The Tale of the Ascendants

CHAPTER 9: Poisoned Arrow

EVERYONE WAS IN their right position securing the whole location. On-standby na rin ang mga sniper sa paligid sakaling kailanganin sila. Masusi na namang nakapagplanta ng bomba ang bomb squad kung sakaling magka-ipitan na.

Nanguna sa pagpasok sa abandonadong gusali ang team commander na si Captain Lim. Kasama ang ilan pang sundalo, sumunod kami sa kanya.

Nang marating namin ang entrada, agad kaming nahati sa dalawang grupo. The other group took the right corner while I joined the group who took the opposite one. We scanned the area and tried to find the possible place where they had kept my mom hidden.

We decided to split up into another sub-unit for a faster rescue. I, followed by an army sergeant, took the second floor. Nanguna ako at s-in-urvey ang paligid. Walang senyales ng kahit na sino. Sinenyasan ko ang kasama na umabante.

We took careful movements as we headed forward. We couldn't afford to commit mistakes now. Malalagay sa alanganin ang misyon kung dito pa lang papalpak na kami.

Marahan at kalkulado ang bawat galaw ko. I was about to take a turn when we reached a darker corner but stopped immediately when I saw a string. I warned my fellow to stop from his tracks, but it was too late because he already stepped on it which caused the door, few meters away from us, to open. Installed and programmed guns appeared.

"Shit! It's a trap! Get down!" I instructed him, and we both rolled on the floor dodging the gun shots.

Nagtago kami sa likod ng isang haligi, halos hindi makahinga sa bilis ng pangyayari. The guns continued to fire. Hawak-hawak ang M4A1 carbine, walang pag-aalinlangan kong inasinta isa-isa ang mga ito hanggang sa magkalasog-lasog.

Nabalot ng usok ang paligid. Naubo kami parehas ng kasama ko. Agad ko siyang dinaluhan upang matulungan ngunit napansin ko kung paano siya napangiwi. Nakita ko kung paano dumugo ang kaliwang tagiliran niya. He had been shot! Jeez!

"Stay still," I commanded and laid him on the floor. I cut a piece of cloth from his uniform and tied it around his waist to prevent him from losing more blood. I assisted him to get up. "Can you still do it?" I asked. Hindi ko siya maaaring iwan dito. Hindi ko rin siya pwede akayin pabalik para sa medic dahil wala na kaming oras para sayangin. He just nodded. We continued to move forward.

We entered an open door leading to another room. It was empty except for several bottles of empty drinks on the floor. With a flashlight in my hand, we roamed around the room and found the stairs connecting it to the ground floor. Being careful and dubious, I picked one of the bottles on the floor and threw it down the stairs. Nang mahulog ito sa sahig, isang malakas na pagsabog ang aming narinig.

Damn! As expected, there were more traps installed in here. Kailangan naming maging mas maingat ngayon. Once I made sure that it was cleared, we went down. Nang marating ang ground floor, nakarinig mula kami ng palitan ng putok mula sa kabilang silid.

We stood on our grounds while holding our guns ready to attack anytime. I stepped closer to the adjacent room and took a sneak. Medyo madilim ang silid dahil tanging mumunting liwanag lamang mula sa nag-iisang ilaw ang nagpapaliwanag dito. Anim hanggang sampung armadong lalaki ang nasa loob noon.

Mas lalo akong lumapit upang makita ang kabuuan nito. Halos mang-laki ang aking mga mata nang makita si mommy na nakagapos sa isang upuan—ang kanyang bibig ay may nakabusal na tela. Mas lalo akong napakuyom nang mapansin ang mga sugat sa kanyang mukha at iilang hiwa malapit sa kanyang mata.

How dare they hurt my mom! Rage and fury invaded my chest. I would make sure that they would pay for this with their own lives!

I clicked my radio connector on my ear gear and said, "Command. I had found the target. Ground floor, east wing. We need back up. Over"