Ghosts of the Infantry

" Look for it, yourself."

" But it blocked the entire door, its stinky, there's slimy and something's furry and....George? where's the candle? I have my match here.

" When he lighted the candle, he saw the snake's dead body and over it was a dead wild dog so he closed again the door, jumped outside the window and forcibly opened the main entrance door. He lighted more candles and saw the other dog was also at the head part of the snake.

" Magee, I need to help Albrecht, you stay here, we'll just have to fix all these. Don't be scared now."

He gently arranged her hair and covered her with a blanket, stay put."

" George, I'd like to vomittt! This snake looks like a composition of 50,000 chicken and it really stinks. Good Lord, this can be a good one month stock but can't carry this for just a day. But seriously, I can't imagine all these creations rushed inside just to fight? They can freely fight outside, why not?"

" After we can transport all these outside, I'll tell you everything that had happened and my plans over their clan. We'll recruit all the beasts around for this war, I'm a little crazy now."

" Hmm...I don't have any idea yet. Let's give it out a lot of chopping.

" Magee! Magee! get out at the the window and just pass by here in front. Go to the kitchen and boil some hot water, use the bigger one."

" Magee, no! just stay there, if you can do just sleep - then go, sleep. I'll do it Albrecht."

" Okay, its fine, its fine..."

Beside the kitchen furnace , George took two bolos and gave the other one to Albrecht.

" Let's start. Its still 1400 hrs. Let's see if how much time we'll consume to get this done." George murmured.

Magee tried to relax her mind and leaned on the pillows despite her tangled hair and dirts all over her body.

" I need to survive, I need to endure." Then she fell asleep. Dreaming of beautiful flowers around her watching at the river teeming with fishes and saw a silhouette nearby she had followed, till its gone.

Its already 1900 hrs that had passed by but still the soldiers were not yet done slaughtering the meat. They have already used ten blankets to contain all the chopped snake meat but still counting.

" George, hah...yesterday, I received a message at station one that the Captain was worried to return to Manila. Gen. Nathan Plainwright planned to retract the less than seventy thousand Filipino and American soldiers out of the war's barricade. Though, still the Island of Corregidor, mist of us flocked, with that strong alliance still unfolded their fight and it went well. Nevertheless, Gen. Plainwright instructed including the Captain to return for a certain allied decision and this worry him. He put on the message that you have to stay put and bring on what is necessary. George, if the General will surrender all of us to the Japanese, what do you think?"

George angrily chopped the meat as if he just started to do it.

" Let's join hands with the guerillas and will make a local revolt. Imagine, we can't go back to our country either. We will not surrender, they will still murder all of us."

" Oh my Madeleine, when can I see you again." He's really sleepy and exhausted.

" Enough, haha...she can't hear you now. Reserve those reveries in your wedding. For now, let's chop this all into pieces and throw them to the Japanese den. We'll surround their place with all these as baits for the ghost infantry to attack them. While they'll be focused to the ravaging ghost infantry, we'll release the prisoners southeast. We have thirty Japanese uniforms in our storage; some thirty Filipino will wear it and they'll be assigned to release the prisoners while we'll be the backups of the ghost infantry. Most of our guerilas lacked proper training, so definitely we can easily be defeated at war when only a few were trained as combatants. So we will not risk lives, we will fight as ghosts and use backups. We talked about it with Baldur and he's good at it. The Captain, otherwise, don't have any choice now but following the higher ups. If Gen. Plainwright surrenders all, the Captain as well. Hmm...but the war would end. I will, so our country will soon see us back. Some die for our country while fighting, we will live for our country while fighting. Our goal, underpin the enemy with our ghost attacks. Station one is the nearest to the enemy's den so we'll meet up there tomorrow afternoon."

" Would you still marry Madeleine?"

" What a question, I told you that answer, several times."

" Okay! haha, for the love of Madeleine!"

" Ow! she's getting outside." George announced to no one.

" Wow! my lit'le sister, can't believe you survive the whole night listening and looking to their fights.

" Lunch is ready now, we have porridge along with papaya and mangos left by Baldur." Then she sadly left and went back upstairs to fix the mess caused by the two wild dogs on her bed. While she was trying to fix and pack her things, she pitily thought of herself.

" I feel like futile. I guess I have to do something." She was teary eyed, dried her hair and leaned on the wall till she fell asleep again.

Its already afternoon when she woke up.

" Hey, Albrecht has left and brought a sack of it and he dried some. Are you can okay, we'll go back to station one tomorrow.

" You go back alone. I'll stay around." Then she cried.

" What happened? What have I done!"

" Nothing. Its just that you left your men just because of Dad who ordered you to guard me and it turned out as your mission. Its not anymore a military task as my Dad made it personal, its against the law. I'm a baggage, I'm upset because l can't move, and your responsibilities are compromised while I'm around. I'm one of the locals here and I must survive. You move on and just leave me alone here."

" No." He was firm is telling her.

" Then I don't want to see you." She covered her face with a blanket.

" You have to come with me tomorrow whether you like it or not."

" What if I insist not to go with you."

" What if you can really go with me, what if that would really happen."

" Fine. Just dream about it then I'll go back to sleep too."

He drew closer and seated beside her on bed.

She showed her face and asjed him. "Uh! Why are you staring, I looked like a cadaver here with my guardian praying for my soul."

" Haha, it seems you're upset on something, let me interpret."

" Don't attempt to interpret either, you can't guess."

" And why I can't guess?"

" Get out now, I'll sleep and wait for the next wild dogs to come."

" Okay. Sure, take your time."

When George went out she took the dagger and put it back on the purse on her right leg, braided her hair and tied it with a hanky. She slowly got out of the room and tiptoed to go out to the balcony and slowly pushed her bag below without her knowing that George also slowly catches it while he stay hidden. After meticulously looking at the stairs and ensure that George was not around so she slowly slipped herself below and to her surprise George catched her, so perfectly on her waist with his gentle hands. Her eyes terribly looked like grenades, staring too close on his face while she's being pulled downward. After all, he carried her inside the house, with her bag and put them together on the long wooden chair.

" Don't talk. Dinner is ready and let's eat together." George locked the main door and proceeded to the kitchen. She slowly followed and saw him putting some steamed sayote leaves on a wooden plate with a calamansi sauce and salt. Its a little relief having her favorite viand despite failure to escape. They were very silent till she collected the dishes while he was just a meter away, watching.

" Am I really a prisoner at war? Good heavens! he's so tight in guarding me. What will I do?" She thought. He looked scary now and serious, is he infected with the wire he slit on his arm? A possible tetanus?"

" What is she thinking right now. Is she suspecting me on something? Hmm, whatever. As long as I can protect her, its enough for me. She's really trying to escape." He smiled.

She piled up the utensils then left toward the kitchen going to the bathroom. After thirty minutes she got out and when she almost go up the stairs, George slowly grabbed her hand toward her brother's room.

" You sleep here, I aready fixed everything. By the way, Albrecht brought my emergency kit, come closer, I'll apply something in your wound."

Then she allowed him to treat her wound. After a while she started to lay down and covered herself with a blanket.

" If you're not comfortable with my presence, I'll go out. Then she blew the candle and went outside the room. He brought just one blanket to protect him from the freezing night and he saw the fogs started to gather inside like cottons.

" It seems I'm in heaven." He smiled thinking of her perfect catch then he fell asleep.