Now, Northern Philippines
Cal saw a dark shape, huge, bigger than the plane.
Which was now spinning as flames and smoke spewed out of the engines.
Feathers and talons.
That’s what he saw in his mind’s eye.
Cal righted himself from his own spin and gave chase with a loud boom that shook the sky.
The giant bird, for what else could it have been, was a dark shadow in the night as it plunged after the plane. It stretched talons out toward the plane.
Cal struck it with telekinetic force.
Instead of ripping through the fuselage the bird only managed to tear a wing off.
The ground was growing quickly in the distance.
At these speeds Cal knew that he didn’t have much time.
So, he slowed down his perceptions to buy more.
The bird’s enormous, feathered back became clearer. Its hooked beak was open in mid screech. Talons grasped for the plane in slow motion.
Brute force wasn’t going to be enough within the constraints he had to work with so Cal decided to go with something else.
He imagined a spiked ball with his telepathy and placed it into the giant bird’s brain.
He expanded it with violent quickness.
The bird screeched and spun directly away from him and the plane.
Cal’s last sight of it was dark tail feathers as it flew into a cloud.
One problem down.
The plane continued its spinning and terminal descent down toward the rainforest.
Cal flew after it and grabbed it with his telekinesis. He had to be careful to slow its descent as smoothly as possible lest he inadvertently kill or horribly injure almost everyone inside.
The distance to the ground was such that he was only able to slow it enough for a rather rough crash landing.
He had surround the plane in a telekinetic shield to protect it from the trees.
Thunderous noise filled the dark rainforest.
The screech of grinding and tearing metal mingled with the fuel igniting from the engine flames.
Cal snuffed the flames out with a thought.
The plane plowed a long furrow into the ground before he was able to slowly bring it to a stop.
Then, just like that, there was silence.
Cal regarded the rainforest for a moment.
He stretched out with his thoughts.
Animals and monsters were all around.
He encouraged them to move away, which was easy enough.
“Everyone okay in there?” Cal said into the comms while he used his telepathy to check for himself.
Hands tore open the fuselage from the inside. His dad’s head popped out. “We’re checking,” he called out.
“I’ll keep a watch out here,” Cal replied. He had already seen the extent of their injuries.
It was miraculous, but everyone was mostly unscathed aside from minor contusions.
A quarter of an hour later, while a defensive perimeter was set and they were pulling what supplies they could from the wreckage of the plane Cal conferred with the leadership elements of the group.
“What the hell happened?” Hanna accosted him.
“A giant bird.”
“How’d it get past you?” Cal’s dad said.
“It was supersonic. My fault.”
“Where are we exactly?” Sgt. Butcher said.
“According to the map we’re in Northern Luzon, east of Divilacan Bay,” Cal consulted the projection in his faceplate.
Demi took a paper map out of her belt pack and spread it out on the ground. She studied it with her flashlight. “According to the compass we are about 30 miles away from Ilagan to the southeast. It’s the closest large city. From there it’s maybe 280 miles to Manila on AH26,” she looked at Cal for confirmation.
“That sounds about right,” Cal glanced at his dad.
“I haven’t been back home in a long time and I’ve never been this far north, but I do know that the Maharlika Hwy basically runs all the way down to the southern islands. So, all we need to do is go south and follow the signs to Manila.”
“Great, so hiking through a dense rainforest, mostly unprepared, in the dark, at least 30 miles,” Sgt. Butcher said without expression.
“I can keep the wildlife away. I’m just concerned about the support staff,” Cal eyed the R&D team huddled next to Pilot Pete and the two Mechanics. “The plan was to land at Subic and use that as a base for our noncombat personnel to stay mostly safe from dangerous things.”
“You can fly us all there. You did the plane no problem,” Hanna pointed out.
“Yeah, but I’m concerned that display would draw attention that we don’t want,” Cal replied.
“Like that entity that may or may not be a dragon,” Rino suddenly appeared next to Hanna, which caused the Swordswoman to flinch slightly.
