Descendants of the Gods

Chapter 12: Matter of Survival

KASDEYA ARGYROS' Point of View

I run as fast as I can. Hindi na ako nag-aksaya ng oras na makaalis sa lugar na 'to. My skin is itching to feel the fresh air beyond the territory's barrier, and I'm desperate to get out of here.

Hinawi ko ang mga halaman at mabababang sanga sa daanan. I can only hear my pants mixing with the ruffling of leaves.

Walang sumusunod sa akin. Paulit ulit ko iyon binubulong sa isipan ko. I'm sure of it. No one's supposed to follow me dahil training nila. They're all busy. How can they waste time on someone like me?

Sa mga araw na nandito ako, ginawa ko ang lahat para magmukhang inosente sa harap ng mga tao. Fooling the higher ups won't work, they already know me. On the other hand, the demigods just think that I magically appeared in their beloved Acropolis.

I'm harmless, right? Wala akong ginagawang mali sa loob ng city. No one should suspect me.

This isn't the first time I fooled people about my innocence. I've seen and experienced things that could make a normal person insane. I commit sins and I lie about the truth. I am no longer a pure kid when I was imprisoned.

Hindi na mahirap paikutin ang utak ng mga tao. They're so simple minded, the complexity of their brains can so easily be unraveled with the basic understandings of how they think. I managed to stay alive this long because of my knowledge.

So I'm not going to mess up this time.

Naghanap ako ng paraan para makaalis sa gubat. I have two options; Una, pwede kong hanapin ang dinaanan namin ni Nephele kanina. From there, I can escape because I know where the barrier would be outside the forest.

Ang pangalawang option ay hahanapin ko ang dulo ng gubat at doon lumabas. There is nothing else at the back of the Acropolis besides the forest, which means that the barrier is surrounding it.

Bumibigat ang bawat hingal na lumalabas sa labi ko. The air becomes chilly as the sun slowly descends in the horizon.

Dumidilim na rin ang paligid at nagsisimula nang mag-adjust ang paningin ko sa dilim. I run and I run until—

"Aray!"

Malakas akong napamura nang mawalan ng hangin ang dibdib ko. A loud sound resonates around the empty forest when I hit something in the air.

Napatigil ako sa pagtakbo. I step away a few times, looking at the thing I ran into.

Kumunot ang aking noo. There's nothing. Ramdam na ramdam ko pa rin ang pagkakatama ng dibdib at mukha ko sa isang matigas na bagay pero wala namang kahit ano sa harapan ko.

I reach my hand out slowly, trying to feel the air in front of me. Napasinghap ako nang maramdaman ang isang malapad na bagay sa hangin. I can't see it, but it's there.

Nilagay ko ang parehas kong kamay sa hangin at tinulak ito. I push hard, my palms feel like it's being stopped by an invisible force. The air pushes back, until it turns red.

Naging pula ang hangin na nasa harapan ko. It's faint, yet visible and hard to miss. My eyes widen when I feel something from it. Lalayo na sana ako ngunit huli na ang lahat.

Another scream escapes my lips when a wave of solid air hits my body. Lumipad ang katawan ko bago tumama ang aking likod sa isang puno. My mouth gapes at the sudden loss of air for the second time.

The tree snaps and the upper part falls to the ground due to the impact. Malakas akong napaubo nang bumagsak ang aking katawan sa madamong lupa.

I raised my head to look in front of me as if there is something else other than trees. And that something, albeit invisible, is my saving grace.