10. Rain of Fire

Kamay-Kainan is a restaurant located along the southbound lane of the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue or EDSA in Metro Manila. It boasts of buffets with Filipino, Japanese, and Western dishes. They offer eat-all-you-can buffet discounts to their customers.

It was a bright sunny day in the Philippines and JJ and his family are having a mixed meal of Asian and Western cuisines.

"So," JJ asked his six-year old son Albert, "did you have a nice chat with lola today?"

"Yeah dad," Albert replied before taking a bite at the tempura he got from the Japanese foods area of the restaurant with his mother, Katrina. "She told me about you joining the ROTC and was worried so much because you were as thin as a stick."

"Well, he was brave enough to put himself to such punishment, he thought he can get through my father's barrier when he courted me," added Katrina.

JJ smiled and helped himself to his bowl of dinuguan when an explosion suddenly rocked the building.

People stopped what their doing and looked at each other. Some asking what was happening or where the explosion occurred. While most began to check on their belongings and their companions, a few stood up to look at the window facing the wide street. One of them is JJ. A shadow that appears to be caused by smoke blocking the summer sun began to descend upon the street blown northward from where the explosion seem to have come from.

"What is that hon," inquired Katrina clutching Albert.

"Wait here," answered JJ asking his wife to sit tight as he began to walk toward the large window walls along with several others. People can be seen running from the direction of the flyovers less than a kilometer southward from the restaurant. They are running for Cubao, away from something that terrifies them. Cars, jeepneys, and buses have stopped, occupants and passengers getting out running northward. Some tried to turn back but could not move out of the deadlock.

JJ was about to walk through the glass doors to take a look at what is happening when a burning car, a Toyota VIOS, suddenly dropped in the middle of the four lane southbound side of EDSA. The car crashed on a Honda CRV rolling off to settle on top of a taxi. Two more cars, a bus and a truck, all burning, dropped down on the stopped vehicles and running men as if . Some of the people died instantly from the impact while others ran around, their clothes burning from the fuel coming out of the vehicles and die from heat, shock, and suffocation.

Several explosions followed from vehicles the burning ones fell or had rolled on shattering the window walls and the glass door. A shard of glass nicked JJ on his cheeks and arms. The rest flying toward the ducking patrons of this popular restaurant. Then they heard a roar.

JJ stepped out of building just to run back to the safety of its canopy when a military helicopter, a UH-1H Huey being used by the Philippine army, its crew dying from sever burns, cooking off ammunition, and suffocation.

JJ looked inside the restaurant looking for his family. He found them near the back wall, Katrina holding Albert against her.

When JJ stepped out again, he looked for the source of the explosion. He saw smoke rising from buildings half way to Shaw Boulevard. The building of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration is burning. So is Robinson's Galleria in front of it, the Lourdes school behind the mall, several building behind POEA as well as one of the branches of the local mall chain, SM. His gaze was suddenly turned towards the UnionBank Plaza tower that appears to be the target of several OV-10 Broncos and three Huey helicopters. He strained to see their target. Suddenly his vision focused on what appears to be a lone figure near the top of the building. It seems that his eyes have zoomed in on the figure, a circular area around where his gaze focused blurred as if looking though a spy glass. Then what he saw horrified him.

The figure JJ saw was not standing on top of the building but was floating in front of it near the top. He can see tracer bullets ricochet around the person who seems to be covered by an invisible shield. The man is half naked wearing only a pair of dark blue cargo pants and black rubber shoes. His body is covered with tattoos up to his head. Only the area around his eyes, his cheeks, and his chin are without tattoo. His eyes are fiery red.

JJ tried to zoom in some more and saw that there appears to be markings around the pupils of the man.

Then JJ saw the red eyes lock on his. Taken a back, his vision zoomed out a little. Now the floating man seems to be looking at him. The man moved his right arm forward. His fingers closed except for the index finger as his arms raised. And it stopped. The man was pointing at JJ. Then he said something JJ could not understand.

A load roar made JJ close his eyes. Then he heard wings flapping. When he looked at the direction of the man again, jets of green flame came from either side of the building. Alternating as it moved up. The flames engulfed the slower Hueys and missing the much faster Broncos. The helos spun and fell. Soldiers on board surely dead.

Suddenly, wings flapped over the building as a huge red dragon emerged from behind, nesting on the top of the tower. It let out an ear shattering roar then turned its head toward the direction the floating man pointed to. Toward JJ.

The red dragon bore marks around its body almost similar to the marks borne by the man. JJ stood frozen on the pavement.

The dragons shrieked. It flapped its wings, pushed him self up from the tower with its powerful hind legs and gave a roar. The dragon dropped, gliding towards the direction its master ordered it to go to.

JJ suddenly got pulled out of his trance when the dragon roared yet anew. He suddenly realized that the dragon was going for him. He has to move, he told himself. He willed his body to move as the dragon flew toward him, turning his head from time to time toward the direction of the attacking aircrafts and shoot off jets of green flames. One Bronco caught the flames on its starboard wing and began to descend. Then it focused all its attention to its target, the immobilized JJ.

His heart pounding, beads of sweat trailing down his face, JJ was suddenly able to move his legs. He turned and ran. He did not run toward the restaurant as his wife and son may get caught in the flames but instead run toward the direction of the dragon. He then turned right into a nearby street.

The dragon shrieked then shot green flame toward the ground, burning the vehicles on the streets as it traced a flaming line toward JJ.

JJ ran as fast has he could. The flame and the dragon right behind him. He has got to reach the corner several meters away and try to duck somewhere. He hoped. He tried. He can save himself from the flame. At the dragon's speed, it and the flame will overshoot JJ once he makes a quick right.

And it did when JJ made a quick right, the heat searing through his clothes while the flame barely grazing him. He saw a door. He turned the knob. It's locked. Horror gripping him JJ turned to look for another way in only to find out that one of his assumptions was wrong. The dragon was able to make a sudden stop. It is now hovering in front of him, large wings flapping.

The dragon with its long neck, moved its head near JJ and shrieked. At first, JJ smelled the foul odor of sulfur from the dragon's breath blow at him. Then everything grew bright green as a blast of flame engulfed him.