The Leftist Order

CODE-NAME: SNOW WHITE

The sun sets on the western horizon which makes the reddish sky to have a tinge of purple that is indeed awe inspiring but uncanny spectacle. The mysterious vigilante is having one of his shadow fencing exercises on the rooftop of an abandoned building somewhere in the city. As he arcs and making rapid slashes with his sword, the severed monster head which was placed in a corner tries to call his attention by irritating him, "Hey! Hey! Hey? Hey chump! My brother's gonna get me! YA HEAR ME!! Wanna know the secret on how to kick'is ass?" he added, "We're not just like the rest of the Sigbin that are lowlifes. Ya know. We’re from the lineage of the great Maganto Halim. Ya’know what I mean? We're f@#k’n royals man, royals! We rule our kind in this s@#t. Ya get it? Ya ordinary assholes are just no match for us, plus the fact that we untouchables are very good hex casters. So ya better watch out. By the way, I'll give ya hint just to give ya that, ya’know, that extra bang. But ya’know, just like, ya'need me and I need'ya. Ya'see whut'a mean? Bein mutual at'all."

“Sigbin is a land type Aswang that is said to use its long tongue to catch its prey by touching its shadow which enables them to cast vesper to it, paralyzing them. This type of Aswang is said to walk backwards as its head being lowered behind their legs. They have the ability to evade human sight by using invisibility vespers. This creature resembles a hornless goat with large ears, and has a long flexible tail that can be used as a whip. The Sigbin also uses its distinct foul odor to effectively ward off enemies and would be predators. It is also rumored that these malevolent creatures are kept by Sigbinans or their Aswang masters inside jars made out of special clay as pets.”

Somehow, the vigilante, in his sweat soaked jogging pants and hooded jacket immediately stops on what he was doing and begins to walk towards the corner where the monster head was. The monster chuckles as he triumphantly draws the busy assassin towards him, then he smirked and called, “Well, well, well. Look'at that. Desperate are'ya? Wanna add my brother to ya death-list are'ya? Sorry mate but, grease me first before I squeal."

The vigilante then puts his both hands on his pocket. He then locks his cold, piercing eyes to the monster's face and asks in a chilling tone, "Craving for fresh meat?"

He then pulls his duffel bag with his foot and unzips it. The hungry head drools nonstop as the man pulls something tasty, like a woman's brain or a toddler's guts, “Good boy!!! Ohh!! Very Good boy!!!" cheered the monster, as his lips was full of his sticky, greenish saliva, he then added, “Now, boy! Put that'n my mouth."

Without a word, the vigilante quickly pins the St, Benedict's medal onto the monster's long and dark tongue that made the monster to scream in pain as the medal burns his tongue, “AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! YOU f*****g SON OF A b***h!!! s**t!!!"

"You said you're hungry. And I'm giving you food- Food from God." affronts the vigilante as he sadistically presses the iron-hot medallion on the now inflamed tongue of the monster head in which it howls in pain, while its horrible screams echoed around the derelict structure.

“The Medallion of St. Benedict the Hermit was an effective amulet against Aswang attacks. Once activated, and devoted for forty days, starting in the first Friday of every month. The medallion will unlock its full potential and can be a very effective weapon used for spiritual combat. The medallion also has a variety of uses; one such is for the ritual of Exorcism. By reciting the proper invocation for the medal, the wearer can ward off malevolent spirit that entered the host's etheric body. It can also counter hexes done by witches/warlocks or witch-doctors. The medallion can also serve as a warning device against these vile creatures. The moment they were present somewhere within the wearer's perimeter, the medallion becomes burning hot , so hot that at the moment when the creature finds a way to attack, the wearer can place it in any part of the evil creature's body. The medallion can cause a burning sensation to the area where it has been placed."

At that moment, the vigilante's NOKIA 3315 cellphone, which was on top of an old monoblock chair in another corner suddenly, rings. The sadistic man immediately heard its polyphonic tone and walks towards it. He then swiftly grabs the phone and sees the text message which reads, “SnowWhite, be on standby. Please receive instructions from the store at 1900 hours. TEMPUS OMNIA REVELAT."

The vigilante proceeds to the home screen of his cellphone in which its clock indicated 6:48 in the evening. He then hurriedly packed his things and grabs the monster head by its hair," OUCH!!! OH!! f**k YA!!!!YA SICK BAS-"cursed the poor monster head as the apathetic vigilante roughly shoves it inside his back pack and dashes out of the building.

