-Alexi-

ONCE upon a time, Mr. Arellano lost his license as a doctor because of failed heart surgery. He knows to himself that he did his best to save his patient but it didn't go well. He was blamed by the father of his patient, who happened to have a big position in politics. They used their power to get him kicked out of the hospital he was working with and made sure he'd be banned from all of the hospitals in the country. His license was removed, so all of the years he studied were in vain. Hanggang sa may nag-offer sa kanya ng trabaho. Isa sa mga tauhan ng Sonkan. They gave him hope and hired him as a school clinic.

At that time, Sonkan's existence was only ten years.

"Ang akala ko ay isa lamang na normal na paaralan ang Sonkan ngunit may kakaiba silang pagkahumaling sa siyensya" Mr. Arellano continued. I made sure that I'm writing all of the important details he was telling to me.

"Kinatagalan ay nadiskubre ko ang kasamaang ginagawa nila. They kill a lot of people for the sake of science. I'm grieving every night because of regret. Kung sana'y hindi ako nagpagamit ay baka hindi lalawak ang kanilang pag-eeksperimento"

"Ano po bang ginawa nila sainyo?"

"They want to achieve immortality so they pushed me to study the cloning. Ang mga pinapatay nilang estudyante dito ay nananatiling buhay sa labas"

I was stiffened for a moment. It wasn't the first time since I heard a shocking revelation about Sonkan but the feeling of intense is still the same. Nagpatuloy ang pagsasalaysay ni doc Arellano. Karamihan sa eksperimento ng Sonkan ay sa kanya galing. Gaya ng paghahalo ng genes ng hayop sa teknolohiya para makontrol ito. Sonkan is not only fond of science but also technology. No wonder why they were able to make a city underground. Hanggang sa makilala ni doc Arellano ang kauna unahang kingpin ng The Mobsters. He was the right-hand back then.

Gangsters have a different world compared with the students. School governments are not allowed to interfere with gang rules. That explains why they're untouchable. But they have a retirement age. The rules are only applicable as long as they're students in Sonkan. Once they reach 30, they'll have a designated place to live.

I remember Felicity also once told me that. People who reach 30 will locked up, and their lives will be played as well.

"Is this the place you designated to live in, sir?" I interrupted.

Ngumiti lamang ito. Bakas ang lungkot sa kanyang mga mata. "Komportable pa itong tinatapakan ko ngayon. May pakinabang pa ako sa Sonkan kaya hindi pa ako nakukulong. Kailangan pa nila ako sa mga bago nilang eksperimento"

"Someone told me that as well. If you reached 30 they will lock you up somewhere. May ideya po ba kayo kung saan sila nakakulong ngayon?"

"Sa ngayon masyadong delikado para sa'yo para sabihin ko ang lugar na 'yon, hija. Magulo sa lugar na 'yon. Pumupunta lang ako doon kapag may mga tagabantay na sugatan at kailangan gamutin"

I looked back at my notebook and continued writing. As I finished the following paragraph. I asked a question. "Alam nyo po ba ang tungkol sa blueprint ng Sonkan. There was a young man who discovered a blueprint 7 years ago and they say, that's the key to escape Sonkan. Gusto po naming tumakas sa lugar na to'. Gusto ko po sanang malaman kung nag-eexist padin ang blueprint na 'yon"

"I'm familiar with that" sagot ni Mr. Arellano. "It was made by Engr. Charles Sonkan"

"Charles Sonkan?" My forehead creased. I was puzzled by his last name.

"Yes. Twin brother of Charlie Sonkan. The school director or the person you called dean"

I blinked my eyes processing the information I just got now. Kung hindi ako nakaupo ngayon ay matutumba ako.

"So this school was named after the Sonkan brothers? Are they the owner of this school?"

Tumango si Mr. Arellano. "Charlie is only the owner. Charles is just the engineer of this school"

"Where's Charles now? Nasa kanya ba ang blueprint?"

Saglit na humigop ng kape si Mr. Arellano bago sumagot. His coffee is probably cold now, but his narrative is colder. "He's dead years ago. His death was the beginning of Charlie's evil deeds. The blueprint is still existing but it is kept in a secret place. Hindi pwedeng mawala ang blueprint na 'yon dahil isa 'yon ang pundasyon ng Sonkan. If you're going to find it, I discourage you to do so. It was hidden in a secured place and you'll just end up dead before you even find it"

No wonder kung bakit gano'n nalang nila kadaling pinatay ang taong nakadiskubre ng bagay na 'yon. Gano'n pala ka importante ang blue print.

