CHAPTER XVIII

With an exasperated heart, Josh cycles quickly down the suburban street. Without realizing it, he arrives at the Central Side settlement which they thought is the place for Aswang's next hunt. Josh slows down the bike. His eyes are busy paying attention to the dark corners of the narrow lane separating one house from the next. The housing complex already looks deserted, with only one or two vehicles moving towards their respective residences. On the lawn, sometimes he can see a tricycle that has been abandoned by its driver. There are still many lights inside, sometimes the crying of a baby or the rowdy of two small children fighting can be heard.

In his head, Josh marks the houses he suspects have toddlers. Then, he leans his bicycle between the bushes on the side of a house and begins walking around the house to the backyard. Ducking, Josh scans the backyards of each house, memorizing the places the killer creature could hide in. Large trees are lined up to shadow the houses. Some installed garden lights to illuminate the shade of the trees and some left the yard pitch black. Josh looks at the branches of many trees that hang closer to the house, some of which are right in front of the bedroom window. It would be very risky to have to fight in one of the backyards of this estate. Like it or not, they must be able to lure the creature into the open so that it is easier to deal with.

Josh recalls that it seems like he passed through a rather large field when he first entered the housing complex. He stands in the shade of the tree and began to estimate the distance of the clearing. For a moment, Josh sees a shadow move. He remains there, squinting his eyes to see through the darkness.

Slowly, Josh moves through the shade of the trees, trying to get closer to the moving shadow he saw earlier. The shadow appears again, several meters ahead of him. With good agility, the shadow jumps from branch to branch. Now, Josh can see the creature's back. Slender stature as tall as a human, its entire body is not covered with skin, only reddish flesh dripping mucus.

Josh moves faster. Hearing movement behind it, the creature turns its head and looks at Josh with uncovered eyes. Noticing the presence of another being, the creature quickly jumps towards the taller tree branch. Looking up, Josh runs to find the creature's whereabouts. However, the creature is much faster than Josh. It hops over the treetops and disappears into the darkness of the night.

Josh loses its track. He keeps looking up in search of the vivacious creature's existence, but it is no use. It is not the Aswang he and Aidan are looking for, but of some other kind. In truth, how many demonic creatures are hunting on the Mountain Side?

Josh rushes over to where he left his bike. Quickly, he crosses the residential streets of Central Side in the direction of the disappearance of the creature he saw earlier. However, his effort is still in vain. The creature completely disappears into the darkness of the night.

Josh stops the bike at the intersection of the Central Side and Upper Side. He looks at the empty street in front of him. Josh turns to the side, there is no one next to him. In his mind, he wants to go find Aidan and tells him about his experience that night, but something prevents him. No, not tonight. Let this be a secret of his own.