Chapter 19: Twilight

Miguel

We’ve only found three bodies in Eric’s house, so I went to look around the house to see if there were more. I checked all the rooms and so far there were none. From what I remember, his dad was on a business trip overseas. Eric told us earlier that his brother was probably at home. I went back to see Eric and he seemed to calm down for a bit.

“Your brother’s not here and he’s probably in Camp Aguinaldo. It’s getting dark. We should burn the bodies. We’ll go to Camp Aguinaldo tomorrow morning, okay?” I said to him.

“Is it okay if we bury them?”

“If that’s what you want… Sure.”

We carried the bodies outside in the front yard. Back in the clothing store, we couldn’t bury anyone because of the concrete ground. The front yard has soft soil and filled with grass. It’s large enough to bury eight corpses.

We have shovels, but we didn’t need it anymore. I dug up the earth using [Earth Manipulation] and made eight six-foot deep holes. It’s sad to think about it, but who knew that my magic can also be used to dig graves?

“Would you like to say something, Eric?” I asked.

I figured that he and Claire should say something before we bury the bodies. If they wanted to say a eulogy or tribute to their loved ones, it should be now. I haven’t read the bible, so I don’t know a good verse to use in that moment. Even if I do know a verse, I think it would be bad because God himself has abandoned us and the Other screwed the world.

“I don’t know what to say…” Eric said as he looked down.

“How about you, Claire?”

Claire shook her head.

“I don’t know what to say, but someone should…” I sighed.

“How about a song?” Gerry asked. “I know a good song… Is it okay?”

Eric nodded. “Yes…”

Sir Gerry took out a guitar and played a song.

We didn’t have caskets nor there was a wake. We simply didn’t have time for that. We placed the corpses into the holes and I used my magic again to bury them. My mana wasn’t enough to bury them all at once. I rested for a while to recover my mana. When I felt the mana recovered, I buried the rest of the corpses.

After Gerry finished the song, we stayed there for a moment in silence. The sun has already set, but there was still a dim light in the sky. One by one, the others went back inside the house to rest. Claire was left behind as she stared at the graves. I decided to stay with her.

I just couldn’t imagine the pain, she’s feeling right now. We were all hopeful to see our families and only to learn that none of them survived in the first place. It felt like an hour has already passed but we stood together in silence. I didn’t know what to say or what to do. I knew in my heart that no one should ever feel alone in their time of grief, so I stayed with her.

The moon started to shine in the clear and starry skies. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It was amazing. It must be due to that there were no light and air pollution.

As I looked up to the sky, I felt something soft touching my hand. I turned my head and saw Claire’s hand, trying to grasp mine. I held her hand - It was gentle and warm.

I looked at her and saw that she was also looking up to the skies. The tears in her eyes have already dried up and she’s still looked sad, but it seemed that her sadness was lessened greatly. A few minutes later, Claire wiped the remaining tears in her eyes.

“Let’s go back inside…” She said.

She let go of my hand as we went back inside the house. Melissa cooked our dinner. Eric said that he didn’t have the appetite, so he went upstairs to his room to rest. The rest of us ate our dinner in silence while Claire was eating more and faster than normal.

“More rice please…” Claire handed her empty bowl to Melissa.

Apparently, this was how Claire deal with depression. Normally, she would eat 3 bowls of rice every meal. Even before the apocalypse, she could eat more food than me. I kind of envy those kind of people. You can eat whatever you want and you won’t even gain weight. After we finished eating, she ate a total of 7 bowls of rice and four cans of tuna. We went back to the living room while Beth washed the dishes.

As I sat on the couch, I noticed that George, Gerry and Mang Kaloy were drinking beer as they played cards. They placed Copper Coins on the table as bets. It’s common for those who attend the wake to gamble to stay ‘awake’ for the wake. Well, we’ve already buried the corpses, so there was no wake, but I guess burial ceremonies won’t be complete without gambling.

“You want to join?” Mang Kaloy asked.

“No, thank you…” I replied.

I looked around to see what the others were doing. Dianne was sitting on the floor with her book and brewing her potions while Melissa was sitting on the other end of the couch reading Survival Guide for Dummies. When Beth was finished washing the dishes, she sat beside Melissa and read her pocket book.

