"Yena of green team, out. Elix of pink team, out."

Everything happened so fast that I was only able to process what had transpired after the announcement.

Sinubukan akong hatakin ni Zion kanina para maiwasan ang paintball mula kay Les pero hinarang ko pa rin ang sarili ko sa kanya in case matamaan siya no'n. The green paint ended up staining the side of my vest. At the same time, Roi and Arin concentrated their attacks on Brian, but Yena had the same idea as mine.

"Tsk," Zion uttered in annoyance as he whizzed past me to find a better hiding spot.

"Good luck," I murmured.

A deep and long sigh of relief escaped my lips while my teammates disappeared from my sight. Nagkatinginan kami ni Yena dahil siya lang din ang naiwan at sabay kaming napangiti.

"Nauna ang mga lampa," biro ko noong magkaharap na kami.

She chucked while removing the pink paint on her left hand. "I guess it's a good choice. Pero hindi ako makapaniwala na sinacrifice ko ang sarili para sa isang lalaki."

"For the greater good, ika nga," I replied. "Pero ang pangit nga lang sa feeling."

"True."

One staff member appeared and guided us outside of the forest. Pareho kaming tahimik na lang habang naglalakad dahil nawala na ang adrenaline sa katawan namin. Medyo kinabahan lang din ako para kay Yena dahil naririnig ko ang paghinga niya kaya nakaalalay na ako sa kanya.

Once we were out of the forest, I immediately escorted her to the medical room located near the crew's cabin. Better na ma-check kung okay lang siya kaysa ma-aggravate pa ang kalagayan niya.

"Linisin at i-bandage na rin natin 'yung mga sugat mo," the medical staff suggested after seeing my arms, but I declined.

"Mamaya na lang po. Balik po ako after the challenge."

Dumiretso ako sa pavilion kung nasaan ang iba pang eliminated writers dahil gusto kong makita at malaman kung ano na ang nangyayari. Seven people were seated right in front of a huge screen displaying several live feed cameras throughout the forest.

"Hoy, grabe kayo sa amin!" nakangiting sigaw ni Wynn sa akin. Seated beside her were Charity and Tasha, and they were the only team that had multiple eliminated members.

"Sorry. Kayo unang team na dumaan, eh," pabiro ko namang sagot.

Napailing na lang si Tasha. "Sana lang maka-survive si Jacques," sabay tingin niya sa screen. "Medyo shunga pa naman siya 'pag mag-isa."

I sat on the second row of seats and looked at the surveillance monitors. Hindi masyadong kita ang iba dahil nasa blind spots ng cameras pero marami sa teams ang nasa isang place lang para mang-ambush. But a few were actively moving to hunt and pursue their target groups.

"Huy, shet magtatagpo pa ata 'yung dalawa," Lareza commented as she pointed at the leftmost feed on the screen.

Halos mapasigaw kaming lahat nang mag-cross ang paths ng red at purple teams dahil wala silang lookouts. They started gunning each other down, resulting in simultaneous eliminations.

"Andy and Ren of red team, out. Anikka and France of purple team, out."

"Wait, so sino na lang ang kumpleto pa rin ang members?" asked Becca.

"Yellow, blue, white, black, gray, and silver," mabilis na sagot ni Jean.

Then that meant yellow team—the fifth place overall—might lead the ranking if all of their members survive. It would be for the best if their target team was teal since we already had eliminated three of their members, but if that were the case, they would have been pursuing Jacques to secure twenty-five points. Pero parang walang hint ng movements sa kanila kaya mataas ang probability na hindi teal ang target team nila.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any messier, several teams started moving. Those who have yet to score points were the first to change their positions. Halos pigil-hininga na rin ako habang nanonood dahil nakita kong palapit nang palapit sina Justin at Suzy ng beige team sa pinagtataguan nina Zion.

My team was running after the green team earlier, but they might have decided to stop the chase since the risk outweighed the benefit. On the other hand, green team continued moving east. Pero nagulat ako nang bigla silang umikot at akmang babalik sa dati nilang pinanggalingan nang hindi nakikita nina Roi.

Wait, if they were going back, then their target group must be around there earlier. At ang tanging group lang na na-encounter namin kanina ay beige team dahil na-ambush nila kami.

