Danryll and Zyrille were on their way home to their house in San Lorenzo when vehicles almost bumped into their car. “That’s a road violation. Overspeeding.” Danryll complained“Just let them. Maybe---” Zyrille couldn’t finish what she was about to say when they heard gunshots not far from them. “What was that? A gunshot?”“It is.” Danryll didn’t hesitate to follow those cars who passed by earlier.“What were you thinking, Danryll?”“I think someone needed help. Those cars earlier were chasing a dark gray car.”“Maybe the person in that car is being chased by the police,” Zyrille concluded but Danryll seemed to not believe that ‘coz there’s a big possibility that those cars chasing the dark gray car are the foes.“It is not allowed to shoot unless it is necessary.”“And what if it is necessary?” Zyrille crossed her arms while arguing to her brother.“Get my gun in the compartment in your front,” Danryll ordered his sister and ignored her question.“Danryll---”“Zyrille.”“Fine.” She
Everyone is in black attire while attending Simon and Brenda Ferran’s funeral. Sanchez is the one who took care of all of it because Simeon hadn’t gained his consciousness yet.Blair just stared at the coffins where the body of her parents was placed. Many went to the funeral. Even the Alfarez family were present there ‘coz Timotheus is a friend of Simon though they are not in touch for a long time.Trestan looked at Blair who was just staring at the pit where the coffins were slowly being put down using ropes. He can’t help but feel bad for Blair’s loss. It was so sudden.While hugging the pictures, Blair threw two white roses into the pit and the people around also threw the white roses in their hands before the paid persons shoveled the soil to cover it.When the funeral finished, Trestan doesn’t know why he wanted to find Blair who just ran somewhere after the funeral. To be honest, he’s worried. He knows the feeling of losing a loved one because he had been through it before, wh
A week later... Ferran recovered and was discharged to the hospital. Blair went back to school as well but she seemed spaced out after everything happened to her family.“Our lesson for today is... Philippine history. You!” Miss Valdez, their history teacher again, pointed her finger at one of Trestan’s classmates. “What are the three countries that invaded the Philippines?”“Uhm... S-Spain... The U-United States, and Japan, Miss.” His classmate, Sunny Montes answered.“How many years did Spain colonize the Philippines?”“Three hundred... Three hundred...” Sunny can’t remember what she read last night.“Three hundred thirty-three years,” Trestan mumbled but he had no intention to coach his classmate but Sunny heard him and immediately answered.“Three hundred thirty-three years, miss.”“How about the United States?” Miss Valdez raised her eyebrow to make her more intimidating.“Hm... Uhm...” She didn’t know and there, she glanced at Trestan who did not look at her.“Alfarez, stand up!
“It’s the V Mall.”“How---”“---It was the only mall that has three floors in San Lorenzo,” Sanchez rationalized his thoughts.“What is the motive? Why did a bomb explode there?” Ferran said while trying to analyze everything in his head. That big question made them silent.+++“Boss---”“Don’t talk. I need time to think.” He clenched his fist and stuck his office table with his hand. “That Vergara is very audacious to compete with us. He doesn’t know what I can do to bring him down in a blink of an eye.” He laughed evilly. “Send our three men to his mall and put a bomb on a crowded day. Maybe, during their sale. Let’s see if he can handle those who’ll get affected.”“Noted, boss.” His secretary left him in his office alone to do what he ordered.“No one can get in my way. I will be the most powerful person in the world.”He contacted his accountant and trusted men to hear an update about the 78% of the organization’s income but no progress because of the code they can’t decrypt.He
