MALALIM na ang gabi nang magpasyang magtipon ang lahat ng miyembro ng samahan kasama na rin ang grupo ni Devin. Nakapalibot ang lahat sa malaking bonfire habang mag-isang nakapuwesto sa sentro si Tala. He was firmly standing while his arms were crossed. Seryoso ang mukha niyang nakatingin sa mga kahoy na kasalukuyang tinotupok ng apoy. Walang nagtangkang magsalita ni-isa man sa kanila. Tahimik lamang silang nag-iintay. The eerie atmosphere was vanished when Tala took a deep breath and sighed heavily.
"Na-dispose na ng mga pulis ang mga katawan ng ilan sa mga hindi pinalad makaligtas dahil sa pangyayaring engkwentro," paninimula niya.
"We tried to recover their bodies mula sa pinangyarihan. But the security is really tight. Mahirap makapasok lalo na't walang ibang sibilyan sa lugar na ito maliban sa atin," he continued, "We can't risk everything."
It can be seen that there are some few sadness in the incident; but most still choose to be brave and hide their true feelings behind their unsympathetic faces.
"Alam kong hindi nila pinagsisisihan na ibuwis ang kanilang mga buhay kapalit ang kaligtasan ng kanilang mga pamilya at ng samahan," he added. There is an obvious heaviness in Tala's voice that exactly projected the voice inside his head. Kahit pa hindi angkop ang nararamdam nila sa ipinapakitang expression ng leader, ramdam nila ang sensiridad sa boses ni Tala.
"Kung mayroon man silang dapat puntahan, I hope they already found peace," he said trying his best not to crack his voice.
Kahit pa madilim at ang sulo lamang ang nagsisilbing liwanag sa lugar, hindi nakaligtas sa paningin ni Devin ang dahan-dahang pagkuyom ng kaliwang kamay ni Tala. Devin sighed dismissively. Gusto niyang tumayo at samahan itong magpaliwanag sa gitna ngunit mayroong bagay ang pumipigil sa kaniya. Was it because of guilt, he thought.
Must be.
Marami ang tumatakbo sa isipan niya noong mga oras na iyon. Unti-unti siyang nilalamon ng pagsisisi mula noong araw na tumalikod siya sa samahan. He realized how stupid and coward he was with the responsibilities. They had a long-deep history together. Tala was one of Devin's colleagues under the same training program where him and Ethan went. Hindi sila gano'n ka-close noong panahong nagte-training pa lamang sila. Devin was a protégé while Tala was just a regular trainee who came in to have a job that wasn't casually offered to anyone. The connection between them started to manifest when they accidentally met each other at a gang fight. Ilang buwan lamang noong matapos ang kanilang training nang makilala nila ang isa't isa.
Habang nagbabakasyon si Devin at naghahanap ng mapagkakaabalahan, one of his former friend invited him to participate in some random street fights near the city park. Without thinking the risk they might face, pumayag siyang makilahok under certain conditions. Nang makaharap na nila ang kabilang grupo, the two quickly recognized each other even if they're at the opposite groups. In the end, nanalo ang kampo ni Devin.
"I've seen you before. You're from the same program, right?" paglilinaw ni Tala habang may straw ng soft drinks sa bibig niya. Malayo na sila sa kaniya-kaniya nilang mga grupo at napili nilang maghanap ng lugar kung saan wala sa kanilang makakakilala.
Devin bit a piece from the bread he bought from a Sari-sari store. Nilunok niya muna ito bago sumagot. "Yeah, that's why I didn't hit you," walang emosyong biro niya, "Turns out my brain can still recognize uninteresting people."
Tala chuckled. "You're so fucking cocky. You can brag and talk lots of shit from your bitch mouth but I can still beat your ass."
The two easily get along with each other's company. The bond between them was instantly caught by unexpected friendship. They were unconditionally inseparable. Kapag nagkakaroon ng pagkakataong makalabas si Devin mula sa puder ni Mr. Hawkins ay dumidiretsyo siya sa lugar kung nasaan si Tala. The two spent their entire summer fighting with different street gangs; till Tala decided to form a gang on his own making Devin as one of his co-leader and establisher of the group. Siya rin ang namamahala kapag may mga bagong miyembro na dumaraan sa initiation. In such a short period of time, they pioneered the most influential gang in the city that made names inside the notorious world.
BINABASA MO ANG
Death Glare
Aksi"He tried to look for a good reason, but no such good reason is there to deter something that death can easily touch." For Devin Cross, life's always been so fucked out. Devin spent his life lurking in a restless city where street crimes, prostituti...
