"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

  I screamed my lungs out. I fumbled for the doorknob and rushed downstairs.

  "Vergil!" Cana gasped as I opened the door to the dining area.

  Mr. Marino wiped his hands on the towel around his waist and rounded the table. "Go to the clinic. Go!"

  He shooed me away as he came along. Of course, the haunteds present followed.

  "Dude," Kent said, keeping pace at my side. "What happened?"

  I couldn't answer because of the pain and because Mr. Marino was already pushing me inside the clinic. "Doc Barnes!" he said.

  A stocky man with a buzz cut made me sit on a stool.

  "Let me see," he said. He then grabbed my hand covering my mouth and pulled it down. "Open your mouth," he said and he pulled out a flashlight from his left breast pocket and clicked it open.

  I did as I was told. Mr. Marino had stayed with me, watching Doctor do his work.

  "Hmmmm," Dr. Barnes hummed as he inspected.

  "How is he, doc?"

  "A single laceration on the lower lip," Dr. Barnes said. "Nothing too serious. Shouldn't need surgery."

  "Thank goodness," Mr. Marino said. Then he turned to me.

  "Vergil," Mr. Marino said. Concern crested his eyebrows. "What happened?"

  I stabbed my lip with a knife because I thought that would bring me back! I thought, watching Dr. Barnes get up and went to the medicine cabinet.

  "I was picking my teeth," was what I said instead. Each word made my lips touch my teeth, making me winced every time. "It slipped."

  Dr. Barnes came back with medical supplies. He set it down the table next to us and sat down. He made me open my mouth again. Dr. Barnes placed a cotton ball wet with alcohol on my wound. I hissed from the stinging sensation.

  "Bear with it," Dr. Barnes said. "We have to wait for the bleeding to stop before we can proceed any further."

  I was instructed to hold the cotton ball in place with my finger. "Not calling you a liar," Dr. Barnes said as he leaned back." But a toothpick wouldn't make this big a wound."

  "Vergil," Mr. Marino said. "What did you use?"

  I told them about Cana's pen knife.

  "What!?" Cana gasped. "Why in the world would you use that?"

  "Wait, you have a pen knife?" Kent said.

  "That was very stupid of you," Mr. Marino scolded me. But his voice was full of concern, genuine concern that I couldn't help but feel bad. "I'm sorry," I said.

  "You know I'm going to have to report this to Major Coleman, right?"

  I looked down the floor and nodded.

  "Doctor, can I leave him you to you now?"

  "Yes, yes," Dr. Barnes said. "He's not in any serious trouble. You can tell Major Coleman to rest easy." He turned to me. "He's in good hands."

  I watched Mr. Marino shoo the haunteds out and close the door behind him, leaving me in the care of the doctor.

  "A penknife huh?" the doctor said.

  With my mouth occupied, all I could do was nod yes. Seeing that I am not in the mood for a chat, or rather, talking would be difficult for me, Dr. Barnes with back to his desk. "Just going to update your form while we wait for your injury to stop bleeding, okay?"

  Left to my own thoughts, my mind went back to the knife. And the failure of my experiment. To Reina's sudden appearance.

  Crying left me exhausted. My mind foggy from all this thinking. And now, I'm in pain. I don't know what to think, anymore. What to do. The only thing I'm certain is that I remain seated inside the clinic, content with watching Dr. Barnes tap away at his computer. There is some comfort in this boring scene. It convinces me that nothing else is going to happens. At least for the moment.

  Dr. Barnes had me remove the cotton ball after a while. He then inspected my wound again.

  "The bleeding stopped," Dr. Barnes said. He then applied some kind of ointment on the wound. "This will help with the healing and prevent infection," he explained.

  He handed me some kind of pill. "This drug will numb the pain but also make you sleepy," Dr. Barnes said. "So I suggest you get yourself comfortable with any on the beds." He motioned to the pair of hospital beds hugging the left wall of the room.