The street of De Ocampo at Pio del Pilar in Makati were lined on both ends with retail stores, old houses, cheap canteens, small specialty shops, side vendors which sells various items, and bystanders eating or smoking cigarettes around the corner that makes the street looked narrow and untidy for the eyes to see. The vigilante, with his hood on his head to conceal his face made his way in the front of a small store that has a metal sheet signboard on top that says "MAMENG's STORE" painted on it. The store itself was a little bit run down, with large metal mesh that covers the receiving window which makes it to look like a chicken coop rather than a*****e, and an old fashioned mechanical doorbell that adorns the side of the receiving hole. As the hooded vigilante transmitted the Morse code for SOS using the old doorbell, a stout bespectacled woman of about fifty plus of age slowly emerges from the darkness into the receiving window, “Good morning Snow White." greeted Mameng as she sternly looks at the vigilante, straight into his eyes as if ready to take his soul.

"Tempus Omnia Revelat." calmly responded the hooded vigilante, who reciprocates Mameng's intimidating stare by another set of sharp assuring look.

As the grumpy looking old lady adjusts her eyeglasses, she stretches her neck forward into the metal mesh and peered from side to side, making sure that the coast is clear. She then snooped at the hooded man and says, “Dinner's ready young man."

And so, Snow White, whom the hooded vigilante was referred to immediately, enters the gate of Mameng's house at the right side of her store. While Snow White is helping himself with Chicken Adobo (A traditional meat dish in the Philippines that is usually chicken or pork. The meat is marinated with soy sauce and vinegar then simmered with a little pepper and dried Laurel leaves.) and rice, Mameng shows him a brown paper parcel on top of the table as she seats opposite him at the dining table. Snow White suddenly stops munching as his greasy hands reached the parcel and have a look into it. On the brown paper that covers the entire package was a message scribbled using a black permanent marker, it reads, "DESTROY AFTER REVIEWING."

Silence broke down when Mameng touches her spectacles and speaks, “Looks like the Big Cat is on the move now. Hunting scruffy rats."

Upon hearing that, Snow White hurriedly gets up from the table. Unable to finish his meal he thanked Mameng for the delicious treat and leaves. As he walks down the street out to the darkness of night, rays of light coming from the streetlights flashes through his hooded face, making him a specter from the depths of the underworld.

That same evening in the gardens of Don Bosco Church, Jake impatiently stops playing songs from his SONY ERICSSON W800 cellphone and redials Krizelle's number. He was puzzled for his date's delay and was annoyed for Krizelle's lack of responsibility. After the tenth try and her phone is still just ringing he then decided to contact her friend Bea to check up on her. Still hoping that his lover was just in a bout of her forgetfulness as usual because she was too absorbed in memorizing Kanji with her friends at their dormitory. He dialed Bea's number and made his inquiry as Bea answered it, “Hi Bea. It’s me Jake. Is Krizzy with you at the dorm?"

"No Jake. I'm here with Norma at the canteen. Did Krizzy go with you at Megamall?" replied Bea, whom just like Jake was also become perplexed because all she knew was that her friend went to see a movie with him.

"Obviously she wasn't Bea. I'm waiting here for an hour." snapped Jake as he became a bit irritated for his girlfriend's constant absentmindedness.

“Sorry about that Jake. We will try to contact and find her. Maybe she just stopped to an office supply shop to buy index cards. You know, to make Japanese Kotoba (Words in Japanese) cards. I'll text you immediately if we reached her. Bye Jake." replied Bea, as soon as she hangs the call.

When Jake suddenly remembers the only office supplies shop that Krizzelle prefers to buy her school stuff, he immediately waves for a jeepney (a popular mode of public transportation in the Philippines. And also the cheapest) and boards it.

Meanwhile inside at the third floor corridor of the girl's dormitory, the janitor puts aside his trolley of cleaning materials in one corner when he instantly saw three big hairy rats scurrying around the trash bin on the other end of the corridor. As he slowly approaches the big old untidy trash bin which is an instant source of nutrition to any pests, with broom at hand, he saw at the corner of his eyes what looks like a trail of dead flies leading to the door of room 306 (Krizelle and her best friend's room) which is half open. Vexed for the occupant's lack of sensitivity for making his job difficult, the now angry janitor peered inside and called for anyone who might have retired early or just listening to their MP3's while relaxing at their bunk beds. When no one responded, the janitor rushes inside and switched on the lights. More and more dead flies are strewn across the floor which made the janitor grew more bitter towards the occupants of the room. As he looks around the floor muttering curses under his breath which is the outlet for his frustration and anger, he immediately realized that the dead flies form a pattern which leads him to the only CR inside the room. As he switched on the light, a gruesome sight shockingly met his eyes which made him rush to the dorm manager and asks her to call the authorities immediately, because inside was the mutilated body of - Krizelle Legaspi.

