POTENTIAL: THIRTY-FOUR

**ALEX POV**

We just buried Dr. Deguro and a bodyguard at the back of the warehouse. We're heading back into the warehouse to plan how to take down that monster. But it might be better if we prioritize ourselves and Henrix first. We were all hungry, and Henrix needed medical attention. Even as Medical Technology students, we were not capable of treating him. We could only provide him with basic first aid.

"My car is at the entrance of the forest. Let's go."

I carried Henrix with my ability, and we left the area. We were all silent, and no one dared to speak. The forest also joined in the silence, making the situation more awkward.

"That explains why there are no animals here. They're afraid of that monster," Maica remarked, answering one of my questions. It all made sense now. That's why the people were so concerned about Dr. Deguro: they owed their lives to him. It was Dr. Deguro who kept that monster dormant.

It took us ten minutes to reach the highway. The car was still there, and it seemed that Quinnie's men hadn't noticed it. I also noticed that the signage had been spray-painted with "Do Not Enter," likely the work of Quinnie's men.

Sky prepared the car, but it crossed my mind that there were too many to fit into the small vehicle.

"Maica, take Trisha and Carlo home and bring Henrix to the hospital," Sky ordered, surprising Maica.

"What about both of you?" Carlo asked.

"We're going to save them."

"Then let me come with you. I can help," Carlo insisted. I looked at Sky, wondering if he would allow this guy. But instead of speaking, Sky walked toward the rear trunk of the car and took something from it.

"Carlo, catch," Sky suddenly ordered and threw something. Carlo caught it, and we were surprised to see a gun. "If you want to come, you should at least have a gun with you," Sky said, then closed the compartment. I quickly got in and laid Henrix in the back seat. Maica took the wheel, while Trisha sat in the passenger seat.

"Be careful, guys," Maica reminded.

"Alex?" Trisha called me, still holding her head down. I approached her, and she looked me in the eyes. "Make them pay," she requested, and I could feel her rage burning inside her. I couldn't see it on her face, but I could sense the immeasurable anger within her.

"We will."

Maica started the engine, and they left. We watched them drive away until we could no longer see them.

"Here's the plan," Sky began, prompting us to gather around him. "We're gonna save your people first. Then we deal with that monster before we attack Quinn or whichever of them we encounter first. The procedure will take time, and I hope by that time, we can prevent her from acquiring the abilities of that monster."

"But what if we're too late?" Carlo anxiously asked.

I answered, "Then we’ll burn her."

******

"How did you end up there?" asked the truck driver who gave us a ride. We had no means of transportation, so we hitched a ride with him. We were grateful that he allowed us, as it's rare for people to give rides at this hour. It was three in the morning, but none of us felt sleepy.

"The camping bus left us when we went to pee."

The truck driver laughed heartily at my response. "It reminds me of the time I got left by the bus when I went to pee," he shared and then laughed again. I couldn't help but smile at his story. We continued chatting until we reached the Unova Food Corp. factory. We thanked the driver and bid him farewell.

We gazed at the factory that we had entered before. If only we knew that Quinnie was the real enemy, this would have ended a long time ago. No one would have died, and no one would have been hurt. But what's done was done. We couldn't change the fact that everything happened for a reason, and that reason was to eradicate this inhumane being from this world.

"You look so serious," Sky remarked.

"Wait until I face that woman."

"Should we sneak in?" Carlo asked.

"We've done that before, but we still got caught. It's time to show them that they are messing with the wrong people," I replied. I uprooted four road lights behind us and turned them into long sharp weapons. Meanwhile, Sky and Carlo prepared their guns.

I led the way, with the two following closely. As we approached the factory gate, we were immediately met with lights and gunshots from the two guards stationed at the outpost. As expected, none of the bullets hit us due to my force field.

I flicked my hand, sending two spears I created toward the guards. They fell like paper dolls impaled by two spears. I destroyed the gate and proceeded to destroy the CCTVs one by one. Armed troops gathered in front of the factory's entrance, numbering around twenty.

"There are so many of them," Carlo commented.

"Not for him," Sky replied. They all started firing at us, but I stopped their bullets in mid-air. After a minute, they stopped shooting. I redirected the bullets towards them and released them. Bullets rained on them, leaving not a single one alive.

"Enjoying, Alex?" a familiar voice remarked. A figure landed from the roof to the ground. I directed the lights to where she landed and saw Quinn, grinning mischievously.

"I'll take care of this woman. Go and save them." Sky nodded and left. Carlo hesitated to leave me but eventually followed Sky.

"Where do you think you're going?" Quinn was about to extend her fingers towards the two, but I intercepted her. I thrust two spears in front of her, stopping her action.

"I am your opponent," I reminded the woman. Quinn's face showed anger and irritation because of my interference. The two successfully passed through Quinn, which seemed to irritate the woman in front of me even more.

******

**CARLO POV**

We were inside the factory, and the only sound here was the blaring alarm. All the employees were gone, except for the scattered security personnel throughout the building. However, Alex caught my attention earlier. I never expected him to be that powerful.

"You take the two on the right. I'll handle these five," Sky ordered, and I agreed. Alex had told me to look after Sky. Despite having abilities like him, he claimed he becomes weak when using them. However, it seemed like he didn't need his abilities right now.

