Stone City

1. 4 years after

"Are you sure you all want her to stay here? Who knows? Baka siya pa magpahamak sa'tin dito dahil spy siya!"

A loud but muffled voice awakened my sleeping mind. I slowly opened my eyes and was greeted by the warm ray of light coming through the window. Little specks of dust float in the air as the warm breeze swayed them in from the outside. Feeling some of them fall down on my face, I was about to wipe them off but felt a cold metal restraining my right hand as it made a loud clang.

Argh! My wrist...

I winced as I looked at where my right hand is and tried to sit but the right side of my belly stung with pain. I winced and looked downwards, seeing my body covered in a blanket. My left hand was handcuffed too. Wait... Why am I handcuffed on a bed right now?! And come to think of it... Where is the source of the voice I heard earlier?

Despite the stinging pain, I sat down. As the blanket slowly slid down from my neck onto my lap, I noticed that my chest was covered with a bandage wrap further down to my lower abdomen. The once-white color of bandage on the right side of my belly has a small tint of red now. I don't think the pants I'm wearing right now are mine.

My gaze averted to the window and noticed that it's just an open and empty place where a window frame should be. There are signs that there were once metals or even a whole window frame there because of the holes but now, only chips of wood are present there. I can't see well if there are trees around but perhaps this is a higher floor. I should've seen the tall trees by now.

I also looked around the room and saw several monobloc chairs stacked in the corner. There's also a little wooden table just not far away from my bed. The doorway has no door, just a curtain blocking the view from outside the room. Where am I?!

The questions piling on top of each other, I shaked my arms and tried to break free of these handcuffs, making loud clang sounds. My wrists ached as the metal hit them repeatedly.

"Oh look, gising na siya," a familiar voice spoked up as my furrowed gaze averted to a young woman who just entered the room. The loud clanging sounds must have alerted her. The woman had long curly gray hair, her forehead visible. Her brown eyes transfixed at me, and eyebrows furrowed, her face looked evidently irritated.

The most noticeable was the sword sheath behind her back. Is that an authentic sword? But having a sword, it could only mean...

"Who are you?!" Letting out my raspy voice, I repeatedly shook my arms to break free but to no avail. "Nasaan ako?! Bakit ako naka-handcuff?!"

Behind her, a young man followed and entered the room, around the young woman's age. The young man looked awfully bored. His unkempt shaggy hair slightly covered his eyes but those dark circles under his eyes were evident even with the shadow from his hair. Natutulog pa ba 'to? He yawned as he sat at the bed beside my feet. I quickly pulled my legs close to me.

The young woman sat on a monobloc chair beside the stacks of the other monobloc chairs and crossed her legs. "Napakarami naman nitong tanong. Dapat binusalan niyo bibig nito para tahimik e."

"Malay ko ba kung masasama kayong tao?!"

Yes, common sense! Isn't this like those kidnapping situations?! I'm handcuffed to the bed! Kulang nalang lagyan nila ng duct tape 'yong bibig ko.

"Calm down, miss. We still do not know if you are a threat to us. This is just us making sure," Standing up, he put his hands inside his pocket. Sila pa talaga ang making sure? "I'll let you go, if you answer our questions first. That is if you want to comply. If you don't, then you'll be handcuffed here until who knows."

"Seryoso ka? She might be a spy! We don't even know her—"

"Which is why we're gonna ask her questions," the young man cut her out, "hindi ba?" The young woman, taken aback, averted her gaze from the man and glared at me instead. Wait, why did that feel satisfying?