Adrian was back to the command center where he’d watch multiple screens mounted on the wall. But he was interested in one.
"The MQ-1 Predator, is it online now? When is it going to take-off to Boracay?"
One of the operators glanced up from his console, fingers still moving across the controls.
"Predator One is online, sir," he said. "Engine checks complete. Data link stable. We’re just waiting on final clearance."
Adrian stepped closer to the main screen.
"ETA to launch?"
"Two minutes," the operator replied. "We’ve already uploaded the flight path—Basa to Boracay, high altitude cruise. We’ll keep it above comrcial lanes and known military corridors."
Another screen shifted, displaying the drone sitting on the runway. Its long wings stretched out, sensor turret angled forward, ground crew already clear of the imdiate area.
Adrian watched it for a second.
"Fuel?"
"Full tank," another operator answered. "Endurance is over twenty hours. We can loiter over the island for extended observation."
Adrian nodded once.
"Good. I want full visual sweep of Boracay before we even think about moving there."
"Yes, sir."
The operator adjusted the feed, bringing up a map overlay beside the live cara.
"Primary objective?" he asked.
Adrian didn’t look away from the screen.
"Civilian presence," he said. "Check if the island is still holding. Resorts, coastline, any signs of organized defense."
He paused.
"And infected activity."
"Copy."
Another operator leaned slightly forward.
"We’ll start with EO, then switch to infrared once we’re on station. That should give us a clear picture even through structures."
"Do it."
A tone sounded softly in the room.
"Predator One, you are cleared for takeoff," the comms operator transmitted.
On the screen, the drone began to move.
Slow at first.
Then faster.
The propeller spun up, the aircraft rolling down the runway with steady acceleration before lifting cleanly into the air.
The cara feed stabilized as the ground pulled away.
"Predator One airborne," the operator confird. "Climbing to operational altitude."
Adrian stood still, watching.
"Route is clean so far," the operator added. "No air traffic detected in our corridor."
Ryan stepped into the command center just then, already geared, helt in hand.
"Bird’s almost ready," he said. "Black Hawk is spinning up. Team’s on standby."
Adrian nodded but didn’t turn.
"Good," he said. "We move as soon as you’re wheels up."
Ryan followed his line of sight to the screen.
"That’s Boracay recon?" he asked.
"Yeah."
Ryan gave a small nod.
"Two operations at once," he said. "Fort Magsaysay and your family."
Adrian finally looked at him.
"We don’t get to pick one," he said. "We do both."
Ryan didn’t argue.
He just nodded once.
On the screen, the Predator continued climbing, leveling out as it turned toward the south.
"Course set," the operator said. "Estimated ti to Boracay—forty minutes."
Adrian stepped a little closer to the console.
"Keep updated the mont you see anything," he said.
"Yes, sir."
"Wait before that, since it’s along the way, I want to see tro Manila," Adrian said.
The operator’s hands paused for a fraction of a second, then moved again across the controls.
"Adjusting route," he replied. "We’ll pass over tro Manila before heading further south. Slight delay on arrival to Boracay—about ten minutes."
"That’s fine," Adrian said.
The map shifted on the screen, the flight path bending west slightly before cutting across the capital.
"Switching primary feed to forward EO," another operator added. "We’ll give you a clear visual once we hit the urban zone."
Ryan stayed beside Adrian, watching.
"We are going to see tro Manila again huh?"
"One of the densest places in the whole world. I wonder if it’s still holding up."
Ten minutes later, the screen shifted as the Predator crossed into tro Manila airspace.
The cara steadied, then began feeding a clear view of the city below.
At first, it looked normal from altitude. Dense blocks. Roads cutting through tightly packed buildings. The usual layout Adrian had seen countless tis before.
Then the details started to show.
"Zoom in," Adrian said.
The operator adjusted the feed.
The highways ca into focus.
Every lane was filled.
Cars were packed together so tightly that they looked welded into place. So were aligned cleanly, others angled across lanes like drivers had tried to force their way out and failed. Buses blocked entire intersections. Delivery trucks sat abandoned with their rear doors open.
Nothing was moving.
Not a single vehicle.
Ryan stepped closer beside him.
"...They got stuck," he said quietly. "Everyone tried to leave at the sa ti."
Adrian didn’t respond.
"Switch to thermal," he said.
The feed flickered, then shifted.
Heat signatures lit up the screen.
Clusters moved between the vehicles, pressing through gaps, climbing over hoods, dragging themselves across asphalt. So gathered at intersections where traffic had bottlenecked. Others moved in loose groups along the sides of the road.
"Jesus..." Ryan muttered.
Adrian’s eyes stayed locked on the display.
"Check side streets," he said.
The cara panned.
The narrower roads were worse.
Vehicles were abandoned mid-turn, doors left open, so with signs of impact. The infected filled the gaps, moving through alleys and between buildings in tighter clusters.
"Buildings," Adrian said. "Scan the upper floors."
The cara tilted upward, shifting across rows of windows and rooftops.
Thermal picked up a few signatures.
Single points of heat.
One here. Two there. Maybe a small group clustered in a corner of a higher floor.
"Possible survivors," the operator said. "Very low numbers."
Ryan crossed his arms.
"They’re boxed in," he said. "Nowhere to go."
Adrian didn’t answer.
"Check hospitals," he said.
The feed shifted again.
A large hospital complex ca into view.
The parking area was jamd with vehicles, so still angled toward the entrance like people had tried to get inside. Ambulances sat abandoned near the doors.
Thermal showed dense movent at the entrance.
Inside the lobby, the heat signatures were packed together, barely distinguishable from each other.
"Overrun," the operator confird.
"Governnt buildings," Adrian said.
Another shift.
Barricades were visible—concrete blocks, sandbags, makeshift barriers set up across roads leading to a compound.
They had been breached.
Vehicles sat smashed against them. The line had collapsed inward, leaving gaps wide open.
Ryan shook his head slightly.
"They tried to hold it," he said.
Adrian leaned closer to the screen.
"Any military presence?" he asked.
The operator scanned multiple sectors quickly.
"Negative," he said. "No patrols. No vehicle movent. No defensive positions still active."
"So tro Manila has fallen huh? Well there are over 14 million living there, 14 million zombies. Good thing we got out of there. Return back to the original mission."
"Yes sir."
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