Chapter 29
“We need to hurry,” Dr. Wineman said, four bags of salt in his hand. “It may already be too late.” He hurried over to Jared’s car and we all followed after him when the bounty hunter held my arm.
“She needs to stay here,” Jared said, yanking me backwards.
“No, I don’t,” I argued, knowing he was still right. Richard was at the passenger side door and opened it, causing Jared to be confused. He held up his keys, wondering how the doctor had gotten the door open.
“Yes, you do. How many times will I—”
“We don’t have time to argue!” the doctor smacked his hand down on the roof of the Charger, surprising everyone. “We need to go now, I’ll explain on the way, just get in the car!” Luke and I headed for the back seat while Jared grumbled to himself, knowing he wasn’t going to win this battle.
We drove out at a nerve-racking speed heading towards the forest.
“So what is this thing?” Jared asked, taking the subject off of me.
“Each of you take one of these,” Dr. Wineman handed Luke and I a small bag of salt which we curiously took. I exchanged a look with Luke but he just shrugged his shoulders, not knowing any more than I did. “Take this as well.” The doctor handed us each a lighter. I didn’t know Luke had any in the apartment; I got the BBQ lighter, easily lit with a switch. Did he know I couldn’t use the dollar-store kind? I flicked it on to see if it still worked, having not used it in a while; the orange flame popped out the end with ease and I turned it off.
“What is this for?” I questioned. Bayani had been mentioning fire a lot, to both Cindy and Jared and now the doctor was handing us lighters. Connected? I thought so and it was no wonder the reporter had had him locked up.
“And what the hell is this thing?” Jared looked at the salt bag, skeptical before tossing it back to me. “Hold that.” I caught it and set it on the seat next to me.
“This creature is very dangerous,” Dr. Wineman said and Jared cut him off.
“No shi—”
“It is called a Manananggal,” the doctor interrupted. “It is a vampire-like creature from Philippine folklore which appears as a woman by day but…well you saw the form it hunts in at night.”
“A Manananangal?” Luke asked, getting the name wrong.
“A Manananggal,” Richard corrected and looked at the bullet necklace around my neck that Bayani had given me, “it means ‘one who detaches’. At night it detaches its upper body from its lower once it feels it has found a suitable hiding spot. Where did you get that?”
“I got it from Bayani,” I said and looked at everyone around me. “Wait…at night? Charlie was killed during the day.”
“I’m aware,” Richard said, “it is very unusual for a Manananggal to hunt during the day because it’s very dangerous for them. Not only could they be seen they could easily be killed, at least by humans.”
“Finally, we’re getting to the part I like.” Jared pushed harder on the gas pedal as we sped past the downtown shops. Please, let there be no police around. “How can it die?”
“When she separates her torso from her legs,” the doctor explained, “she is the most vulnerable; it’s the only way she can be killed. Though there are many ways stated in the lore, the best way to kill one is by salting the lower half of the body and lighting it aflame, that way at daybreak she cannot return to human form, killing her. You say Bayani gave that to you?”
“That doesn’t sound too difficult,” Jared said with a nod of his head.
“Yes,” I answered the doctor, ignoring Jared’s thoughts, “why?”
“Some areas believed that wearing a bullet necklace would help protect them from the Manananggal.” So Bayani had given me the necklace in hopes of protecting me? I thought of him in jail, feeling guilty that I couldn’t help him when he was trying to keep me safe; just like he had tried to keep the other’s safe. The bullets found at Heather’s crime scene must have been there to protect her but they didn’t seem to have done any good.
“So we just have to put salt on her legs and…light her on fire? Then it’s done?” Luke changed the subject, sensing what I was thinking. I was grateful for that.
“Well,” the doctor dashed all our hopes of a solving this quickly with a single word, “normally if one knows where the creature has left its lower half it would not be, but not only do we not know where she is residing, she knows we are coming. Did you shoot her, Jared?”
“Maybe,” Jared answered, looking at Richard from the corner of his eye, “why? Is that bad?”
“Possibly,” Richard straightened in his seat and looked out the front window, “I was just wondering how upset she will be when we find her.”
We made it to the northern woods in just less than ten minutes, which under normal circumstances would be good. Too bad these weren’t normal circumstances.
Jared had managed to find the hidden dirt road which led to a row of wooden cabins. Four of them sat against the tree line, facing across a small lake I had never paid much attention to. I had never come this far into the woods in a long time and I had a feeling I never would again. The Charger ground to a halt next to a black SUV in the designated parking area by the cabins. Jared let the car idle for a moment before turning it off, watching the houses.
