chapter 4

It was horror. There were hundreds of wolves half the size of a man surrounding them in a corner, all baring their teeth towards the two of them. Neville was in the front, shielding Nadelle, as if that would save them from harm.

“Why the hell are they attacking us?” Neville shrieked while taking a step backward, though there was no room left behind him.

“Gee, I don’t know, Neville. Maybe because we’re trespassing.” Nadelle said sarcastically, giving him a glare. Neville was sweating like mad when he saw the drool from the wolves’ mouth. They seemed like they had not eaten for weeks and the two human in front of them were a godsend meal for them.

“Nadelle, if I don’t make it tonight,” he swallowed his saliva down his throat. It seemed it was the hardest thing to do. “Tell mom I love her. And you can keep all my comic books. And…”

“Shut up, Neville. What makes you think I can make it out when you can’t?”

“Good point.”

They both hugged each other as they waited for their lives to end by the vicious wolves, praying in their hearts that all this madness is nothing but a dream and they were going to wake any minute. They closed their eyes, arms still around each other, wishing that when they opened it, they would be on their beds, sweating as if they have just finished marathon, that this was all just a nightmare.

Out of nowhere, they heard a shriek, but it was no human. It was loud and deafening. After that, they heard the wolves were yelping in pain, as if they were being attacked.  Neville could feel there were liquid splashed at his face. It felt like blood when he touched it. He dared to open his eyes, and he was bewildered by what was bestowed in front of him. He noticed that the roof of the barrack was ripped apart, and in front of them stood a mythical animal that he had read in storybooks when he was a child. Its body filled half the space of the barrack, with its back facing them and its head was beyond the roof. It has the body of a lion and a head and wings of an eagle. When the wolves tried to loom towards the beast, it swiftly flicked its tail, sending the wolves flying in the air. Its giant beak was tearing some of the wolves apart. The rest of the wolves fled as fast as they can, trying to spare their lives from becoming the 

creature’s supper.

“Now, now, Alamora, don’t go overboard. We need only to rescue them, not gobble down your supper,” a woman appeared besides the creature with a smile on her flawless feature. She was wearing a grey robe, sweeping the floor. Slowly, the creature turned into a shape of a man unclothed, his back still facing both Nadelle and Neville. With a wave of her hand, a black robe appeared wrapping around him.

“Well, they’re not that delectable anyway,” Alamora turned to face the woman whilst cleaning his teeth with his finger. Then, he turned his attention to both Nadelle and Neville; both were gawking at what they had witnessed. Can this night be any more bizarre, they wondered.

The woman in the white robe came closer to them, blinding them with her radiance. She was on one knee so that they could see each other at eye level. All this time, she never stopped smiling.

“Are you alright, young ones?” her voice was mellow, as if a tune is strung from her vocal cord. After a while, they managed a nod. She extended both of her delicate hands to help both of them to stand up.

“My name is Alwyn Almidore,” she bowed her head slightly, “and this,” she pointed at the man, “is Alamora Pensville.” Then she looked back at both of them. “At your service.”

“Look,” Nadelle said, looking cautious at both of the new arrivals, “we’re sorry that we trespassed here. We thought that this place was abandoned. Promised that we will not come here again. So please don’t call our parents. We’ll be outta here in no time.” Neville just nodded, looking anxious through his glasses.

Alwyn let out a chuckle. “We’re here not to cause you problem, Nadelle. We’re here to help.”

“How do you know my name?” Nadelle was curious. She could not have guessed it; her name was one of a kind, or at least, that was her father always told her.

As Alwyn opened her mouth, Alamora touched her shoulder, causing her to focus her attention towards him.

“They’re coming again. We must hurry.” He then turned back into the creature.

“Who’s coming?” Nadelle was getting confused.

“Come, we will discuss this once we get there.” Alwyn ushered both of them to climb on Alamore.