Trestan just entered the mall to buy an important book he needed because the bookstore where he buys the book is in the mall. Someone was calling him.“Hello, Mrs. Santos?”“Your sister’s asthma is attacking her again. I can’t find her inhaler.” Mrs. Santos informed him. He always left her sister in the neighborhood especially when he needed to go somewhere.“There’s an extra inhaler in her school bag, Mrs. Santos. I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I’ll be right back when I bought what I needed.”“No problem, Trestan. Besides, I like to take care of your sister. She’s really a sweet girl.”“Thank you, Mrs. Santos.” And the call ended.He immediately went to the second floor where the bookstore was located then he searched for a particular book about Bombs. Well, he wanted to learn more about bombs because he is somehow interested in it. He remembered when he was a ten-year-old boy, his mother taught her how to deactivate a bomb. What wires needed to cut and needed to avoid.When he fo
The bombs exploded.A part of the mall was shaken because the bomb detonated from the second floor. The surroundings became dusty and smoky. Almost nothing can be seen in any part of the mall due to the thickness of the dust from the destroyed concrete walls and floors.Many people got injured and some of them died because of the unexpected event. The cry of the citizen calling for help was heard.Ferran successfully threw the bomb into the air and nothing was damaged by that bomb. He sighed in relief and breathed in and breathed out for some air. He almost ran out of breath due to running toward the exit earlier. He planned to rest for a while but he realized that Sanchez was still inside.“Sh*t.” He inhaled deeply and entered the ruined mall to find Sanchez. Even though he was not sure if it was safe to go inside, he did not care. “Sanchez! Sanchez!”He saw some wounded people inside but not as much as in his dream and the situation is not nearly as bad.“Help! Help my mother! She g
There are so many people outside the mall. Many rescues have also arrived earlier. Rescuers immediately approached Ferran TO put Trestan on the folding stretcher and take him to the ambulance van.“Trestan!” Blair neared them and held Trestan’s hand. She was crying again.“Excuse me! Excuse me!” A voice was heard somewhere. It was Timotheus Alfarez who wanted to confirm if it’s his son and he was right! “T-Trestan.” His face became pale, worried about his son’s condition. “Let’s take him to the hospital.” He said and went with the ambulance. He did not even notice Ferran who took Trestan out of the mall because he wanted to take the child to the hospital immediately. Ferran just watched the departing ambulance while his arm was on Blair’s shoulder. Someone tapped his shoulder and he looked at the person. “Don’t worry much. He’ll be fine.” Sanchez said while he was still carrying the little girl on his arm because the child doesn’t want to let go of him.Ferran sighed heavily and t
“Ehem... May I talk to you for a second, Trestan?” The doctor caught their attention. They left Blair and talked far away from her. The doctor put his arm on Trestan’s shoulder.“Do you like that girl, huh?” Dr. De Vega asked with a smirk on his face. Trestan creased his forehead but Dr. De Vega just laughed at him because of his epic facial expression. “Don’t take it seriously. Haha. I’m just kidding.” He said while tapping the boy’s shoulder.Trestan rolled his eyes and he was about to remove the doctor’s arm but the doctor stopped him. “Just kidding. How’s your wound?”“It’s healing.”“Don’t force yourself.” The doctor tapped his shoulder. “By the way, I’m observing something.” Trestan didn’t say anything but he was waiting for an explanation about the doctor’s observation. Dr. De Vega removed his arm on Trestan’s shoulder and faced him. “I’m observing the blood of those who were injected by Dr. Garcia’s antidote.”“Why? I thought it’s already done.”“I’m just checking on some