“You believe her to be in one of these?” Dr. Wineman asked, peering out the front window.
“Yup,” Jared said, hands folded over the steering wheel. “These are the only houses around for miles that aren’t in town.”
“Just because these are the only houses in the area,” Richard chided, “doesn’t mean she is here. Manananggal’s are very clever in hiding their lowers halves.”
“No,” Jared said, opening his door, “it’s here.” He stepped out of the vehicle and I did the same. Luke and the doctor soon followed after us. I passed Jared a bag of salt and he slipped it inside his jacket. As we stood the doctor faced away from us and I thought I heard him sniff at the air; my fever was beginning to play tricks on me.
“Which one do we check?” I asked, when suddenly a clicking resonated through the air. It sounded as if the creature was directly behind us. I spun around quickly and got a major head rush, expecting to see her flying down from the trees, claws and teeth ready to tear out our throats. Jared pushed me behind him and drew his gun, preparing to fire but there was nothing there.
“Calm down,” Richard said as he turned to us, “it is not close by.”
“Are you kidding me?” Jared laughed. “It sounds like it’s right beside us.”
“It is a trick,” the doctor informed, “the closer it sounds the further away it is; the quieter the tick-tick the closer it is. You wounding her must have slowed her down, otherwise she would be here by now.” Jared set his gun in its holster, still watching the trees.
“Then let’s find her better half before she gets back,” Jared turned and headed for the first house, pulling me along at his heels. “We’ll check here, you two check that side.”
“Wait,” Luke stopped us and we turned to face him, the temperature lowering fast, “I’ll stay with Liv.”
“She’ll stay with me,” Jared started us walking, “she tends to attract these things so I’d like to be nearby when it happens.”
“When what happens?” I asked as we made it to the door of the first cabin.
“I don’t know, but something always happens when you’re around.” Jared pushed me to the right and swung the wooden door open, quickly drawing his gun. As I kept my back to the cabin I watched Luke reluctantly follow Dr. Wineman to the house opposite us, his eyes refusing to leave me alone. All of the houses were black so we had no way of telling which one would hold the creatures legs. He gave me a gentle shove and said, “C’mon.”
I stepped inside the darkened house after Jared, scarcely able to make out the rustic furniture in the front room. As I reached to turn on a light for better visibility Jared grab
bed my wrist. I apologized, realizing my mistake. It wouldn’t be very smart to turn a light on, if they were all supposed to be off.
Jared took the lead, hopping around corners with weapon at the ready. As I trailed behind him I kept my finger on the trigger of the lighter, bag of salt clutched in my other hand. We made our way through the cabin; living room, kitchen, bathroom and finally the bedroom. All of them were empty, no lower bodies hiding anywhere.
“Not here,” Jared said as I walked past the bedroom window. The clicking sounded far away now, at least further than it had been. Was the creature near us then? Was she waiting just outside? Suddenly the clicking stopped and a light flicked on in the cabin next to us.
“Jared,” I said, just as he was about to leave the room. He came towards me and pulled me to the floorboards, allowing us to peer over the ledge into the other house.
We were looking into the living room of the other cabin just as Cindy Hart walked across to the bookshelf. I gave Jared a knowing look and found he was giving me the same; so the Manananggal was Cindy. She looked normal now, completely human, not even hinting at the stone-skinned creature she had been twenty minutes ago. She picked a book from the shelf and began to leaf through it when Jared tapped my shoulder, telling me we were leaving. What bothered me though was that she didn’t seem upset, was she not expecting us to find her? She didn’t even have any wounds on her; her clothes perfectly intact. Maybe it was best that Cindy believed herself to be safe, that way we could take her by surprise…
“She’s attached,” I whisper to Jared through the black, “how are we supposed to…” My voice trailed off; I didn’t want to say it. I didn’t even want to think about how Luke would react.
“Let’s find the doc and figure it out,” Jared led me out the front door and into the evening air. As my foot touched the earth below I saw Luke and Dr. Wineman leave the cabin kitty corner to us. While we had searched one place, they had already finished with two. Was I slowing Jared down? I pursed my lips and looked around, noticing a different light was on the cabin next to us.
“We didn’t find anything,” Luke declared as they met us outside the last house. “It’s in there then?” I could still hear the clicking, but it now sounded as far away as it could be. Cindy was just inside the house and the constant clicking was just a reminder.
“She’s…reattached herself,” Jared told them, “what now?”
