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"What do you want? Soda o pineapple juice?" pag-aalok sa akin ni Oli.

We are currently at our favorite fastfood chain para kumain ng lunch. Ilang oras na rin kasi kaming bumabiyahe.

City 127 is a 4 hour ride from City 21 but we are supposedly not allowed to go out the city as it is prohibited.

Hindi ko alam kung paano kami makakalabas ni Oli. Medyo kinakabahan na din ako sa kung anong pwedeng mangyari.

I got my drink which is a lemon soda at isang slice ng pepperoni pizza. My favorite food is obviously pizza but I refuse to eat it kapag may mushroom af olives. Not a fan of both ingredients.

I started to eat my food samantalang si Oli ay may kinakausap sa phone niya.

I wonder what would be my soulmate like. Alam ko rin naman na ang ugali niya pero I am curious of his appearance. I have read novels andit affected my standards when it comes to men and it is quite high.

Napansin ko naman na tapos nang makipag-usap si Oli sa phone niya kaya tinanong ko siya. "So, how will we get out of here? Please, don't tell me na we are doing something bad."

Before answering me, she sipped on her drink. "We ain't doing anything bad unless magi-guilty ka. Besides, it's for your own good." Aniya habang inuubos ang natitira niyang clubhouse sandwich.

She got out her wallet and paid for our meal while I am finishing my drink.
I burped and patted my stomach kasi nabusog ako even though hindi full meal ang kinain namin.

I got my bag and followed Oli who is on her way out. Ba't ba kasi siya nagmamadali? Parang soulmate niya pa 'yung hahanapin namin.

--
I got out of the restroom located beside the fastfood chain. Nagbihis kasi ako ng damit. Medyo hindi kasi ako komportable sa cami at leather jacket na suot ko. Masyadong mainit sa pakiramdam kaya nagbihis ako at nagsuot ng plain white t-shirt.

"Listen, we have to be quick. May makakasama tayong kakilala ko at imi-meet niya tayo sa boundary ng City 127. But, we will not be inquiring at the barracks located at the boundary but sa isang building na may secret access palabas at papasok ng city. Okay ba 'yon?" Oli reminded me and gave me my bag. She hopped on her car and I followed her still not being able to process what she just said.

After 30 minutes of driving, nakarating na rin kami malapit sa boundary. There is an intersection which leads to the barracks which is incharge of the security of the city and the other lane which is where we are going.

Hindi ko alam na mayroon palang lugar na ganito dito sa City 21. Let me remind you that I have never been able to freely go out whenever I wanted to.

We stopped at a huge building na mayroong sign na nagsasabing " The WareHouse"

Oli turned the car engine off at bumaba. Agad din naman akong sumunod at bumaba na rin ng kotse. I'm quite nervous of what's happening.

Si Oli naman patuloy lang ang paglalakad at huminto sa entrance ng building.

Mayroong dalawang lalaking nagbabantay sa harapan ng building. They have such huge bodies and are armed with guns on both waists.
I feel myself shivering dahil sa takot. I'm not used to this kind of stuff.

Oli said some few words confirming our identity at ilang sandali pa binuksan ng isa sa mga lalaki ang pinto ng building.
Oli smiled to the both of them so I also tried to smile at them kaso parang hindi ata ako nakapag-smile ng maayos dahil sa takot.

As we entered the building, there aren't any person. Nagtataka ako kung bakit. It is heavily guarded pero wala ni isang tao.

Inilibot ko ang paningin ko at puro boxes lamang ang nakikita ko. Mayroon ding mga malalaking packages at mga naka-park na mga sasakyan sa may bandang dulo ng room.

"This ain't the floor. We have to go up. Sumakay tayo ng elevator." sabi sa akin ni Oli habang kinakaladkad ako patungong elevator.

We walked by into some huge boxes that say "fragile" on them. Ano kayang laman ng mga boxes na ito?
Agad namang nawala ang curiosity sa isip ko nang biglang tumunog ang elevator.

We entered and Oli pressed 5. I guess we are going on the fifth floor.

I just waited until I heard another sound from the elevator and it suddenly opened.

I was in awe nang makita ko ang isang malaking painting sa harap ko. Hindi pa man ako nakakalabas ng elevator ay namangha na ako sa ganda ng floor na ito. How come this wasn't like the first floor?

Nakaawang ang bibig ko habang sumusunod ako kay Oli. There are so many things to see. There are lot of paintings and there are also plants in the hallway. Napansin ko din na mayroon ding mga tao sa floor na ito. Siguro ito yung floor ng lahat ng trabahador ng building na ito.

