29: silent escape

For the past few hours, my mind had endured more than it could handle. From our act of rebellion, to Seven and Kruger's supposed paralysis, to my own identity—down to the true nature of Bean.

And now, Seven and Kruger are... fine?

Hindi ko na alam kung nasa tamang pag-iisip pa ba ako. I was relieved that they were okay, pero hindi ko pa rin maintindihan ang lahat ng nangyari.

Seven tossed something toward Bean, and he caught it instantly. It was the belladonna—or was it?

"Masyado kang naging kampante. You got so excited that you didn't even check if it was really belladonna," Seven sneered. "This is a berry na sa unang tingin ay mapagkakamalang belladonna, pareho ang kulay, hugis, texture, at amoy. Even the taste is almost identical, except that this one isn't deadly and so sour to the point na mararamdaman mong tila mapaparalisa ka, for a minute or two, depende sa dami ng kinain mo. Other than that, this berry has no harmful effect."

Bean was as stunned as I was. His face was a mixture of shock and frustration, then rage when he realized he'd been outsmarted. His first reaction was to hammer repeatedly on a red button, but a look of panic flashed in his eyes as nothing happened, kahit ilang beses siyang pumindot.

"If you're looking for your lackeys, they're probably in dreamland," Kruger said, smirking. "Your fault for keeping too much plants that induces sleep."

Bean took a shaky breath at kinalma ang sarili habang patuloy siya sa pagpindot ng kung anu-ano sa holographic display na nasa harap niya. He pressed several others, but each one failed to respond.

"It's over, Marave," Seven said firmly, stepping to my side. Agad akong sumiksik sa tabi niya, as if finding the solace I'd been desperately seeking. Kahit walang kasiguraduhan kung maaasahan ko sila, I felt that I could finally depend on them.

Bean's voice trembled as he tried to sound reasonable. "W-we can talk this out, right?"

Seven smirked, unmoved. "Can we?"

Unti-unting napaatras si Bean. "Gaya ninyo ay biktima lang din ako ng sistema!" He tried to turn things around but we should know better not to be too trusting.

Kruger raised his hand in the air, moving his thumb. A holographic display of letters and numbers appeared mid-air, and with a few quick taps, the surroundings glowed, transforming the scene back from the lush plant-filled facility to the sterile lab setup that lay beneath.

Kruger's expression was cold as he addressed Bean. "At some point, you were a victim, but when you began manipulating the system as if it were your own, mas masahol ka pa sa mga autoridad na nagtatapon ng tao, stripping them of their rights without a second thought." Kruger's voice hardened. "The Glass family may be wrong for not giving second chances, pero ikaw—you wanted absolute control. Your ambition is out of control."

"H-how did you do that?" Bean stammered, watching as the display reset the plant house back into the sterile laboratory dahil sa ginawa ni Kruger.

Itinaas ni Kruger ang palad at tila may inalis sa kanyang daliri. It looked like a dried glue residue on his finger. "It wasn't that hard. All I needed was some sycamore sap, which conveniently grows around here, and for you to be careless enough not to notice I smeared it on every spot you touched. It let me replicate your fingerprints."

Hindi lamang ako kundi maging si Bean ay hindi rin naintindihan ang paliwanag na iyon ni Kruger.

Kruger continued, pointing to the glass walls. "Hindi mahirap mapansin ang mga mali rito. For one, these glass ceilings are supposed to let in sunlight, but they don't reflect it as real glass should. For a facility that claims to grow plants under perfect conditions, that's a glaring inconsistency," he said, his tone almost mocking.

Despite knowing Kruger came from the family that designed this place, his insight and the precision of his observations still impressed me.

"Second is our presence. With us being here, we're disrupting the AI system set up for this place, which led me to think, we're not here to grow plants, we're here for your close monitoring," dagdag ni Kruger. Iginala niya ang paningin sa paligid. "It all doesn't make sense."

Seven, who had been quietly listening, tossed away the fruit he'd been nibbling on. "You might look like victims here, but there's something that gave you away," he said, stepping to the side and picking up a familiar flower—the same one Bean once gave me as a symbol of hope.

