God's Rise | WOTG #2

Fifty-Eight

B E A T R E E S E

IF IT WAS JUST a normal day, these rifles aimed at us would have terrified the hell out of me. But it wasn't a normal day and I wasn't a normal girl, so hundreds of bullets piercing the air inches from me, searching for a skin to puncture, didn't really scare me at all. I became accustomed to danger. Or rather, danger accustomed itself to us to the point it looked for us every day like a dog searched for its missing owner.

I leaned on the bumpers of a car and covered my head, waiting for a perfect chance to snare their minds. Kato manipulated the trajectories of the soaring bullets. He created an electromagnetic field and used it to us advantages. But he couldn't grab all the bullets, some still managed to put a whole behind the car.

I opened the holographic map and thought of a way to pass through them or create a path around them inside the headquarters. But by the looks of it, we couldn't. They blocked the whole avenue from end to end. They stood like a wall of bodies. 

Drones exploded as they hovered above them. They scuttled and changed position as the first row of soldiers ran out of ammo. They stepped back and the row of soldiers behind them took several step forward, approaching us at each turn. That was my chance. I stood up and shot three of them on their legs. No time was wasted and their consciousness left them as they lied there. Their colleauges pulled their body out of the fight and new men and women stood at their spot.

I looked behind me and stared at a building, its white walls bathed with red blinking lights were filled with crawling vines and patches of grass, wondering if we could hide from there and play hide and seek with these fools while we waited for Cade and Ezerina. But as I gazed upon the structure, the air where my eyes were gaping warped as if a glass dome was placed above us.

Ang mga bala ay tumalbog sa invisible na shield na 'yon at nalaglag sa daan. Pero kahit gano'n ay nagpatuloy pa rin ang mga sundalo sa pagpapa-ulan ng sandamakmak na mga bala. 

Napansin kong may tinititigan si Kato mula sa isang iskinita sa gilid at isang ngiti ang gumapang sa labi niya. Napakunot ako ng noo at sinundan ang titig niya.

"We're here, too," narinig kong sabi ni Cade mula sa earpiece. Nakatayo sila sa loob ng isang masikip at madilim na iskinita at mula dito ay hindi sila nakikita ng mga sundalo. 

Lumabas na sila mula sa iskinita at sa mga sandaling 'yon ay napahinto ang mga sundalo at pinagmasdan silang dalawa. Hindi nila alam ang gagawin dahil ang inakala nila ay dalawa lang kami ni Kato. Hindi sila nakapaghanda para sa apat.

"We've already met at the rendezvous point," sabi ni Ezerina sa earpiece.

"Good," sagot ni Loyola. "Proceed with the mission."

"Be careful," pahabol ni Deo.

Hindi na sumagot si Cade at kumilos na lang agad. Iniangat niya ang kaniyang kamay sa direksyon ng mga sundalo at lahat ng bala ay napahinto sa ere. Tumigil sa pagpapaputok ang mga sundalo na para bang namamangha sa mga nakikita nila.

"'Wag kayong tumigil!" sigaw ng isa sa kanila. Siya siguro ang commanding officer. "We've been oriented about what type of enemy we're facing now!"

Alam pala nila kung anong hinaharap nila.

Nagpatuloy sila sa pagbabaril at mas lalong pinabilis ang pag-abante. Pero kahit isang bala ay wala lumagpas kay Cade.

Sa isang iglap, bigla na lang nilang nabitawan ang kanilang mga baril at nagngangawa na parang mga bata sa sahig. Napatingin ako kay Ezerina at nakitang nakaluhod siya sa tabi ni Cade at nakalapat ang palad sa kalsada. Isang crack ang gumapang papunta sa mga sundalo at mula sa kamay niya ay tinorture niya sila gamit ang ability niya. Napansin niyang nakatingin ako sa kaniya.

"Don't worry," sabi niya. "Mawawalan lang sila ng malay dito."

Buti naman. The general has a strict orders that no one should die.

