Even Before

By Jelly Chronology

XXX

THE MANILA TIMES

"MANILA'S HEROES: AUTOCORPS' SUCCESSFUL MISSION ON DRUGLORD"

Written by C03-2091X

9. 23. 2042 | 16:35:04

WE HAVE BEEN SAVED YET AGAIN.

Two thousand Police Autocorps were dislodged to accomplish an important task: the assassination of one of the most dangerous humans of Manila, SPO3 Jay Raymundo, who is also found out to be a druglord. Whilst on the mission, fifty-seven Autocorps were destroyed by Raymundo. No other casualties were reported. Raymundo was declared as Manilas' Most Wanted, and was under the Shoot To Kill order of The President. It has been three months since he was last seen in the public eye.

A Modern-day Superwoman

Raissa Velasquez was rewarded PHP 1,000,000.00 as promised by the President. A month ago, the President announced that whoever will inform about Raymundo's whereabouts will be rewarded. Prior to this week, a letter signed by Raissa Velasquez was delivered to the government office with an attachment of Raymundo's address sketch in Sta. Mesa, Manila. Police Autocorps immediately reinforced a search party and successfully executed Raymundo.

AUTOCORPS ARE THE FUTURE.

WE NOW LIVE IN A CRIME-FREE COUNTRY.

THIS IS THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES.

XXX

i. even before this

            The beads of red sweat dripped into Officer Raymundo's blue collar down to his golden badge that bears his name. He released a huge amount of breath before finally collapsing to the ground. He looked at the lavender sky; at the back of his head he thought of the last Autocorp he battled against and how it crumbled leaving its broken gears behind, and he also thought of his lovely Raissa Velasquez and the last night they spent together looking at a starless night sky. He stared at the sky above him, wondering when was the last time he saw a bird fly by.

            He raised his right hand, looking at the gun he was holding. He felt its weight and how it seemed like it is looking down at him with pride and superiority. It was his master and he was its slave, and a slave would always follow his master's requests. He placed his master's mouth against his temple and pulled the trigger that would be the end of the ongoing war.

            Humans have lost the war, not at that very moment when Officer Raymundo decided to kill himself. He lost the battle even before that.

            Even before he searched for birds in the lavender sky, even before he thought of his lovely Raissa Velasquez, even before he thought of the last Autocorp he defeated, even before he exhaled deeply... Even before blood trickled down from his badge to his collar.

            They have lost the battle even before that.

ii. even before this too

            For a moment, when Jay leaned in to plant a kiss on Raissa's soft lips, time had seemed to stop. But the spell isn't something that would last forever, because Jay broke away from its spell the moment he heard an explosive noise from the South of the ruins of Sta. Mesa.

            He held his gun close to him and hid Raissa behind him.

            The first Autocorp was a Level 5, followed by at least ten more Level 3s. It trudged as if it owns the place and discharged Ultra Lasers adding up to the pile of debris that is already blocking the road. The Ultra Laser were projections of the light beams coming from the "Eye" of the Autocorps which serve as their weapons. The thinnest streak of light could detonate an imaginary bomb in its target. Flashes of various colors from the Ultra Lasers momentarily reminded Jay of Christmas, except that it meant death and destruction.

           The blast halted for a while. Amidst the smoke and the smithereens, the Autocorp laid its eyes on a wreck jeepney and read the signage that is still attached to its wreck front: Christine.

           Small blue lights began to appear in the leader, the Level 5's eye. Its 'eye', which was a 210 mm optical lenses designed to materialize sharp images and movements, rotated to adjust its vision towards its subject. Static sounds followed immediately. "Beep beep... Bzzt... Ki...Ri...S...Tin... Bzzt..."

           The Autocorps hovered above the road which looked like an aftermath of a massive earthquake; and laser beams flashed everywhere they go, oblivious to whatever they might hit. Raissa tugged at the end of Jay's blue uniform. Jay kept his chin up, feigning courage, when deep inside he knew what great terror he was about to face and how great fear is stirring inside him once they get to face the enemies.

            A siren mounted on the Level 5 Autocorps' 'head' blared and its deafening buzz resonated across the edifice where Jay and Raissa were hiding. Jay saw that the Autocorps also utilized codes by projecting holograms of matrices.

            The word "putang ina" resided in Jay's mind.

            Jay looked at Raissa, memorizing the details of her face --- taking in every single detail that could impart a lasting image in his mind. He wanted to remember that face but looking at his lover's grim expression, he cannot help but to feel helpless.

             "Will..." Jay's voice was hoarse, barely audible so he had to clear his throat. "Will you smile for me, Rai?"

             "What? Why?"

             "Just because."

             "What?"

             Jay closed his eyes. The image of Raissa's exposed skin, of how it looked smooth as the velvet blanket slipped at his fingers, flashed for a moment. He opened his eyes. "I'll always remember about last night, how you made me feel like I'm the luckiest man on Earth. I'll be happy to be dead today."

             Raissa stared at her lover behind the curtains of her long lashes and behind the tears that were starting to form. "If you're just saying that to make me smile, that won't work... Especially considering that 'dead' word in your sentence."

