To the Land of Green

Chapter Eighteen

"Hey, guys," says a familiar voice.
"Hey, you guys are back!" I squeal.
"Yes, but look we have something important to say," Nando says. "What is it?" José asks.

"They have a very important guest at this upcoming festival. We heard he is a distant cousin of Alvarez on his mother's side. He is also dangerous. He came with men with guns and also two young women and a young man. I couldn't see their faces, but they had the same manner of clothing as Marie," says Manoy.

"So, what does that have to do with us?" Andres asks.
"He could have the diary, and we think he came from Marie's world," Nando says.

"That doesn't make sense. I thought the portal we know of is the only way to travel in time," says José.

"And how did they get here if Ractro is with us?" I ask.
"We don't know but it is best to get near him because he may have the diary," says Manoy. "What is he called this guy?" asks Diego.
"His name is Sebastian Franco," says Nando.
"What did you say his name was?" I ask.

"Sebastian Franco. You know him?" Nando asks. "Yes, he is the reason the Philippines were destroyed." "The Philippines?" asks Fredo.
"Las Felipinas," says Nando.
"What do you mean?" says Andres.

I take a breath and explain, "For almost a decade, the Francos have been taking over the Philippines. The climate had gotten worse over the years and had been affecting the Philippines and other nations. However, it became worse when Sebastian Franco's father, Benito Franco, overthrew the government and used his military power to take over the Philippines. He had powers over the media. We were not allowed to talk with or communicate with other nations. People have tried hacking the system, but they couldn't break the codes. It was too difficult. Our families were really close. My family and the Francos were part of an organization called the Pearl. The Pearl had five families. There was us, the de la Cruzs, there was the Francos, Valdezes, Chuas, and finally the Dubois'. All I know is that the five families had been close for years and had been working together. Together they were known as the most wealthy and influential people in the world. However, a few years ago, before my parents passed away, something happened. I don't exactly know what it was but all I know is that my parents disagreed with something the Francos said because I overheard them talking. That's when my family, except my father's sister's family, stopped talking to one another. From then on, our family had been kicked out and my auntie's husband's family had become our replacement. They are the Alvarezs. Then, we got an invitation to attend a ball. All the wealthy families go there so

my parents then decided to go first because my sister, Rosalinda, was taking her time getting ready. So my siblings, and I got there late. Then, as we entered the place, we suddenly heard gunshots. We rushed inside to look for our parents and then see people surrounding some bodies. There I saw my parents laying on the ground covered in blood and that's when everything went downhill. After my parent's funeral, we visited the Dubois family, close friends of our family. The family told us to hide and not to trust anyone or anything the Pearl says. They told us that they are going back to France to start over. They even asked us if we wanted to go but we all said no because this is our home country and our parents' remains are here. When we returned home we turned on the television—Franco had taken over the Philippines. There were protests everywhere and also people who supported them. Then, a surprising announcement came, that since the Dubois family went to France, it will only be the four families controlling now: Franco, Alvarez, Chua, and Valdez." I say.

I look to the group, take another breath and continue my tale. "It was a total chaos. There were a lot of deaths, vandalism, and too much control. When we saw the news, my siblings and I decided to move. With our family's old money, we moved around. As the years passed, our surroundings changed. More and more trees were cut down and more and more buildings were built. Then, we found out the reason why the Dubois told us to hide. It was because we will be or are being hunted by Franco's military. Every living de la Cruz family was apparently killed on sight. That is what a guy, whom we trusted for six months, told us when we almost got caught. He had actually befriended us because he would get paid a lot if he turned us in. We didn't know about any of this because after we heard the news, we hid. We knew something was wrong when my parents were yelling on the phone before the ball party. We couldn't use any electronics that are connected to us because they can track us and they can know where we are. We were very