“I win again. Hehehe…” Gerry said as he took the coins.

“Ah shit… I almost had it.” George said.

“Hah! I even gained one Luck for winning five times in a row.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Yeah... Why don’t you join us?”

“I don’t play cards…”

“We can teach you…” Mang Kaloy said.

“No, thanks…”

Though it’s interesting to boost my luck stat, I don’t really like gambling. The thing about gambling is whenever you lose, you’d want to play more to recover the losses, but the more you play, the more money you’d probably lose. Plus, I’m saving my money as investment. There could be traders in Camp Aguinaldo and it’s wise to save just in case I see a good item for sale.

As they continued to play cards, I looked around for Claire and saw her sitting on the floor in the corner. I stood up and approached her. As I stood in front of her, she looked at me and looked down as hugged her knees and moped. I sat on the floor beside her. After a few minutes of silence, she finally began to talk.

“It sucks…” She said.

“Yeah, it does…”

“You know, I kinda expected this to happen… because it’s better not to expect the best out of any situation to save myself from disappointment… I just couldn’t help, but to still feel disappointed…”

Weird… It seemed that Claire also had that kind of thinking. I didn’t think I ever said that to them, but I guess I wasn’t the only one thinking like that.

“It’s okay to feel disappointed… Deep inside our minds, we still hope for the best to happen. No matter how much you expect for the worst, you can’t just remove hope…”

“I see…”

After that, she was silent again. There were no tears in her eyes as she stared blankly on the floor. I didn’t know what to say to her to make her feel better.

“You still have that rum?” Claire asked.

“Yeah…”

I guess she saw me took the rum back in the convenience store. I didn’t mean to take the rum for grieving but to drink it for the sake of pleasure. I took a bottle of rum from my inventory and opened it. As soon as she saw the bottle, Claire snatched it from my hand and drank it straight.

“Take it easy…” I said.

After four gulps, she stopped and let out a sigh.“Hah…”

I wouldn’t recommend getting drunk tonight because we’ll go to Camp Aguinaldo tomorrow and drinking won’t help. Well, moping silently in the corner doesn’t help either, so I let her drink to her heart’s content.

“Here…” She handed me the bottle.

I had a cup in my inventory, but I didn’t mind drinking straight from the bottle. I took a gulp and felt the burning sensation of alcohol in my throat. After that, I gave it back to her as we continued to drink.

We already finished half of the bottle’s content when she started to talk. She’s a bit drunk because she’s doing more drinking than talking. Of course, I listened to her stories. Claire told me stories about her family.

Claire’s father worked as a construction worker but he wasn’t a regular employee and his job was a come and go. Her mother, on the other hand, earned money by doing laundry for others. Since her parents’ pay wasn’t enough to support them, she and her little sister studied hard for a better life.

Her eldest and second eldest brother stopped attending college as they worked to pay for her and her little sister’s education. I guess that’s the reason for Claire’s competitive attitude towards me. I was studying hard just for the sake of being the best while she studied in order to lift her family from poverty.

Despite that, they were happy. She even told me that even though food was often a problem for them, they always eat dinner together as a family and on the positive side, they didn’t have to pay for rent since her father inherited the house from her grandparents.

As she finished the whole bottle of rum, she was terribly drunk and began talking about her exes. I didn’t want to hear anything about it, so I tried to stop her. My eyes rolled as she continued to tell me about ex-boyfriend in her senior year in high school, who after taking her virginity, left her for another girl.

The only reason why he left her was because she didn’t bleed when they had sex. The other girl from her story got pregnant and she was thankful that it wasn’t her. It’s awkward for me to hear that story but I guess being drunk won’t stop her now. She also told me how would she bleed if his ex’s penis was small. It made me uncomfortable and I became extremely conscious about my size. Melissa and Beth chuckled as they listened to the story.

“Come on… Time to go to bed. You’re drunk…” Melissa said to her.

“No… I’m not drunk… I was about to tell him about my second ex…” Claire said.

“That’s enough. Come on… We have a big day tomorrow.” Melissa said as helped her stand up.

As Melissa and Beth led Claire upstairs to bed, Dianne yawned and followed them upstairs.