“Wait, where are we going? Who’s coming? Can somebody tell me?!” Nadelle refused to get on Alamore, making Alamore impatient, thus grabbing Nadelle with his tail and flew away from the army.

Nadelle’s fear had become a reality. The night was getting worse.

as i lay here on the grass late at night, watching the stars in the hours of darkness, i think of you with all my heart. then my mind remembered the silly love songs that used to have no meaning what so ever to me, but now describe how i feel towards you. my lips curled to a smile when i remembered the times we spent together. i looked at the night sky and i can trace your smiling face that i love oh so very much. when you laugh, it really makes my day and it stays on my mind because i keep replaying it over and over again.

1 4 3.

chapter 3

They arrived at the military base. It was 30 minutes drive from Nadelle’s house.  Then, they had to walk for another hour or so.

“Are you sure we’re heading in the right direction?” Nadelle kept on pestering Neville. She was bored with the scenic, nothing but trees. Well, thay could not really see as it was nightfall, and she barely could make out her surrounding, even with the help of her flashlight.

“of course I’m sure.” Neville said between his breaths. He was trying to read the map that he printed from Google earlier that day before he headed to Nadelle’s house, and she was at no help at all. Nevertheless, he did not mind. Though Nadelle would always complain and threaten him, she never really did what she said. She was kind and loyal, but she was not good expressing it. That was probably why she could not get a friend besides him. She did not mind, she once said, as she was used to being alone all the time.

Suddenly, Neville came to a stop. Nadelle was looking around and did not notice he had stop, so she bumped into him and she almost fell down.

“What the hell, Neville? Shouldn’t you give some kind of warning or something before you stops?” she was feeling her face, which was a little bit sore because she bumped into Neville’s backpack.

“We’re here.” Neville flashed his flashlight, showing an old, rusty gate in front of them. There was a “keep out: authorized personnel only” sign written in red paint hanging on the gate, unbalanced. There was a metal chain locking the gate.

“It’s locked.” Neville said solemnly.

“What do you expect? A welcoming party?”

Seeing Neville hesitated, Nadelle climbed up at the gate.

“Whoa. Stop! Nadelle!”

When she reached the other side, she looked at Neville through the gate.

“Well, I don’t wanna waste my time coming here, and not coming in here. You’re such a scaredy cat, Neville.”

“No, I was just saying that there’s an opening through that wired gate and you don’t have to climb over it.” Neville showed where the opening was and swiftly brought himself besides Nadelle.

“Well, you could’ve told me sooner,” embarrassed, Nadelle punch Neville’s shoulder lightly then walked away, trying to hide her flushed face. Neville rubbed his shoulder where Nadelle had punched earlier, smiling off goofily, before he followed quickly behind Nadelle.

They scouted the area. They found nothing worth of note, except for old, abandoned hangar that looked like it may fit an airplane, old army trucks that could not be used anymore, and abandoned offices that contained old fashion telephone, a telegram, and some paperwork. The writings had faded and smudged, making it hard to read.

While Neville was absorbed in taking pictures, Nadelle looked around the base. It seemed that nobody had ever used this base for quite some time and she wondered why. Neville did tell her that the base was active when World War II started and they have left the location right after the war had ended. She tried to picture the site when it was in its glory days, when he heard Neville called her from inside one of the cabin not far from where she stood.

“What? You found the alien.

“no.” he pointed at the light from afar, with his index finger, shaking.


 “There’s someone out there.”

Nadelle forced Neville to duck, afraid that it that light comes from the authority.

“What the hell, Neville? I thought you said that no one comes to this place.”

“I thought so too.”Neville croaked. “What’re we gonna do now? I think I’m gonna wet myself”

Nadelle asked him to hush as she heard footsteps were donning closer to where they were. She was too afraid to even breathe. She felt her heartbeats were so loud, that she was sure that it would burst out from her chest any time.

