THE LOUD HOWL resounded in the night sky. Wings fluttered and birds flew away, leaving their nest. There was another loud sound. But this was not the sound of a howl, this was a booming sound, closely followed by a crunch-crunch double mechanism. That sound could only be heard from a sawn off shotgun. More booms filled the air. Then a loud roar, screams of men, and the sound of rustling leaves and broken branches filled the air. More booms and the crunching sound of more cases filled into the gun's barrel. Gunsmoke and gunpowder hung heavy in the air as more guns blasted. Suddenly, everywhere turned quiet. The silence was heavy. There was a rough, guttural breathing in the darkness. It sounded like that of an animal. Two red dots blinked in the darkness, from the direction the breathing was coming from. The smoke cleared a bit to reveal a group of worn-out, tired men bunched together. Their eyes were wide with fear and adrenaline as they looked around. Some of them had round b

THE LIBRARY IS like every other thing in this village – tiny. It is a small indiscreet building that sits beside what I take to be the village hall and chief's house. I knock and enter. As I step into this backend library, I immediately come to the conclusion that all libraries in the world, regardless of where they are located, are alike. This small village library has the still, dry, heavy air that all libraries I've been to always have. It made the place seem so sacred that you feel reluctant to break the holy silence. The room is dark, and only lit by the small rays of sun entering through medium-sized windows at the top of the wall. There is no librarian. I guess maybe there was no space to insert the desk and chair for a librarian because the room was cramped with tall shelves that were overflowing with books. "Damn!" I whisper as I run my fingers along the edge of the shelves. Dust particles dance around in the sun's rays as I move around. The library is not normally used o

"What?!" I am dumbfounded. I close my eyes to listen more attentively and I still hear the faint giggling of children. It is a bit reassuring that this village is not deserted, and also a bit creepy, like everything in the village. "I still hear the children," I say to Jeff, who replies, "And I still hear the dog." Why are we hearing different things?I turn a full 360 degrees to look around me. Even as I can still hear the faint giggling of children in the wind, and Jeff says he can hear a dog barking, this village feels ridiculously unalive. "Keep knocking," I say to Jeff. He nods at me and proceeds to the next house. I walk slowly along the street. The houses are small and old, but still sturdy looking. Some parts of the street are overgrown with weeds. I spot some cobwebs on the doors of some houses. The doors have not been opened in a while. Something terrible happened in this village. Every second I spend in this place further creeps me out. I take a left turn into an even

"Huh?" Jeff asks. "Uh… is it just me or did anybody see anything?" Everyone shakes their heads and mutters different variations of, "I didn't see anything." "What?" Carmen asks. She is pale white and her skin looks translucent in the semi-darkness. She looks each of us in the face. Her eyes are wife with fear or panic. Maybe both. "What do you mean you didn't see it?" She shrieks. Her voice is disturbingly loud in the confined space of the bus. "Keep your voice down, Carmen," George snaps. "See what?" "It… it was standing right there," she stammers. Her hand stretches out and points through the windshield. "What was it?" George asks her in a calm tone. I see her knees shake before her legs give way and she falls on one of the chairs. She glances up and looks at each of us, her eyes settling on me. "He saw it too?" She says. "He saw it. He knows I'm not lying or running crazy." "Saw what?" Lucas snaps at her and then turns to me. "Saw what? What is she talking about?" I opened m

I pull her for almost 5 minutes while running at full speed because I see the first houses of the village. There are lit lanterns along the street, casting the whole place in a soft warm glow, but creating a sharp contrast with the darkness. The shadows are deep and moving as the flame flitted around. As soon as we walk into the major street, the feeling of life and people surround me. I heave a sigh of relief and follow the street to the bar we had been in yesterday afternoon. I turn to look at Carmen. She is still in the weird trance. I push open the bar door and walk in, tugging on Carmen to follow me. The bar is empty and looks different than the afternoon. There is a lone candle fighting against the darkness in one corner. I make our way to the counter where a bartender is standing. He is different from the one we saw yesterday and he has another smaller candle in front of him, reading a thick-volume book. He has a kind of familiarity as the one we saw in the afternoon. Maybe