A bunch of students are having a good time in a grand pool party prepared by the mayor's goddaughter. It was the annual sorority party of a particular private university. Most of the party-goers are enjoying the pool in bikinis and beer, some just socializing in mobile bars. Loud party music, booze, glamorous cool kids, and hook-ups filled the place. It was the type of party that Bodie would not not want to attend to. Although a student of a different university, his name itself was a party pass."Bodie! 'Sup, man? It's been a long time." A long-haired tall guy approached Bodie with a wide grin, tapping his back when he got near."All good, Red, all good. How about you and the rest of the guys?" Bodie greeted him. Red hung his arm on Bodie's shoulder and they walked towards the pool area together. Red was Bodie's old friend, the last time they saw each other was two years ago in the same kind of party."So what's new with our Desmond?"Four other guys welcomed Bodie on their table, on
Luna walked inside a café shop situated in front of the train station. A young lady in a black apron and yellow beret employee hat greeted her to which she responded with a smile. Luna scanned the inside as she walked at a slowed pace, looking for an unoccupied table for two. It was lunchtime and she expected the place to be teeming with customers since it was near the train station after all but it wasn't, fortunately. Perhaps because it was new. She took the table beside the window and ordered two iced coffees. One for her, and one for the person she was meeting there today. The guy in the black hoodie she bumped into last night was Van. She reckons that he was from the clan of prescience and augury, seemingly a foreseer. She wanted to talk to him but they were both in a hurry last night. They decided to meet in this café the next day. Luna was anticipating meeting him and to ask him what he saw in the future where her grandfather, the Bakunawa, and herself were in. They were suppos
Bagwis tugged his cap while writing something down on his old notebook. He was trying to not catch any sort of attention. In front of him is a plate of rice, adobo, and a cold coke for a drink. Bagwis lied low in the quaint town of Rizal, his late wife's hometown. For weeks, he'd been following Benitez from a safe distance, observing and studying everything he does. Bagwis knew several important details about the spirit of the Bakunawa. Its power lies in the water. Contact to it replenishes lost strength and cures its wounds. Its weakness, on the other hand, is the banging of gongs. The banging of gongs momentarily helps separate the spirit from the human body. Another important fact is that the spirit of the Bakunawa takes thirty days before fully possessing the human body. During this time, the Bakunawa can only control the body at night when the human strength is weak and tired from the day. For two good weeks of observation, he found nothing off with Benitez, no strange behavior o
Kilometers away from the moving bus which Luna and Van were in, a happy Manila Atienza sat patiently, wearing not just the prettiest attire but also the most attractive smile. She was waiting for her date. Manila opened her phone, reading a message she just received. Her heart thumped faster when she read that he was soon to arrive. A couple of minutes passed and what emerged from the door, standing 5'11 and all smiles, was no other than Bodie. A friendly employee welcomed him and he greeted him back. They engaged in a quick small talk and Manila couldn't help but admire Bodie's congeniality. He makes friends everywhere he goes. She watched him scan the place, looking for her. She waved once he turned in her direction. "Hey," Bodie greeted. He was wearing a white buttoned camp collared short sleeves, breezy and utterly accentuating his toned shoulders. His beige ankle pants were a good choice for his long legs, Manila thought. He sure knew how to make the best use of his lean figure
"Watch out for snakes." Luna said as she walked along grasses at the level of her knees. Van and her shared one flashlight. "You watch out for the both of us, I'm as blind as the night." Van replied, staying near to her as he could. The forest was dark and filled of the noise coming from sleepless crickets. Every now and then, they would hear the trees move against the wind or the bushes move for random reasons. Almost tenty-five minutes ago, villagers warned them of dangerous animals and poisonous plants. They tried to stop them but couldn't. Van was as determined as Luna and ever since they started to walk on foot, he kept looking around for danger. Luna, on the other hand, had her head occupied with questions. She was trying to figure things out, trying to think like her grandfather but can't. She wonders, why is he inviting the Bakunawa to a fight? Why in a place both good and bad for the enemy? If the goal was to defeat it once and for all, shouldn't he lure him to a place mos
Bagwis, Luna, and Van huddled beside the old well. Fews hours from now, a big and risky drill is about to take place in order test the new-found strength of the Bakunawa as well as assess its novel changes. Bagwis finally explained his sudden disappearance to his grand daughter, but leaving out the part of just how immese the changes are in order to not put any sort of discouragement on them. Van stood on his left and Luna to his right. There were different kinds of equipment below them which Bagwis just laid out a couple of minutes ago. He decided not to let them go, thinking that it would be more dangerous to send them back into the forest than keeping them safe with him. The least they could do was help him and keep their presence concealed. "I want you to do everything exactly as I say you should, do your understand?" Bagwis said to which the two agreed upon. As he explained in detail everything they have to do, he handed them both gas masks, a gun and a torch for Luna, and a kni
