God's Rise | WOTG #2

Fifty-Nine

C A D E

"GO!" I YELLED TO Bea and Kato who stood in the middle of chaos. The soldiers blocking the headquarters' main entrance convulsed to the ground and cried for Ezerina's mercy. The men and women behind them stepped forward and replaced the weeping guards in front and positioned themselves into a defensive stance.

Behind us, I heard another stomping feet. Ezerina looked behind us.

"Give me a break," she said and I turned around to see another batch of marching enemies toward us.

Bea snatched Kato's hand and dragged him away from this trouble. The soldiers were focused on us to even notice them making their way around their line of defense.

Nakaabot na sa firing range ang mga nagmamartsang sundalo sa likod namin at sumigaw ang commanding officer nila. Nagsi-ayusan sila sa kani-kanilang mga posisyon at nagsimulang magpaulan ng mga bala.

Sa isang kisapmata ay pinatibay ko ang forcefield na nakapalibot sa aming dalawa ni Ezerina.

"Hindi ba nila alam na nagsasayang lang sila ng bala?" sabi niya habang inuutusan ang mga maliliit na pulang orbs na umatake. 

"I think they do," sagot ko. "Pero wala naman silang choice kundi umatake."

Isa-isang bumagsak ang mga sundalong nakaharang sa entrance ng headquarters at pabawas na sila nang pabawas hanggang sa wala nang pumalit na mga sundalo sa mga nawalang malay sa harap.

"Nasa loob na kami," sabi ni Bea mula sa earpiece.

"Good. Kami na ang bahal ni Ezerina dito sa entrance."

Hinarap naman namin ang bagong dating na mga sundalo sa likod at dahan-dahang naglakad at hinakbangan ang mga nakahandusay na katawan papunta sa mismong entrance ng headquarters. Unti-unti ring umabante ang mga sundalo sa amin at kahit sa paglakad ay hindi sila tumigil sa pagpapaputok.

No matter how many rifles they pointed at us they wouldn't stand a chance. The drones started charging until they released it, the white-hot laser racing towards us, only to be blocked by my forcefield. The air moved and become hot from the impact and shattered the glass meters away from us but all in all, Ezerina and I weren't even scratched.

Knowing their lasers and guns wouldn't harm a single hair on our bodies, the commanding officers yelled and they began retreating. They turned around, their backs on us, and ran away towards where they came from. But before they reached the end of the street, I extended my arm and seized control of their limbs.

"You won't go anywhere," I said. I couldn't see their faces from here but I could tell the effort they exerted just to be free from my grip. They stood there mid-step as if their bones froze.

Ezerina snapped her fingers and the red orbs floated and attacked the soldiers who immediately fell unconscious upon contact.

Tumayo lang kami at naghintay kung may darating pang mga sundalo. Makalipas ang dalawang minuto ay wala nang nagpakita sa amin.

"'Yon na 'yon?" sabi ni Ezerina habang nag-unat ng braso.

"Yeah," sagot ko habang nakatingin sa kalsada. "Sa tingin 'yon na 'yon."

"Wow. This was a lot easier."

"Siguro dahil nga hindi naman concentrated ang pwersa ni Goldberg dito. Hindi na tayo sigurado kung magiging ganito ring kadali kapag nasa loob na tayo mismo ng Districts."

She clicked her tongue and looked behind us, to the lobby of the headquarters.

"They're retreating," sabi ko sa earpiece. "I think it's cleared."

"Good," sagot ni Lieutenant General Loyola. "We'll land in a moment. Bea, Kato, what's your situation?"

Walang sumagot.

"Bea? Kato?"

"Yeah, right," Kato answered as if he woke up from a stupor. "We are in the middle of something."

"Are you guys okay? Kailangan niyo ba ng assisstance?"

"No. We can handle this."

Napalingon kami ng may narinig kaming mga papalapit na mga military trucks. Ezerina took a fighting stance, waiting for a new batch of assault. I squinted my eyes as I saw they were familiar. These military trucks were the exact same ones I saw back at the base's hangars. 

"So they're not tired yet?" sabat ni Ezerina.

"Stop," I said and blocked her path with my arm. "Sa tingin ko ay galing sila ng underground base."

Hindi na sumagot pa si Ezerina at sa una ay nagdadalawang isip pa kung maniniwala ba siya sa akin o hindi. Tinitigan ko lang siya at nagkibit-balikat na lang at inayos ang postura niya sa mas relaxed na paraan. 

Huminto ang nangungunang truck sa harapan mismo namin. Nanatili kaming nakatayo ni Ezerina sa harapan ng entrance at naghintay.

Bumukas ang pinto at isang matikas na naka-unipormeng lalaki ang lumabas mula sa sasakyan. May mga nakadikit rin na mga badge sa kaniyang dibdib. Nakangiti siya sa amin na mas lalong nakapagpaliit ng singkit niyang mga mata. Napataas naman ng kilay si Ezerina.

"Sino ka?" tanong niya sabay hakbang papalapit.

"Finally," huminga nang malalim ang lalaki. "Nagkakilala rin tayo, Mr. Voight and Ms. Arechavaleta." Hindi pa rin nawawala ang ngiti sa mga labi niya. "I've heart quite a lot of good thing about you."

Hindi ako sumagot habang si Ezerina naman ay tinitigan siya na parang mas matangkad pa siya sa kausap niya.

"Pasesniya na," sabi niya ng mapansin niyang naghihintay pa rin ng sagot si Ezerina. "Ako nga pala ang in-assign ni General Auxria para maging head ng temporary military outpost na 'to. I'm Colonel Oshiro. We were sent by the general herself hours before the mission had begun in case your crew needed further assistance, but looking at the fallen soldiers—"

"They're just unconscious," sabat ni Ezerina.

"Yes, unconscious, anyways, sa tingin namin hindi niyo naman na kailangan ng tulong. You quite handled the mission well."

May mga dumating pang panibagong mga military trucks at isa-isa silang humilera sa tapat mismo ng headquarters. 

"Hindi pa tapos ang mission," sabi ko. "Nasa taas pa si Bea at Kato."

"Kailangan ba nila ng tulong?"

"No, I think thety can handle it."

Colonel Oshiro nodded his head and turned around to face his soldiers. He started barking orders to them and they all obeyed and moved in sync with each other like they rehearsed this more than a hundred times. They put electric cuffs on each pair of wrists of the unconscious soldiers and put them on a stretcher. 

"Bea, Kato," I called. "How is the situation there?"

"Everything's under con—"

A loud gunshot ate what Kato would've said. Ezerina's eyes immediately found mine. No doubt she heard it too. No hesitations crossed our minds. No questions were asked. We just ran.