Mutagen

<strong>Day 153 - 4:15 PM - Waiting Room, Madrijelos National High School, Barangay Madrijelos, Municipality of Algeria, Province of Cebu</strong>

The Liloan Military Settlement was long gone. It was a piece of unexpected news. Nonetheless, it was not actually that shocking.

Mark's group had been to many places since the apocalypse started. They had witnessed too many things. People dying was frequent to see, although most of those deaths were by their hands. They were also there when the three settlements in Infanta had fallen by a single incident.

Although it was good that aside from the place filled with criminals, the other two settlements managed to start anew as a single one.

In this regard, the Liloan Military Settlement was just unfortunate.

No one knew what kind of madness would crop up in any corner of the world. Those kinds of things would cause deaths and chaos. Even if humans managed to gather and try to survive this together, there was no guarantee that they would succeed.

Over time, people would die, and settlements would fall. It was just Liloan's turn.

Besides, compared to the debris in space that was about to hit Earth, the fall of a settlement was something small.

Officer Emilio could not help but feel confused and frustrated at Mark's group. They had lackluster reactions upon hearing what he said. The young pair on the side seemed to have shown a bit of concern. Mark's side, however, did not seem to care at all.

"Don't mind us."

Of course, the military officer's reaction did not escape Mark's senses.

"As you can see, we are a bunch of people traveling here and there. We've seen and known worse. Just the other day, the settlement in Catanduanes was besieged by thousands of mutated infected that managed to travel underwater. They managed to survive, though."

Officer Emilio could not help but look at Mark with a skeptic expression. Of course, he did not believe what Mark said immediately. Still, if that was true, then the reaction of this group in front of him was not strange at all.

To be able to travel in this world filled with dangers. They would be able to see things that regular people could not. And, of course, it was something that only the powerful would be able to do.

"So, what happened?" Mark asked. "Our country's military might be weak compared to other countries, but I don't think that a large settlement like the one in Liloan would fall easily."

Thinking that Mark finally showed interest, Officer Emilio did not hesitate to tell the reason.

"It's a giant monster."

***

Compared to many of the other settlements that the military managed to build all over the country, the one in Liloan was built quite late.

In the first place, the evacuation orders and protocols to be followed arrived late to the soldiers of Visayas and Mindanao. By the time they received the orders, everything was already in chaos.

The military stationed in Cebu and other defense forces had no time to prepare at all. All they could do was to move without preparations, gather as much supply, and evacuate as many people as they could. Then, the soldiers led the evacuees to Liloan, where they all had to build the settlement from scratch.

Fortunately, one of the reasons why Liloan was chosen because it had one of the largest warehouses of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the province. It meant that there would be available construction supplies and equipment for them to start with.

With the warehouse at the center of it all, the soldiers began the construction of the settlement. The refugees did not let themselves idle either and did their best to build their new home in this chaotic world.

The main reason Liloan was chosen was definitely that it was just four kilometers from Dumaguete. Using boats, it would be faster to transport supplies from the city into the settlement.

Of course, gathering the supplies was not easy. Dumaguete had already fallen into the hands of the infected. In fact, there was a ground zero directly at the center of the city, making it even more dangerous.

But they never gave up and managed to gain stability in the following weeks. They had to deal with wandering hordes, evolved animal attacks, and even marine animals coming ashore. Even so, they managed to deal with those situations with the least casualties possible.

Approximately two months ago, everything was just the usual to the residents of Liloan Military Settlement.

Securing supplies, hunting animals, patrolling around the walls, and distributing rations. It was the usual daily routine.

In the middle of the night of that same day, however, everyone was awakened by a beastly roar. There was no need to receive any order. Everyone began to prepare for an oncoming battle.

However, not to mention a battle, not a single person even managed to prepare at all.

The beastly roar was followed by the sound of roaring water.

And the next thing that people knew... No, there was no next thing. Everything just went black for most people. As for those that managed to stay conscious a few seconds longer, they all felt horror as they suffocated from being swallowed by the surging water.

***

"A tidal wave?"

Edzel could not help but ask as the story reached this point.

"That is what a person would first think after hearing this." Officer Emilio said with a dismayed sigh. "But I was on night duty when everything happened. I saw the cause of the wave that swallowed the whole settlement in one go."

"As I said before." Officer Emilio took a deep breath as he recalled that night. "It is a giant monster."

***

Officer Emilio was leading the lookout that night. He was inspecting the soldiers assigned to the southern areas of the wall facing the strait when it happened.

The monster slowly rose from the waters. Its red eyes shined in the darkness of the night. Although it was hard to see what it actually was, Officer Emilio thought that it appeared to be somewhat the shape of either an alligator or a crocodile. The problem, however, the monster appeared to be as large as a RORO Passenger Ferry or maybe even larger.