March 16, 2022Wednesday 7 AMMonths had swiftly passed…“Where are you going, dad?”“I’ll just visit someone… it’s been a while.” He said before leaving their house. The sun rose already and the streets of San Lorenzo came back into life.With an open window, Timotheus felt the morning breeze. He was greeted by the neighborhood. On his way to his destination, he passed by a flower shop. “Good morning, officer! You’re at the right time. Our flowers were freshly delivered.”A white bouquet of gerbera flowers caught his attention. He immediately put it beside the passenger seat. He stared at the flowers for a second before starting the engine.It was a peaceful drive not until he noticed a commotion in the middle of the road.“Again?” He parked his car at the side of the road.“You f*cking j*rk! You’re the one who bumped into my car! Look!”“What? I’m just passing by and you’re—”“Excuse me? What is this all about?” Timotheus asked while checking the damages.“Who are you?” One of them
“...Kuya.” Julsen slowly closed his eyes before his ghost left him.“J-Julsen… Hey, man. Wake up. Julsen!”The night became silent after that bloody encounter. A lot of bodies were lying on the ground… lifeless.Timotheus carefully let him go and looked at the blood in his hand. She clenched his fist and rushed to Danryll to give him a hard blow. Danryll didn’t bother to dodge his attack and just let him.“How could you?!”“Sir, stop it!” Xol went in between to stop Timotheus while Ferran, on the other hand, just watched them because the unusual feeling of pain was forming inside him again.“I will never regret it!”“How will you prove that he really killed the doctor? Huh? You don’t have—”“Of course… I have.” Danryll threw him his phone that was immediately caught by Timotheus. He watched the entire video and Julsen really killed Dr. De Vega inside the laboratory. He unconsciously dropped the phone astounded.“Y-You think you all s-succeed? Even if you revealed them to the whole wor
The Chief just arrived at the place where the real Boss was living. Instead of welcoming him, everyone inside pointed their guns at him. “What the hell is happening?!” His eyes widened when he saw the real Boss furiously looking at him, as if he wanted to kill him from that very moment. “You son of a b*tch! How dare you destroy the laboratory without my consent?!” The real Boss held the collar of Chief’s clothes and tightened his grip. “Everything will not go according to plan if I don't do it, Boss.” Fear was visible to his eyes. The real Boss is the only one he afraids of. No one but him. “You killed Maria! And my granddaughter… my precious granddaughter!” He was shaking with anger and slowly choking the Chief. “I thought Cally’s your only g-granddaughter? Ugh! I just did it to reach our goal. To produce a cure—” He was cut off when he felt the need for air. “You thought… Hah! I don’t care about that damn goal! As long as my family’s not involved, you’re free to do anything but
“As I’ve thought… Got it.”Czaquira ready her pen and paper while Blair was dictating the code they needed to decipher. The letter’s too tiny for them and Blair has 20/20 vision. She could easily read the characters unlike the others inside that special room.“R-O-M-12:12—12|13|14|15 II-C-O-R-4:10—31|32|33|34|35 J-O-H-N-3:16—17|18|19|20|214_2_3_5_5… That’s all.” Blair creased her forehead, not recognizing what the code was telling.Czaquira tried to type it all but it’s too long for a passcode. “Fourteen characters… We only need fourteen characters.” Czaquira uttered.“No… it’s nineteen, I guess?” Xol confusedly said.Minutes after minutes… an hour and ten minutes left. In the middle of the brainstorming on how to decipher the code, Timotheus' phone rang.“Aquiro,” Timotheus said, hoping for good news. “Really? Oh God… thank goodness.”“How’s the search, sir?” Xol asked, hoping for good news.“They found him and…” He looked at Blair who was about to cry. “He’s alive.”Blair’s kn
“Trestan… He’s alive!” Aquiro wiped his tears and went beside Trestan’s bed.“It’s a miracle that he’s still alive after that fall.” The street sweeper spoke before he sipped his hot coffee.“You’re the one who helped him?” Aquiro asked.The man just nodded and put the empty cup on the table near him.“He needs a long rest. I should leave. Take care of him.”“May I know your name, mister?” Aquiro stopped him for a moment.“No need.” He tapped his shoulder before leaving.“Sh*t… so it’s true. He’s alive. Thank goodness.” Ziph sighed in relief when he saw Trestan lying on the bed unconscious.“Damn you, cous’. You scared us. We thought…”“Stop being a crybaby, Aquiro. Haha.” Beor teased him.“F*ck you.”They just laughed at Aquiro’s hilarious face. The laughter stopped when they heard Trestan speak.“Cally…” He mumbled. “Hey, Trestan! Do you hear me? Trestan.” Aquiro slightly shook him. “Cally… Cally!” He suddenly woke up from that deep sleep. He groaned when he felt pain all over his
