THE DOWNFALL

Chapter 3 : A Girl From The Sky

The sun had barely begun to rise when the four of them slipped back into the base, carrying with them not just scraps of metal or stolen tech, but something far more dangerous a wounded enemy pilot.

Jeff led the way through the narrow tunnel, his jaw clenched. Lherianne and Angelo followed closely behind, helping support the unconscious woman’s weight as Noel watched the rear. They moved swiftly, avoiding patrol routes and dimly lit halls until they reached one of the unused storage quarters deep in the lower levels of the base.

The room smelled of rust and old machinery. Jeff pushed aside a dusty tarp and motioned toward the mattress in the corner. “Put her here.”

They laid the woman down gently. Her breathing was shallow, but steady. The cloth Noel had wrapped around her ribs was now soaked in red.

Lherianne stared at the blood-stained uniform. “She needs real treatment. Not just rags and water.”

“We’ll take shifts watching her,” Jeff said. “No one else can know about her. Not yet.”

“You’re crazy,” Angelo muttered, pacing near the door. “If General Matias finds out, he’ll have us all executed for treason.”

“She didn’t kill Noel,” Jeff shot back. “She could’ve. But she didn’t.”

“Doesn’t mean she’s not an enemy ,” Angelo argued. “What if she’s carrying a tracker? What if the crash was deliberate?”

Noel stepped between them. “Enough. We can’t undo what’s done. What matters now is keeping her alive—and hidden.”

" and we don't even know if there's still enemy right there , we don't have any contact since the last one we saw " Jeff said

They didn’t know what to do or decide—each of them was confused.

They all agreed to one thing: no one could know.

Over the next few days, they kept up appearances. During daylight hours, they performed their regular duties repairing crops, helping rebuild damaged parts of the lunga. At night, they took turns caring for the pilot. Her wound slowly began to heal, thanks to stolen supplies from the infirmary and whispered instructions between shifts.

Still, questions lingered in Jeff’s mind: Who was she? What mission was she on? And why had she asked for medicine instead of finishing them off?

It wasn’t until the fourth night that she finally opened her eyes.

Jeff was alone with her then. He sat by the corner, half-asleep, when he heard her raspy voice.

“Where… am I?”

His eyes snapped open.

“in our base ” he said, cautiously stepping closer. “ keep your voice down , you're not welcome here people don't know that you're here.”

She tried to sit up, winced, and dropped back against the mattress. Her eyes scanned the dark room.

A long silence followed. Her expression was unreadable somewhere between suspicion and disbelief.

“Why?” she asked. “Why didn’t you let me die?”

Jeff looked away.

She didn’t respond, just closed her eyes for a moment. Then: “My name’s Summer.”

Jeff blinked. “What?”

“Summer,” she repeated, her voice quieter now. “Im a pilot but it doesn't matters anymore.”

Jeff stared at her, stunned.

Summer sat quietly for a moment, her gaze heavy with memory. Then she spoke, her voice low and rough.

“I’m a member of the Philippine Air Force,” she said. “Visayas-based division.”

Jeff tensed. He hadn’t expected that.

“We were sent on a high-risk mission,” she continued. “Target: the enemy’s artificial island base in the Lingayen Gulf. It was supposed to be a data extraction op. We made it. We got the cube.”

“The cube?” Jeff asked.

Summer gave a faint nod. “A small black box. Looks like a microchip cluster smooth sides, glowing filaments, like veins of light running through it. It holds encrypted enemy data needradio relays, command lines, transfer protocols. It’s how they communicate without being detected.”

Jeff’s eyes widened. “You mean… if we decode it…”

“We could end the war,” Summer finished. “Or at least shift the balance.”

Her face hardened. “But we never got the chance. Before we could make it back, we were intercepted. Sixth-generation fighters jets , undetectable on our radar. We never saw them coming. Our squad flew 4.5-gen jets good, but not enough. They picked us off one by one. I was the last.”

Jeff swallowed hard, listening as she continued.

“They hit my left engine. My jet—a twin-engine jet model barely held together. I ejected when the systems failed. Next thing I knew, I woke up here.”

She looked at him. “I don’t even know where I am. What is this place?”

Jeff hesitated. “We call it the lunga. It’s all I’ve ever known. Grew up here. We’re… somewhere in the north. But I’ve never been beyond these mountains. I don’t even know what the country looks like .”

Summer stared at the ceiling for a long moment.

Jeff looked at her, puzzled.

“Where did you come from?” he asked. “ Are you Really … a soldier of the Philippines?”

