CHAPTER FIFTEEN – SUNRISE

Blood ran in rivulets from the dead, mixing with the rainwater, it seeped through the course sand and emptied into the raging river.
The rain, sudden and intense arrived with a thick blanket of fog; something that has not been seen in a while. When it abated, the pitiful moonlight that peeked from behind the malicious clouds saw dead bodies stretched across the length of the river. With the dead were most of the men, the tikbalang and Bantay, the dog who had been a loyal warning signal for the companions. The mist drifted from one corpse to the next, caressing the soul out of the still bodies.
Dong was all alone. None from those who travelled with him was evident. He held his breath as he checked from the sprawled bloody figures for any sign of his companions. Finally, he exhaled, thankful that none of the dead were one of them but sad that the dog was one of the fallen.
“Beatrice,” he called out. “Anrhu!” but nobody answered. He had almost given up when he saw the hulking figure of Bulagao amble towards him from further upriver. The kapre walked slowly, obviously hurt from one of its struggles with the bats.
“Everyone’s gone,” Bulagao hissed when he got nearer, his shoulders slumped and dejected. “I can’t find the kids. Neither can I find Vincent.”
“Everyone here is dead.”
“I know, there are more of them. But a few survived, I saw some ran towards the waters and disappeared.”
“We must look for the boy and Beatrice.”
“We don’t even know where they headed.”
“We must try,” Dong walked towards the water’s edge and looked to the East where the sun peeked behind the faint outline of Kanlaon.