sina Shane at Chad. There's a long dead air on the line before Shane decided to spit a word, hesitant if she should say it. "K-kasama lang namin siyang tumatakbo noong hinahabol kami ng mga baliw na transferees. They're all carrying weapons ready to kill us. Hanggang sa narinig nalang namin siyang sumigaw at hindi na siya nakasunod sa amin. She's gone on our sight"

"I don't get the transferees. Why did they seem aggressive in killing? They're just new here. They supposed to be scared and keep each other alive" Callista commented. Sounding disgust.

"It's the orientation" Coleen concluded. "They're just new to the rules. Freshly oriented. They must think Friday killings are cool." Anger was seething in her voice, which she hid by laughing softly.

"Everyone has an inner beast," Felicity remarked. "You cannot convince 3000 people to keep it themselves"

"Sonkan is using this Friday killing to burst their rage" Kaiden added. "Did Fare bring the device with her? Maybe we can contact her"

"I paged her earlier" sambit ni Chad. "Narinig ko siyang magsalita pero putol putol. Ilang segundo lang ang tinagal ng linya tapos namatay ulit. Sinubukan ko ulit siyang tawagan pero hindi na siya sumasagot" bakas ang pag-aalala sa boses nito.

"I'm going to find Fare" I declared as if I made up my mind to do something heroic.

"No" Coleen opposed. Humarap ito sa akin na may kasamang mariing pag-iling. "You stay with us. Delikado kung hihiwalay ka sa amin, Alexi"

"Fare is on our team, and we're not sure if she's safe," I opposed with firmness in my voice. "I want to make sure I'll see the same faces tomorrow when we have a meeting"

"Meeting?" Pag-uulit ni Callista.

Saglit akong bumaling sa kabilang linya para sagutin si Callista. "Yeah, we have a lot of things to discuss. We're going to present a piece of information you should all aware about. For now, let's mind each other's safety" diretso sa mata akong tumingin kay Coleen at bahagyang ngumiti. "I'm gonna go"

Mahigpit na hinawakan ni Coleen ang balikat ko upang pigilan akong tumayo. She once looked at me. There was hesitation in her eyes, but she knew there was no way she could stop me from doing something I was determined to do. Admitting her defeat by that thought, she let out a long sigh. "I'll go with you"

Bumaling ito kay Felicity. "You stay here. Hahanapin namin si Fare"

"Tag me along. Pupuntahan ko kayo dyan" boses ni Reigan. Agad ko itong tinutulan.

"No, Reigan. Stay where you are. We're going to be fine"

"We don't need extra thug here" Coleen spat him on the other line. "No offense kingpin boy. Alexi has me. I can fight. She'll be safe"

"No. I'm going with--"

"She's going to be fine, Reigan" Kaiden cut him off. I don't know what's exactly happening there since we can only speak to them through this device but I imagine him being a brother trying to stop his younger sibling's unnecessary behavior. Yeah, that's how he sounds. "The Ghettos are outside. Our quarters are locked. There's no safe place for us to hide in, but here, good for an hour or so before we move again to a different place. We need to keep our co-Mobs safe for the next few hours shouldn't we?"

"I'll be fine, Reigan" I assured him. "Stay safe there"

I think that would convinced Reigan when we got no response from them for a couple of seconds.

"I don't know how your friendship runs, but I'm interested in joining," parehas kaming napatingin kay Felicity. She smiled at us, and I'm not sure if she was making it creepy or if that was her normal smile. ”Not with the friendship thing but to your company tonight. Sasama ako sa paghahanap"

The decision was made and it's the three of us who will find Fare. The rest of our fellows leave the call. We'll just page them if something unusual happens even though everything here is unusual. Ayon kina Chad, huli daw silang magkakasama sa E swing. Malapit 'yon sa College of Science department building. Nagtungo kami doon upang suyudin ang buong lugar. Pumasok kami sa hallway hawak ang pag-asang maaari naming makita dito si Fare kahit kasing liit lang ng langgam ang posibilidad. If only this school wasn't painted bad, I would appreciate my privilege to be here enjoying the sight of giant buildings crowded the whole map of Sonkan.

