Black Avatare

7 | ROOKIE

Dasun let out a yelp. His brother tripped and fell. Nim unfolded what looked like a spear with dangling limes.

"What the heck was that?" Sandun whisper-shouted, scrambling to his feet.

"Poltergeism." Nim adopted a battle stance. "Noob."

The sudden quiet pierced them as loud as the window slam. Binara crouched, eyes darting as she aimed the flashlight all around, but it revealed only a sliver in the all-encompassing darkness. She bit down on the phone to hold it in place while she drew a protective rune on the floor. The chalk slipped from her fingers, its pitter-patter mimicking her heartbeat. She grabbed it and resumed scrawling.

"How are we gonna save the old man?" Dasun steadied his voice. "Do you think he's possessed?"

"Shuddup." Binara shot him a glare. "Trying to focus here. And there's no 'we'."

"Actually," Nim snapped, spinning around and grabbing the door handle, "I don't know about you, but I'm getting out. Demon ain't afraid to take on all of us, so this is a tad bigger than what I signed up for."

No matter how hard he pulled, the door wouldn't budge. He let out a string of expletives.

Dasun looked from one to the other. "Guess we're saving Grandpa."

Binara started reciting verses under her breath and scrawled more lines on the floor. Sandun said nothing, though his larynx bobbled.

Suddenly, the cupboard doors swung open, sending contents flying.

All four of them ducked. The clatter was deafening, rattling Binara to the core. Sweat broke out on her brow as she uttered more verses, which seemed to have done nothing but anger the entity. At least, the protective circle was complete. How the heck is it hiding its presence?

Her frantic eyes landed on a half-open doorway. The house was just too small to have more than one room, which meant that the old man was inside. She launched into a sprint.

"Where the hell are you going?" Nim shouted.

Binara ignored him. She lunged through the doorway.

In the middle of the room, a burly man sat cross-legged on a cushion. His eyes were closed, as if in meditation. He was strangely familiar. Binara froze as recognition streaked through her mind.

"Agent Aponso?" she croaked, trying to come up with a scenario that could explain this absurd turn of events.

He was not in the suit anymore—instead, he wore a band-collared shirt paired with cargo pants. Just then, the others thundered in, with Nim at the lead. Bewilderment flashed over their faces as they assessed the situation.

The man that Binara knew as Agent Aponso opened his eyes and surveyed them. "Hello there."

"What's going on here?" she demanded, trying to catch her breath.

He got to his feet. The cushion sighed as the weight eased. He approached the old window and flung it open. Light streamed in, making everyone squint.

Before anything more could be said, a clacking sound rent the air, followed by the thump of sneakers. Saumya entered an instant later, with Piumi at her heels.

"Four of them this time," Saumya said briskly, one hand brushing away some dust on her dress. "Thanks for doing this, Rodrigo."

"Not a bad lot at all." A half-smile adorned Rodrigo's face, and his eyes lingered on Binara, who just stared dumbfounded. "As much as I love being examiner, duty calls."

"Oh, yes, of course. I'll take it from here."

He strode out of the room, boots thudding on the earthen floor.