TGC League of Gangsters

Chapter 22: Swim Way Out

-Mikhaela Alcantara Garcia’s POV-

Sa wakas! Narrating na rin namin ang harbor! After a very long 10 minutes walk!
“I feel like I needed a convenience store.” Komento ni Evelyn.
“Bakit? What are you gonna do there?” tanong ni Abby.
“Well, I needed a water, tissue, and snacks!”
“may sari-sari store ‘dun oh” shane pointed to our left, mayroon nga doong bahay na may maliit na tindahan.
“No one wants those!” Evelyn hissed.
“Evelyn, you’re offending the people here,” sabi ko.
“I’m sorry if I offended them, but seriously, I don’t want to buy there! Yuck!” sabi ni Evelyn.
“Well kumompra naman din sila sa mga convenience store, what could possibly differs?” Shane said.
“Ugh. Fine!” sabi ni Evelyn at naglabas ng pera mula sa wallet nito. Lumapit kami sa tindahan. Wherever we go, the phantom gang follows.
“Living in this kind of life is not so bad afterall.” Komento ni CJ.
“What do you mean?”
“Yung mga tao rito, they’re always busy at marami silang magagawa, unlike us.” Cj replied.
“Collin’s word makes sense,” komento rin ni James.

“Tao po!” Evelyn knocked her hand in the wooden counter. Nagpakita naman agad ang tindera.
“Unsa inyo?” the woman said.
“Ano raw?” evelyn looked at us,
“Ah, Ate, may ice water po ba?” singit ni Shane.
“Naa, tag tres na baya ang baligya namo gang, hinay man gud ang agas sa mineral nga tubig dire saamoa.” The woman said again.
Bumulong naman si Evelyn saakin.
“Do you know what language is she speaking?” evelyn whispered. Umiling naman ako. Tres at mineral lang ata ang naintindihan ko eh.
“Bale, walo po ate.” Sabi ni Shane. The woman went away at pinahintay muna kami. Kinuha ni Shane ang isang daan kay evelyn at tinignan kami.
“Shane, ano ‘bang inorder mo?” abby asked.
“Eh, ice water.” Shane replied.
“may ganun bang salita?” Cj asked.
“Yeah! Di no ba alam na iyon rin ang tawag nila sa malamig na tubig na ibinabalot sa cellophane?” Shane asked. Tinignan lang namin sya habang nakakunot ang aming ma noo, even james was!
“who would do that?” tanong ni James.
“Look, kung first time palang kayo nakapunta rito, then expect that most conversation of the people here, you wont understand, Cebuano ang language nila, but they call it ‘Bisaya’” Shane said. Hindi na namin sya sinumpayan dahil bumalik na ang babae, she was carrying a white cellophane at may mabigat ata itong laman. Shane did the honors at binayad ang pera ni Evelyn, bumili na rin sya ng junkfoods kaya medyo nagtaka ako.
“The junkfoods are for you guys, water lang akin.” Sabi ni Shane. Ibibigay na sana ng babae ang sukli but shane made her keep the change. We stopped by on a bench at inabot saamin ni Shane ang half-meter long and four-inch thick na tubig na binalot gamit ang clear cellophane.
“Anong gagawin namin rito?” Ivan asked.
“inumin nyo, mga ulol!” Shane hissed.
“How would we know that this is safe to drink?” I asked. Hindi pa naman selyado!
“Guys, wag kayong ignorante, these ice water are freshly made two or three days ago, tas they didn’t use machines, kamay ang gamit nila sa pag-refil. Ano ba kayo.” Shane said and started sipping the sharp edge of the ice water.
We tried what she did with no regrets. This seems fine. Saka na ako magregrets kung magkakaroon ako ng diarrhea sa trip namin. I finished the entire water at inugsok ang cellophane sa gilid ng bag ko. Natakot kasi ako dahil may isang malaking signage ang nakalagay sa tabi ng daan ‘BASURA MO, ILIGPIT MO’ and there was an amount of penalty kung sino ang magtatapon ng basura kung saan.
“Puno na ang barko, darating ang susunod under 30 minutes.” Sabi ni Shane. 30?! As in Thirty minutes?!
“f*ck! we cant stand that long!” reklamo ni Cj.
“may magagawa ka ba?” Shane said.
“Erh! Why don’t we just rent a private yacht?” reklamo din ni Ivan.
“may mahahanap ka ba?” shane asked.
“There’s no point of Arguing.” Sabi ni James.
I notice evelyn at nakatayo sya sa harap ng isang higanteng karatola, may maliit na isla na imahe dito.
“The Next ferry can wait, why don’t we visit the vanishing island just a couple of minutes?” sabi ni Evelyn.
“Evelyn, no time for visits.” Sabi ni Shane.
“Vanishing Island? That seems interesting.” Sabi ni Cj at tinignan rin ang karatola.
“That must be the island that keven was talking about, yung island na naglalaho kapag hightide.” Ivan said.
“Interesting.” Komento ni Josh.
“Lets see that island.” Sabi ni James at tumayo mula sa bench. Tinignan ko rin ang karatola, just two beaches ahead on the west? Nice!
“Shane, we’re dropping off on that island.” I said,
“But what if- Ugh. Fine.” Sabi nito at sumang.ayon na sa gusto namin.
The Vanishing island was still several kilometers away kaya sumakay nalang kami ng jeep. YES, AS IN JEEPNEY, public transportation, but it’s not like in Arena City dahil kapag sumakay ka ng Jeep, papawisan ka agad dahil sa sikip, here wala masyadong pasahero ang mga jeepneys, plus ang ganda pa ng simoy ng hangin!