Cal frowned. He was late in detecting Rino’s presence. He tilted his head to her. “Exactly.”
“So, we hike through the jungle with minimal usage of your whatever-power?” Sgt. Butcher gave a curt nod.
“Hopefully, we can find some usable vehicles in the city,” Demi said as she folded her map.
“Even if we do, I imagine we’re going to have to deal with people and monsters all the way down. Three hundred miles of road is a lot of space for them to come at as,” Hanna grimaced.
“What? Don’t you want more points? To level?” Rino barked a harsh laugh.
“I’d rather we not spend ourselves just getting to the actual Quest area,” Hanna said.
“We’re also on a time limit,” Cal’s dad said.
It would’ve been much easier for Cal to just fly there, maybe take the best fighters with him, but that would leave the rest vulnerable and they had come here to save his brother. He couldn’t do them dirty like that. “Okay, let’s get moving.”
Demi shouted out orders for the formation they would use.
Rino, Hanna and Cal’s dad at the front.
The noncombatants in the center flanked by the fighters.
Cal at the rear.
He wanted to stretch out to scan their route to Ilagan and the city itself, so that they’d have an idea of what waited for them, but the need to be cautious kept his telepathic scans in a tight space, strictly around their immediate area.
It was an unpleasant thing to listen, however unwillingly, to the anxious thoughts of those around him.
A few blamed him for their predicament.
He couldn’t fault them for he blamed himself as well.
They hiked through the night.
What had seemed a daunting task proved almost easy, aside from the nerve-wracking terror at the monsters, real and imagined, lurking beyond their lights.
Cal’s dad easily cleared a trail with his herculean strength, while Cal encouraged the forest terrors to keep their distance.
They stopped and made camp as soon as dawn broke.
The rainforest would become hot and humid as the day wore on. It wasn’t an issue for Cal, his dad and a few others, but the majority of the group wouldn’t have done well with continuing the trek.
The crash had been traumatic and they needed to rest.
“How far did we get?”
Cal regarded his dad. The old man wasn’t even sweating.
“Are you even tired?”
“Not really. I can go for days.”
“Same here, although I do need to sleep eventually… for mental health reasons.”
“Same.”
Cal consulted the map projected into his faceplate. “We covered a great deal of distance thanks to you clearing the way. We’re about a third of the way to Ilagan.”
“Are you okay constantly using your powers to keep the monsters away?”
“Oh yeah, no problem. It helps that I’m only projecting the stay away message a short distance from us.” Cal watched as the others practically collapsed into unconsciousness as soon as they completed their tasks. “Waiting is going to be hard. I’m itching to go.”
“I know, Anak. The closer we get to him the more I worry about Eron.”
“Do you think you can protect everyone if I go ahead?”
Cal’s dad shook his head. “You can’t rush off recklessly. You’ll end up trapped just like your brother. We have to approach this with a plan.”
“Right… how long should we let them rest?”
“Until they wake up or a few hours before it gets dark. They need the rest and it’s better to avoid the day’s heat. You know, I almost miss the humidity.”
“I don’t. The Threnosh onesie and armor will keep me comfortable regardless, but it’s nice knowing that even without this shitty climate can’t touch me,” Cal grinned.
“I thought it’d just remind me of when I lived here,” Cal’s dad said sadly. “A sort of nostalgia or a small reminder of the time before.”
Cal digested the sentiment and decided that it was something he had to think about. “I guess I’ll patrol around the perimeter or something like that. Maybe you can stay near everyone so you can respond to any attacks?”
“Okay, sounds good. Be careful.”
When the time came the others woke and were awoken.
They ate and continued their hike as the sun slowly disappeared.
Twice more they stopped before they reached a semblance of civilization.
Roughly paved, narrow roads and cultivated farmland.
The few homes they passed were empty and they didn’t encounter any people, which wasn’t surprising since night wasn’t a time to be wandering about without purpose or strength.
