Immediately, Triggs and Eddy’s team went to investigate the man’s report. They were led to the rural areas of the barangay again, almost at the entrance of the forest.
There was a farmhouse with structures almost similar to that of Melchor’s. The barn was just wider and much more spacious.
When they arrived, they heard the faint squeaking of distressed pigs. When they came closer, they saw 5 dead piglets scattered on the ground. All of them have large wounds on their chests.
“Did you see what caused this, Bert?” Mario asked the man.
“I don’t know, Kapitan. I just heard my pigs screaming. When I went outside, I saw them dropping one by one. So, I rushed to your house to ask for help.”
“Look! Over there!” Triggs pointed to a trail of blood leading to the forest. The blood was still bright, signifying its freshness.
Without thinking for a second, Zaine rushed to the trail’s direction.
Surprised and worried, Lae shouted, “Zaine! Wait!”
But it was as if Zaine didn’t hear anything; he entered the thick vegetation of the woods.
Swallowed by the shadows of the trees, Zaine’s vision was obscured by the forest’s darkness. The only light the night could give was the moonlight peeking between the gaps of the canopy.
As he continued going deeper into the forest, Zaine noticed that trail was gradually getting untrackable. He reached an area where no blood was already visible.
Determined to find his target, Zaine continued searching the denseness of the woods.
SKWWWEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!
Zaine suddenly heard a sharp piglet cry. Hurriedly, he dashed in the direction of the scream.
Sprinting a few meters, he finally saw his target. Zaine stooped low and hid himself in a thick bush.
In the middle of the thick trees, a Sigbin was devouring the innards of a small piglet. Chunks of flesh bloodied the creature’s face as it dug its narrow mouth into its victim’s body.
The Sigbin was standing on its kangaroo-like legs, with its raptor-like claws digging into the piglet’s body. Its dark spiky fur was tainted with the pig’s blood, and its rodent-like tail swirled on the ground like a snake.
Driven by the thought of exterminating the foul creature, Zaine drew his pair of karambits.
“VELUM!”
Sneaking like a nocturnal wildcat, Zaine fixated his gaze on his prey, moving slowly and silently towards the creature.
Reaching the optimal distance to strike his prey, Zaine chanted,
“REVELO!”
He lunged at the unsuspecting Sigbin.
SLASH!!
KREEEEEEEEE!!!
The blades landed on the creature's neck, wounding it grievously.
Despite the serious injury it took, the Sigbin still tried to retaliate by lunging itself at Zaine, trying to hit him with its long sharp claw.
SWOOSH!!
With the reflex of a feline, Zaine dodge-rolled to evade the attack.
KREEEEEEE… KREEeee……. Kreeeeeee……….
Quickly losing its blood, the Sigbin finally dropped to the mossy floor.
Seeing the fall of his opponent, Zaine loosened up a bit as he walked to the dying Sigbin. He stood and stared at the creature as it rushed its fading breaths.
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Swinging his karambit, Zaine delivered the final killing blow.
SLASH!!!
The Sigbin stopped breathing and finally died.
Zaine withdrew his weapon.
Planning to bring the corpse back to the barangay, he grabbed the Sigbin’s foot and started dragging it.
Still not getting too far from the battle scene, Zaine was alerted by another noise. He heard dried leaves crunching, implying that something was moving nearby.
Still eager to exterminate another Sigbin, Zaine quickly dropped the dead body and followed the noise he heard.
Zaine went deeper and deeper into the forest, blindly chasing the series of noises he heard, rushing and sprinting every time he heard leaves rustling.
Minutes into the pursuit, he attained and achieved nothing, worse he just tired himself out. He was like a dog chasing a shadow; without clear signs of the target, he knew that the hunt would lead him to nowhere.
He rested for a while, catching his breath by sitting on a nearby flat boulder.
But too prideful and stubborn, Zaine decided that he would not return to the barangay without bringing another dead Sigbin. Soon as he heard another noise, he jumped into action and chased into the unknown.
Galloping into the thickening woods, teeth-grinding and eyes ferocious, Zaine slowly succumbed to fury. He felt like his victim was just playing with him, making him look like a fool.
Things got worse when suddenly, he heard mysterious giggles and chuckles from the shadows. The snickering laughs sounded impish.
KEEHIHI!! GAHAHA…….
The hair on his skin prickled when he heard the fiendish voices. Startled and confused, Zaine had to slow down his pace. But after a few steps forward, his eyes were bewildered when he saw the same rock he rested on a while ago.
He was completely puzzled, sweat began to run down his face. Feeling an unsettling energy enveloping his presence, the hunter now had become the victim.
GAHAHA!!! KEEHIHI……
Zaine felt a mysterious feeling behind the voices; he felt a looming aura clouding his senses.
