"Richard .... Please answer the phone ... please" Maine whispered while pacing back and forth inside her room. Her heart is pounding for there are already rumors of a kidnapping at Lake Sebu a few hours ago. A part of her thinks he's one of the unfortunate victims.
"Maybe he'll just pop in here for a surprise. Richard loves surprises, don't worry iha ... I know he's safe" her mother told her but Maine cannot calm herself down. This is so not like him, and if he's just doing this silent treatment on purpose then she will make sure he regrets it.
Maine only stopped trying when they both heard frantic knocks on the door. She opened it right away and saw her sister's panicked look. "Ate ... si Richard" she said, causing her heart to skip a couple of beats.
"Oh no"
She ran out of the room and saw the news that is currently being broadcasted on their TV.
"Ang nakikita niyo po ngayon ay yung nirentahang sasakyan mismo nang mga naging biktima dito sa nangyaring kidnapping sa Lake Sebu, South Cotobato"
Maine had to cover her mouth with her hand to prevent herself from screaming or saying a foul word that will catch everyone's attention. She recognizes that car from the pictures Richard sent just two days ago, she can't be mistaken ... he's really one of the victims.
"Shit ... no ... no" Maine thought to herself before running back to her room. There, she immeidtaely called RJ's parents to relay what happened.
"Tita? Oh my gosh ... si Richard" she said right away.
"Ma-Maine ..." his Mum can't even speak properly. Maine can just hear her sob through the tears.
Maine felt her heart dropped the same moment she fell down to her knees. The impact of the moment is not sinking in on her. A part of her still thinks Richard is already at home and peacefully sleeping inside his room
Her Mum and Dad then stormed in and hugged her tightly. She's overwhelmed, but her tears already escaped her eyes. She's at lost for words and every bit of noise was drowned out. All that's left is the sound of her own heart breaking.
--
As soon as Richard opened his eyes, the first thing he felt is the cold cement floor against the side of his face. It was quickly followed by an overwhelming pain in several parts of his body. He looked around and saw his friends staring at him. And even though every inch of Richard is hurting, he managed to sit up.
"Where exactly are we?" he asked.
"No one knows, they injected us with something probably halfway here" Nick replied.
"Anong nangyari kay Kyle?"
"Nagkaroon ng panic attack" Tommy answered. Richard glanced at his shaking friend and felt so sorry for him.
None of them have any ideas what is going on and why they were taken. All they know is that whatever it is, it cannot be good.
Using most of his leftover strength, Richard stood up and looked out of the window. He didn't see anything but a huge ass forest. This finding made him realize that they must be somewhere up in the mountains.
"We have to get out of here"
"How? There are guards everywhere" Thomas told him.
"I don't know. But Thomas, there's a huge chance they're going to kill us. We must find a way out before that happens" Richard uttered just before the door opened. He looked on and saw two armed men walk in. The young lad gulped, he's scared of them.
"Pakawalan niyo na po kami, wala naman kayong makukuha samin" Emmett pleaded.
"Aba brad, kung kami lang eh di naman namin kayo sana kukunin eh. Kaso may kailangan kami sa gobyerno" one of the guys replied.
"Anong kailangan niyo?" Richard then asked them. He knows a thing or two about this sort of scenario since his grandfather is a Military General.
"Wala ka na dun. Dapat nga pasalamat pa kayo na hindi namin kayo sinaktan nang masyado eh. Yung mga ibang nakukuha dito unang araw pa lang, namamatay na" the other one replied before they both laughed sinisterly.
Pissed off and desperate at the same time, Richard cursed at them.
"Putang ina niyo! Mga gago!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, only to receive a punch straight to his stomach. That knocked the air out of him, the young lad fell down to his knees and received an elbow jab right on his back.
Richard fell flat on the floor, weak and helpless. One of the guys was about kick him but then Thomas begged them to stop and so they did.
"Sa susunod na gawin mo yan, sisirain ko yang mukha mo" Richard heard one of them say before leaving the room. He on the other hand just closed his eyes and let his mates roll him over.
"Richard, are you alright?" Nick asked while helping him sit up.
"I am ... those bastards, ugh" he replied while trying his best to endure the pain.
"Now what do we do?" Thomas asked them.
They all looked at each other before saying the same five words.
"We'll find a way out"
--
Maine spent most of the night sitting on her bed and praying to God that Richard will be fine. She's feeling a bit guilty because of the fact that she already felt something bad will happen to them before they even got there. Maine did not speak about it, and that thought has been haunting her ever since the news of their disappearance broke out.
"I should have said something ... maybe I would have been able to stop them" she thought to herself. Tons of voices are reigning inside her head, telling Maine things she doesn't want to hear.
Thankfully, the door opened and that distracted her a bit.
"Maine? Don't tell me hindi ka pa natutulog?"
"I can't. Pano ako makakatulog Ma?" she asked.
"Maine, keeping yourself awake will not benefit you by any means. Richard's grandpa is doing everything he can to save Richard. You should rest"
"Mom, no ... I wanna help ... I wanna find Richard"
--
The next day, everyone woke up early. Richard thought that they will be starved to death but he's wrong, their food actually came earlier than expected and they're not as bad he thought they will be.
One of the armed guys told them their 'Commander' will arrive a few hours from now and talk to them. That made him nervous, only God knows what can happen once the boss comes.
Richard then ran his body down the pants he's wearing, hoping that they didn't take his phone. He felt bad when he realized they took it but he found something else. The small notebook he uses as a mini journal and a pen are in his lower back pocket.
Knowing that he'll go crazy if he doesn't get his thoughts off of his brain, Richard pulled out the notebook and pen.
"What are you doing?" Thomas asked.
"I'm going to write"
"Write about what?"
"Our stay here" he answered before opening the pocket-sized notebook. Richard then took a deep breath before he started writing the following words:
"Today is our second day"
