The Switch : Trust No One

Prologue

Bumukas ang pinto ng isang puting kwarto. Masyadong malinis. Masyadong tahimik. Na kahit ang hangin ani'y mo ba'y kontrolado at ang bawat galaw mo ay kalkulado.

 Isang lugar na hindi mo kakayaning magkamali ng galaw dahil sa mga matang paligid-ligid.

 Tatlo. Tatlong babae ang nakaupo sa bakal na silya, sa gitna ng puting kwarto. Parehas ng tangkad. Parehas ng mukha at kahit ang mga mata nila'y walang pinagkaiba.

 Ngunit ang tanging naiiba lang sakanila ay ang mga kanya kanya nilang presensya. 

They are almost undistinguishable.

 The first girl leaned forward, her small fingers brushing against the light spilling from the ceiling panel above her. She squinted, fascinated—like she was trying to understand it, to hold it.

 Another sat still, her gaze moving—not aimlessly, but carefully. Observing. Calculating. She watched the doors, the cameras, the people behind the glass. As if she already knew this isn't normal. 

 The last one stood. Restless.  Alert.  Her body shifted at every sound—the faint hum of electricity, the echo of footsteps outside. When the door clicked somewhere down the hall, she turned toward it instantly, her stance defensive. Ready. 

 Behind those glass wall stood men in white coats— rows of computers calculating, and gathering data. They were watching. Observing. 

 "You have absolutely outdone yourself Doctor Reyes." My client complimented me as I stared—but my mind went elsewhere.

 "Doctor Grita, tell me about your insights." I asked my assistant who stood beside me holding a clipboard while scribbling.

 "Ah yes Doctor...It seems that Subject One responds positively to stimulus. High affinity for light-based focus..." She murmured. 

 "And the others?" I asked again—fixing my slightly crooked glasses. 

 "Subject Two shows advanced cognitive awareness—" 

 "She's tracking patterns...how fascinating..." My client showed interest—cutting off the insights my assistant was telling me.

 I turned to face my client—she had a dangerous aura. Almost a suffocating presence. But it didn't matter, I had something she wants. 

 "And Subject Three?" I asked again. But I felt they all paused. I turned around once again—facing the glass wall. 

 On the other side, subject three tilted her head slightly—like she could hear us.

 "Combat instincts," one of my men said it amusement. 

 "Untrained... but present." I whispered under my breath.

 The room fell silent. Then—suddenly, a sharp beep came from one of the computer. Then another, and another. Alarms shattered the silence inside the room. Red lights flickering across the ceiling.

 "ALERT. SECURITY BREACH." The alarms from my security defense echoed all throughout the room. It caught everyone's attention.

 All of my men were as confused as I was. They were panicking. Some—even fleeing. I gazed back at the three girls. They all flinched—except one. The observer. 

 "What's happening?" I shouted loudly, asking my men what went wrong.

 "No one was supposed to—" One of my men who was operating in one of the computers seemed surprised and confused. The doors unlocked with a loud click. 

Before we could even react, subject three moved fast—bolting out of the room.

"Wait—don't let them—" My assistant yelled. Panic dreading over her. It was already too late.

 I turned and saw that almost all of my men fled during the escape of the subjects. Even my client. Only my loyal assistant stayed by my side.

 Those cowards. 

 Chaos erupted. The sound of glass shattering. Hurried footsteps and shouting. Files scattered on the white floor. They had escaped. The one thing that I had dedicated almost half of my life. 

The sounds became muffled as I drowned at the thought of failure. Not this—not again. 

As I was on the verge of losing it. I noticed that one folder, slid free from the pile, pages spilling open. 

                                                                          TRINITY PROTOCOL 

 Phase: SWITCH 

 Subjects:                                      Age:

Athena Vergara                             10

 Valeria Vergara                            10

Lucia Vergara                                10                 

Birthdate:  July 26, 1999

I shut the file out of frustration.  

"Erase everything." I commanded my assistant coldly and with authority.

"What about the subjects?" My assistant asked me worriedly. I paused. For a moment I didn't hear any alarms. It's like I had gone deaf. But then again, I have made up my mind.

"Capture and elimi—" 

Before I even finished my command, the lights went out. As I heard my assistant scream, the last thing I remember was that I got stabbed by a needle in my neck.  And the next thing I knew, I was down.

Oh, the irony..

*****

17 years later, the infamous laboratory of Dr. Reyes were forgotten. The illegal experiments that were held there was later on discovered by the government and had all the staffs and workers there be put to prison. But somehow, not all was.

As for the Vergara triplets, they were then born into a normal family—adopted from an orphanage at the age of 11. And soon turned into successful young ladies.

But you know...records could be rewritten.

And some truths—Were designed to be forgotten.