I opened a bottle of beer and lit a cigarette. I was trying to catch some sleep for tomorrow. I didn’t know what to expect inside Camp Aguinaldo and I hoped that the guy in charge was still alive. I doubt that he’s dead though. There’s a saying that weeds don’t easily die.

I went upstairs as I felt the effect of the alcohol. As I tried to find a place to sleep, I opened the door and found Eric sleeping alone in the room. I slowly closed the door and opened the door next to his room and found the four girls sleeping together in the master’s bedroom.

I closed the door and continued to search. After that, I found a good place to sleep. I was alone in the room, so I laid down on the soft bed and closed my eyes.

I was jolted awake as I heard a strange noise. I sat up on the bed and when I opened my eyes, I looked around to see where the noise was coming from. I was shocked as I found myself back in my own bedroom… in our house.

I tried to cast my magic but there’s nothing coming out of my palm. I even tried to say the SYSTEM commands, but there were no blue screens appearing. I closed my eyes and meditated. It was clear that this was just a dream. I tried to do whatever I did to escape my last dream, but to no effect.

I heard the door opened and someone came in. “Kuya? Are you still sleeping?” [1]

I opened my eyes and saw Jen standing by the door. “Jen?”

“Yeah… Get up. Mom’s home…”

I immediately stood up and hugged her. “Thank god! You’re alive!”

“Okay?” Jen said to me as I cried. “Were you having a bad dream or something?”

“…” I couldn’t answer her. I was too happy to find her alive. I couldn’t help, but cry as I embraced her.

“It’s okay… It’s just a bad dream…” Jen said as she pat my back. “Tell me about it later, okay? Come on, Mom’s waiting downstairs.”

She held my hand and we went downstairs. The lights were on and I could hear the television playing downstairs. I saw my mother sitting on the couch as she watched the show in the T.V.

“Hey, mom…” I said.

“Hey, sweetie…” She turned her head around and smiled. “I heard that you couldn’t go to school because you’re feeling sick. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I guess…” I answered as I sat on the couch.

I looked at the clock hanging on the wall above the television. It’s 11:00 a.m..

“What is the date today?” I asked.

“June 3. I think…” Jen replied.

“The year?”

“2019… Why are you asking?”

“Nothing…”

If I remembered it correctly, this was the same day and the same hour when the apocalypse began. “Jen, did we have breakfast this morning?”

“Yeah, you cooked cheese omelette and sausages...”

“What did we talk about? While we were eating, I mean…”

“We were talking about mom. You told me that she texted you that she couldn’t go home last night because of work and then, you said you weren’t feeling well so you slept again.”

“How about the monsters? Did we talk about the monsters?”

“What monsters? Is that from your nightmare?”

“Yeah… I guess…”

I looked down. I was confused. Was it just a dream? I felt like it was real. There’s no way that was just a dream. Or is it? I don’t know anymore. I was just glad that my family was well and alive.

“By the mom, how’s work?” Jen asked.

“There was an incident at the mall… Miguel’s friends were there.” She replied.

“An ogre? Did they say that they saw an ogre?” I asked.

Her eye brows furrowed. “No… There was a murder incident and your friends witnessed it. I asked them a few questions about it but there was no lead…”

“I see…”

Jen sat beside me and held my hand. “This dream… Can you tell us about it?”

I told them about my dream. Of how the world ended and the monsters came and killed everyone. About how I could do magic and our travel to Camp Aguinaldo to seek shelter.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to be friends with that whore’s daughter?” Mom asked.

“Many times…” I replied.

“I wanted to slap her when I saw her last night.”

“Mom!”

“I’m just saying, Jen… I can’t say I wasn’t glad when the whore died and now she’s living with that asshole…”

“They’re out of our lives, Mom…” Jen said. “It’s almost noon, why don’t we have lunch together?”

“Yeah… Sure…”

As we went together to the kitchen, Mom was tired, but Jen insisted that we should eat together before she rests. Jen has already cooked our lunch. She cooked fried chicken, since it’s the only thing that she can cook right.

As we ate our lunch, I was bothered by my dream. It’s eating me from inside and I couldn’t just accept it. I ate my lunch as fast as I can and went upstairs to get dressed. I wanted to see Claire and the others to confirm it.