The Lily of Hope.

Seven plucked the flower, his eyes darkening as he tossed it toward Bean. "The reason why you give Hope that flower ay hindi para ipaalala sa kanya na mayroong pag-asa. It's lull her to sleep."

My jaw literally dropped, unsure of what to think. My mind was about to explode from all the revelations. Napagtanto ko na wala kami sa parehong wavelength ng pag-iisip. Lahat ng bagay ay pinaghihinalaan nila, while I'm here thinking things just happen as it is.

Natatawang kumuha rin ng bulaklak si Kruger. "So, that's why I always felt sleepy. Ang pod na inuukupa ko ay napapaligiran ng bulaklak na 'to, so someone's trying to make me sleep while he does something."

Tumango si Seven bilang sagot. "Being close to this flower puts you into a vivid, dreamlike state where reality blurs. In Hope's case, she was aware, but with all the manipulations in the place and what was being said to her, she thought it was a dream."

Napatingin ako sa bahagi ng pod na sinira ni Seven nang pinasok niya ang pod ko. "T-then noong gabing iyon..."

He nodded, understanding what I was trying to say. "Yup, that night I resisted sleeping by slicing my flesh..." Itinaas niya ang kamay na puno ng sugat. It was his busted hand from trying to break the glass, pero ngayon ko lang napansin na may mga linyang sugat roon. "I cut my flesh and dropped citrus extract to keep myself awake."

All along, I thought Bean's flower was bringing me hope, pero sa totoo ay iyon pala ang ginagamit niya upang manipulahin ako. That dreamlike sensation, that confusion every time I had that dream—lahat iyon ay ayon sa plano ni Bean.

"I have to say you got me first, Bean," sabi ni Kruger. "I thought you were just desperate to get out of here. But when Seven came, I saw all the red flags. I hate to admit it, but due to Seven's deductions, I realized it was you all along. I had my suspicions since you took the vial of the virus. Hope with a vial of virus was not in your plan, but you went along with it—except you couldn't risk exposing yourself to a virus you had no knowledge about. Nagkunwari kang ginamit ang vial ng virus na meron si Hope, and pretended to be affected by it. But there was me, you didn't predict my involvement. I took the vial of vaccine," he paused, winking at me. "Sorry, Hope, I really took the vaccine."

Sinasabi ko na nga ba! But I was glad it was him who took it because if not, who knows what could've happened?

Nagpatuloy sa pagsasalita si Kruger. "Pero balik tayo sa'yo Bean, you cannot risk exposing yourself to Hope's vial of virus so you inflicted yourself similar symptoms— but then you missed the one important detail."

Bean's forehead creased, clearly struggling to remember what detail Kruger was referring to, as Kruger tossed him the vial. Agad niya iyong nasalo, and it was the blue-labeled vaccine vial that Wolff had given me. Nanginginig ang kamay na sinuri iyon ni Bean, and horror washed over his face.

"According to the vaccine details, it's a new strain of animal flu—ibig sabihin, rashes don't appear upon contact with the virus," Kruger said with a grin. "You got too excited, Bean."

Unti-unting napaatras si Bean. "If you think that's enough to stop me, think again." He rushed toward the corner, pulling something out and hysterically pressing buttons, ngunit walang nangyayari.

Bean knew that in terms of intellect, two minds are better than one. With Seven and Kruger working together, walang kasiguraduhan kung kaya niyang manalo laban sa kanila. And in terms of strength, Bean didn't look like someone who could win even in a simple brawl.

This time, humakbang si Seven palapit sa kanya. "Ah, your emergency button. Figured that one out too." Itinaas niya ang isang kulay-itim na wire—who knows where he got it.

"You also left crumbs, as if taunting us to figure out the subtle hints along the way. Your prisoner number, 1101077—1101 are the last four digits of the ASCII Code for M, and 077 is the binary for M," Kruger said, stepping closer. "MM. Mint Marave. Maybe I was thinking about it too much, but hey the shoe fits. I was amazed at your planning and thinking, like you're always two step ahead. So, what were you hiding, Bean?" He emphasized "Bean," as if hinting at something.

