Saving Humanity

Chapter Twenty: On The Run

Chapter Twenty: On The Run

Ian

Before Pauline could even open her mouth to speak, I already figured out what's happening. The sound of an engine... The soldiers are here. They managed to track us down.

But how?

"We have to warn them!" Pauline manages to say, her face a mixture of panic and determination. "Kailangan na nating umalis dito."

I nod. "Let's go."

"Woah, anong nangyayari?" Andre suddenly walks out into the garden, scratching the back of his head. "Tunog ba ng sasakyan 'yun? Are we finally getting rescued?"

"No, dumbass!" Pauline exclaims. "The soldiers are here!"

Andre's eyes go wide in panic. No, he can't go into shock mode right now. We need every help that we could get to make it out of here. Before he can react, I grab him by his right arm and drag him inside the house, with Pauline right behind us.

"Where's Felicity?" I ask him.

He shakes his head. "Hindi ko alam. I think she went upstairs, to her room."

"Okay. Let's go get he---"

My sentence gets cut off by a loud explosion, followed by a thick wave of smoke. My hand shoots up to cover my nose and mouth.

Gods above, they used an explosive to breach the gate.

I do not wait for the smoke to disappear. Without knowing where my companions are, I speak through my hand. "Pauline, Andre. Stay here. I'll go get Felicity."

I quickly dash towards the staircase, taking it two steps at a time. I shout Felicity's name as soon as I reach the threshold.

"Nandito ako!" she confirms. A second later, she emerges from her bedroom. "Anong nangyayari?"

"The soldiers, they tracked us down," I respond, taking her hand. "Let's get out of here."

Just as we're about to go down the stairs, a loud, crackling sound booms just outside the house. Then a male voice, deep and magnified by a microphone, starts speaking.

"Ian Magsaysay."

My body tenses upon hearing my name. Felicity looks up at me, her eyes full of worry. She squeezes my hand tighter.

"Bakit ka niya tinatawag?" she asks.

"I don't know," is my only answer.

The voice continues to speak. "Felicity Garcia. Andre Santos. Inuutusan ko kayong lumabas diyan ngayon din."

Felicity looks at me with confusion. I know what she's thinking about. Before I can voice it out, Andre and Pauline joins us on the threshold.

Pauline asks the question lurking in our minds. "Paano niya nalaman ang mga pangalan niyo?"

I shake my head. "I don't know. But one thing's for certain. They will bomb this place in a few minutes if they don't get what they want."

"And what do they want, exactly?" Andre asks.

"Us," Felicity whispers. "They want us."

The microphone outside crackles again, making us jump. "Bibigyan lamang namin kayo ng tatlumpung segundo upang lumabas ng bahay," the voice states, deathly serious. "Kung hindi ninyo susundin ang utos ko, papasukin ng mga kasama kong sundalo ang bahay at kakaladkarin nila kayo palabas."

I knew it. They are not allowed to kill us. Because if that's their intention, we'd already be dead. They need us for something. I still have no idea what happened to us the night we were abducted and brought to our invader's spaceship, but I'm pretty sure that there's something special about us. That's why they're so keen on catching us.