-Alexi-

"What's the plan tomorrow?"

My distracted mind snapped out when Reigan broke the silence as we headed back to the dorm. He insisted on escorting me back even though I said 'no.' Well I guess pinaninindigan niya na talaga ang pagiging gentleman. Hanggang ngayon ay naninibago padin ako. Kahit nagiging mabait na siya sa akin at vocal sa nararamdaman niya'y nakakapanibago padin. I don't know how his co-Mobs will react if they see the way Reigan acts when he's around me. Maybe his reputation of being a bad boy and heartless gang leader would be destroyed. Regardless, that's not the main point. It's his question that ruined my short distraction.

Parang isang dam na nabuksan sa utak ko ang mga bagay na kailangan kong alalahanin.

"We're making a map" sagot ko. "We'll present it tomorrow"

Tumango lamang si Reigan at hindi na nagtanong pa. Para bang sinasabi nito na tiwala siya sa kung anong planong balak kong gawin. He declared his support by staying by my side and let me do the things I gotta do. Somehow it helps. Having someone who believes in you even you're doubting yourself sometimes. Nang makarating sa tapat ng unit ay nagpaalam na ito. Akala ko'y tuluyan na itong aalis pero nagulat ako nang marahan niyang hinawakan ang magkabila kong sintido at banayad na nilapat ang labi sa aking noo.

"Goodnight, my woman" he whispered after he let go and took one last glance at me as he waved his hand, smiling. I blinked my eyes multiple times out of awkwardness.

'My woman'

His voice echoed in my mind as I found myself unconsciously smiling. I pull myself together and take a deep breath before knocking on our room. Nakailang beses ako ng katok ngunit walang nagbubukas. Nang pihitin ko ang doorknob ay saktong hindi naman ito nakalock. As I opened the door, I was greeted by two women arguing over a sketch.

"That's not what the door on the lab looks like, Veronica. C'mon"

"I'm just following what the description says" Coleen defended. She looks annoyed while looking at Felicity.

"Really?" Tiningnan ni Felicity ang hawak nitong notebook. "It has a circle in the middle. I told you I knew this place better than you"

"It's just a map. It doesn't have to be the same as what describes in the notebook"

"Yeah but the doors with circles are the doors where their lab rat is located, idiot"

"I hope you retract that word because I swear, I wanna punch you right now"

Hindi maipintang ekspresyon ang gumuhit sa aking mukha habang nagpapalipat lipat ng tingin ko sa kanila. Felicity is like a calm ghost standing beside the staircase wearing all white attire which is her forever outfit, triggering Coleen's temperance. Kung si Joan at Coleen ay maingay na nagtatalo, sila ay kalmado lang at tila ang unang pipitik na emosyon sa kanilang dalawa ay siyang talo.

"I can dodge it, though." cool na sagot ni Felicity.

"C'mon, try me"

Tinaas ko ang dalawa kong kamay para awatin sila sa nagbabadya nilang away kung may namumuo man. I looked at Felicity and seconds before it processed to me that she's here. "Wait, are you..." I trailed off "gonna join--"

"I don't have something to busy about so yeah" pagpapatuloy nito sa aking sasabihin. I smiled at the back of my head. Felicity may play it cool, but deep down, I know she cares about us.

Nilock ko ang pinto sa aking likuran at lumapit sa kanila. Coleen is still sketching the map. My eyes locked on the sketch as I try to review its details. Napansin ko na may mga nadagdag na detalye sa drawing ito. It looks like a camera.

"Are these cameras?" I asked for confirmation.

"Yes" si Felicity ang sumagot. "The whole building of the laboratory is surrounded by surveillance cameras. We just need to know what part of the lab has none of it"

"Felicity reviewed the notebook. Mr. Arellano mentioned the cameras, which I forgot to put" Coleen seconded.

I pursed my lips. "Well it seems every corner of the lab has security cams" I said, worrying. Sa bawat palapag na na dinrawing ni Coleen ay may iilang camera. Hindi naman kami invisible para hindi makunan ng mga 'yon.

"Exactly" Felicity blurted.

"Let's finish the whole map first" Coleen called our attention. "Saka na natin problemahin kung paano natin papasukin ang lugar pagkatapos nito"

We spent another hours, finishing the map so the three of us had to stay up all night. Coleen wants everything to be understandable kaya hindi nito binabara bara ang pagdodrawing lalo na't karamihan sa amin ay hindi kabisado ang lugar na 'yon. We only have one day to execute the operation because the next day, the class will resume. Mas mahihirapan kaming isagawa ang plano kapag pasukan. Magiging mahigpit ang seguridad lalo na't madaming bagong estudyante. I want to vomit at the thought of that. I hate to use 'students' because we're no longer are. We're prisoners here.

