omgg malapit na tayo mag wanhandred

-chapter ninety-one-

FINN

"E assumero ka pala eh!"

Unang bumungad sa'min ang boses ni Eura bago ang mukha. She looks scary. Pinandidilatan niya ang lalaking parang tatakbo na sa takot. To my surprise, I found Gavin beside her, sporting a blank face.

"Now, that's an odd pair." komento ni Wes sa tabi ko. "But they look perfect too."

Siguro. Gavin is very stubborn, so he's good with someone who can fight that stubbornness.

"You're in our territory-" nanginginig na sagot ng lalaking kaaway ni Eura.

"E malay ko ba na territory niyo pala 'to? Ba't mo naman ako binigla? Paano pala kung may sakit ako sa puso? E'di na cardiac arrest na 'ko bago mo napalayas. Parang birthday party ko tapos pasurprise-surprise ka pa! Dadaan lang naman kami-"

"Kasi liliko sana kayo dito, e nautusan akong huwag magpapasok-"

"E'di lagyan niyo ng 'no entry' sign!" Eura argued.

"E wala namang gano'n dito sa game!" naiiyak na ang lalaki.

Sasagot na sana si Eura pero tinakpan ni Gavin ang bibig niya. He smiled apologetically at the guy. "Huwag mo nang pansinin 'to. Sorry, we're not here to fight."

"Are they dumb? The territory war is happening and they're apologizing to each other. Scouts are common here." Wes voiced out his thoughts.

"Mm. They scout, not fight."

Nang hindi siya lumaban sa sinabi ko ay ibinalik ko ang tingin sa tatlong magkaka-usap. Like Wes had offered, we just walked around the city for almost an hour. Sa madidilim na alleys kami dumaan para hindi makita ng iba. And that's when we barged into an argument, confidently started by Eura.

They're probably scouting the Blood Vanguard's territory, kung nasaan kami ngayon. Teritoryo nina Wes ang pinag-uusapan, but the strategist of the said alliance looked unproblematic. Parang hindi niya lang nakita na may nags-spy sa teritoryo nila. He's such a bad member to an alliance. Buti naman at 'di ko siya ka-alyansa.

"Aalis na kami!" Eura declared with a flip of her hair. "Huwag na huwag mong sabihin ang nangyaring 'to sa maldita mong lider, okay? Wala akong pake sa loyalty mo, pero 'pag nag-away ang dalawang grupo, ikaw talaga tatargetin ko."

The man, whose distress stopped, regarded Eura with an uninterested expression. Nakasulat sa mukha niya ang 'talaga? okay, e'di umalis ka na'.

"Kita mo 'tong kasama ko?" tinuro ni Eura ang tahimik na Gavin. "Kita mo 'tong muscle niya?" she poked Gavin's arm. "Isang suntok ka lang nito, punta ka na sa next city."

"E'di sanaol shortcut-"

Agad na tumakbo pabalik sa teritoryo nila ang lalaki nang akmain siyang i-tosta ni Eura gamit ang flamethrower. She heavily sighed when he disappeared, rolling her eyes after. Nginisian niya si Gavin na pailing-iling lang.

"Katakot ako 'no?"

"Nakakainis." he corrected. "Sa tingin mo anong nangyari do'n sa Death Crows? Nangyari ba ang plano ni Kairo?"

"Sige tanungin mo 'ko kasi nando'n ako." Eura sarcastically answered, earning a tired look from the other. "Joke, aba siyempre nangyari 'yon. Kita mo 'yang ranking at wala na ang Death Crows, kasi boom, wala na si June. Eleven na lang months natin sa calendar at hindi masusukat ang saya ko ngayon."

Gavin hummed. "Finn must be very sad and lonely right now."

Natigilan ako sa sinabi ni Gavin. I also felt Wes eyes land on me. Of course, leave it to him to always guess what I'm feeling. Mula noong bata pa lang kami, alam na niya ang mga moods ko. After all, he was the one who offered friendship at my loneliest point.

Kumunot ang noo ni Eura. "Bakit naman? June has done nothing but problems for her. There's nothing to be sad about her death-"

"They were friends." Gavin answered. "And Finn still treats her as a friend, kahit na matagal na nilang pinutol ang koneksiyon sa isa't-isa. 'Tsaka, alam mo naman si Finn. She values everything she has or had."

"Ba't ba sobrang bait ni Finn at kinaibigan niya pa ang babaeng 'yon?"

