ERROR

Ay.

Babalik na sana ako kay Kuya nang biglang nag-glitch ang paligid. I rolled my eyes. Epal naman, kahit ako hindi makagalaw! Palpak! Kainis!

Napasulyap ako sa wristwatch ko, nag-beep 'yon at may robot na namang nagsasalita sa utak ko.

"An Error has occured in the Orphic System."

Ngi! Nag-glitch na naman ang paligid at dahan-dahan din 'yong nag-transform sa ibang kapaligiran. It became our home. Huh? Bakit naman biglang dito panaginip ko?

First of all, how does this dream work? S'an nila kinukuha ang mga nangyayari? Is it connected with our brain. Nababasa ba nila isip ko? Omo!

"Four?" tawag sa'kin ni Kuya. Napalingon naman ako sa bandang kitchen. My eyes narrowed. Is this a memory, or a dream?

Lagi kasi siya ang nagluluto. Aba, kahit bulag si Kuya, masarap s'yang magluto! "Can you check our mails?" tanong niya.

I nodded and went out of the house. Pumunta ako sa mailbox, at tiningnan ang mailbox namin. I saw a piece of paper, but no mails or envelopes. Napataas-kilay ako habang kinukuha ang papel.

Never trust. Never believe.

Napasinghap ako nang bigla na namang mag-iba ang paligid. Bubbles came out from my mouth, as I tried to breathe underwater. I struggled swimming up, and I realized something was pulling me down— like a vine.

Hindi naman 'to totoo 'di ba? Hindi naman ako mamamatay dito 'di ba? Kapag ako namatay dito, lagot sila sa'kin! Dadalawin ko sila sa mga bangungot nila!

Naramdaman ko na namang nag-glitch ang paligid, at nakahinga na ako nang maayos. This time, it was a place very unfamiliar to me. There were glowing orbs around the place. Their color were different from each other.

Orbs are energy balls that contain power or spirit. If I am not mistaken. Kuya made an orb using his power before.

"Four," napalingon na naman ako nang marinig ang boses ni Kuya.  I looked around and then the orbs surrounded him.

"The future is in our hands, Four. The future of Peculiars," he said.

He walked towards me and numerous orbs encircled us. "Anong pinagsasabi mo, Nine?" tanong ko naman.

"Remember what I told you. Never trust. Never believe. Sa'kin ka maniwala, Four," paalala niya.

I scoffed, "Of course sa'yo ako maniniwala!"

He smiled a bit, and gave me a pat on my head. His hand carressed my hair until it rested on my shoulder.

"I believe in you, Four."

"Ha? Bakit? Pinagsasabi mo?" Kailan ba siya hindi naniwala sa'kin?

Bahagyang humigpit ang hawak niya sa balikat ko. He pulled me close for a hug, and he tapped my back. "Because I know you, Four. You are my sister. Once you discover the Orphic Secret, you will surely find a way."

Orphic Secret? tanong ko naman sa sarili ko. Ano ba 'to? Panaginip lang ba lahat ng 'to? S'an ba 'to nanggagaling? Sa imagination ko? Pero bakit naman ako mag-iimagine ng ganiyang bagay, gosh!

"Hindi kita gets, Nine. Sana ayos ka lang," ani ko. Tinapik ko na rin ang likod niya. His back vibrated while laughing.

Humiwalay naman siya sa yakap, at nakangiti pa rin ang kaniyang labi. In real life, gan'yan talaga si Kuya Nine. Pero kahit dito, kuhang-kuha! Wow!

"Goodbye for now, Four," pagpapaalam niya. "We will meet again when I know that you are ready. By then, I hope you still have faith one me."

"Of cou—" hindi pa ako natatapos magsalita ay bigla akong naghabol hininga na tila nagising sa isang masamang panaginip.

Napakurap-kurap ako at napagtanto kong nagising na ako. The hourglass was open and the three surrounded me.

"Are you okay, Exiquel?" nag-aalalang tanong ni Lein sa'kin. Napansin ko rin ang pag-aalala sa mukha ni Kaiden at Nicolas.

"Okay naman, bakit?"

I looked at their hands, and I shrieked when I saw a syringe with a big needle in Nicolas' hand. Napaatras ako sa kaniya, at napakapit ako ng mahigpit kay Lein at Kaiden.

"Ano 'yan?! Bakit may gan'yan?!" halos histerikal kong tanong.

Lein sighed, "Hindi ka namin nagising kanina. There was an error with the system, at ang nakuha lang naming data sa'yo ay 'yong una, kung s'an tumakas ka. At ang isa pa ay nalulunod ka pero mabilis ding nawala 'yon."

Napataas ang kilay ko. Hindi ba nila nakita 'yong part na may orbs at may sulat?

