I Saw What I Saw

III: The Devil’s Nursery Rhyme

Chapter 3

ARE YOU A DEMON?

That was what I kept hearing when I saw the smiling little boy who drowned yesterday.

It was the creepiest and most unsettling event I've ever seen.

According to the authorities yesterday, that boy had been missing since three o'clock on Saturday. It was also the exact time I stepped outside the bus at Castilla, Sorsogon's bus station.

My whole body trembled when I learned that. It felt like misfortune was following me.

I had no idea how deeply it impacted me.

I tried to remove the thoughts from my mind, but I couldn't. It still stuck to my brain, as if it was a persistent leech.

I was absent this Monday because I didn't sleep well, and I still hadn't returned to Manila. I also noticed that time seemed to slow down as I looked around outside.

I only realized it was already eleven in the morning when I looked at the clock above.

I looked for Mom, and she was just outside, busy doing the laundry. I didn't volunteer to help because she was almost finished anyway. Besides, my body ached too much to carry such heavy work.

I saw that Mom had finished the laundry because she was heading inside.

My gaze shifted when I heard a strange noise coming from the second floor. I didn't know what it was, but I felt that I needed to go up there to see what was there.

Maybe there was someone. But—

"Luke, the boy who drowned yesterday..." I looked at her when she suddenly spoke, waiting for what she would say next. "He's your cousin."

It felt like a bucket of cold water was poured over me when I heard what Mom said. The little boy who died from drowning yesterday was my cousin. How did that happen?!

"He's your aunt's son, my sister... I only found that out when I followed the boy while he was being carried by the police and authorities," she explained while her hands slightly trembled.

The only thing I could imagine were the nightmares I had carried out of my mind. What happened was far worse in the record of my life.

"Let's go to Sorsogon City, because your aunts, my sisters, are there, Luke." That was all mom's said to me before going up to the second floor.

It couldn't change the fact that after I stepped outside the bus, the boy suddenly disappeared. It felt like something strange was following me that I couldn't understand.

If there was something, what did they want from me? Or from us?

From Friday night until now, I still feel the strange wind or whatever that is. I look completely crazy.

But I'm not crazy!

I'd never become totally crazy! I don't want to go crazy! That's why I eat a lot, so I won't go crazy. But why does it feel like something is following me to force me to become crazy?

What if... I have a hidden illness? And I couldn't handle it.

That's why I see things that aren't human, because I'm already sick. Even though they aren't really there. Even though they aren't real, I can see them.

"WE ARE REAL, LUKE! WE ARE REAL!"

My eyes burst open in shock when I heard someone shout. It sounded like a piglet being strangled somewhere. Because of the sudden fright, I immediately fell hard to the floor.

The inside of my room slowly grew darker. It felt like there were shadows always awake around me. Shadows that weren't me.

I looked around everywhere. The surroundings gradually expanded. It looked like time warped in a second. I turned around to look behind me, but I couldn't see anything anymore.

Fuck. What the hell should I even do?

I don't have a flashlight. There are no lights in any area surrounding me. How is this even possible? There was still broad daylight outside just a second ago. So, how did everything turn pitch-black?

LET US f*****g IN!

A sudden growl brushed against my ear, along with the lights abruptly turning on all at once. I turned around to escape my room, but I was stunned when I realized it wasn't a room anymore. It was filled with locked cages that looked like a prison. Where am I?

I smelled something foul just around the corner. It was like a rotten dead person, and it could easily make me sick.

~Hickory Dickory Duck~

I paused for a second when I heard a familiar children's song being sung by someone. Its voice wasn't human; rather, it sounded like a demon.

~The Demons start up the clock~

Demons? What does it mean? An audible whisper came from my left, so I slowly turned around. There was nothing there, and I could only see the cages.

The cages were tightly locked, and I saw things that I never wanted to see. And they were. . . smiling at me.

~The clock struck three~



All the locked cages started to unlock simultaneously. I don't know what will happen to me, but I have this feeling that it was bad. So, so bad that it could even kill me instantly.

~All the spirits fell down~

The song slowly twisted and swelled into a full, devilish voice. No! It was no longer just a devil's voice—it was a real, devilish voice. The lyrics weren't like some old kid nursery song anymore, but rather a sinister devil's song.

The voice stopped. Only the faint sound of the padlock, slowly clicking, I heard. It took me a few seconds to process where I should go. And I still don't know.

For a few long minutes, I heard someone's voice I'm strangely familiar with. The faint clicking sound of the padlock still continued. So, I stopped, just to listen to it.

"There was a boy named Loki. They said he was a good and gentle boy. One day, he was lost in the dark forest. He thinks that everything will be okay if he follows the narrow, winding path until the very end. . ." The voices were slowly growing louder and heavier.

Loki. . . Luke? Lu-Ke? Is that my name? No! Why would it be?

"What he doesn't know, something's following him closely. A beast. It smelled very bad, a rotten stench that could make him sick. And then, the story ended because they never knew what happened next to that boy." The voices continued softly.

At some point, I finally understood what it said. But the question was. . . who's Loki?

"Shh. Don't move, Luke. Just let us in."