Both of my companions had already fallen asleep on the couch. Inaantok na ang aking sistema ngunit binabagabag naman ako ng utak ko. Nakatitig ako sa natapos na drawing ni Coleen. I connect the two Carolinas, putting tape on them for a clearer view. The map consisted of the outer part and the inner part of the lab. Ang isang building ay maraming palapag. Sa bawat palapag ay pinaliwanag ni Mr. Arellano sa notebook kung ano ang laman ng bawat rooms. The whole building was made of metal and polycarbonate glass, plus the tightened security, so Doc Sigmund really warned us that it's hard to barge in there.

As I was looking at the map, I realized it required a lot of mind work.

"Why still up?" umangat ang tingin ko kay Felicity. I was stunned for a few seconds, and my heart suddenly beat fast. Kahit kailan talaga'y hindi nawala ang talent nito magpagulat ng mga tao. It's literally dawn, and there's a lady in a full white dress with long black hair standing in front of me, so you can't blame me for my shock outbursts.

"I-im reviewing the map" sagot ko nang makabawi sa gulat.

"You need strength for tomorrow. Pagpahingahin mo muna ang utak mo"

Binalik ko ang atensyon sa pagtingin ng mapa. Hindi padin ako makakatulog kahit tangkain ko hangga't hindi ko nakukuha kung paano kami makakapasok sa loob ng lab nang hindi nahahagip ng camera. Maya maya'y saglit akong natigilan nang may napagtantong isang bagay. Muli kong nilingon si Felicity.

"I heard you earlier. You said you knew this place better than Coleen. How is that?"

I saw one of Felicity's eyebrows flinched, probably wondering why I suddenly asked that. "Maybe because I have a photographic memory and I easily remember things?"

"Have you been there before?"

"Yeah" walang buhay nitong sagot. "When they transferred some of my memories to my clone"

Dahil doon ay nagkaroon ng saglit na katahimikan. I also had the same experience but this isn't the lab where I think they brought me. It's a different lab. I see. None of us are exempted from cloning.

"You told me before that the three of you are the ones who discovered the Lab room where they're making thousands of clones." I followed up with a question. "Is this the same Lab room you were talking about?"

That's the time where I cornered Felicity to the woods and asked her to reveal some things. Mukhang saglit ito nagbalik tanaw sa bagay na tinutukoy ko.

"Three of us?" Pagkukumpirma ni Felicity.

"Yeah," I nodded. "You, Gregor, and.." my eyes flickered on Coleen, who was sleeping. "Veronica"

"No. It's not the same" Felicity took her pace to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Months pass, and we're able to buy a fridge. We have a mall here. Some of the establishments are inside Sonkan. Kinuha nito ang soda can. Hindi ko alam na may nakatago palang softdrinks doon. My eyesight was beyond the kitchen so I could still see Felicity opening the can and drinking it. It's so unusual for someone to drink a soft drink in the middle of the night, but let her be anyway. "That was years ago"

"Do they have surveillance cameras like in this Lab on the sketch?"

She took a few sips before making her way back here to the living room and comfortably slouched on the couch. "Yeah, but people there are stupid so it's easy for us to camouflage inside"

Nanlaki ang mata ko habang nakatingin sa kanya. Bakas naman ang pagtataka sa mukha nito dahil sa ekspresyon ko. Dahan dahang kumurba ang aking labi na tila may lenteng biglang nagbukas sa aking utak upang dumaloy ang isang ideya.

"Can you repeat the last part you said?"

Felicity's head tilts and her face stays blank. "Inside?"

"No. It's camouflage" I said enthusiastically. Now I guess that solves our problem.

________

Sumapit ang kinabukasan. Ang itinakdang araw kung saan magkakatipon tipon kaming lahat para pag-usapan ang seryosong diskusyon. We're here in our usual meeting place, in the woods. Felicity will join on the team so she allowed us to use this room. Kaming tatlo palang ni Coleen at Felicity ang narito. Hindi pa nagsisimula ang meeting ay bumibigat na ang pakiramdam ko. We all know that whoever will show up today only means, they're ready to sacrifice themselves. Kasalukuyan kong binabasa ang notebook upang magbalik tanaw sa mga impormasyong nandito. Just you know, I'm making sure I didn't miss a thing.