Quarter to one, everybody stationed to their respective positions. Luna hid behind the well and near the debris of the worn-down chapel, her vision direct to the inside of the chapel where her grandfather stood and to the bell where Van is stationed. Van hunkered behind the veranda where the old church bell hangs and where he overlooks the entire forest as well as vision access to where Luna hides. Once he sees Benitez on the field, he can easily alert Luna who will then signal the arrival to his grandfather. Van could feel the rising tension in his chest pounding, he badly wanted to see him die tonight. Luna, on the other hand, held a gun in her hand, locked and loaded. All she can think about tonight is winning. Meanwhile, Bagwis stood still inside the chapel, just a few meters away from the beheaded Jesus statue with a spear full of venom poison, a concoction an old healer phenomenal put together in theory to paralyze a huge animal on-the-spot during hunting season. It had no known
It was three in the morning when a distant clattering sound of tumbled-down trashcans echoed in an empty lot beside the dark highway. Houses were more than a hundred meters away so it instantly became a hidden and unauthorized dumping site of illegal materials and chemicals. Normally, one would suspect a starving stray cat rummaging for food or a poverty-stricken garbage collector looking for plastic bottles, glass bottles, or boxes which one could sell in exchange for a few hundred pesos but it was neither. An old television with a broken screen and a chopped-off pedestal stand mysteriously flickered on and off, producing weird electronic noises. A scrawny feline sleeping in a ragged box awakened and hissed at it out of surprise before running away. A strong rush of unsettled air circulated the area, whipping garbage bins around and spilling garbage. A deep, sinister sound emitted from the unsettled gas, darkening in color as it continue
Quarter to one, everybody stationed to their respective positions. Luna hid behind the well and near the debris of the worn-down chapel, her vision direct to the inside of the chapel where her grandfather stood and to the bell where Van is stationed. Van hunkered behind the veranda where the old church bell hangs and where he overlooks the entire forest as well as vision access to where Luna hides. Once he sees Benitez on the field, he can easily alert Luna who will then signal the arrival to his grandfather. Van could feel the rising tension in his chest pounding, he badly wanted to see him die tonight. Luna, on the other hand, held a gun in her hand, locked and loaded. All she can think about tonight is winning. Meanwhile, Bagwis stood still inside the chapel, just a few meters away from the beheaded Jesus statue with a spear full of venom poison, a concoction an old healer phenomenal put together in theory to paralyze a huge animal on-the-spot during hunting season. It had no known
Bagwis, Luna, and Van huddled beside the old well. Fews hours from now, a big and risky drill is about to take place in order test the new-found strength of the Bakunawa as well as assess its novel changes. Bagwis finally explained his sudden disappearance to his grand daughter, but leaving out the part of just how immese the changes are in order to not put any sort of discouragement on them. Van stood on his left and Luna to his right. There were different kinds of equipment below them which Bagwis just laid out a couple of minutes ago. He decided not to let them go, thinking that it would be more dangerous to send them back into the forest than keeping them safe with him. The least they could do was help him and keep their presence concealed. "I want you to do everything exactly as I say you should, do your understand?" Bagwis said to which the two agreed upon. As he explained in detail everything they have to do, he handed them both gas masks, a gun and a torch for Luna, and a kni
"Watch out for snakes." Luna said as she walked along grasses at the level of her knees. Van and her shared one flashlight. "You watch out for the both of us, I'm as blind as the night." Van replied, staying near to her as he could. The forest was dark and filled of the noise coming from sleepless crickets. Every now and then, they would hear the trees move against the wind or the bushes move for random reasons. Almost tenty-five minutes ago, villagers warned them of dangerous animals and poisonous plants. They tried to stop them but couldn't. Van was as determined as Luna and ever since they started to walk on foot, he kept looking around for danger. Luna, on the other hand, had her head occupied with questions. She was trying to figure things out, trying to think like her grandfather but can't. She wonders, why is he inviting the Bakunawa to a fight? Why in a place both good and bad for the enemy? If the goal was to defeat it once and for all, shouldn't he lure him to a place mos
