God's Rise | WOTG #2

Thirty-Nine

CADE

THE FIGHTER JETS—THERE were four of them—zipped through the clouds like birds playing at the sky. Deadly birds. A good hundred meters or two away from us to our left, there were two which flew side by side. And I needed not to have the basic knowledge about how fighter jets work to know damn well we were inside their ranges. A press of a button and surely missiles would go coming for us. They were vultures soaring in the sky searching for their prey before they go back to their nests.

Wala kaming tiyansang makipagsapalaran sa mga jets na 'to. Ang eruplanong sinasakyan namin ay hindi ginawa para makipagpalitan ng mga missiles sa ibang jets. Wala kaming choice kundi makipaghabulan sa kanila at umiwas sa kung ano man pakakawalan nila.

Sakto, ang isang fighter jet sa kaliwa ay nagpakawala ng isa. At mabilis kami nitong hinabol.

"Deo?" tawag ko. "May isang—"

"Mahigpit na ba mhga seatbelts niyo?" sigaw niya mula sa cockpit. "Here we go!"

And the plane lurched to its right. My guts were rearranged as I stumbled on the floor and bumped my shoulders on the wall beside my empty seat before slamming down against the metal floor. My body thudded and I could feel a numb pain on my shoulder and my sides. I tried to stand up.

"And that's why seatbelts were invented," Ezerina murmured but we all heard her clearly. She wasn't like this before. I could still remember the first time we met her and she was so shy and quiet we thought she was mute. 

I grunted at her but she just smiled at me back in her tight seatbelted seat.

"Okay ka lang ba?" tanong sa 'kin ni Bea.

"Yep." Hinawakan ko ang pader at ibinalanse ang katawan ko. "Deo, sabihan mo naman kami sa susunod!"

"Sabi ko kasi mag-seatbelt kayo," sagot niya. "Mukhang hindi talaga susuko 'tong mga 'to hangga't 'di tayo napapabagsak."

Naramdaman kong parang may umaakyat sa lalamunan ko. Gusto kong masuko pero hindi p'wede. Bmaliktad talaga sikmura ko do'n. 

"Umupo ka na kaya," sambit naman ni Kato. "Baka masuka ka pa."

"Nope, I'm okay." But my stomach protested. I gulped down the threat of vomiting looming over my throat. 

"Sigurado ka?"

Tumango na lang ako at bumalik sa pagkakaupo. Isinuot ko na lang at hinigpitan ang seatbelt.

Nagptuloy lang sa pagpipiloto si Deo at bumabaliktad ang sikmura ko sa tuwing bigla niyang ililiko at ibabalik at ile-level ang eruplano. Mukhang matatagalan kami rito at hindi ako sigurado kung hanggang saan kakayanin ng tiyan ko ang ganitong biyahe.

"Kato!" sigaw ni Deo

"Bakit?"

"Tara dito."

Tumingin muna siya sa amin na para bang alam namin ang dahilan kung bakit siya tinawag. Nagkibit-balikat lang ako sa kaniya nang matingin siya sa 'kin.

Huminga muna siya nang malalim bago dahan-dahang inalis ang seatbelt na nakayakap sa kaniyang katawan. 

"Bilis," pagmamadali ni Deo. "We don't have a chance to shake them and the only thing left to do is to engage with them."

Dahan-dahang ding tumayo sa Kato at pumunta sa cockpit. "Paano naman? We don't have any weapons."

"Yes, we do," sabat ni Ezerina sabay tingin sa 'kin. Natigilan ako sa sinabi niyang 'yon. Hindi ko alam kung anong gagawin ko.