God's Rise | WOTG #2

Forty-Three

B E A T R E E S E

I HEARD HIS VOICE before I heard the explosion. Lumingon ako at sakto isang maliit na missile ang paparating. 

My bones turned into ice and my muscles became stone. I couldn't move except widen my eyes. In a split second, I thought I was finally going to die.

But what happened next was too fast.

Ang alam ko na lang ay nasa harapan ko na lang bigla si Deo. At sa pagsabog ng missile ay hinigop niya ang enerhiyang nilabas nito. Sinubukan niyang kontrolin ang malakas na pagputok sa pagitan ng kaniyang dalawang kamay at kung hindi dahil sa kaniya ay siguradong lasog-lasog na ang mga katawan namin. Hindi ko na narinig ang nakakabinging pagsabog at pati 'yon ay in-absorb niya rin.

Wala naman nang sinayang na oras si Deo. He stomped his foot and the energy he took from the explosive was transferred to the ground coming for the robot like lava worm below. As the attack reached the mech, it flew high above the air and fell down, smashing to bits one of its kind.

Napasulyap ako kila Cade at nakitang nakatingin silang tatlo sa akin. I gave them all a nod to let them know we were okay. We could handle this. And they all came back fighting for their lives. Ezerina torturing the soldiers with her hollow touch, Kato blasting all the tanks with his electric bolts, and Cade securing themselves with a protective forcefield as he himself squashed robots with his mind.

They wouldn't stand a chance.

Or that was what I thought.

HIndi namin napansin ang isang bomber sa taas. Sisirain talaga nila itong base na 'to malibing lang kami ng buhay. 

Naglaglag ng isang bomba ang eruplano. At sumabog ang gusaling nasa tabi namin. Umuga ang buong paligid at halos mabingi ako sa pagsabog. I blocked my face with my arms from the dust and the assaulting wind that came after. Cade, Kato, and Ezerina were several meters away from us and they were almost at the intersection right across the street. The ground shook and another bomb was dropped.

"Come on!" sigaw sa 'kin ni Deo sabay hatak sa kamay ko.

Unti-unting bumigay ang pundasyon ng gusali at gumuho ito sa gitna ng kalsada at nahiwalay kami kila Cade. As the building came crashing down, I coughed the dust away from my lungs while still shielding my eyes. Little bits of debris flew from the fallen structure. Deo's grip from my arm was tight I thought it'll leave a mark. Good thing he was fast enough to snatch me like that or else I was already buried underneath all the concrete and metal.

Pumikit ako at huminga ng malalim. Pinakiramdaman ko ang kanilang brain activities para malaman kung okay lang sila. Nakahinga ako nang malalim nang malaman kong wala ni isa sa kanilang nalibing.

"Cade!" sigaw ko. "Kato! Rina!"

Walang sumagot pero mula dito ay kita ko ang mga asul na flash ng mga kuryente ni Kato. And Deo and I weren't foolish enough to stand there and watch the electric flash and the orange flames emanating from the other side of the fallen building. 

"Tara na," sabi sa akin ni Deo. "May parating naman nang back-up."

Tumango na lang ako at binitiwan niya ang braso ko. Nanguna siya sa paglalakad at sumunod ako agad sa kaniya. Kahit papaano ay naubos na ang mga tanke at robot sa kalsada. Umuusok sila habang ang iba naman ay nayupi na parang lata. Pero kahit gano'n ay sigurado ako na may pinadala na nama si Havierre sa 'min. Hindi siya papayag na makalabas kami ng buhay dito. O kaya naman, kung hahayaan niya kaming makatakas alam niyang matagumpay ang pag-iintimidate na dala niya.