Narration: Fei

It is very late at night. Barely anyone is present in the street. The sounds of crickets chirping can be heard throughout the area.

I look at the USB drive I have in my possession and then I look outside from an abandoned room to try and spot any weird activity in the streets. I see Finn texted me something. It said: “Begin operation.” Seems we will go ahead with the raid first before we meet.

“我想我应该去下一站.” (Let’s see if this TV is functional enough.) I lay my hand on the TV and it comes to life as I focus my energy on it. I feel myself being sucked into the screen as I move to my next location which would be an empty street nearby.

Usually, I am not keen on traversing my world, The Static. But if I am to cover more ground, best to make the most of my abilities. When one encounters me coming out of TVs, they usually first see my hand coming out from the lost haze of the image. The TV shakes violently until my full body rattles out of the screen. My hair is usually covering my face when it happens. Once I crawl out, usually, the TVs explode and become junk. Yaz would say I am closer to the Onryo or the Nu Guai than the Jiangshi due to what I can do. She even said when I put my hair down I am like those girls from the Ring or the Grudge, except I don’t attack people on sight. I feel my gag reflex coming from within and I start vomiting profusely on the trash heap that the broken TV is on. The vomiting is something I have to deal with when going through an afterlife in the airwaves. It’s a whole different realm and I still have to adjust to entering that domain.

As I groan, I stand up and tie my hair back. “我永远也不会习惯.” (I will never get used to that.)

I have been away from home for so long, I have been thinking more in English than in Mandarin. But I do try to say something Chinese just so I don’t forget it. Just as I am about to check my location, I hear a voice.

“Gonna clean your mess up?”

I turn rapidly towards from the source of the sound. I look to see a white man standing alone near me. I am silent but I feel my expression gives away my astonishment. It is not easy for humans to catch me off-guard.

I am usually good at sensing people nearby. Was I being careless? From the looks of it, he is definitely looks out of place. A purple polo shirt, white khakis, a large baseball cap, and....sunglasses? An American tourist perhaps? Or maybe European? I can feel my left side where my skull mark is start to become unnaturally warm. I don’t know if that’s a strange coincidence. I don’t remember this happening before.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

The man raises his hands in an effort to look assuring. “Hey, hey, hey. Easy. I’ll admit you caught me off-guard too while I was taking a stroll.”

I still remain silent, while he scratches the side of his head. “I can’t imagine coming out of the TV is rather....comfortable.”

I shouldn’t panic, but I am getting very weird vibes from this man.

The man asks, “Isn’t it like caving? I know a bunch of my friends who really wanted to do caving but couldn’t because they were too fat to fit in the holes. I wonder, if they are like you, would they fit through even a plasma screen?”

“Uh....” I really didn’t know what to think of his comment.

“Anyways, don’t worry. I won’t say anything about your presence here tonight,” He smiles.

“Who are you exactly? You aren't someone I would usually see out in this part of town,” I asked.

He shrugs. “Just a hapless tourist. I’ll admit I am a bit...lost.”

I looked around to see if there was anyone else besides us. “Isn’t it a little dangerous for a tourist like you to be wandering alone at night?”

He rubs his neck. “Well....yeah. I won’t dispute that. Was sightseeing all day. Taking in the beauty of this city. I take it you don’t live here.”

“No,” I shake my head.

“Fair enough,” he replied.

Why am I even talking to him? Why am I even letting my guard down? Why isn’t he freaked out by me? It’s definitely a trap.

I continue to ask. “So who do you work for?”

“Would it surprise you that I manage money for a few companies back home?” He taps the side of his head. “Money makes the world go round.”

I pointed out, “You seeing me is a risk for myself. Don’t you think I should do something about you?”

He raises his hand, “Not at all, my pale friend.”

“I am not your friend,” I retort.

He makes a sinister smile. “Maybe not now, but you will be.”

I cross my arms. “That doesn’t take away the fact that I can’t just allow someone that claims to be a tourist to---”

He tilts his head. “I think you have better things to do than deal with a tourist. Like finding the aswang?′

I say nothing. But I feel like I am giving myself away even while I remain silent.

“Their operation starts,” he checks his phone, “in thirty minutes.”

“You are definitely not a tourist,” I plainly state.

He just shrugs. “You gonna check it or not?”

“At this point,” I pause. “To hell with it.”

I turn away from him to continue the mission at the electronics store where the aswang said to be located. I have a feeling I will have to deal with him later; I don’t think it would be wise to be around him any longer than I need to be. I don’t see him smile, but I have a strange feeling that he is doing so behind me. And it would be the type of smile that can disturb even the most stoic of people.