CHAPTER 1: WORD ARENA

Synecdoche's POV.

"THE DICTIONARY is simply our universe arranged in Alphabetical order. Let the letters let you, Synecdoche Rochet. Remember why you are here," Coach Medrano reminded me for the last time as he inserted the golden wheat leaves in my hair that symbolized our identity.

"Go. Grow. Glow," I said, clenching my fist, scrunching fingers like cannonballs. Alam kong maraming mga matang nakatingin dito sa loob ng Launch Room ng Mahar. Alam kong bente-kwartro oras silang naka-monitor sa mga surviellance rito—mga Manjies, iyong mga sundalo.

"Anong ibig mong sabihin, Synecdoche?" Coach Medrano asked hat is off. 

"The prize," bulong ko kay Coach. Nagtataka ako kung bakit nandito siya. I wonder why the Embassy gave each tribute a chamber. I hope Ulap, Token, Keithwarth, and Vani will stick to our plan for the final stage of the competition. Hindi kami nagkita ngayong araw ngunit alam kong handa kami sa pag-spell ng words. We're trained enough.

I boldly faced my Coach and said, "I want that ruthless Ambassador Hugo Cassidy to go. I want our grainfield to grow back from being burned, I want the entire nation to glow. Gusto ko ng liwanag. Gusto natin ng liwanag pero binigyan nila tayo ng apoy... so we will keep it burning! The ashes are the signs... of their poor governance," sabi ko.

"Maging mapagmatiyag ka roon sa mga taga letrang A hanggang Z. Stick with the G's. We don't know the final round." He finally inserted the last wheat leaf in my bun hair. Miss ko na ang mga palay. Miss na miss ko na.

"No word in the dictionary can explain how that astute hard-headed sperm came into life! That demon could have been splashed on the wall," Tiningnan ko ang repleksiyon ko sa salamin at sinabi ko ang aming mantra, "We are Maharlikas, we belong to Grass, we are not a trash, give freedom to us!"

Ang launch room ay nasa catacombs sa ilalim ng tinatawag nilang Word Arena and are accessed by traversing many underground passages after descending a ladder from the hovercraft that takes tributes to the arena. These passages are presumably labyrinthine in nature para maiwasan ang pagkikita-kita ng mga tributes sa arena.

When Coach Medrano went out of the Launch room, I saw a map. The Map of Maharlika Nation.

Isang nasyon, hinati sa dalawampu't anim na distrito mula letrang A hanggang Z. Only 1 district shall remain inside the Word arena. A competition of a lifetime. In which the letters will let them be. In which life will be the price and the prize. 

The Maharlika Nation has 26 outlying districts and one federal district called Mahar, the capital of Maharlika. Our nation is divided separately and alphabetically from A to Z with corresponding industries. All are controlled by the terrifying power of the Embassy and are subjects to the unrelenting will of its authority. Wala kaming impluwensiya pagdating sa usapang politika maliban sa kani-kaniyang teritoryo.

There's a folklore that our nation was completely connected before, but it seemed that the earth opened up some small holes in spacetime and asteroids entered our mineral extraction facilities on Earth. The path had been set for millennia; the time of humanity's final test set by the cosmos. Ang tanging paraan para sa pag-iwas, para mabuhay, para makatakas, ay ang mga dominant abilities on earth to cooperate in ways we had never seen before.

Intelligence.

The 30-kilometer wide rock wasn't going to be persuaded to move by just a few missiles. As they hit the earth, near southeast Asia, from where there are bold mountain ranges, archetypes of symmetrical active stratovolcanoes, surrounded by three prominent bodies, the Maharlika Nation... ay naging isang archipelago na hinati sa dalampu't anim na distrito.

A- Agriculture

B- Beverage

C- Coal

D- Defense

E- Electricity

F- Fishing

G- Grains

H- Holography

I- Ice

J- Jingle

K- Knitting

L- Law

M- Medicine

N- Nature

O- Owl Hunting

P- Publishing

Q- Quest

R- Robotics

S- Security

T- Transportation

U- Unemployed

V- Vandalism

W- Weaponry

X- Xylography

Y- Youth

Z- Zoology

All of our districts should interact with each other to give the needs of the nation. We are expected to provide economic and material services in exchange for protection provided by the Embassy's armies called Manjies. Years of brutal oppression faced by each district led to the start of the civil war and the Embassy took advantage of each districts' industry.

Hugo Cassidy, the Ambassador, of Maharlika, ordered that every district must find the top 5 most brilliant juveniles ages 15 to 20 as the tributes and will represent their district on the 2nd Maharlika Spelling TwistBee at dalhin sa Word Arena.  Kaya kami nandito sa Mahar—we only want the prize and our freedom back in each district. Defend our valuable resources. Pero may kutob ako na may ibang mangyayari sa kompetisyon. Ito ba ay pandaraya, panlilinlang, o... ang pagpatay.

