"Gentlemen... ladies... the battle is near," Gregory said, as though he was a war veteran.
Too many hero movies have shaped him into what he was now.
As a 'General' for today's matter, he spoke to his subordinates, dishing cautionary words from time to time.
'Mailang."
"Yes, boss," one of the girls replied.
"From your grandma's symptoms, it will soon be time before she falls into a psychotic well of her making. Timmy isn't the only one who's gotten missing in our group. Based on what we know, I figure it will happen tonight or before the end of the week."
The little 13-year-old girl in brown pigtails thinned her lips, nodding heavily.
Her hands become sweaty when thinking this could be the last day she lives if the boss's guess is right. Maybe she might live for another day or 2 before her grandma snaps.
Who knew the world could be so scary?
What about her dream of marrying the Iglooman in her favorite superhero movie?
It's just not fair!
(?T□T?)
Sniff. Sniff.
Mailang suddenly felt mature, as though she had grown up overnight.
Welp. If this was indeed her last night, she might as well watch a bit of her favorite show and daydream of her TV crush for a bit before it's too late.
Sigh...
No wonder adults say like is short... Too short if you asked her.
Greg (short for Gregory), placed both hands-on
Mailang's shoulders with a stern look.
"If we can, we will try to get our parents to agree to a sleepover. These are dark times, Mailang. Dark times... The military camp is counting on you to be strong."
Eh?
Military camp? Although MaiLang didn't understand it all, she knew her boss was a man (kid) who didn't like repeating himself.
What's more, he had the most experience in things like these thanks to his incredible level of research (action movie watching.)
Damn!
Their boss was amazing!
Do you know he was the only one among them who has watched grown action movies that their parents refused them to watch?
The boss somehow got the code for parental guidance and would switch it from time to time when his parents were at work or when they were deep asleep.
Just because they were small town folks didn't mean they didn't have laptops and access to the internet.
Gregory was a smart one, knowing his mother's password to her computer too.
And when he was done with whatever he was up to, he would wipe the computer's history clean.
This has been going on since he turned 11. Gregory was now 14 and had a deep love for military or cool rescue mission movies.
It's one of the reasons everyone looked up to him in awe. He seemed to always know everything. His 'street' credibility was too impeccable. So how can they not make him their leader?
Damn.
Their boss was so awesome.
(*^*)
.
"Remember, keep your weapons close. And remember, you need to get your parents to slee-'' Gregory got distracted, sensing something in the distance.
"Shhh~" He cautioned, placing his hands over Mailang's mouth and using a finger from another hand to gesture the need for silence.
Eh?
What could've gotten the boss so on edge? The children wanted to know but were quick on their feet to fall back and hide in a matter of seconds.
Look! Over there! Gregory gestured with his head and fingers.
Obediently, everyone followed his gaze only to see hundreds of elderly folks walking strongly into the woods.
As they walked, their shoulders jumped up and down, and their faces stared to the skies laughing for whatever reason no one seems to know.
It was too weird.
The atmosphere spoke volumes of absurdity, as some began limping and moving strangely to an unfamiliar rhythm.
"I see my granddad… But since when did he start limping?" (?~?)
"AH! I see my grandpops!"
"Shhhh! Keep your voice down!" Helga cautioned, placing her hand over Ross's mouth. "The boss said they have become psychotic. If we draw attention to ourselves, do you know if they will attack us here? By the way, my grandmama is also there, to the left."
Helga felt the need to also point out the fact that her grandmother was there too. For some reason she didn't want to be left out of those locating their grandparents.
In the end, she was still a child.
"Download the information into your mind. We must not be caught by them. You might think yelling is the best option to call for help in times like these, but what I'm telling you'll be doing is known as Overrated Academia."
Overrated Academia?
"What does that mean?"
"In honest words for you simpletons, it means no matter what we see, we must be quiet."
"Ooooh~"
Many nodded, amazed by their leader's use of heavy grammar again.
Tsk.
As expected of their leader.
He knows everything!
.
Like so, the children kept a good distance from the group of mysterious elders, following a few steps behind the last elder.
Were they afraid? Yes!
But for the safety of their parents and this town, they must find the truth out for themselves.
"Crazy eyes, Blue toes, Cutesy Daisy... you go find a cop and bring them over. We'll keep following them and keep on their toes."
"Yes, boss."
Lile soldiers, all 3 nodded and ran away cautiously, not wanting to be discovered by the elders.
Go get the cops...
Go get the cops...
Go get the cops...
They repeated the words severally as though they would forget them if not careful.
Greg's last warning also sounded alarm bells in their heads.
No matter what, they must tell a cop who wasn't too old.
After all, they were afraid that any older cops would be in cahoots with these murderous senior citizens.
In the meantime, the children on Greg's side had already crossed a valley and ran lightly on the slope facing them.
The path was covered by tall grass, the blades of which hung across the path dripping low.
They knew exactly where they were.
They were on the Old Gusta farm.
Here, there were hills of wheat, corn and other high-stalk crops planted on the vast space.
The town wasn't dubbed as one of the most lucrative farm towns for nothing.
Visitors could easily get lost and trapped in the maize fields if not careful, since the crop stalks were u credibly higher causing one to lose a sense of direction.
But for those who grew up here and used the entire town as their playground for mischief and adventure, they knew how to find their way out with ease.
.
"They're going into the maze fields," Ross commented as the group was still on a slightly elevated terrain, hiding behind large rocks and peering down.
At least from their spot, they could see a little into the maze... But once the elders left the maze perimeters and headed too far in, it would be impossible.
"Boss, do we follow them in?"
"No. That's too dangerous, corporate. There are more of them and few of us. If anything goes wrong in there, it will take too long for any backup to arrive." Gregory observed. "I said we're going to protect this town. But for us to do it, we must stay alive. You got that?"
"Loud and clear, General." They said in a whispery tone.
"But General... I mean boss... if we don't follow them, how are we going to know what they're doing? Will our coming here be for nothing?"
Although they were scared, they really wanted to see what they were up against.
Plus, they had to admit that in these dangerous times, they also had their adventure senses fully activated and satisfied. It was like a tomb raider movie... except there might be a lot of psycho killing in it.
Let things go like this? Even he was unwilling.
Gregory squinted his eyes, his gaze roaming between the elders another far distance into the maze.
"They're headed for the center."
"Good speculation, boss. So how do we attach them?"
How. How. How.
Gregory quickly scanned their surroundings, finally focusing on a sharp-edged slope adjacent to them.
They were often told not to play around; its edges were sharp like boxes and not as easy to get on as the curved slope they were on.
But on this matter, do they have a choice?
Judging from his calculations, that box hill would be the only place that will give them a good view of the maze field's center.
"Boss, you're not thinking of--"
"Yeah. The box hill. We have to use it."
It's a dangerous hill because it grew naturally, as though someone had been snatching giant boxes one after another to the top.
The edges were as straight as a cliff's. That's why it was dangerous.
If you fall from one box level to another, you're bound to get heavy injuries.
Damn.
"Come on. This isn't the time to act chicken. We've got to go to higher ground on the box hill before the elders reach the center."
And they had to do it fast.
It was already 7:01 P.M.
By 8:30ish, the darkness will completely cover the land.
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