Stay Awake (ORIGINAL DRAFT)

Chapter Three: First Meeting

Chapter Three: First Meeting

Imbis na labinlimang minuto, naging mahigit isang oras ang byahe ko papunta sa Mall of Asia. Most of the roads are blocked by cars, their owners fast asleep. Mabuti na lang at nakahanap ako ng alternate routes.

Parang naging ghost town ang buong Metro Manila. I grew up here, and I'm used to its busy streets and noisy environment. Nakakapanibago dahil lahat ng nakasanayan ko ay wala na ngayon. Sobrang kalma ng paligid. I'm not talking about the good kind of calm, I'm talking about the sinister, unnerving kind. It's creeping me out.

I park my car in a clogged and messy parking lot, careful not to hit the people who fell asleep on the ground. Biglang tumunog 'yung phone ko at kaagad kong tiningnan 'yung dumating na message. It's from Felicity, and it says: Nasa MOA Arena ako. I take the keys from the ignition and I walk away, leaving my Dad's 2017 Honda Pilot behind.

Like the roads leading here, the whole place is surrounded by an eerie calm that makes my skin crawl. I can literally hear every footstep that I make. Nagkalat rin ang mga tulog na tao, 'yung iba pa ay nakapatong sa isa't-isa. This just proves that whatever happened last night, it was sudden, catching the whole world off-guard. Hindi ko ma-imagine 'yung lagay ng ibang mga bansa na kasalungat ng time zone namin. I'm sure that the destruction there is so much worse, because it was daytime in their place when the virus or plague hit.

Nagpatuloy ako sa paglalakad. Medyo malayo sa arena 'yung pwesto kung saan ako nag-park. Everywhere I look, may mga taong nakahandusay. Nakakapanlambot ng tuhod. Masuwerte ako dahil nasa bahay 'yung family ko kagabi. At least, alam kong safe sila.

Despite the messy and chaotic environment, I can't help but savor the stillness of the whole place. I think that this is what the world would sound without the intervention of human activities. Ano na kayang magiging kalagayan ng mundo kung hindi dumating ang human race dito? What would the world look like, without the buildings and cars and other man-made things?

Aminin man natin o hindi, tayo naman talaga 'yung panira sa mundong ito.

Hindi pa ako nakakarating sa MOA Arena, tanaw ko na kaagad ang isang babae na mag-isang nakatayo doon. That must be Felicity. Mas binilisan ko 'yung paglalakad ko.

I don't know why but I suddenly become nervous. It's not like this is my first time meeting a girl. I have my fair share of that. It's just that, Felicity is really hot. Like, the nerdy kind of hot. Kung hindi lang ako distracted kanina, malamang nakatitig ako sa kanya sa buong duration ng video chat namin. With her fair skin, honey-colored hair that looks soft to the touch, full lips, and her thick-rimmed eyeglasses, she is the perfect description of my ideal girl.

"Ikaw si Jared, right?" tanong niya sa akin nang makalapit ako sa kanya. She looks so much better up close.

"Yeah," sagot ko. "Mag-isa ka pa lang?" Ugh. What a stupid question. Of course, mag-isa lang siya. Come on, man! You can do better than this.

Tumango siya bilang sagot. Hindi ko alam kung bakit, pero hindi ako makatingin nang diretso sa kanya. Kadalasan mataas naman ang confidence ko pagdating sa mga babae. Isa kasi ako sa varsity players ng basketball team namin nu'ng high school. Pero ngayon... Parang bigla akong iniwan ng cool boy skills ko.

"Grabe, sobrang tahimik," Felicity says all of a sudden, more to herself than to me. "Parang kahapon lang, buhay na buhay 'yung lugar na ito." She sits on one of the wooden benches and heaves a sigh. I don't know if she's happy or disappointed.

"Is that a good thing... Or a bad thing?" I ask, sitting beside her.

