Maine thought following her Mother's advice of just staying inside the house and praying for the best will benefit her but she's wrong, just a few hours later she's already itching to get out and find Richard. The young lady is trying her best to search for the latest news on what happened but she couldn't find any, it's like the entire world just forgot about them.
"Dad? ... Dad! How are they?!" Maine asked her father the minute he walked into their house.
"I talked to General Faulkerson, they still don't have a lead as to where they were taken" Mr. Mendoza replied before placing his hands at the top of her daughter's shoulders. Maine can feel the whole world crashing down on her, she knows the longer it takes to find them the lesser the chances Richard and his friends will live.
"Now what do we do? We just can't sit here and wait for those fucking terrorists to call us or something. Dad, six lives are at stake. We just can't let them die"
"Maine, this is not as easy as it looks like"
"Dad I know it's not, but this doesn't mean we'll just give them up" she answered. Maine knows that if she only has the means, she will not sleep until she finds them.
"Maine, we are not going to just give them up. The military is already arranging a negotiation between the terrorists. We're doing our best to get them back before something bad happens" her father answered. Maine started pacing back and forth, diving into her own pool of thoughts once again.
For obvious reasons, she doesn't trust the rebels. She's pretty sure that they won't hold their end of bargain, resulting into yet another episode of nothing but constant battles between them and the military.
"But Dad, they're not going to kill them ... are they?" she then asked.
"That I don't know. They're terrorists, Maine. They'll do what they want to do"
"Then there should be an all out war against them" Maine replied just as they both heard a familiar sound. She turned her face to the side and witnessed the breaking news being broadcasted on TV.
They're showing a video apparently uploaded to social media sites by the terrorists themselves.
Her heart dropped at the sight of Richard and the others all lined up while being recorded. Maine's knees went weak that's why she had to hold on to the couch to avoid falling down.
All of them looks weak and disoriented, not to mention obviously hurt.
Maine zoned out, blocking any sort of outside noise in her mind. She just focused on the screen and what they were saying.
"Gusto naming palayain niyo ang aming commander kapalit nang anim na to. Gusto rin namin na magbigay kayo nang dalawampung milyong piso bawat ulo nila. Meron kayong dalawang araw para sundin yon. Kung hindi, isa isang sasabog ang mga bungo ng mga batang to" the guy holding a gun to Tommy's head uttered before the video went black.
Maine then looked at her dad with nothing but horror in her eyes.
"Now what do we do?"
--
"This is still our second day in captivity and so far, things are actually going from worse to absolute worst. Kyle is sick while Emmett is constantly having panic attacks. Aside from that, we're getting dirtier and our stomachs started growling. I am genuinely getting scared, making me think that maybe my gut feeling is right after all... not everyone will make it out of this place alive. However, I still have a lot of fire in me. I know I won't be going down without a fight.
I am going to write more things tomorrow ... if we're not murdered yet"
And with that, Richard closed his notebook and just looked at his friends. He knows they have to find a way out while they still have enough strength in their bodies.
"Dude?" he turned to his side and faced Nick.
"What?" Richard asked him.
"Are we ever going to make it out of this place alive?"
"We will ... trust me ... and come on now bro, don't lose hope. We'll be able to go back to our families and resume normal lives. I wanna be with Maine again and I'm pretty sure you want to be with your girlfriend too"
"I do ... but man, how do we go back to normal after this? How do we move on from this point?"
Richard smiled and placed his hand on Nick's shoulder before saying "I have high hopes for all of us".
Thomas then approached them, "Hey guys" he uttered and so Richard looked at him.
"What is it, Thomas?"
"I think I found a way to get us out of here"
---
After eating a small amount of food for dinner, Maine immediately went back to her room to pack her stuff. She received a text from Richard's cousin saying they'll fly to South Cotobato as early as tomorrow morning to cooperate with the military forces that are based in there.
Not wanting to waste her time at home and do nothing but pray for his safety, Maine decided to actually do something that will lessen her anxiety ... she will go there as well.
"Mum and Dad .... I hope you won't get mad at me for doing this ... well, who am I kidding? Of course you'll get mad. I really just wanna be there for Richard ... I promise I will take care of myself, I love you" that's the message she will leave her parents once she sneaks out.
After folding the paper into two and placing it neatly right on top of her nightstand, Maine closed her eyes and hoped to God that he'll look after her.
"God please ... please save him".
