Narration: Fei

Darkness. Nothing but absolute darkness, as should be expected from the interior of a warehouse in the middle of the night. For most people, it is something to be feared because such phobia is inherent in the minds of all that live, because in such a domain, lies the unknown. But for me, darkness would be an ally that I have come to trust and rely on to keep me safe from the malevolent gazes of my foes. It is the greatest utility in stealth and a refuge for those pursued.

However, darkness can favor those that rely on it to trap the unwary, just as I rely on it to stay hidden. It can go either way on a mission like this. Anyways, enough musing, I have a job to do.

The industrial park of Cebu is mostly abandoned at this time of night. The only other presence of life would be the rats scurrying in the dark shadows along the rusted metal walls or the broken concrete roads. It really does make me wish there were guards here because this feels like an ambush already.

Sitting on the roof of this particular warehouse, I remember in the briefing everyone working in the port avoids it like the plague. It belongs to a powerful foreign company from old America. Mission control told me to be careful, and I'll make sure to play it safe. Just have to do things simple starting with opening the creaky window shining light into the void.

I descend through the windows carefully. The warehouse remains pitch dark save for the light from the open window. There are a lot of places to navigate, despite the containers. I started climbing the large containers and trailers in the room based on some movements from people I watched on YouTube. They practice parkour, as the West calls it. I appreciate such a technique. It fits my element since I was once a gymnast.

I move upstairs to the office and check the door. Locked. Okay, no problem. I focus deep within myself. I feel weightless, textureless. I feel nothing for just a moment save for a droning hum that comes from my body vibrating through solid matter. Phasing through the door like it was a curtain, I am inside the office now.

Admittedly, such attempts can be exerting even for someone of my nature. I turn on the light to see the office. It is unusually clean, almost sterile. Desks, file cabinets, and computers are very neatly organized. What stands out is a poster of a golden triangle on a white background. There are lines from the bottom side that go up but stop before they touch each other, almost like fingers of a hand praying to a god.

Pinnacle. A company of great power. I know little about them except that they’re a giant corporate subsidiary focusing on technological development and infrastructure sustainability. They have already gained a foothold in the Western Hemisphere and their ambitions have moved to Southeast Asia to compete with their rivals, like the tech giants in China. Needless to say, my former homeland is threatened by their presence.

Then my glance shifted to a nearby mirror. I walk over to see my reflection. A black hoodie and sweatpants with my face concealed with a bandana over my mouth. I also have my tattoo. My accursed tattoo. A skull head with a serpentine body. Actually, it's more of a mark. Don't even know what it represents. I received this mark in... less-than-desirable circumstances.

My skin is as pale as snow. I'm not even talking about albino pale. But as white as a ghost. My eyes were definitely a stand-out. Red irises over the black sclera. My physician from the agency said my eyes reminded him of rubies fixed into an onyx pendant, because they always glowed, especially in the dark. I try to avoid wandering around in the dark back at the bases because people get terrified by my approach.

Aside from those details, not much can be said of myself other than I am still here, despite everything. It has been four long years since I left my old home. Now, the past is a long memory, yet there is no rest for someone like me. I start my search.

I rummage through different file cabinets. Those documents, all of them were filled with schedules, agendas, and memos that seemed to have long been forgotten.

Five minutes go by. Where is it? Maybe not here. The main computer desk perhaps?

Mission Control gave me a USB drive which I put in the slot of the CPU and type out the term: MANIFEST 64. A list of things reveals schematics and strange phrases listing dates, locations around Cebu, and names of Tagalog or Cebuano origin. It's hard to say who tipped off my bosses about the manifest, but it may be the key to averting a crisis here in the Philippines. Crimes are at an all-time high, unrest lingers against the government and those they answer to, and the exposure of the supernatural is dangerously emerging. We are running out of time.

The results eventually show that the file I seek is available but it is locked with a security password. Not a problem for me. Similar to the actions with the door, I phase my hand through the screen. For a moment, I feel the rush in my mind within the system until I see the one combination that works.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Five, Seven, Three, Eight, Zero, Eight, One, Nine.

A couple of seconds later, I retract my hand to reveal the file available for download. Time to get the file into the USB drive.

Alright, we are getting somewhere. Now to just----

"hhhhhhh"

I hear sounds of inhuman howling all over the warehouse. Something is inside the facility. Dim red lights start to appear in the darkness. Now, I know how my coworkers feel. Yeah, it’s time to leave.

