" This is where you hide. It smells garlic around since snakes hate it. Baldur put this yesterday night while Albrecht swept the entire place to make you confortable and there's a mat out there, beside are your food, utensils and water. This is just 50x50 in width with seven feet and five inches in height so as you see I can stand up straight.

" It echoes around." She smiled.

" You stay here as long as I return if I die, your brothers will pick you up."

" Where's your dagger?"

" I put it in here again." She right away showed to George the purse on her right leg where the dagger was placed.

" Oh no, no, not that. It's okay, I forgot, but I know where it was placed. Sorry." Then he smiled.

A little while she sat on a mat when she spoke again.

" Please, you have to live for me, don't die in this war." She was teary eyed.

He sneered at her and made a hand salute.

"This is for the love of my country and Philippines where I found the girl I used to love, without her knowing. So! I'll go now."

" Yes, take care."

" I'll go."

" Yes."

" I, I better go."

She smiled and threw some pebbles chasing him while he blocks a bigger rock on the cave's doorway.

He's gone.

There was a small hole where she can see outside, two meters from her was a flowing water, it looks like a daffodil where it provided her oxygen inside. George also left her a small lamp and a reserved candle.

She had thicker blanket to warm her as she was reading the journal of grandpa Sibal where silence was deafening.

On the other hand, George had carried the three sacks of snakes and wild dogs one at a time, Edmund, Henry and Baldur who just waited around 300 meters away patiently waited for the sacks. When they have met in the site, they helped him forward the meat by leaving piece by piece, starting from the haunted old entrance of Kabang, going to the locals' path in a separate direction. The blood was still flowing from every chunk of meat they left on the gra.s.ses as they speedily moved towards the place of the j.a.panese. As planned, a kariton alone with a horse - filled with decayed wild dogs and a sack of chopped snake will travel going down to the j.a.panese area, pa.s.sing the shortcut path away from the gates will leave the bad smell to attract the wild beasts after dusk. Some of the sacks will pa.s.s from the abyss going out and some guerillas as arrow men will post in the heights of taller trees to send the meats through their arrows, hitting inside the j.a.panese barracks. Everyone were on their posts; the 30 men wearing the j.a.panese uniforms have been readied. During the attack of beasts, no one shall get inside. When silence will take place, all 30 Filipinos wearing the the j.a.panese uniforms will free the prisoners and shoot all j.a.panese soldiers they see could survive from the animals' attack and pull them out to be thrown in the river using the kariton. In the Eastern part, Bruno, Albrecht and Elias headed the 15 men and in the Western part Michael, Anthony and Gador headed the other 15 lost commandos and in the northern part, Baldur, Amado and Edmund handled the 15 men and the southern troop was led by Narciso, Derek and George. Apart from them, Jacob and Henry led the 10 arrowmen, 10 were installed to destroy the artillery and weaponry nooks, confiscate and bring the guns and ammunition back to station one, the nearest for exodus. However, there were 2 guerillas instructed by George to temporarily but heavily cover the abyss that it could not be suspected as a hole to be highlighted by leafy plants and put anything natural in order to perfectly hide everything inside it. With it, George had foresights that after their attack, a 'no man's land' order will follow so everyone needs to retract after the operation without leaving any traces. Arrows need to be restored by the 10 men from the task force. The attack will be recorded as animals' attack and all the prisoners will be transported to far flung places and hide.

Everyone were on post trying to observe the sunset and ensure that each of them had the potion on their uniforms and clothing disguises. As planned, only eastern and northern troop and the arrowmen shall first do the move whenever possible because they have the telescopes that could sparingly signal for readiness.

In estimation, there were approximately 40 j.a.panese soldiers on target.

At around 6:20 pm the arrowmen started to hit the barracks' borders by b.l.o.o.d.y chopped meats of green anaconda and wild dogs. Minutes after, everyone safely hide but they were shocked by what they saw, they thought it's already the end of days when the big snakes, wild vengeful dogs, around a hundred flew over the fences of the barracks and when the gate guards were first killed, many of the wild beasts have successfully entered as they growled in madness while killing those j.a.panese soldiers. But the most of it, few big snakes appeared and attacked the cottages and all centers in the barracks. They expected that the radiomen would transmit the message to the provincial post, successfully they did.

When the silence took over, the 30 men guerillas in j.a.panese uniform started the tactic as they successfully infested the place. Impressively, the remaining survivors have sought their attention, thinking they were j.a.panese comrades. After silencing the remaining few, the Filipino prisoners were freed and they were instructed to follow someone and would not run elsewhere but to proceed to station three.

George and the rest of the soldiers just observed from afar if they still needed to go down but as far as the sound of silence enveloped the place, he signaled to retract and meet at station two.

At station two, the kariton filled with weapons were disembarked. There was cheering and most of them congratulated George and to his plan.

On the brink of the celebration, Baldur and Albrecht asked him about her as he slowly exited out of the crowd and it took him almost an hour to reach Kabang.

He was kneeling beside the cave where Magee was left and whispered to her.

"Magee, Magee...it's me."

" George?"

" Oh dear, here...come out. Just leave everything there, I'll just pick them up tomorrow." He used so much energy in pus.h.i.+ng the rock back to its place with so much sweat and he was tremendously chilling.

" George, thank G.o.d, you're back." She wrapped her blanket on him but as she got out she felt the chills too and they both ran going back to the house. He made him seated while she boiled some water to warm him and wash up. He moved closer to the furnace and warmed himself a little while he felt such a relief. Outright boiling the water he washed up with gogo and dried himself in front of the furnace. After a short while, Magee then urged her to go to bed and when he did, she put some warm socks on his feet.

" Thank you." George broke the silence.

" It's nothing compared to what you have done for me. It's just that I'm very happy that you're alive but you made me worry a lot." Then she was teary eyed while slightly slapping his feet.

" Hey, brothers told me they warned you not to slap me anymore, aha." He jokily complained.

" They're not around either."

" Yeah, we're all alone." He smirked.

She blew the candle light and went to her bed but she seated first and gave to him some of her extra blankets.

No, you need this more than I do but she returned it to him and vise versa so they landed laughing.

" I missed your voice. Hearing your voice from afar is already my huge reward tonight for coming back."

" You nailed it and I'm very proud of you. Forty plus enemies isn't easy to destroy, your men must have felt their efforts and trust were well spent and managed by their competent leader. That valor in your heart is a great honor."

Then the wind blows charismatically outside with the rustling of the waters from the spring down to the river.

There was a total silence. Then he tried to look up if she's already sleeping to her separate bed - and she did.