“Are you sure this is the place?” an unfamiliar voice was heard. It was hoarse and full of authority. Both of them looked at each other, fear welding up in the midst of their silence.

“Yes, sir. I’ve followed them since they’ve left the house,” another voice was heard, it was so soft, that Nadelle could barely hear what the person was saying.

“Very well then. I demand that this girl is to be found immediately. Do not harm her. She is needed by lord Vetis,” he commanded. Not long after that, a howling was heard, and it continued on and on. Then, they heard footsteps were fading from their hideout. Nadelle gasped between her hands covering her mouth as she had heard the voice before. And Vetis? Nadelle frowned. It could not be the same person, can it? But then again, who else would have a name of a demon? And who was the girl that he talked about? Was this girl the reason why the man in his dream was killed? Why was she so important that it was worth killing for? She was so lost in her thoughts so much until Neville had to shake her to give rise to her grasp of reality.

“Now what do we do? He was trembling. By now, he would have regretted his decision of coming here. If his mother had found out, he would not be able to step outside his own house.

Nadelle tried to peek outside of the cabin. She slowly opened the door, but it did not help as it made a creaking sound. A wolf with the size of a lion was at the door and leaped at her straight away, with its jaws wide open, ready to pounce on both of them. She tried to close the door, but the force was too strong. She fell backwards towards Neville, leaving the door wide open. The wolf howled they could hear barking and growled from the outside.

Neville rummaged through his backpack and found a flare. He threw it at the wolves after he lit it up. The wolves backed up a little.

“Come on!” he grabbed Nadelle’s shaky hands and made a run through the back door. A pack of wolves had already waiting there, baring their teeth at them. Neville quickly closed the door before one of the wolves was able to shred him to pieces. Nadelle seemed to have recovered from her shock as she tried to help Neville. They looked at each other, horrified. They were surrounded.

chapter 2

Nadelle woke, startled by the sound of the alarm clock. She did not realize when she started to fall asleep. She was still feeling sleepy and her temple was throbbing, as if she just had a bad hangover. Thank god, it was Sunday. Therefore, she tried to doze off again, but the throbbing was making it difficult. After too many toss and turns on her bed, she decided to get up and take a cold shower. Maybe that will help.

After shower, she wore her loose jeans with a black t-shirt with ‘nobody’s perfect’ in big, bold white print. She took a good look at herself. She was not the kind of ‘perfect girl’ that the media always describe. Her brunette hair was cut short like a boy, she did not know how to put on a makeup, not that she wanted to, and most of her clothes are jeans and t-shirt. Her father once told her to wear what he called ‘girl’s clothes’ once in a while like other girls in town, but she took a deaf ear to what he said. Those skimpy outfits that they wear looks like something you stole from your little sister, and he wanted her to wear that?  What he was thinking, she wondered.

 She went downstairs to grab something to eat before she popped two tablets of Panadol for her headache. There was a note from her father on the fridge saying that he would not be home until midnight. As usual. She was always left alone ever since her mother died. She used to have a nanny that took care of her, but after much argument with her father, which she won eventually, she had been taking care of herself.

She sat on the couch of her living room, while trying to find a channel worth watching. There was a show where people have to go through silly obstacle to win money, so she watched it blankly while eating her cereal. Then, there was a knock on the glass door, and she could see her long-time best and only friend, Neville, plastering his face on the door making a silly face.

“The door is unlocked,” she shouted. Neville opened the door and closed behind him. He helped himself with a bowl of cereal and an apple juice in the kitchen. He then sat next to Nadelle and enjoyed his cereal.

