Two minutes to drop.
The pilot of the C-130 said through the intercom. Ryan rose to his feet and the others followed. They checked their gears one last ti and moved toward the rear.
The red light above them stayed on.
The ramp was still closed, but the sound of the wind outside was already bleeding through the seams. The aircraft leveled slightly as it lined up on the drop path.
Ryan adjusted his harness, then ran a quick check across the others.
The loadmaster stepped forward, eyes moving across them.
"Stand by!" he called out.
The ramp began to lower.
Cold air rushed in and the ocean ca to view beneath them, dark blue stretching out toward the island ahead.
Boracay.
From this height, it still looked intact.
Ryan stepped closer to the edge, gripping the line with one hand as he looked down. The shoreline was coming up fast. Smoke from the earlier strike was still visible, a dark sar across the western side.
"Two minutes," the pilot repeated.
Adrian’s voice ca through the comms.
"Drone confirms impact zone is still hot, but your drop point is clear," he said. "You’ll land east side. No major movent detected there yet."
"Copy," Ryan replied.
He looked back at his team.
"We hit ground, we regroup, we move straight to the target location. No stopping. If you hear sothing—don’t react unless it’s confird contact."
"Yes sir."
The green light flicked on.
"Go! Go! Go!" the loadmaster shouted.
Ryan stepped off first.
The others followed without hesitation.
The mont Ryan cleared the ramp, the wind hit him full force.
It slamd into his chest and shoulders, tearing at his gear as he dropped into open air. The noise swallowed everything, the engines, the aircraft, replaced by a constant rush that pressed against his ears.
He angled his body forward, arms tight, legs slightly spread, stabilizing his fall.
Behind him, shapes followed.
Ethan. Cole. Jake. Mason. Noah.
Each one dropped clean, spacing themselves out in a controlled pattern, keeping visual contact while maintaining separation.
Ryan glanced down.
Boracay filled his view.
The island stretched out beneath them—white shoreline, clusters of buildings, patches of green, but the details were wrong. Smoke still lingered over the western side where the strike hit. Sections of the beach were scarred, darkened, disturbed.
The eastern side for one is undisturbed.
"That’s our LZ," Ryan said over comms.
"Copy," Ethan replied.
They adjusted.
Ryan shifted his shoulders slightly, angling his descent. His body tilted just enough to steer, trading vertical speed for direction. The others mirrored him, their formation tightening as they lined up toward the eastern shoreline.
Wind pushed against them in bursts, forcing small corrections.
"Prepare to deploy," he said.
One by one, they reached for their chutes.
Ryan counted the distance in his head, timing it with the ground rising up toward them.
"Stand by... stand by..."
The wind intensified near the surface, shifting slightly as it moved around structures and trees.
"Deploy!"
Ryan pulled.
The chute snapped open above him with a hard jerk, yanking him upward as his descent slowed instantly. The others followed in sequence, canopies blooming one after another in the air.
The rush of freefall was cut off, replaced by controlled descent.
Ryan adjusted his lines, steering toward a clear patch near the edge of the beach.
The ground got nearer and nearer until monts later, Ryan landed.
His boots hit the sand, knees bending to absorb the force. He collapsed the chute imdiately, pulling it in fast to avoid drag.
Around him, the others touched down one after another, landing in a loose formation, already cutting their lines and shedding their chutes.
Ryan stood, rifle up, scanning the surroundings. The others did the sa the mont they were in the clear.
"Everyone okay?" Ryan asked.
"We’re good boss!"
"Command this is Leader, we have successfully landed. Moving toward the target location now."
"Copy that Leader," Adrian responded. "I can see you from our drone. No movents detected along the path towards the target location but keep your eyes peeled."
"Acknowledge," Ryan said.
He lowered his hand from the mic and looked ahead.
"Inland. One-point-five klicks," he said. "We move in file. Keep spacing. No talking unless needed."
They moved.
The sand gave way to a narrow path cutting between low fences and small resort structures. Doors were open. So hanging loose. Furniture was left where it had been used last. Nothing was disturbed in a way that showed panic. It feels just abandoned.
Ryan kept his rifle angled forward, eyes moving across windows, rooftops, blind corners.
"Left clear," Ethan said quietly.
"Right clear," Cole followed.
The path curved slightly as they moved deeper inland. Palm trees lined sections of the route, their shadows cutting across the ground. A small road appeared ahead, cracked in places, with a few vehicles left at odd angles.
"Crossing," Ryan said.
They moved across in sequence, covering each other without stopping. No movent from the vehicles. No sound beyond their own controlled steps.
"Distance?" Jake asked.
"Eight hundred ters," Ryan replied after a quick glance at his map.
They pushed on and there were now on the urbanized section of the island where there hotels, restaurants and closed shops lined the road.
Signboards hung loose. So flickered without power. Tables and chairs were left outside restaurants, untouched, as if people had just stood up and never ca back.
Ryan slowed as the multipurpose hall ca into full view. A concrete structure with a barricaded wide entrance.
"Stack up," he said.
They moved into position without hesitation. Ethan and Cole took the sides of the entrance, rifles angled toward the gaps. Jake and Mason covered the rear while Noah watched the flanks.
He raised a hand and knocked twice on the door and a sound of shuffling footsteps responded.
Based on it alone, Ryan knew it was a zombie.
The mont it got to the door, it burst out and suddenly collapsed as Ryan fired a shot on its temple.
"A zombie inside an evacuation center. Looks like it’s compromised," Ethan said.
"It doesn’t matter. We will still go in. Get ready."
User Comments
0 comments from readers