Dark Secrets

Chapter 41: Yeah … (1 of 2)

To be honest, I rather identified as Pluto’s maid rather than his woman as what he told publicly.

He done it to me before, announced to everyone that I’m his girlfriend just because he wanted to keep an eye on me.

All because of the secret I know but eventually he ended that lie and now he’s really into me.

Although he makes my heart flutter and I’ve got butterflies in my stomach whenever he touches me affectionately, it doesn’t last long.

Then this love confession from Diso-sunbae too, he’s not overbearing like Pluto but he’s not someone who easily quits.

They both pursuing me despite of their friendship, but I don’t think romance is for me.

I’m more into the dark side of reality, supernatural kind of thing.

8th of January 1977, first Saturday of the new year, and here we are in front of a real-life horror house.

We left from Seoul right at 3pm right after the meeting of the dance club where Pluto and I are members and arrived at our destination in Busan after 5 hours of drive.

Because of the budget we accumulated last year, we now have our own house mobile that has a size of a commuter bus that is good for 50 passengers.

There are 3 bunk beds at the back which one is horizontally arranged at the bed end of the left side’s bunk bed then the bunk bed on the right side is a bit separated from the other two as its bed end is where we can put our luggage properly.

After the bedroom for 6 or 8 as there are 2 extra mattresses, there’s the shower room on the left side and toilet on the right, then the kitchen, stove on the left and fridge on the right.

But of course, the living/dining room upon entering the bus, the driver’s seat is separated by a wall partition from the living room.

The sofa is in a straight U-shape so it can be used as bed for 3 people as for the front just two seats for the driver and his company, a customized ride just perfect for us 13.

Since me and Alessia are the only ladies in the group, we automatically get the bunk bed on the right side, I’m on top and she’s below me since I’m lighter than her as what she said though I know that Luke will probably take one of the mattresses to be on her side.

“Shall we conduct our preliminary investigation now?” Ashton leads everyone inside the house after we settled our house mobile nearby.

As soon as we entered the house, a foul smell of rotten meat hit us all and the freezing cold corridor send chills throughout our whole body like we’re in a cold storage of an old meat shop.

“Obviously the presence here marks this house as its territory.” Ashton uttered. “It doesn’t even hide its existence.”

“Get out!!” Troye shouted out loud as he covered his ears. “Intruders! This house is mine!!” he suddenly passed out after saying those words to us.

“Troye!!” Alessia and I come to Troye’s side immediately.

“Alessia, you’re bleeding.” I notice the blood dripping from Alessia’s nose before she also passed out. “Alessia!”

Luke carried Alessia out immediately while Calum helped Troye, when I feel a pair of eyes with piercing gaze on the 2nd floor.

It had big horns on its forehead, if not for the lava like veins on its body I won’t recognize its dark figure.

I’ve seen Emolga’s death angel form but this one is different. “So, this is what a demon looks like.” I stand up and stare at it even if the voice inside me is telling me to run away.

“Desa, the only reason that you’re unaffected until now is because you’re bind to a contract.” Emolga uttered in my head. “Retreat!!”

“W-We should retreat for now; we can’t handle it tonight.” I stuttered as I feel my legs shaking in fear while walking backwards.

“Desa is right, we already know what’s in this house.” Pluto holds onto my arm. “We should leave at this instant.”

As soon as we all stepped out from the house the door shut instantly.

After a few more steps my legs turned to jelly and if not for Pluto I would’ve plopped on the ground.

“Hey, I’ll carry you.” Pluto scoop me into his arms as we go back to the house mobile. “You’re trembling Desa.”

The accident on the stadium suddenly flashed back in my head, I could feel the heat on my skin like I’m burning alive.

Then the figure of that demon appears, it’s laughing evilly as he watches me burn not from the fire but from the lava flowing from his body, he enjoys torturing me.

“Desa. Desa come back to us. Desa!” Troye’s voice ringing in my head.

“T-Troye.” I see Troye and Alessia crying in front of me.

“Oh, thank God!” Alessia hug me tight. “You scared the life out of me. I thought we’re gonna lose you!”

“What happened?” I’m soaking wet in the small shower room.

“You’re literally hot like your body is set on fire!” Troye said worriedly. “Diso put you on a cold shower but it’s not enough to set your temperature right. You were in trance Desa.”

