Back at camp, Marianne and Sienna had just finished refilling the empty water gallon.
"Sa tingin mo, Pres, nakahanap na sila?" Sienna asked, trying to make conversation with the Student Council President.
"I hope so." Marianne glanced at her wristwatch—almost two o'clock. "Sana hindi sila masyadong napalayo. Baka abutan sila ng gabi."
"What do you think happened?" Sienna kept the conversation going, a slight frown on her face. "Iba kasi kutob ko, eh. Parang may super duper masamang nangyari. And usually, kapag kinukutuban ako... tama talaga."
Marianne gave her a small, reassuring smile. "Well, let's hope na walang 'super duper' na masamang nangyari."
"Pero ang weird lang kasi," Sienna continued. "Aside sa supplies at dun sa mga participants na bumaba sa bayan, si Mang Kanor hindi rin nagpapakita ilang araw na rin. Talagang... super weird. Gets mo?"
Marianne was about to say that Sienna might be overthinking things when Jasmine's voice rang out from the staircase.
"Ate! Ate! Bilis! May signal na naman na-pick up si Ate Cha!"
Marianne's heart leaped, and without hesitation, she and Sienna ran upstairs toward the balcony near the roof access.
When they got there, Marianne looked up to see Charlotte and Mayumi squatting on the roof with an umbrella overhead, focused and unmoving.
"Di ba kayo napapaso sa init?" Sienna asked, squinting at them under the midday sun.
"Shh." Charlotte put a finger to her lips without looking down. "Makinig."
They fell into an uneasy silence, straining to catch any fragment of signal cutting through the static-filled radio.
"...hindi isang drill... emergency broadcast... mapanganib... impeksiyon dulot ng... kumakalat sa buong bansa..." They held their breath as the signal cleared momentarily. "Kumpirmado... awtoridad na mabilis... kumakalat... sa pamamagitan ng kontaminadong pagkain... kagat at—" Just as the message began to take shape, the radio fizzled back into static, leaving Charlotte frustrated. That had been the longest and clearest signal they had received so far.
She stood up and raised the radio higher, desperate to catch a better signal. Mayumi instinctively grasped her waist, fearing Charlotte might lose her balance and fall off the roof.
"Naboang na!" Charlotte cursed, rising onto her tiptoes to reach for the radio. But Mayumi gently pulled her back down, stopping her before she could go any further.
"Cha, mahuhulog ka."
"Piskit na gyud! Na wala napod ang signal!"
"Ano raw?" Jasmine and Sienna exchanged confused glances, unable to decipher what Charlotte was saying.
Just as Charlotte was about to give up, the radio crackled back to life.
"Isang nakakahawang impeksyon mula sa—kumakalat... hindi airborne at kumakalat sa pamamagitan ng tendrils mula sa mga nahawaang tao at kagat."
Mayumi clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling a sob, as she pieced together what happened. Her other hand gripping Charlotte's arm so tightly it hurt.
"...mga sintomas—panginginig at matinding pagkalito, agresibong pag-uugali, itim na fungal growth sa katawan... iwasan... direktang kontak sa nahawaan. Manatili sa loob ng bahay at i-block ang mga pinto—ito ay hindi drill..."
"T-Tendrils? Ano yun?" Sienna repeated, her voice shaky as she tried to process the gravity of what she'd just heard. "Anong ibig sabihin nun? Anong nangyayari?" She turned desperately toward the Student Council President.
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While We Were Away | BINI OT8 AU
FanfictionA Short BINI OT8 AU wherein eight girls attend a leadership camp in a remote mountainous area, cut off from the outside world with no signal or internet. What starts as a typical summer retreat quickly turns unsettling as supplies stop arriving and...