I ascended the stairs on my right while Sky took the left. I walked slowly, but I halted when I heard consecutive gunshots. I lowered my head and realized that Sky had already engaged his targets. I heard footsteps running towards me, so I didn't wait any longer. I stood, surprising the two guards who were about to shoot me, but I was quicker.

The room fell silent, and all we could hear were the ongoing battle outside the factory and the blaring alarm. Sky and I continued entering the factory interior.

We took down every security personnel we encountered, showcasing our unstoppable force. We moved forward, trudging and sprinting until Sky stopped at a door. He placed his hand on the door's lock screen, opening it using his abilities.

The room was dark and quiet, but an unsettling feeling filled the air. My instincts warned me that this place was not good. We were taken aback when the lights suddenly turned on. However, we were even more surprised when we saw numerous guns pointed at us. Red lasers targeted our bodies, indicating that we were their chosen targets.

"Hello, handsomes," a female voice greeted. The voice came from the other end of the room. A woman in her 30s stood with her back facing us, but when she turned to face us, I couldn't believe my eyes. She resembled Quinn, but she looked slightly older.

"Is that really her?"

Sky shook his head, "It's just a clone."

"Where's the real one?"

"You'll see later," Sky's only response. "Where did you put them!" Sky shouted angrily. The screen on the back of Quinnie's clone turned on, showing CCTV footage of people locked inside a cell. They all looked scared and hopeless. I felt pity for the children.

"You mean them?"

"Release them, now!" I commanded angrily, ready to attack her, but Sky stopped me.

"Don't be reckless. One wrong move, and we'll die," Sky said telepathically. I glanced back at Quinnie's henchmen, almost forgetting their presence.

That was close.

"My! How rabid. But I can't comply with your orders. They'll make a good recipe for our new candy."

"How dumb," Sky retorted. He remained lowered, seemingly avoiding eye contact with the woman before him.

"Excuse me? This is the greatest idea in human history!"

"Using people as food? What are you, uncivilized bitches?" my friend insulted our adversary.

That’s a good one, to be honest.

"How dare you!"

"You're such an old school. Using human flesh as food is nothing new to us, so it wasn't the greatest idea. It's like showing us that you lack innovation regarding food," Sky continued his insults. I could sense the woman's rising anger, and I worried. This might be our death sentence. Sky was trying to provoke her, but was this a good idea?

"Securities, kill them!" The woman gave her order and a surge of fear spread throughout my body. I closed my eyes, waiting to be hit by the bullets they were about to unleash.

"Unfortunately, they're already dead," Sky replied. I quickly opened my eyes and saw the shocked expression on the woman's face. Her henchmen fell one by one.

"It looks like I have to handle this," the woman said, suddenly transforming her two hands into deadly weapons resembling swords. The fingers she had before were now sharp and lethal.

These clones have hidden abilities. I thought it was just Quinn.

"Leave, Carlo. I'll take care of this," Sky commanded. I hesitated to leave him because I noticed his weakening state. His hands were trembling, and his breathing was deep. He had used too much energy in killing those men.

"But—"

"Just go. Save them before it's too late."

Even though it went against my will, I quickly ran out of the room. I sprinted until I reached the end of the hallway. There was an elevator and stairs on its right. Using the elevator was too risky, so I quickly took the stairs.

Descending the stairs, the place was deserted, which was good because it meant no one would obstruct us. I began walking down the stairs, but I remained cautious. It was better to be prepared. It took me ten minutes to reach the bottom and a door. There was no guard, and it wasn't locked.

Wait, if no one is guarding, and the door is open, they must be guarding on the other side.

I stood on the side of the door to avoid a possible attack from anyone waiting on the other side. I held onto the doorknob and took a deep breath.

"On three. One... two... three!" I quickly opened the door and immediately took cover. I closed my eyes, expecting to hear gunshots, but not a single shot was fired. I slowly peeked through the door and realized no one was guarding it.

I held out my gun and emerged from my hiding place. I searched the entire room, not expecting its vastness. There were enormous machines making noise and smoke. Just like on the stairs, I couldn't see anyone in here. No engineers or maintenance workers. It seemed like they had abandoned the place. A realization hit me; they were expecting our arrival.

I started looking for my companions. If my hunch were correct, I would find them in the stockroom. As the woman said, they were ingredients, so they must be in the storage room. I looked for a sign and found it. I quickly followed the direction the arrow pointed to earlier. I took turns here and there until I reached a set of metal double doors. I immediately grabbed the left door handle and forcefully pushed it open.

A nauseating smell greeted me, and I almost vomited, but I managed to control it. I covered my nose and continued walking. I saw a metal table still stained with blood. On the side were trays of tools used for cutting human flesh.

This is demonic.

"Minzy? Ezekiel? Nathasia?" I called out to some of the kids. The room was cold due to the freezer room on my right.

"Kuya Carlo!" one of the kids called out. I quickly turned to my left and saw a cage with people inside. Luckily, it was them. I rushed towards the children, thinking they were already dead.

"I'm glad you're still alive."

"Kuya Carlo! We're scared."

"Shhh. Don't worry; I'll get you out of here." I searched for a lock on the cage but couldn't find any.

This means it’s operated remotely.

"The button, Carlo," Aleng Allen suggested, pointing to the button on the wall. I quickly went to it and pressed it. The bars started to lift until they were all released. The kids ran towards me, and I hugged them.

"How did you get here, Carlo?" Mang Tristan asked.

"It's a long story. Let's go!"