I take the drive and run out of the office carefully avoiding the attention of the lights. So far they seem to be moving at random. I knew this mission was too good to be true.

Just as I was about to head to the window, I heard...something. Definitely a woman sobbing. It came from one of the large storage trailers.

I heard of the disappearances, the abductions, one of the biggest issues now plaguing the Visayas region. If the victims are located here... Should I? Finn won’t be happy about this. Logic states it has to be a trap, but what if it isn't? Finn and I found remains of people who were abducted days into our arrival here. A lot of them were found with missing internal organs, but we knew it was more than some organ harvesting operation. There were...well...I'd rather not think about it. I can leave and ignore the sound. Or am I condemning someone to a cruel end?

Dammit, best to be sure. I head over to the source of the noise.

The woman was huddled in a corner by a pile of boxes. I approach her silently. I can tell something doesn’t feel right. I look at her from a safe distance.

Her voice kinda cracks and distorts.

The woman stops sobbing suddenly. She slowly turns to me, and I see a face mangled with rotting flesh and twisted cybernetic implants. Her eyes flash red on me.

Okay, that’s new.

For a moment she is only breathing heavily in my direction. Harmless enough. Then it stopped. Suddenly...

"HHHHHHHH"

The woman starts screaming like a demon filtered in a heavy reverb. Soon more of the same voices started howling throughout the complex.

Well, I screwed up. And to add to it....I hear a loud bang. Time seems to slow down as my reflexes allow me to move just enough to narrowly avoid what comes.

However, the bullet trailed in green light grazed my jaw. Snipers in the dark.

Great, a fight it is. I have my blades ready.

Lights of the warehouse turn on revealing a horde of ghouls, a cadre of undead enhanced with special implants. An unholy union of flesh and steel. Blood and oil seep from their gashed skin. Wire and bone stick out of their joints. The screeching ghouls start rushing me.

Got to keep a distance. I run closer to the exit but I hear more gunshots. I duck my head down to avoid the incoming bullets. The green bullets miss me leaving holes in the walls.

Sometimes, I really hate my job.

The ghouls end up coming closer and I make my strikes at their weak points, easily indicated by exposed places filled with rotten flesh and wiring. They're swift, but with technique, I easily evade them, whether by slashing attacks, biting, or even green lasers that were coming out of their eye implants. Those lasers melted holes through the walls. Very nasty tech...

I continue dodging and counter-attacking the ghouls, but the shadowy figure near the ceiling is still shooting at me. I had to anticipate the sniper’s next shot. Maybe I can make it harder for her.

Not much cover on my way out. Maybe I should phase out of the wall? It would have alerted the others to my presence if I came in like that in the first place. Do I need to raise more of an alarm? Not much of a choice, might as well.

I try to phase through the wall, but a quick green light flashes out and an invisible force pushes me back causing me to land on my butt.

That’s not fair.

I get up from the ground and frantically climb to reach the window. I notice the sniper preparing for another shot from a distance.

Within a second, I hear a bang and I feel a faint jolt on my left arm. I see it is completely shredded to the point my flesh and bone are sticking out. In fact, the arm is even dislocated.

Even so, good thing I don’t feel too much. I manage to escape the warehouse through the window and run away through the industrial zone. I keep running and running until the ghouls' cries fade into the distance.

The night is at least brighter now. The clouds have long since parted. I don’t think the beasts from the warehouse will follow me this far into the area, so I stop and check my injuries close to a trash can.

Hmm, at least my jaw wound is no longer sizzling. Only a tiny scar. That'll heal fast. I check my arm. I pick the bullet from the wound. The bullet is still glowing with a green aura. Definitely not a normal sniper round. Black ooze drips from my wound. I take a spray bottle of ectoplasm to help it heal. So now, I just have to snap it back in place.

Okay, one. two, Ooph...

With a loud snap, I readjust my arm to ensure faster recovery; afterward, I take off my hood and bandana.

Was being stupid, again. Great, Finn is going to give me such a hard time. “Reckless, Fei. Live for reason, not emotion. Blind feeling invites mistakes.” Anyways, at least the manifest is recovered but I see things have turned complicated fast. I’ll have much to explain.

Such is the life of someone like me. Or is it unlife? It’s very weird to say that’s for sure.