“Where are you going?” Mom asked.

“I’m going to school. I still have one subject to attend to…” I answered.

After I got dressed, I went downstairs and kissed them goodbye as I left home. As I rode the bus, I looked outside and it seemed that everything was normal. People walking on the sidewalks and cars were running on the road. It was a normal busy day for everyone and as usual, our bus stopped because of the heavy traffic.

It took me about an hour before I got into the university. I looked at my wrist watch and it was already 12:52 p.m.. In my dream, the wrist watch stopped working as God updated the SYSTEM. I ran towards the classroom where the next subject would start at 1:00 p.m..

As I tried to catch my breath, I looked at the watch again and it was already 1:03 p.m. I entered the classroom, but the professor wasn’t there yet. I looked around and I saw Claire sitting in the back. It seemed that she saved the seat next to her, so I approached her as I wiped off the sweat on my forehead.

“Hi, Claire…” I greeted.

“I was going to celebrate this day because you’re absent…” Claire replied with her usual smug face. “Way to ruin my joyous day, huh?”

I sat on the chair silently. “My mother told me you were in the cinema last night. What happened?”

“Well, there was murder… or something. I didn’t see the whole thing, but I saw the corpse…” Claire replied. “Wait, that pretty cop is your mom? No offence…”

“Yeah, that’s my mom...”

“Hahaha! I bet you inherited your parent’s recessive genes, huh? Are you sure you weren’t adopted?” Claire smirked.

“Yeah…” I looked down as I realized that I just dreamt the whole thing. Even Claire trying to seduce me was just a dream. At least Claire’s family is still alive.

“Wow, you looked glum today. I was expecting a comeback, but I guess I win…” Claire said.

“Sure…”

The professor came in and started the lecture. The subject was a major subject: Financial Accounting. I wasn’t in the mood, so I spent the whole hour trying to remember every details of my dream.

“Are you okay?” Claire asked.

“I’m fine…”

“You there… The lady in the back… What’s your name?” The professor asked.

Claire stood up. “Claire Roque, sir…”

“Miss Roque, would you please shut up while I’m speaking?”

“Yes, sir… Sorry.”

The class let out a soft giggle as Claire went back to her seat. I looked at her and she was glaring at me as if it was my fault. After the professor told us read a book about the topic, he ended the class and I went straight outside the classroom.

“Wait!” Claire said as she grabbed my arm. “Aren’t you going to the library to study?”

“I’m not in the mood. I’m going home…” I answered.

Her grip tightened. “Just tell me what happened. You can tell me about it in the library…”

As we got to the library, Claire didn’t let go of my arm as she tried to find the book that the professor told us to read. After she found the book, she took it from the shelf and we sat in a vacant chair and table near the shelf.

She opened the book. I was staring at it blankly as she read it. She glanced at me and noticed that I wasn’t paying attention. She closed the book and let out a sigh.

“So what happened to you?” Claire asked as she crossed her arms.

I told her everything about my dream. From the restaurant and the blue screens up to Eric’s house in Cubao. I even told her about how she was bitten by a zombie and how I cured her. Of course, I told her about my magic and how we killed different kinds of monsters.

“Hahaha! Wow! Magic? Really? Hahahaha…” Claire laughed loudly as she heard my story.

“Shhhh!!!” The librarian glared at her.

“Sorry…” Claire said.

Claire lowered her head and whispered. “Anyway, it’s just a dream… There’s no way that’s happening and no, we didn’t see an ogre in the cinema… By the way, Eric was upset at Dianne because…”

“She told you I was busy… Yeah, I know, but in my dream, I told you that I would’ve come if I knew that you’re going to watch that movie… After that, we went to a restaurant and we met Melissa…”

“Melissa? You know her?” She asked.

“Of course, she’s the waitress in…”

“Sleepy Hollow Kitchen…” She and I said in unison.

“Eric introduced her to us earlier. We ate our lunch there…”

I nodded. “In my dream, I was there too when it happened. You ordered spaghetti with meatballs…”

“Holy shit… Maybe you dreamt about an alternate future or something?”