I stopped walking as soon as Oli stopped too. Agad ko namang tiningnan si Oli para i check kung bakit siya tumigil. I looked over her shoulders at napag-alaman ko na nasa dulo na pala kami ng building. And we are standing in front of an unknown room.

Kumatok ng dalawang beses si Oli at awtomatikong bumukas ang pinto at sumalubong sa amin ang isang matipunong lalaki na mayroon ding baril sa bewang.

I gulped and I am actually sweating. Agad niya kaming pinapasok at pinaupo sa itim na leather couch sa may gitna ng room at nakaharap sa table.

I read the sign that says, "Mr. Callisto Sitara". I guess he's the boss.

I sat comfortably sa couch kasama ni Oli. Medyo napagod din ako mentally.

I immediately sat straight nang pumasok ang isang lalaking mukhang bachelor. He is wearing a black suit and pants with a blue neck tie. He also wears glasses which actually looks good on him.

He caught our attention at bigla din naman niyang inutusan ang kaniyang tauhan na magtimpla ng kape. He seems hospitable to guests.

Tumayo naman si Oli at nakipag-hand shake kay Mr. Sitara. Tumayo din ako at makikipagkamay sana kaso naupo na ito. I got back to my seat and pretended as if nothing happened. That was so embarassing. Binabawi ko na ang sinabi kong hospitable siya.

"So, you're here para tumawid sa kabila? Do you know kung ano ang pinapasok niyo?" he started asking us while sitting on his swiveling chair." You know that City 127 ain't any other city. Once na makapasok kayo doon, hindi na namin obligasyon ang kung ano man ang mangyari sa inyo sa kabila. Isa pa, I can't accompany you kasi may kailangan pa akong asikasuhin. I hope that you would understand. " pagpapatuloy pa nito at pinaikot-ikot pa ang upuan nito.

I kind of understood the risk that we are taking so I squeezed Oli's hand hoping na magdecide siyang bumalik na lang kami. I looked her in the eye and I saw her determination. No, don't tell me--

"We are going. Period." she proudly said not minding my opinion. I'm actually doomed. I looked at my wrist and its past 2:00 in the afternoon. Makakabalik kaya kami nito sa oras?

Mr. Sitara stood up and told us to follow him. We walked behind Mr. Sitara.

After several steps, napahinto kami sa harap ng isang bookshelf.

What the hell are we doing here?

I was astonished when Mr. Sitara got a book and the shelves actually broke in half revealing a passageway in the middle.

It's quite dark kaya naman kumuha ng flashlight si Mr. Sitara at naunang pumasok sa may lagusan. Agad din naman kaming sumunod ni Oli. It's creepy but my curiosity tells me to go on.

Huminto kami sa harap ng isang pinto. He opened it at namangha ako kasi may hagdanan pababa. It's scary but still I'm curious of where this leads to.

Our footsteps echoed inside the passageway. Medyo madilim ang part na ito ng passageway kaya naman pinag-iingat kami ni Mr. Sitara.

He, then, pulled a lever after reaching the bottom of the stairs producing light. Thankfully, mayroon ng ilaw at hindi na kami mangangapa sa dilim.

Humarap naman sa amin si Mr. Sitara, "This is door is the way papuntang City 127. It is very important na hindi ninyo mawala ang spare key na ibinigay ko sa inyo. You must return within 24 hours or we will declare you missing or dead. Remember that anything that happens in there stays there at wala kaming kinalaman doon. Understood?" pag-eexplain sa amin ni Mr. Sitara at agad naman kaming tumango.

I inhaled and exhaled before Oli opened the door. I hope nothing would go wrong.
I hope that I made the right decision and this isn't a mistake.

It was too late when I heard the door slam shut. Its now or never.

I was amazed of how different this City is compared sa city 21. Everything is black and white. I can't tell kung gabi ba o umaga kasi napaka-itim ng langit.

Hindi pa man kami nakakahakbang ay may narinig na kaming putok ng baril.

Oli and I looked at each other and held hands.

"Let's go, Lu. Let's find that stubborn soulmate of yours."

We set foot into a journey that both of us will regret later.

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Chapter 4 is here! Thanks for reading once again!

𝑵𝒂𝒈𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒉𝒊𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒈 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒕 𝒏𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒍𝒂 𝒔𝒊 𝑴𝒓. 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒌𝒂 𝑱𝒐𝒉𝒏𝒏𝒚 𝑺𝒆𝒐? 𝑾𝒉𝒐'𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑳𝒖𝑵𝒚'𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏? 𝑰 𝒂𝒎!

𝑶𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝑰 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏.