Chapter 5

He had cuts, bumps, and bruises. His branded jeans were torn from getting stuck in a ravine. He stumbled several times and fell over countless more. But when he glanced at the woman beside him, she was only panting heavily and her hair was just a tiny bit disarrayed. He wondered how women could still look composed after running like there was no tomorrow the way they did.

Gabriel, to say the least, was jealous of Tesa's composure. Because there he was, looking as though he had pulled the short stick in a running maze and ended up with the most dangerous one. He had a few cuts on his face, a bump on his head and his legs felt numb from the bruises he was able to accumulate when he collided with the rocks and protruding tree roots along the way.

"Er, now what do we do?" He awkwardly asked, once he was able to catch his breath, feeling as if his brain got scrambled when they escaped the mythical creature that didn't seem so mythical a few minutes ago.

The woman heaved a heavy sigh before answering, "We go to my dorm, freshen up and try to rationalize what we just encountered."

Tesa's idea seemed right—actually, it was excellent. That way, they could think of countermeasures against the creatures that may start to hunt him. Gabe nodded in agreement.

The two of them descended the mountain and soon enough, found themselves in the heart of the city. It was already 9 in the morning and cars and people were bustling around.

'Ah', Gabe thought, 'I missed these.'

He was sure that by the time they had to return to the little tribe in the mountains, he would be very desolate. But since he still had a few days before they had absolutely had to go back, he would be sure that he would enjoy his days here. Gabe created a mental list of the things he would do while he was in the city.

"Hey, Tesa." He said as he tried to catch the woman's attention. Tesa was looking straight ahead and seemed like she was lost in her thoughts. Gabe has sworn that she was probably replaying the events that happened not long ago in her mind. He could tell by the way she looked.

Tesa didn't even budge. She didn't even blink or acknowledge him. A frown made its way to Gabe's lips as he wondered what could possibly have happened while he dealt with that disgusting looking creature? Could she have had a more traumatizing experience than him? Although he doubted it since he was the one who faced the Tambaluslus.

Gabe snapped his fingers across the woman's face, hoping that this time, it would bring her thoughts back to the present.

"What?" She snapped, looking slightly perturbed. Gabe wasn't sure why he received that kind of reaction. He was certain he didn't do anything wrong. Gabriel racked his brain for things he may have done to earn the woman's spiteful response. But nothing came to his mind and now, he didn't know how he would ask her the questions that started to stream into his thoughts.

"I, uh, forgot. I'll ask you again once I remember." He answered with a small polite smile on his lips. Tesa shook her head as she once again gazed off into the distance. When they arrived to a more populated part of the city, they rode a jeepney. The ride was a little awkward for Gabriel even if it was quite short. He could feel the stress bubble that Tesa was in and he didn't know how to burst it.

They got off in front of a big but old and run-down house. He guessed that it was the place they would be staying at in the next couple of days. He was actually hoping for something a little more extravagant compared to this. Or at least, something that looked safe enough and had free WiFi, so he could tweet about his current situation. After all, he hadn't been on any social media platforms recently.

They were greeted by a toothless woman who was probably in her 70s. She showed them the way to their apartment. He was sure that this woman was the landlady and he was also certain that Tesa knew the way to the room but was too busy thinking to show him around. He was actually glad that the old lady was nice enough to show them the way.

Once they were inside, they waved goodbye at the landlady whose name escaped him. Gabe immediately threw himself into the bed and heaved a happy sigh.

'A cushion!' He thought happily as he fluffed the body pillow next to him. When had been the last time he felt the warmth and softness of a mattress? Two months? By the gods, he actually felt like the luckiest person alive. It felt like he was being rewarded after a horrible encounter with the unknown.

"Look, Gabe." Tesa started as she rummaged through her things. The man mentioned sat up and propped his elbows on the bed for support. He waited for what Tesa was about to say.

"I need you to stay here. I'm already late for my job and I don't want you wandering outside. We don't know who or what's out there so, it's best to be careful, okay?" She said, without even waiting for Gabriel to respond. Gabe had to admit that she was right. He was obviously in no position to complain about it. Although he did want to go out and actually see what the city was like.

Soon enough, the woman left the man to his ministrations, running off to a direction unknown to Gabriel. With her gone for a few hours, Gabriel felt like he needed to do something than just stare at his reflection from the vanity mirror that stood tall before him. There wasn't even any source of entertainment in the damned room. How in the world did Tesa survive in this room? Not even a radio could be found anywhere!

The 21 year old man ended up rummaging through Tesa's things in the apartment. However, he found nothing that piqued his interest. He concluded that the woman was the dullest person he had ever met. He reckoned that even the damned Tambaluslus was more engaging compared to her. Not that he would prefer hanging out with that monster, he just wanted to point out how dreary she was.

Hours went by and he had already done everything he could do to amuse himself. He had even played games on his phone. It was a pity that most of the games he had needed an Internet connection so he had to make do with Piano Tiles 2. But that was hours ago and it was already noon. He grew tired of the games and he was hungry.

Surely, Tesa would come back in a few minutes bringing food with her? If not, he would really be forced to go out and disregard all the things she said.

An hour and a half went by. Hungry and bored with nothing to eat or do, Gabriel finally decided to leave. He grabbed his phone that was plugged into the only socket in the room and tucked his wallet in his back pocket.

Since the sun was still shining brightly in the city of smiles, Gabe was certain that there won't be any dreadful beings lurking in the streets. But he could be wrong, so he decided to bring something to defend himself: Garlic and salt in his pocket.

He had heard of the myths that shrouded the region when he was young and often the heroes used the two cooking ingredient to repel the so-called monsters. He hoped that it was true because there was no way in the moon goddess' grace would he be able to protect himself from any fiends.

The scorching heat of the sun burned his pale skin and he was sure that his skin would get freckly soon if he stayed longer under the sun. He couldn't get a ride since he didn't even know where he should be going. So, he ended up swallowing what was left of his pride and asked around. Bothering the couples who were probably on dates.

After getting pointed to the direction of the nearest cafe, Gabe jogged down the alleyway and prayed to whatever god that was watching him to keep him safe. Surely, from all the gods that existed in Roman, Greek, Filipino, Chinese, Japanese and even the Christian God, one of them was watching him.

Dogs barked and cats hissed at him as he walked by. Gabriel was sure he was an animal lover, but passing by, he realised that maybe the love wasn't so mutual, after all? Even the birds were trying to peck at him, but, he couldn't run since he didn't want to risk getting chased by the damned dogs.

Was he really that cursed?

Damn, he would prefer never being born if he had to live running and hiding from the beings that plagued him. Not to mention getting blamed for the bad things that were happening to a group of strangers he never met.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime's worth of sweat and bird bites, Gabriel arrived at the cafe. He ordered something to fill his stomach, connected his phone to the internet that was, thankfully, available for free in the establishment and updated his status messages in nearly all the social media sites he had. He was, after all, a generation Y who grew up around the growing technology.

While he ate, he also searched for the nearest public library. Apparently, it was just around the corner.

The moment he finished scarfing down his meal and settling the payments, he left and made his way to the library. Glad that he saved the address, he went around the street, making sure that he was still going in the right direction.

"Finally." He said with a relieved sigh. He stood at the entrance of the building, half wondering if it was no joke that he found the place that could answer his questions so conveniently without bumping into something that could take his life.

"Oh my god, move it! I'm so sorry!" A woman's voice pierced through his thoughts as a bike almost colliding into him. Fortunately, he was able to stop it with his hand. But boy, did the force and tension hurt. Still, it was better than seeing the full visual of a monster.

"No, it's fine. It's partly my fault since I was in the way. Are you okay, though?" He said as he helped the woman get a hold of her composure. He was left a little out of breath when the woman smiled at him apologetically.

'There is a god, after all.' He thought.

The woman was wearing a some kind of uniform ensemble. Black jeans and a cream button-up shirt that had the insignia of the library printed on the left part of her chest. Her hair was black with blonde highlights. She was fair skinned and had chinky eyes. Her lips were red and supple that almost tempted Gabe to claim them. Almost. He was still a level-headed intellect who would never resort to hasty actions just to get some. But she was seriously his type.

"I'm fine, thanks for, uh, everything." She said and went to park her bike by the stands. Gabe was left standing by the entryway, watching her. He was probably creeping her out so he shifted his gaze to the library. Well, since she was possibly working in the library, he was sure he would see her later on.

With renewed determination and stinging palms, Gabriel walked into the building.

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