It's their third day at Lake Venado, with the sun shining beautifully and a slight fog surrounding them, and the temperature is moderate. Their Chief Superintendent, Sir Rodriguez, is giving training and information on what to do in case of a fire in the mountains.
Romar approached Jake and whispered, "It seems impossible to have a fire here in the Philippine mountains."
"Why would you say that?" Jake responded to Romar.
"Because, notice, there's always fog and the ground and grass are always wet here, so how could a fire happen? That's why this training seems unnecessary," Romar said with a grin.
Ryan overheard Romar's comment, "You're not thinking, this training is just preparing us for possible future events. That's why it's called training. And besides, not all mountains in the Philippines have this kind of weather, so a fire is not out of the question," Ryan said teasingly.
Romar chuckled and retorted, "Oh come on, Buddy, don't be such a buzzkill. We're just having a bit of fun here."
Ryan smirked back, "Fun is one thing, but being prepared is another. You never know what might happen in these mountains."
Romar rolled his eyes playfully, "Alright, Mr. Serious, but let's be real, how often do you think we'll actually need to use this training?"
Ryan shrugged, "Hopefully never, but it's better to be safe than sorry, right?"
Romar nodded, conceding the point, "Fair enough, but you gotta admit, imagining a fire up here seems a bit far-fetched."
Ryan chuckled, "Maybe, but it's not impossible. Besides, it's not just about fires. This training covers all sorts of emergencies."
Romar grinned mischievously, "Well, I suppose you're right. But let's make a deal: if we ever do encounter a fire up here, you owe me a cold drink of Starbucks."
Ryan laughed, "Deal, but if it never happens, you owe me one too."
Jake listened to Romar and Ryan's banter with a grin, finding their playful exchange amusing. As they continued to tease each other about the likelihood of mountain emergencies, Jake couldn't help but chuckle.
"You two never cease to entertain," Jake said with a laugh, shaking his head in amusement. "But hey, jokes aside, it's good to know we're getting prepared for whatever might come our way out here."
Suddenly, as they looked into the sky, they all noticed that it had darkened and was enveloped in dark clouds with thunder.
Datu Bulon also noticed this sudden change in the weather and was somewhat puzzled.
"This isn't normal wind," Datu Bulon remarked, pondering the sudden change in weather. "There's only one thing I know that can cause this," he added.
Soon after, strong winds with rain suddenly came.
"Get down!" their Chief Superintendent shouted.
Their chief superintendent also wondered, "Why did the weather suddenly change? As far as I know, the weather should be fine now," he said to himself.
Their tents and other equipment were blown away as they crouched on the ground with their hands covering their faces and heads.
After a few minutes, the loud wind and rain stopped, but the thick, dark clouds remained in the sky.
Suddenly, the whole sky lit up, and the surroundings became bright because of a huge lightning bolt that struck a large tree not far from Jake's group.
Immediately, the tree was engulfed in flames because of the strength of the lightning.
Jake and Ryan exchanged looks and then turned to Romar, who was grinning. Romar's face showed a mixture of surprise and anticipation.
"It looks like I'm getting a free cold Starbucks on the way home," Ryan teased Romar, giving him a playful tap on the shoulder.
Meanwhile, Jake just shook his head and laughed at his two friends, Ryan and Romar.
"Okay officers, this is our chance to put our training to the test, let's gear up and extinguish that fire!" shouted Sir Rodriguez. "Move! Move!"
"Sir, yes, sir!" the firefighters shouted as they hurriedly grabbed the equipment that could be used to put out the fire.
As they extinguished the burning tree, Datu Bulon approached Jake and gave him advice, "Jake, you and your companions should leave this place as soon as possible," Datu Bulon said with concern.
"Why?" Jake asked in surprise.
"There is something bad that will happen in this place, so leave now," Datu Bulon insisted.
"Something bad?" Jake questioned. "I think your warning might be a bit late, as the bad thing you mentioned seems to have already happened," Jake retorted.
Datu Bulon tried to convince Jake further, but Jake didn't want to hear it anymore, "Don't bother me right now, we still have things to do. Tsk!" Jake said, shooing Bulon away.
Unable to do anything else, Bulon returned to the tree where he had been standing earlier, his face showing intense worry.
As Bulon walked away, Jake secretly glanced back at him, pondering the words he had said.
After half an hour, they successfully extinguished the fire. Everyone was ecstatic and cheering with joy because they felt that they had applied what they learned in their firefighter drills.
"I believe officers that our training concludes here. We successfully applied the lessons from the drills I provided to you," said their Chief Superintendent, Sir Rodriguez.
"Yay!" shouted the officers, applauding.
"Because of that, we'll have a party tonight to close our training. And tomorrow, we'll climb to the summit of Mount Apo. Is everything clear?" Sir Rodriguez shouted.
"Sir, yes sir!" everyone responded in unison.
"While Datu Bulon appears troubled, with deep worry etched on his face, he is aware of the imminent danger that could strike at any moment.
"It seems that the cloak of darkness is beginning to descend," Datu Bulon remarked with concern."