"Well, as much as I hate human beings, hindi naman natin siguro deserve na mangyari 'to," sagot niya. "I don't know... It just seems unfair. We're better than this. Hindi pwedeng matapos 'yung panahon ng humanity dahil lang sa isang... Sleeping Beauty syndrome or something."

"Sleeping Beauty syndrome?" I smile. "I like the sound of that."

Natahimik kami. Nakatingin lang siya sa kawalan samantalang ako, well... I'm stealing glances at her. Mukhang ang lalim ng iniisip niya. Siguro kapag pumasok ako sa utak niya ngayon, I'll drown in her thoughts. I'm not complaining, though. It would be a privelege to die inside her head.

"You're staring at me," she says suddenly, and I snap back to reality. "Bakit? May dumi ba sa mukha ko?"

For God's sake, Jared! Get a hold of yourself! Nakakahiya naman 'tong ginagawa ko. Baka mamaya mahalata pa niya na may gusto ako sa kanya. I open my mouth to speak, but I was spared of any embarrassment when three people approached us.

"Hey," sabi ng isa sa kanila. "He has dyed blonde hair, rectangular face and brown eyes that are now focused on Felicity. "Ikaw si Felicity." Then he looks at me. "You're Jared."

Tumango ako. "And you're Andre."

He smiles. "This is Ian," he says, gesturing to the tall boy with curly hair. "And this is--"

"Holly," the girl with the long black hair says abruptly, cutting off Andre. "I'm Holly." Her expression is guarded, and she's looking at us unflinchingly.

"Akala ko ba hindi ka sasama?" tanong sa kanya ni Felicity.

"I changed my mind," is Holly's simple answer, her voice void of any emotion."

"So, what now?" I ask them. "Anong plano natin?"

Ian sits on the wooden bench adjacent to where Felicity and I are sitting. "I don't know yet. Wala pa naman tayong alam kung bakit nakatulog na lang bigla 'yung mga tao. We need to figure that out first."

"But how?" Felicity asks. She's looking at no one in particular, wondering. I'm pretty sure that if I have an x-ray vision, I will be able to see the gears spinning inside her mind.

"Simple," I say. "We need to figure out why we're the only ones awake. In order to do that, we need to point out our similarities."

Inilibot ni Andre 'yung tingin niya sa amin. "Well... Pare-pareho tayong teenagers."

"Tama ka," sabi ni Ian. "Pero hindi sapat iyon. Hindi lang naman tayo ang teenagers sa mundo, diba? So bakit tayo lang ang gising?"

So age isn't considered as a factor. Hindi rin naman gender or bloodline. Bakit hindi kami naaapektuhan ng kung ano mang tumama sa mundong 'to? What makes us special?

"What if... May ginawa tayong isang bagay na naging dahilan para maging immune tayo?" Felicity says.

"Like what?" tanong ni Holly.

"Ano bang ginawa nyo kagabi?"

"I was at a nightclub," I answer, pero sabay kaming nagsalita ni Ian. Nagkatinginan kami.

"Wait... Saang nightclub?" tanong sa amin ni Andre.

"Oblivion," sagot ko.

Biglang nanlaki 'yung mga mata niya. "I was there, too. Sobrang nalasing ako kagabi. Hindi ko na nga matandaan kung paano ako nakauwi sa amin."

"Nandoon din ako kagabi," Felicity states. "Akala ko nababaliw lang ako... Pero wala akong natatandaan na uminom ako ng kahit na anong alak kagabi. Kaya sobrang nagtataka ako nang magising ako kaninang umaga with a hangover."

An uneasy silence blooms between us. Posible nga kayang may kinalaman 'yung Oblivion kung bakit hindi kami naapektuhan ng kung anong tumama sa mundo kagabi?

Hinawi ko 'yung buhok ko. "So, lahat tayo nasa Oblivion kagabi," I say. "We need to go there, guys. Baka nandoon 'yung sagot sa mga katanungan natin."

"You're right," Ian agrees.

I have a very bad feeling about this. But in order to solve this mystery once and for all, we need to start at something, right?