Tuluyan siyang nilapitan ni Seven at hinablot ang suot na beanie hat. He tossed it aside and ruffled Bean's hair, exposing a pulsing red light on his temple.

A blinking red dot under his skin!

"Kaya ka nagsusuot ng sombrero, para itago ito," Seven pointed to his temple. "Your augmentation."

Mas lalo akong nagulat nang mapansin ang tila daloy ng ilaw sa kanyang balat. The faint translucent lines beneath his skin flickered as they reached the red dot, which turned green with a soft hue almost not visible.

With shaking hands, I covered my mouth but it was not enought to cover my gasp. "B-Bean..."

With all his might, inilayo niya ang sarili kay Seven. It was like watching a mouse trapped between two lions, ngunit may kung ano sa mukha ni Bean na hindi ko maipaliwanag. Naninibago akong tingnan siya na walang suot na beanie hat, and without it, the translucent light in his skin was clearer. The flickering light became faster as his grin started to form.

"You said it, I'm always two steps ahead," wika ni Bean, at ilang sandali lamang ay nawala lahat ng ilaw.

The Prism plunged into absolute darkness, ni katiting na liwanag ay wala akong makita. Not even the light from Bean's augmentation. May kaunting kaluskos na tila mula sa makina sa kung saan mang bahagi ng lugar. My heart hammered as I struggled to see, ngunit kahit anong pilit ko ay kadiliman lamang ang nakikita ko.

Biglang tumunog ang malakas na alarm—napakalakas na ang unang reaksyon ko ay takpan ang mga tainga. It was useless dahil napakalakas ng sirena, kasunod ng mekanikal na boses.

Emergency! Protocol One Activated. All personnel must evacuate immediately.

"Shit!" Natatarantang bulalas ni Kruger. "Protocol One means purge! Kaunting panahon lamang ang meron tayo bago mapuno ang lugar ng incapacitation gas! Let's escape separately, that way mas malaki ang tsansang makatakas tayo!"

The alarm continued blaring, and instinctively, I tried to grab anything near me ngunit wala akong makapa.

Emergency! Protocol One Activated. All personnel must evacuate immediately. Three minutes until purge.

I heard Kruger curse from a distance kaya agad akong gumalaw kung saan nanggagaling ang boses niya. Nakaisang hakbang pa lamang ako ay nakaramdam ako ng kamay na humawak sa braso ko. The hand was warm and hard—trying to grab me as firmly as he could.

The hand was hot and shaking, at naramdaman ko ang mabigat na paghinga ng may-ari ng kamay.

"C-can you p-please hold me?"

It was deja vu.

I knew this had happened before, sa loob ng elevator, when Bane Lab issued code black.

"S-Seven?"

He was struggling to form his words. "H-hold me, please."

He was desperate—like how Wolff was desperate in begging me to hold him in the dark. Hindi ito ang tamang panahon para usisain pa siya, but this is too much of a coincidence!

Dalawang hindi magkakilalang tao, whose lives were exactly opposite but with the same face and mind, at parehong takot sa dilim?

That's too much of a coincidence!

Gaya ng ginawa ko dati kay Wolff, hinawakan ko ang palapulsuhan ni Seven, like a mother holding her child, ngunit mabilis niyang inalis ang kamay ko at sa halip ay pinagsalikop ang mga palad namin. He gripped so tight that I bet my hand was turning purple.

I wanted to confront him ngunit mas nanaig ang takot ko sa mga maaaring mangyari. Whatever protocol one is, we need to get out of here.

"S-Seven, calm down a bit. Makakatakas tayo rito," mahinang bulong ko.

Hindi siya sumagot ngunit ramdam kong tila kumalma ang kanyang paghinga. His grip on my hand loosened as well. I pulled him without a particular direction. Hindi ko alam kung gaano katagal kaming naglakad sa dilim hanggang sa marating ko ang bahagi na tila pinto.

I pulled Seven with me in the dark. He was still struggling to breathe and manuever in the dark.