“We’ll need her to detach again then,” Richard touched stroked his chin, “perhaps if we confront her she’ll detach in desperation.”
“Good enough for me,” Jared suddenly turned and walked up to the cabin door. In one swift movement he had his gun out and kicked down the wooden door, splintering the frame by the handle. He dashed inside, leaving the rest of us outside, mouths agape.
We made it inside in time to see him pointing his gun at Cindy, whose eyes were wide with fear, hands in the air.
“L-Luke?” she asked when we walked into the living room. “What are you doing here?”
“Cindy?” Luke asked, eyes growing just as wide. He looked hurt to see her. “You’re the killer?”
“Me?” she pointed at herself, leaving her hands in the air as Jared’s arm stiffened. I could see his fingers growing tense by the trigger, anticipating the shot when Dr. Wineman cut in.
“Don’t Jared!” he yelled, being smart enough to not swat at Jared’s hands. “She’s human.”
“How do you know that?” he said back, keeping aim on Cindy.
“I’m not the killer,” Cindy pleaded but Jared wasn’t about to listen to her.
“That’s what they all say.”
“Please,” the doctor said, waving his hands for Jared to put the gun away, “trust me, she’s human. But this is where the creature resides, I can s—I can tell.” The bounty hunter eyed Richard, debating on whether he should believe him. Eventually he put his gun away and Cindy lowered her arms, releasing the breath she had been holding. I did the same, not realizing I had stopped.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her, curious. If she wasn’t the killer, then why would she be inside the cabin? Cindy leaned over, hands on her knees as she tried to calm down. I guessed she had never had a gun pointed at her. Did I react like that after first meeting Jared?
“I was,”—she straightened her back, able to breathe again—“I was going to have a drink with a friend, but she said she’d be late so I should just let myself in.”
“Who’s your friend?” Richard asked before I could. Cindy gave us a confused look, as if we should know whose house we had broken into. Well, we had thought it was her but now…
“It’s—” Cindy flew forward, the boards beneath her feet lifting with a great force to reveal a hidden stairway. Jared caught her before she fell as a man lunged out from the opening. The reporter spun backwards beside me when Jared threw her aside and pulled his gun again.
“Who’s that?” he asked but none of us spoke. The man in front of us was John Walker; middle aged but still quite muscular, he could clearly hold his own in a fight. He was the very same man that had assaulted Rosa in the parking lot of The Corner and taken her home to die. As he watched us in silence his eyes seemed distant, as if he was sleepwalking.
“Oh, right,” the doctor said with a nervous laugh, “I forgot to mention something.”
“Which is?”
“Manananggal’s tend to collect men,” he explained, “they are put into a trance and used as…slaves of sorts, to protect the lower half of the creature while she hunts.” Then that was why he had kidnapped Rosa; he delivered her to the Manananggal to be killed.
“You couldn’t have said something sooner Doctor?” Luke asked, staying on his toes should Walker lunge at us. I agreed, this was something that should’ve been mentioned. But we had left in a hurry…
Richard apologized and said, “Her other half must be down there. Quickly, before she returns.” Surprisingly, Jared put down his gun.
“Now I don’t want to hurt you,” he said to the man, “but we need to get down there.”
“I won’t let you through,” the man told us, “I won’t let you hurt her.” There was look of love in his eye that disturbed me. He was compelled to protect her and I wondered how long he had been in the cellar. Was someone missing him? If we managed to kill the creature, would he be okay? Even if he came to his senses he was wanted for kidnapping and as a possible partner for the murders.
“Okay,” Jared turned to us, “I’ll deal with this guy, you find the legs.” He passed me his bag of salt from his jacket and began stretching his arms. Lunging forward, Jared tackled the man to the ground. As I looked over to Cindy I could see she still didn’t understand what was going on. Jared yelled, “Get going!”
The battle between Jared and John covered the distant clicking I heard as they fought their way into the other room and out of sight. I saw Luke walk over to the window, picking up a picture frame but I couldn’t see what he was looking at. What I saw behind him, through the glare of the yellow lights, was the face of the Manananggal. She was surrounded by black as she pressed against the glass, her grey skin illuminated and eyes glaring at us.
“Luke!” I called out but it was too late, the creature broke through the window and they fell to the ground with inhuman screeching, wings beating the air. The frame Luke had been holding flew across the room and crashed near the battling men.
“What is that?” Cindy screamed, her usual calm voice gone. She was now looking at what was most likely her friend, or…half of her friend attacking a man; the same man she had once accused of being a killer.