"I haven't seen the dean nor the other students here. They only see him in computers. Where is he?" I asked again.

"He's too old to wander around. You will never see him in person. He doesn't show himself to people. He's just staying in the shadows, watching everyone die"

Nagkaroon ng saglit na katahimikan sa silid na ito. I'm extracting some courage to ask the questions that were compiled to my mind, hoping I can stay calm and sane. "How to escape here, sir?"

Lumipat ang tingin sa akin ni Mr. Arellano suot ang seryoso nitong mukha. "Para kang nagtanong sa akin kung paano maglakad sa ibabaw ng tubig nang hindi lumulubog"

His tone of voice tells me I just asked an impossible question. I sighed helplessly.

"Is there a way, sir?" I still pushed it even though I heard the answer.

"The chances are very low. If you're planning to stand against Sonkan then be ready for the people that might die on the way"

"But still, is there a chance we can get out of here?" Halos pabulong kong tanong.

He leaned his back on the chair and looked outside the window. "Paparating na ang mga tagabantay na magsusundo sa akin para papuntahin ako sa laboratoryo. Balikan mo ako sa ikalimang araw sa susunod na linggo. Sasabihin ko sa'yo ang ilang posibleng paraan upang makaalis dito" tumingin ito sa wall clock. "Ngunit huwag kang aasang magtatagumpay ang mga paraang 'yon ng isandaang porsyento. Maliit lamang ang tsansa. Binabalaan na kita"

My heart starts beating fast in delight because of what I heard. Like a torch whose fire is about to die but was lightened up. It was hope I'd just cling on even on the slightest possibility.

"Yes, sir. Salamat. Tatanawin ko 'yang malaking utang na loob" sambit ko ng may galak sa aking boses. Maya maya'y tumingin ito sa akin at may sinenyas itong direksyon.

"Magtago ka. Nandyan na sila"

Within a few minutes and I'm just here, fitting myself inside the small cabinet to hide. May mga dumating na armadong lalaki. Nakasuit silang lahat at nakashades. Sinundo nila si Mr. Arellano. Nakakatakot silang tingnan dahil sa mga baril nilang dala. I was covering my mouth trying not to make any noise. Pinakasandal ko ang lingkod ko sa pinakasulok para hindi matamaan ng liwanag na tumatagos sa butas ng cabinet. I'm just hiding here for a few minutes but I feel like I'm stucked here for days.

Mariin na lamang akong napapikit kasabay ng panlalamig ng aking kamay nang marinig ko ang isang guwardiya na nagsalita.

"Whose notebook is this?"

I pursed my lips and took a peek from the small gaps of cabinet to see what's happening. Naloko na. Naiwan ko sa sofa na inupuan ko ang notebook. I want to slap myself for being reckless. Napatingin doon si Mr. Arellano. Hindi niya pinahalata ang pagkagulat sa kanyang mukha bagkus ay kinuha lamang niya ito sa kamay ng guwardiya.

"It's just notes for lab experiments"

Saglit na tiningnan ng guwardiya ng diretso sa mata so Doc Arellano na tila sinusuri kung may bahid ng pagsisinungaling sa kanyang sinasabi. Bumaba ang tingin nito sa notebook.

"Let me take a look then." The guard stretched his hand to reach for the notebook, but Mr. Arellano placed it behind his back. I gulped and held my breath. That guard seems smart.

"It's confidential" walang emosyong sagot ni Mr. Arellano. Good thing he's good at playing calm.

Maya maya'y nagbukas ang sliding door at dumating ang isa pang naka formal suit na guard. "Naghihintay na po sa labas si Ms. Hermione"

My teeth gritted upon hearing that witch's name. I suddenly remember her face on a big screen when she announced about the purging. Her evil laugh echoed on my head. Mukhang naalarma naman ang mapang-intrigang guard nang marinig ang pangalan ni Hermione. Maya maya'y lumabas na silang lahat sa clinic. Nakapalibot silang lahat kay Mr. Arellano. I took a deep sigh in relief. Ilang minuto muna akong nanatili sa loob ng cabinet bago lumabas. I took the notebook that Mr. Arellano secretly placed on the table.

Paglabas ko ng clinic office ay hinanap ko ng tingin si Coleen. Maya'y sumitsit ito at nakita kong nagtatago siya likod hollowblocks. Patakbo akong lumapit sa kanya.

"How was it? Have you seen the guards earlier? Did they catch you?" Sunod sunod na tanong ni Coleen.

"No. They're not. I'm hiding"

Her thin lips stretched into a flat smile, and she held my wrist. "Tara na. Baka may dumating pang ibang guards"

______

"So he's a Mob?"