Indeed, Cal’s presence was the sole reason that the group hadn’t been attacked multiple times.
They reached an area with more homes, which were also abandoned.
A sign marked the highway they were going to need to take south.
They didn’t take it. Instead they crossed it and took a road that led directly into the city. It crossed through farmland for a few miles until they reached a river with a bridge that was barricaded and manned.
Cal brought them up short while he concealed their presence from the guards’ perceptions.
“You’re from here, so I’ll defer to your judgment,” Demi said.
“What do you think, dad?” Cal said.
“They have guns and bows, so it looks like they probably have to defend their barricade,” Cal’s dad said.
“Only torches, no spotlights. They’ll be twitchy,” Sgt. Butcher remarked.
“That won’t bother us. You should do the talking, Dad. They’ll probably be less likely to shoot if they hear Tagalog,” Cal said.
His dad shook his head. “This is the north, so they most likely prefer Ilocano, which I don’t know and we don’t know how things have been going here.”
“Alright, let’s do this,” Cal said.
He and his dad walked down toward the barricade. They didn’t make an effort to be quiet.
“Can’t you just… do your thing?”
“I’d rather not, Dad. At least not right away and if I don’t have too. They probably wouldn’t react well if they found out I was in their heads. Plus… it’s just… unpleasant for me.”
“Who’s there!”
A challenging shout from one of the sentries.
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“Don’t shoot, we mean you no harm,” Cal’s dad called back.
Cal frowned. “What’re you doing?” he whispered. “I thought you were going to use Tagalog.”
His dad regarded him with a perplexed look. “I am…”
Cal swore. “Spires’ translation system. It even works here. Because of course it would.”
“Stop right there!”
The two Cruces men stopped just inside the edge of the torch light.
Five sentries, five weapons pointed directly at them.
“Don’t shoot,” Cal said lightly. It seemed that language barriers no longer mattered and that made him sad. “We come in peace. Is there someone we can talk to about procuring some vehicles. We’re on a journey to the south.”
“I don’t know what new trick this is, but be gone, aswang!” the lead sentry barked.
“Uh…” Cal glanced at his dad.
“We aren’t aswang. That should be obvious.”
“Yeah, clearly we aren’t flying around with wings sans our lower halves… also we aren’t women,” Cal said.
“Aswang come in different shapes,” Cal’s dad whispered. “Didn’t you read that book I got from the library?”
“I was busy looking for the Vitiator,” Cal hissed back.
“We can prove we aren’t aswang, bring some salt,” Cal’s dad said.
Cal suppressed a chuckle. He was a grown man, but the word sounded funny.
Bang.
A bullet bounced off Cal’s armored chest.
Thwang.
His dad let the arrow do the same to his unarmored chest.
“You’re going to run out of shirts,” Cal said.
His dad shrugged.
The sentries opened up.
Cal’s dad pointedly took a step behind him. “You’re right.”
“This is… dumb.”
Cal leapt over the barricade and gently knocked the five men down to the ground and deprived them of their weapons.
“See, if I was an aswang,” he snickered like a child, “would you still be alive?” Five terrified nods. “Okay, so who wants to get your leaders?” The sentries looked at each other. No one made a move. “What?”
“The streets aren’t safe at night. We only move in groups of five or more,” the lead sentry said.
“Yet you’re out here exposed at a makeshift barricade,” Cal said.
The lead sentry pointed at the barricade.
Cal noticed that several crucifixes were affixed to it.
“That works?”
“The aswang haven’t struck where there are protections.”
“So the fact that we walked up to you should’ve been the first hint that we weren’t them,” Cal sighed. “Fine, since you’re the lead here, you can take me to your leader.” He grabbed the lead sentry by the arm and lifted him up off the ground.
“But the aswang—”
“Will not attack me if they’re smart… are they smart?”
The lead sentry nodded.
“Great,” Cal gave him a mirthless smile, “let’s go.”