"In every success, there's a sacrifice. I hope you're ready for the sacrifice that this stunt will require of you"

Napako ang mga mata ko sa mga pangungusap na 'yon. Parang may invisible highlighter na gumuhit upang bigyan ng diin ang bawat salita. Sa di malamang dahilan ay biglang lumakas ang tibok ng puso ko. I knew from the start how dangerous it is. Going against Sonkan. And I'm also aware that I might die including the people who will join after me which I hope would not happen. We have to do this because we don't want to stick with our fears. In case isa man sa amin ang mamamatay, mas gugustuhin kong ako nalang.

I fear the death of my friends and the people around me more than mine.

"I'm having dejavu" napatigil ako sa pagbabasa nang magsalita si Coleen dahilan kaya lumipat ang tingin ko sakanya.

"This is exactly what we are 7 years ago" she added. "Brave. Courageous. We planned thoroughly and yet.." tila naiwan ang mga susunod na salita sa kanyang lalamunan.

I glanced at her empathetically. I know she's referring to the revolution they did 7 years ago. "It will be different this time, Coleen. "Pagpaplanuhin natin ito ng maigi at mag-s stick tayo doon. We're gonna find every possible loophole, and we will fix it immediately. We're in this together"

Parang kahapon lang ay siya ang nagchicheer up sa akin but now it's my turn.

Maya maya'y bumukas ang pintuan at lahat kami'y napatingin doon. Unang dumating si Caleb.

"Hi" I greeted with a smile.

He nodded in acknowledgment. Binati din siya ni Coleen. "Hey there, newbie boy"

Prente itong umupo sa okupadong upuan. Para kaming mga estudyanteng kabilang sa officers na may meeting ngayong umaga.

"Tayo lang ba?" tanong ni Caleb nang pasadahan niya kaming lahat ng tingin.

"We're still waiting for one person" sagot ko.

"Who?" Pagkasabi no'n ni Caleb ay saktong bumukas ang pinto at pumasok si Reigan. Our heads automatically turned to him. He looks like a model who entered late to a random room, wearing a simple, plain black shirt with a silver necklace. He's not a bulky type of guy. May kaunting kapayatan ito na may muscle. Marahil dahil sa height niya. He's a tall guy, and I always had to tilt my head whenever I looked at him. He's even taller than Kaiden.

"There he is. Her lover boy" Coleen blurted. I could feel my cheeks turn red for a short moment.

Nang magtagpo ang mata naming dalawa ni Reigan ay nginitian ako nito. Tinugon ko naman ang ngiting 'yon.

Coleen clapped her hands, getting all our attention to the meeting. "All right, let's begin"

Nagkatipon tipon kami sa mahabang desk at mula sa pagkakapulupot ay nilatag ni Coleen ang mapa.

"Whoah, who drew this?" Caleb exclaimed in amusement.

"Her" tinuro ko sa pamamagitan ng tingin si Coleen.

Caleb glanced at her as his lips formed a curve. "Impressive" komento nito na inirapan lang ni Coleen.

"This is the whole tower of the lab. It has 14 floors and these..." Coleen pinned her finger on the paper to explain clearly. "Three floors in the middle are the ones we're going to barge in. Ang tatlong palapag na 'yan ang importante dahil dyan nila ginagawa ang eksperimento. That's where they also keep the captives"

Flashback...

Kung hindi pa tumama ang liwanag sa mukha ko mula sa bintana ay hindi ko mamamalayang umaga na pala. Masyadong inokupa ng pagsusuri ng mapa ang utak ko. I read the notebook all over again and compare the description to the drawing so I can explain it to the team.

"Don't tell me you didn't sleep." My head turned to the side where the voice came from. It was Coleen. Pupungas pungas pa ito at halatang kakagising lang.

"I was reviewing the map" sagot ko. Lumapit ito at nakitingin din sa mapa. "But I'm having a hard time since I wasn't the one who.." saglit akong napahikab.

"You're not the one who?" takang tanong ni Coleen dahil saglit na naputol ang sinasabi ko.

I looked at her again, stunned. Processing what I realized at that moment. Maya maya'y kusang kumurba ang ngiti sa aking labi. Hinawakan ko ito sa magkabilang balikat. "I wasn't the one who drew the map but you. Coleen, you lead. You're gonna lead us on how to get in there"

End of flashback...

I asked Coleen to lead us. She's been there before, and she's the one who drew the map so I can guarantee she can explain it better to the team. Not only that, even before na magkakasama kaming tatlo ni Joan, nakikitaan ko na ito ng pagiging leader. Coleen has a leadership mindset. I coined her that. I may be the one who created the U-squad but Coleen can dominate the authority of leading a group.