I guess that's what most people see now that the truth has come out. Pero ang mayro'n lang sila ay impormasyon at kuwento, they didn't feel what I did. They didn't see June at her best. They weren't with her at the golden days of her life. They didn't know that I wasn't the one who initiated the friendship and that I wasn't the only one who tolerated.

"Ano na naman ang chini-chismis mo dito, Eura? Napakabilis mo talagang makilala. Hanapin lang kung saang parte ng city na 'to ang pinakamaingay."

Wes dragged me closer to him when Kairo appeared. Mas natatago tuloy kami ng dilim, at hindi ko alam kung bakit nga ba nandito kami. They're not exactly enemies so we didn't need to hide.

Tinapik ko ang kamay niya. When I looked up to meet his eyes, he was already staring at me.

"Bitaw." I mouthed.

He gave a slow shake of his head and gestured at Kairo who was now lecturing Eura about her voice. Obvious naman na hindi siya pinapakinggan ng babae.

I tilted my head, in a silent question of why. Wes shifted and leaned closer, crouching so that he can whisper next to my ear.

"Time isn't up yet."

I blinked, realizing just how tall he was now. My eye leveled his shoulder and his body seemed like a wall. He's probably the tallest person I've met, kasi mas mataas pa siya kay Gavin, na isang atleta.

"Time?" tanong ko.

Anong time ba ang ibig niyang sabihin? Gusto niya bang gumala-gala lang sa city na 'to buong magdamag? Wes seemed responsible, but he's very lazy. Look at him ignoring his alliance duties.

I waited for him to answer, but Kairo's nearing voice took my attention.

"Sinong nandiyan?"

Kairo appeared just as I stepped away from Wes. His eyes narrowed at the both of us, gaze falling at Wes' hand on my wrist. Feeling uneasy at the expression on his face, sinubukan kong bawiin ang kamay pero hinigpitan lang ni Wes ang kapit dito. His expression wasn't as blank as before, too, and instead had a sharp edge.

Kairo and Wes' intense eye contact has returned. And I felt awkward at this encounter. Parang dapat wala ako dito.

"Anong sinong nandiyan pinagsasabi mo, Kairo? Siyempre, wala. Nagsimula na naman ba ang third-eye mo, o thir-ear ba kasi may narinig ka-" nauna naman ulit boses ni Eura bago ang sarili. When her eyes landed on us, she shrieked. "Oh my gosh, Finn! My baby! Hi! I missed you!"

Tumakbo siya't tinulak si Kairo sa gilid. That broke the tension that formed between the two, and Eura's body collided with mine. Her arms flew to hold me in a hug, and I awkwardly placed my hands on her back.

"Buti naman at wala na ang self-proclaimed bestfriend mo dito at baka masuntok ko ang kabaklaan no'n sa katawan- pero, first of all, I miss you, Finn! Okay ka lang ba? May nangyari bang masama sa'yo? Tingin mo ba may dapat akong sunugin? Sabihin mo lang!"

Ngumiti ako sa kaniya at umiling. "'m fine."

"That's good!" she exclaimed before engulfing me in a hug again.

This time, nagulat ako dahil parang bumigat na si Eura. Nang inangat ko ang tingin ay nakita kong niyayakap na din kami ni Gavin.

"Wait-wait, hoy, bumitaw ka nga!" reklamo niya at tinulak si Gavin palayo. "Hindi ka part ng hug!"

"Bakit naman? Ako naman talaga bestfriend ni Finn, ah. Ikaw 'yong self-proclaimed lang."

Eura blinked once. Twice. "W-Well, hindi ka babae so hindi ka pwedeng sumama sa sister hug namin!"

Her statement made me go still. Kahit si Gavin ay natigilan nang marinig iyon. The familiar, sweet smile of a blonde-haired girl appeared in my memory, and her unclear death resurfaced. Hanggang ngayon, hindi ko pa rin alam kung anong nangyari at bakit ako ang tinuturo nilang pumatay kay Renée.

"Anong nangyari sa inyong dalawa? Okay lang ba kayo?" Eura asked, apprehensive.

"Oo." Gavin nodded and zeroed his eyes on me. "Finn, mag-usap muna tayo."

I nodded. Hinatak ako ni Gavin pagilid, creating a safe distance from the three. Hindi naman kami masyadong malayo pero nanatili sa'min ang titig ng tatlo. It's not like we're going to run away. Iba-iba naman ang alyansa namin ni Gavin.

He sighed, making me focus on him. "Parang ang tagal na nating hindi nagkausap, Finn. Kahit na nasa iisang game lang tayo."

