Chapter 8：We’re going on a trip *insert Little Einstein music*, Road trip gone wrong.

At exactly 0400 hours, I was woken up by the same wake up call, that I hear every morning, except this wakeup call was only designated for me. I prepared my stuffs, Macabulos told me to wear normal casual road trip because I got to act normal. I wrote a little note to my parents saying I will depart now for my mission and that I promise to stay safe at all times and that I will come back to The Hut sometime, if I ever lived through it, no, let's think positive, if I get to have the time. I put up a normal plain blue tee, my favorite t shirt in the same way as my favorite color, a khaki cargo shorts and a pair of black sneakers and my baggage. I went up through the elevator with Macabulos until we reached the shrine.

We got to the top, the surface or the overworld and Macabulos held me by the shoulders, "Datu Puti, I am so proud of you, be careful out there okay? Inside the Hut, you are safe, but outside, you are exposed and vulnerable, remember all your training and don't let it all go to waste okay?" He told me.

"I will Macabulos, and Macabulos," I handed the note I made for my parents, "Please deliver this to my parents."

"I will, good luck out there Datu Puti! And may the God above and also the past Datus be with you and guide you through all this." He said lastly.

He pointed to the Toyota Vios just a few feet from the shrine and told me that a staff will escort me to Batangas City for the meantime so I stepped in and rode the Datu Puti-mobile.

We drove the EDSA traffic, until we got to the expressway, I closed my eyes and took some rest while on the way.

While I was asleep, once again, I had quite a disturbing dream. I don't know if dreams are side effects of being an Anakdatu or such but, it is quite annoying. Or maybe it's my ancestral genes acting up again giving me some insights and information about something that they can channel on me. So uh, to the animus bestowed to me by the original Datu Puti and all the past Datu Putis, well, thanks, I guess.

Now, this time, the dream was different, I am in a hospital, specifically, on a birth ward, where pregnant women labor and give birth to their offsprings. There is this certain ward, where it shined so bright, I do not know why don't the other notice these bright light shining. I went to this ward and saw a woman, possibly a mother because she is cradling a child, and a white bearded guy, whom looked so ancient but happy.

"It's a girl." The woman said happily, "What should be here name?"

"Emanuelle for it means 'the creator is with you.'" The man said happily.

After some a few seconds, there was a loud BOOM! that shook the whole hospital and even I was moved by the sound.

The man told the mother and her child, "Stay behind me." And he raised his hands now making the dream brighter than before.

And suddenly, I was awake, my driver, the staff was driving in a zig-zag motion, I saw that we are still on the expressway.

"Sir," he said desperately, "Good timing, I am very sorry to interrupt your rest and also the road trip but sadly, we are under attack."

*

"What?!" I was shocked.

And as soon I regained my senses, I realized we have been rained down by artillery guns on the back part of our car. I looked through the rear window and I saw two Batman's Batmobile style cars were following us and shooting us with very bad intent.

God, this is my very first mission and now I get to experience these even I just started a few hours ago? And they messed up my rest, now they need some spanking.

I opened my baggage, got my sniper out, opened the rear window (Yes, our car has that function when the worst comes.), I looked into my scope and saw who the threat was, and simply, these are the splinter cell/skull guys again, now they are getting to my nerves.

I shot all of them on the head, but it seems to have no effect on them. Well damn, that is annoying.

"Driver, perform a road block drift so we can block them, I'll face them on the ground." I told the driver.

He floored the accelerator and drifted to 180 degree so that we can block the way.

We stopped and I left my sniper in the baggage, for it will be useless in close range, and prepared my sniper pistol and my kampilan and I went out the car.

As I went outside, I realized the sun has not risen yet, and also, I realized, I didn't see the sun for like 4 months, nor saw the outside world. That's quite awesome; it has been awhile, dear sun.

I prepared myself and they stopped too, creating congestion in the expressway. The cars behind the Splinter Cell-mobile started honking for the traffic we caused. The weird guys went down their cars too, and there are 8 of them, assuming there are 4 passengers each of their transportation machine.

"What do you want? This is my first mission and I was sleeping peacefully and I am even having a dream, what do you guys want?" I said exasperatedly.

"We. Kill. You." They all said in unison in a robotic ancient manner.

"Bruh, here we go." I told them.

I shot the guy in the middle with my sniper pistol, and the guy next to him. I got two hits until all of them scattered, one approached me quickly like a ninja, with their teleportation technology but I hacked and slashed him with my Kampilan. I had a hard time slashing too for they seem to be made out of a very hard metal but I managed it. The two guys I shot, again, were alive. What is wrong with these guys? But the one I slashed turned to dust.

The sun started to rise, and when one ray of the sun hit all of the weird guys, they started smoking and smoldering like vampires.

"We will return for you, watch your back Datu." The guy in the middle said.

They road their tanks and just disappeared, maybe they teleported.

"Wait, what? Our fight is not over! Come back here cowards!" I yelled

I sighed and I rode the car again. I told my driver to speed up because we are causing too much traffic.

So finally, we are back in the fast lane. I was still wondering what my dreamt meant, and how come a sniper pistol didn't work on those guys but an ancient Kampilan did? That is quite disturbing indeed but I just shook it off.

I watched the speeding background as we travelled to the expressway, I did miss the outside world. After 4 months, I got to see the sun, oh the sun shining so bright that gives warmth and power, I got to see the blue sky, it's vastness and even the clouds that float through it. Finally.

I saw the zipping cars through the expressway, red, white, black, blue cars, trucks, buses, I noticed everything that I didn't see inside The Hut. It's just breathtakingly beautiful in all sorts and it made me feel so warm. That it even made me distracted from what happened awhile ago and to my mission.

A heard a voice and said "You're welcome." A deep man's voice. That is weird.

"What did you say?" I asked the driver.

"What sir? I am not saying anything." He replied.

"Oh nothing, probably me hallucinating and stuffs, it's cool." I told him.

Who's that? That is really weird. I figured out that I should start a conversation with the driver guy.

"Hey Mr. Driver, what is Batangas like?" I asked him.

"Oh sir, thought you'd never ask, well Batangas City is part of a province so you might get a culture shock from all of these. The climate and air quality is better that of Manila, where we are from. Lesser traffic, I guess and new people who don't rely that much on technologies." He told me.

"Oh, well, thanks, have you been there mister?" I asked him

"Well, the truth is I lived in there, it was solemn. For me, it is better than the city life in Manila." He told me.

"Well, thanks for the information." I said.

I am excited to see Ms. Vertucio too, I rememberd Macabulos telling me that I should put the mission first, is she worth of my distraction? Oh well, province, here we come. New things to see, new people to meet, new climate, and new everything. Batangas City, prepare for I am about to kick some Splinter cell booty.