She nodded. “Yes. I was one of the kids drafted into service. It’s mandatory now. They needed soldiers. So they trained us young. Combat, flight, tactics. The moment I turned eighteen, they deployed me.”

Jeff’s breath caught in his throat. “We thought… the government was gone. That they lost. That they fled the country.”

Summer’s expression darkened. “They did lose. The government collapsed during the early waves of the invasion. But once the U.S. stabilized the Western front, they sent military aid boots on the ground. The government regrouped in Mindanao and parts of the Visayas. For the last two decades, they’ve been rebuilding slowly, in secret, with the help of allies.”

Jeff stood up, his thoughts tangled and heavy. He needed air needed time to think. He quietly slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

But as soon as he stepped into the corridor, he froze.

General Matias was there, standing a few steps away… with Erning beside him. Between them, two soldiers held Noel by the arms.

Jeff’s stomach dropped.

“That’s him,” Erning said sharply, pointing. “He was there.”

“Arrest him,” General Matias ordered coldly.

Before Jeff could even move, armed soldiers grabbed him from both sides. He struggled for a moment, but it was useless. They had him.

General Matias walked past him without a glance, heading straight for the storage room door. He flung it open.

Inside, Summer was sitting up weakly on the mattress, still pale from blood loss, her body tense with confusion and fear.

They were taken to the lowest floor of the base, an old reinforced chamber turned into a military command and interrogation center. The walls were lined with maps, communication equipment, and sealed cabinets. This was where all strategic meetings were held, where decisions for the lunga were made.

At the center was a long metal table. Jeff, Noel, Lherianne, and Angelo sat on one side, their wrists bound to the arms of their chairs.

Across from them stood Erning, flanked by General Matias and two guards.

The atmosphere was thick with tension. The only sound was the low hum of old generators and the echo of heavy boots on concrete.

Erning leaned forward, his eyes sharp. “You four better start talking. Who is that woman? Where did she come from?”

Silence.

Erning slammed a folder down on the table. “You brought an outsider into this base. That’s treason. You know what the punishment is for bringing outsider in the Base?”

Still, no one answered.

“I’m going to ask again,” he growled. “Why did you hide her?”

Jeff met his gaze. “Because she didn’t kill us. She was injured. She asked for help.”

“What if she’s an the enemy!” Erning snapped. “She could’ve lured you there on purpose! What if this was a trap?”

Noel spoke next. “She was bleeding out. We made a call. It wasn’t about sides it was about saving a life.”

“A life that may cost us all ours,” Matias said grimly. “Do you even understand what you’ve risked?”

“She is from the government and she has an Information ,” Jeff said, leaning forward. “She told me about the south. About the mission.”

“What cube?” Erning narrowed his eyes.

Jeff quickly explained what Summer had told him about the government

As he spoke, the expressions around the room shifted from anger to doubt… then to quiet disbelief.

Matias looked at Erning, then back at Jeff. “And you believe her?”

“I don’t know,” Jeff admitted. “But if there’s even a chance she’s telling the truth… shouldn’t we find out?”

“The government has fallen,” Matias said. His voice was calm but serious. “It’s been gone since the early days of the war. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“But what about the radio signals? We heard Filipino soldiers. We got warnings about storms. Doesn’t that mean the government is still there?” noel said

Matias didn’t speak right away.

Erning stepped closer to Matias and whispered something. The two of them exited the room for a private conversation just outside.

Erning lowered his voice. “What if they’re telling the truth?”

Matias looked at him sharply. “You believe them?”

“You saw what the foreigners did to Manila,” Matias said angrily. “They bombed the whole city. They destroyed our military bases. They blew up Malacañang. And now you want to trust an outsider?”

Erning stayed quiet for a moment. “We found coordinates,” he said. “Filipino soldiers sent them through the radio. We think it could be a base.”

Matias shook his head. “It’s nonsense.” He turned and walked away.

Meanwhile, Summer was in a small, white room. It was quiet and clean, with only a bed and a cabinet for supplies. She was lying down, her side wrapped in fresh bandages.

An old nurse named Maria was taking care of her wounds. She moved slowly but gently, her hands calm and steady.

“Your wounds are healing,” Maria said kindly. “Just rest.”

Summer gave a small smile.

“You’re a beautiful girl,” Maria added with a warm smile.

Summer smiled again, feeling a little more at ease.

The door opened. General Matias stepped inside.

“I’ll leave you two,” Maria said as she picked up her things. She turned to Summer. “I’ll be back later with your medicine.”

As she left, she gave Matias a look and said, “Easy on her. She’s just a teen.”