“Thank you for calling me back.” I hold onto Troye’s hand.

“You don’t know how scared I am, I’m glad that you listened and followed my voice.” Troye smiled at me.

“How are you feeling Desa?” Diso and Pluto are standing by the door.

“Cold because of the water coming out from the shower.” I replied.

“Yeah, us too, we’re also soaking here because of you.” Alessia turned the shower off. “We need a towel here!”

Troye got out first as Alessia helped me to stand up, Luke covered Alessia in a towel as soon as she stepped out while Diso put a robe on my body and Pluto put a towel on my head.

“Thank you, I’ll should change my clothes.” I come with Alessia to the bed room as we both change our clothes.

Good thing that they put a curtain as a door to the bedroom so we do have our privacy when changing clothes although they’re all gentlemen and we’re safe with them around us.

I changed to my pyjama before I joined the others at the living room where they’re doing their research through the books, we brought with us, as we’re dealing with a violent entity, we must be careful.

“I found it!” Troye found the name on the book after flipping a lot of pages. “It says here that he’s a demon who drove away anyone out from his territory. He’s not a soul collector like the usual demons we encounter but a territorial one.”

“I don’t get it. Why would a demon have a territory on the human world instead in hell? Is there something in that house that made that demon protect it as his property??” Alessia responded.

“That might be the case and we need to find out what it is in order to send that demon back in hell.” Pluto stated. “It should go back where it belongs.” he said with rage.

He’s furious, I can see it in his eyes, that’s why I’m more worried about him when he lost his temper and hold back for a while.

We set out a plan to move as soon as the sun rises, we can’t go for a fight when it’s night so we take a chance on daylight.

If it’s just me I don’t want us to go back inside, what happened to me, Alessia and Troye, is a warning.

But everyone is determined to drive that demon away so here we are again back to house, trying to make a mission impossible possible.

Instead of dividing us into groups, we’re all moving around the house as one, as we search onto something that we don’t know.

“Behind that wall.” I pointed at the wall on the corner of the basement. “It looks like a tunnel, a cold and dark trail …”

“Stop it, Desa!” Pluto holds my shoulders. “You don’t have to look further; we’ll handle it from here.”

“You should go, Desa. I don’t think you’ll be safe here.” Diso uttered.

“No, I’ll stay here with everyone whatever happens. I won’t leave.”

“No one will die among us, right?” Michael asked me.

“I don’t have any death vision as of the moment so we’ll make it out here alive.” I assured him of our lives.

The men began drawing circles as we ability users are on guard for anything that may happen anytime.

Just after a few minutes I got the feeling of being watched, so I look around to see who’s lurking when I looked up at the stairs, all the sharp object from the kitchen are floating in the air.

“Everyone HIDE!!” everything flew to us as soon as I shouted.

If not for the pillars and other stuffs in the basement that we used as a shield, we’re dead.

“Someone, continue drawing the circle!” Ashton yelled.

“I’ll do it!” Pluto rushed towards the floor in front of the wall. “Cover me!” the seniors came forward with the wooden shields they’ve got.

“Desa, stay behind me!” Diso keeping me at his back as we hide behind one of the pillars.

I was holding onto Diso’s shirt when a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around my waist and pulled me in an instant.

Everything happened so fast that the next thing I know I’m pinned on the wall, hanging upside down as I watches everyone struggling in front of me.

I heard a growl and a pair of cold hands touched my ankles, I regret immediately when I look at my legs, it’s a corpse crawling on me slowly while looking at me with bloodshot eyes.

“No! Please No! Get off me!” I’m screaming on top of my lungs as I struggle to move but I’m all glued on the wall like I’m paralyzed.

When it reached to my height, it smiled at me widely, literally slitting its mouth to its ears, while staring straight to my eyes.

I couldn’t move and all I can do is look at it in horror until it sticks out its tongue and lick my face roughly.

“No! No! Stop it please!” turning my head to other direction but then its left hand holds my head to face the horror in front of me.

I keep my mouth shut and cry as I scream inside, though I know I’m not gonna die but I’m so terrified at the moment that I wish I die.

It slowly leaned towards me just a few inches from my face so I’ve got no choice but to close my eyes tightly.

I can feel its forehead resting on mine as I hear it growling while it pressed its slimy body on me.

Then visions flashed in my head like I’m watching movies in fast forward, they are the families who used to live in the house.

