"Fuck," Denver cursed as he helped me stood after the raining of bullets stopped.
"Ang mga bata! Where are they now?" Nagpapanic kong tanong.
"They're in the basement. Don't worry that much, they're safer there."
Tumango ako but I couldn't stop the trembling of my hands. Humarap sa akin si Denver pagkatapos at hinawakan ang pisngi ko.
"Marami pa akong gustong sabihin sa iyo, Klio. But I guess the timing's off. The enemies has found us already at kailangan mo nang umalis. Ihahatid kita sa first floor, after that, go to the basement at kunin mo ang mga bata. May sikretong lagusan doon na magdadala sa inyo malapit sa highway. There, a car's waiting, use that to escape with the children. Hindi kayo pwedeng mapahamak."
Masakit pa rin sa pakiramdam ang ginawa niya but I just couldn't go like this.
"Paano ka? Sumama ka nalang sa amin."
Umiling siya. "No, Klio. I need to stay there to stop them and..." he looked at me with his soft gaze. "I am letting you go now." Aniya na hindi ko inaasahan.
Huh? I looked at him with confusion as my tears started falling again.
Ngumiti siya sa akin. "Simula't sapul palang alam ko na kung sino talaga ang mahal mo. Yes, I know you loved me, ramdam ko naman 'yon e, pero alam ko rin kung saan ako d'yan sa puso mo. You have Alaric waiting, Klio. Now go to him. Mas magiging ligtas ka sa kanya."
Umiling ako. "Hindi. Paano ang mga bata? Paano kami? You're my husband, Denver!"
He held my hand. "We are only married on paper, Klio. Ayokong ikulong ka doon habang-buhay. I want you to be happy with the man you truly love." He paused and gave me a tight hug. "Please take care of Dane for me and Astraea... she deserves to know her real father."
Ano 'to? Bakit ganito? Bakit parang nagpapaalam na siya?
He didn't talk after that at mabilis lang akong hinila palabas at pababa ng hagdan, when we reach the first floor ay agad niyang binuksan ang isang wall which I didn't expect was a secret passage.
"Use this," aniya at binigay sa akin ang isang baril.
"Denver!" I cried when he let go of my hands.
"Now, go. Mahal kita, Klio." He uttered and gave me a kiss on the forehead before pushing me out of the room.
My eyes were blurry as I ran. Sa katunayan ay hindi ko na alam kung saan ako pupunta pero ang alam ko lang, kailangan ko nang mahanap ang mga anak ko.
"Mommy!"
Agad akong nabuhayan ng loob nang makita sila sa dulo ng room. Agad akong lumapit para yakapin sila.
"Ano pong nangyayari? Bakit ang ingay? May ginagawa po ba sa labas?" Dane innocently asked.
I didn't want to scare him so I just nodded. Tahimik namang tumingin sa akin si Astraea and I know, may kutob na siya sa nangyayari.
"We need to go out, mga anak. We're going somewhere. Pero hindi tayo dadaan sa harap dahil may ginagawa roon. We need to take a secret passage, okay?" I looked at them and tried to be brave as much as I can dahil kailangan ko iyon para malampasan ito ay mailayo ang mga anak sa panganib.
"But I want you to be quiet, baka kasi marinig tayo ng mumu, okay? Hmm?"
"Y-Yes, Mom." Astraea answered and I immediately held her trembling hand.
This is bad. I know she knows what's happening and she might get traumatized. Hindi niya deserve 'to, but we have no choice now.
"Everything will be okay, baby, don't worry." I whispered to her before pulling her with me.
Tahimik naming binaybay ang madilim na lagusan. I don't know how long we've walked. I was holding my breath at nakahinga lang ako nang maluwag no'ng may makitang liwanag but I immediately stopped when I heard some noise.
"Stay here muna, Mommy's gonna check first, okay?"
"Okay, Mommy." Astraea answered at itinabi ko muna sila.
I silently walked towards the exit at agad naman akong napamura nang may matanaw na mga armadong tao sa hindi kalayuan. Agad kong ikinasa ang baril at pinaputukan sila. Thankfully, there weren't many.
Agad kong binalikan ang mga bata at mabilis na inakay palabas. I immediately spotted the car from afar at mabilis na pinaandar iyon palayo.
Agad naman akong napamura nang makitang may sumusunod na SUV sa amin. I immediately got the gun.
"Astraea, Dane, can you please close your eyes and cover your ears? Please..." I uttered. Nalilito silang tumingin sa akin but I was glad they also listened.
I shot the wheels of the SUV, tumama naman but it wasn't enough. At ang nakakainis pa, they are also shooting our car.
"Astraea, Dane, please dock and cover your head. Some bad guys are coming after us but I'll take care of them," nauutal at nanginginig kong saad.
I feel scared lalo na no'ng mas lumapit pa sila and that was the time I saw the watch I am wearing. My eyes widened and I immediately pressed the button that Alaric told me.
Napaigik ako nang may tumamang bala sa gilid ko. Damn.
Mas lalo kong binilisan ang pagpatakbo. My tears kept on falling as I listened to my children crying. Awang-awa na ako, hindi nila deserve 'to.
And I couldn't just let everything end here. Hindi pwede. Kailangan may gawin ako. I can't just lose hope.
I was just about to do something nang may biglang humarang sa amin. Mas lalo akong kinabahan nang makitang nakatututok na ang baril ng mga taong nasa sasakyan sa amin.
I closed my eyes as I made a drift, I also anticipated bullets but nothing came. And when I opened my eyes, that's when I realized that a car blocked us.
"Alaric!" I exclaimed when I saw a familiar car. Hindi ko siya nakita pero alam ko, siya iyon.
They exchanged bullets and I took that opportunity to check on the children, inilabas ko rin ang baril ko para paputukan ang nasa likod namin. But damn, I was slow. Before I could even shoot them all, one of them had already opened our car.
"Fuck!"
Napamura ako at agad na itinutok ang baril but I couldn't shoot because he was holding Astraea.
My hands trembled. I wanted to shoot but I felt so scared. Paano kung matamaan ang anak ko?
"Come with us, or I'll kill her."
My tears fell and I had no choice but to put my gun down, ngunit bago ko pa nagawa iyon, bumulagta na sa harap ko ang may hawak kay Astraea.
"Fuck, are you okay?" Alaric rushed towards us.
My sight was still blurry ngunit agad din akong tumango.
Thank goodness! He came!
Mula sa akin ay lumipat ang tingin niya sa tabi ko and his eyes immediately widened. Agad akong nanlamig no'ng mapagtanto kung bakit.
Astraea was looking at him...they were looking at each other.