We headed back towards our dorm like a burglar who just got home to talk about the agenda we had earlier. I handed her the notebook so she could read the information I wrote there instead of narrating it myself. Tumango ako sa tanong ni Coleen.

"We need to get back to him next week. On the 5th day. Sa tingin ko'y marami siyang nalalaman. He's going to tell us the ways to get out of here" sumilay ang maliit na ngiti sa aking labi at tumingin sa kawalan. "May pag-asa na tayo Coleen"

Nakatutok ang mata ni Coleen sa notebook at isa isang binubuklat ang pahina. "I didn't know gangs could be passed generation to generation. Why my brother never told me that?" She murmured.

"Yes, it is. Callista once told me that. Al Capone is not the founder of The Mobsters"

Patuloy lamang na nagbabasa si Coleen. Para siyang professor na binubusisi ang assignment ng kanyang estudyante dahil tutok na tutok ang kanyang atensyon doon. "Is he the one who told you to write these things down?"

I nodded. "Yes. He doesn't want me to record our conversation. There must be a reason why but I didn't ask"

Marahang tumango tango si Coleen. "Good move. He's smart. He knows recordings to any device might get tracked by Dean--oh wait," she paused for a second and lifted her gaze at me. "Charlie Sonkan? Is that the name of Dean?"

"Yes" sagot ko at lumapit sa sofa para umupo doon. I sat across Coleen. "Let's keep that information for now. We will discuss it with the group once it's completed"

Umangat ang tingin sa akin ni Coleen. "Pwede naman natin siyang balikan ngayong linggo. Why next week? There's even a specific day"

Maya maya'y may narinig kaming katok sa pintuan dahilan kaya naantala ang aming diskusyon. Nagkatinginan kami ng Coleen, iniisip kung sino ang maaaring bumisita sa dorm namin. Coleen volunteered to open the door. "Ako na"

Coleen stood up and walked towards the door. As she opened it, I stood up as well to peek at the door to see who it was.

"Fare?" sabay naming sambit ni Coleen.

She's smiling ear to ear and seems excited about what she's going to tell us.

"Chad has a new invention"

We always gathered secretly whenever we had meetings or something needed to be addressed. Our recent meet-up didn't go well because Mobs got attacked. They're in the process of recovering. But something came up so here we are, seeing each other's face again. We're here at Felicity's place. Her secret cabin.

"Kung hindi nyo naitatanong, Chad has a crazy obsession with computers" panimula ni Fare. Nasa harap silang dalawa na tila estudyanteng magkapartner sa report.

I didn't know Chad that much. He rarely talks. Maybe he doesn't know how to express himself that much so he's quiet most of the time. Or maybe he's still also coping with the pain after he lost his friends.

"His old laptop broke so kuya Al Capone lend him one" dumako ang tingin ni Fare kay Al Capone. Silang dalawa lang ni Callista ang nandito.

"Kaiden's not here by the way. Binabantayan niya ang iba naming co-Mobs" Callista announced when we looked at them.

Al Capone just nodded to Fare to acknowledge her crediting to him.

"And when this group started..." Fare continued. "Chad has been working with his invention"

Bahagyang ngumiti sa amin si Chad at sumenyas kay Fare sa pamamagitan ng pagtango. Kinuha ni Fare ang maliit na earpiece sa bulsa at nilagay ito sa kanyang tenga. There is a small speaker placed above the table. Propably used para marinig namin ang kung anumang ipepresenta nila. Chad turned his attention back to the laptop. Something played on the speaker. It was Shane's voice.

"Naiirita na ako ah. Matagal pa ba to?"

Ngumiti sa amin si Fare. "You heard that?"

"Yes. Just stay there a little longer. Can you hear me?"

"Argh! Yes. Your voice is clear. Nangangawit na ako dito. Pakibilisan"

"They're talking through earpiece" Felicity commented.

"Yes! We are" Fare answered cheerfully. "Since we don't have internet here and we don't load our sim cards, there's no medium of communication to the far people, right?"

I unconsciously nodded as my eyes narrowed while observing what they were going to do next. Our phones have been useless since then. We can't connect to the data and there's no Wi-Fi here. If we're going to search for something, we have to go to the library. We can't also call or send a text message. Our group just communicated through letters. They cut us from connecting to the outside world.

"This device allowed us to communicate the person to the far places like a wireless earphone. It doesn't need internet or load. It's like a walkie talkie but it has no radius limit" paliwanag ni Fare. "Shane is on the rooftop of the engineering department yet we can still hear each other clear and loud"

The engineering building is one of the farthest school buildings here in Sonkan.

