Grace Beyond Measure

When the perfectly cooked viand was sent to them after 7 hours, considering its gentle travel and processing, it finally reached to the craving sick people in station one like no one can ever imagine. Due to extreme exhaustion of George and Amado, they're flat on a bamboo bed inside the tunnel so its Baldur, Henry and Isagani have traveled to forward the viand to station one.

When they stepped on their feet at station one, a big pot of rice was already prepared by some elders and no one started eating but they all gathered at the table. Even if they were chilling in pain but someone has prayed, crying.

" God the Father, we have offered our lives unto you...with or without this food before us, we are with you in peace. But you allow us to stay and lift our spirits to look up more in your mighty name, again and again, that you are really a great provider, a loving God and our saviour. You sent us people to realize that this war isn't just war at all but a haven of knowing the love of our selfless brethren. God the Father, before this food of our hungry bodies, we thank you enough and bless those who prepared this bounty that will fuel our mind and body to stay kind and calm despite this war. We thank this place even more for the shelter and the people behind for helping us. Amen." Then they all started the early dinner.

There were blasts in the barracks, nearby. However, the sick didn't stop from enjoying their sumptuous meal.

"Boom! boom! boom! boom! it echoed in the cave like no one can ever imagine.

" What happened to them out there? It continued even after an hour?" Henry commented.

" Let's find it out." Baldur replied.

" But how?"

" You stay here first with Isagani, I'll go out and move to their barracks a little. There's maybe a grandeur plan they're preparing for, so, much better we'll look at it as an alarm to our team. Whoever their target is our priority." It was enough when Baldur left to crawl nearby the enemy's place, Henry and Isagani were anxious.

Minutes later and it was twilight when series of blasts again echoed in the place.

" Oh my...there were dead bodies on the barracks' ground and were mostly delivered from nowhere. It seemed there were encounters elsewhere and it became a dropping zone of cadavers. In the height of creeping on top of the hill, Baldur moved aback but his movement created a little sound that attracted the army dogs so he decided to run as fast as he can but not towards the Mabolo tree, station one. Instead, he escaped from the angst and pangs of the angry dogs while heading to the granite mountain.

" What happened to them? why...oh my...the dogs, they've caught my smell, but you'll be sorry." He smilingly thought while removing his shirt and threw it. The dogs then ripped the shirt while he proceeded to run as fast as he can. It's almost 0800 hrs when he reached the granite tunnel and immediately talked to George.

" George, there were dead enemies piled up on their grounds. Would it be possible that its coming from the neighboring barrios, I guess." Baldur reported.

" Hmm that sounds inspiring, it means there are vigilants other than us." George replied.

" Absolutely possible. See how devastated they were while piling up those cluttered bodies, hmm...I'm sure they'll be seeking more reinforcements. No, not." Baldur sighed.

The Captain then moved closer.

" May I discuss on something, hmm...while they were too busy fighting for the other guerrillas or whosoever, that means all of them who found this mountain inside means...." The Captain paused when George interrupted.

" You mean Dad, no one among the dwellers above on their campsite had survived? Hmm...possible, because no one has returned to swipe us all. Well, there were those who planned to revenge for their fallen comrades but still we've got them on time. Its more than twenty, they forgot we're on top of the granite entrance as they attempted to open it. Meaning, no one from the barracks knew that we're here, except they plan something against us." George explained.

" Probably. We always attack without notice and traces." Baldur implied.

" ...or did anyone knew from them that the leader's son is here? Haha! so we've got the winning card, probably if there are no other reason, its possible."The Captain smiled.

" ..but where's that child, Dad? haven't seen him in a while." Baldur spoke while he unpacked his things and gave it to Mayumi.

" Just leave that boy to me, son. Magee handles him." The Captain whispered.

" Ah, I see. As for me, it doesn't matter if he is a captive or a lost child we're taking care of. What's important is we keep him for safety. Freeing him means somehow our loss, well, its repetitively our point." Baldur smiled.

" Exactly. Hmm....Magee likes the boy, I guess and treats him like his own child. Its helping after her miscarriage. " Sr. Sibal sighed.

" Amá...you got it right. She's busy tutoring the boy and his pet Budekdek. I'm a little jealous to that boy and his pet, at that.." George jokily said and stamped his fist on a wooden table while everyone were laughing.

" Thank you George for giving us this laughter, the cook seems busy with his dirty kitchen and still flat on bed. But praise God, he had fed everyone with bounty and I too have tasted a chicken soup after several months where I call it almost a century." Fr. Matias smiled.

Those were stolen by George Fr. Matias." The Captain smiled while George rubbed his shoulder to his father-in-law.

" Ah...those weren't stolen, those were Philippine-raised chicken so George only harvested them." Fr. Matias smiled while everyone laughed out loud once more.

" I agree. The chicken even helped the sick though Albrecht suffers a fever now. He cooked four times because we ran out of bigger pots that he made manual turns of pots from rice to chicken tinola." Amado said.