Matias stood there, silent. Then he moved closer to the bed.

“How much of your story is true?” he asked.

Summer sat up slowly, wincing from the pain. She looked straight at him.

“All of it,” she said.

Matias crossed his arms. “Then start talking.”

Summer nodded. “The government still exists but it’s hiding in the south, in Mindanao and parts of the Visayas. They built new bases underground and near the sea. I came from one of those places.”

“What was your mission?” Matias asked.

“To deliver a data cube,” Summer said. “It has secret enemy information radio signals, troop plans, the location of their island bases. If we unlock it, we can fight back.”

“And you expect me to believe that?” Matias said.

“I’m not asking you to believe,” Summer said. “But if you don’t check it out, you might miss a real chance.”

Matias didn’t reply right away. He just stared at her, trying to read her face.

After Matias finished speaking with Summer, he ordered one of the guards, “Call Jeff.”

A few minutes later, Jeff arrived, still tense from what had happened earlier.

“Show me the aircraft,” Matias said.

Without another word, Jeff led him through the dark corridors of the lunga and out into the forest. They walked in silence until they reached the crash site. The aircraft that Summer had used still lay there, half-buried, its surface scorched and broken.

Matias stood in front of it, staring with cold, unreadable eyes. He said nothing. No emotion showed on his face. After a moment, he turned around and headed back to the lunga without a word.

That night, Erning called for a private meeting.

Inside one of the command rooms, the highest-ranking members of the lunga gathered General Matias among them.

“We keep this quiet for now,” Erning said firmly. “No one in the lunga should know about the possibility that the government still exists.”

Matias stood up and added, “We should send a team to the coordinates we received from the radio. Fifty soldiers. We need to confirm the truth with our own eyes.”

After some discussion, the officials agreed.

Matias immediately ordered his men to prepare. By morning, they would be ready to leave.

At sunrise, two large, modified Filipino jeepneys stood ready at the entrance of the lunga. These weren’t ordinary vehicles—they had been reinforced with metal armor, mounted with machine guns on top, and repurposed into military transport.

Fifty soldiers stood by, armed and alert, as they boarded. General Matias climbed into the lead jeep. Their mission was clear: go to the coordinates and find out if the government truly survived.

They all knew it was dangerous. They hadn’t heard from the outside world in months no sign of the enemy, no sign of allies. Anything could be waiting for them.

From the gates of the lunga, Erning watched the jeeps disappear into the trees. In his eyes, there was a spark of hope.

Later that day, Erning visited Summer in her room.

“You’ll stay here in the lunga for now,” he said. “But there’s something I need from you. You’ll work here. Help us.”

Summer nodded slowly.

Erning gave her a short tour. They walked through the front lobby a wide, open area like a hotel lounge, with old couches, reception counters, and a place where people sat and rested. Then they moved to the cafeteria, where workers lined up for food and traded stories in hushed voices.

As they walked, Erning explained how the lunga worked how everyone had a role, how food was grown, how energy was shared, how decisions were made.

Eventually, they went outside, to the farmland just beyond the hidden doors of the base. It was a peaceful place, full of crops and soil.

There, Summer saw Jeff. He was kneeling in the dirt, planting alongside Noel, Gelo, Lheri, and other farmers. He looked calm, his sleeves rolled up, sweat on his brow.

Summer watched quietly, her gaze fixed on him.

Then, Jeff looked up and saw her.

He smiled.

But just as their eyes met, a strange sound echoed from the sky.

A deep, powerful roar.

Everyone froze.

Without a word, the farmers dropped their tools and started running. They scattered, searching for cover behind trees, rocks, anything they could find.

Erning quickly grabbed Summer’s arm and pulled her behind a large tree.

“What is it?” Summer asked, eyes wide.

Erning didn’t answer he just pointed upward.

Summer looked to the sky.

Three fighter jets screamed through the clouds above them, cutting across the air with a thunderous sound.

It was the same sound she’d known all her life. But here… it meant something else.

After the jets passed, silence returned.

The farmers slowly came out from hiding, whispering to each other in fear and confusion.

Jeff, Noel, Gelo, and Lheri rushed toward Summer and Erning.

Jeff caught his breath and said, “It’s been years since a jet flew over this place.”

He looked toward Erning, worry growing in his eyes.

Erning raised a hand and called out to the farmers, his voice strong, “Everyone, go back inside the lunga for now. Stay alert.”

The farmers nodded, moving quickly back to safety.

But even as they left, the sound of the jets still echoed in their minds and the feeling that something was coming began to spread.