I watched everything that happened in the house and then a screaming voice of a woman rang in my ears.

When I opened my eyes, a familiar face is right in front of me and carrying me in his arms where I feel so safe and comfortable.

“It’s over.” Pluto said with a sweet smile on his face.

I hooked my arms around his neck and hug him tight as I cry on his shoulder. “I’m scared, I’m so scared!”

“Shh … you’re safe now Desa.” he hugs me back as he pats my back.

I looked behind me and I see a burning corpse in flame inside the circle that they made.

The wall has been destroyed as the bricks shattered on the floor.

I don’t know what happened and how they’ve done it as I’m being tortured alone like I was set aside when they were fighting with the demon, but what’s important, we made it out alive.

The corpse behind the wall was the demon’s human body that hasn’t been buried properly.

According to the vision I had, the first owner of the house has been murdered brutally and its dead body was hidden behind the wall.

Since the owner loved the house too much and he was a horrible husband who beat up his wife and children, the eldest son killed his father to stopped the violence in the house.

After they cleansed the house and had a priest to bless it over, the house is cleaned spiritually now.

Ashton and the other seniors older than him settled the business process with the client before we took our leave from Busan.

Sunday evening when we all finally arrived back home and buried to our memories what happened to the house.

It’s actually a good thing for me that I don’t have dreams neither nightmares at night since I only have oracles that come to me occasionally so I’m quite psychologically stable after a mission.

A month later, finals week on the mid-month of February, Valentine’s Day is no big deal here, so February 14, which happens to be a Monday is the first day of our final exams for half of my subjects and the other half tomorrow.

I’m done for the first day and about to go home to prepare for tomorrow when a Volkswagen stopped right in front of me when I reached the front door of the campus.

“What are you doing here?” raising my eyebrow at Pluto as soon as he scrolled down his window.

“I’m taking you home. Get in.” he said without a room for argument.

He’s persistent so saying no to him is no use, that’s why I get in at the passenger seat of his car.

“Don’t you have exams for tomorrow?” putting my seatbelt on.

“For you.” he handed me a bouquet of flowers. “Happy Valentines!”

“I thought Koreans only celebrate White Day?” I took the bouquet.

“Yeah, but not us. You know my father and uncle were born in LA right, us in the 3rd generation were born in the Philippines which happened to be a colony of US before. So, my family is celebrating American occasions too aside from Korean.” he explained.

“I see. Well, thank you for the Silver-Laced Primroses. I really like its deep brown-black colour with a perfect petal lining in silver-white and a golden centre.” sniffing the flowers. “Specially its light scent.”

“Can we have dinner first before I take you home?” he asked.

“But I need to review, I can’t hang out with you today.” I refused.

“Then go ahead and review, I’ll take you to the library and I won’t bother you, I just want to have dinner with you tonight. Please?”

“You promised not to bother me while studying??” verifying to him.

“Yes! I’ll behave, promise!” he raised his right hand while his left hand on the steering wheel as he drives his car.

“Fine … but don’t take me to the library. I can’t study there because of some spirits lurking around the area.” I uttered.

“I understand, I know a place where you can study in peace.” he said.

After half an hour drive from the Medical Campus of SNU we arrived at his residence in Cheongdam-dong.

I took a nap and when I woke up, we already reached the South Mansion where he lives so complaining is a too late for me.

“Why you bring me here??” getting off from his car.

“There’s a library inside you can study there, Hera’s nursing books are in there you can use them for your review.” he leads me inside. “I actually want to take you out in a restaurant but I guess we’ll just have our dinner here at my place, maybe in the greenhouse.”

“But …” I look around to see who else aside from us and their staffs are in the house. “Do you really have to take me in your castle?”

It’s not a house and more than a mansion, he lives in a castle.

“Hahaha. Castle??” he laughed at me like I’m joking with him. “This is just a house don’t exaggerate.”

“Exaggerate?! You’ve got 100 rooms here and its not just the usual rooms you’ll find in a house.” I reasoned out as I follow him.

“83 to be exact not 100, also it’s not a castle but mansion that’s why it’s called South Mansion and not South Castle.” he smiled at me. “Just relax alright, make yourself at home.” tapping my shoulder.

“Geez, I might get lost in here when it’s just me roaming around.”

... To be Continued ...