The Rush

Chapter 4- Survivalist

A/N: Please note that I am not a writer in profession. Please expect typographical and grammatical errors. Approach and correct me nicely if you'll see a mistake. Thank you, and enjoy!

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"So, mom was a... survivalist?" I asked Dad as I lay down on the comfortable sofa.

"Both of us were. Hindi namin masabi sa inyo dahil baka isipin ninyong sobrang gulo pala talaga ng mundo para maging handa kami ng ganito."

Turns out, what happened earlier wasn't an earthquake. So Dad went to the trash can to lower our car in the garage, an underground garage. Sabi ni Dad ang button daw na nasa trash can ang susi para mabuksan ang garahe. And now, we are here, underground.

I sighed heavily. This day is so tiring. It's still 7 a.m. but my body already feels like I already experienced hell for weeks. My body aches.

"We should all take a rest."

I nodded at what Aki said before closing my eyes. I put my weapon under the coffee table so I could reach it quickly in case I needed to.

I heard the footsteps of our companions. They went to the rooms one by one. There are four rooms in this underground home excluding the kitchen, the laundry, the comfort room, the storage room, and a garden-like room. The four rooms are the bedrooms. Aki and Dylan will be sharing a room. Christine and  Kate are in the other room. Tapos ako, si Anne, at si Trisha naman sa kabila. Lastly,  Dad and Aris will be sharing a room.

"Aika, aren't you going to rest in the room?"

I opened my eyes slightly and saw Dad sitting on the single sofa opposite where I was lying. I turned to him before speaking. "No, Dad, I want to sleep here," I said in almost a whisper.

He nodded before opening his mouth and closing it again. He looked away. I frowned when I realized he wanted to say something. He sighed before facing me again.

"Dear, I'm sorry."

"What? Why are you saying sorry?" I sat up.

"I have been selfish before. I almost never went back to Trisha and Dylan. I'm sorry, sweetheart. I only had the safety of your brothers, sister, and yours on my mind before so I did that. I'm ashamed of what I did earlier. You even insisted that we go back to them. Sorry-"

I cut him off. "It's okay, Dad. I understand. I do. I really do." I assured him. He smiled, nodded, and told me to rest already. He got up to go to his room with Aris.

Five days have passed and we are still residing underground. During those five days, we did not go out. Nagpupunta lamang kami sa isang kwarto rito sa bahay na parang hardin sa tuwing kailangan naming magpaaraw. There are a few windows there that are screened and placed level with the ground at the top. Hindi namin kailangang lumabas dahil may pagkain naman kami rito. Or so I thought...

"Everyone," I raised my brows when Kate suddenly called us from the kitchen. I was in the bedroom listening to people talking on the radio I was holding. I've been doing this for days now. The bedroom door was open so I could still hear the noise inside the house, especially since the surroundings are not noisy. "Punta muna kayo rito sa kusina, please." I heard Kate again.

I put the radio on the nightstand and turned it off before leaving the room. I saw that they were complete at ako nalang ang inaantay nila. "What's going on?"

Aki stepped forward, all eyes are on him now. "We are slowly running out of food stocks. "

"What? I thought this place is packed with boxes of canned goods and other foods?" Anne asked with furrowed brows. She must be frustrated, we all are actually. We are about to run out of food. Who wouldn't be frustrated by that news?

"This place was built after your mom and I's wedding. We didn't go back here, ever since. The goods here will last for a year... But, that's if, only two people will live here. With this number of people, the food will only last for a month. " Dad explained.

"Wait, if you haven't come back here since then, have the foods we ate these past few days expired?" Christine asked nervously. Maybe she's worried about her baby.

"No. We made sure that the foods that are stored here will not be put to waste. My wife made some chemical that will store the goods for a lifetime." We were amazed at what Dad said. I didn't know mommy can do something like... that. A chemical to store foods for a lifetime? Wow, my mom was a genius. Napangiti ako, but it faded when I realized something.

"Does that mean..." I finished my sentence by glancing at them one by one. They already know what I meant by that glance.

"Yes, we need to get supplies. We need to go out." Dylan answered. Halos sabay-sabay kaming napalunok ng mga babae. "But we need to plan this out. We can't just go out there without a good plan."

We started planning everything after dinner. We all gathered in the living room.

"Alright," Dylan started. Aki and he are leading the meeting. The oldies will only listen to their plan and disagree if it's dangerous or something. "Aki and I will be the–"

"I'll come with you." I immediately cut him off. I saw Dad and Aki frown because of what I said.

"No, you won't. You'll stay here." Dad objected.

"Dad, it will be best if Aki is with someone. Hindi pwedeng silang dalawa lang. The work would be easier if there were three of us. And one more thing, I won’t be a nuisance to them. I can fight." I argued. I turned to Aki when he sighed loudly.

"When will you ever listen, Aika? It isn't safe, okay? You'll—"

"Exactly! It isn't safe! I will not let you go alone there!" I started moving my hands while explaining. This is how I am when I want to fight for something.

"I am not alone! Dylan's with me!" He sounded so frustrated, like me.

"You know what I mean! Are we going to fight over this again, huh?! You're my only remaining twin, Aki! Don't you get it?!" I yelled. The room fell silent all I could hear was my own breathing. Until Aki sighed again. He gestured for Dylan to continue talking.

"As I said earlier," Dylan continued. "Me, Aki, and..." He glanced at me. We stared at each other for almost five seconds before he turned his gaze back to our colleagues. "And Aika. The three of us. We're going to the nearest town to scavenge for supplies."

We nodded at what he said. Then Aki spoke, "There's a town near here. Just minutes to an hour of driving, I guess."

"Is that all? Are you leaving tomorrow?" Kate asked.

Dylan and Aki nodded. Suddenly, I remembered something.

"There's one more thing," They all looked at me while I just look down while playing with my fingers. "There's something you should know about those."

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