“I’ll head back,” Cal’s dad called out from the other side of the barricade.
“Tell them about the aswang and be careful,” Cal said.
Cal followed his terrified and unwilling escort into the city.
Luckily for the poor sentry city hall wasn’t that far.
The torch lit streets were empty.
The homes contained people.
Cal picked up their thoughts.
Fear permeated through everyone.
“Good thing it’s not that late, huh?” Cal said idly.
The sentry nodded.
“So… when I speak, what language are you hearing?”
“Mine,” the sentry said hesitantly.
“English? Cause I’m speaking in English and I’m hearing the same from you.”
The wide-eyed sentry shook his head vigorously.
Cal kept his telepathy up searching for the aswang, but came up with nothing.
They reached city hall after a few more blocks of silence.
No guards on the outside.
Plenty on the inside.
Everyone pointed weapons at Cal as soon as he followed the sentry through the door.
“Bullets won’t work on me, ask him,” Cal tapped the sentry on the shoulder.
“It’s true, please don’t shoot,” the sentry whimpered.
Cal took pity on him. “Alright, man. You got me here, just go get your leader out here and you’re good.”
The sentry disappeared through a door next to the front desk.
Cal waited.
Minutes passed.
Cal grew impatient, but he knew that the men and women wouldn’t open fire unless he made an aggressive move or they received the order to do so.
More time passed.
Close to half an hour when finally the same door opened.
A young woman beckoned him over.
“The Datu will see you now.”
“The what?”
“Our leader.”
“Okay, lead on then.”
Cal followed the young woman. He couldn’t help but note that her shapely behind was accentuated by her tight, business skirt.
Why were business skirts tight anyways? Was it really necessary to be sexy while working in an office setting?
He took a moment to refocus. His mind was wandering.
Perhaps the lack of sleep was beginning to wear on him.
The young woman led him into an office.
The man seated behind the desk was probably in his fifties. He was short and fat with thinning, gray hair.
“The Datu wants to know who you are and what you intend?” the young woman said.
“Oh… it’s going to be one of these interactions then,” Cal sighed. “Fine, I want vehicles, cars, trucks, SUVs, whatever. In exchange I can bring you the remains of a private jet, I think it was a Gulfstream.”
“Tell him, what use is a broken plane,” the Datu said to the young woman.
“Oh c’mon, man, I can understand you and you can understand me. We’re on a schedule and if you don’t want to deal then I’ll just go directly to someone who will.”
The Datu looked like he was swallowing a lemon, but he finally made eye contact with Cal. “All vehicles belong to the state and I am the state.”
Cal tried really hard not to laugh. “The jet is several tons of metal, plastics, electronics, radar and all sorts of other useful stuff. Although, to be fair, it’s missing a wing and the engines are trashed.”
“I don’t understand. You came in this plane, but it sounds like it crashed, yet you are standing in front of me.”
“It was a rough landing, but I flew it down mostly in one piece. Look, this deal is time contingent. The more time you waste, the worse it gets. I’m tempted to just take the vehicles I need and leave you with the jet’s coordinates. It’s through thirty miles of rainforest, by the way.”
“You walked through the forest? Your armor is… different.” Greed danced in the Datu’s eyes.
Cal didn’t need to see the man’s thoughts to know where this was headed.
“My armor is not for trade,” he said flatly.
“You came with others?”
“Yeah.”
“And they are all attired as you?”
“Some.”
“So… your group is strong?”
Cal nodded.
Something told him that he didn’t want to share the insides of the Datu’s mind, so he let the man get to the point rather than probe him to move things along quicker.
“You will have your vehicles and gasoline in exchange for the plane and a job,” the Datu licked his lips.
The act reminded Cal of a frog.
Cal balanced their time constraints with the opportunity for the rest of his team to potentially gain levels that might prove crucial when they reached Manila and their main Quest.
“Let me guess… the aswang?”
The Datu grinned hungrily.