In a rundown transient bedroom somewhere in the city, Snow White is already opened the mysterious brown parcel and checking out its contents. Inside the taped brown paper wrapper was a file fastened in a white folder and a gray KINGSTON TRANSCEND USB. While sipping some hot chocolate through his stainless mug, Snow White first grabs the white long folder with the words "OPERATION BLACK TIGER" written in blue ink on its label. The folder contains all the information he needed for his current mission. As he flips through its contents, he suddenly stops in a particular page that caught his attention. The page was a detailed profile of a man with a 3R police mugshot of, surprisingly - the tramp himself, which looked sinister as he looked at the camera while his picture was taken. He then tears the profile of the tramp off the file and pins it in his small mission gallery board in front of him. He then inserts the gray KINGSTON USB onto his laptop and refreshes it to open the USB. He clicked the only file that was saved in the USB which is a surveillance video of an American woman who single handedly gunfights with seven police officers inside a bar. As the other customers in the video runs and hides in terror, the American gunner seems to be having fun as she evades and shoots the seven police officers who also happen to have the same precise prowess with the gun as the lady sharpshooter does. Unfortunately for the seven officers, the American lady was a master fighter and gunner that lead all of them to their demise. When the video almost hits the end, the triumphant gunner lady begins to shriek and then laughed diabolically, she then tears off one of the dead officer's head as if it was a chicken drumstick and gnaws at it voraciously. Snow White obsessively rewinds the part of the video wherein the American cannibal lady chews her victim's head a couple of times paying close attention to the woman's almost demonic face because of the red eyes and large sharp yellowish teeth that is still visible to the grainy quality of the video. But as he suddenly placed his eyes on the part of the video wherein the woman plucks the officer's head out from its body and blood spurts out from its severed neck, Snow White felt a very sharp pain inside his head and right oblique. As his eyes got stuck to the image of the fresh red blood that gushed from the policeman's neck to the floor, the pain became so intolerable that he needed to stop what he was doing and desperately grabs a Mefenamic Acid capsule from his pocket-sized medicine box to ease the freaking pain.

When onlookers and curious spectators flocked the veranda of the girl's dormitory to get a glimpse of the Krizelle's mutilated corpse being carried down by the authorities in a cadaver bag and stretcher, Bea and Norma dashes towards Jean-sensei and weeps, “Sensei!!What happened to her?" inquired Bea as she sheds tears while clinging to the language teacher who is also a tenant in the same dorm as they does.

“You two. Let's get a move on and I’ll tell you something." whispered Jean-sensei at the wailing two as she points with her lips a spot far from where they are standing.

“I'm sorry to say this to you guys but looks like Krizzy was murdered." revealed Jean-sensei as she holds the heads of the weeping two as she tries her best to compose not only them but herself as well.

“What sensei? Krizzy is what?" reacted Norma but as Jean-sensei putting her right index finger upon her lips signaling her to lower her voice down, Norma do so and asked, " But how? Sensei how? We all know that security guards are on constant duty 24/7. And even the corridors are filled with CCTV's because the owner doesn’t want to miss anything."

Jean-sensei then looked around them just to make sure nobody is listening and then she whispered, "Guys I don't know if you gonna believe this. Do you remember the serial killings that happened also near here and at a boarding house in Washington (street)? Well guys I'm sorry but, I think that same psycho murdered Krizzy. Because from what I overheard from the police earlier is that Krizelle and the others are killed in the same manner."

Norma and Bea were flabbergasted by Jean-sensei's revelation. The two was in a state of disbelief to know that the feared infamous serial killer that made headlines in every news outlet just a week ago is their best-friend's killer. Jean-sensei then supplemented another information, “Guys. I also heard from our schoolmates who happened to witnessed the removal of Krizzy's body from your room is that her body was so horribly mutilated as if a wild beast feasted on her." she then stopped for a few moments then added," Guys? Do you believe in Aswangs? Because I also heard that Krizzy's intestines, heart and liver are missing. Like the others according to the news."

"Oh s**t!! My poor Krizzy!! I only heard it from the stories back in my hometown in Samar. My grandmother used to saw one when she was little." interjected Norma, supporting the teacher's curious but odd conclusion since her province of Samar (a province located in the Visayas Islands in the Philippines) was rich with these legends and myths about this malevolent monsters.

Bea on the other hand was a native of Marikina City (a city in Metro Manila). Since she doesn’t want to hurt their feelings for not sharing the same idea, she just nodded. Meanwhile the three suddenly stopped discussing as they heard a familiar voice that causes a commotion with the police at the dormitory veranda. As the three came closer to have a look - it was Jake whose having a heated discussion with the policemen. The local authorities wanted to invite Jake at the station for questioning since he was the victim's lover; on the other hand Jake was just being irrational for thinking that the police is tying him up to the murder as a possible suspect. To reduce the tension between the two stubborn parties, Bea intervenes, “Sir. I'm Beatrice Chua and I'm Krizelle's friend. I know him (Jake) since me, Krizelle, he and Norma whose here with me are on the same class. So you can invite us for questioning. Right Jake? Norma?"

“Yes sir. We are all close acquaintances of Krizzy." added Norma who is also ready to vouch for Jake. The police then escorted Jake, Bea, and Norma to their patrol car and rolls straight to the Makati Police District headquarters for questioning.