A person who has already died... rarely remembers... One who dies before their time and leaves behind a lingering mission on earth will be inhabited by nature.
A demon that controls the negative energy of the deceased is the reigning devil. It will not vanish because a demon rarely surrenders. It will not surrender to God; their kind will fight and create deception in the world using the minds of those loved by God to snatch them away.
It wants something from you... But it cannot take it without your consent. It will find a way to make you surrender yourself to them. A strong person will not yield... but the demon is deceitful...
Your soul in exchange for what it will give you...
They don't approach you to give you what you truly want. They are very tricky and have absolutely no sympathy for humans. Demons, devils, fallen angels, unclean souls... they feed off negative energy.
What demons want from us is our total destruction. NO MORE, NO LESS.
- INSANUS
[ START ]
ROGER'S POV
Ara is in front of me. Ara, Nana's twin.
She is staring into my eyes. I won't blink because she might disappear from my sight.
Unfortunately, the lighter I was holding died.
CLICK! CLICK!
It lit up.
Shit!
Ara—is gone!
Where is she?!
Wake up! Wake up! I slapped my face. I hope this is just a dream. This is the first time I've seen a twisted body in my entire life. It feels surreal. I've only seen things like this in movies.
I lit up the surroundings. I was trembling. I almost dropped the lighter. Suddenly, I heard a moan. What was that? That was the same moan Rico and I heard.
I shone the light there! Over there!
I was tearful with fear. What if that was Ara? Then—
There was the moaning again. I shone the light.
Shit!
There was—
A woman there.
She was lying down! Curling up, trembling, and moaning! "W-who is that?" I whispered.
Then—
My lighter died again! Damn! It won't light up! I tried again! Still nothing!
I stopped.
How—
Behind me—someone is breathing!
Damn, I hear it! Breathing!
I swallowed hard. Sweat was pouring down me.
But what terrified me more—my lighter.
It lit up on its own!
Jesus!
I almost jumped!
I picked it up—and raised it.
I lit up the surroundings—and looked around. The woman from earlier was gone.
Where did she go? She was just—Fuck!
I flailed when someone suddenly hugged me from behind!
It pulled me. Dragged me. I tried to struggle but I couldn't break free. I was just—thrashing!
"R-Roger!"
I stopped. I knew that voice.
I lifted my face from where I was lying. Dark. I was catching my breath. I thought I was going to die. But whose voice was that? It called my name.
"R-Roger..."
There it was again. "W-Who are you?"
"R-Roger, it's me..." It was trembling.
I sat up. The voice was familiar. "Maria..." "Y-Yes... it's Mrs. Ocampo."
"Oh, my God!" Even if I couldn't see her, I knew she was right in front of me. I immediately hugged her. She was shaking. "It really is you, Maria!"
She sobbed. "R-Roger..."
So, she was the woman moaning. She was the woman I saw lying down and trembling earlier. "Maria... we need to get out of here..."
"W-we need light..."
I flinched when the surroundings suddenly brightened. A man appeared from behind me. He was carrying a lamp.
"Who are you?!" I backed away in terror while hugging Mrs. Ocampo.
"It's okay... R-Roger... I know this man..." Maria stopped me.
"I heard a woman moaning here inside the cave while I was hunting earlier. When I saw her..." he turned to Mrs. Ocampo. "...I immediately asked for help from my uncle," the man with the lamp explained. But strangely, he wasn't just carrying a lamp. He also had a large bag.
Behind him, an old man peeked out. This must be his uncle.
"Let's leave now..." I helped Maria up. That was when I noticed her lips were bone dry. She was pale and weak.
The man with the lamp handed us a bottle of water. I let Maria drink immediately. She finished it while shaking. She probably hadn't eaten or drunk water for days.
"Who is the man lying over there?" the uncle asked. "Lying down?" I was confused.
"Yes, lying down. It looks like he's lifeless."
"Is he—is his body twisted?" I stood up to check Rico's corpse.