I took advantage of the moment and while the soldiers wre distracted by Ezerina's ability, I stole their minds and made them sleep. The gunshots morphed into screams that faded into snores. The remaining soldiers who weren't touched by her power retreated. The commanding officer yelled at them and frantically called for back-up. 

They all ran away from us and Ezerina's little crack chased them away. They disappeared when they reached the intersection and took the right turn. But the floating drones remained.

They fell in line like floaties at the farthest point on the beach where on could swim into. A whirring sound came from the little cannons on their front, warping the air as molecules were heated and charged, and blasted thin rays of white hot laser.

Cade stood in front, waiting to greet the laser with his palm, but it was Kato who deflected the attack with his thick electric beam enough to push the white hot lasers back into the drones. The hairs on my back stood. The drones exploded.

Napalingon si Cade sa kaniya at isang ngisi naman ang dumapos sa labi niya. 

"Too slow," sambit niya habang may mga maninipis pang mga asul na kuryente ang sumasayaw sa kaniyang braso. Tumayo si Ezerina at tinaasan lang siya ng kilay kahit napangiti rin naman.

"Tara na," sabi ko. "The headquarter is this way."

"We'll cover from behind," sabi ni Cade. Tumakbo na kami at sumunod naman silang dalawa. 

Dumating na kami sa harapan ng headquarters. Nanggaling na kami dito kaina pero dahil puno kanina ng sundalo ang harapan naghanap kami ng ibang paraan para makapasok. Pero ngayon, mas maraming sundalo na ang nakatayo sa pagitan namin at ng headquarters. May mga drones din na nakalutang sa ibabaw nila. Nakatindig silang lahat at hinihintay kaming apat.

Binilang ko ang mga sundalong nakaharang at halos nasa tatlumpu sila idagdag na rin ang fifteen na mga drones. Nang makita nila kami ay itinutok agad nila ang kanilang mga rifles at naghintay sa signal ng kanilang commanding officer.

Lumapit kami at tumayo sa gitna ng kalsada. Sa isang iglap lang ay nagsimula na ang gulo.

I was so used to the sound of the gunshots I could still hear my thoughts. Cade stopped the bullets, suspending them mid-air, and Ezerina snapped her fingers. Red little orbs formed and floated in the air. The soldiers stared at the orbs and even though the helmets shielded their head and eyes, I could tell they gazed upon the balls of menace with awe. They floated mid-air as if waiting for Ezerina's command. She snapped her fingers one more and the orbs attacked the bodies.

"Go!" Cade yelled as another round of soldiers appeared from behind, replacing the screaming and sobbing soldiers in front of them. Another group of men and women marched from behind, trapping us in the middle.

"Give me a break," Ezerina groaned as she saw the new batch of marching enemies.

I snatached Kato's hand and we fled the scrimmage. If we couldn't pass through them, we'd just make our way around them.

"Stop!" sigaw ng isaw sundalo nang nakaikot na kami sa likod ng mga nakaharang na sundalo sa tapat ng headquarters. 

Wala na akong sinayang na oras at pinatulog agad siya kung saan man siya nakatayo.

"Nasa loob na kami," sabi ko.

"Good," sagot ni Cade. "Kami nang bahala ni Ezerina dito sa entrance."

Tumakbo kaming dalawa ni Kato at nilampasan ang lobby. Walang katao-tao sa loob pwera lang sa mga sundalong nag-aabang sa amin. Kato zapped them with his electric and they fell down the floor, bodies shaking from the shock. Nothing changed here the last time we visited.

We reached the top floor and two soldiers appeared. I shot them on their legs and we ran past them.

We stood in front of a double doors that would lead us to the head of this farm. Kato and I looked to each other before he kicked the doors wide opened.

A man sat at the chair behind the desk, his uniform fit his chest. I could've snatched his consciousness from him and made him sleep for interrogation but the pistol pressed on his forehead stopped us. I remebered this office very well but not the man in front of us.

"I know who you are," he said. "The four of you." His whole hand shook as he held the gun against his temple. His finger an inch away from the trigger. "Don't move or you lose your prize."