-Alexi-

WE'RE TRYING to keep it cool as we paced slowly on the hallway. Hiwa hiwalay kaming naglalakad habang si Reigan ay nasa aming likuran. Si Coleen naman ay nasa unahan namin at alertong nagmamasid sa paligid. May mangilan ngilan kaming nasasalubong na mga naka lab coat at armadong naka suit ngunit tila masyadong okupado ang isip nila upang maghinala sa mga estrangherong nakapasok dito sa loob. We're heading towards the entrance where we can get ourselves inside the room where the captives being held without being seen by the soldiers.

"Callista? Kaiden? How's your status there?" Tanong ni Coleen sa kabilang linya.

"We're watching him. He was surrounded by lots of soldiers" si Callista ang sumagot.

"Hahanap pa kami ng tiempo kung paano siya dadakpin" Kaiden's voice followed.

Sunod naman kinamusta ni Coleen si Chad. "How about you there, Chad?"

"12 and 3rd floor hacked" he replied proudly.

"Cool"

I lifted my gaze upward to look at the security camera hanging on the side of the walls. I have to salute Chad for being a tech genius. Now we don't have to worry about the cameras catching our shadows. As we were walking, I realized this whole tower was like a spiral. The ends of every corner are carved in U-shaped. Every wall is made of metals and glass. Nagpatuloy kami sa paglalakad para hanapin ang daan na may red lasers. Mr. Arellano called it Red Threads. It has 500-1000 volts enough to burn our hearts. The system won't recognize us so we can't bypass there.

"How are you feeling?" Bahagya akong nagulat nang bigla kong marinig ang boses ni Reigan sa kabilang linya. I realized I got disconnect from the team's line since Reigan personally paged me.

I craned my neck over my shoulder to see a glimpse of him. He's behind, following us. Nakatakip ng mask ang buong mukha nito. "Mukhang ako dapat ang magtanong nyan. How are you feeling inside the suit? Are you even breathing properly?"

Narinig ko ang mahinang pagtawa nito. My lips mindlessly stretched, forming a smile even though I don't know why I did that. Maybe because it's pleasant to hear whenever he laughs or produces small chuckles. It's a little prize to me to make someone smile or laugh when I lack humor myself. "A little. You just need to inhale and exhale harder than normal"

"It suits you, tho," I blabbed while my eyes kept on the way. I know it's not appropriate to engage in a random nattering, especially in the middle of this operandi thing, but I carried along.

"Nah. It's itchy" pagsasalungat nito. He made a pause for a few seconds before he continued. "You look good in white. Except that, I don't see your face"

I could feel how the heat immediately ran through my cheeks, which I tried to ignore. It left me speechless na sinabayan ng paglakas ng kabog ng dibdib ko. It rang so loudly in my ears that I felt a sudden desperation to immediately shut them off. That's just a random compliment and my reaction shouldn't supposed to go like this. Retreating my speechlessness, I replied. "You don't have to see my face every time"

"Oh man. If only you knew" may halong tawa nitong sagot.

"Well, Alexi girl. I could almost think you allured my brother with black magic. He always compliments your beauty more than mine. And it's annoying. Since we were kids, he always told me I'm the prettiest girl in his sight but now you're stealing my throne"

Napakurap ako ng ilang beses at bahagyang napaawang ang bibig habang binabalanse ang katawan sa paglalakad dahil sa biglang pagsulpot ng boses ni Callista. Is she connected with us since earlier. Narinig ko ang mahinang pag-usal ng mura ni Reigan.

"Kanina ka pa ba nakikinig sa amin, Cali?" bakas ang iritasyon sa boses nito.

"Uh..yeah?" sagot ni Callista ngunit agad din nitong nilinaw. "But I didn't intend to listen okay? I tried to page you, but your line isn't available, and my line automatically goes to your conversation. Chad didn't explain this part to us I guess"

"You're not supposed to go there are you?"

Saglit na naputol ang aming pag-uusap dahil sa isang tinig mula sa estranghero na bumulabog sa aming lahat. All of us made a slow turn to see who's the owner of that voice. To our surprise, isang lalaking sa tingin ko'y nasa mid 40's ang bumati sa amin. He's wearing a doctor suit. Suspicion was written on his face as he eyed each one of us. Bahagyang nakakunot ang noo nito. Saka lamang rumehistro sa akin na wala na akong nakikitang tao na nakakasabayan namin maglakad.

"You don't even have black badges on your coats. You're not allowed to go there" he intriguingly said with a slight shake of his head.