Tumango ako. I've been so preoccupied with a lot of things that I haven't talked with Gavin for a long time. 'Tsaka hindi ko rin siya laging nakikita. Which is weird because I always see Kairo.

"Kamusta ka na, Lily?" he said in the softest voice I've ever heard.

I pursed my lips, giving him a small glare. "You never call me Lily."

Naalala ko tuloy si Sebastian, who I haven't seen since the last city. Hindi ko pa rin siya nakakausap kaya hindi ko alam kung anong iniisip niya.

"Well, at least nawala ang sad face mo." kinurot ni Gavin ang pisngi ko, making me scrunch my nose in complaint. "Hindi ka na nga laging ngumingiti, malungkot ka pa. Are you really looking for people to adopt you?"

Kumunot ang noo ko sa sinabi niya. Adopt? Bakit naman ako ia-adopt? I'm not a child nor a pet.

"I live with Tita Layla." sagot ko.

"Oo, pero hindi sa gano'n sense. I mean sa game na 'to, baka bigla ka na lang gawing anak ng mga tao."

I tilted my head, more confused than ever. "Adoption cannot happen in games?"

"Hindi- I mean, you know, Finn. Baka sa sobrang cute mo, ibulsa ka nila."

I blinked at Gavin. Dahil ba sa pagsama niya kay Eura, nawawala na ang common sense niya?

"I won't fit."

"Hindi naman literal 'yon-" hinilamos niya ang palad sa mukha. "Basta huwag ka masyadong magpakacute dahil baka makidnap ka- oo, tama, kidnap ang tamang word. May mga nakakatakot na tao pa naman dito."

Well, if they kidnap me, I'll just fight my way out. I think I can handle most of the players in here.

"Gavin." tawag ko sa kaniya para maiba na ang pinag-uusapan namin. "What happened to Ree?"

"Hindi ko rin alam. Wala akong malay no'n kaya hindi ko nakita kung anong nangyari. But... I don't believe that you killed Ree, Finn. At huwag mo rin 'yon paniwalaan."

I hesitated over that. Ilan na sila ang nagsabi sa'kin niyan, clearing off some doubts in my heart. But those who witnessed have always said a word that hit me - I went berserk. I got blinded by my powers and attacked everyone, without thinking of consequences. Kaya hindi ko nga magagawa ang bagay na 'yon, pero paano kung wala akong kontrol sa katawan ko?

"Finn, ano iniisip mo?" Gavin's voice shook me out of my thoughts.

Umiling ako. "Went berser-"

"Kahit ano pa 'yan, hindi mo 'yon magagawa. And I don't think you ever went berserk. Hindi ako pamilyar sa mga laro-laro na 'to, pero naobserbahan kong hindi pwede maover-use ang power ng isang player. When their energies and power are maximized, but they still have the mind to fight, their bodies just shuts down."

Nawawalan ng malay.

And that's what I mostly remembered. Even though my memory is all blurry, naalala kong naikulong ko si Renée sa isang magic shield. Which means all attacks, even mine, would be deflected and she will never be harmed.

So kung hindi gano'n, ano ang nangyari? June and Marcella couldn't have been the killers. Dahil sasabihin na nila sa'kin kung sila nga. June, in order to show off that another one of my friends died, and Marcella to assert her dominance.

"Finn, nakita mo ba si Sebastian?"

Naalarma ako sa tanong ni Gavin. His eyes held the same panic as me. My heart started racing, counting all the possibilities of his question.

Dahan-dahan akong umiling. Gavin's lips pressed on a flat line, as he hesitated over telling me something. I waited, not a bit nervous that he would lie. Because between Gavin and me, we never hold secrets. We just deprive each other of some information.

"He's missing. Nakalimutan ko kung sino ang nagsabi no'n, pero kagrupo din siya ni Baste. Hindi na daw nila ito nakita mula sa last city."

I gulped down the dread in my throat, erasing all the possible outcomes of a missing player. "In the last city..."

"He survived." Gavin confirmed. "Kasama nga siya nina Marcella na makapasok dito. Pero sa buong laro natin sa city na 'to, Sebastian hasn't shown himself. Kanina pa kami paikot-ikot ni Eura para hanapin siya, pero wala kaming nakita."

Wes and I have been walking around too but I never saw him, nor detected his presence. June cannot be holding him in captive too, because all her territories were stolen but there were no signs of captors. And now, her alliance is on shambles after losing their leader.

So either it's the work of his own alliance or someone else is responsible for his disappearance.

-chapter end-