Rogue Wars Online

Chapter Ninety-Six: Rock Island

Happy New Year!

-chapter ninety-five-

FINN

Holding on.

When the storms of life takes you apart, what else can you do but hold on to the barest of sanity?

I remember being seven years old sitting beside a hospital bed. Ang lalaking nakahiga doon ay natutulog nang dumating ako kaya hindi ko na ginising. Bukas ang bintana at nililipad ng hangin ang kurtina at bulaklak sa vase. It was a quiet and peaceful day, but my heart and mind were troubled.

Hindi man lang ako binigyan ng limang taon bago makamove-on sa pagkapatay nina Mama. Now, I have to endure yet another death and witness how I made an entire family broken and sad.

Mahina akong napatawa at hinigpitan ang kapit sa kamay ni Kuya Gab. I've always been fascinated with the heroes in comic books, wishing and wishing that I would be like them. A savior to those who need protection and a light to people in need.

But I was a villain cursed with death. All I bring is loneliness, grief, and sadness.

A walking grim reaper.

"Hey."

Pinalis ko ang namamasang mata para lumingon sa tumawag. There he was, the boy whose face was now blurred in my memories. But I could still remember how I nagged him to save Kuya Gabriel.

Itinaas niya ang hawak-hawak na game controller. "'Di ba naglalaro ka? Care to teach me some games?"

And how he gave that depressed and lonely child a small push to hold on.

The wind was strong. Nakatayo kaming mga manlalaro sa isang may kalakihang floating island. Maliban sa naglalakihang bato ay wala nang ibang desenyo ang isla.

I tied my hair into a twin bun again, para hindi magulo ng hangin. Nakabusangot ang mukha ni Maki nang lumapit sa'kin.

"Hindi pa natin nasisimulan ang city pero parang gusto ko nang mag-give up." reklamo niya sabay buntong-hininga.

I hummed, glancing at our new challenge. Kami ang isa sa pinakahuling lumabas sa fifteenth city, but to our surprise, those who arrived here first didn't take action. No one is confident to move when the city requires a mission as difficult as this.

Sa unang tingin, mukhang madali lang siya. The city requires us to get to the other island in order to complete it. Isa iyong isla na may malulusog na puno at portal para sa seventeenth city.

It seems easy, right? Until you see the distance between the two island.

It was about 10 kilometers wide. There were no bridges and we need to use the rocks lined up in a path. May malalaki at maliliit na bato, at mayroon ding mabilis magiba dahil sa malakas na hangin. The distance between each rock also differs; may mga sobrang layo at mayro'n namang malapit lang.

Hindi din makikita kung saan ka mahuhulog. The sky seemed endless below us. No matter ocean or land, there is little chance of possibility. At kung mahulog man, po-problemahin naman kung paano aakyat para matapos ang city.

"What's your plan, Finn?" napabaling ako kay Maki nang itanong niya 'yon. "Susunod ako sa'yo. I don't think anyone's going to start anytime soon though."

I didn't know how to answer that. No one seems to be making plans, like he said. Pero ayoko namang maghintay na mauna sila.

Tinanguan ko si Maki at tumalon sa pinakamalapit na bato. I could hear the gasps behind me and feel their stares on my back. I slightly stumbled on my feet because of the harsh wind, kaya dali-dali akong tumalon sa kabilang bato. Maki's scream behind me showed that he followed.