“Hurry down to the cellar,” the doctor turned to me, eyes changing to a deep fuchsia, his bones sharpening, “find the legs and burn them. Now go!” He removed his glasses and handed them to the reporter, she took them, eyes never leaving the creature.
“Oh my God,” she whispered as the doctor approached the creature. I didn’t st
ay to watch, knowing that if I continued to look at Luke I would try to help him. I spun around and headed for the cellar, choosing to trust the doctor, despite everything.
When I reached to the top of the stairs I caught a glimpse of Richard, kindly doctor and professor, throwing the Manananggal off of Luke and into the kitchen. I glanced down into the darkness below, not wanting to go down without any visibility or go alone for that matter.
“I think it’s time you fought someone stronger than you,” Richard said to the creature, slowly walking towards it. He moved swiftly, his footsteps making no noise; a predator preparing for the kill. Behind me Jared touched my shoulder and I almost screamed.
“C’mon,” he said, covered in blood and quickly forming bruises. He walked down the stairs first, pulling me by the wrist. “Watch your step.” As I walked down everything was gone, no light at all to give me sight. I touched my foot down hard on the earthen floor, expecting another step.
The fight upstairs was quiet, barely any sound getting down to us. I felt Jared turn to me.
“Got that lighter? You might want to turn it on,” he reached into his pocket and pulled out his own, trying to flick it on.
I did the same with my long one until the familiar “fwoosh” yielded flame. I looked up at Jared and froze.
“What?” Jared breathed.
My eyes fell behind him, the fire not only illuminating us, but also another face behind him. Another of the creatures slaves watched us, silent with a deadly glare.
“Um…” I said, not sure how to tell him. Jared caught on as he created another fire in his hands. Eyelids low he sighed, blowing out his lighter.
“There’s someone behind me, isn’t there?” I nodded, trying to stay calm. Jared whipped away some of the blood on his face and whipped around, attacking the man. I could tell he was tired, his movements slower now. “Find the legs!”
Squinting around the cellar I couldn’t see anything. Finding the legs was easier said than done, especially when I kept thinking about whether or not there was someone else down here. Jared led the man to my left so I went right, sticking the flame in front of me to light my way. It was a cellar, so it couldn’t be that big, could it? But then again, cabins didn’t normally come with cellars, did they?
I found my way to the wall, touching it for support. The grey masonry was cool to the touch and caked with dirt as I ran my hand along it. I heard Jared cry out in pain and I remained motionless.
“Jared?” I called out after hearing someone hit the ground, my chest feeling like a drum set.
“I’m fine,” he groaned, “he’s down. Find the legs yet?”
“No,” my heart calmed down knowing he was safe. I continued following the wall when I saw Jared light another fire and begin searching. We each wandered down opposite walls when my foot caught on something on the ground. The lighter dropped from my hand, going out as it hit the floor. “Ah.”
I kneeled down the find it and as my hand searched the earth I bumped into something solid. Wrenching backwards I touched the lighter and quickly flicked it on to see what I was near. I lit up a pair of feet, dressed in conservative black pumps; the legs.
“You found them I see,” Jared said as I stood. My eyes followed the light upwards till finally it showed me the purple cloth which covered the creature’s lower half. Jared pointed me to the stairs. “Look that way.”
“What?” He grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look the other way.
“You probably don’t want to see what’s under this,” I heard him remove the cloth and listened as it crumpled to the ground. Unzipping the bag of salt he poured it over the legs. A shriek erupted from upstairs, and something came crashing down; the Manananggal.
“No!” she screamed, springing towards us. Jared pulled me out of the way in time, the creature attacking her own body with another scream. My lighter stayed on as my eyes watched her skin sizzle and smoke. The salt was burning her!
“Liv!” Luke called to me from atop the stairs.
“Come back up here!” Richard cut in. “Now!” Jared ripped the lighter from my hand and set the creatures skirt on fire. The flame engulfed her lower half in an instant as she cried out, her wings catching fire. He pushed me towards the stairs, the light pouring over them like halo.
We ran for it and I made it halfway up them when I turned to find Jared wasn’t behind me. He was a few feet away, pulling the second slave to safety. I hadn’t even thought about him.
The Manananggal hissed, her tongue shooting out; it was like a needle as it cut through the air and I didn’t want to think of its purpose. She dove for Jared, slashing at his chest. She hit him down and he drew his gun, firing one shot. I didn’t even cover my ears as the sound rang through the cellar, growing louder with each echo; I was too busy staring at the blood on Jared’s chest.
