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Chapter thirty-six

COURAGE

FIFTEEN CREIGHTON STUDENTS MISSING. That headline was something we weren't expecting to show up. It... was suddenly about us. We couldn't believe what we had just saw. And we shouldn't ignore that fact! There were posters of us, with blurred names— there goes the big red inked MISSING word under. Heck I even saw familliar students I've passed by my first day of school when they were pasting the posters on random walls. Our absence must have been a distraction to the school. The news on the screen was gone shorty after. Huh, totoo kaya 'yon? I mean, it wouldn't make sense kung hindi kami hahanapin, 'di ba? Pero bakit hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin kami nahahanap? Posible kayang nasa malayong lugar kami dinala kaya limang araw na kaming nandito? Nakakalungkot. Kung alam lang nila, 'yong iba patay na.

Nonetheless, ramdam ko ang pag-asa na nakapinta sa kanilang mga mukha ngayong mga oras na 'to. Ako rin, nagkaroon bigla ng pag-asa sa totoo lang. And that means they must find us, no matter what. Or else my faith in humanity will be destroyed. The name of the school will be at risk once it becomes the talk of the town, which I hope will happen soon. Wala akong pake sa reputasyon ng school, kaligtasan namin ang nakasalalay rito. The more people who knows about our situation, the faster we'll escape.

S'yempre hindi iyon gano'n kadali, I hate to admit this but MC is smarter than everyone in this room. She outsmarts the hell out of us, bago ka pa makapag-isip ng plano mo may counter na agad siya para sa 'yo. She plans ahead of time— naplano na niya nga ata kung papaano niya kami mahahadlangan sa paglaya. Siya lang din ang sisira ng pag-asa namin. At mukhang sisirain na niya ngayon. Seems like it was even a mistake thinking about hope.

"Oh my gosh, did I surprise the prisoners?" tumawa siya ng nakaririndi. "Nakalimutan ko sabihin na may regalo ako sainyo ngayon, but that was it! A glimpse of what's happening outside the real world. Are you guys happy? Hihi~"

Sabay-sabay muling nagsalita ang mga kasama ko rito na halos mabingi nanaman ako. They were all asking stuffs related about their family and updates on the progress sa paghahanap sa amin. Napalunok ako ng laway habang tinitignan ang nakakaasar na nakangiting maskara ni MC. Kinakabahan ako. Hindi ko alam kung bakit.

"Please show us more of the news! G-gusto kong malaman kung ano lagay ng pamilya ko ngayon!" Nagmamakaawang saad ni Prisoner 13 na halos lumuhod na siya kakaulit nito.

"Aww, unfortunately... I cannot! That'll ruin the thrill, don't you think so?" pang-aasar niya rito na ikinalungkot naman nito. This is probably the first time I've seen him voice out loud, he's usually just quiet along with Prisoner 11. Or maybe they just don't radiate attention enough.

"Next players! Ohoho, I bet the prisoners are going to be excited to watch the whole thing as Prisoners fourteen and fifteen are next!"

Gano'n lang. Mabilis na nag-change topic si MC na para bang hindi kami binitin sa pinakita niya sa amin. Wala silang magagawa dahil ang mga susunod na manlalaro ay isa sa mga pinaka-misteryosong mga tao na nandirito. Kaya ang mga sumunod na manlalaro naman ay walang magawa rin kundi sumunod, natahimik na rin ang mga parang nakawalang hayop sa zoo kanina rito ngayon. Lahat kami'y pinanuod sila na umupo sa judgment seats at ramdam hanggang dito ang tension na mayroon sila. Yeah, Judgment seats. That's what I like to call it from now on.

They're probably the most awaited prisoners the moment the pairs were revealed. Aba, lalo kaya ako na transferee at walang alam sa kung sino sila at kung ano background nila. Sobrang curious ako sa kung ano'ng pinag-awayan nila na halos sumuka sila tuwing nakikita nila ang isa't-isa. This pair was similar yet so different. Setsuna is maintaing his calm posture while avoiding eye contact with anyone. On the other hand, Azazel looks like he's about to murder somebody today.