September 21th, 2024. Eleven o'clock in the morning.
May was watching the developing news about the massacre that had transpired near Manila South High School. Her brow furrowed in concern—it was so close to where her son, Matthew, attended classes. What could have happened? She felt a chill run down her spine.
Suddenly—there was a knock on the door, jolting her out of her thoughts.
With a worried look, she got up and made her way to the door, her heart pounding slightly. She opened it to find two men standing in front of her. Both were dressed in plainclothes, but their badges hung visibly around their necks.
"Good morning, ma'am," the taller of the two said, offering a nod. "I'm Senior Chief Inspector Arnel Santos, and this is Officer Ramirez. We're with the Manila Police District. We're here to speak with your son, Matthew Reyes."
May blinked, confusion washing over her. "Matthew? Is he in some kind of trouble?"
Santos pulled out a folded document from his jacket and handed it to her. "This is a subpoena, ma'am. We need to summon him for questioning regarding an ongoing investigation."
May's eyes widened as she scanned the paper. A subpoena. Her hands shook slightly. "An investigation? What's this about? What happened?"
Santos kept his face neutral. "I'm afraid I can't disclose the details right now, ma'am. It's important that we speak to your son. Is he home?"
May hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "No, Matthew's not here. He went to Montalban for some training with his classmates. One of their subjects."
Santos raised an eyebrow slightly, processing the information. "Montalban, you say? Do you know exactly where?"
"Yes, he's at Wawa Dam," May replied, her anxiety growing. "But why are you looking for Matthew? What happened? I deserve to know!"
Santos exchanged a glance with Ramirez but maintained a professional tone. "We understand your concern, ma'am, but we can't share specific details at the moment."
May stood firm, her protective instincts flaring. "I need to know what this is about. My son hasn't done anything wrong."
But the two officers ignored her and instead went to their police mobile and drove off.
May closed the door and went to grab her phone.
She anxiously dialed Matthew's number, her hands trembling as she waited for the line to connect. The phone rang, and rang, but no one picked up. A sense of dread tightened her chest. She tried again, but still—nothing.
Why wasn't he answering? What had the police meant by "investigation"?
She attempted a third call, but it was futile.
Meanwhile, inside the police mobile, Senior Chief Inspector Arnel Santos sat quietly, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel in thought.
Santos broke the silence. "Ramirez, contact Montalban District. We need to get officers out to Wawa Dam as soon as possible. I want them to locate Matthew Reyes."
Ramirez nodded, understanding the urgency. He pulled out his radio and switched to the appropriate channel.
"This is Officer Ramirez, Manila Police District. We need immediate assistance from Montalban District. We're looking for a subject named Matthew Reyes, age eighteen, involved in an active investigation. Last known location is Wawa Dam. Stand by for further instructions."
Static crackled on the other end before a voice responded. "Copy that, Officer Ramirez. We'll mobilize units to Wawa Dam and coordinate with you shortly. Do you have any specifics on the individual?"
Ramirez glanced at Santos, who gave a brief nod before answering. "Male, approximately five-foot-nine, black hair, medium build. He's a student."
"Understood. Units will be dispatched immediately. We'll update you as soon as we have eyes on him."
***
Somewhere in the Sierra Madre Mountain Range. Same time.
Matthew was still lost in the mountains, wandering around with nothing but his naked form. He saw the smoke billowing from a distance and figured it must mean people. Maybe someone who could help him figure out where he was. With no other options, he began to head toward the smoke, making his way through the dense trees and rocky terrain.
As he got closer, he realized the smoke wasn't from a campfire or a house—it was from a group of men sitting around a makeshift campsite. They looked rough, wearing mismatched clothes and heavy boots. There was an insignia on some of their gear—red stars on their hats, a familiar symbol Matthew recognized from TV: the NPA, the New People's Army.
As he approached, he tried to remain calm. The group noticed him right away, and before he could even say anything, a few of them grabbed their rifles, aiming them directly at him. Their eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"Hoy!" one of them barked. "Who are you? What do you want?" His rifle was steady, his finger close to the trigger.
Matthew instinctively covered himself, embarrassed by his lack of clothes. He took a deep breath, trying to figure out what to say without alarming them.
"Uh, I'm Matthew," he said, his voice shaking a little. "I got lost… I was hiking and—"
The armed men didn't let him finish. They looked at each other, some of them chuckling, but their weapons never wavered. "Hiking, huh? Naked? You must think we're idiots."