I gasped when I heard the voice from earlier now whispering directly in my ears. I slowly turned around to see it, and there's still absolutely nothing there. I saw the padlocks nearly end to unlock itself, until the loud, sharp metal click sound was heard.

Meaning, this place is infinite and is full of tightly locked cages.

"f**k," I cursed under my breath before the cages suddenly opened in succession, one after another.

I was shocked when suddenly someone violently shook my body, resulting in me opening my eyes. A pair of yellow lights appeared very near to me. There was a body I also saw close to me. It was doing something to me. I also heard my name being desperately calling from it.

Luke, what's happening to you?!

I don't know what was happening to me. I was abruptly snapped from the blurry reality when my visions slowly became clearer. I saw my mother tightly hugging my body while I was in my bed. From what I saw, we were clearly in the hospital. I saw myself lying on a cold hospital bed, unconscious and pale.

But wait, something's terribly strange. Why do I see myself lying on the bed while I am standing near the door?

Wait! Don't tell me. . .

I slowly looked around and saw something that suddenly caught my eye. I was frozen in shock and terror when I saw someone silently standing near my physical body. Its body was pitch-black, and I could only barely see its vague outline.

There is a thick, strange black smoke covering the black man. Its hands were full of sharp and large nails, while it rubbed its both hands slowly on my head. What the f**k is it doing?

Is it petting me?

The black man slowly turned his head around. But it wasn't turning the way normal people do. It twisted a full 180°. It went faster and faster, and I did nothing. I just stood there and watched it twisting its head. And then, it stopped. His head was right in front of me, smiling.

It's not only that, but the smile was also red.

"Tick. Tock. Tick. . . Tock. DING! DONG!" A loud voice echoed through the room. The black man suddenly disappeared from my sight. The lights abruptly went out, and the hospital room widened and stretched, pulled by some unforeseen force.

"Do. You. Like. Our. Deaths. LUKE?" The demon's voice slithered into my ears. Every single word was slow and far creepier.

The voice stopped, and every second felt like something invisible was watching me closely. I heard a breath near me, right beside my shoulder. The stench of a dead body came out of nowhere. It felt like something was killing somebody in the dark.

Later, a sudden flash of light violently appeared somewhere ahead of me. I slowly went there to check. And I saw that there was a text clearly written in the spotlight. And, it said. . .

Guess whose dead loved ones these are.

I squinted my eyes and knotted my forehead, completely confused. A cold breeze brushed against me all at once. I was wondering what could it possibly mean?

Suddenly, a group of bright spotlights gathered around the center. It started slowly moving in different spots, like a slow, haunting musical beat. A few minutes passed by, and it stopped on something. Something that I was familiar with.

Dead bodies.

"The show must now begin!" An announcer suddenly commenced the twisted game.

What the f**k was happening? Am I losing my mind right now? Or am I f*****g dreaming right now? What the hell is this?!

There was a deep, guttural growl I heard from far away. I slowly turned around to check it. And I saw the boy. My cousin, who had been missing and died because of drowning.

"There were some of them, Luke. Who do you want to save? Your families? Or your friends?" The boy whispered softly.4

I just stared at him, and he suddenly grinned at me. That same uniquely creepy smile I saw on the beach earlier.

I screamed out of rage. "What do you f*****g want, you demons?!"

He suddenly roared at me. And a flash of memories erupted inside my mind. Those were memories from that day. But. . . they were twisted. Every memory was soaked with deaths and accidents.

And every death. . . I was the only one there.

Then, the boy's voice slithered through the silence. "Demons. . ." He suddenly turned his head upside down; it made me freeze, freaked out for a second. "Are you referring to yourself, Luke?"

I flinched at what he said, my heart pounding. "W-What do you mean?"

A chilling smile spread across his face. "You killed your friends, and you killed your parents. I liked it. I liked how you did it, Luke. I was impressed." He grinned at me, like he was genuinely impressed by what I had done.

My blood boiled. What?! I screamed out of pure rage at his words. "I'd never kill them, you f*****g demons! Don't you dare lie to me!"

"You're the one lying here, Luke. We're real, and you aren't. But… you can join us. Here, in hell." He grinned wider, his face smeared with fresh, glistening blood.

A surge of rage erupted inside me. "You f*****g liar! I wouldn't f*****g do that!"

He stepped closer, the surrounding shadows stretching unnaturally. "I like your lying. I like every terrible thing you did. But. . . have you ever wondered. . . you have a child, Luke?"

"While you are. . . m**********g in your dorm. . . someone's riding you. And you never know."

What the f**k was he saying? How the hell did he know I was m**********g in my dorm? And what the f**k does it even mean—someone riding me while I'm doing. . . like that?!

Then, with a slow, horrifying reveal, he whispered, "And I was the child of both of you." The manifestations began to gather, swirling around the nearby area, their forms shifting and grotesque.

"They killed my mother, and you killed me. You hid secrets from me. And I'll make sure… you're living in this hell too." The air grew thick, suffocating, and the shadows seemed to crawl closer, pressing in from every corner.

And then. . .

"Welcome home, Luke."