"No. He's just lying there."
My eyes widened at what I saw. He was right! Rico was just lying there. As if he were just a person sleeping. I covered my mouth. Why was it like that? I clearly saw his body being twisted earlier. How? I went back to Mrs. Ocampo. "Maria... when you pulled me... was I standing?"
She shook her head. "No, Roger... your eyes were closed... you looked like you were having a nightmare..."
So that's what happened. It was a nightmare. It felt so real! Or—could it be—Hell! Is it possible it was an illusion? Ara's hypnotism!
Then I went back to Rico's body. Beside him—there was Ara's skeleton!
I turned to the man with the lamp. "What's in your bag?" "Ah, this? Nothing."
"Can I borrow it?"
He looked at his uncle first before responding. "Sure..."
When I got it from him, I opened it. Then, with eyes closed, I carried Ara's remains and put them inside the bag.
"Are you serious?" the man with the lamp complained.
I didn't answer him. Instead, I continued what I was doing.
I remembered. Inang said before she died that Ara was a demon. It seems what she said was true. I turned to all of them. "Let's leave. Let's ask for help from the authorities." After saying that, I carried Maria.
The two looked at each other before agreeing. When we got out of the cave, we walked together toward the exit of the forest. I was carrying Mrs. Ocampo while holding the bag containing Ara's skeleton. After a while, we saw their vehicle in the distance.
"Thank you..." I said to the two.
"Are you alone, son?" the old man asked me.
"Two of us came here. But—my companion died." "Did you kill him?" He stopped briefly.
"No, sir." I looked at the bag I was carrying. "This is what killed him."
The old man just laughed, clearly not believing me. He changed the subject. "Do you have a vehicle?"
I nodded. "It's over there."
I was shocked when he pulled out a gun. "Sorry, son. But we aren't here to help you and your companion. We are here to rob you."
I turned pale. Dammit! These people are thieves. That's why the other one was carrying a large bag. They probably thought there was treasure inside the cave.
They pointed a gun at me and made me approach their vehicle. When we got there, there were three other men with them. They were grinning at us.
"Does he have money?" one of them asked. This seemed to be the leader. "He said he has a car. Over there." He pointed.
"Good job! And the woman with him—is she useful?" I suddenly felt nervous.
Even Maria tightened her grip on my back. "Please. Just take my car. It's over there. I'll go with you."
"Do you have cash?" their leader asked. I shook my head.
"Oh, alright. Take us to your car. Leave the woman."
"I'm taking the woman with me," I mustered the courage to say. "We won't escape..."
Their leader just nodded. Then we started walking with the man who had the lamp earlier. "Stay here first, boss. When we get back—I'll have his car." "Be careful."
I whispered to Mrs. Ocampo who was trembling on my back. "I have a favor..." "What?"
"Just close your eyes. Don't open them," I muttered. "Why?" she asked.
"Just do it. If I fall asleep, wake me up immediately, okay?" "I don't understa—"
"Just do it."
The man with us probably heard our whispering. "What are you two whispering about, huh?!"
"Nothing," I replied curtly. I whispered again to Mrs. Ocampo. "Are your eyes closed?" "Yes," she answered.
"Wait!" their leader called out.
We hadn't gone far yet. We turned around.
"Who is the child with you?" the leader asked. Huh? What child?
The man beside me and I looked at each other. "Where?" "There—behind you."
I swallowed hard. Here comes the fear again. It's probably—Ara!
But when I looked back—the man beside me was gone! My companion.
Shit! Could it be—
Something fell from above. A body.
A twisted—body!
It was the man—who was beside me.
Then—I looked up. I looked up. I looked up. Ara!!!
I heard successive gunshots. So—they could see Ara too. If I'm not mistaken—
They were also under her hypnotism. Just like me!
I just hope Mrs. Ocampo wakes me up.
If Ara kills me here in my dream—I definitely won't wake up!