"Welcome to the Word Arena, Welcome again to the 2nd Maharlika Spelling Twistbee!" 

I heard the voice of Mikey the pronouncer on a microphone as I bolt and launched from a tribute tube, a glass cylinder that contains the Launch Plate, a metal disk that ascends from the launch room into the arena. Ang lahat ng tributes ay bahagyang iniaangat mula sa Launch room. Pabilog kaming nakahilera at nakapalibot sa tinatawag na Patag, which lies in the center of the circle.

I covered my eyes because the sunlight almost blinded me as I rise. As the disk stops, I can see all the tributes standing on the same platform as mine with our seals attached to it.

"Okay ka lang, Synec?" Tanong ni Vani. He's five feet away from where I am standing. Sa presensiya niya, I can still see his brown-gold eyes locked on mine. His face is all broad planes and rough angles—as solid as brambled oak, softening only for me. Kasama ko pa rin siya. He looks fine, and I'm fine because he's fine. We're still in the competition.

I nodded. "Meron ka bang ideya sa susunod na stage?" He just reaches his hand to me like he wants to hold me but he's far enough. "Sabihin mo."

"Gusto kitang hawakan, Synecdoche," he said, looking softly.

"You can't, Giovanni. Manjies are watching us. Don't do such awful things or else they will shoot us. Not now. Surveillance is on."

"Woah, not now, ha. Maybe soon? Okay, may pen ako rito." I bowled over when I heard Pen.

Pen.

Tumingin ako sa paligid para hanapin si Pen, my book author idol. G's platform was far from P's. Hindi ako makapaniwala na sumali siya sa kompetisyon.

"Hey, I said I got a pen here. Look what I've written on my chest." I saw his chest again since the day rainfall drops on his skin. He wrote 'Not Now' on it. "Come on, just try to pass me some energy— I mean, some imaginary ability of yours. I'm jealous, you can imagine those letters from the dictionary when you close your eyes." Vani holds out his hand, a wicked look in his eyes.

"You scammed me before, Vani. Tapos ngayon ay may gana ka pang magsabi ng ganyan sa akin?" sabi ko.

We've been together since the previous competition. He got a sharp mind, pretty tongue but I did not forget it.

"Naalala mo pa rin iyon? Iyong puso ng saging?

I faced him, I want to step out and touch him. No. Push him rather. "Of course! How could you force me para ibenta iyon sa Grass University when trade and commerce are forbidden in our district?"

May usapan kami noon na kung sino ang mauuna sa loob ng eskwelahan ay may parusa kahit na may klase kaming hinahabol. I don't want him to beat me so he presented me his Puso or banana bell. He told me that his bag was full and he wanted me to sell it for him even though it is forbidden in our district. 

He then left and ran inside the school and his banana bell was left in my hand so I was forced to sell it for him but an unexpected encounter left us hanging because it was gone the time I fell out of the well. When I woke up that time, I got money and I did not remember someone bought it from me. I gave him the money but he still got a consequence!

"Tingnan mo ang braso mo. We have couple tattoos," Vani told me, checking his arm and I do the same. It's a black letter tattoo. An elegant script letter G tattoo, giving off a cool, nonchalant vibe. "All the tributes have their tattoos, too."

G for Grass, our district. Home of farmers, supplier of grains, and our district are one of the poorest districts, surveillance cameras are everywhere, trade and commerce are forbidden, walang kalayaan, no right to eat our cultivated grains kahit kalahati nito. No electricity, walang ilaw. I never forgot it and I'll never forget it... how the Embassy treated us.

"Yes, parang may ideya ako!" It's Ulap, ang aking bestfriend— dancing, jumping up and down like her bird friends. She's on the left side of me. I forgot my teammates. Vani wasn't just with me, they're still with me. The five of us. 

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't step away from the platform, you all stand straight, chin up, they're watching us. Focus!" The perfectionist Token warned Ulap. 

"I-I c-can't h-hear y-you a-all. Sh-share your pl-plans, pl-please." Keithwarth is suffering from his speaking disorder, again. We almost lost the previous stages of the spelling bee because of him, but we can't blame him. We are still here... together... fighting for our district and still have the chance to get the prize. 

"...The prize will be tangible or intangible things that start with the letter of your district." Naalala ko ang huling sinabi nung Ambassador Hugo Cassidy during the welcome ceremony last time.

G.

District G.

Go, Grow, Glow.

"The previous rounds were full of exciting events. Now, we're up for the final round! Band together with your teams because the competition is set to lash the Word Arena. One hundred thirty brilliant juveniles from Districts A to Z are conspired to see each other on the 2nd Maharlika Spelling Twistbee. Our nation is simply a dictionary arranged in Alphabetical order and you need to find your purpose, your meaning to function."