“Maybe… but I don’t know…”

“At least it’s just a dream… It would suck if I learned that my family is dead….” Claire said.

“Yeah, you even told me about Marlon and how he took your…” Before I could finish my sentence, Claire stood up immediately and put her hand in my mouth.

“How did you know about that?” Her eyes glared at me like a dagger.

“I told you, it’s a dream. After you learned that your family is dead, you got drunk and you told me about it.”

“I never told anyone about that…” She said. “Alright, I believe you…”

She went back to her seat and crossed her arms. “But, if you tell Eric and Dianne about that, I swear…”

“Nope… Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone…”

“Really?”

“I promise… But I think Melissa heard you… in my dream…”

“Well, thank god, it’s just a dream…”

“Anyway, you should read this and tell me what you think…” Claire said as she handed me the book.

“Fine…”

We stayed in the library together as we took notes about the topic. She decided to borrow the book from the library. I told her to use her library card, but she told me that she already borrowed another book so she couldn’t. Claire said that she would return the book after she’s done with it. She put the book in her bag. It was already 7:00 p.m. when we decided to go home.

“Why don’t we go home together?” Claire asked.

“Sure… You lived in Cubao right?”

“I guess you learned that in your dream, right?”

“Yeah… By the way, are you flirting with me? ”

“What? Fuck no! Are you?”

“No…” I smirked. “But in my dream, you…”

“I don’t want to hear anything about your twisted dream, okay?” Claire said. “It’s already late, so I figured it’s much safer if I had someone as BIG as you on my way home… I bet your FAT ass is an effective meat shield…”

“You were retarded in my dream. I guess some things never changed.”

“Fuck you!”

“Fuck me? Fuck you!”

And thus, another battle of insults ensued. We only stopped when we rode the bus together. We were silent as we sat next to each other. I looked at her and I caught her eyes glancing at me. She looked away and gritted her teeth as she saw me smirking. It got me thinking. Maybe it wasn’t that bad, her and my family were alive and everything went back to normal.

A few minutes later, I noticed that there’s something wrong. It felt like the bus was going too fast. I stood up and looked at the bus driver. He looked nervous as he tried to step on the brakes.

“Shit…”

“What’s wrong?” Claire asked.

I sat down and the other passengers panicked as the driver claimed that he lost brakes. Claire held my hand tightly as she breathed heavily. I looked at her and she was panicking.

“Stay calm…” I said to her as I embraced her.

She held me tightly and cried. Everything went black as I heard a loud thud and a sharp pain in my head.

I opened my eyes and everything I saw was white. I looked around and saw my mother in sitting beside the bed. “Mom?”

As soon as she heard me, she embraced me tightly and cried. “Thank god, you’re awake!”

“Where am I? What happened?”

“You’re in a hospital… You were in an accident, do you remember?” She asked.

“How long was I out?”

“A month…”

As I recalled what happened, I quickly removed the bed sheet. “Noooo….”

“You lost both of your legs in the accident…” Mom said as she embraced me.

“Nooo… Oh god…”

I closed my eyes and wished that it was all a dream. I looked at my legs again, but it was real. I’m now a cripple. Suddenly, I remembered that Claire was with me in the bus. “Where’s Claire? Is she okay?”

“…”

“Tell me! Is she okay?”

“She’s… She’s gone…”

“No! That’s not true!!!”

I tried to get up and crawled out of the bed. I wanted to see her. I knew in my heart that all of this was just a dream. My mother embraced me tightly as she tried to stop me.

“Wake me up!!!” I shouted.

The nurse came in and they pinned me down to the bed. I struggled fiercely but I was weak. They injected something in me and as soon as the drug came rushed in my veins, I felt dizzy and my consciousness slipped away.

I woke up again and I was still in the hospital alone. I was hoping that it was just a dream, so I took another look at my legs. I couldn’t help but cry. My mother and Jen visited me and they said that I would be out of the hospital after a week.

My mother tried to feed me, but I lost my appetite. I told them that I wanted to see Claire. I refused to believe that it was all true. She promised me that she would take me to Claire after the doctors say that I’m good to go.

Eric and Dianne visited me the next day. They brought a fruit basket and tried to talk to me. I wasn’t in the mood to talk, so I ignored them. I spent the whole week in the hospital meditating and I kept telling myself that it was all a dream.