But for now—I'll just run. I'll just keep running!
The gunshots—one by one, they disappeared. Then bodies were being thrown everywhere! Sudden silence.
I stopped.
I couldn't hear any human screams anymore. Should I look back?
Yes, I'll look back.
Please, Maria! Wake me up now. Here it is—I'm turning around.
But—before I could turn—I noticed something.
The one I was carrying. It felt like—
It wasn't Mrs. Ocampo.
"Maria?" I whispered.
There was no response.
But I felt it—
My back was soaking wet with water. It was trembling.
I smelled it—the stench. It was so cold.
I could hear it—flies were swarming it.
My God! What do I do!?
I'll drop it. Yes, I'll drop it! But how? It was clinging to my back.
Whatever! I was starting to cry. One.
Two.
Three!
The hug tightened! "Aahhhh!" I screamed.
When I woke up—Mrs. Ocampo—was in front of me.
"Finally, you woke up..." She was smiling at me. "What happened?"
I was still shivering. "You fell asleep."
When I looked around, those carjackers were also asleep. "I don't know... but earlier... they were moaning..." Maria said.
I was right in my suspicion. They were probably dead in the nightmare. I stood up and immediately searched for the bag where Ara was. In the distance—I could see my car. "Let's go..." I assisted her.
When we got into the car, I explained everything that was happening to her. I was worried because one of us always had to have our eyes closed. Ara might attack again and we'd both fall under the nightmare.
She was stunned. "She's a demon?" She couldn't believe it. "I don't know either, Maria."
"What you're saying is possible, Roger. She was probably the one haunting us back then." My eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
She told me everything. "A demon cannot hurt physically, but they can use hypnotism to harm and use a physical body."
"What should we do?" I asked. "She only has one goal—a soul."
I leaned against the driver's seat. "With all the people Nana killed—why doesn't she just take their souls?"
"Roger... a demon can't just take a person's soul. Unless the person offers their soul to the demon themselves."
I looked at her. "How did you know that?"
"I go to church every Sunday. It's often mentioned in the priest's sermon."
Her face grew sad. Janice used to go to church with her. "Janice—"
"I know, Roger." She started to cry. "You know Janice is missing?"
She shook her head. "I know Janice is dead. Nana killed her!" She sobbed. "The nerve of her! She even told me how she killed my daughter! I'll kill her! I'll kill them both, her and Roli!"
I suddenly hugged her. I started crying too. "They are animals! They are crazy!"
"Shhh... quiet now, Maria. Don't worry. I'll make sure they pay under the law." I'm a lawyer. I can pin them down with the law.
Then I faced the steering wheel and started my car. But—
Before I could drive away—on the side of the window—
An axe.
An axe.
An axe that—
Struck Maria's neck. "Maria!!!" I screamed!
Maria was hit in the neck! She spat out blood! Roli!
He was at the side of my car. I quickly shifted gears and drove away.
Roli even pulled back the axe he threw. When I looked in my rearview mirror—he was with—
Nana!
There they were, together!
I sobbed. Not out of fear. Not out of anger. But out of sheer pity for Maria's condition. She was dying. I stopped the car once I was far from Nana. I covered the gash on her neck.
So much blood was coming out. "Maria..." my voice cracked. She held my hand. "R-Roger... did you love me..."
I nodded. It was true. I really loved her. Even when I was married to Nana. But, I also loved Nana.
"Maria... please don't talk... I'll take you to the hospital..."
But she insisted on speaking. "I-I will save you..." Then she looked up slightly even though blood was gushing from her neck. "A-Ara... I offer you m-my soul..."
"No!"
"M-my soul is yours... just go b-back to the hell you c-came from..." Then she vomited blood.
"Maria!"
She grabbed me by the collar. She wanted to whisper something.
I leaned my ear close to her. "Maria... I can't hear you..." I was crying. Her mouth moved closer to my ear. She whispered.
"Your daughter is—JANICE..."