"We lost half of our people, we didn't get half of their bodies back." Sadness was evident in Ivan's tone as we showered.
"That cannot be avoided in our work. They knew what they were getting into in the first place." Said Reeves who is in the cubicle on my right. I put my face in the shower and the water fell on my face like raindrops.
But what should have been just the splash of water turned into screams and grunts.
"Shin...!"
'Help!'
'Aaahhh!!!'
"Hey Shin!" I blinked when Ivan called my name and looked at me strangely. "Are you okay?" I held my breath.
"I dreamed about them." I said absent minded, I heard Reeves blow his breath. "It's like you're not used to it yet."
I'm used to it, I'm so used to it. It got to the point... I didn't know what it felt like to be sad or scared anymore.
= ❈ =
"DID you get any information?" Captain Samuel— the Chief Of Police of our area approached us. He is in his late forties and a widow, with a daughter.
"The guts and chest are empty, the insides are gone. It's definitely an aswang again." - Crystal.
We are at a crime scene on the side of the road. Captain Samuel called us because they knew we were the only ones with knowledge when it came to things like this.
"Sir." Tabitha approached me and handed me the tablet, I looked at what was on it and frowned.
"Different DNA."
"The aswang here are not ours or the other aswang in the city. So it cannot be determined who did the crime." I returned the tablet to her and approached the corpse. I stared at it, and there appeared what had happened.
I blinked. "Tomorrow Saturday, we will go to our province."
= ❈ =
In dawn, we immediately left, we arrived there around one o'clock in the afternoon. We spent the night at my grandfather's house.
"Lisandro's clan?"
"Yes, lolo¹. I am sure, I know the insignia of their clan and I saw it on the corpse that was found. It looks like one of their men did it."
"The brother of the aswang you killed in the forest, a year ago..." Grandpa looked at me while I just stared at my coffee. "Looks like that brother has plans to get revenge on you."
"And what does that have to do with what we're talking about, lolo?"
He was sipping his coffee. "I found out that Brandon's group, the brother of the woman you killed before, has escaped. They are in Manila now, looking for you and planning to kill you too."
My eyes widened when I realized what this meant. I gritted my teeth.
"Don't say they had anything to do with the crime?" Grandfather placed his cup on the small table and leaned back in his chair.
"Talk to Lisandro first before hunting Brandon."
= ❈ =
"SHIN! What brought you here?" Lisandro said when we stepped in front of their land. I was with Ivan and the others who was behind me.
"Do you have any missing personnel?" He stopped and his face became serious. The other aswang around us also wondered, the surroundings were tense but no one wanted to intervene.
Their clan and our family have been friends for a long time.
"How did you know?"
"Because some of the members of your clan have arrived in the city.
"How are you sure that the people you are talking about are from my clan?"
"You know me, Lisandro. My eyes and memory have never been wrong."
"So, what did Brandon do and you rushed here?"
"Don't you just eat human during special occasions only? It looks like they didn't keep the vow."
He growls loudly and the others followed.
"That son of a bitch...!" His voice changed.
"I have a suggestion." He was brought back to his senses. "Say it." But he still doesn't seem to have lost his two voices.
"We will catch his group. Brandon is ours, his companions are yours." He even looked at those behind him before looking back at me.
"Deal. No conditions." I nodded and turned around, ready to leave.
"Hidalgo." I stopped. "Two decades are over. We are all ready, do your part."
"Yes, uncle."