I had to close my eyes again and tried to pretend I was only dreaming.

Ngunit, pagbukas ko ng aking mga mata, nandito pa rin ako. Standing beside me were two strangers whom I just met – Seth and Kyle.

"Bakit ka nga nandito?" Inulit pa ni Seth. As if namang alam ko ang sagot.

"H-Hindi ko alam," Utal kong sagot habang nakatingala sa kalangitan.

The sky was bright, but there was no sun. As I stared longer, I noticed that there was a thin layer covering the whole place. Is that the ozone layer?

Apart from that, strange things were hovering above me. They weren't just airplanes. There were flying cars... and humans?

I was definitely in a different world. Everything seemed.... new, advanced and unusual.

"What did you do, Kyle?" Seth suddenly blamed the other guy.

"What? Tingin mo ako ang nagdala sa kanya dito? Siguro ano..." Kyle paused, staring back at me. "Pero walang pwedeng makapasok dito unless..."

Seth opened his mouth to say something, but I spoke first. "Nasaan ba tayo? Ano'ng lugar 'to? Nananaginip ba ako?" I asked them, my eyes still wandering around.

"You... who are you? Spy ka ba?" Seth asked me in his usual cold tone, but this time, with a hint of anger.

"Ako? Maxine ang pangalan ko. Maxine Drew, okay? Tingin mo ba spy ako? Ni hindi ko nga alam kung nasaan tayo."

Nakatitig lang sa akin si Seth na parang hindi pa rin naniniwala.

"Yes, Professor. We'll be there right away," Kyle answered over his watch, then clicked something in it.

"Kailangan na nating bumalik. Hinahanap na tayo ni Professor," Kyle said, interrupting my thoughts.

Seth nodded, turning his back at me.

Teka, iiwanan ba nila ako dito?

"Kasama siya," Kyle finished, so Seth looked over me again. "Professor wants to see her."

"What? Why?" Seth asked.

I have the same questions.

"Hindi ko rin alam, Seth. Now, let's go!" Kyle grabbed my hand, startling me.

"W-Wait! San niyo ako dadalhin?" I panicked.

I was about to ask them again, but then, in a snap, we reached a massive steel gate, about twenty feet high, which automatically opened after scanning our faces with some kind of sensor on the corner.

Panay ang paglunok ko habang sinusundan ko ang dalawang lalaki sa aking harapan. Nakapasok na kami sa loob. May malawak na lawn dito na puno ng berdeng damo at sa mga gilid ay may mga halaman at puno na kakaiba ang itsura at kulay.

May naglalakihang pillars sa sementadong daan na patungo sa entrance ng isang malaking building. Sa gilid ay may nakaukit na signage at nakalagay na "LocHelm Academy."

"Academy? Eskwelahan 'to?" Napatanong ako pero hindi man lang ako sinagot ng mga kasama ko.

Tuloy-tuloy lang kami habang papasok na sa loob ng academy. Akala ko ay parang haunted sa loob. Pero, laking gulat ko nang makita ang interior na puno ng transparent na glass walls. Kitang-kita ang mga estudyante sa loob ng mga kwarto. They weren't typical classrooms though. There were no blackboards or chairs.

I wanted to look closer, but Kyle pulled my hand tighter, so I could barely keep up.

Just then, a group of guys, fully clad in navy blue and white suits appeared in front of us.

"Mukhang may bisita tayo ngayon." The tallest among the group asked, blocking our way and eyeing me oddly. He had blonde hair and sharp jaw line, making him look fierce, yet gorgeous at the same time.

"Aalis ba kayo o paaalisin ko kayo?" Seth remarked, attempting to move forward but the group of guys continued to stop us.

"Ipakilala niyo naman kami sa kasama niyo," one of them snickered, looking at me. He had an innocent look on his face, yet I could sense something dangerous in his aura.

"Umalis na kayo, kung hindi..." Kyle muttered this time.

"Kung hindi, ano?" The innocent one brought out a sharp object from his hands, threatening us. I didn't even know where that came from. Sabi ko na nga ba, mukha lang siyang inosente.

"Tama na 'yan, Luther!" Someone suddenly shouted from the other side, revealing another group of guys, also wearing navy blue suits, which I presume to be their uniforms.

"Ano'ng sabi mo, Bryce? Gusto mo ba ng away?" The innocent-looking guy namely, Luther was now piercing his eyes through the guy who just came in.

