“Are we there yet? My legs fucking hurt now,” Monty blabbered.

“Psh. You didn’t even help with the chickens,” Triggs murmured.

Accompanied by Melchor, the team now reached the much more urbanized part of the barangay. The road was much clearer and was made with cement.

Although multiple houses could be seen, they were less clustered together than the major barangay in the big cities. There was still a breath of rurality in the place; trees and vegetation could be seen here and there, and wooden fences separated each lot.

Unlike Melchor’s, the houses in this area were made with sturdier materials: some were made with lumber while few were made with bricks.

A few more steps and they reached a shack with a sign that said ‘Lorna’s Woodworks’. The shack was constructed with lumbers, with foundations of hard timbers. It was roofed with galvanized iron sheets with few rust holes on it, signifying the building’s old age.

“Lorna! Lorna! You have more visitors!” Melchor yelled as he knocked at the wooden door.

The door opened and a plump middle-aged woman greeted them.

“Oh, Melchor? Who are these kids?” Lorna asked.

“They’re bloggers. They’re also interested in the events happening in our barangay,” Melchor answered. “By the way, are they still there? The Paranormal Investigators?”

“Yes. They’re about to go to Kapitan Mario’s house. They’re just preparing their equipment.”

“Well, these youngsters want to meet them.”

“Can we talk to them?” Lae requested.

“Of course! It’s not like I own their lives, anyway,” Lorna’s shrewish reply. “Here, come inside!”

“Uhm, okay!”

The team entered the shack. Lorna led them to a small living room that was meant to occupy visitors.

Sitting on the bamboo-woven sofas were 3 persons.

One of which was a young lady with blonde hair. She was wearing a bizarre-looking necklace with a flower engraving and a weird symbol on it. Looking at her firm skin and fresh face, it could be assumed that she was in the same age generation as Triggs’

The other one was a young man with a slightly toned build. He was sporting a black cap that covered his trimmed hair. His almond-shaped eyes were fixated on the gadget he was wiping with a thin cloth.

The last one was an old man, probably in his 60’s. He looked the same as how Melchor described him: a small body with a thin frame, a sunken chin with a goatee, and a head covered with a black bonnet. The old man was also wearing glasses with a plastic frame, and on his neck was a star-shaped pendant.

“Mang Eddy, these kids want to meet you.”

After hearing Lorna, the old man quickly halted what he was doing to greet Triggs and the team.

“Nice to meet you,” the old man greeted as he politely shook Lae’s hands.”

“Hello po. We came to meet you because Tatay Melchor mentioned that you’re Paranormal Investigators,” Lae said. “We’re hoping to learn more from you.”

The old man smiled as if he heard a compliment.

Suddenly, the male apprentice stood up enthusiastically. “Of course, you will learn from him! Did you know that he’s the best Paranormal Investigator in town?”

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The other apprentice followed. “That’s true! That’s true! He was able to solve complicated mysteries! Hundreds of them! That’s why he’s our idol!”

The old man was oozing with pride. Trying to be humble, he stated, “Come on. You don’t need to say those. Remember, it’s not about the numbers, it’s about the impact you give to those you helped.”

“Wow! That makes sense!” the lady apprenticed uttered as if she heard words of wisdom from a great philosopher.

Meanwhile, the male apprentice took down notes and wrote the old man’s statement in his notebook.

“May I know your names, passionate youngsters?” the old man asked the team.

“My name is Micah Laelynn. But you can call me Lae po.”

“I’m Triggs, and this is Zaine - he is a bit of a shy type. Hehe,” he teased Zaine.

“I’m Coco Martin*,” Monty joked.

The old man uttered with a smile, “It’s so great to meet people at your age interested in this wonderful art. My name is Eduardo Calumpit Dawag - ‘Ed Caluag’ for short. But you can call me ‘Mang Eddy’.”

The apprentices also introduced themselves.

“My name is Jess.”

“And my name is Cassie! Nice to meet you!” the lady apprentice greeted as she nimbly waved her hand.

“By the way, you said you’re vloggers, right? So, you also came here to document the paranormal activities happening in this barangay?”

“Yes po,” Lae answered. “Tatay Melchor already briefed us on the events. Since you're an expert in this field, we're hoping you can add more insights to what we've already heard.”