Finally, the doctor told me that I could leave the hospital. I told my mother that I wanted her to take me to Claire. Being true to her promise, she drove me to the cemetery where Claire was buried. Eric, Dianne and Jen were there with us as I got out.

After an hour, we arrived at the cemetery. Eric and my mom carried me to the wheelchair. My mother pushed my wheelchair as we tread the cemetery grounds. When we reached headstone, I read what was inscribed. “Claire D. Roque… Born April 15, 1999… Died… June 7, 2019…”

Eric placed a boquet of flowers in front of the headstone.

“This isn’t real…” I said to them as I shook my head.

My mother placed her hands in my shoulders.

“This isn’t real!” I said again.

“Miguel…”

“THIS IS NOT REAL!!!!”

A burst of energy came out of my body and as the reality around me crumbled, I heard the whispers in the dark. I was back inside the void. There was a man in a black cloak standing in front of me. I couldn’t see his face but I could tell that he was staring at me. He grabbed my wrist and his hand glowed red as I screamed in pain.

When he stopped, it left a burned hand mark on my wrist. I closed my eyes and meditated. I kept myself focused and repeated on my mind that none of it was real.

When I opened my eyes again, I quickly stood up and looked around. It was already morning as the sun was about to rise in a few minutes. As I closed the door, I saw Eric going downstairs. I followed him and we saw Gerry and the others still playing cards.

“You want coffee?” I asked.

Eric nodded. “Yeah…”

Eric and I went to the kitchen and took a mug. I summoned hot water with my magic and took a pack of instant coffee. As I took a sip of coffee, I looked at my wrist. I was horrified when I saw the mark. I closed my eyes and told myself again that it wasn’t real.

Claire

When I opened my eyes, my head was thumping and it hurts like hell. I shouldn’t have drink that much. I looked around and it was already morning. Perhaps Miguel can cure hangovers. I’ll ask him later.

“Hey wake up…” I said to Dianne as I shook her up.

She opened her eyes and sat up. “It’s already morning… Get up…”

After I woke up the other girls, we went downstairs and I found the three still gambling while Ethan was sleeping on the couch. I was wondering how much beer they could drink without getting drunk.

“You didn’t sleep last night?” Beth asked.

“We did… We took shifts.” Mang Kaloy said.

“Where’s Eric and Miguel?”

“In the kitchen…”

I went to the kitchen and I found Eric and Miguel drinking coffee. We took mugs and asked Miguel for hot water. He was silent as he filled our mugs with hot water. I sat beside him as I stir my cup of coffee.

“You okay? You looked like you saw a ghost…”

“I’m fine… I just had a bad dream…” Miguel said.

“Want to practice today?” I asked.

“Not today…”

Melissa and Beth cooked some breakfast. Dianne went back to the living room and called the others to eat breakfast. We had fried eggs and fried rice that morning. Even though I still feel the pain from last night, I felt a lot better today. I guess drinking does help, but the hangover sucked.

After I ate my breakfast, I took a rest for a while and did the warm up exercise even though I was groggy. I took my sword from my inventory and practiced the Six Strikes flow. The images of my family flashed in my mind as I swing the sword. I tried to keep myself distracted and continued to practice.

Miguel and the others went back to the living room and rested for a bit. After a few minutes, Miguel stood up and told us to prepare. We gathered around for another meeting.

“We don’t know what we will encounter in Camp Aguinaldo. It’s just a few minutes walk, but I think it’s safe if we let Dianne scout around before we approach anyone.”

“But what if they’re hostile?” I asked.

“Then we run… I don’t want to risk any unnecessary violence.”

“Who’s this guy in charge anyway? Are you sure he’s still alive?” Eric asked.

“I assure you, he’s still alive… Dianne lives with him. Why don’t you ask her?”

We looked at Dianne, but she looked down and didn’t say anything. From what I knew, Dianne’s mother was a single mom and she died two years ago. When I tried to ask her where she lived, she said that she lived inside Camp Aguinaldo but she didn’t say anything about who she lived with. Is this person the reason for Miguel’s cold attitude towards Dianne?