As the frog-like man spoke a chime sounded in Cal’s ears.
They were going on a Side Quest.
He wondered if he should’ve consulted the others.
He decided it didn’t matter. They could join him or not.
If it came down to it he could do it himself.
----------------------------------------
Now, Manila
“Let’s just calm down for a moment. No one else has to get hurt,” Samson said.
“You’re the one holding a knife to a little girl,” Eron growled.
“And you’ve already killed two of us.”
“Not equatable.” Eron glanced at the young woman he held by the throat. Her eyes had rolled into the back of her head and her kicks had grown feeble. He eased his grip a fraction and lowered her until her feet touched the ground. “Let the girl go and you can all leave.”
The situation had changed.
The little girl’s safety was now Eron’s only concern.
He could deal with the rest of the home invaders later. If the fog didn’t take care of them for him.
“A death sentence for us.” Samson’s knife was steady against the girl’s throat. “I have a better idea.”
Eron locked eyes with the little girl. Tears flowed down her chubby cheeks. It hurt to see the fear in them, mingled with the trust that he would save her.
“I’m listening.”
“You leave and transfer ownership of this house to us. Along with three people to guarantee our safety. You get to pick who stays.”
“That doesn’t work. How about you just leave.”
“It’s certain death out in the fog,” Domeric said.
“Not much different for you in here.”
“Except you’d risk death for this girl and the other people you’re trying to protect,” Samson said flatly.
“I don’t much care about your lives, but I did promise to keep them safe. How about this? There’s another safe house, like this place, empty. I give you the address, directions and I swear to let you go. Of course, this is contingent on you not hurting her or anyone else,” Eron said.
“That doesn’t sound like a good deal for us. We’d still have to get to this place, assuming we can trust your word that it exists and that you’ll give us access,” Samson said.
“His word isn’t worth shit!” Paz staggered over to stand next to Domeric. “He’ll just let the monsters kill us.”
“You can’t honestly think that I have any obligations to protect you?” Eron said. “This is your best shot. Take it and leave. Your survival will be in your hands. Isn’t that what you might makes right types love? Look… you’ve got no leverage here. Her safety,” he winked at the little girl, “is the only reason I haven’t already crushed you. Hurt her and I don’t have a reason to hold back, do I?”
“But you don’t want her to get hurt, do you?” Samson said.
Eron raised a brow. “Right… that’s exactly what I just said. Are you not understanding my words?”
“Deal.”
“Dom!” Samson gasped. “What the fuck?”
“Shut up, Samson!” Domeric pointed at Eron. “Back away from the stairs and let Dolorita go.”
“You’re not in any position to give orders here.”
“Shit, man! I’m taking your deal, just get out of the way so Samson and the little girl can get down the stairs.”
A moment passed before Eron moved a few paces back, Dolorita still in his vise-like grip.
Samson rushed down with the little girl in his arms and joined Domeric and Paz as they cautiously moved towards the broken front door. They all kept their eyes fixed on Eron.
“We do this nice and easy. We all go out to the front gate. That’s where we’ll make the exchange. The girl for Dolorita.” Domeric said.
“The address!” Paz hissed.
“I’ll give it to you once you’ve released the girl to me,” Eron said.
“This is a mistake,” Samson said.
“Shut up! We don’t hurt kids!” Domeric snapped.
“Lying, motherfucker! You killed Maricel!” a teenage boy came rushing down the stairs to stop near Eron. “She cut Maricel’s throat like nothing!” he jabbed a finger at Dolorita.
Eron’s hand spasmed.
Dolorita choked then fell silent as her face began to turn blue.
“Edwin,” Eron began. “Tell me what happened?”
And so the teenager did.
Domeric and his team could only watch and listen as Edwin detailed their crimes.
The muscles in Eron’s neck visibly strained as it took all his self control from crushing the life out of Dolorita. “Why did you have to do that? They— she wasn’t a threat. You had them. There was no need.”
