Chapter 719 - The Fall of Liloan, A Monster From the Strait and the Raging Tidal Wave (1/2)

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

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 lackl.u.s.ter 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.