"Every part of the floor has security surveillance and guards. One wrong move and every one of us can get killed," pagpapatuloy ni Coleen. "Doc Sigmund explained this hidden passageway sa ground floor" tinuro ni Coleen ang drinawing nitong bakal na pinto. "It only has two guards. No cameras there since it's outside. They're only two but they're both armed so we have to be careful"

"I can take them down" lumipat ang tingin namin kay Reigan na siyang sumabat. "I know how to deal with armed people"

Nagkatinginan kaming lahat at tumango bilang pag-sang ayon. Among the people in this room, Reigan is more capable of doing action stunt. He's a gang leader after all.

"Okay that's the first level" Coleen agreed to Reigan's suggestion. "Beat these two so we can grab their guns and their access. That's our key to get inside of every room. Alexi..your turn" Coleen's eyes moved to me.

"What?" taka kong tanong.

"Explain to them what you told me earlier"

I cleared my throat to fix my voice and as my mouth was about to utter words, the door suddenly opened. I think we forgot it locked so all our eyes were turned there. Napaawang ang bibig ko sa gulat nang isa isang pumasok sina Fare, Chad, Shane, Kaiden at si Callista. Our gazes that were pinned on them lasted for about a minute. No one dared to talk. Everyone seems surprised at their presence. It was mixed with awkwardness and astonishment.

"Are we late?" Callista spoke. Breaking our silence.

"Not too late to change of hearts" Felicity replied.

Dumako ang tingin ko sa mga kasama ko. Nakita ko ang maliit na ngiting sumilay sa labi ni Reigan habang nakatingin sa dalawang kasamahan niyang Mobster. Sina Kaiden at Callista. I know their bond was tested when they had something that not all of them agreed with. I know it creates heaviness on his heart but that smile seemed a relief for him when they showed up here, expressing their support. It saved his friend and sibling relationship from ruining.

Hindi napigilan ni Reigan na lumapit sa kapatid upang yakapin ito. He spread his arms, inviting his sister to hug him. Para namang musmos na bata si Callista na yumakap sa kuya nito suot ang malawak na ngiti. She closed her eyes and tapped his brother's back. "You got me here, Kuya" mahinang bulong ni Callista.

"Thank you, Cali" Reigan whispered back. While looking at them, I wished my brothers or sister had hugged me like that even once because they never did. I don't have a good relationship with my siblings so I can't help to envy them.

Nang kumalas sa pagkakayakap ang dalawang magkapatid ay sunod na namang niyakap ni Reigan si Kaiden. "Thanks, bro"

When their hug was over, Kaiden smiled at me. I smiled back and bowed my head a bit as a thank-you to him. We're still friends even though we're not as close anymore as we used to be, so I'm glad to see him change his mind about joining us.

I suddenly felt the need to hug those three folks who were left standing beside the door, so I took my pace forward and gave each of them a warm embrace. Una kong niyakap si Chad, sumunod si Shane at panghuli si Fare. When It was my turn to Fare, she couldn't help but burst into tears.

"I'm sorry ate, Al. I shouldn't be a coward when you just saved me that night without second thought" hinayaan ko lang itong umiyak sa balikat ko at marahang hinagod ang kanyang likod. I want her to feel that I didn't hold any grudges about her decision.

"It's okay. I understand" I said softly.

Nang mahimasmasan ay kumalas ito at pinunas ang luha. "I'm here now, Ate Al. Magkakasama tayong nasurvive ang purging kaya dapat magkakasama din tayo sa labang ito"

Mula sa likuran namin ay biglang umubo si Coleen para kunin ang aming atensyon. "I guess that's enough for your moment. We have a lot of stuff to discuss here"

Seconds later, we're all gathered in a circle around the desk where the map was laid off. Coleen went back from the start of a discussion about the map. All of them were attentively listening to her. Hindi ko maitago ang galak na nararamdaman ko sa aking puso. It's really nice to see that we're complete in this room after the argument yesterday. We finally become one in our goal. I'm glad that our numbers increased. Mas nadagdagan ang tapang ko ngayon na isagawa ang plano. Now I could finally say, I'm not alone in this game.

Matapos magdiscuss ni Coleen ay tumingin ito sa akin, hudyat na ako na ang susunod na magsasalita.

"Kaiden, you help Reigan to take the two guards down" my eyes shifted to Kaiden. "After you grab their guns, take their clothes as well. You'll need that. We need to camouflage inside. May mga camera sa loob at ang tanging paraan lang para makapasok doon ay maki blend in sa mga tao. Some will guise as a guard and some will take lab coats. It will become easy for us to stroll around every floor without being suspected there. Just be mindful of our faces. We should hide it in the cameras"

******

Thanks for reading!