  I thanked him and did as I was instructed with anticipation. If it's anything like what Dr. Yap gave us in the original timeline, then I would be able to sleep without a single nightmare waking me up from the only reprieve available to me.

  When I opened my eyes, I found myself sitting on the sofa of our living room. The TV was on.

  "It has been confirmed that all twelve haunteds had been identified. But if you find yourself with a headless photo of your kid now or after this broadcast, it is still recommended that you go to the nearest school or city hall to find out for sure. Better safe than sorry."

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  And with that, the street reporter gave the floor back to the news anchors who reiterate the importance of reporting any headless photo taken during or after their program.

  Suddenly, I felt slender arms wrapped around me.

  "Thank goodness you are not haunted," my mom sobbed.

  I felt a hand ruffled the hair of my head. He didn't say anything, but he let out a big sigh of relief. I felt relief as well, truly believing that I wasn't haunted.

  "All right," Dad cried. "This calls for a celebration!"

  Instantly, I was already seated at the dining table. A bilao of Palabok. Another bilao of seafood. And a last one full of Puto, Maja Blanca, Biko, and other assortments of glutenous rice-based, Filipino desserts.

  My dad was already unwrapping a rice from its banana-leaf wrapper and plopped! it down his plate.

  "Can you imagine how the Santos' across the street are doing?" Mom said to Dad as she piled on a spatula-full of Palabok on a plate. She then handed the plate to me and grabbed another one.

  "Must've been brutal," Dad said. He was squeezing calamansi to a small bowl of soy sauce and sliced sili. "Losing their daughter like that." He then put away the squeezed calamansi and stir the soy sauce dip with his fork.

  "Didn't the government stop the Shade from killing haunteds?" I argued.

  "That's what they said," Dad said. "But how do we really know that?"

  I remember AlphaDad sending me off to the school without a care of me being haunted. That's how much trust he had in the system. So it was strange for me to hear him doubting the same system. But stranger still, I kept quiet and ate my Palabok instead.

  A loud crash! made my mom scream and suddenly, I found my face touching the wooden floor of our kitchen. I was groggy but I was still able to register my parents screaming my name. There were other voices. Angry voices from outside.

  My sight was blurred by warm liquid running down my face. I was still able to see my mom and dad hiding under the table, looking to the left.

  My dad crawled around the table and made me lie on my back. I was dazed and in extreme pain. But I have enough strength to crane my neck up, allowing me a glimpse of my assailant on the window.

  Our neighbor, Mr. Santos.

  Suddenly, I was being dragged backward by my shirt.

  "He's still alive," Mr. Santos said. "Get the doors! Quick!"

  My mom opened the door to the cellar. Dad threw me over his shoulder and ran down the stairs. I saw mom lock the door up as I bobbed up and down the stairs. My head got lighter with every step.

  Dad sat me down on the plastic chair. He turned towards the windows and opened it up. Meanwhile, I saw Mom pulling out a Berretta from underneath the couch cushion.

  "Dad?" I said. "Did Mr. Santos...just throw a brick...at me?" I was supposed to be in pain but now I don't feel it. Instead, all I feel is confusion and weakness and the heaviest desire to fall asleep.

  "Yeah," Dad said. I turned back to him. "That's why you need to get out of here."

  "W-why?" I said. "I didn't do...anything."

  "Must've been her daughter being haunted," Dad said. "And it looks like he's got some of the other neighbors involved."

  "How...is tha-that our...fault?" I asked. Words at barely coming out of my mouth now.

  "It's not. But he's distraught," Dad said. He knelt down so that we were at eye level. "Listen carefully, okay. Remember the police station five streets from here?"

  "Yeah," I said with a groggy head.

  "You need to climb out of this window and get there. Crawl if you have to."

  "What?" I said. "Why? Just call them here."

  "They may not make it in time," Dad said.

  Mom handed my Dad an assault rifle. Then she leaned down and kissed my bleeding head. "You'll be all right, Vergil. We'll keep them occupied here as you make your way out."

