Alex and his friends had to complete a mission. They were dragged in the middle of the forest and had to find their way back to camp before 7:00 am. Elmer had Alex and said that he would not give him any special treatment. Alex said he would prove that he was capable of becoming a soldier. He hit Elmer and was able to run off.
Alex had teamed up with Benjie, Striker and Abe. The three of them decided not to go back to camp without him so they decided to look for him. Gorio’s group decided not to follow him since they were going around in circles. They decided to follow Phil instead. They ran into Alex’s group and they were able to get back to camp before time was up. Elmer was confident that Alex wouldn’t make it so he was disappointed to see Alex return.
Alex noticed that Gorio was not there and decided to go back for him. There was only 5 minutes left so the others tried to stop Alex from going back. Alex insisted that everyone in their class had to graduate. He went to get Gorio and they got back when time was already up. Their trainer however said that they all passed because part of the test was also to make sure that no one was left behind.
Gorio was not happy that Alex received acclaim for helping him. That evening, the class had a few drinks to celebrate their success. Gorio followed Alex when he went to bring Striker to sleep and attacked him. He claimed that Alex used him to look good. Alex said it was not the case and tried to stop Gorio. Their superior found them and demanded to know what was going on. Alex said he was helping Gorio get to bed because he was drunk. Gorio realized that Alex helped him and said that he was upset because he had to be number one. Alex told him their rank did not matter.
Minda and Dante attended Alex’s graduation where he emerged as the top student. Abe and Gorio were also among the top. The team would be deployed to Mindanao but took some time off to see their families. Dante was worried because Alex was from there. After killing Yusuf, he took him in in order to take responsibility for what he had done.
Striker did not have any money since he had sent it all to his family. The others pitched in so that he could have enough to visit his family before they were deployed.
Alex went home with his parents. He asked Dante where he had found him since he knew it was in Mindanao. They were however interrupted by Minda who asked them to prepare for dinner. Elmer also joined them.
Benjie went to visit his mother and niece, Aya. She is Olan’s daughter and was upset with him for joining the military. She fears Benjie might die like her father.
Abe, who is a muslim, also went to see his family. His siblings were proud to see that he had become a soldier and said they wanted to become soldiers too.
Rasheed and Saal recruited new men for their cause. They got into an argument because their previous recruits betrayed them to the military. Yasmin asked them not to fight because it was not a good image to portray to their men.
A young boy named Amir joined the training. Yasmin noticed that he was too young and asked him to leave. Amir however said that he had nowhere to go because their home was destroyed by the military and his parents killed. Yasmin allowed him to stay but refused to let him train to fight. Saal told her that he was a child when Yusuf died as well as his brother Hakeem so children were part of the fight as well.
Source: Blasters Series