Rockiversary

We Are

Hollow. It sounds hollow.

Too hollow for the machinery that is supposedly inside the metal casing. If it's anything they know. Usually, the scraps of metal that fall on the surface are either whole sheets of metal exterior or pods like this with wires and machines and bolts and the like inside – ejected chunks of aeroships and such. Or malfunctioned satellites. With all their parts inside.

"Guo shi!"

Menggay rechecks the pod again to look for any hinge or bolt or screw. But the whole hunk of the metal hull is seamlessly sleek. Impossibly seamlessly sleek.

Then to their shock, the pod splits in the middle and hisses white smoke from the inside.

They all cower back up from the crater and hide and wait.

"Galing yata sa Capitol yan Jieh, baka poison gas yun mamamatay na tayo!"

"Wag ka ngang panickers! Na-full blast ako sa mukha o, humihinga pa naman."

"Eehhh malay mo, slow acting para pag na-ingest ng mga sistema natin tapos umuwi tayo, mas madami tayong mahahawaan tapos mamamatay na tayong lahat."

"OR malamang nag depressurize lang yung interior nun." Ninay reasons.

"OR habang nagde-depressurize yun, nagrerelease din ng poison gas para offensive defense. Mamatay na talaga tayo!" Arman cries.

"Tama na, Arman! Silipin mo kung anong laman nung ano dali."

"Ninay ikaw na, natatakot ako eehh..."

"Ikaw, yuh ben de huuuun dan!"

Ninay cautiously peeks at the crater. "ANGHEL!"

Menggay grabs her friend down to their hiding spot. "Ano ka ba ang tanda-tanda mo na naniniwala ka pa rin sa mga anghel!"

"ALIEN! Alien yan, Jieh-jieh!" Arman exclaims, also already peeping at the crater.

"Isa ka pa! Isa ka pa!" Menggay pinches his ears. "Anong alien ang pinagsasabi mo?"

Menggay takes a look at whatever the creature is in the crater.

"O di ba anong sabi ko sa'yo? Mukhang anghel diba?"

"Alien yan!"

"Mukhang anghel kaya!"

Ninay takes a quick look at the being in the pod again.

"Actually, mukhang tao naman..."

"Nakita mo ba kung gaano kabilis ang bulusok nyan kanina? Sobrang bilis! Yung g-force pa lang at pressure drop, pamatay na. Hindi kaya ng tao yun; at bilang hindi totoo ang mga anghel, o edi alien!"

"Kung hindi kaya ng tao, at hindi rin anghel... at bilang hindi rin totoo ang mga alien, baka bangkay!" Ninay concludes. "Patay na piloto siguro yan."

Arman and Menggay consider this.

"Pwede...?"

They all take a look at the possibly bangkay person in the crater again.

There's an air mask-like apparatus attached to the lower half of his face. A light shines brightly over his head halo-like. Pale flesh from what they could see. Suit is black and from the distance that's all they could conclude. He does not look like a soldier or a pilot or an inspector or anyone from the Capitol though.

(Also, who in their right mind would leave the confines of the Capitol? Crazy people and fugitives and the dead. Is this unconscious pilot crazy or a fugitive? Or is he already dead?)