“Anyway, we should go… Come on…”

As the meeting ended, we went to the garden for a last look at the graves. I didn’t have flowers or anything but if there’s something inside Camp Aguinaldo, I’ll make sure to bring some.

After that, we left the house and continued our journey. Dianne went ahead to scout the way. It seemed that Miguel wasn’t taking any risk and he wanted to know everything Dianne saw as we made our way to Camp Aguinaldo.

We sneaked around and looked in our corners making sure that we didn’t miss anything before we crossed the road. We could see high walls surrounding the military base. From what I remembered, there were only small concrete walls and not a 40 feet wall in Camp Aguinaldo.

Luckily, we didn’t encounter any monsters or survivors on the way. After less than an hour, we reached Col. Bonny Ave. and we took a turn towards EDSA as Dianne said she saw an entrance to Camp Aguinaldo.

We hid beside a truck and took a peak at the entrance. We couldn’t see anything clearly in this angle.

[What do you see, Dianne?] – Miguel

[There are guards in military uniform…] – Dianne

[How many?] – Miguel

[Four guards… Wait… I think I recognize one of them!] – Dianne

[Wait!] – Miguel

She rushed towards the gate and one of the guards embraced her. Miguel told us to stay hidden as Dianne spoke with the guard. After a few minutes, we saw Dianne pointed her finger towards our direction.

[You can come out now…] – Dianne

[Jesus Christ… You gave me a heart attack back there…] – Miguel

[S-sorry… but it’s okay… They’re letting us in…] – Dianne

We came out of hiding and we walked slowly towards the gate. The four guards were smiling at us as they waved. Dianne was talking with a woman. She had muscular body build and her skin was tanned probably due to their training. She looked like a woman in her thirties and she looked more like a man than a woman.

Player: ???

Race: Human

Level: 22

Party: AFP

I used [Observe] on her and it seemed that her level was much higher than any of us. Like everyone Dianne saw roaming around Cubao last night, she was wearing the standard military fatigue and she was carrying a spear similar to Eric.

“This is my friend… Mina.” Dianne said to us.

“I already told the news to the General and he’s asking if Miguel is with you?”

We all looked at Miguel. He looked uncomfortable as he stepped forward. “I am him…”

“Good! Wait a sec, I’ll tell the good news to the General…” Mina said. “He said that he wants to meet you immediately… I’ll lead you to him.”

I was confused. Why did the General wanted to meet Miguel?

After a few seconds, the gigantic gate opened as Mina led us inside.

I’ve never been inside Camp Aguinaldo, but it didn’t look like a military base. It looked more like a city inside a city. The only difference was people wearing military fatigue were a common sight. There were also tanks and other armored vehicles on the side of the road and by the looks of it, I think they’re trying to get it to work. As we walked, I looked around and saw hundreds of people trying to dig the ground.

“I’m really sorry… If only cars would work, I’ll drive you there myself…” Mina said.

“Excuse me, but what are they doing?” I asked.

“Oh, them? The golf course’s useless so they’re making a farm… I heard they’re going to plant potatoes…”

“Why not rice?”

“We don’t have enough water to plant rice, unfortunately…”

“By the way, do you know anything about this apocalypse?” George asked as he carried Ethan.

“After the blue screens, we had our radios for a few minutes before it died. We heard reports that monsters attacked the whole country. We lost contact with Malacanang and we never heard from them since. Most people here just fell unconscious and died even the Secretary of Defense. There were only three thousand of us left after that. We took any weapons we could use and pushed back the monsters out of this base…. After that, only two thousand of us were alive.”

“Were there any refugees here? Have you seen this person?” Eric asked as he handed her a photo frame. I didn’t think that printed photos were still a thing this day.

“I can’t say I met him before… What’s his name?”

“His name is Richard. Richard Reyes. He’s my brother. Can you tell me where I can find him?”

“Uhmmm… Sure. There were at least five thousand refugees here, some of them volunteered in the army. I’ll ask around, but you should meet the General first…”

“Okay…”

The buildings around were also damaged by the earthquake. There were carts with horses and the soldiers were piling up the rotting corpses in the cart. It seemed that they weren’t finished cleaning up the whole base. There were still a few corpses beside the road.