I held my breath for a moment. It was a wild guess, but if I were right, then what an incredible coincidence it was to have three teams playing tag against each other. Green team was our target and theirs was beige, probably. Malaki rin ang chance na ang target ng beige team ay kami.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden announcement. Halos sunud-sunod ang mga natanggal dahil nag-switch na sa offense ang karamihan ng groups, lalo na ang mga may na-eliminate nang members.

"Oh my gosh, buti na lang maaga akong natanggal," biro ni Lareza dahil halos nagsisigawan na ang mga natira sa gubat.

Events were moving rapidly. Everyone was watching the screen with bated breaths. All teams had lost at least one of their members, and the first to be wiped out was the teal team, followed by red. As if on cue, alarms blared throughout the forest followed by an announcement.

"The challenge has ended," the staff member said. "I repeat, the challenge has ended. Both black and pink team have accumulated a total of 100 points."

Isang malalim na buntonghininga ang pinakawalan ko nang marinig ang team namin na isa sa mga naka-complete ng challenge. The last seconds were too nerve-wracking to watch.

Roi and Arin opted for a full-frontal assault, while Zion acted as their lookout. They sneaked behind green team and waited for the right moment to attack. And Zion knew exactly when to move—it was when green team opened fire on beige team.

It was a complete chaos, but Roi and Arin was able to take advantage of their speed and mobility. They simultaneously hit Les and Lan, while Brian focused on eliminating the beige team. Seriously, nakakatakot pala talaga ang athletic people lalo na kapag sineryoso na nila ang isang bagay.

Pero dahil open sila sa attacks ay na-target pa rin sila ni Justin ng beige team. Roi was eliminated at the last moment, but Zion used that opening to fire at Justin, and those five points gave us the remaining points to complete the challenge.

"Congrats," said Tasha. "Mukhang kayo ang mag-t-top rank ngayon."

I smiled at her. "Hindi pa naman sure. I think mataas din ang nakuhang points ng yellow team."

"Ah, oo nga."

"Wow, ibig sabihin mataas din ang magiging rank ng black team ngayon," dagdag ni Becca.

Napatayo si Isobel sa kinauupuan niya. "Gusto ko nang malaman kung ano ang changes sa ranks!"

They kept on talking about the ranking and what happened inside the forest, but my mind couldn't focus anymore. Kahit na nakaupo lang naman ako ay parang nadagdagan pa lalo ang pagod ko. Tumayo ako para makaalis na sa pavilion pero agad naman akong napansin ni Charity.

"Saan ka pupunta? Hindi mo hihintayin teammates mo?" she asked.

"Medical room," sagot ko habang bahagyang nakataas ang kanang tuhod ko. The blood was already seeping through my pants.

"Omg, ba't ka pa nanood?" she said in panic. "Need mo ba ng alalay?"

Agad naman akong umiling. "Kaya pa naman ilakad."

"Sure ka?"

"Yup. Thanks. Pasabi na lang sa kanila 'pag dumating na sila."

"Okay."

***

Tears welled up in my eyes as the nurse tended my wounds. Ah, I seriously hated pain because I was sensitive to it. This was the reason why I didn't like any kind of physical activities.

"Sobrang sakit ba?" tanong ni Yena na mukhang okay na after mag-nebulizer.

The wound on my right knew was quite huge. Sobrang hapdi rin dahil na-scrape ang balat pero fortunately, wala naman daw sprain. May scrapes din ako sa magkabilang palad at kaliwang siko kaya tinurukan ako ng anti-tetanus as a preventive measure.

"Bearable," I replied, grimacing.

I mentally chided myself. Ito ang napapala ng masyadong ino-overestimate ang sarili. I knew it was for the team, but it felt meaningless because I wasn't even there when they got our winning points.

Nabaling naman ang tingin ko sa bandang pintuan dahil isa-isa nang nagsipasukan ang ilang writers na mayroong minor injuries. Most of them had scrapes and small bruises, but they didn't seem uncomfortable or in pain. Mukhang mataas ang pain tolerance ng ilan or hindi pa nagsu-subside ang adrenaline kaya hindi pa nila ramdam. For a moment, I was quite envious.

