Narration: Riz

In 2030 CE, Cebu, the second largest city in the Philippines, had its population double over the course of a few days due to the city’s largest celebration, Sinulog, occurring this month. Banners of multiple colors can be seen hanging overhead on telephone wires and rafters. Many street vendors set their stalls by the road giving food, souvenirs, and much more to the locals as well as tourists. The churches are filled every day with worshippers commemorating Sinulog to its patron, Santo Nino, a version of baby Jesus Christ in elaborate finery. I am not a believer, since my kind predates Spanish colonization, but I’ll admit Sinulog is my favorite festival. I did grow up here after all.

To humans, I would be considered pushing old age, since I was born right after the fall of the Japanese occupation. But to my tribe, I am considered little more than someone past the age of a foal. It just bothers me that they still bring it up once in a while. I have seen much happen...just as much as almost everyone in my tribe. The Rise and Fall of many humans in power. Marcos, Estrada, the Macapagals, the Aquinos. Some were good. Some bad. But my tribe doesn’t believe we can ever be at peace with their leadership, and so they are mostly at odds with them.

Humans have fallen far from the times of their ancestors. Can’t blame them. All the colonizers of history made the people of these lands lost to their past. They strive to pick up the pieces. However, you see corruption in governance, poverty in the streets, envy among families, prejudice to those that are different from the norm, and existential despair for those that feel like they bear the weight of the world. They fight the good fight, but it is always a struggle.

And the nonhuman races aren’t actually fairing much better. We just only have a bit more self awareness of what’s happening. But we are lost to the same vices as our human neighbors. Shit, I need to stop being so fixated on this nonsense. Have to pay attention to something else. I manage to stop being so deep in thought and snap back to reality. I watch all the activity from the rooftops, whenever I do my patrols.

Tourists flock to nearly all the places of interest. Some take pictures or selfies in certain cases. Others look in awe at the structures of old, as if you can call Spanish architecture old. Commotion from crowds of people can be heard. Announcements on radio bear news typical of this time. The jingle of the newscast precedes the arrival of the voice of the reporter breaking the news.

“Another mysterious disappearance here in Cebu; a 23-year old girl is said to have gone for a walk at around 8pm and has not been seen since. Parents claim their daughter would always let them know she’d be staying at a friend’s house or running late. The authorities have so far refused to comment.”

Ah, yes. The work of the aswang gangs of this city. They have been going at it for weeks now. The aswang are as much our enemies as they are to humans. Despite their reluctance, my tribe in order to court favor with the human government have been trying to help them out with their investigations. Unfortunately, the aswang are always one step ahead. We need to find out what their endgame is.

Hmmm, I notice a young adult couple walking together down the busy street. Sniffing the air, I can tell they are not from around here. Most likely tourists from Manila. My kind can tell the smells carried by people from different parts of the country. Manila folks recently started having this weird scent, which most humans would not sense. It is a combination of the pollution from a lot of the newly established factories in that region as well as the acrid smell of gas from oil extracted and secretly imported from Kasanaan, which fueled a lot of the new subway systems in that city. Using gas from that place is just disaster waiting to happen.

The girl wears bright colors and has a stance filled with confidence and determination. The guy is slouching most of the time with vibes of low energy. The girl leads her guy along. The little observation already shows who wears the pants in that relationship.

I try to get closer from above the rooftops to eavesdrop. Not easy when you are hearing the Jeepneys, cars, and motorcycles from the busy streets.

The girl looks to her boyfriend, “Saan yung daan?”

The guy is checking the GPS on his phone. “Hindi ko alam. Panandalian lamang mula nang ako’y naparito.”

I see the girl looking around and pointing to an empty alleyway. “Eh, doon kaya?”

Come on, don’t tell me you are both seriously considering this. It looks empty. Obviously a trap. Perhaps, I should set the time how long this will take before a mugging happens.

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The boyfriend looks nervous. “Hindi ako sigurado. I don’t want to get jumped.”

She replied, “We aren’t. There’s no one down there.”

The couple remain silent as the city sounds of cars and people fill the void between them. I am honestly tempted to just look the other way for their blatant idiocy.

The boyfriend sighs, “Okay, pero sa palagay ko masamang ideya ito.”

The girl starts walking. “Nasaan naba ’yong sense of adventure mo?”

He follows, “Getting mugged is not adventurous to me.”

A sense of adventure? Hmph, now I got to see this. I see them walk further down the alleyway.

Alleyways in Cebu usually have a fair share of activity among the lower classes that reside there. You can drive small bicicletas here; however, there is no one present. No other humans to be specific.