He turned back and decided to retreat. But just after taking a few steps away, he found himself in the same spot again: near the boulder. Desperately, he ran away from the area.
No matter how much he tried to escape, it seemed like he was trapped in an infinite loop.
KYAHAHA!!!! KEEHIHIHI!!!!!!
The giggles and laughs became louder and louder, coming from different directions.
KEHEHE!! GAHAHA!!!!!
Running faster and faster, his breathing gradually became in sync with the rapid beating of his heart. He felt the ominous aura become stronger and stronger as he kept running in circles.
Trapped and helpless, his body was starting to fail him. Exhausted, Zaine’s vision began to blur, his sweat became colder, and his chest heavier. He dropped to his knees, catching his breath.
KEEHIHI!! GAHAHA!! KYAHAHA!!!! KEHEHE!!!!!!
He felt the noise coming closer to him - louder and louder as if a haunting presence was surrounding him. A warm breeze blew to his body and suddenly, his mind became murky, like he was sedated.
Not long after, Zaine blacked out and dropped to the ground.
…
…
…
…
…
“Zaine! Hey, Zaine…” a worried Lae uttered.
They were now inside a safe establishment - the receiving area of the Barangay Hall.
Zaine was safely retrieved from the forest, but he was still lying unconscious on the sofa of the Hall.
The receiving area of the Barangay Hall resembled the lobby of any other government office. It had couches for people to sit, and there were desks where the public helpers were typically stationed.
But due to the incident, the hall was filled with people, mostly just gossipers who were curious about the happening, but some were genuinely worried about Zaine.
The barangay’s most significant family was present: Mario, Michael, and Geraldine. Triggs’ team and the Paranormal Investigators were also there to look after Zaine.
Lae continued trying to wake up Zaine. “Zaine, hey! Zaine, can you hear us?”
“Do you vloggers always do something reckless like that?” Mario uttered.
Embarrassed, Lae had to bow her head. She didn’t know what to answer.
But Mario smirked. “But diving straight to the forest alone, this kid got balls. I’ll give him that.”
Meanwhile, Monty was snickering on the corner, making fun of Zaine’s misfortune. “HAHAHA. This kid really thinks that he’s the main character or something. Such an idiot.”
Zaine finally opened his eyes and sprung into an attentive stance.
“Hey, hey, Zaine, calm down. You’re safe now,” Triggs murmured to pacify Zaine.
“Zaine? What happened to you?” Lae asked. “We found you lying on the forest floor.”
But it seemed like Zaine didn’t hear the question. He just looked around as if he was searching for something. “Where is it?”
“What is it? You need to calm down first, Zaine.”
“Where’s the Sigbin?”
After hearing the word ‘Sigbin’, the people gasped in shock. A chain of murmurings and terrified chattering filled the place.
Alarmed, a townsfolk asked, “‘Si-Sigbins!?’ So, it really was Sigbins!”
Another concerned citizen asked, “Did you really see a Sigbin?”
Zaine ignored the question. He just asked again. “Where is it? I killed it.”
The people were aghast.
“Wait, did I hear it right? ‘Killed’? You’re vloggers, right? Ho... How - Why did you kill it?” a bystander asked in stuttery confusion.
To save themselves from the situation, Triggs quickly came up with an alibi.
“I think he said ‘filmed’, Hehe.” He then looked at Zaine and acted out, “Such a bummer, Zaine. I think you also lost our camera in the forest.”
Still in a state of confusion, Zaine looked around to see the people around him. But after witnessing the judgemental eyes staring at him, he finally snapped back to sense.
“Yeah… Right…” Zaine mumbled as he sat down in disgrace.
But the panic didn’t stop; the people continued their clamorings - some of them were frightened by the information they heard, while most were just validated that their speculations about the Sigbins were true.
Some also formed their speculations, specifically about Zaine and Michael’s experience in the forest. People panicked and became scared of their own thoughts. Disorder arose.
“HEEEEEEY!!!!!” Mario raised his voice to stop the commotion. His voice echoed throughout the room.
Like obedient sheep scared of their shepherd, the citizens went silent as they turned their attention to their Captain.
But after that, Mario just brought out a cigarette case from his pocket, put a stick on his lips, and lit it with a match.
“Mang Eddy, what can you say about this?” Mario uttered with his normal conversation voice.
Eddy just stayed silent for a while, as if he was internalizing something. “After assessing your son, Michael… and with the incident tonight… all I can say is I really feel something off.”
“You kept saying that. Why don’t you get to the point already,” Mario said as puffed his cigarette.
Eddy bowed his head. After a deep breath, he stated, “It’s true that Sigbins are pestering this area. However, we should not eliminate the idea that we’re dealing with two separate entities.”
After hearing the statement, the people were even more horrified.
“Wha… What do you mean, Mang Eddy?”