This may be paradise to study for the people in the outside world, but once they're here, this would be their most hated place.

We reached the last level of the stair here in the second floor after we scaled the whole first floor. Nagsimula kaming icheck ang mga pinto kung bukas ito at silipin ang bintana sa pagbabakasakaling, sa kaunting sinag ng liwanag mula sa loob ay may makita kaming anino ni Fare. We all knew all of the doors here are probably locked but still we checked it.

"She's not dumb enough to hide in one of these rooms and leave the doors open, isn't she?" I heard Felicity mutter. I silently agreed. That would make sense but it's better than doing nothing. I'm trying to page her now, trying to connect to her, but I got no response. I did it five times, and still no luck.

"This one's opened" my eyes flickered to Coleen as she invited us to come in the room she found unlocked. Agad kaming nagtungo doon. Saglit kong pinatay ang device.

We assessed the surroundings and find every space that could be possible for hiding spot. Minutes passed and we found no one. Lumabas na kami at iniwang bukas ang silid na 'yon para kung sakaling may magtago doon ay makakapasok siya. Malalock niya mula sa loob ang pinto. Paglabas ay may nakita kaming babae na mabagal na naglalakad. We stared at her for a few seconds before it registered to me that she was wounded.

Duguan ang buo nitong braso. She raised his hand upon seeing us, reaching for help with hope glinting on her face. She's crying and she's like in one of survival movies who managed to save herself from the killer. Agad kaming lumapit sa kanya. She started to cry more with a sound. "Tulungan nyo ako. Ayoko na dito"

Coleen tried to hush her by hugging her. "We're here. You'll be safe now"

My eyes softened when I saw how Coleen calmed her down. Sa unang pagkakataon ay nakita ko ulit ang dating Coleen na nakilala ko noon. I saw in a glimpse of seconds the caring Coleen we admire.

What happened next was we're just running for life together with the girl we rescued. We don't know where we're going but our top priority is to go to a safe place and find Fare along the way. Nagkakagulo na lahat. Parang may sunog na kanya kanyang nag evavacuate kahit walang apoy. Saglit akong napatigil sa pagtakbo nang makita ang isang lalaking nagtatago sa puno. Nakatakip ang dalawang kamay nito sa tenga at nakabaluktot ang mga tuhod. I heard Coleen calling me but I didn't respond. I do half run to approach that boy.

"What are you doing there? Mamamatay ka dito" he lifted his gaze to me as I call his attention. Bakas ang takot sa mukha nito na kahit ni isang salita ay hindi makabigkas. Napatingin ako sa grupo na naglalakad. They were five of them walking with all chin up as if they own the place. They're not Ghettos so clearly, they were transferees. May hawak silang iba't ibang patalim at tila naghahanap sila ng susunod na mabibiktima.

"C'mon. Stand up. They're coming" I said, hastening him.

Sumunod naman ito sa kabila ng pagkataranta. Sabay kaming tumakbo papunta kina Coleen. May mangilan ngilan kaming nakikita na tumatakbo at humihingi ng tulong. We're not supposed to rescue them but conscience was knocking on our door as we all three stared at each other, being skeptical if we should tag them along. Sa huli'y sinama din namin sila. We added another three people running with us. All of them were wounded. Ang iba'y may sugat sa ulo, sa mukha at may mantsa ng dugo sa damit.

Patuloy lang kami sa pagtakbo at walang specific na lugar kung saan kami pupunta. Pumasok kami sa isang building at sinuyod ang buong silid doon kung may bukas. Luckily, we got one. We entered inside the music room. This building must be the Art and Theaters Department. Nakatulong ang madilim na paligid para mapanatag ang aming kalooban na ligtas itong mapapagtaguan. Una naming pinapasok ang limang narescue saka kami sumunod. Akmang isasara ko na ang pinto nang biglang may sumulpot na babae sa harap ko at malakas na hinahampas ang kamay sa bintana upang pagbuksan ko siya. I was stunned by her appearance because her whole face was covered with blood. I read by her mouth that she keeps repeating the word 'Help'.

Without hesitation, I immediately opened the door. Mangiyak ngiyak itong nagpasalamat nang makapasok ito.