I swallowed the big lump on my throat as my heart started to pound fast. Nagkatinginan kaming lahat, nagtatanong kung anong maaaring palusot na sabihin. We're five people walking here and no one will buy it if we say we're lost. Naningkit ang mga mata nito at dahan dahang humakbang palapit sa aming mga naka lab coat. Good thing I was wearing a mask, my agitated face would get us caught without it.

"Why you're going that way?" he calmly asked but sounds like a prosecutor getting inquest with us. None of us say anything. As if any word that would slip in our mouths would lead a ticket for us to be arrested. Nang walang nakuhang sagot ay umangat lamang ang gilid ng labi nito at tumalikod. Wala na itong sinabing kahit ano bagkus naglakad lang ito palayo.

I confirmed that he figured out we were not from here the moment he fished something out of his pocket: a phone. Mukhang natugunan ni Reigan ang gagawin ng doctor na 'yon kaya bago niya pa mailapat sa tenga ang telepono ay bumwelo si Reigan at hinampas ito sa ulo. I know he put extra force on it because of the loud splak it created when he hit the doctor's head. Shane was the first contestant to drag her feet out of her standpoint and half-run towards the lying doctor. We followed afterward.

"Is he dead?" inosente nitong tanong habang nakatitig sa maliit na butil ng dugo na namuo sa sintido nito.

Felicity squatted and reached the doctor's neck. "He still has a pulse"

"We need to bring him with us" umangat ang tingin namin kay Reigan. Saglit na nakabukas ang mask nito.

We all agreed to carry the unconscious doctor in our walk. Dalawa kami ni Shane ang nagtutulungang hilahin ang doktor. Hanggang sa nakarating kami sa harap ng red lasers.

"This must be the way" Coleen muttered. Sa gilid ng pader kung saan nakahilera ang mga red lasers sa iba't ibang direksyon ay may makipot na daan.

Coleen gestured her hand to follow her. Isa isa kaming pumasok sa masikip na espasyong 'yon. We're still dragging the doctor with us as we get ourselve in that narrow space. It's like we are the suspect and we have to hide his body, leaving no trace of the crime. Sa taas ay nakita ko ang ceiling vent na kapag binuksan 'yon ay makakapasok ka sa loob ng ventilation.

"Dyan ba tayo dadaan?" kunot noong tanong ni Fare na gaya nami'y nakatingala din sa taas.

"If this is the safe way Doc Sigmund claimed to be, then yes," Coleen answered indiscreetly.

I looked around, and there was no ladder or any medium we could use to get up there unless we had Spiderman's superpowers, which is impossible to happen. Reigan stepped in the middle. His height towered over us. Saglit nitong pinahawak sa akin ang rifle at tinaas ang dalawang kamay. Halos mahigit 1 foot din ang distansya ng mga kamay niya para maabot ang kisame. I guess we could now use his height. He pressed the button on the helmet to open it, lowering his gaze to us. "I guess I have to lift you one by one"

Unang binuhat ni Reigan si Fare. She's just a small figure at siya din ang sa tingin ko'y pinaka magaan sa amin. Nang maitaas si Fare ay agad niyang binuksan ang pinto. It create a little sound and we all hushed her because someone might hear us. Nang mabuksan ang pinto ay sunod si Shane. Coleen stepped a bit and called Caleb.

"Hey dude, where are you? We're already making our way to the experiment room"

I could hear it since I'm connected on the team's line.

"On my way. Mauna na kayo. I'll be there any minute"

"Good. Keep your lines open. Remember the red lasers"

"Copy"

I sighed in relief, knowing there was no conflict so far. Kaiden and Callista reported next, and they were still watching Mr. Barri. Coleen advised them not to make any move yet and to wait until we arrived at the experiment room. Sunod sunod na binuhat ni Reigan ang mga babae naming kasama hanggang sa ako na sumunod. I'm the last one he has to lift. Now for the ninth time, I'm thankful because I'm wearing a mask. I could hide my awkward face. I gulped when he held both sides of my waist. Nakabukas ang helmet ni Reigan kaya kita kita ko ang mga mata nitong nakapako sa akin. It shows no expression. I averted his gaze and played it cool despite our faces' closeness bothers me to the core.

He started to count. "1..2.." for the 3rd count he pulled a force and lifted me. Pagkataas niya sa akin ay kinuha nila Coleen at Felicity ang kamay ko.

"How about that guy?" Shane asked, peeking her eyes below.