“Liv!” Luke grabbed my arm and heaved me the up the rest of the stairs. He gave me a hug and I actually pushed him away, trying to return to the darkness below. I stopped and moved out of the way when I saw Jared dragging the unconscious slave out.
“Are you okay?” I asked, looking at his wound. He was coated in blood and dirt, the Manananggal had clawed right through his jacket.
“Just a scratch,” he breathed and brought the man away from the doorway downstairs; I somehow doubted his words. Richard slammed the wooden slab shut and ordered us to move. He walked over to the bookcase, eyes still glowing pink, and threw it down. Seconds before it hit, the hidden door came up, giving me a glance of the creature, desperate to escape, and brightly lit with flames. It slammed down, books shooting away in all directions.
“I thought you said she would die after the salt and burning,” Luke questioned, careful to watch the bookshelf as it jumped up a bit; the creature was still trying to get out but her cries were muffled by the floor. The shelf was too heavy for her to move and she eventually gave up. At least, I was hoping the fact that she was on fire distracted her.
“She will die at sunup,” Richard said, his eyes returning to their normal colour, “she will not be able to reattach now.” He patted Luke on the shoulder to reassure him. Across the room Cindy fell backwards onto the couch, eyes lost and mouth open.
“Wh…what? She…she was the killer?” she asked. She couldn’t comprehend what her friend had done. Richard sat down next to her and I caught her flinch. “Why? Why would she kill them?”
I wanted to know that too.
“She fed off of them,” the doctor said, putting a hand on her shoulder, “she was a monster doing what was in her nature. She was the predator and they were her prey.” I didn’t like how simple he made it seem.
“But…what was she feeding on? They didn’t even release the cause of death!”
“She fed on the hearts of their unborn children,” Richard sounded as if he wasn’t sure if he should say it or not, “and their blood.”
“She was my friend,” Cindy sniffed. I understood her pain, but at least I was able to feel the relief of knowing my friend was innocent while hers was a killer. Seeing her reaction now though…it made me feel as if something was wrong with me. While she was horrified and frozen…I broke into crime scenes and teamed up with bounty hunters. Yet I still felt what I did was what I was supposed to do. Cindy whimpered, “She was my friend.”
Cindy covered her face as the doctor continued to try and calm her down. Nothing would work though, not after what had just happened. I faced Jared and stepped forward, hearing glass crunch beneath my foot. Kneeling down I picked up the picture Luke had been looking at seconds before he was attacked; I remembered who the killer was, seeing her again in the photograph.
“The weather girl?” I asked aloud. Jared came closer to me and peered at the picture. Luke nodded at me, confirming my theory but what he didn’t know was how I was finally able to put the puzzle together. My knees weakened with my realization and Jared was the first to catch me, helping m
e sit down on the leather chair against the wall.
I didn’t recognize her solely from the news; I had seen her in real life. When we had gone to the club with Charlie and her friends I had seen her there, I had stolen a seat from her. I had seen her after Charlie was murdered too, bumping into her in the parking lot while trying to escape Jared. That was how she had found the women so easily and that was who Charlie mentioned in her diary. Not only did she kill these women, she had stalked them, waiting for the perfect time to strike.
That was it, the mystery solved and she would never hurt anyone again.
I glanced at the clock on the wall; there was still a lot of time until the sun rose.
“Do you hear that?” Luke asked, cocking his head to one side. Jared and I listened when suddenly there were sirens in the distance, coming closer with each passing second. “What are they doing here?”
Somebody shuffled behind us and I heard Jared curse. Turning I saw a man run out the back door, cell phone in hand. There was a third man in the house and he did the only thing he knew how to when he was in danger; he called the police. Nobody chased after him.
“We need to go, now.” Jared snatched me from the chair and began to take me to the Charger, Luke in tow.
“No,” Richard said, raising a hand to stop Jared but withdrawing, remembering the gash he had on his chest, “I’ll go, but you need to stay.”
“Why would we stay?” Jared barked and kept moving, out the front door. The air felt so good on my face as it burned under the moonlight.
“Jared,” the doctor grabbed his shoulder and spun him around as he let go of my arm. “You need to stay here with the others and speak with the police.”
“I need to stay here with the others,” Jared repeated, his voice distant. What just happened? Before I could ask the doctor was gone, vanished into the ether. Luke and I searched the area but there was no sign of Richard; he had left us, just as the first police car rushed up and halted.
The officers jumped out and drew their guns, aimed at us while Jared stood, still staring at where the doctor had been.