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AYR 46:FOURTH MISSION-THEY NEED TO KNOW

[HALE]

"Hale," someone called me from behind.

Tumalikod ako para tingnan kung sino ito, and I saw Tamara and Felize looking at me seriously.

"Oh, ano 'yun?" I asked them.

Felize looked at Tamara and Tamara also looked back at her with the same intensity.

Sa tingin ko napakahalaga ng sasabihin nila ngayon kaya pinagmasdan ko sila ng mabuti.

I stared at them for a few seconds then my eyebrow rose for a bit, waiting for their reply.

Binuka na ni Felize ang mga labi niya at nagsalita.

"Uhm," she started. "Ate Tamara and I think po na kailangan nating sabihin sa pamilya ni Amy ang totoo."

I furrowed my forehead. "What do you mean by the truth?"

"'Yung tungkol sa game, Hale. Tungkol sa missions." si Tamara ang sumagot ng tanong ko.

So they think that we need to let them know about what was happening to Amy, huh?

Do we really need to do that? I doubt.

"Is this the right time?" I asked them. "I mean, look at them, they're currently grieving for Cassandra's death and Amber might be locked up in jail or in a hospital now."

"But Hale look," Tamara called me. "There's no perfect timing for this. If we don't tell it to them sooner, it might be late to tell so. What if we'll never have the chance to say it to them but now?"

Napaisip ako sa sinabi niya.

Yes, she's right. Na baka mahuli na nga kami kapag hindi pa namin ito ipaalam. Na baka may mangyari ng masama kay Amy bago pa namin ito masabi.

Pero, 'yung app.

We don't know how that works.

The app said to never reveal it to anyone. There might be a punishment.

But when should we tell it to them?

"What about the app?" I asked them.

They looked puzzled at first but they already gained composure after that.

"Ano pong ibig niyong sabihin?" Felize asked me.

Tumikhim ako. "I mean, the game, the app told us that we shouldn't let the authorities know this. So if we tell it to them, we won't be sure if they could keep this as our little secret. Paano kung magsumbong sila? May mangyayaring hindi maganda. And please remember that this is a matter of life and death. Amy's life is at the brink here as well as ours. We should not do things so recklessly."

Napaisip sila saglit doon.

Tama naman ako diba? Sobrang misteryoso ng app na iyon. Hindi namin alam kung ano ang naiisip ng operator.

I sighed.

Hindi ko na alam ang gagawin ko. As much as I want to tell them the truth, I am weighing all the consequences of our actions. Dapat masigurado ko muna na maganda ang kalalabasan ng isang bagay bago ko gawin ito. What if we failed? What will happen to her? To us?

Tumingin sa akin ng diretso si Tamara ng walang emosyon ang mukha.

Napalunok ako.

Anong gagawin niya?

"Listen Hale," aniya. "The game is tricking us from the very start. It makes us do missions that we have no choice but to do. Ginagamit nito tayo. Unti-unti nito tayong kinokontrol. And there may be a time na baka makontrol niya na tayong tuluyan, and I don't want that to happen."

Dire-diretsong saad niya. Seryoso talaga siya na gusto niya nang malaman nila.

"The game said that they will hurt Amy if we won't follow them. Na may gagawin silang masama kaya kailangan nating sumunod. Yes, sumusunod tayo kase tao tayo, nag-aalala tayo kay Amy. But I think the game is slowly consuming us. It hacks our systems."

She said those words very confidently. Mukhang alam na alam niya kung paano idedefend ang sarili niya.

"But-" she cut me off.

"No more buts, Hale."

"If they said that they won't hurt her, are you sure they won't really do it, huh? Sigurado ka bang tutuparin nila ang nga sinasabi nila? That game is a manipulating one. Wag na wag kang maniniwala."

"Tsaka kuya Hale, " sumingit bigla si Felize. "Hindi po natin dapat hayaang manalo ang game laban sa atin. Kailangan po nating ipanalo ito."

Halata ang pagkasabik sa mga boses nila na maipanalo ito. Gustong-gusto na nila matapos ito.

Sino ba namang hindi? Lahat naman siguro kami napapagod.

Mukhang tama nga sila. Hindi dapat namin bigyan ng pagkakataon ang kung sino mang nasa likod ng lahat ng ito na manalo at makontrol kami. Kailangan namin siyang kalabanin. Kalangan namin siyang kaharapain. Kahit mahirap, kailangang lumaban.

Kapag sinunod namin siya, kapag nasunod ang gusto niyang ipagawa samin. Doon papasok ang pagkakataon na binibigay namin para siya ang magwagi. Hindi namin dapat na hayaan iyon. Hindi maaari.

Pinapangako ko sa sarili ko na tatapusin ko ang larong ito at ipapanalo kaya sa tingin ko ang alam ko na ang desisyon ko. Siguro naman ay tama ang pipiliin ko ngayon.

Nakita ko ang nabuong ngisi sa mga labi ni Tamara. Obviously, sa tingin niya panalo siya. She thinks that she's winning this argument.

"So ano na Hale, anong desisyon mo?"