Chapter 4

A phenomenon that can only be seen in movies is happening in real time. Buildings are moving back and forth, taking on new forms as if they are glitching. Most of it are being burnt down. People are screaming in horror as they are haunted by unknown creatures.

Two men, Reo and Usman, are stunned as they watch these events unfold from the top of Antenna Hills.

"The world is ending," Reo says with a mad smirk. "God is so great, Usman, right? He's letting them feel the terror I'm experiencing right now!"

Usman slowly lowers Reo to the ground and walks up to him. He smacks Reo across the face without warning.

"Remember these events," Usman says, gripping Reo's face and pointing it towards the chaos below. "Widen your narrow eyes."

The clouds cover the sky, plunging the world into darkness. Suddenly, a blue flash beam streaks across the sky, catching everyone's attention, including the creatures.

"Take a good look at the peace we had before," Usman whispers. "It's been taken from us. Do you remember when we played chess at your father's manor? You were in a pretty bad position at the time. That's a perfect reflection of this world. We are losing. Prepare your mind to only improve the position you are in. And don't act like a brat who needs sympathy."

Reo begins to tear up. He can't comprehend what he is seeing.

Usman stands next to him and extends his arm towards Reo's face. He shows him an earring.

"I apologize for earlier," Usman says calmly. "I saw your brother's burnt body under a large brick. This was the last item I gave him. I noticed it right away."

Reo takes the earring and is grateful for it. Without it, they might already be dead. He promises himself to return and give his brother a proper burial in their manor, to show his gratitude for guiding him and for the agimat he's holding

Usman looks up into the dark sky. A falling object touches his face.

"It's cold!" Usman shouts.

Snow begins to fall in a place where only wet and dry seasons are available. The two men are puzzled by this. They look at each other and both say to themselves, "This is interesting!" The atmosphere of madness is replaced by a chilled calmness. They both lie down on the ground and cherish the new beginning, only to find that they are freezing to death.

An hour later, they managed to find an abandoned two-story commercial building at the foot of the hill. The building only had broken windows, but it was better than nothing. They first made sure that the surrounding area was clear of any unwanted guests.

"Good thing that flash beam earlier attracted all the creatures," Usman thought to himself as he hid behind a long brick fence.

"Cleared!" Reo yelled from the opposite direction.

Usman was annoyed by Reo yelling at such a distance. They secured every angle of the place.

"What did you find, Usman?" Reo asked as they were resting inside the building.

Usman showed can goods and pancit canton packs. He also had a box of lighters, a small knife, and a casserole. On the other hand, Reo pulled out surprising loots from his bag: five plastic bags of Max candy and skyflakes packs. Usman couldn't believe his eyes and was furious.

"Seriously? Candies?" Usman said with frustration.

Reo explained why he had gotten those things. It was an ancient belief of his ancestors before they became wealthy.

"Back when my grandfather first stepped foot in Metro Manila, he had nothing in his pocket," Reo is ACTUALLY telling the story of his grandfather, NOT their ANCIENT ANCESTORS! "He worked even though his stomach was growling. To avoid feeling sluggish due to hunger, he would eat candy. And these skyflakes will be our food replacement, just like how my grandfather used them when he ran out of money."

As the story went on, Usman slowly felt distant. He had grown up without other people besides him, and he only trusted his gut to survive. He had achieved things he couldn't have imagined as a child. No one told him about things in a normal way. All he knew was how to make money by leveraging debt and becoming the best version of himself day by day.

"Then give me some," a whisper was heard from Reo's left ear.

Reo jumped out of his seat in surprise.

It was a scary pale lady with a bandage on her head and wearing a ton of clothes. Usman was terrified and drew his knife.

"What the heck! A white lady!" Reo yelled.

"Don't come near us," Usman threatened the lady, pointing the handle of the knife at her.

"Damn you! I'm not a white lady," the girl cried out.

A few minutes passed, Reo and Usman stared at the girl, who was eating their scarce food supply.

"Hey, what's your name?" Reo asked.

"My name is Pleja," the girl replied.

"Can you stop eating all our food?" Usman demanded with annoyance.

"Oh, right. I'm done eating," Pleja replied.

The two boys shouted furiously, "Because there's nothing left!"

The three exchanged information, but Pleja seemed to not remember anything about the event, besides her name and how she got to the building.

Pleja took out a tiny bottle from her backpack. She opened it and poured some of the liquid into her hand. She then smeared it on her head wounds.

Five minutes later, the two boys dropped their jaws in amazement.

"What the fudge!" they said in unison, confusion etched on their faces.

They had just seen the wounds heal in minutes!

Pleja noticed their glares and said, "Hey, please don't rape me."

The two were pissed off that she would accuse them of being rapists.

Guys can be very sensitive about girls accusing them of being rapists when in reality, it's not their intention. In other words It's a low blow.

"What is that?" Reo asked Pleja.

"It's called Lana," Pleja replied. "It's a potion made from a four-eyed coconut. I got it from our province, Siquijor."

Pleja shared the potion with the two boys. She also gave them four extra jackets, knowing that they would not survive wearing only one jacket in the winter. She had been to Korea during its winter season and had experience with the cold weather.

Later that night, as the campfire burned out and Pleja and Reo were fast asleep, Usman reached into his bag to get Leo's notes. He lit a candle and began to absorb the information on each page.

As he read, he heard Reo screaming from his bed.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware!" Reo said while panting heavily in his sleep.