"Cool" rinig kong bulong ni Coleen.

"How's that working? Like a phone, for you to call someone, you'll need to dial a number. How about that device?" Tanong ni Callista.

Ilang segundong natahimik si Fare. Umangat ang tingin sa amin ni Chad at siya ang sumalo ng tanong ni Callista. "About that, I'm still developing it" kinuha ni Chad ang earpiece na nakalapag sa mesa at pinakita sa amin. He jerked his finger to the two button of the earpiece "Just press this button to turn it on and this button to make a call. Say "paging" and the name you want to call among the Usquad members then the device will vibrate sending a signal to the person you want to connect with"

"That's brilliant," I remarked with a slow nod "It would help us in the future if someone is in danger"

"Yes, it is!" Fare seconded delightfully.

"Hindi ba mata-track ng school director ang device na 'yan?" Tanong ni Coleen. Nagkatinginan kaming lahat. Having the same question in our minds since we all knew, Sonkan is all about Science and technology.

"No" Chad answered proudly. "I blocked it. The reason why all of our network is blocked is because of the frequency that Sonkan created. That frequency was hindering us from having signals or an internet connection. I found a way to block it so even if they trace this device, they wouldn't be able to detect the signal that the device is producing"

"Seems we got a genius here." I darted a glance at Felicity, who was smirking.

The meeting took an hour or so before it dismissed. May ilang bagay lang kaming pinag-usapan gaya ng update sa kanya kanya naming task. I just reminded them to continue what they're doing and give us a heads-up if they find something important. Nasa kalagitnaan pa kami ng diskusyon nang maunang magpaalam si Al Capone.

"I'll go ahead. May aasikasuhin lang" paalam nito. Sumunod din si Callista sa kanya.

"Bye, for now, guys. See you around"

I looked at Al Capone and I saw him staring at me but he immediately averted his gaze. Bigla kong naalala ang sagutan namin ilang araw na ang nakakalipas. Galit kaya siya sa akin?

"So guys, tatlong device palang ang nagagawa ni Chad" sambit ni Fare. "Gagawa pa siya para sa ibang Usquad members"

I nodded. "It's okay" bumaling ako kay Chad. "Just take your time. Aralin mo muna ang mga bagay na dapat aralin. Malaking tulong para sa atin ang imbensyon mo"

Chad's lips stretched a bit to form a smile.

We found ourselves walking in the wide open area of Sonkan heading back to our dorm. Kumagat na ang dilim kaya madaming post light na ang nakabukas. Kung pagmamasdan ay napalaki ng Sonkan. Payapa at parang isang normal lang na unibersidad. Kasama ko si Coleen. As usual, tahimik lang ito. Napatigil ako sa paglalakad nang maramdaman kong hindi na kami magkapantay ng lakad. I looked to her over my shoulder and noticed she's just standing there. Taka ko itong tiningnan.

"I'll just smoke somewhere" she excused herself. Sinundan ko lang ito ng tingin at pinagmasdan ang papalayo nitong pigura. My heart ached a bit. I didn't say a word, but she knew I get hurt whenever I see her smoking, so she'd go somewhere, lighting a cigarette.

Today is Joan's birthday. She must be reminiscing about her, and it tortures her heart.

Imbis na dumiretso sa dorm ay napagdesisyunan kong maglakad lakad nalang. Today is not Friday but doesn't mean it's safe to walk around it's just that, I want to feel the ambiance of the night. Dinala ako ng mga paa ko sa tahimik na parte ng Sonkan. Mahaba itong daan kung saan may mga puno sa magkabilang gilid. May mga post light naman kaya hindi gano'n kadilim. Parang cherry blossom ang mga puno dahil pink ang nalalaglagang dahon. I looked it closely and realized, it was bogambillia.

Nakahilera ang mga puno at maayos na nakatrim. Hindi ko alam na may ganitong parte pala dito sa Sonkan. I walked slowly, feeling the breeze that kissing my skin. If someone will attack me, this is the perfect spot. I'm defenseless but I don't mind. Gusto ko lang na payapang makapag lakad lakad.

"Walking alone at this hour is dangerous, Alexi"

My next step turned into a halt as I heard a familiar voice. I slowly turned around to look who it was. Within a few meters of me, I saw him standing. Looking at me with those dark pair of orbs. His few strands of hair were blown by the air. Tinapon nito ang sigarilyong nakasipit sa bibig kahit hindi pa ito nauubos saka nagbuga ng usok. The smoke he blew was carried by the wind.

"That's the first time I heard you saying my name"

*********

Thanks for reading!