"Kalaban!"
The shout was from a woman—sharp and sudden, it pricked the ears. It resounded in the silence, and at once all of us froze.
The three of us in that yard—me, Guzman, and the old man—stared at each other while we waited to see how the town would react. For a moment, I hoped it would be ignored. It was a cold morning, and everyone should hate leaving the warmth of their blankets and beds. And it was not followed—the said woman must have been dealt with.
But the silence would be no more. It started with creaks—footsteps on the floorboards, windows being opened. Slowly, the faint buzz of murmurs and whispers behind the walls of the huts and houses reached our ears.
Our cover had been blown.
Mario emerged from one of the alleyways, sweating, and rushed towards me, now abandoning any attempt to be quiet.
"Heneral… what do we do?"