"I swear, I'm just lost," Matthew said quickly, trying to explain. "I don't know where I am. I just need help finding my way back."
But the men weren't convinced. One of them, who seemed to be their leader, stood up from where he had been sitting and walked over to Matthew. He was taller, with a scar running across his cheek. His rifle was slung across his back, but his hand rested on the handle of a pistol at his side.
"You're not going anywhere," the leader said, a smirk on his face. "We'll take you as a hostage. You're worth something, even if you're just some lost kid."
"Hostage?" Matthew repeated.
"That's right…Tie him up. We'll contact the family later and ask for a ransom."
Matthew sighed as the NPA soldiers moved closer with ropes, ready to tie him up. He hadn't wanted any trouble, but he knew he couldn't let them take him hostage. One of the armed men grabbed his arm, trying to push him to the ground. But to their surprise, Matthew didn't budge.
The soldier grunted, confused, and pushed harder. "Why won't you move?" he hissed through gritted teeth, trying to force Matthew down.
It was like trying to push a tree.
The other soldiers watched in confusion as the man struggled to bring Matthew down. The leader, noticing the unusual resistance, stepped forward with a scowl. "What the hell are you doing? Just tie him up!"
The soldier tried again, using all his strength, but Matthew remained as steady as a rock. Realizing the situation wasn't normal, the leader's face twisted in anger. "What's going on here?"
Matthew looked down at the soldier struggling to restrain him, then at the others who were growing more agitated by the second. He sighed again, knowing he had no choice.
"I really didn't want to do this," Matthew said quietly, "but you've left me no choice."
Before the soldier could react, Matthew gently pushed him back. It wasn't even a hard shove, but the man flew backward several meters, landing in a heap near the campfire. The rest of the soldiers instantly raised their rifles, eyes wide in disbelief.
"What the—!"
"Who is this guy?"
The leader's face paled. "Shoot him!"
Gunshots erupted, and bullets struck Matthew's bare skin. But instead of wounding him, the bullets flattened and fell to the ground like raindrops hitting a solid wall. . Matthew didn't flinch, his expression remaining calm, though inside he felt the shock of what was happening. He was completely invulnerable to the barrage of bullets.
The NPA soldiers stood frozen in disbelief, their rifles still pointed at him but clearly ineffective.
"What the hell…?" one of the soldiers muttered, his voice shaking.
Matthew sighed, knowing that the situation was about to escalate. He had already shown more of his abilities than he wanted to. Now, he had to end this.
Matthew's eyes glowed a faint red, the warmth building behind them as he concentrated on the heat vision he had practiced earlier. Without warning, twin beams of intense heat shot from his pupils.
The golden-hot lasers cut through the soldiers' rifles like butter, the metal melting and falling apart in their hands. In a flash, the weapons were reduced to useless scrap, and before the soldiers could react, the beams continued their path, cutting bodies in half.
Those who tried to run away were also caught by the lasers, creating a gaping hole in their chest.
"Who the fuck is that?!"
"Monster!"
Matthew's flickered and punched those runners, and the moment his fist struck their bodies, it exploded from the force of his punch. There were 32 of them in the campsite, but those numbers were now reduced to 5.
He grabbed the fifth person and hurled it at the three soldiers firing at him with a force that disintegrated the three soldiers and the soldier that he had thrown. The only remaining was the leader, who grabbed an RPG.
"Die, you freak!" the leader shouted, pulling the trigger. The RPG roared to life, launching the rocket straight at Matthew.
The projectile hurtled toward him at high speed, the air around it sizzling from the heat. But Matthew remained calm, watching the rocket approach without even flinching.
The rocket struck him directly in the chest with a thunderous explosion, sending a massive shockwave through the surrounding trees and ground.
For a moment, there was nothing but silence.
Then, as the smoke cleared, Matthew stepped forward, completely unscathed. His skin showed no signs of damage, not even a scratch.
The leader's face drained of all color, his mouth hanging open in sheer disbelief. "W-What... what are you?"
Matthew locked eyes with the terrified man. "Someone you should have helped in finding directions."
The leader dropped the empty RPG launcher and fell to his knees, his hands raised in surrender. "I'll tell you where you are, I will even give you money. Please spare me!"
Matthew thought of the offer for a moment and then nodded. "You got yourself a deal."
With that, the leader gave him the answers he needed and how to get to the city. He was also given twenty thousand pesos in cash and clothes.
"Thank you," Matthew said genuinely before heading to the direction the leader pointed him to.