“Hmm… I’m not sure what and how much you’ve already heard. But to give you what you want……” Eddy glanced at his apprentice. “Jess! What’s our preliminary data?”

Jess quickly opened his notebook and skimmed at his notes. After a few page turns, he started reporting,

“Dead pigs, cows, carabaos, goats…… All of them have deep jagged bite marks on their necks. Some of the bodies also have traces of sweat in their skin. All of them have chests sliced clean, with hearts missing in their bodies.”

Eddy nodded his head. He turned to his other apprentice, “Cassie, what’s your analysis?”

Cassie answered with passion,

“The traces of sweat signify that the victims struggled before dying. The deep bite marks on the neck give us knowledge about the killers’ technique of hunting - they used their large canines and sharp incisors to bite the victim’s neck until they finally died of suffocation or blood loss.

The clean slicing of the wounds implies that the creature - or creatures - that killed them have long sharp claws, able to tear their thick hides. And the missing heart proves that they are picky eaters.

The mentioned information points out to one distinct creature: the Sigbins. Sigbins are kangaroo-like creatures with sharp foreclaws and jagged teeth. They usually kill their prey by biting their neck, and they only consume the victim’s internal organs.”

“Very good!” Eddy praised Cassie.

“Hmm… It’s not that different from what Tatay Melchor told us,” Triggs uttered.

“Well, this is just the preliminary conclusion to our initial investigation,” Eddy replied. “The strange phenomena have been going on for quite a while, and it seems like the issues have already accumulated, making the situation more complex to resolve. That's why we prefer to approach it one step at a time.”

“At least we already have our primary suspect,” Jess said.

Eddy nodded his head. “Now, we are planning to look into the case of the Barangay Captain's son. We are preparing to go to their house; I want to hear the experience straight from him. You can go with us if you want.”

Triggs and Lae were reluctant to accept the offer.

“Are you sure? Are we even allowed to go there?” Triggs asked.

“Don’t worry. I’ll introduce you as part of my team. I’m sure the Barangay Captain wouldn’t mind anyway,” Eddy replied.

“Thank you very much, Mang Eddy,” Lae said. “Just tell us what we need to prepare.”

Eddy provided the team with all the information they needed to know. After a brief preparation, they left the shack to proceed to the Barangay Captain's house. Melchor and Lorna guided them.

It didn’t take that long for them to arrive at their destination - as the Captain’s house was just walking distance from the Shack.

As usual of a Filipino public official, the Barangay Captain’s House was very distinct from the surrounding buildings. Aside from being twice as large as the other houses, the residence was made up of high-quality materials.

The architectural design of the house was also on the modern side, with the lot protected by a meters-high wall, hiding the entirety of the lawn behind it. The gate was also made of steel, unlike the wooden fences of the surrounding houses.

Melchor rang the doorbell.

DINGDONG! DINGDONG!

…

DINGDONG! DINGDONG!

A few minutes later, someone finally opened the gate: a woman as plump as Lorna. But unlike the first, the woman who opened the gate was well-dressed, and based on her fair skin and the jewelry she was wearing, it appeared that the woman lived in wealth.

“Good evening po, Mrs. Geraldine!” Melchor greeted the woman with respect.

Lorna and Eddy also greeted her.

“You’re the Paranormal Investigator, right? How can I help you?” Geraldine asked.

“We just wanted to talk with your son,” Eddy replied. “We believe he could help us in our investigation.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes po,” Jess replied. “We want to hear the story from him. We’re hoping to find some valuable information that could help solve your barangay’s problems.”

“Well, if you really need to do so, then who am I to refuse?” After that, Geraldine warmly welcomed them inside their house.

The interiors of the house were much more extravagant than the exterior design. Furniture from different eras decorated the place. Unlike that of the Shack, the living room of the house boasted leather sofas and glass tables.

The floor was also fully covered with marble tiles and the walls were painted with rejuvenating colors.

“Wait here. I’m going to call Michael inside his room,” Geraldine said as she went to the stairs leading to the 2nd Floor.

As they took a seat and enjoyed the coziness of the place, a strong scent of cigarette smoke suddenly lingered in the room.

A deep cracky voice spoke coming from the kitchen area. “Evening visitors again, huh?”

When Melchor and Lorna saw the arriving person, they suddenly sprung up from their seats to greet him.

“Magandang gabi po, Kapitan Mario! [Good evening, Captain Mario!]!”