  The door violently shook.

  "Eric!"

  "Dad, now," Mom said.

  Dad picked me up and basically pushed me through the window despite my protest. I came out to the back of our house, hidden by the decorative shrubs my parents planted.

  Below me, gunfire rings.

  I crawled through the shrubs, as fast as I could in my state. Tears streaking down my face, knowing that I am leaving behind my parents as they get murdered behind me.

  "Vergil!"

  A girl's voice called up to me. When I stood up through the shrubs, I saw Reina's face peering down at me through the cavity of roots and earth.

  TALE HET IIIGWA REVIAK HET DIGGENHA

  "Vergil!" "Reina said. "If you can hear me, repeat these words."

  My eyes opened. But everything was out of focus. It took me a few blinks to make everything clear again. I noticed that I couldn't move my body. My voice is trapped in my throat. My mouth won't open no matter how hard I scream. At least, I think I'm screaming. My eyes were the only thing I could move. But the pillow on the side of my face was enough evidence for me to know that I am back in the clinic, back in my bed. My head was rolled to the left, opposite where the Doctor's table and the entrance is so I don't know if anyone's here.

  Still filled with panic, I closed my eyes and hoped for the best.

  When I opened my eyes again, I was still in the same position. Unable to move anything except my eye. But this time, I've heard hushed voices.

  "How is he?"

  "He's...down,"

  "Can he hear us?"

  "I doubt it," Dr. Barnes said. I was awake enough to place who the voice belongs to. "I gave him enough dose to put an insomniac to sleep."

  "So he stabbed himself?" Major Coleman asked.

  "He said he was picking his teeth with a knife and he slipped."

  There was a lull in their conversation.

  "Does he know?" Major Coleman said.

  The question made me stiller than any drugs Dr. Barnes could have given me. With no choice but to stare at the wall, I kept listening.

  "Maybe," Dr. Barnes said. "But he failed. At least, it is safe to assume that he thinks he failed. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here."

  My eyes started blinking slowly. I was getting sleepy again.

  "Good," Major Coleman said. "Keep carrying out your mission. That goes for you kids, too."

  I was in a constant state of drifting off to sleep and battling to stay awake. That was until I've heard Cana's voice.

  "Of course, Major Coleman," she said. "We'll make sure he stays here."

  Fear rushed through my drugged up body. I tried so hard to keep my eyes open. I wiggled my toes on my feet under the covers. Then on my hands. I tried curling my stomach in an attempt to sit up but suddenly I felt a heavy object sitting down on my chest. I couldn't breathe. But I couldn't move my arms to push the object away. Thankfully, I was able to move my neck. I rolled my neck on the pillow, allowing me to see what was on top of me.

  The sight made me wish my neck remained immobile. For what was sitting on top of me was a dark figure, a being of pure shadow, with protruding spines from its shoulders and other joints. It stared at me with its hateful red eyes.

  In a desperate, wishful thinking , I willed my body to move. But it was no use. My body wouldn't respond to my commands.

  I screamed. But still, my voice wouldn't come out. My mouth remained shut. I couldn't ask for help from Major Coleman and the doctor.

  With my body completely paralyzed, I watched in horror as the Shade's claws crept over my chest, creasing my bed sheet as they reached for my neck.

  The ice-cold, claws wrapped around my neck and tightened with such force that it felt like my eyes would bulge out of their sockets. Terror consumed me. I looked towards my left, where Major Coleman and the doctor are.

  Help! I thought.

  Tears were welling up my eyes.

  Help! Please!

  But of course no help would come. They probably don't even hear and therefore, realize, what's happening.

  Major Coleman! Doctor! Please! Help!

  I shouted and shouted in my head. For my mouth still refuses to scream for help. My brain was getting foggy. The world seemed to get blurry.

  Anyone...help...

  The last image my eyes saw was that of the shadow of Major Coleman and the doctor on the wall, completely unaware of the Shade killing me in my bed just a few inches away from them.