“They are warriors… she was a warrior. I accorded her the same respect I expect from other warriors,” Domeric said.
“Of all the pointless, stupid—” Eron sighed. “Maricel was a thirteen year old girl trying to be brave and you killed her!” he roared.
“They left her out there!” Edwin sobbed.
Eron’s gaze snapped to the teen. “You weren’t supposed to be outside in the first place! But I’ll deal with you later. Get back upstairs.”
“I don’t care what happens to me! Just make them pay!”
“The world is in a state of war. We fight, we die. Monsters don’t care how old we are,” Domeric said.
“Just stop talking,” Eron said flatly. “You aren’t helping yourself out. A monster didn’t kill Maricel… you did,” he eyed the half-conscious, young woman in his hand, “or rather she did, under your orders. It occurs to me that according to your personal philosophy you have no cause to begrudge me if I just snapped her neck.”
“It’d be war between us,” Domeric said.
“By your logic you’ve already started it. Do you really want me to go after your entire group? It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve destroyed an entire warband, criminal organization, army, so on and so forth.” Eron caught movement out of the corner of his eye. It took a great effort not to react.
The situation had changed in an instant.
He couldn’t waste time with these people. Not anymore.
He had made a terrible mistake when he had thrown the rogue that had stabbed him in the back into the wall. He had thrown him too hard.
The wall had been demolished when the man’s body had crashed into it.
The wards on both sides of the wall had been destroyed along with it.
The fog was slowly seeping inside his grandparents’ home.
How much time did they have before there was enough of it for the shades to manifest?
The other wards all over the rest of the house would keep the fog at bay for a time, but the breach signaled eventual and total failure.
Eron pointed at the door. “Release the girl, I’ll release yours and give you the safe house address. Last chance.”
Domeric towered over Eron by a foot, but everyone knew which one was stronger. “Samson.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes… we don’t hurt kids.”
Samson released the little girl, who stumbled toward Eron.
He shoved Dolorita at Domeric.
The sobbing little girl clutched Eron’s leg.
The big man caught the half-conscious, young woman.
“The address?” Domeric's face was impassive.
Eron wasn’t fooled. He could see the sweat beading on the tall man’s forehead.
He had given his word, so he provided the address.
“And you’ll give us access,” Domeric said.
“It’s currently unoccupied,” Eron glanced down at the little girl. He had to keep a tight rein on his anger, lest he throw himself at the bastards that had threatened her life and murdered Maricel.
“And the symbols?”
“They should be working fine. We have a deal, but I’d recommend that you not linger there. Because our next meeting isn’t covered,” Eron said.
He watched them leave through the broken front door. Then listened to them as they left the grounds and entered the fog where he lost them completely. With luck the shades would take care of them and he wouldn’t need to get his hands dirty.
“Edwin,” Eron called up the stairs to where the teenager was perched at the top.
“Sorry… I know you said to go to the ro—”
“Just, shut up,” Eron picked up the little girl, “Shhh… you’re okay now. I’m sorry you had to go through that, but they’re gone.” He looked back up to Edwin. “We have a breach. Get the others down here. The rooms are warded, so they should keep the fog out while I go and get Lilah, so she can fix the one on the wall.”
The blood drained from Edwin’s face as the teen followed Eron’s gaze to the soft wisps of fog pooling near the broken part of the living room wall. The fog seemed to shy away from the other wards on the walls, but it wasn’t slowing much.
“Relax. You’ll be fine. We just need to move supplies into the bedrooms,” Eron said.
He needed to fix the wall then defend Lilah from the shades while she re-did the wards.
“Go on upstairs,” Eron tried to smile as he placed the little girl on the steps.
He waited until she was out of his sight before he rushed to the yard for the supplies he needed to patch the wall.
Once everything here was fixed he’d pay those assholes another visit.
Despite what the tall warrior thought, Maricel didn’t deserve the fate they had forced on her.
She’d have revenge.