30 Doors

24th Door

"All objects in the universe are unique. No two things that happen by chance ever happen in exactly the same way. No two things are ever constructed or manufactured in exactly the same way. No two things wear in exactly the same way. No two things ever break in exactly the same way." ―Joe Nickelle
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Wala sa sarili kong tinahak ang Elevator pababa sa 24th floor. Maging ang lahat ay nagulat sa mga nangyari. Claina was dead, Mildred and Zyril were missing. It was indeed a very peaceful night, but waking up was a triple disaster.

"So that killer bitch promised a peaceful night. Yes we did sleep soundly but we woke up with a nightmare!" Nanggigigil na reklamo ni Mina paglabas ko ng elevator. Nasa bungad na naman sila ng lobby at parang hindi mabuksan ang main door ng 24th floor.

Nakaharap ang lahat sa isang malaking screen na nasa itaas ng main door. Another set-up for this door. Pakiramdam ko tuloy ay pinag-eeksperimentuhan kami ng kung sinoman. May napanood na akong ganitong pelikula dati. Ginagawang guinea pig ang mga tao para mapag-aralan ang kanilang psychological behavior. Kumbaga isang psychological assessment, a process of test that uses a combination of techniques to help arrive at some hypotheses about a person and their behavior, personality and capabilities.

Napailing ako. Bakit kailangang mga empleyado ng 31st floor ang pag-aralan? We are a bunch of common people. Nothing special. Kung may super powers ang ilan saamin, maniniwala pa ako sa psychological assessment na' to. Pero ano ba talaga ang motibo ng killer at bakit kami iniisa-isa? Kung balak niya kaming patayin lahat, bakit hindi na lang kami pasabugin ng minsanan tutal magaling naman niyang na-plot ang buong building?

Hindi kaya ang may-ari ng MOS na sina President Ruby Red at Rocess R. Red and may gawa nito? Pero hindi eh. Buhay na nila ang MOS. I saw how both of them worked hard to keep MOS to where it should be. Hindi ito magiging number one online shopping company kung hindi dahil sa passion nilang mag-ina.

"Do we have any answer yet?" naiinip na tanong ni Andreas na nakatitig pa rin sa nakasulat sa malaking OLED TV.

On the screen it's written: This is a common group of words. I am curious how fast you can find out what is so common about it. It may look normal, plain, typical and boring that you would say nothing is wrong with this group of words. Right, nothing is wrong with it! It is highly unusual though. Study it and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out. Do not look for any coach and look what is missing!

Inulit ko ang nakasulat sa screen. Sinubukan kong intindihin ang ibig sabihin no'n. Nothing is wrong with the sentences. There is no direct or explicit message as well. Sumakit ang sentido ko nang mapagtanto kong simple ang paragraph pero mukhang mahirap sagutin. Madalas ganon. 'Yong inaakala nating simple, nagiging komplikado.

Mina stepped forward. Her hands on akimbo as she stared at the screen intently. She twitched her pursed lips. Parang nabobore ito sa binabasa. "There is no puzzle to solve nor it needs common sense. The answer is 'E'. Walang letter 'E' sa paragraph na 'yan. See those letters below that ID scanner." Tinuro nito ang black scanner na nasa gilid ng main door. "Pindutin mo nga 'yong 'E' Rielle."

Nag-alangan pa si Rielle sa utos ng kaibigan. "Sure ka Mina? Baka sumabog ako dito!" Kunot oo nitong tanong sa babae.

Walang naging reaksyon sa mukha ni Mina. Mahirap talagang basahin ang mukha nito. Tanging pagtaas lang ng kilay ang nakita ko mula dito. "Sa tingin mo ipapahamak kita? Ikaw na lang ang natitirang kaibigan ko dito. Trust me pag sumabog 'yan, ako maglilibing sa'yo."

Natawa sina Andreas at Simond pati na rin ang kanina pang tahimik na si Natas.

"Mina naman eh! Kahit kailan talaga! You're so dark!" singhal nito sa kaibigan saka nanginginig na pinindot ang letrang "E" sa black scanner. Kasunod no'n ay ang biglang pagbukas ng main door ng 24th floor.