As a bullet missed his temple by an inch and a half, Tatum hit the ground, rolled and took cover behind a tree trunk. Umalingawngaw ang sunod-sunod na putok ng baril. Pira-pirasong sanga ang nabali at nagsiliparan naman ang mga ibon sa sanga habang umiiyak ang mga ito na lumilipad.
Military ang mga umatake sa kanya. Mga militar ng San Jose, to be exact, pero hindi ito ang mga elite unit ng militar, dahil mukhang uncoordinated at disorganized ang biglang pag-ataki ng mga ito.
Gritting his teeth, Tatum raised his rifle and ducked out for a second, pulling the trigger to unload a round at his attackers. Two blue-and-gold uniforms went down, lifeless bodies tumbling to the twisted undergrowth. He didn't have time to high-five himself because the four men he hadn't hit were closing in on him