"Ang sinasabi lang namin ay itigil niyo na 'yan." A guy wearing thick-rimmed glasses over his eyes beside Bryce butted in.

"Ikaw na ang bahala dito, Jedrick. Hinahanap na kami ni Professor." After that, Kyle held my hand again. And, in a blink of an eye, I was brought to another place.

Teka, may superpowers ba si Kyle?

We were in a long hallway now. The two groups of guys earlier finally disappeared from our sight.

I wasn't able to control myself anymore, so I asked, "May powers ba kayo? O panaginip lang lahat ng 'to?" I slapped my face. Aray, ang sakit!

"Stupid," I heard Seth whispering beside me.

I glared at him. "Ano'ng sabi mo?"

"Hindi ka nananaginip, Maxine," Kyle answered me with a smirk.

"Okay. So, ano? Magician ka?" I asked again.

"Ah, hindi ako 'yon. Pero, 'yong isang kaibigan namin si Channing, siya ang sorcerer. Traveller ako," Kyle answered, leaving me in confusion again.

"Parang time traveller?"

Ngumisi si Kyle. "Parang ganon."

I turned to Seth, who kept his poker face on. "Eh ikaw? Ano ka?"

Hindi na naman ako pinansin ni Seth.

"Windbreaker," sagot ni Kyle sa tabi ko.

"Ano?" I repeated, shaking my head and controlling myself from laughing.

Windbreaker? Kaya ba mabilis siyang tumakbo?

Napailing ulit ako. "Kailangan ko na talagang gumising."

"Hindi nga ito panaginip, Maxine," Kyle insisted. "Nandito ka sa Modern World. Nasa year 3000 tayo. Galing ka sa year 2018, hindi ba?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "So... totoo nga? Hindi pwede! Hindi ako naniniwala." I slapped myself hard again. "Aray!"

"Really crazy," Seth mumbled, this time loud enough for me to hear. He probably did that intentionally to embarrass me.

"Baliw? Oo, siguro nga nababaliw na ako. Ibalik niyo ako sa mundo ko!" I demanded.

"Nandito na tayo!" Kyle announced as we reached a huge door, which looked like it was ornamented with gold bars.

The door automatically opened again after some censor scanned us. Sinundan ko ulit ang dalawang lalaki papasok sa loob ng kwarto. Napanganga ako sa lawak nito. The room was wide with shelves full of books in one corner. There was a table in the middle, like the ones seen in a President's office. The chair though wasn't facing us, instead it was facing the transparent glass wall overlooking the outside of the academy.

"Professor, you called us?" panimulang bati ni Kyle.

"Kyle and Seth." The voice of their so-called professor was deep. No, it was like a cyborg speaking. For a moment, I was glad the chair didn't swivel around to face us. Kahit na medyo curious ako sa mukha ng propesor nila, hindi pa rin maalis ang kaba sa dibdib ko.

"Nandito rin si Maxine, professor," Kyle continued to answer.

"Ah, yes. Will it be okay if I talk to her alone?" The professor asked and I had to swallow hard at that thought of being left alone with him.

Kyle turned to me, lifting his chin up.

I shook my head at him. Napatingin ako kay Seth unconsciously, grabbing onto his arm. "Huwag niyo akong iwan dito," I muttered in whisper.

Seth didn't move for a split second. But then, he moved his other hand, removing my grip from him. "We'll wait for you outside," he told me.

I was about to protest, but the moment I turned to them again, they already vanished into thin air. Salamat nalang sa lahat.

"Hello. You must be wondering why you're here now, Maxine. Am I right?"

"Uh... h-hello sir!" I greeted, stutteringly. "Bakit nga ba ako nandito?"

"I want you to know na hindi coincidence na makita mo si Seth pati na rin si Kyle. You're bound to be here."

"S-Sir?" I was dazed. "A-Ano pong ibig niyong sabihin?"

"May hinahanap ka sa mapa mo, hindi ba?" The professor's back was still facing me, but I preferred it that way. "This is the place."

My eyes widened in disbelief. "D-Dito?"

"Yes. And starting from this day, you're now a student here in LocHelm Academy. Welcome!"

I had no time to react. Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala.

Totoo ba ang narinig ko? Ito ba talaga ang nasa mapa ni dad?

Those were the questions bugging my mind in that moment, but something suddenly hit me on my nape. It was excruciating, as if I swallowed a poison which was slowly killing me.

The next thing I knew, I was lifeless on the cold concrete.