"Thank you" she uttered before hugging me. I just blinked my eyes out of awkwardness.

We all huddled at the corner of the room, leaning our backs on the cold surface of the wall. Giving ourselves a moment to digest everything that is happening. Hindi na bago sa amin ito pero sa mga kasama namin na sa tingin ko'y lahat ay transferee, mukhang mahihirapang iproseso ang lahat.

"I used to admire this place" the girl said, finally breaking the silence. Nakatulala lang ito sa kawalan. "Hindi ko alam na ganito pala sa lugar na ito"

"Someone's chasing me with a knife" the boy with glasses joined in. "Para siyang sabik na pumatay"

"Friday has been a scary day even before, but not as bad as this," Felicity lectured them. "You need to be strong folks. This is normal." It may not sound encouraging at all because of her tone, but I hope those words will mark their minds.

"Mukhang matagal na kayo dito" sabat ng isang babaeng blonde ang buhok.

"Matagal tagal na din" si Coleen ang sumagot. "This place molded us into different person"

"Why this is happening? I want to go home" the other girl voiced up as she fell into tears. Habang nakatingin ako sa kanya ay para akong nakatingin sa dati kong sarili. Ganyan na ganyan din ako noong una. Takot. Gustong umuwi. Gustong umalis sa lugar na ito. She may feel terrified but soon she'll be stronger. She will learn to adopt the things here to survive.

"I'm gonna go" I announced to Coleen and Felicity. "I need to find Fare" clock is ticking and I can't afford to waste any seconds to find our teammate. Somehow, that girl meant something to me. Hindi mapapanatag ang kalooban ko ngayong gabi kung hindi ko masisigurong ligtas siya.

"Let's go then. Tag me with you," Coleen firmly said, to which I strongly objected by shaking my head. "No, Coleen. Stay here. You need to keep them safe. They're still wounded and they need to make it till morning. Samahan mo si Felicity na bantayan sila"

"You're weaponless, Alexi" she reminded. Telling how dumb a move it is to go outside without a weapon. "Are you planning to get yourself killed?" tears started to form on her lower eyelids.

I gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine, Coleen--"

"No you're not, Alexi" bahagyang tumaas ang boses ni Coleen. Her voice cracked. "I don't know what else I would do if something bad happened to you--I I already lost Joan"

I pulled her shoulder and hugged her. "Nothing bad will happen to me. I'll be careful"

Agad itong kumalas sa pagkakayakap at pinunasan ang mga luhang tumakas sa kanyang mata. "I wouldn't allow that. A-ako nalang ang maghahanap sa kanya. Kayo ang maiwan dito"

"You stay here, Coleen" I sternly said to her. "Felicity and you can fight. You can protect these people until sunrise and I can handle myself. I escaped death. Lots of times. This one is nothing." I know it sounds like I'm convincing her I'm like a cat with nine lives, but there's nothing I can think of to assure her. I want her to be at ease. I'll be okay, even though I feel I might not be after I walk out of this room.

Kinagat nito ang ibabang labi na tila sa gano'ng paraan ay mapipigilan nito ang luhang nagbabadya sa kanyang mata. Tinapik lang ako nito sa balikat at ngumiti "Mag-iingat ka" tinuro nito ang earpiece na nakakabit sa tenga niya. "Open this. Stay connected with us"

Tango lamang ang naging tugon ko bago tumayo upang maglakad palapit sa pintuan. I gave them one last look and smiled before I opened the door and rushed outside. I heard indisctinct screams from somewhere when I started to walk downstairs. I tried to ignore them because it just adding the tense I'm feeling at the moment. Dahan dahan lang ang hakbang ko hanggang sa makalabas ng building. Nagtago ako sa malapit na punong nakita ko para hindi makaattract ng atensyon sa mga gumagalang killer. I opened my earpiece and call Fare.

"Paging Fare. Paging Fare. If you can hear me now, please respond"

Ilang segundo ang lumipas at halos tumalon ang puso ko sa galak nang may marinig akong boses sa kabilang linya. Mahina lamang 'yon at hindi gaanong malinaw pero sapat para maintindihan ko.

"A-ate Al. Help me"

************

Thanks for reading!