Saving Humanity

Chapter Thirty: End of the Line, Part Two

Chapter Thirty: End of the Line, Part Two

Ian

It took me an hour and a half to calm Felicity down. It was followed by a long stretch of awkward silence, but it's better than seeing her cry her heart out. It's a good thing that our companions decided not to intervene, because it would just make things more complicated.

I decided to push through with the plan. We'll go to the Sanctuary, and ask for their help to find our missing friends. Even if there is a possibility that the extra-terrestrial beings have put something inside our bodies that enables them to track us down.

It's hard not to know everything that has transpired while we were at the mercy of the extra-terrestrial beings. All we know is that they kidnapped us and did some experiment, adjusting our bodies to be vessels for their so-called leaders. What happened between our abduction and escape, we have absolutely no idea. Jared remembers some of it, but since he's not here we're practically blind.

One of the questions that I have right now is...why us? What's so special about us, that they chose us to be the new hosts for their leaders? Edward's statement proves the fact that they weren't successful in transferring their leaders' consciousness to us. Still, it is frustrating not knowing how we managed to escape. Our lost memories may be able to answer everything that we want to know about our invaders.

Also, why did they choose the Philippines as their base? We aren't exactly the superior country on earth. In fact, we are pretty much at the bottom. Technology-wise, there are far more impressive countries than us. Maybe, they only built a station here, and their main headquarters are somewhere else? We can't know for sure, since we have no way of communicating with people outside the country.

There are so many questions swarming inside my head, waiting to be answered. I feel like my brain might explode anytime, with all these mysteries surrounding us.

I put my head against both of my hands, trying to calm my thoughts down. We will be leaving in less than an hour, and I need to be clear-headed during the journey. Who knows what we might encounter while on the road.

"Something bothering you, Ian?"

I lift my head, turning around to find Pauline approaching me. She gives me a timid smile before settling on the empty chair beside me.

"That's okay," she says, sighing. "We all have something to think about. Even Andre is lost in his own thoughts."

I stare at her. "How about you?"

"What about me?"

"What's bothering you?"

She pauses for a long time, making me think that she doesn't want to answer my question. I'm about to raise another one when she starts to speak up.

"My Dad?" She lets out a chuckle, turning her gaze downward. She plays with the coin in her hands to keep her distracted. "Nakakatawa lang, kasi hanggang ngayon naniniwala pa rin ako na buhay siya."

"What's wrong with that?" I shrug. "Like you said, we all have something to think about. If you want to believe that your Dad is still alive, then who am I to stop you?"

She sighs. "You always know the right thing to say. Don't you, Ian?"

I can't help but laugh. "Marami nang nagsabi sa akin niyan."

Dahan-dahang nawala ang ngiti niya sa mga labi, at tumitig siya sa kawalan. I can feel that something's bothering her, aside from her Dad. Something big, because why else would she let herself be vulnerable around me?

I decide to nudge her a little, see if I can extract some information from her.

"So," I start. "What can you tell me about the Sanctuary? Especially the people who lead the place?"

She turns her gaze at me. "I've already told you everything I know, right? Wala naman na kayong dapat malaman pa. Mas maganda kung sa personal ninyo na sila makilala, dahil baka magkaroon pa kayo ng masamang impression sa kanila at mawala ang tiwala ninyo."

I nod, slowly. Even with her slightly-vulnerable state, she manages to withhold information. You can't just learn the skill that she has, unless you're born with it.

I decide to push her a little more.

"Come on, there has to be something that you haven't told us before." I lean closer to her, creating the impression of wanting to know a secret. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

She raises an eyebrow at me. "Why are you asking me this?"

I shrug. "Just curious."

She stands up, slowly pulling her guarded expression in. My attempts to extract information from her failed spectacularly. I just hope that it won't backfire.

"Well, Ian," she says, her voice full of sarcasm. "I'm not here to satiate your curiosity. If you want to know more about the leaders of the Sanctuary, then you're going to have to meet them in person."

She starts to walk away, but before she can take her third step, I reach out and grab her left arm.

"Wait," I say.

She turns around to face me, annoyance written all over her face. "Ano na naman?"

But I don't have to answer. As soon as she sees my expression, sees where my eyes are trained, she realizes why I stopped her.

My heart is pounding so hard, and I feel dizzy because of the thoughts spinning through my head. Not only that, there is a heavy feeling on my chest. The exact feeling that I felt when I found out what Edward did.

It is the feeling of betrayal.

I can't believe what I'm seeing. I refuse to believe that it is what I think it is, because it's impossible. I'm certain that I threw it away during our escape from the soldiers who tracked us down. And, surely... Surely, Pauline won't do this to us, right? She won't.

"Ian," she whispers, her voice trembling.

"Pauline..." I swallow, trying to contain the anger slowly blossoming inside my chest. All the while, my brain is trying to convince myself that Pauline wouldn't do this to us. She won't put all of our lives in danger. She won't, because she thinks of us as her friends, right?

I take a deep breath, forcing the words to come out of my mouth. A question. One that when answered, will determine the next course of action that I should follow.

"Why do you still have that fucking coin?"