God's Rise | WOTG #2

Forty-Four

C A D E

IT HAPPENED SO FAST I thought the explosion would devour Bea. In a split second, the fire almost licked her skin and scorched her flesh to her bones. If Deo moved slower a nick of time, both of them were nothing but piles of ashes now. The scream in my throat died and a sigh of relief followed.

When Deo contained the energy from the missile's deafening explosion and absorbed it, his skin emanating a yellow glow as he did, Bea didn't waste a single moment and fired her gun. No matter how small it was compared to the tanks and robots, she still found her marks. She couldn't use her ability against these mechs. They have no brains to which she could pull the strings from and create a network of hollow and obedient minds. Nothing but wires and microchips.

Nakatingin lang ako sa kanilang dalawa habang nangyari ang lahat. Napansin ni Bea na nakatitig ako sa kanila at tumingin rin siya sa akin pabalik. Tumango siya. Tumango rin ako pabalik. Winasak ng mga ingay ng tanke at mga robots ang munting sandaling 'yon at wala na kaming sinayang na panahon maski segundo o kisapmata at bumalik na sa pakikipagsagupaan.

Ramdam na ramdam ko ang mga sinulid ng aking kapangyarihan na lumilibot sa buong paligid na parang mga usok. Ang mga kalamnan ko'y nagliliyab sa mainit na sensasyon na dala ng abilidad ko. Sa bawat tibok ng puso ko ay nakikisabay ang tibok ng aking kakayahan at sa bawat segundong lumilipas na ginagamit ko ito ay para bang tumatagas ito mula sa aking katawan.

Nagpakawala ng maninipis na electric beam si Kato mula sa kaniyang palad habang hindi naman nagpatalo si Ezerina at ang mga sundalo ay namimilipit na sa sakit. Pinanood ko silang dalawa at in-extend and dalawa kong braso. Isang forcefield ang lumabas at prumotekta sa 'ming tatlo na parang malaking invisible shell. Bumabanda lang ang mga bala sa shield habang ang mga atake naman namin ay malayang nakakalabas mula sa loob.

Sa bawat isang robot at tankeng nawawasak namin ay may tatlo agad na pumapalit. Hindi namin alam kung tatagal ba kami para maubos 'tong mukhang walang katapusan na pwersa ni Havierre. O kaya ay kami ang unang mauubos.

Hindi. Hindi ko 'yon hahayaan.

The thought of all he had done to me spread on my mind like a spot of ink dropped in a bowl of water. The liquid would turn grey until another more droplets would turn it into black. In a blink of an eye, I thought I was inside those depressing glass tubes again, apparatuses on my head with who knows what substances were flowing within them.

I shook the haunting memory away. He will never again hold me in that wretched excuse of a place. All his experiments and his monstrosity. Never again. Never.

The determination spiked in my body, fueling, waking something sleeping beneath my powers. My muscles flexed and unflexed. My nerves tingled and my heart screamed. The forcefield thickened.

Never. He would never-

May isang dumating na bomber at walang pasintabing naglaglag ng isang bomba na tumama naman sa building sa tabi namin. At kung hindi kami aalis sa pwesto namin ay siguradong mawawala ang tiyansa namin makaalis dito ng buhay.

"Move!" I shouted at them and they jumped away from our previous spot as the building collapsed. Dust cover the whole street and we coughed it away from our lungs. They would really destroy this entire military base just to kill us all.

Goldberg and all his flairs and dramatics.

Huminto muna sandali ang pagpapaputok nang lamunin ng alikabok ang buong kalsada. Wala kaming makita. Tumahimik sandali pwera lang sa aming mga ubo.

I summoned the wind and they listened. They swept the thick dust away from the street, clearing our view. There, separating Bea and Deo from us, lied the fallen structure. Metal reinforcements stuck out from the concrete debris like broken fingers. The large windows were shattered and cracks began to form on the street.