To Devour

Chapter 2: The Successor

A week went by without progress in Bagwis' case. There were no possible suspects since nobody from the neighbourhood saw the face of the culprit. They claim that they only heard growling, clashing of metal, and Bagwis yelling as if he was in a fight with someone. Security footage shows that Bagwis opened his door around ten in the evening to a police officer who delivered him mail. He drove away a moment later and never appeared again. That police officer was Euphert Benitez. They had summoned him to deliver a statement the next day. According to him, he was distributing the mail his late friend Fernan left from volunteer work. He used to volunteer for a nursing home by endorsing it to the families in the area. When he died, Benitez stated that he had the heart to continue the job his friend used to do as an act of commemorating his philanthropism and doing something edifying once in a while. He happened to pass by that night on his way home when he saw Bagwis parking his car. Benitez took this chance to finally hand it out to him since Bagwis wasn't home over the weekend. After doing so, he headed straight home. Benitez was eventually acquitted of suspicion since he had no relation or whatsoever to Bagwis nor any member of his family. The neighbours also justified seeing the police officer at home the whole night, playing loud music until morning. Other than Benitez, nobody else was under suspicion. He wasn't in bad blood with anyone, the family claims.

An ancient sword, dented metal tube, and a puddle of blood were the only leads and shreds of evidence. They found no fingerprints on the dented metal tube and mysteriously no other DNA found on the blood sample except a minimal amount of Bagwis', a total daze to the authorities. Neighbours saw nothing oddly suspicious around his home earlier that day nor any other day before that night. With insufficient details to prove attempted homicide or possible kidnapping, authorities resorted to an assumption that he might've fled on his device. They found a secret door beneath his bed that had a secret passage leading to an old car park. The missing objects in the house were personal stuff (ID, backpack, and clothes), ruling out a robbery and intensifying the notion. The investigation went on for days but to no avail. They remained clueless as to why Bagwis seemed to be in an intense fight with someone that night, yet the evidence was too sketchy to prove if there was even someone. On the other hand, if he intentionally left, then why? It was perplexing. Eventually, they put the case to a halt while the family continued to search.

It was the first day of school, but unlike others who were lively and excited, an ordinary girl walked sullenly on the grassy path with her head down. She did not look like an outcast, but she sure looked like a challenge to approach. Luna watched the green movement as her muddy white shoes brushed against it. She did not mind looking around because she was fixating her mind on something. She walked at moderate speed. Her lightweight metal bag tags often clinked with her every step as they hit each other. It was the only sound she heard as she continued thinking. The noise from the people around seemed to be air to her. A gush of wind swung strands of hair to her face to which she fixed back behind her ears using her fingers. Luna is in muddled thoughts about her grandfather's disappearance. She was pondering on the considerable possibility that Bakunawa attacked him. She wanted to look for him, but she knew well enough that she was forbidden to do so. Her grandfather's stern rule was for her to stay as far as possible from the vile being while the stone wasn't in her possession yet. She might be skilled, but she was no match for its prowess. Reserving herself was the best thing to do, so he made her promise to obey his instruction no matter what. Her jaws tightened upon the thought. She sighed in exasperation as she remembered the oath. It ailed her to wait on the sidelines, merely surmising his eventual return because there is a big chance that he actually might not. She worries for his safety not because he was a guardian but because he was her grandfather too. She recessed back to a dead-end. There was nothing she could do. She was vulnerable and useless, and it bummed her out. How worthless of a successor I am, she said to herself. Luna resurfaced back to reality. She looked straight ahead as she walked across the school quadrangle. It was yet another day without progress.