"Alam kong nahihirapan ka pa, but we have to get out of here, Seven," paalala ko sa kanya.

We found ourselves running away from what seemed like an endless darkness. Patuloy lamang sa pagtunog ang alarm, counting down to the last two minutes. We kept running as fast as we could. My aight adjusted in the dark at unti-unti ko ng naaaninag ang paligid.

Seven's sight may have adjusted too dahil bigla na lamang siyang napatigil. Dahil hawak niya ang kamay ko, napatigil din ako.

"Seven, we need to run—" napatingin ako sa direksyong tinitingnan niya. It was a white door, perfectly blending with the wall, almost invisible. The only thing giving it away was a small, ominous red light blinking above.

Lumapit ako roon at pinihit ang hawakan. The door made an annoying hissing sound, but at least it opened.

Inside, it looked like an abandoned emergency exit. The walls were dry and dusty, as if no one had stepped foot there in years.

"Are we gonna be okay here?" tanong ko, hindi makapaniwala.

Seven was still fighting for his life, slowly recovering from the blackout. "Let's go."

Hinawakan ko siya nang mas mahigpit at inalalayan sa paglakad sa mahaba at madilim na pasilyo. It felt like stepping into an endless tunnel, hanggang sa makarating kami sa mga lumang pinto sa dulo. His body was burning up, and I could feel his strength slipping away with every step.

"Are you okay?" I stopped and touched his forehead. It was like holding a hot cup of coffee, definitely not normal. "Seven, please. Kailangan natin huminto sandali. You need to rest—Seven!"

Before I could do anything, he fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Pilit kong pinakalma ang sarili kahit na kanina pa ako nagpa-panic sa lahat ng nangyayari.

"Seven..."

He coughed a few times and slumped against the wall, eyes barely open. "Ayos lang ako... just need a few minutes..."

Umupo siya sa sahig, pinipikit ang mga mata habang unti-unting bumabalik ang kanyang hininga. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, his forehead beaded with sweat.

Marami akong gustong itanong, but I knew he needed to recover. Slowly, his breathing steadied, but his eyes remained closed.

"I'm sorry."

Agad akong napatingin sa kanya. It came out as a soft whisper, pero sapat na para marinig ko siya.

I sighed and steadied myself. "Sorry saan?"

His eyes stayed shut. "For being a burden... at a time like this."

I leaned back against the sterile, white wall. "I was the burden all along. Habang kayo ni Kruger ay nag-iimbestiga, trying to figure out everything, I just sat back in comfort and trusted Bean more than I ever trusted either of you."

It was one of my deepest regrets. I gave Bean all the trust he needed to deceive me. It was easy to manipulate me because I was too trusting and eager for comfort.

"I don't know where this is going. I might not even see tomorrow, and I have to know the truth before I lose my mind," sabi ko at hinarap siya. His eyes opened slowly, meeting mine. It was like looking into a dark void—no reflection, no answers, just emptiness.

"Ano iyon?" he asked, his gaze locked onto me.

"A-are you..." Huminga ako nang malalim, pinaghahandaan ang posibleng sagot niya. Everything had fallen into place like pieces of a dark puzzle. "...Are you Wolff Bane?"

Confusion clouded his eyes, but before he could respond, the hallway blazed to life. Lights flooded the corridor, stretching it into an endless white blur. Then, from both directions, came the heavy thud of approaching footsteps.

Napaligiran kami ng mga sundalo at ang mga armas nila ay nakatutok lahat sa amin. One wrong move and we will sure be dead. Kahit napakaraming sundalo, biglang tumahimik ang paligid. Slowly, they parted, creating a path for someone walking toward us.

My chest pounded as I watched him approach. His white coat hung from his shoulders like a cape of authority. His eyes filled with concern as he drew nearer, dropping to one knee so his face was level with mine.

He hesitated, then reached out, his hand warm and comforting as it cupped my cheek.

"Y-you're s-safe now, Dani. Wolff sent me to get you," he murmured, carressing my cheek with his thumb.

It was Sage.

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