AMACon 3: Oikos - Home

Stranger - Chapter Seven

Over the next few days, they were forced to remain inside the house. They spent their time watching the TV religiously while eating from all those stacked up food cans and debating what was going to happen next.

'I'm telling you, this is just the beginning,' commented Mrs. Sotto, who was launched on one of the arm chairs as they watched a footage of a prison going up in flames.

'What can be worse than this?' she says nervously as the report shifts to the next footage, this time showing armed officers hanging from a tree.

'She's right Bunso... Bossing has waited two years for this. He's not here to lose,' Mr. David says as he joins them with a glass of water in his hands. 'These rebels have been carefully planning this for a long time. You can see it clearly in the way they are attacking.'

'What do you mean?' she asks curiously. Mr. David used to be in the army. He must have figured their tactics out.

'Do you know what's a guerrilla war, Bunso?'

She shakes her head.

'It's when a small group of people use unique and thought out strategies to fight off a larger group of people without having to fight them off openly. You can say they play hide and seek with the authorities. And if done right, it's much more dangerous.'

She nods to show she's listening.

'Take this prison for an example. If you were listening closely, they reported that most of the dead bodies were of the people working there or the soldiers. It may appear as a surprise attack by the rebels but they had it all planned out.

From what I think, they had already installed some of their people in there long ago who convinced the prisoners to join their side. You don't need only weapons to fight off. If you gather enough man force driven with passion, you can overturn an entire government, Bunso.'

'But how come no one suspected this?'

'It's where the double crossers come in. You read the newspapers right? You must have read about how some government officials were hanged when it was discovered they were using their resources to help the rebels?'

She indeed remembered reading about it. They had tortured some to death to get names of others while some of the weak ones had spilled the beans to escape punishment. They still got hanged.

'Rebels have been living and working among us since a long time. They have either quietly infiltrated the said posts or convinced those up there to become rebels. Either way, they succeeded. All those small break outs from prison and the weapons getting stolen, it was all them. Now they are just putting up one huge show of it.'

She began to see all those events she had read about in a new light now.

'What about all those air raids the army did? Why aren't they doing it now?'

'You see, these rebels are not attacking them in highly populated areas. They lead them to far off places and then attack them. They have the people on their side. By ensuring fewer casualties for the innocent, they are only increasing their popularity. And that's a huge disadvantage to the army.

Before, they were doing that just to scare them off. Dropping a few bombs here and there. But now the rebels are spread out everywhere with the support of the people. Even those who had never taken sides are now with the rebels. If the army tries to force us now, they can't. It will only go against them. They can't kill everyone, Bunso. They were already lacking support from us and one wrong move on their part can just finish them all off'

'And the fire that started this madness? I heard from an old friend of mine. One of the double crossers in the army had instructed his juniors to line all the trees with copper fire. Said they were going to corner the rebels and light them up to cage them. Ha, using the enemy to do their dirty work. Genius, I tell you. That's the beauty of this warfare. You can't predict what your enemy will do next,' he says with a slight admiration in his tone.

But all she could do was go over all those incidents. Baste said he was new so he couldn't have. But what about Faye? Did she get caught while laying the ground for this mission? Did she blow up one of their check posts too? What about all those protests? Faye had that edge in her voice that could convince people. Did she use it to add numbers to their small group? Her head was swimming with all these thoughts about Faye.

What about her Kuya? She could very well imagine him disguising himself and fooling those officers. Faye already told her he was out to take revenge.

How much blood did he have on his hands? Those strong arms that had held her hostage.

Those eyes of his that were so much like Faye. That had watched every move of her carefully. Those eyes that had glistened with tears at the mention of his dead sister. How many deaths had they witnessed?

She felt her breath going short. Never had she realized the gravity of what Baste had gotten himself involved. This was bigger than she had imagined. How many more kids had joined their cause? Were they forced? Or did something tragic happened that forced them to seek support from the rebels? What made Baste do it?

'Bunsoooooo,' she heard her Lo shout out of nowhere. Imagining the worst, she rushed out of the living room and looks with anxious eyes everywhere, trying to find her.

'BUNSOOOO,' her voice was coming from the garden. She quickly runs towards them, only to gasp and put a hand to her mouth.

For lying on the grass was Faye's Kuya with his head on Lo's lap with Baste crouching next to him. Both covered in blood.

She walks towards them with short steps, afraid to see what was actually wrong with him.

He coughs, only to spit out more blood on his red stained tattered shirt.

'Bunsooooo,' her Lo cries again.

'I'm here Lo', she says silently as she falls on the ground beside him. His entire face was streaked with crimson lines. She subconsciously traces his closed eyes, his nose, cheeks. Up close, he really was a lot like Faye. But then her eyes shift towards his upper body.

'Lo... Baste... Lo... He's... He's...' she stammers as she looks at him with horrified eyes for a bullet was peeking out from his broad chest.

'He got shot Ate... He was just helping a girl escape while we were attacking them from above the trees. You... You don't know how I managed to get him here,' he stammers while trying to hold back his tears.

'We need to remove the bullet from his lungs quickly,' her Lo says in that distinct tone of hers that screams authority.

'But.. But?...'

'Baste, are you hurt?' her Lo ignores her question.

'No, Ma'am.. Just a few cuts here and there.'

'Then you run along to the HQ and inform Bossing that he's going to stay here with me. Tell me to find someone else to lead the rebellion. Once he's fit, he'll come back himself. Don't send someone for him.' Baste gives a nod and scurries away, leaving her with her mouth hanging open at what she had just heard.