Ten Earths. Interstellar voyagers. Cloned rebels. Astral witches. A forbidden love that could reshape humanity's grand history.
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5,000 years from now, reality has dramatically transformed. Humans enjoy much longer lives and can unlock the full...
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"You'll be fine," Dylan said, trying to sound reassuring as I nervously sipped from my tall glass of orange juice. "Clubs are fun, newb. Just stay inside and avoid the alleyways 'cause that's where the trouble happens."
Napahawak ako sa dibdib ko. Sana. Sana sumama na lang ako kina Miki at Irene kanina. O kaya naman ay nagpaiwan na lang sa may restaurant at kumain mag-isa buong magdamag. Kasi naman, tulad nga ng sinabi ni Jon kanina, nasa red-ground spot itong club na ito.
'Red ground' meant that laws were virtually non-existent here. Aside from the fact that this spot wasn't registered under the name of any city, police only patrolled during the day, cleaning up whatever crimes had been committed the night before. Sa makatuwid, tuwing sasapit ang dilim, malayang-malaya ang lahat na narito na gawin ang kahit na anong gusto nilang gawin.
The only thing preventing outright chaos was that most people here were either too drunk, too high, or too busy flirting on the dance floor. Otherwise, it was entirely possible for someone to die or vanish without a trace.
Ang hindi ko nga lang maintindihan, bakit magtutungo rito si Jon Gavelan gayong delikado ang buhay niya rito.
Tiningnan ko si Jon na nakaupo sa kabilang banda ng mesa, kaharap namin. He had pulled the hood of his black leather jacket over his head, covering the upper half of his face so that only his nose and lips were visible. Kanina pa siya abala sa pagtitipa sa wristphone niya. Sino kaya ang kanyang kausap? Tiyak, may katatagpuin siya rito.
Matao ang lugar. Maraming nagkakantahan, nagtatawanan, at sumasayaw. Medyo madilim, at tanging mga neon lights lang ang nagbibigay liwanag. Medyo mausok din dahil sa dami ng naninigarilyo. From the dance areas, pounding techno music thrummed, the bass so intense it continued to send ripples through my glass of orange juice.
Then, two songs later, a waitress came over. She was a tall alien woman, likely from the Great Colonies, with long, curly blue hair, yellowish skin, and green eyes that resembled those of a python. She was dressed in a bold, hot-pink uniform with a very, very short skirt. Nakangiti siya habang maekspertong binubuhat at nilalapag ang mga alak na in-order ni Dylan.
"Happy drinking, boys," aniya, may pangil pang sumilip nang nilakihan niya ang kanyang ngiti. Nang napansin ako nito, binati rin niya ako't pilyang kinindatan. "And girl." Bigla itong may hinugot sa bulsa at saka ito iniabot sa'kin—isang maliit na piraso ng papel na nakatupi. I opened it and found that it was just a bunch of numbers. Pagkatapos, umalis na ito.
"She likes you. She wanna take you upstairs," ani Dylan na sinisimulan na ang pagtungga ng beer.
Halos mabulunan ako sa juice ko. "Me?" I pointed at my face in disbelief.
"Damn, newb! Everyone drools over you, huh?" bungisngis ni Dylan. "What's your secret?"
Pakurap-kurap ko siyang tiningnan habang tinitimtim ang aking orange juice. Wala akong sinabi rito kasi wala naman talaga akong maisasagot.