"I'll lift him. We can't leave him here" sagot ni Reigan. Inabot niya muna sa amin ang baril saka ito bumaling sa doctor na walang malay. I heard him groan as he grabbed the doctor by the armpit, probably because of his weight. Binuhat niya ito na parang sako ng bigas at unang tinulak pataas ang mga paa nito. Kaming mga naunang nakaakyat dito sa taas ay pinagtulungang hilahin ang paa ng doctor hanggang sa tuluyan itong maitaas. As soon as the unconscious doctor's body get up here, Coleen shoved out a syringe from her pocket. That's the same syringe she used on the girl earlier.

"Let's extend his sleep" she muttered before injecting the tranquilizer on his neck. We pushed him to the farther side and probably left him there till he woke up.

Gumapang kami para umusog at bigyan ng espasyo si Reigan nang tumalon ito at kinapit ang dalawang kamay sa magkabilang dulo ng butas saka binuhat ang sarili. It only took him one jump to get up here. After all was settled we started to crawl like babies. We're inside of an air duct which the height was enough for us to fit in if we crawl like this. Sa pelikula ko lang napapanood ang ganitong stunt at hindi ko akalain na gagawin ko ito sa totoong buhay. You know when characters in the movie escaping and this is their safest way out.

"Argh! Why am I doing this?!" I heard Shane hissed.

"I think this is what being a superhero cost you. You do embarrassing things." Felicity may sound like ice, but I could feel the disgust in her voice.

There are small gaps on the surface where our hands are stamped on as we crawl forward. Halos mahigit ko ang hininga ko nang makita ang mga armadong naka black suit na naglalakad. They're like dozens, walking in chorus as if they're about to raid a place with that number. Reigan is crawling ahead of us, and as soon as he sees the guards between the gaps, he raises a finger, signaling us to stop moving. Napalunok ako ng laway kahit wala namang nakabara sa aking lalamunan. We stayed silent for a while. Our eyes pinned on the gaps, peeking at them. We waited until they vanished from our sight before we continued crawling again.

Minutes passed, and we reached another vent that I think was the entrance to the experiment room. Pumalibot kami sa vent na 'yon at sumilip sa butas. We can barely see anything. It's just a bluish surrounding. Nahagip namin ng tingin ang isang malaking capsule glass kung saan may lamang tubig at may kung anong nilalang sa loob. There's a little bubble in it, which we all know is part of their experiment. Binuksan ni Reigan ang vent na 'yon. The veins on his temple popped, indicating he was having a hard time opening it.

"Need help?" I offered.

Umiling lamang ito at buong pwersa hinila ang vent para mabuksan ito. Nang mabuksan ay nagpakawala ito ng malalim na paghinga. He eyed each one of us. "I'll go first"

We just gave him a nod as a response. Nilusot nito ang dalawang paa palabas at lumambitin sa magkabilang dulo. Tumingin ito sa baba para tansyahin ang taas. He jumped and balanced himself as his both feet landed on the floor. Tinaas nito ang dalawang kamay upang sensyasan kaming bumaba. Ang mga naunang umakyat kanina ay siya ring naunang bumaba.

Until we found ourselves pacing around the experiment room.

We once saw a hundred glass capsules, or maybe thousands of them, containing a human when we first rode in the elevator. It's not the ordinary elevator I'm talking about. Remember when they gathered us to the quadrangle before purging happened, and the ground moved down like an elevator? That's it. Habang bumababa ang lupa noong mga oras na 'yon ay nakita namin ang mga naka lab attire sa ganitong set up. The laboratory is under the ground. At ngayong nakatayo kami sa harap ng mga glass capsules, para kaming naistatwa sa kinatatayuan.

"Oh, my effing goodness!" Mahinang bulalas ni Shane. "Is this real?"

The people were inside of glass capsules. It's hard to distinguish if they're real human or they are the captives or experiment subjects. Para lamang silang mga taong natutulog sa loob ng tubig. May tube sa kanilang mga bibig na tila iyon ang sumusuporta sa buhay nila. Pare parehas ang mga suot nila. They're wearing normal clothes. Plain shirt and shorts. Sa likod nila'y madaming nakakabit na tube pati sa paa at kamay. It's like their whole body is being monitored. Bahagya akong lumapit sa isang lalaking subject. Kapansin pansin ang paggalaw ng magkabilang balikat at ulo nito. His head was moving indistinctly. It's like he's under the nightmare and he wants to wake up.

Ang mas pumukaw ng atensyon ko ay ang namumuong kaliskis sa kanyang balat. Like a skin of a reptile. And behind him was a long...tail.

"We have a problem" nagising lang ang aming mga diwa nang bigla naming marinig ang boses ni Chad sa kabilang linya. The way his tone approach us rushed a bad feeling towards my veins.

"What is it?" Coleen asked firmly.

