Series of Gunshots

At 0800 hrs, gunshots were heard outside the mountain along with the screams of pains and instinctively all the soldiers have gathered in front of the wooden house where the Captain instructed them not to fire against the enemies.

" It could be obvious if we send them off. They may think this place belongs to someone's territory, aside from theirs. We'll let them remain clueless, otherwise, they'll hunt us in batalion. But in whatever way, our silence could be a sort of noise to them." The Captain said.

" It could be a bait again. George experienced it just recently when he somehow noticed some people were running and men in uniform chased them. Then later the lieutenant found out that they were all connivance when they hid behind a big tree and the men in uniform gave instructions before they leaped to run and being chased again." Albrecht uttered.

" It could be happening again and again." Baldur said.

Everyone turned their heads to the newly wed Baldur who just joined.

" Why?" Baldur smiled at them.

Sr. Sibal then intervened.

" What's the next move now. I'm not a soldier nor a guerrilla so what we'll gonna do now with those gunshots and tremors outside giving us tensions." Sr. Sibal remarked.

" We'll just stay grounded in here. No annoying extra movement, no loud sound. Everybody must keep calm and stay connected. Their scheme now shows suspicion over this place and we all need to be cautious. Alright, men! you all need to spread in the different posts on sites." The Captain ordered and both soldiers and guerrillas have moved, respectively.

" Boom! boom!"

" Grenades...why they're wasting so much of their weapons if they have only a few to chase. Hmm...the sound was nearing to...beside the granite house? George!" The Captain looked to George though prevented himself to worry. But George ran as fast as he can, going to the bedroom and slid himself on the hole at the back of the cabinet and ran again in a dark tunnel turning right and the more his heart trembled when there was a very loud gunshot next to the granite house. He then opened the groundfloor's granite door then climbed the stairs quickly and reached the doorstep of the main house. He was very nervous to open the door, thinking about Magee.

" Mag?" he rushed inside their secret bedroom and even gone to room number 7 but found no one. He then noticed the daylight optic hole above the bar counter that's already opened. He then hurriedly grabbed his dagger and handgun; climbed and crawled on the surface, slowly peeping below the mountain and found at least 20 Japs running below, heading towards Gabok.

" Oh my...my wife? where's my wife?" He overwhelmingly thought where his madness pushed him to walk like running bound northeast and was sweating. Sweating not of cowardice to fight alone with the warriors and combatants but because he was terribly worried of his pregnant wife and her whereabouts.

" Magee...where are you. Oh dear, great heavens! stay foot wherever you are, don't move and wait for me. Keep hiding." He thought, sweating while reloading some ammos but his keen ears had heard some footsteps so he covered himself from a narra tree and readily pointed his handgun toward the echoing sound. Then he noticed that the sound slowly tiptoed and drew nearer him but he quickly grabbed the person approaching and found face to face that its - Magee. With her sharp look at him she spoke.

" Why? why you left me sleeping and opened the daylight optic hole? I thought you're here and being chased? She whispered. He could feel her tensions and he kissed her forcibly while she's teary eyed. Magee almost resisted from his wrapping arms, but he was caressing her face and kissed her not just once, not twice but he kissed her again and again. Though, before he forgot the world he then carried his wife beside the rope and told her to climb if she could still do it. Its still the same rope that Magee had used months ago. They couldn't climb together using with just one rope, so she tried her best to reach the top but she collapsed and fell on him. Disappointedly, the Japs and their marching sound were nearing so he created a hole out of the withered leaves with his bare hands and hide his wife under it. He covered it back with withered leaves and just allowed the nose to surface a little. He checked of her ears as it was covered with her hair. After a while he ran across the path and took the attention of the Japs and 18 among them followed him below the cliff. By the mountain side, the 2 Japs were checking the place where George left and they were using their bayonets to stab the small branches hindering their way. While slowly checking the surrounding, the second Jap felt as if he had stepped a weird object on the ground. When he bent his body and attempted to check it, his comrade was calling him to see what he had found. A hair tie, its the hanky that George accidentally untied out of Magee's hair when he kissed her. So its a blessing in disguise while momentarily, Magee was already awake and she was listening to the bubbly soldier.

" My hair tie." She thought while she had heard a loud blast and series of gunshots.

" George...please be safe." She thought while being teary eyed again and removed her hand from the place where it was stepped on by the Jap's soldier. Just in time when the two Japs returned and the other one insisted that he had stepped on a weird object till he bayoneted the area just to prove, but found nothing. Magee was a bit tensed but her focus was stable to stay still though she felt some ants biting her feet and slowly moved up on her knees. She perspired tremendously from the bites of ants but endured till the two Japs left running and followed their comrades who were currently chasing George. Minutes after, despite her dizziness, she tried to hurriedly stand up and removed the ants from his feet and knees. Her hands where even lifeless and her tears fell on her cheeks filled with worries to her husband and she was breathless, leaning her back on the tree.