The Last Guardian

Chapter_24: The Manananggal- Part One

“From the dark and scary forests beyond the city walls and beyond the country side  echoes a terrible screeching sound of a creature so dreadful that anyone who has ever seen it with their own eyes has either gone insane or has died a gruesome death. One cannot begin to describe the creature other than its presence that sends a foul stench through the air and the echoes of the horrible screams that almost sounds woman-like yet not human. Rumour has it that it is an undead witch or a woman who’s cursed to be a monster-some say it has wings like a bat, while others say it looks like an ordinary woman with long flowing hair and it uses its long vampire -like tongue to suck the hearts out of its victims! Its legend comes from the thick jungles of the Philippines where it is generally referred to as an Aswang (a ghoul or a ghost or any supernatural entity) and it is thought to prey mostly upon sleeping pregnant women and lovers in bed...”

Johnathan read through the pages of the old book that described in detail about the gruesome and horrific monster. The book was old- like a hundred years old- but so was the legend.

“Why am I reading this weird stuff again?” asked Johnathan.

“Because I suspect one is lurking around in this town-“replied Billy sitting in his usual chair.

“What? A monster- that too from south east asia?” asked Johnathan.

“Yeah-why not?  Heaven knows what the darkness has brewed up in the last couple of days-“said Billy.

“The darkness has sent all its minions to look for the last seal so that they can break it free-“he added.

“What are these seals anyways? I mean how do they look like?” asked Johnathan.

“They can be anything- from an object to an animal or a tree or even a human soul- their purpose is to radiate enough positive energy so that the darkness cannot take over-“replied Raven sitting behind him on the couch.

“Look at this-“said Billy handing him the morning newspaper.

“Gruesome death in Bridgetown- Local woman dies of severe blood loss- heart missing- no signs of external wounds-“read the headline.

“What? How can someone rip out a human heart without any external wound?” asked Johnthan.

“Hence my theory of the Manananggal-“said Billy.

"So what's the plan? We gonna hunt it down?" asked Johnathan.

"No- not yet- it's gonna be difficult to find-" replied Billy.

"It's actually looking for you- it wants to get your attention, so that you go after it and fall into it's trap-" said Raven.

"Me? But why-" Johnathan asked.

"You're a Guardian for this town and taking you out would ease things for the darkness-" said Billy.

"So I'm the target-" said Johnathan.

"You are and from now on you will always be- so never lose your guard and stay alert at all times... You are powerful now but you are still vulnerable-" said Billy.

"What do you mean?" asked Johnathan.

"You still have to learn to call upon your powers whenever you want and you have one final step that will almost make you impossible to defeat-" said Billy.

"Yeah? What is it-" asked Johnathan curiously.

"It has been rumored that there lies an ancient weapon of the first Guardian somewhere- and if you can find it then even the darkness itself can't defeat you-" said Billy.

"And how can I find it?"asked Johnathan.

"The secret of the weapon will come to you in due time and nobody not even elders like us know anything more-" said Billy.

"I thought that I already had everything I needed to defend myself-" said Johnathan.

"It won't be enough- you are very strong now but there are things out there that are stronger than you- All I'm asking is for you to be careful and be prepared for anything-" said Billy.

Johnathan thought a while- things were getting murkier- there were things that Billy knows but hasn't told him yet.

"So back to this monster- what do I do?" he asked.

"Nothing! Chasing after it will be foolish- let's make it come to you-" said Billy.

It was 12:30 in the afternoon and Lisa was busy in her office skimming through files with a slice of pizza in one hand. The files had been collecting dust on her table during her leave and now she had to finish them all. She compiled her report on the death of the Russian Mafia and then went on to complete the report of the unsolved case of the cab driver-

Suddenly an idea struck her head. She pit down the slice of pizza and sar on the chair staring at all the reports. She took out the files of the mass murders and then the mafia and the casino shoot out- they might not be as complicated as she thought. She realised that every single one of them might be a supernatural case which is why she was having a hard time to explain them rationally. These were not normal cases and each of them had one thing in common- Billy and Johnathan. She knew that they dealt with the supernatural so she thought they can help her find answers and explain to her what was really going on. Somehow it felt like a bigger story to her. But there was one hiccup- how was she gonna tell her boss about the supernatural elements? Nevertheless she needed answers and she knew where to begin- the old Church!

She waited anxiously for her work hours to end and as soon as the clock struck 5, she hurried towards her car and drove straight towards the church. It was getting cloudy again and she was relieved that the summer heat was somehow dropping- she loved the rain and she recalled how as a kid she used to play with her brother in the rain. She turned on the radio and a smooth relaxing country song echoed through the car speakers. She began to vibe along with the rhythm and enjoy the pleasant breeze flowing in through the car window...

Suddenly she thought she saw something dark flying by in front of her car- like a big bird. She paused for a moment and looked over- there was nothing- maybe some giant stork flew across- she laughed it off and returned to the song and sang along. The church was 6 kilometres away-but the traffic was starting to get out of hand. She could see rows of cars lining ahead-

“What the hell is going on?”she said to herself and stopped the car.

People were starting to gather a few metres ahead of her and police cars were starting to arrive. Suddenly her phone began to ring-she picked it up- it was the captain from the precinct-

“Lisa we got a possible homicide on the highway near the bridge-“ said the captain.

“Yes Sir I’m at the site-“she replied.

“Oh good- I thought you could check it out and report to me- we are a little short on staff today-“said the captain.

“No problem sir- in fact it’s right in front of me-“replied Lisa and cut the call.

She pushed through the crowd of on-lookers and saw a disgusting sight- a man in his early 30s was lying face down on the road with his body twisted and his eyes and mouth frozen with horror. The police started to barricade the site but Lisa showed her badge and went closer to the dead body on the ground.

“What happened here?” she asked a deputy.

“Crazy stuff ma’am- people say they saw this body drop from the sky!” replied the deputy and moved on.

“What in the world-“said Lisa looking upwards.

The sky was clear and there were no buildings nearby- so what the body dropped from a plane? What about the huge shadow she saw earlier?

“Nah-“she said to herself” that would be too much- so what now giant birds are killing people too?”

 She knew where to find answers though-she had to talk to Billy- so she dropped everything and hurried to meet him.