As I look from above, their footsteps crunch on the gravel, while the boyfriend kicks a stray can down the alley. No conversation between them. Perhaps, they are trying to be extremely aware of their surroundings.

The girl finally speaks, “See nothing to---”

I hear a whistle. Two figures shrouded in tattered hoodies come from the corner of the alley. Not even two minutes and they get mugged. That is a new record. One of the figures walked over to the couple and spoke to them in a guttural voice.

He holds up something in front of them while saying, “Hey Kapatid, Gaano kadami yung gusto ni’yo nito?”

Red dust in a plastic bag. Hmm, I didn’t expect blood cocaine to still be dealt in the street considering the clampdown the last couple of years. I see the couple look at each other.

The boyfriend shakes his head, “No thanks, Hindi kami mga adik.”

The thug walks closer. “Ah, but this alley is our territory. You want through? Sabayan n’yo na lang kami.”

The other guy makes something click, but he hides it underneath his hoodie. Ok, so they are armed as well. Bold for aswang to do all of this when it’s not even night yet.

The girl backs away. “Pasensya na. We will go back to the street. Sorry to bother you.”

The thug laughs in a bestial manner, “Mga kapatid, dito muna kayo. We can have....so much fun.”

The girl’s boyfriend moves in front of her. “You leave her alone.”

The figure takes off his hood to reveal his vampiric features. Pale, gaunt with an evil grin. The sounds of his proboscis tongue can be heard coming out of his mouth which was on sideways. A tiktik. The other figure reaches out for the girlfriend.

The girl yelps, “Lumayo kayo samen!”

The hood of the other aswang falls off to reveal a dog-headed man. Definitely a sigbin. Hard to tell if he looks like a German Shepard or freaking hyena. Are hyenas from the canine family? Wait, focus. Right, the muggers.

The boyfriend fights back in the struggle. One of the monstrous thugs pistol-whips the boyfriend into the ground.

Alright, time to go to work. Good thing I brought some vinegar with me. Definitely a weird weakness to most, but probably a trade off to their high resistance to bullets.

“Help us,” The girl cries out.

As the monstrous duo manhandle the woman, I shatter a glass bottle to get the thugs’ attention. A moment of silence happens until I throw another bottle right on the sigbin. It shatters on his head.

“FUCK! It burns,” the sigbin yells.

He howls as he runs around bumping into a trash can. I see the other thug let go of the girl. She rushes over to the boyfriend, picks him up, and tries to flee with him, but not before they get a glimpse of me. My body ripples in flesh and bone, as I am undergoing my transformation to my true form. Cloven feet, hairy, bestial body, and the head of a horse. They definitely sprint faster after they see that. The aswang look above to try to see me. But they are too slow before I make my next move.

My vision of the world starts to collapse as everything I perceive turns into a warped tunnel. Then everything re-orients itself back to the real world as I make a punch at the proboscis aswang. He staggers back and falls to the ground.

Now they see me. Tomas Augustino Rizal Dimasalang, or Riz, as I am known. A proud tikbalang, or werehorse. The sigbin burned by the vinegar regains his senses and attempts to shoot me. As he fires, the world warps again and I appear behind him taking out my rattan batons.

Couldn’t help but make horse noises and a one-liner. “Nothing personal, buang.”

I smack my batons multiple times at the sigbin’s torso and head. The vampiric thug hisses and lunges out with elongated nails to slash me. I counterattack by hitting both of them multiple times in a quick succession. Just for reference, all my strikes with just batons can leave dents on trucks. My batons are not made of normal wood. They both fall to the ground defeated with some very noticeable bruises.

Asses kicked. Pride ruined. The proboscis aswang attempts to reach for his gun. Not so fast. I take out some salt from my pouch and throw it at his face. The thug screams, “ARRGHH.” The touch of it sounds like that of seared steak.

I gave my warning. “I think you both should be going. Gawas kung di mo ganahan og daghang samok.”

Both thugs hiss and run away into the darkness of the alleyways like rats. I pick up the plastic bag with the red dust the thugs dropped.

I look to where the couple had ran away. I am not worried. I mean a lot of Pinoys already believe that monsters exist, even if the mainstream media and the general populace outwardly deny it. It’s an unwritten rule not to make a fuss about it, unless you want to attract unwanted attention. Hopefully that couple learned their lesson. “Tourists. Thugs. And tenacious tussles. My favorite things.”

Then, I teleport away heading back home. Time for a bigger challenge than monstrous thugs, a nagging tito. Imagine, if it was one of my titas. Eugh...