ELISE'S POV
As soon as my feet touched the floor of the Falias City I wanted to go back. I want to scream his name, place my ear to his heart and find a heartbeat. I want to believe that despite that scene, he's still alive. But Mrs. Perez won't allow me.
Gusto kong magwala, pero hindi ako makakilos. Pakiramdam ko hindi ko hawak ang buong katawan ko. Hindi ko maigalaw ang mga daliri ko. My whole body is numb. Nagpadala ako sa paghila ni Mrs. Perez sa akin papunta sa Grail tower. I can see through my peripheral vision that there were portals being opened everywhere and soldiers were going through. Relax. I told myself. Hindi ko na napansin na nasa isang silid na pala kami at pilit kinukuha ni Mrs. Perez ang atensyon ko.
"Elise? Are you already back in your senses?" pinilit kong tumango habang pinapaupo niya ako. I drove the thoughts about Carter deep down my subconscious. Mas kailangan kong malaman kung anong kinalaman ko sa lahat ng nangyayari, at kahit masakit isipin, Carter should be the least of my worries now.
Napahawak si Mrs. Perez sa sentido niya at minasahe ito, bago bumuntong hininga at napatingin sa akin. "I never knew that Alena's child is still alive,"
Alena. Isa siya sa golden trio na maraming contribute sa research at technology ng Cross Institute kasabay ang papa ni Carter.
"Hindi ko po maintindihan," yun lang ang tanging nasabi ko, tumango naman siya at umupo rin sa nakabakanteng silya sa harapan ko.
"We have to start in the beginning then. You see Elise, 18 years ago. Nagkaroon ng research sila Alena tungkol sa immortalize cell line. If you are familiar with Henrietta Lacks, she's known for having immortal cells. An immortalised cell line is a population of cells from a multicellular organism which would normally not proliferate indefinitely but, due to mutation, have evaded normal cellular senescence and instead can keep undergoing division. The cells can therefore be grown for prolonged periods in vitro. The mutations required for immortality can occur naturally or be intentionally induced for experimental purposes." huminto siya ng ilang segundo, hinihintay siguro ako para i-absorb lahat ng information na sinasabi niya.
"Ngayon, gusto nilang malaman kung possible bang maging immortal ang tao o ang mga kagaya natin. Apparently she wasn't successful of proving that. But she found an alternative case. It's about slowing down ageing process instead. Making an average life span of a person to be 200-300 years." aniya.
"It is possible?" tanong ko. Hindi ako makapaniwala na pwede palang mangyari iyon.
"Yes it is. Pero hindi niya itinuloy. Because it's gonna be a risky procedure and she doesn't want to be involved in doing something inhumane just to make an exceptional research out of it. Kaya itinago niya iyon. Apparently nalaman ni Carson ang tungkol sa research, kaya mas lalong lumaki at lumakas ang organization ng neolution dahil pati siya ay nagka interes. Ricardo and Carlos were abducted by neolution during that time, they were being held as hostage for Alena to complete her research. Hindi kumpleto ang data na nakuha nila, may nawawalang formula na hanggang ngayon ay hindi nila ma-solve, kaya ang daming mga inosenteng nadadamay dahil patuloy sila sa pag experiments. Nasunog ang laboratory ng neolution noon, doon namatay ang tatlong magkakaibigan. Na hi-jacked namin ang system file ng neolution at may mga copies din na nakuha patungkol sa research niya pero ang pinaka kumpletong original file ay nawawala. Doon din namin nakita ang medical record ni Alena, she was pregnant at that time. Buong akala namin ay namatay siya sa sunog, but apparently since you were alive, malaki ang possibility na buhay siya kung hindi pa siya nahahanap ng neolution, o maaring pagkatapos ka niyang ipanganak ay tuluyan na siyang nawala. Hindi pa kami sigurado sa kung anong nangyari sa kanya,"
Too much information. Hindi ko alam kung paano ako magrereact sa mga sinabi niya. Hinawakan ni Mrs. Perez ang kamay kong kanina pa pala dumudugo. Because I've been clenching my fist, the sharp edges of my pendant struck my palm.
"Pero paano po kayo nakakasiguro na ako ang anak niya?" ani ko.
"George has the technopathy ability. Ability to manipulate technology. Manifested as a special form of electrical/telekinetic manipulation, a special form of "morphing" which allows physical interaction with machines, or even a psychic ability that allows for mental interface with computer data. Lahat ng machines na ginagamit natin dito sa Cross Institute ay siya ang gumagawa. Nagawa niyang i-hack ang database ng neolution. Ang encrypted file ni Alena ay mabubuksan lang through iris recognition system. Nang magka medical record ka sa neolution, nag match ang DNA mo sa DNA file ni Alena. Nung araw na nasunog ang laboratory ay yung araw na pinanganak ka. Kung sinong nagligtas sa 'yo ang hindi natin alam. Ngayon, gusto ka nilang kunin para mabuksan mo ang file ni Alena."
The door opened in a rush, and familiar faces came in. Mabilis akong napatayo sa kinauupuan ko at sinalubong sila ng yakap. My friends are here. Hindi ko alam na sobrang higpit na pala ng pagkakayakap ko sa kanila nang dumaing si Lia. Kasama rin nila si Stan na dumudugo ang binti at braso. Nagkatinginan kami at mabilis ko siyang nilapitan para tignan ang lagay niya. "Yung mga sugat niyo, kailangan niyong pumunta ng medical wing agad," ani ko.
"Later. We have to report what happened to Cross Institute." ani Lia.
Napansin ko nang magkaharap na si Fenrir at Mrs. Perez, "They destroyed the school. Everything was turned to pieces and ashes. They burned and bombed everything. We retreated, there were a lot of dead bodies left. "
Dead bodies.
"Where's Carter?" pagkabanggit ko nang pangalan niya'y nag iba ang ekspresyon nila at hindi nila ako matignan sa mata. Lia, Jeanne, Zion and Fenrir dropped their gazes. Maging si Stan ay hindi rin makatingin sa akin.
Pinigilan kong maging hysterical. Fuck it, stay calm. "Where's he?" pag uulit ko ng tanong, hanggang sa narinig kong bumuntong hininga si Fenrir.
"He's gone, nakita nalang namin ang katawan niyang kasama sa main building na nasusunog. "
A whimpered escape from my throat, I felt my body going numb, my head was spinning, everything's spinning, I saw everyone's lips call my name, but all I hear is silence, the last thing I saw was Fenrir catching me while I fell into the deepest depths of darkness.
BINABASA MO ANG
Project X (published via Sanctum Press)
Science Fiction[TAG-LISH] "hiddens" are species who have an altered genome in their DNA and is considered a genetic failure that has evolved during conception and is considered higher than the average human in terms of intelligence and capabilities. Elise is an...
