The moon was brighter than before as dusk drew closer. Lukas glanced at the twinkling stars for a few seconds, mesmerized by its beauty before his gaze went down to the mountains in the far horizon. He gradually developed an affinity for the night sky, which now started to comfort him. The night became a symbol for him that defined the world they lived in. He believed that as long as there are monsters around, the world will never see the light of the "true" day. It will always be shrouded in darkness, no matter what.Maybe, his military career had steeled his guts for every worse thing that the shadows threw at him. He sighed and wondered when will this end.The truck entered Kapalong City. Just like the area around Observatory Post Golf-745, the small city was asleep, save for a few policemen manning the checkpoints. As usual, the truck appeared like any other normal civilian vehicles in their eyes. It was stopped and the driver was asked where he was heading. He han

A few minutes after they disembarked, Lukas was leading his small team again. The houses around looked more habitable than the ones near the port. Each homes have two floors; the glass sliding door behind the balustrade of the balconies of the upper floors were obscured with silk curtains from the inside.From their distance, he could hear the quiet hum of air conditioners running, which he paid no heed. They moved with haste and purpose, clearing each alleys and corners with the muzzles of their weapons. So far, they encountered no creatures of the night.But there was something in the air that he could not ignore. He let out a sigh as they moved across a crossroad. From his perspective, he could see moving shadows beyond, alerting him in an instant. He gestured at his team to stay vigilant.And as if on cue, the farthest team behind led by the Sergeant opened fire. Lukas wondered what caused the weapons discharge but his attention was caught by a nearby silhou

He aimed at the mansard-roofed porch and let out a sigh. He made a gesture in the air and the stack immediately complied as they made for the porch. The shadows on either side moved like fluid and Lukas knew that they were Aswangs lying in wait. He whirled swiftly and fired at the silhouette. A wet snap was heard followed by a cry. Nagar fired at the second Aswang behind Lukas, sending it back to the ground. The other soldiers eliminated the creatures without effort before they advanced towards the porch.Lukas, Nagar and Laurel approached the door with precaution. The superior of the three extracted a small pack of explosives from his belt. Lukas removed the adhesive covering and attached it on the door's surface before he pressed his back beside the left sidelight while Nagar and Laurel at the opposite side, out of the right sidelight's view. Laurel unpinned a grenade from his bandolier as the door exploded.When the wooden door fell from its frame, Laurel tossed the

It was good to be back.Lukas was exhausted. The previous operation had drained all of them both physically and mentally. All of them are quiet upon their return to Outpost Detachment Bravo and Lukas himself wasn't sure if the operation could be counted as a victory because of the casualties dealt on their part. If it was, it would have been a pyrrhic one.They have lost a lot, and to Lukas, he have lost his bestfriend whom he relied on many times, just as how he also relied on him. He swallowed, choking on the lump formed in his throat. For the most part, he couldn't feel anything but numbness in seemingly random intervals, because it would be sometimes replaced with the need to cry out loud as a form of mourning. As fast when it appeared, the urge would disappear, leaving him in numbness again.Maybe, his weeping could bring back something, but the dead will stay dead. There was nothing he could do.As the truck rolled to the garage, he immediately dise

Sergeant Nagar and Staff Sergeant Alice Abantay stood before the restrained Roberto Omar, who glanced at them with an impressed look in his eyes. Alice crossed her arms and asked."Why are you looking at us like that?""You two could make a good couple," he said. Nagar raised his butcher's knife without hesitation. "What? I meant that in a good way as possible.""No, I think it was something else entirely." Abantay replied. Lukas, and a new soldier from the cut-off team regularly attached to their unit, the newly promoted 2nd Lieutenant Yusuf Ibrahim, stood behind the observatory window with three other subordinates facilitating the room as usual. They quietly listened."You think?" Roberto asked. "I'm just kidding, yes. Because I am very impressed that you survived against my master that I am already convinced, you might win this against him.""How'd you know?" Alice asked, threatening to pull out her sidearm. She was suspicious that the Mambabara