“Watchu watching?”Milk was spilling out from his mouth when he tried to speak dribbling on his chin. He then wiped it with his shirt’s sleeve. This was why he could not get laid. He had a face that most girls will for, if he put his full-frame black glasses away and wear a contact lens, because he had gorgeous ocean blue eyes. However, he was too oblivious about that. He was too absorbed in star wars and stuff alike. One time, he had a crush on Betty Joe in fifth grade, the prettiest girl in town, and she seemed somewhat interested in him too. But he just had to blow it off by speaking some alien language that only he understands. Nadelle was the only one who stuck up for him when he was teased by those Betty Joe’s admires afterwards, and they were friends ever since. Nadelle did not have the heart to leave him alone; he seemed too pathetic that way. Besides, he was not that bad, once you got pass all those quirkiness. He was loyal, kind and was always there when she needed him. He was like a brother to her now.

“Wipeout. No good show to watch anyways.”

They continue eating their cereal while watching the contestants humiliated themselves on national television.

“Had a dream last night.” Nadelle said, after finishing her last gulp of apple juice.

“What’s it about?” Neville’s eyes were still on the television.

“Some dude got stab.”

Neville turned to look at Nadelle, his eyes widened and his jaw dropping while the spoon full of cereal stopped in mid air.

“Whoa, some dream. Did you know that guy?”

“Nope. Seems like from King Arthur’s time or something. You know, there are knights and all.”

“Maybe a memory from your past life?” Neville always had some kind of theories about dreams, saying that each dream probably represents some kind of deep meaning, our connection to the universe or a memory of the past or the future to come. Nadelle was more of a logic person. They always debated on things like if there is another life besides us out there, existence of mythical creatures, and more. Usually, Nadelle would disagree on anything what Neville said, but the dream was so vivid that it haunted her too much. What’s more, the familiarity feeling that she got when he saw that man’s face. What was his name again? It started with ‘L’. Levington right?

Nadelle was so lost in her thought that Neville started to wave his hand too close in front of her face, that it startled her.

“What’s with the scary look?”

“What look?”Nadelle started to get defensive.

“You look like you’re about to kill somebody or something. Are you okay?”

Nadelle took one look at Neville, the look at the television screen blankly.

“Yeah, I’m okay. “She rested his back on the sofa. Neville was still looking at her, worried, but she chose to ignore it and continue watching the show. Eventually, Neville gave up and continue finishing his cereal. He knew that he could not force Nadelle to tell him what was bothering her. If he pushed it too far, he was sure to get a punch on the face. She will tell him herself when she’s ready.

“Oh yeah. What brings you here anyway?”

“Oh, nearly forgot.” He put down his empty bowl and looked at Nadelle. “I need a ride.” he flashed his brace-smile. “There’s this place where people say it was an old army base where they keep some alien spaceship not far from this town. So I’m planning to check it out.”

“What, like area 51?”

“That’s their main area. I think this maybe their branch or something. You know, a temporary place to keep these spaceships before being transported to area 51.”

“Why do I have to take you? Shouldn’t you get your driving license already? Besides, that’s not my gig.”

“You know my mom don’t let me drive.” It was true. Ever since Neville’s father was involved in a car accident, her mother was so paranoid in getting into a car. She took the bus to commute. Nadelle had trouble convincing her to let Neville ride in a car with her. She would call Neville every ten minute or so. If Neville did not pick it up on time, she would call 911 reporting an ‘accident’. 

“Please, Nadelle. I really really really really wanna go. I promise to do your homework for a whole weekend.”

“The last time you did it for me, I ended up having to redo all of it!”

Neville looked down on his shoes. He was wearing a worn out pair of black converse. His hands were playing with the shoelace. Nadelle let out a sigh. She could never win over Neville. He always has ways to her sympathy.

“Fine, I’ll drive you there.”

Neville looked up from his shoes, looking all bright and cheery. As if he was reborn, hearing Nadelle’s words.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. You’re definitely the best friend I have.” He hugged Nadelle so tight out of excitement. Nadelle pushed Neville away with all her might.

“Let go, you moron!” she threw a pillow from the couch at Neville. He threw another pillow back at her. One thing leads to another, and they were having a pillow fight, laughing and teasing each other, oblivious that they were watched from afar.

have we met before?