|League of Gangster; Bisaya/Cebuano ka? Giganahan ba ka niining chapter? Sus, ayg kaulaw, comment dayun ui!|

“So, is this the vanishing island?” Evelyn asked habang nakapamewang at tinitignan ang paligid. We’re in a shore kung saan kami pinababa ng driver, he siad dito daw papunta ang vanishing island.
“We should never trust a public driver again.” Sabi ni Abby.
“Tsk. This is the place where we will rent a vessel towards the island” sabi ni shane. Itinuro naman nito ang isang maliit na isla sa harap namin.
“Oh I get it!” Evelyn said.
“if we want to check that island, we should hurry dahil alas tres na, and we didn’t took our lunches yet,” paalala ni Cj.
“We’ll take lunch kasama ang Dinner, DOUBLE MEAL later!” komento ni Evelyn, I rolled my eyeballs.
May isang matandang lalake na nakasuot ng sumbrero ang lumapit saamin,
“Magandang hapon po, lolo. Pwede po bang magtanong kung saan pwede mag-rent ng vessels?” tanong agad ni Shane sa matanda.
“Magandang Hapon din, hija at magandang hapon din sainyo. Mga turista ba kayo ng vanishing island?” the man asked at tumango naman kami.
“Opo.”
“Ay naku mabuti naman at naabutan nyo pa ako. Halikayo mga Hija, Hijo.” Sabi ng matanda, we followed him in a dock, there was a 12-metered long white vessel. Parang yung ginamit namin sa VSR!
“magkano po, lolo?” tanong ni Shane.
“Limang daan, pero hanggang pabalik nyo na rin.”sagot ng matanda.
“Pwede po ba self drive lang?”
“Naku, hindi ako pinapayagan ng amo ko, Hija. Nung nakaraan kasing pina-drive namin ang aming mga bisita ay ninakaw nila ang pinaka-unang Bangka at hindi na nagpakita pa man.” The Old man replied.
“Ah, sige naiintindihan po namin, total ay mabilis lang naman namin po lilibutin ang isla.” Shane said. Sumakay na kami sa Pan-dagat na sasakyan at pinaandar na ito ng matanda. We waited and arrived at the island. Bumaba agad kami at nilibot ang isla.
Walang tao sa buong isla dahil kami lang daw ang bisita ngayong araw, the island is also only 37 meters ang layo! Mostly trees ang nakatayo sa isla, their roots held the ocean floor at kakaunting buhangin lamang ang nakapalibot dito, but still, this is worth staying! The island is so peaceful at tanging sigaw lang ni Evelyn ang nariringgan naming malakas na tinig at pag hampas ng alon sa mga ugat ng puno, pati narin ang malakas na pag daan ng hangin.
“James, this place is so nice!” komento ko. James’ hands were tucked in his pocket at naka simangot lang.
“Hoy, ngumiti ka nga, hindi ka ba nagagandahan sa lugar na ito?” I poked his left cheeks.
“It is. Kaya nga lang ay hindi na tayo makakabalik pa rito” James said.
“Tss! We can come back here whenever we wanted! This is amazing!” sigaw ko.
“Possibly under 5 years.” James said at parang binuhusan ako ng malamig na tubig.
Right. We’re locked down in the University for 5 complete years hanggang matapos namin ang kolehiyo. Nakakabw*set! I finally found a better place to go on a vacation at nasira pa ang saya ko. GREAT, JUST GREAT!