            Jay smiled. And that was all it took to make Raissa smile.

            "I love you, Rai."

            Even before Raissa could reply, she lost her words and he sight when Jay stunned her with his taser that quickly drove Raissa to faint and fell to Jay's arms. He carried her weight and lay her on the ground behind a fallen billboard of Maine Mendoza. Jay swept his lover's loose strands of hair away from her calm face. He heaved a sigh of relief and was grateful that Raissa was no longer on his way.

            His fingers clutched on his gun, with his face reflecting on its barrel.

            But even before Jay decided to face the Autocorps and fire at them and dodge their attacks and sustain several wounds and manage to destroy the enemies; even before he cried upon realizing that he will never see Raissa or Christmas again; even before the war of the man and the machines occurred in the ruins of Sta. Mesa...

             Jay have lost the battle even before it began.

iii. and even before this

             Autocorps started to search the city the moment the news broke out in regards to a drug lord wandering the city. As appointed officers of the President, these machines maintain peace in the society and exterminate all who violate the rules and cause disturbance in the Order. When Autocorps started functioning, the media called it as Manila's Ruin --- how Manila's roads started to become a wreck and a graveyard for drug pushers. One of the newest suspects for this crime is SPO3 Jay Raymundo, a Manila policeman accused for possession of illegal drugs, and also the kidnapper of Raissa Velasquez, a valuable witness that would lead to Raymundo's confinement.

            Huge lump of money is to be given to whoever could point Raymundo's location, and apparently, Raissa Velasquez was the one who found him. Reports about the incident was spread throughout nation, warning the citizens of the sight of Raymundo and tagging him as a crime offender under a Shoot To Kill order of the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

            It is said that people who commit sins should be punished and punishment is attained through death. That the meaning of justice is to someone be purged of his sins, and to be cleansed means to be drowned. If one bad apple causes good apples to get rotten, then the bad apple should be eliminated. But the President wasn't always right, no matter how powerful he is. A bad apple grew from the same tree as the good apples... And there is always a reason why a bad apple turns the way it is. And death is still death even if it is death from above, even if it is death from the President's iron fists.

            And with the death of one comes the birth of the other.

iv. and even before this as well

            Raissa was two weeks pregnant.

            Jay Raymundo was happy to know this, even if it has never occurred to him the idea of being a father. As someone who committed bad things, he knew he'll never be a good one.

            Jay never had a father, and he had always longed for one. He doesn't want his child to feel the same way he felt back then. He doesn't want his child to end up like him: poor and lost. So when the President issued a huge reward for disclosing people of his kind's whereabouts, he knew he had to act on something. If the money is right, then Jay thought at least he could do something right for the first time in his life.

             But Jay lost. Even before he thought of making the bad decision, and even before he saw Raissa kissing another man when he came to pick her up from her house. Even before his heart started to break and he started to feel something again. Even before hot tears welled up in his eyes. Even before he reached for the box inside his pocket that contained his dreams and his future.

             Jay was a loser even before all of that.

v. even before that

XXX

THE MANILA TIMES

"INTRODUCING AUTOCORPS: MANILA'S NEW HEROES"

Written by Agnes Dimasalang

9. 23. 2018 | 04:22:17

WE WILL BE SAVED.

Or will we be? After the President's business venture with the biggest technological laboratories in Tokyo, Japan, it is good news that he brings to us an innovative development that will solve our problems: the Autocorps, which will be the newest batches of Manila policemen! The features of the Autocorps are yet to be disclosed, but the President assures us that with this technological advancement, the Philippines will be able to arise and be cleansed from its sins.

AUTOCORPS ARE THE FUTURE.

WE WILL LIVE IN A CRIME-FREE COUNTRY.

THIS IS THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES.

XXX

              "The Autocorps are pretty cool, huh?" Mrs. Raymundo told her sixteen year old son as he watched his favorite machines for a hundredth time.

              The room was filled with different Autocorps collectible items. In the sixteen year old's room, the wall was pasted with different Autocorps posters that he bought 4 for 100 pesos from Divisoria.

               His mother smiled. "I'm sure you'll be a good Autocorp someday, like you always say," she said before she left the room to do the laundry that Sunday morning.

               Jay stared at the posters in his wall and looked at the packet he had inside his bag which his friend gave him as a gift for his birthday. Jay Raymundo always told his mom that he wanted to be like the Autocorps someday, so he could fight those who violate the Order. Jay shook his head. Autocorps were just machines, he realized.

              If the city wants to be saved, Jay knew he had to do it in his own little way. He held the packet he had tightly and threw it inside the garbage. Closing the lid of the can, he decided he will never touch one again. Closing the lid of the can, he knew he would be throwing away his dreams and he would be pushing away his friends. Closing the lid of the can, he decided that no machine could ever save the humans of the city.

              And this time, Jay knew he had lost. 

              But Jay lost even before he threw the packet in the can, even before he stared at his posters, even before his mother came inside his room, and even before he found his new hope and aspired for a new dream.

             Jay lost even before everything, as destiny's playing a trick on him, as they say.