SDA 27
"Shemay!" shrieked Ivy. Pinapalo-palo niya pa ako sa kamay dahil sa sobrang kaba.
Kinuha ko ang surgical mask ko at binuksan ang pinto ng sasakyan. Lumabas ako ng sasakyan at tumakbo papunta sa tapat ng Nosoi. Ang layo naman namin sa Nosoi! Buti na lang may pinagkakaabalahan pa si Homer at hindi pa siya pumapasok.
"Sir!" tawag ko kay Homer. "Sir! Sir! Sir!"
Tinatawag ko siya habang papunta ako sa kanya. Humarap naman siya sa akin ngunit bago ako makalapit sa kanya ay may nagsilitawang mga bodyguard. Hinarangan nila ako para hindi ako makalapit sa boss nila, si Homer.
I have to think of something. Quickly. What will I do? What will I say? Bakit ba kasi bigla-bigla na lang akong tumakbo papunta dito?Hindi ko man lang inisip kung anong gagawin ko.
"Sir, may reklamo po ako! Ilang beses ko na pong hinintay ang pagkakataong ito!" kunwari kong pagmamakaawa. Homer was just looking at me like he does not care at all. "Sir, tungkol po sa mga produkto niyo po. Sige na, sir, kahit limang minuto lang kausapin niyo po ako."
Pumasok na siya ng building habang patuloy pa din ako sa pagwawala.
"Ma'am, umalis na kayo. Bawal kayo dito," sabi ng isang bodyguard.
"Peke ang mga produkto niyo! Hindi totoo! Peke!" sigaw ko at dinuro sila.
Nang nakita kong wala ng pag-asa, umalis na ako. Naglakad ako pabalik sa sasakyan namin.
"Naman!" inis kong sabi nang pumasok ako sa sasakyan. Tinanggal ko ang mask ko at pabagsak na umupo.
"Tinawagan na namin sina Andronika. May number pala si Raul ng isa nilang kasama," Ivy said.
"Ayos ang ginawa mo doon, ah," Raul said to me with his thumbs up.
"Binigyan mo naman sina Andronika ng oras kahit kakaunti lang 'yon. Atleast naalerto natin sila," pagpapalubag-loob sa akin ni Ivy.
"Kahit seconds lang?" Raul asked. Ivy shot her a glare and signalled him to shut up. Raul zipped his mouth and signed okay.
"Nasaan na daw sila?" tanong ko sa kanila.
Nagkibit-balikat si Raul. "Ayos lang naman daw sila. Sabi nila ay aalis na niyan sila."
Sobrang lakas ng pintig ng aking puso. Hindi ko alam bakit kabang-kaba ako, e hindi naman ako ang mahuhuli.
"Ang galing mo talagang gumawa ng eskandalo," Ivy said with a grin. How I badly want to rip her mouth off!
"Shut up," I said.
"Oo nga naman, Evelyn," dagdag naman ni Raul.
"Manahimik ka nga!" I said and corssed my arms in front of my chest.
"Hala! Pikon na!" bwisit pa sa akin ni Ivy.
I glared at her badly that my eyes hurt. Ginaya niya ang ginawa ni Raul and she zipped her mouth. Nagtawanan silang dalawa at nag-apiran pa sila.
After a few torturing minutes —which felt like hours— Andronika and her team arrived. Nakahinga ako ng maluwag. They looked alright and no one was injured. I looked behind and no one was following them. I just hope they did not get caught.
Pinapasok namin sila kaagad sa sasakyan at sa isa pang sasakyan. Wala pa din nagsasalita noong bumiyahe kami pabalik but I can see Raul and Ivy trying to hide their smiles from me. Nagkatinginan sila gamit ang salamin sa sasakyan at bigla-bigla nalang silang tumawa.
Tinignan ko ang mga kasama naming galing sa grupo ni Andronika at makikita sa mukha nila ang pagtataka. Gusto ko silang tadyakin kaso 'wag na lang. Si Raul pala ang nag-dadrive.
Sa susunod talaga ay hindi na ako sasama sa mga ganito. Kabang-kaba ako!
Nang nakadating na kami sa napakalaki nilang mansion, agad-agad akong bumaba. Ako pa ata ang pinakaunang bumaba. Mabilis akong naglakad papunta kay Andronika.
"I thought your plan was solid?" I said angrily. Dinuro ko siya sa sobrang galit.
She looked at me calmly. How can she be calm? I hate her calmness!
"Hindi ako sumali dito para lang mahuli kayo!" I said while pointing at her.
Pumagitna sa akin ang dalawang lalaking palaging katabi ni Andronika. Sige pagtanggol niyo pa lider niyo! Hindi ko na iyon sinabi ng malakas dahil ayaw kong magsimula ng panibagong away.
"It's okay," Andronika said to them. She stepped forward and looked at me as if I was an interesting object.
"We were not caught," she said to me.
"Muntik na!"
"Well, that is why we assigned you there. And do not pour your annoyance to me when it is clear that nothing is my fault. Your teammates annoyed you and not me," she said and gestured her hand to Raul and Ivy.
Nagulat ako dahil alam niyang bwinisit ako nina Raul pero hindi naman doon nagsimula ang inis ko. Nagsimula ito sa kanya, kay Andronika.
"Akala ko ba na solid ang plano mo?" tanong ko ulit.
"No plan is solid. I just said that to assure all of you. We cannot calculate everything right. No one can be like that. Everything can change. That is why we assign people to alert us when a variable in our plan changes," she said. "Why are you even furious? You should be happy. You signed up for something more dangerous than this. You already forgot about the PAWN? Don't forget that."
I was taken aback by what she said.
Someone cleared his throat so I looked at him. It was Kane.
He chuckled nervously. "May sasabihin sana ako pero mukhang nag-aaway pa kayo. Sige... uhmm... tuloy niyo na muna 'yan."
I shot daggers at him and mouthed "shut up".
"What is it?" asked Andronika.
"Uh, 'wag na muna. Tuloy niyo na muna ang pag-uusap niyo." He even made air quotes when he said "pag-uusap". Ugh, this boy!
"What is it?" Andronika asked again.
He answered. Kane must have sensed that Andronika was serious.
"'Di ba umalis kayo? Nung umalis kayo may dumating dito kaya pinabukas ko kay Fraust ang gate. Bumalik si Fraust tapos sinabi niya sa'kin kung sino ang dumating."
"Sino ang dumating?" Raul asked. Pabitin pa kasi itong Kane na 'to. Paimportante talaga siya.
Kane sighed. "Si Homer."
• •
Thanks for reading!
BINABASA MO ANG
Harrowing Verity
Dla nastolatkówEvelyn Isolde Laxa, a boundless person, had always wanted to enter the PAWN. She wants to know how is the experience. She wants to know how the system works. She wants to know why they have the PAWN. So many questions of how and why. She wants to k...