Officer Emilio and the soldiers around him tried to sound the alarm but they were all overwhelmed in fear. Before they could even pull the alarm on, the roar already sounded all over the settlement.

The monster then stomped unto the water, causing a several dozen meters tall wave to come ashore.

In an instant, the whole settlement was swallowed by the raging water.

***

"There's not even a chance to run. The wave came faster than we can even react. The water hit like a truck. It's already lucky of one only fell unconcious. Many of us woke up with broken bones all over our bodies."

Officer Emilio recalled what happened. Even though he avoided describing his personal and emotional experiences at that time, his heavy tone and slight expression were more than enough to see what horror it was.

In the face of a tidal wave that swallowed the settlement instantly, the feeling of facing death was imminent.

From this information, it was now clear how a settlement with several thousand people was turned into a few hundred survivors struggling to live.

Food, medicine, weapons, vehicles, and many other important things. All of those were swept away by the water with barely anything left to salvage.

It was the reason this place was struggling more than it should have been.

***

When the people of Liloan began to regain consciousness, it was already morning.

The settlement was already in ruins.

There were traces of a gigantic creature all over the remains of the settlement. The worst thing was that they soon found out that a large number of people were missing, with many dismembered body parts left lying near the shore mixed in with debris.

Without any need to think, those missing people were definitely eaten by the gigantic monster.

Of course, with the settlement having several thousand people, there was no way that the monster had eaten all the people. Still, only a small portion survived. Most of them died when the wave hit the settlement.

There was no chance to defend themselves at all.

Death came hitting them all like a truck.

***

"All of us here are those that luckily survived." Officer Emilio shrugged. "We are all alive just because of luck. Nothing else."

***

That very day, everyone that survived hurried to salvage what they could and leave the place as soon as possible. Despite their injuries, wounds, or even if they lost their loved ones, they had to move.

There was no time to mourn for the dead. Those that wanted to survive must leave the place in case that the monster that caused their misery came back.

Of course, not everyone was eager to leave. In that disaster, there were a lot of people who lost all they had.

A lot of people remained to either look for their missing loved ones or bury the dead members of their family.

In the worst case, some committed suicide on the spot as soon as they saw the dead bodies of their family members.

From there, the survivors left the place aside from those that wanted to stay.

***

"So, you all went from Liloan to this place on foot?"

Mark asked.

"Is there any other way?" Officer Emilio asked back. "None of the vehicles we had could be salvaged or repaired in a short time. We had to abandon them and go on foot."

"Then, your goal is to continue moving north and eventually find a way to reach Bantayan Island."

Mark said as a matter of fact. It was something that Officer Emilio could not deny.

The Bantayan Island Settlement was the last hope for Officer Emilio and the survivors traveling with him. It was the reason they were here.

Unfortunately, they hit a roadblock in this area. It was the town up north, which was now occupied by the hostile Tamawos.

"You guys are really lucky." Mark suddenly spoke. "You all survive the sudden fall of your settlement, and soon, the blockade in your path will be gone."

"W-what do you mean?"

Officer Emilio was confused.

"Did you already forgot why our group is here? I just asked the question earlier."

Mark raised an eyebrow at the military officer.

"Don't tell me..." Officer Emilio was speechless. "Your group plan to eliminate those monsters in that town?"

"Sort of." Mark nodded. "We had some ill business with those people. Although we don't really plan to, we might end up clearing that town of any danger."

Officer Emilio stared at Mark. He could not understand where the latter was getting his confidence from.

"With just your group?" The military officer asked. "There's even little girls..."

"What is wrong if it's just us?" Mark questioned. "The little girls you are talking about might even be several times stronger than your soldiers."

Officer Emilio fell silent. He should not question Mark about this. Rather, he better support them instead for the benefit of his people. Once that dangerous town was gone, they could finally continue heading north.

There was no way that Officer Emilio would pass this chance.

"Then, please let us help." The military officer decided on the spot. "We won't feel comfortable only waiting at the receiving end."

If Mark's group wanted to deal with the enemies in that town, then, they should join hands. Besides, Officer Emilio's group had long been making plans to deal with the problem. They would be more than ready to start removing the threat blocking their path.

Officer Emilio felt a bit enthusiastic about this. After all, they had been stuck in this place for a month already. It was already time to move on.

But Mark just poured a bucket of cold water on the head of the military officer.

"There's no need for your help," Mark replied. "We are more than enough to do the job. You and your people will only hold us back. Just give me all the information you can give about that town instead and just wait here for the results."

Officer Emilio did not like what Mark said. However, he took the warning of Doctor Janice to heart and did not voice out his displeasure.