“Hayss! Nakakabw*set naman! Bakit kaya bawal lumabas sa university?!” I stomped my foot on the ground.
“It’s because the students can be working with a foe of the gangster association, o kaya ay maaaring makalabas-masok ang mga espiya sa paaralan dahil hindi na makakayanang i-organize ng mga officers ang bilang ng estudyante.” Bulalas ni James. Wala akong naintindihan sa sinabi nya dahil nakalutang ang aking pakiramdam sa ere at sa palubog na araw.
“How did you-” bago ko pa man matapos ang aking sasabihin ay Nagulat agad ako ng Makita kong umaandar palayo ang sasakyan pandagat. WHAT THE HELL?!
Tumakbo agad kami ni James malapit sa daungan.
“Why the hell is he leaving?” tanong ko kay Shane.
“His daughter is giving birth at wala daw itong kasama sa bahay nila, so pinabayaan ko nalang syang umalis.” Sagot ni Shane.
“Are you serious?! Dude, you serious!?” paulit-ulit na sabi ni Cj.
“That old man could’ve leave us here forever! Mother f*cker.” Mura ni Ivan.
“Don’t worry you guys, he’s gonna be back.” Sabi ni Evelyn.
“Evelyn’s right. Hindi pa natin ito nababayaran.” Shane added.
-
It’s already 6pm at hindi pa rin bumabalik ang matanda. The Sky went black at malakas na masyado ang paghampas ng mga alon, malapit na rin lamunin ng dagat ang buong isla! We gathered in the center of the island at nagdasal na bumalik pa sana ang matanda. We couldn’t swim that deep towards the shoreline dahil napakalayo nito!
“Bullsh*t. That old man’s such a total bullsh*t.” paulit ulit na mura ni Joshua.
“Cut the sh*t, Josh. It’s not time to curse.” Sabi ni James. I rolled my eyes.
Sino ba ang hindi nag-aakala na ang isang napakandang bagay sa umaga ay isang nakakatakot na nilalang kapag gabi?! This island is sinking!!!
“What the hell are we gonna do?!” Abby cursed. Mabilis na umakyat ang tubig, it’s already in our knees at paakyat pa ito ng paakyat.
If this island is going to sin entirely, makakalutang pa ako dahil water proof ang aking backpack! Smart!
“This is all your fault, you b*tch black head.” Mura ni Ivan kay Shane.
“Knock it off, Ivan! This is no one’s fault!” padepensa ni Evelyn para kay shane.
“Yes, this is all my fault, pinaalis ko ang matanda and now the island is sinking while we’re on it, masaya ka na?” Sabi ni shane kay Ivan, pinagtitimpian nalang ata ni Shane si Ivan, But no one cares about those anymore! Wala na talaga kaming takas dahil hanggang hawak na ang tubig!
“Pumutol kayo ng bahagi ng puno as a suppor” biglang sabi ni James. He was already holding a tree’s trunk, we stared at him with our blank expressions.
“I learned this trick when I was Elementary during Boys Scout, Okay? Tree trunks float in the ocean, gamitin nyo lang ito para sumoporta sa inyo while we swim back to the shore.” James said.
“Seryoso ka ba sa pinagsasabi mo, James?!” I hissed.
“Dude, we cant f*cking swim that far!” Demanda rin ni Cj.
“What if there’s a shark!?” Sigaw ni Evelyn.
“walang shark dito, Evelyn” sabi ni Shane.
“Who knows what’s under the water right now! Ang dilim!” Abby screamed.
The tide reached our neck at hindi ko na matitingkad ang isla,