Chad let out a heavy breath. "Alam na nila na may nakapasok na outsider sa loob ng tower"

The reaction was produced from us is quietness. We all went silent as if it's taking us a few seconds before what Chad said registered to us. Narinig ko ang mahinang pag-usal ng mura ng iba naming kasama. Umakyat ang panlalamig sa aking sistema kasabay ng malakas na kabog ng aking dibdib.

"Sana nakarating na kayo sa experiment room dahil hinahanap na nila kayo ngayon" dagdag ni Chad. He's connected to the team's line so everyone can hear him.

"Oh damn it. How did they find out?" Callista's voice on the other line.

"It's not about how they found out. We gotta move" Coleen snapped at us. "Do what you gotta do there. We'll do ours" bumaling ito sa aming apat. She clapped her hand to get our attention. "C'mon. Let's go"

Coleen remained calm despite the news. Tila kalkulado nito ang gagawin sa ganitong sitwasyon kaya hindi ito nagpapakita ng kahit anong kaba o pagkataranta. Bagay na hindi ko kayang gawin. Panic might take over me along. Nilabas ko ang notebook na naitago ko sa loob ng pandoble kong damit at binasa ito. Now we're exactly on the experiment room that Mr. Arellano telling us. Hinanap ko ang pahina kung saan makikita ang machine na kailangan namin sirain. As I'm reading, someone's hand snatched it from me.

"I'll look" umangat ang tingin ko kay Felicity. Ito siguro ang unang pagkakataon na hindi ko nahigit ang paghinga ko sa gulat dahil nakasuot ito ng pang normal na kasuotan.

"Guys," Caleb's voice appeared.

"Oh yeah, dude. How's your status there? Are you even alive?" Coleen inserted sarcasm.

"I am" he sounds he's catching his breath. "Nakarating na kay Hermione ang balita. She's summoning all of the guards to search the whole tower. Hindi muna ako susunod sainyo para mamatyagan ko sila at mabalitaan ko kayo agad"

"Yeah. That would be better. Thanks for the pressure you added" Coleen replied.

"What are we exactly looking for?" Reigan's deep voice piped in.

"A machine" I answered mindlessly while looking around and trying to get rid of my anxiousness that we might get failed since Hermione knew. "With a glass cage where something inside it"

"Like this?" Lahat kami'y napalingon kay Reigan. Nakatingala ito sa harap ng dalawang malaking glass capsule. Being in a bluish room surrounded by weird glass capsule cages is enough for me to get shivered. Lalo na noong lumapit ako sa tinutukoy ni Reigan. Lahat kami'y nakatingala sa glass capsule na tila nakalutang sa ere dahil sa maninipis na wire na nakakabit sa ilalim. Sa baba ng dalawang glass capsule na 'yon ay itong mahabang parisukat na sa tingin ko'y monitor dahil apat na tablet ang nakadikit pahiga dito. Now this is the hardest part.

"I guess this is where we gonna shut all the systems down" I muttered while my eyes locked on the creatures in front of us. I can barely recognize them as a human. There are two people inside the glass capsule. They seem to be sleeping with their eyes open. One has big eyes with a small head. Their mouth does not even look like humans. The other one is a girl. Mahaba ang tenga nito na patulis. Ang ibang bahagi ng balat nito ay may kaliskis. Gaya ng lalaki sa glass capsule na nakita ko kanina.

"It's not even immortality. They're creating a monster," Fare gasped.

"It's a reptile and human fusion. I once saw this before. Never thought they would go this far" Felicity said as she stepped forward to the computers. Sunod na lumapit doon si Coleen. Hawak ni Felicity ang notebook at nilapag niya 'yon sa kanilang harapan. They started to tap the screen of the tablet, and there's a hologram in green light appeared. Nagpabalik balik ang tingin ni Coleen sa notebook at sa hologram screen. May pinindot itong kung ano sa tablet screen at may lumitaw na kulay pulang bar.

We watched as the bar's percent increases. Nang mapuno ito ay nagulat nalang kami nang gumalaw ang kaninang nakatilang mga tao sa loob ng glass capsule. Their whole body is shaking as if they're having seizures.

"These subjects are the special ones and you need to shut down their lifeline before you proceed to other test subjects..." Basa ni Felicity sa notebook. Even their glass capsule cages are shaking as if, at any moment, it would break.

"What's happening?" bakas ang panginginig sa boses ni Shane.

"It's shutting down" mahinang sagot ni Coleen.

Our eyes were pinned at them. As their bodies keep trembling, ang sumunod na nakakagulat na nangyari ay bigla nalang silang sumabog sa loob ng glass capsule.

*********

Thanks for reading!