We were walking for almost an hour and finally, we reached the General’s office. As we went inside the building, its design looked impressive and grand. I couldn’t believe that the government could spend this much money for just one building while its poor citizens strived hard to live.

I also noticed that there were cracks in the walls probably due to the earthquake. I just hoped that it won’t collapse while we’re in here.

Since the elevators no longer worked, Mina led us through the stairs. As we reached the fourth floor, she led us through a corridor filled with office tables and chairs. I didn’t know what the other people were doing, but it seemed that there were still paperwork to be done even after the apocalypse.

Mina knocked on the door at the end of the corridor and opened it.

“General!” Mina stood straight and raised her hand to her forehead and saluted. “I’ve brought them as you asked.”

“Thank you, private…” The man said. “You may wait outside.”

“General!”

The man stood up and gazed on us as if inspecting thoroughly. He looked like he’s in his fifties as he had a few white hair strands – a sign of aging. When he smiled at us, wrinkles appeared in his forehead and cheeks.It seemed that he never lost his charm even as aged. I bet he’s a good looking man when he was young. I looked around the office and I saw a name board on the table: “BGEN Ronaldo V. Arevalo, AFP”

“Miguel!” The General embraced Miguel tightly. “I’m so happy to see you…”

“I’m happy to see you too, General…” Miguel responded.

“No need to be so formal. You’re my son and this is my office…” Gen. Arevalo said.

Son? He’s Miguel’s father? If so, then why does Dianne lived with him? I looked at Eric and he was also shocked when he learned that.

Gen. Arevalo smiled and proceeded to embrace Dianne and kissed her in her forehead. “I’m so happy to see you too…”

“Y-yeah… me too…”

I turned my eyes to Miguel and he was looking down and his fists were clenched. It got me thinking what’s Dianne connection with his father? I don’t think Dianne is a kind of woman who have a sugar daddy. I held his hand to try and calm him down.

Gen. Arevalo looked at us and smiled. “Are these your friends, Miguel?”

“Yeah… They’ve been with me since the beginning.”

“And who is this beautiful lady? Is she your girlfriend?” He asked as he pointed out our hands.

“Yes… I’m his girlfriend…” I answered. I looked at Miguel and he didn’t even react.

“Oh? Hahaha!” He laughed. “I guess you have a good taste for women like your old man, huh?”

“Anyway, welcome to Camp Aguinaldo.” He said to me as he went back to his seat.

“So… you must be tired. Normally, I’d ask you a few questions about how you survived, but I’ll let you rest for today. Dianne, you know the way.”

Dianne nodded. We were about to leave when Miguel started to talk.

“Is Mom and Jen here? Do you have news about them?” Miguel asked.

“I don’t… You see, Pasig is overrun by monsters. We couldn’t even set foot in the city.”

“Then, I need your help, General…”

“How can I help you then?”

“I don’t intend to stay here in Camp Aguinaldo. I want to borrow some of your men to rescue my family…”

Gen. Arevalo let out a deep sigh. “Miguel… You know I can’t do that, right?”

“Why not? You have thousands of soldiers at your command. If you can spare me just a hundred…”

“I can’t do that… Two days ago, we were attacked by five hundred beastmen and they tried to take this base. 206 of my soldiers died… I even tried to send runners throughout the neighboring cities and none of them came back. I need my men here in Camp Aguinaldo. This base may be the last hope of our country.”

“And what did the country did to us?” Miguel raised his voice. “You can’t even spare one of your men for your family? What did the country owe you? Are you just doing this to serve your country?”

“Enough!”

“…”

“I’m sorry… I just… I just can’t lose you again. I won’t let you leave this base.”

“How about Jen? She’s your daughter!”

“Yes, she my daughter. Do you think it’s easy for me? Now that two of my children are here. I can’t risk losing both of you.”

I was shocked. Two of his children?

“Both of us? What do you mean?”

“Your mother never told you?” Gen. Arevalo looked at Dianne. “How about you? Did you tell him?”

Dianne looked down and shook her head.

“Tell what?”

“Miguel… Dianne is my daughter. She’s your sister.”

[1] Kuya is an honorific which means big brother.