TRES - CHAPTER EIGHT - DEMIGOD

Anrhu stopped dead in his tracks.

“What do you mean a demigod? Like Percy Jackson? Whose son are you? Zeus’…?”

Everyone stared at him. Beatrice, unable to stop herself burst out laughing, after a moment Zoriah joined in; even Anrhu could not help and grinned. Bulagao and Dong, looked at the three and soon joined in the laughter even though it was obvious that they did not know what was the cause of the joyful outburst. Somehow the tension of their ordeal lightened.

They continued to walk. The kapre guiding them and time after time asked for them to stop as he observed and felt around for what, nobody knew and nobody thought to question. Trailing behind the others, Anrhu and Dong talked.

“A demigod is the offspring of a deity and a human. When this land was formed, there existed gods and goddesses that personified the aspects of nature and other things. I am one of the sons of these living entities,”

“So there are more?”

“I personally have two other brothers. There must be others. I am called Labaw Donggon, son of Alunsina, and a mortal man, Datu Paubari. My mother was the daughter of Kaptan, the king of the gods and my father was the ruler of a land called Halawod. In a past life, before I awakened to this time, I was a warrior and the champion of Manalintad, a monstrous serpent that terrorized the land. We dueled for days, the serpent’s fangs and tail untiring, me, holding my kampilan, an enchanted sword that my mother gave me. It would have been handy if I still had it with me now.”
The boy was silent as they trudged through the forested ruins. All the names that the demigod recited were familiar to him, names written within the pages of native literature; names of fantasy personages.

“Since I awoke, I am just beginning to recall bits and pieces of what my life used to be. It’s not that I have forgotten, but it seems that they are there just waiting for me to acknowledge them. The things I’m telling you, these are what I know now.”

Further into the woods, the trees became thicker and more closely packed that they had to walk single file at times. Conversation became sparse. In places, they had to scramble up large pieces of fallen wall though it was not recognizable as such; vines covered almost everything. But there were spaces where Anrhu though he could see sides of collapsed buildings, windows devoid of glass; little things that reminded him that he was in what used to be part of a thriving city.

On one of their stops, an excited bark made Beatrice cry out as Bantay emerged from the dense foliage and wagged its tale at the sight of everyone – Anrhu included.

They walked for hours; never stopping for more than a few minutes. The boy noticed that their guide looked over their shoulders once in a while.

“Do you think they’ll find us here,” he asked.

“No,” came the immediate reply. “But the one who controls them know that we are here.”

“Who controls them then?”

“I don’t know, but there must be someone.”
They trudged on. Hunger eating at each of them, their legs protesting with the strain of walking for miles but still Bulagao compelled them to go on, promising a few more meters every time someone complains.”

“Where are we headed anyway?” someone would ask.

“Hush,” was the answer every time.

Everyone’s energy was spent when Bulagao suddenly stopped and motioned for everyone to do the same. He took a few steps forward and parted the profusion of vines that rose like a wall on one side. It resisted. Dong, seeing what the larger being wanted, took out the dagger that he had behind him and used it to hack at the creepers. The kapre, pulled at the strands that gave way beneath the sharp instrument that the demigod used.

Tired, Anrhu slumped on one of the rocks that could have been part of the debris that they have been seeing since they got inside the woods.

Soon, the vines gave way to reveal a gate of some sort. Rusted metal swirls covered by the thick clinging plants lay exposed to the companions.

“Were here,” grunted Bulagao, a self-satisfied smile hidden behind the words.

“Where is here?” Zoriah asked, her hands cradling her swollen tummy, the pressure of hours of walking evident on her face even when she was carried by Dong for a distance when walking became too much.

“Sta. Fe,” with great exertion, Bulagao pushed on the gates and with the sound of initial creaking, the metal door swung open to expose a pathway lined with trees on both sides. Further, they could see the distinct shape of a sprawling structure.