Never trust, para namang umulit sa utak ko ang sinabi ni kuya sa utak ko. My eyes narrowed by thinking of a possibilty.

If there was an error, and they didn't see everything that I saw, could it be possible that my brother was the one messing up the system? Siya kaya talaga ang kumausap sa utak ko?

"What error?" tanong ko.

Kaiden replied, "Hindi rin namin alam. A glitch? Or probably some bug in the system."

Nicolas scoffed, "I even had to break the door so we could wake you up from the error, Exiquel."

"Bakit? Ano ba ang mangyayari kung sakaling hindi ako nagising?" tanong ko.

Lumayo naman sila sa'kin. Tinago na ni Nicolas ang pang-turok. Thankfully! Medyo natagalan pa sila bago sumagot sa'kin. Actually, hindi nga nila ako sinagot!

"Nonetheless, we assigned you to Faction Neoterics," Kaiden announced.

"What? Neoterics?!" tanong ko. H-hindi naman ako matalino... bakit ako ilalagay sa Neoterics? Pero sabagay, hindi rin naman ata ako makaka-attack like Assailants, or makapag-lead like Autocrats. Hehe, baka mainis lang ako at uminit pa ulo ko!

"Yes," Kaiden confirmed. I looked at him and he swiped his hand in the air. Bigla na namang may lumabas na holographic screen, at keyboards.

The dark blue light now turned green. Wow, nag-iiba rin pala ang color ng ilaw dito! Sinulyapan ko ang screen at nakitang may tatlong horizontal bars d'on. In the side of the bars were lables. Oh, baka eto 'yong result ng kanina!

EXIQUEL FOUR BELLISIMA

Assailant ■
Autocrat □
Neoteric ■■

"Ten bars are the highest. You only got two over ten for Neoteric, and one over ten for Assailant. The scores could have gotten higher, then none for Autocrat. Mas tataas sana ang marka mo kung hindi nagka-error ang system."

Muli na namang sinwipe ni Kaiden ang ang holographic screen. Napangiwi naman agad ako nang makita ang pagmumukha ko. They took shots without my permission! Hng!

Nicolas snorted. Sinamaan ko siya ng tingin, pero bigla rin siyang natigilan nang makita ang mukha ni Kuya.

Hindi ba siya nanonood kanina?

"I told you, Nico. You really look like her brother," Lein said. Zinoom niya pa ang mukha ni Kuya. She turned to me, "What's his name?"

"Ezekiel Nine Bellisima," I answered. "Paano nga pala 'yan nag-appear d'yan? Is it connected to my mind?" I asked. Tumango naman sila nang hindi ako tinitingnan. Napatitig tuloy ako sa reaksyon nila. Halatang nagtataka o namamangha.

"Bro, tabi ka nga rito," utos ni Kaiden at iginawad ang kamay niya malapit sa screen. Bumuntong-hininga muna si Nicolas bago lumapit at tumabi sa screen.

Doon namin mas lalong nakita ang hawig nila. Kambal kaya sila?

"Ilang taon ka na, Nicolas?" tanong ko.

"Twenty," tugon niya. Twenty? Napakunot-noo naman ako. My brother is twenty-two. So, ano sila? Magkapatid na magkamukha nang super?

"My brother is twenty-two. Imposible namang kambal kayo tapos two years apart. Maybe coincidence lang."

"Exiquel, is your brother... blind?" tanong ni Lein habang tila inaaral na ang hitsura ni Kuya.

I nodded, "Yes. He was blind when I met him."

"When you met him? So, hindi mo siya kapatid talaga?" tanong ni Kaiden.

"Well... I was with him since birth. Nakita niya raw ako somewhere down the road, and then the four year old him adopted me!" kwento ko.

"So you are abandoned?" tanong sa'kin ni Lein.

"Obvious ba?" sagot ko.

"Hmm, this is odd." Lein sighed and started asking questions to herself, "I can't think of the possibilities."

"By the way, hindi niyo pa sinasagot ang tanong ko. What would have happened if I didn't wake up?" pag-uulit ko.

Nicolas clicked his tongue, "The person vanishes."

Nanlamig naman ako bigla, "W-what?"

"You could've vanish earlier if you did not wake up. It has happened before. Several times. Orpheuses just... vanish."

"And it's all because of the system?" tanong ko.

Nagkibit-balikat. "We suspect that someone has been hacking the system."

Hack? So the ones I saw— that they didn't— was made by a hacker? If so, he accessed my mind?

"Ikaw nga ang kauna-unahang naka-survive sa glitch at bug ng system. Congrats."

Wow. Congrats? Parang achievement, ah.

The Orphic Secret
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

Thank you for reading!