Heavy rain fell while Ferran was on his way to save Blair. He struggled a bit because he couldn’t clearly see the road. Ferran looked at his wristwatch before stepping on the gas to speed up.“Ugh!” He almost got into an accident if he hadn’t stepped on the break immediately. His chest tightened and his breathing became heavy. ‘Alfarez! Alfarez!’ Real Ferran’s voice echoed inside his head.His heart pounded harder than the first one, as if his consciousness would leave him. Regardless of the frigidness of the atmosphere due to the rain, his body was heating up and beads of sweat were forming on his forehead and neck. “H-Hah… Hah…” Ferran’s head dropped on the steering wheel and his sight became blurry.Darkness filled the surrounding and he woke up in a void.***“It’s been a while… Timotheus Alfarez.” The voice echoed everywhere.‘That voice… That voice!’ He opened his eyes but he saw nothing but darkness. ‘I’m here again… Does it mean…’ He held his head when he felt a sudden pain.
“Danryll! We need to go. Something’s going on with the kids.” Zyrille uttered after she got a call from Dylan. “Danryll!”“What?” Danryll looked at her before he ended the call.“The kids… we need to go to them.”“Why?” He stood up and they were walking and exiting the wrecked laboratory after they put Dr. De Vega’s body in a safe space. Even if they wanted to, it is not the right time to mourn. There is a special mission they needed to accomplish.“Dylan called and… and he was crying. I don’t really understand what he was saying but all I understood was they were hiding from bad people.”“I thought they were safe where they were.”“I thought so too but it is not the case now.” Zyrille checked on Julianna who was sleeping peacefully and soundly inside the van. “We need to hurry or else, we might lose those innocent ones too.”Danryll sighed heavily before starting the engine. The place is not that far from Mrs. Santos’ house and the travel was quick because it’s night time and there i
“Trestan!”The sound of the waves coming from the San Lorenzo sea and Trestan’s whimper were heard in the middle of the cold night. He was shot on his shoulder and it’s bleeding too much.“Trestan…” Blair was weeping while trying to assist Trestan. Her hands were full of his blood but she didn't mind.“Shh… Don’t cry. It’s… nothing.” He tried to lift his hand to wipe her tears but he couldn’t. The wound was too painful to bear.“Give me that young man!” The Chief was forcefully pulling the briefcase which contained the cure.“No!” Trestan tightly hugged the briefcase while Blair did her best to defend him. She kicked the Chief’s ass and gave him punches but still, it’s not enough. Blair even received a hard blow from the man that made her weak.“A-Ah!” Trestan cried out of pain when the CHief choked him to death.“T-Trestan…” Blair mumbled while watching her lover crying because of pain but she couldn’t do anything but to watch him suffer. She can’t move an inch.The Chief pushed him
“Oh my gosh!!” Blair covered her ears as they heard the explosion coming from the surface. It slightly shook the place because of its great impact. “Dr. De Vega!”Trestan put his hand on her mouth and strongly shook his head to stop her from running back to the laboratory. He then pulled her again because at any time, the enemies might track them as soon as they learned about the tunnel underneath.Rain was heavily pouring when they reached the exit. They unhesitatingly entered the dark and vast forest even though they already knew what danger was waiting for them.The ground became muddy and slippery that made it difficult for them to run faster. Trestan tightly held Blair’s hand while running for their lives because unfortunately, they encountered fake hunters on their way out. One of Blair’s feet slipped and she almost fell into the pit where the organization disposed of the dead organisms from their failed experiment.“Blair! Sh*t… Careful! Let’s go.” Trestan was tired but he just