Saving Humanity

Chapter Sixteen: Little Miss Perfect

"Alam mo ba kung anong hirap ang dinanas namin doon? Kung anong ginawa nila sa amin?"

I try to swallow the lump in my throat. "Jared.. I'm sorry. Hindi namin gusto na iwanan kayo," paliwanag ko. "Sa katunayan, bumubuo na kami ng plano kung paano namin kayo ililigtas."

Tumawa siya. "Hindi niyo na kami kailangang iligtas."

Tiningnan ko siya mula ulo hanggang paa, at pagkatapos ay tumango ako.

"Oo, tama ka. Nandito ka na ngayon," pagsang-ayon ko. Pinilit kong hindi ipahalata sa kanya ang matinding takot na nararamdaman ko ngayon. "Pero nasaan si Holly? Hindi mo ba siya kasama ngayon?"

The guy gives me a mocking smile. "Hindi na mahalaga iyon." He puts his hands on the wall, trapping me against him. "You'll join her soon, wherever she is."

Bigla akong kinabahan sa sinabi niya. "Anong ibig mong sabihin?" tanong ko.

He lunges, taking hold of my neck using his right hand.

"I'm going to make you feel everything that I felt when you left us to die," he says as he tightens his grip. "Everything."

I try to get out of his steel grip, gasping and choking and desperate for air. But all he does is watch me with a grin on his face.

Just as I'm about to lose my life, I wake up with a start.

Panaganip lang ang lahat.

I wipe the beads of sweat on my forehead and look around.

I'm sitting on a bed, the rays of sunlight streaming through the window blinding me. At first I don't remember how I got here, but then memories start to flood in my mind.

The ambush at the Malacañang Palace. The troop of soldiers that we had to fight off to survive. Holly and Jared captured.

Huminga ako nang malalim upang pigilang bumagsak ang mga luha ko. Kaya pala ganu'n ang panaginip ko. Alam ko na hindi tama ang desisyon namin na iwanan sina Holly at Jared sa kamay ng mga sundalong iyon. Dapat ay ginawa namin ang lahat para tulungan sila, katulad ng mga nagawa nila upang iligtas kami sa mga panganib na nangyari sa amin.

Ipinaliwanag sa akin ni Ian at ng iba pa naming mga kasama na mas importanteng makaligtas muna kami. Sa paraang ito ay makakabuo kami ng mas solidong plano para iligtas sina Holly at Jared.

Pero hindi ko maiwasan na makaramdam ng matinding konsensya. Pakiramdam ko ay hindi namin binigay ang makakaya namin kahapon para sa kanila.

"Hey."

Ian is leaning against the doorframe, his expression unreadable. He straightens and walks towards me.

"Nasa baba na 'yung iba at kumakain ng almusal," wika niya. "Care to join us?"

I nod. "Sure."

Kaagad akong tumayo at sumunod kay Ian sa dining room. Doon ay nadatnan namin ang iba pa naming mga kasama na kumakain ng agahan.

Andre pops open a can of tuna and hands it to me. "Enjoy," he says with a wink.

It has been more than three months since the entire humanity had fallen into a deep sleep. To prevent food poisoning, we only eat canned goods for the sole reason that we can be assured that they are safe to eat by merely looking at the expiration date. We can cook, certainly. But we have to risk hunting down animals for meat or gathering fresh vegetables from abandoned farms.

Sa ngayon, kailangan muna naming makuntento sa kung ano ang mayroon kami.

"We can stay in this house for a few days," Ian says as he takes the seat beside me. "I think we're safe here for now."