“You got a water proof Cellphone, Abby. Gamitin mo, please!” Evelyn begged. Kinuha naman agad ito ni Abby at inilawan ang tubig sa harap namin.
“May signal ba? Let me borrow that” sabi ni Shane kay Abbigail at hinablot agad ang phone nito.
“Shane, no time to look for signals,” Sabi ni Abby at naubo.
Naramdaman ko naman ang sanga ng puno saaking paa sa ilalim. Sheez! The island did sunk!
Or inshort, the water swallowed the entire island!
“I- help!” Sigaw ni Evelyn. Inilawan ni Shane si Evelyn at namutla ito, inalalayan agad siya ni Cj.
“I cant swim anymore.” Mahinang sabi ni Evelyn.
“Jesus. Ang dali mo lang mapagod.” Inis na sabi ni James. I felt my knees starting to ache dahil sa paglangyoy. Oh no.
“Help is coming soon, we just have to figure out a way for them to see us.” Sabi ni Shane.
“gamitin mo ang ilaw sa selpon” sabi ni Ivan.
“The light is not enough” sabi ni Shane.
“Go to the settings, meron doong switch na maximum light” sabi ni Abby. Ginawa naman ito ni shane and the light from the phone become few times brighter than a heavy working flash light. Itinutok nya ito sa dalampasigan kahit hindi ito maabot ng ilaw.
“There he is.” Komento ni Shane.  May isang maliit at wooden na sasakyang pandagat ang lumalapit sa gawi namin. We wont fit in that small!
The thing got near us at unang kinausap ng nagmamaneho si Shane.
“Y*wa kang bayhana ka. Sakay dayun mo! (You Devil Girl. Sumakay na kayo!)” sabi ng lalake. We didn’t understand what he said but sumakay na agad kami rito. The boat was so tiny pero kinaya lang naming magkasya roon. Pinaandar na ng lalake ang sasakyan using a string and he pulled it, tsaka maingay na gumalaw ng mabilis ang Bangka.
“Shane, do you know this guy?” tanong ko kay Shane. She hesitated for a while at tinignan ako tapos ibinalik nya ang tingin nya sa lalake.
“Amigo nimo na sila? (kaibigan mo ba sila?)” the guy said again.
“Uh, He’s one of my 3rd cousins” Shane replied to me. 3rd cousins?!
“Dude, pwede ka bang magsalita ng tagalog?” pambabara ni Ivan sa lalake.
“Ayaw na sya pansina, y*ti nang monggoloida na na. Amiga lang nako na, kana silang tulo, babaye. Ambot anang mga lalake, ga-uban uban ra na sila saamo (Don’t mind that sh*t, he’s a monggoloid. Kaibigan ko lang yang tatlong babae, ewan ko sa mga lalakeng ‘yan, they just followed us.)” Shane said to the Guy, I almost went pale because of the different language that Shane just spoke.
“Daghan man diay kag amigo. Nya naunsa diay mo? Mangamatay na unta mo kung wala ko niabot? (You do have many friends. Ano na kaya ang nagyare kung hindi ako dumating? Malulunod na ba kayo?” The guy said.
“Paghilom. Mamaya ko na sasabihin sa’yo kung ano ang nagyare.” Sabi ni Shane.
“So, Shane. You were born in here?” tanong ko. Shane sighed at napayuko.
“Not in here, dun sa Davao City.” Shane replied.
“ha?! Bakit ngayon mo lang sinabi!?” Nabuhayan agad si Evelyn at hinarap si Shane.
“It’s a long story…”


~Please Vote for this Chapter, Comment and Follow me for more info! <3~