Grace spotted the boys the moment they joined the crowd. It suprised her as she did not see them arrive earlier or even just heard them. Besides, they were with Mang Tomas, the old man presumed by everyone as a prophet. She did not have any idea that they were acquaintances. And why would Mang Tomas accompany the kids? It looked like their parents were not around with them. Were they invited as well? Grace was having plenty of thoughts when Alex lightly tapped here in the hips.
"You are somewhere else?" Alex whispered.
"Huh?" Grace answered and smiled. "I'm just here. With you!"
"You were thinking hard."
"I was just wondering why those kids are here without their parents."
Alex looked at where Grace was staring at.
"Are they from the school?"
Grace nodded.
"They must have been also invited to the event. You know, parents were busy so they had to go here with their friends."
"I don't know. It just feels odd for me."
Like many healthworkers in the isolation center, Grace received an invitation courtesy of Dr. Alvarado's office. The doctor allocated enough heads for the entire medical team. Yet, she did not want to attend alone or with the other nurses so he asked Alex to join him. Incidentally, he was able to secure an invitation from a friend who could not attend the event. Despite feeling ill, Alex was enthusiastic enough to come along with Grace.
"Why odd?" Alex was asking.
"I was just not expecting to see Mang Tomas with them," Grace said pensively. "I did not know that they knew each other."
"Subangdaku is a small district, Grace. It is not really surprising."
"Maybe, but something in my guts keeps telling me that something is amiss."
"Well, you can talk to them now."
"That's a good idea. Come, let's see the boys-"
Before Grace could finish her words, the place suddenly turned dark. There was a blackout. Some women and children screamed because of panic or surprise. Quickly, Alex held Grace's hand even tighter, making sure that the one girl he loved would not drift away from him....
Sonny and Estella were also surprised with the sudden power interruption. They knew there was no scheduled blackout so they could not help but wonder. Sonny immediately secured their equipment while Estella tried to help a woman whose child was crying.
"Everyone, let us calm down," Dr. Alvarado's voice echoed from a distance.
The noise subsided as everyone turned to look at the owner of the voice. Despite the darkness, they knew where it was coming from. Yet, a few could not help but got scared. Once the crowd had seemed to calm down, the doctor silently went back to his office.
"Dr. Alvarado is really good with dealing with people," Estella commented under her breath, just loud enough for Sonny to hear her. "He could easily fool anyone."
"Be careful, Estella," Sonny whispered. "People might hear you."
"It was an innocent opinion."
"But a dangerous one. Anyone can easily put different meanings to it."
Estella was silent. Sonny could be right - she should add more carefullness to her words.
Suddenly, the lights went on as the electricity came back. People cheered, relieved that they could see their surroundings again and resume the tour. Estella was doing some mental check of what she would be doing when she incidentally spotted Mang Tomas and Kiko in the crowd. She did not see them before the blackout so it was a surprise to her.
"Sonny," she called her partner. "That is one one of the kids, right?"
Sonny looked at where her lips pointed. He nodded.
"Definitely," he said. "Their friend is still missing. It is a good thing he could be around here tonight."
"That's actually weird. Why would he come to this event without his friends?"
"He could not be with his friends all the time."
"But why not with his parents?"
Sonny looked at the old man beside Kiko.
"Is that Mang Tomas?"
"Yes, he is. The boy is with the prophet. It is quite funny that they seem to be comfortable with one another. It is as if they know each other well."
"They could just have bumped into each other here tonight."
"Let's observe them to be sure."
The two went on the side of the crowd and watched as people got ready for the tour. Morgan, the main organizer of the event and the doctor's personal assistant, went to the center and addressed the people. He gave small talks about the blackout and how the tour would be conducted. Meanwhile, Mang Tomas and Kiko slowly inched away from the people. Morgan had just finished his speech and people were already preparing for the tour. This did not escape Estella's gaze so he tapped Sonny on the elbow.
"Did you see that?" Estella whispered. "They are getting away together."
Sonny watched as the two broke away from the crowd and went the other side. They slowly disappeared in the dim light as they moved farther away.
"I guess you are right," Sonny said. "Something is fishy with them. Let's follow them."
Estella nodded and smiled. They started to walk away when people also began moving and distracted them for a while. People were pressing them from all directions as they got excited. After some precious minutes, the two finally broke loose from the crowd. They immediately ran to the direction where their targets were heading.
"Where they could have gone?" Estella tried to start a conversation.
"We are already heading to the clinics. Where are they exactly going?"
"And why? What's in here?"
Sonny shrugged his shoulders. Soon, they almost reached the end of the corridor. By then, they saw Morgan standing by a door. His back was to them but they knew it was him from the tall built and erect posture. Sonny looked at the nearby room. It was Dr. Alvarado's office. Morgan was about to open the door when Estella suddenly called him.
"Mister, wait a minute!"
Morgan turned around and stared at them. The two froze, stunned at the man's reaction. Estella felt chills as she gazed at Morgan's piercing eyes and furrowed brows. She felt that the man was not pleased by their interruption. And it was terrifying enough for her....