"Yena!"

My attention shifted to Brian who came running to the room with a worried expression on his face. Kasunod niya ring pumasok sina Les at Lan at agad nilang hinanap si Yena na napatakip na lang ng mukha dahil sa hiya. Paano ba naman ay ang dami ring napatingin sa kanyang writers.

"I'm okay," she muttered while gesturing at them to keep quiet.

Les started inspecting her. "Sure ka?"

She nodded in response. "Yes. Promise."

Well, understandable naman ang pag-aalala ng members niya dahil last time ay medyo malala ang naging condition niya.

Her cheeks were already beet red from embarrassment. Gusto ko sana siyang i-tease kaso bigla kong narinig ang pangalan ko.

"Nasaan ka, Elix?!"

I cursed under my breath when Roi came rushing inside. Nagtawanan na rin ang ilang writers dahil halos pareho sila ng ginawa ni Brian.

"Kung makasigaw naman parang ten years hindi nagkita!" natatawang sabi ni Chichi.

Gusto ko na lang lumubog sa lupa lalo na noong naglalakad na silang tatlo palapit sa akin.

"Hala, gagi ka, ang laki ng sugat mo!" commented Arin as she stared at my knee.

"Masyado mo kasing ginalingan, Elix," dagdag naman ni Roi. "Ano, buhatin na ba kita?"

"Bakit? Kaya ko namang maglakad."

"Tapos ka nang i-first aid?" tanong ni Zion.

Tumango naman ako sabay tayo mula sa upuan. "Tara na, balik na tayo sa cabin, guys."

I couldn't handle the growing attention anymore, so it would be better to leave now. Baka mamaya ang mang-asar na naman ang mga 'yan at maging awkward na naman ako sa kanya.

Pagkatapos naming magpaalam sa green team ay lumabas na kami sa medical room. Medyo mabagal na ako maglakad dahil hindi ko masyadong ma-straighten ang kanang tuhod ko after ng first aid. Para tuloy silang may kasamang matanda dahil nakaalalay silang tatlo sa akin.

"Puwede naman kayong mauna," I remarked.

Bigla namang tumigil sa paglalakad si Zion at halos manlaki ang mga mata ko nang umupo sa harapan ko. Lumingon siya sa akin kaya sinamaan ko siya ng tingin. "Para kang tanga—!"

I wasn't able to finish what I was about to say because both Arin and Roi pushed me toward him.

"Wait, ano ba—"

"Gamitin mo na 'yang si Zion, tutal kasalanan niya naman," Arin remarked.

"Oo nga, minsan lang 'yan magpagamit at magpakumbaba!" dagdag naman ni Roi.

Wala na rin akong nagawa dahil hindi ko naman kayang pigilan ang dalawang 'to. I put my arms around Zion's shoulders as he carefully lifted me on his back.

"Comfy?" he softly asked as he started walking.

No, I'm not. This is awkward! I wanted to say but held back. "Mmm."

"Sorry kanina."

I looked at him, one brow slightly raised. Did I just hear the Zion say sorry? And with a sincere tone?

"Oh? I guess na-prove ko nga na hindi ka makaka-survive kanina kung hindi dahil sa akin," I teasingly replied. "Mukhang may ambag na ako sa challenge na 'to."

"Yeah. You're not the weakest link anymore," he retorted. "Weak link na lang."

Leaning closer, I tightened my hold around his neck. "May sinasabi ka?"

I was expecting him to retaliate, but instead his shoulders suddenly twitched. That was when I belatedly realized that our faces were just inches away from each other.

He immediately turned his head to the other side while I slightly leaned away to create some distance between us. I was trying to calm myself down but my cheeks suddenly felt hot after seeing how red his ears were.

"Ikaw? May sinasabi ka?" he teased amid the awkwardness.

I almost gasped in disbelief. Pakiramdam ko tuloy, ako lang ang naiilang, at parang ako pa ang naging talunan kahit wala naman kaming pinaglalabanan.

"Oo. Ang sarap mong sakalin," I muttered.

Bahagya naman siyang natawa. "Please don't. Gusto ko pang matapos ang show na 'to."

"Then don't be annoying."

"Alright. Just for this day."

***