"Handa na ba kayo?" I heard Vani, again. "Don't be afraid, we will get the prize." 

The pronouncer continues, "1 nation, 26 Districts, 26 industries, 1 competition, 130 tributes, 5 tributes each district and only 1 district will win. For the final round, all 130 tributes will be sent to the Word Arena for a month."

Everyone was in a commotion. Token and Ulap shouted and protested. Keithwarth can't utter any word while Vani, talks to me, "Isang buwan? For sure this will be exciting. We'll be together." All his words were clear to me. "The five of us," dagdag pa nito. 

The five of us, not the both of us. That's... somehow good. I am not expecting anything from him.

"There are hidden cameras inside the arena and everything will be televised. That is why there are what we called Bidders watching you all in Mahar." 

Bakit mayroong mga bidders? Is money involved here? Will they take advantage again?"

The bidders are the ones to pick their desired words to be spelled based on their bets. The more money a bidder bids, the more he or she can control the Spelling Bee."

What the f*ck is going on? We are behind the top lists of the previous game! Who will bet on us? This is unfair! 

Mikey continues, "Each district will represent 1 letter in the alphabet, you have inked letter tattoos on your arms as indicators because you will spell the given English word not verbally but by killing other competitors. The final round is too far from the previous rounds because it is a battle royale game where competitors should have a great memory, wide English vocabulary, and skills in holding weapons. The major rules are to Spell and Kill." Nag-ingay ang lahat.

Nagpatuloy naman siya sa pagsasalita, "Each word will last within 3 days and there will be another word for the next 3 days, and tributes should kill all the letters. The tributes were divided into two classes, the Spells; the tributes aligned to the spelling of the word of the day, and Killers; those who were not included and the ones who will kill the Spells. In the arena, there were life kit boxes. They contain food, water, medicine, flashlight, and others for survival, protection, healing, the bidders might give you special boxes if you impress them but before you can get it, you need to verbally spell the word that the programmable box uttered," huminga muna siya nang malalim.

"For the word of the day, if you know the spelling, you will know if you are a Spell or a Killer. If you don't know the spelling, you should protect yourself and your teammates because you don't know who is after your life. Each wrong killed letter is equivalent to one life in your district. Be careful who to kill, and remember when to kill. The winning district will be granted any three wishes tangible or intangible that start with the letter of their district. Familiarize all the words, their origins, definitions, and etymologies in the English Dictionary because each letter of the given words is equivalent to a single life. "

The widescreen above went black and Mikey was out of sight. We can still hear Mikey's voice warning us, giving us advice kung paano maka-survive. Kailangan naming tumakbo, magtago, protektahan ang sarili, get some life kits because we might die from murder, bombing, suffocation, hunger, dehydration, attacks of wild animals, health conditions via climate change. It could be traps. Others might suicide. We should also keep guard on the word of the day and its information because it will only be pronounced twice every after three days, no time specified.

One word is for everyone!

Everyone in each district thought this is just an ordinary spelling bee competition that is usually done on top but this is a competition of a lifetime in which life will be the price and the prize. We need to spell... and kill!

As our hearts beat fast, a countdown started to take over. 60 Seconds, at nagtinginan kami sa isa't- isa. I want to go out of the disk but it will just open after the countdown. We started to shout like we have different ideas on what to do, nagpanick kami at alam kong tumatawa ngayong si Ambassador Hugo Cassidy.

As soon as the countdown stops, Mikey's voice engulfs the vast Word Arena.

"The word of the day is WELTANSCHAUUNG, It is a German word that literally means "world view"; it combines Welt ("world") with Anschauung ("view"), which ultimately derives from the Middle High German verb schouwen "to look at" or "to see". It can be various belief systems, religions, ideologies, and science. Example sentence; It is illuminating just to know Ambassador Hugo's energetic conclusion and then move slowly into its utopian dimensions of Maharliakas' Weltanschauung."

May problema sa pangungusap. How dare they call this a utopia when it's a dystopia? Now, the big problem was that I can hear a "V" in its first letter. Pronunciation might be deceiving! And the tone, morphology, phonology, phonetics!

But I think we are included in the "Spell" category today. I know there's a G on its last letter but I don't want to die. I don't want any of us from District G to die. 

As our glass cylinder opens, all tributes started to run towards the Patag center to get some bags... and weapons for the attack and protection.

And everyone started to kill each other until they bathed in their blood!

Ulap, Token, Vani, Keithwarth and I—the five hopes of District G, of Grass, shall let the letters let us... to live.

And Giovanni, my Giovanni. Mahal ko siya... kasi parte siya... ng aking... buh—kagrupo.