Kilometers away from the moving bus which Luna and Van were in, a happy Manila Atienza sat patiently, wearing not just the prettiest attire but also the most attractive smile. She was waiting for her date. Manila opened her phone, reading a message she just received. Her heart thumped faster when she read that he was soon to arrive. A couple of minutes passed and what emerged from the door, standing 5'11 and all smiles, was no other than Bodie. A friendly employee welcomed him and he greeted him back. They engaged in a quick small talk and Manila couldn't help but admire Bodie's congeniality. He makes friends everywhere he goes. She watched him scan the place, looking for her. She waved once he turned in her direction. "Hey," Bodie greeted. He was wearing a white buttoned camp collared short sleeves, breezy and utterly accentuating his toned shoulders. His beige ankle pants were a good choice for his long legs, Manila thought. He sure knew how to make the best use of his lean figure
Bagwis tugged his cap while writing something down on his old notebook. He was trying to not catch any sort of attention. In front of him is a plate of rice, adobo, and a cold coke for a drink. Bagwis lied low in the quaint town of Rizal, his late wife's hometown. For weeks, he'd been following Benitez from a safe distance, observing and studying everything he does. Bagwis knew several important details about the spirit of the Bakunawa. Its power lies in the water. Contact to it replenishes lost strength and cures its wounds. Its weakness, on the other hand, is the banging of gongs. The banging of gongs momentarily helps separate the spirit from the human body. Another important fact is that the spirit of the Bakunawa takes thirty days before fully possessing the human body. During this time, the Bakunawa can only control the body at night when the human strength is weak and tired from the day. For two good weeks of observation, he found nothing off with Benitez, no strange behavior o
Luna walked inside a café shop situated in front of the train station. A young lady in a black apron and yellow beret employee hat greeted her to which she responded with a smile. Luna scanned the inside as she walked at a slowed pace, looking for an unoccupied table for two. It was lunchtime and she expected the place to be teeming with customers since it was near the train station after all but it wasn't, fortunately. Perhaps because it was new. She took the table beside the window and ordered two iced coffees. One for her, and one for the person she was meeting there today. The guy in the black hoodie she bumped into last night was Van. She reckons that he was from the clan of prescience and augury, seemingly a foreseer. She wanted to talk to him but they were both in a hurry last night. They decided to meet in this café the next day. Luna was anticipating meeting him and to ask him what he saw in the future where her grandfather, the Bakunawa, and herself were in. They were suppos
A bunch of students are having a good time in a grand pool party prepared by the mayor's goddaughter. It was the annual sorority party of a particular private university. Most of the party-goers are enjoying the pool in bikinis and beer, some just socializing in mobile bars. Loud party music, booze, glamorous cool kids, and hook-ups filled the place. It was the type of party that Bodie would not not want to attend to. Although a student of a different university, his name itself was a party pass."Bodie! 'Sup, man? It's been a long time." A long-haired tall guy approached Bodie with a wide grin, tapping his back when he got near."All good, Red, all good. How about you and the rest of the guys?" Bodie greeted him. Red hung his arm on Bodie's shoulder and they walked towards the pool area together. Red was Bodie's old friend, the last time they saw each other was two years ago in the same kind of party."So what's new with our Desmond?"Four other guys welcomed Bodie on their table, on
Luna walked forward and approached the nearest sari-sari store she saw. At first, most of the store owners did not know who the Toreses were or if there were anyone related to them who lived around the area before. Luna continued to search, entering different streets and passages, following different opinion-based directions given to her. Hours passed and she found herself lost in a confined and noisy neighborhood. There were people singing karaoke in the afternoon and men sitting on benches outside their homes, drinking beer under the hot sun. Luna acted like she wasn't lost and walked confidently along the slim passages, trying not to catch unnecessary attention from the bystanders. Luna wasn't easily rattled by situations like this, she was always mentally composed. She continued walking around and asking for directions. After a couple of turns, Luna happened to pass by a group of rowdy men drinking alcohol and singing out-of-tune karaoke, a few of them catcalling her. Luna felt sh
Luna pulled her phone out of her pocket. She opened the music app, plugged in her earphones, and listened to a shuffle of songs. She plans to skip school today and go to Bacoor, Cavite instead to search for Wendy Tores or any of her relatives. Hasty she was but she did not think so. She was losing time and her headstrong desire to search for her grandfather got the best of her. Now that she had a chance to do something about the situation, her brain sort of just gets this mental itch to go for it and it will not stop bugging her until she finds her. This risk she was willing to take is nothing compared to the threat of life pending on her grandfather's fate.Three minutes later, the old, rusty, and loud train approached the platform. With heavy mechanical whirring and dark smoke puffing out of the train's pipe, the Philippine National Railway or PNR train set to a halt. The doors slowly opened, letting out hundreds of sweaty passengers from kilometers away. It's as early as eight in t