RO
Because of my recurring insomnia, Benz and I agreed to change our shifts. He now holds the surveillance of the sanctuary from sunset to 10 in the evening and I would come up to replace him, from 10 to sunrise. It has been like this for two days now and I realized this was better. I didn't need to force myself to sleep and deal with my endless hell loop which was disguised as dreams.
This time, at 1 in the morning, I have nothing but the bonfire as company. With the crackling of the logs and the flying of small embers up to the air, my thoughts were distracted. It was a beautiful timepass.
At two am, the bonfire died and I had to sneak in underground to find a battery-charged flashlight. I saw one beside Tyrone and grabbed it. The underground sleeping quarters have their own candles as source of light anyway. Here outside, the only light was the faint glow of the moon. Silvery, gloomy and basked in solitude. I reclaimed my seat and placed the flashlight beside me, directing its beam to the dark forest ahead. Aside from the sounds of the crickets and owls, nothing else was in the air. It was colder too. With the fire out, the only thing that separated me from the cold was the thick jacket I hug myself with.
I looked up and just like other nights, I laid down a blanket on the still-warm ground where the bonfire was. I laid down and rested my head on my both arms as pillows. It wasn't a comfortable position but it gave me a panoramic view of the stars. And I think there's something special tonight that the sky was giving me a show. This right here was the starriest night I've ever seen. They were numerous as sand on the beach. Looking at this spectacle, just hours before the sun wakes up, it's peacefully calming. It's serene. It's the rarest thing one could ever find in a time like this.
And then I closed my eyes….
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I woke up with a start. I dozed off. Perhaps it was the exhaustion from the hunt the previous day that the short nap I intended turned out to be a 2-hours' worth of sleep. I sat up and looked at the clock. It was 4:18 in the morning, the sun peeking on the horizons. I yawned, had a stretch and folded the blanket. Now completely woken up, I reoccupied my seat on the fallen log.
But I was sure there was something else that woke my senses up.
My heart was pounding. A gut feeling I had since the moment I woke up which I cannot shake. I was hyperactive with the slightest movement of the leaves. I feel like something was coming… this way. With the silence, it's almost possible to hear the stepped on dried leaves. Pairs of feet… talks… closer… closer… CLOSER.
DAMN IT.
I rushed to run towards the underground entrance. I couldn't be mistaken. I couldn't just be imagining this. There was… they're coming.
"EVERYONE, WAKE UP! WE NEED TO MOVE! THEY'RE HERE! THEY'RE COMING THIS WAY!"
I ran around the sleeping quarters, alerting everyone. Again and again, I warned. When I reached Tyrone's bed bunk, I stirred him to wake up. He did instantly. He opened his eyes on half.
"Ro, what are you-"
"HELP ME WAKE THE OTHERS! THE AENELUS ARE HERE!"
His eyes widened when I mentioned the enemy's name and sat up.
"GRAB YOUR WEAPONS! MEN, FIGHTERS! IT'S TIME!"
He woke up as much people as he could and directed them to the weapons' cabin outside. I searched for Benz and found him escorting the children to the exit area. They will be taken to this cave we discovered not so far from here. When he saw me, he gave me a nod. I also did the same.
Just when I turned my eyes away from Benz, an explosion sounded nearby. Crap. They're here.
"Come on, guys! Hurry!" – I shouted to the young children. Some cried after hearing the explosion. Some stopped and covered their ears. Poor innocent souls. Benz, however, did his best to talk to them and take them out.
I knew he can handle that already and I ran to where Tyrone and the men were heading. From the weapons' cabin, I got my pair of guns. The men has grabbed their own weapons and now, Tyrone's telling them to hide behind the barricades we made out of soils and sacks.
"Hold it. Open your ears, guys…"
Tyrone held a finger in the air and we all quieted. I was on his right, aiming a sniper gun at the moving trees 30-45 meters away from us.
"That's where the explosion came from. I'm sure that's their army." – Tyrone
"How did they find us? I noticed no one surveying the area at night." – I said
"I don't know, Ro… but that's not what's important now. Where's Benz?"
"He took care of the children."
"You and I got this then."
I nodded.
Right above us, an aircraft appeared, shooting down.
"DOOOOOOCK!" – Tyrone shouted and aimed at the aircraft… no, aircrafts. Turns out it wasn't alone. It came with two more.
I aimed my sniper on one and fired repetitively. Some of the men followed my lead and after some time, we got one. The other aircraft was being fired by Tyrone and other, seeing the downfall of the first one, retaliated by shooting us below.
"Run, run, run!" – I warned
But I was kind of too late. Some of the men were hit… they died instantly. I screamed a long and loud "no" but suddenly I was grabbed by Tyrone on the waist,
"It's too late now, Ro. Come on, the others are approaching here."
Just as what he said, the other soldiers appeared from the forest in front of us, weapons on hand and firing at whoever they see move. Our archers fought them and some engaged in hand-in-hand combat. Guns were fired everywhere, blood splattered on the ground. It was a sickening sight, but as I looked around, observing the attack, there was one man who rose above the rest. He was leading the attack with two bazooka guns on both his hands. He fired both at the same time and the weapons' cabin collapsed. Our cooking areas, our sheds and most especially, our underground sleeping area… all ravaged and exploded.
"TAKE AS MANY AS YOU CAN! THOSE WHO DON'T FOLLOW YOU, KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!"
He shouted.
And I knew. He was the one Roger was talking about.