SOUL SNATCHERS

CHAPTER 7

"You have to believe me. Time is running out, and you are in grave danger," the rugged man warned Rose.

"What? I don't know you. I shouldn't be talking to you," she said, feeling annoyed.

"I am Seth," he said, trying to be friendly to her. "You saw them, didn't you, Rose?" the man added, and Rose was puzzled with what the man said.

"What did you say? How did you know my name?" Rose asked. This time, she felt fear towards the man in front of her.

"It doesn't matter how I got your name because it's not my business to explain it to you. What matters to me is that I found you, and I know you can see them," Seth said, grinning. He seemed restless, looking from side to side.

"What do you mean by 'them'?" Rose asked again, feeling confused.

"The Shadows. You saw them, didn't you?" Seth answered and lean his head closer to the young lady.

"You might be mistaken. I don't know what shadows you are talking about." She quickly reached into her purse, grabbed some coins, and handed them to Seth. Then, she turned her back to him.

"I know you saw the man and the woman in the accident, taken by the shadows," Seth said, causing Rose to stop from leaving. She turned to face him.

"How did you know about my dream?" she asked, curious about Seth's knowledge.

"They are not dreams, Rose. They are real."

"Mister?" Rose said, trying to recall the name of the man in front of her.

"Seth," he said.

"Mr. Seth, or whatever, you are scaring me now. You're just wasting my time. I need to leave; my family is waiting for our dinner." Rose's face turned red with anger.

"If you want to save the lives of your family, your friends, and yourself, you need to listen. There's not enough time," Seth said urgently.

"What are you talking about? You're insane!" Rose's anger intensified.

"I know you don't understand. That's why I am trying to..."

Rose interrupted the rugged man, not allowing him to finish his words.

"I don't care whatever you say. You need to leave now, Mr. Seth, or I will call security to drag you out of this place!" she said, angrily. Seth laughed loudly, which only annoyed Rose more.

"Then go ahead, young woman. Call security." Seth said impatiently.

Rose was about to call security when she noticed her mom standing motionless beside her. She looked around and realized that everything was petrified. Even the water in the fountain was not moving. Rose was stunned by what she saw. She shook her mom, but nothing happened.

"What did you do to them?" she asked hysterically.

"I did nothing," he said, wearing his insulting smile. "There's the security guard, call him," Seth added pointing at the security guard near the hotel entrance.

Similar to her mother and the other individuals around, the security guard remained still, resembling a mannequin. Rose had a lingering sensation that she was still trapped within a dream, akin to the unsettling one she experienced earlier.

"Oh God, please, what do you want?" Rose now asked to the rugges man.

" Rose, I don't want anything from you, It is you who want anything from me," Seth said holding his grey beard grinning.

"Why do I need you, I don't even know you," Rose said now crying.

"Yes, you are right, you don't know me. What you see in me is just an ordinary beggar, begging for food, for your money, and your mercy. With these three coins, you gave me I can already buy my meal tonight is that right Rose?" Seth said showing the coins to Rose and playing them in his palm.

"Do you think these can save your soul? Humans can easily be fooled by these worldly treasures of yours that can satisfy your life here on Earth. You want power, you worshiped money, you indulge yourself in sex, you even kill your kind for fame and glory but you never satisfied." Seth continued walking around her and threw the coins in the air and vanished.

"These worldly treasures of yours made them your god. And this is your greatest mistake and your soul will pay for this and regret everything from the day that you were created until the dark shadows will snatch your soul and put you to eternal damnation." Set gazed at Rose's eyes and through his eyes, Rose saw a vision.

Rose saw a great battle in heaven, angels versus angels. She saw thousands of angels fell from heaven and one of them is Lucifer, his face is in agony as the Arch Angels and Cherubim watching them from heaven rejoicing for the fall of Lucifer together with thousands of angels. Another vision came to her, she saw conflicts, war, hunger, crimes, and the rise of evil in every man's heart. Then she saw souls, a great number of souls moaning asking for help. Some of them were being chased by the shadows, torturing them and dragged them to a pitch-black place called Hell. She felt the heat that burned her inside, the excruciating pain that she felt up to her bones. Then she saw a burning throne, there on the throne seated a great beast with a pair of wings and horns looking at her hungrily. The beast stood and made the ground shook and cracking sounds from the molten rocks from the canyon of fire. The beast extended its arm towards her trying to reach her. Then she heard the beast calling her name like thunder rolling from the ground. Rose closed her eyes in terror. Then she heard her father calling her name.

"How's the food, Rose?" It was her father asking her while chewing on the food to his mouth.

Rose opened her eyes. Seth was no longer in front of her. She was now seated together with her family inside the hotel's restaurant. She was confused. All She knew she was just inside the lobby talking to a man named Seth, and how come she was here on a dinner table with her family?

She gazed at her father, waiting for her answer. She didn't know what to say she don't remember anything about why she was here.

"I... it's good, Dad," she forced a smile, but deep down, she felt a wave of unease.

"Ate Rose, thanks for the ice cream. I loved the flavor," Julius exclaimed, his face smeared with remnants of the treat.

"Don't play with your food, sweetie," her mother scolded, her eyes still fixated on the news playing on the flat-screen TV.

"Yeah, Mom," Julius replied obediently. Rose turned her attention back to the news, her curiosity piqued.

"... the woman was found dead inside her room just last night by her landlady. According to her, the woman's name was Sophia Santos from Talisay, Cebu. The investigators have determined that Sophia took her own life, tragically ending not just her own existence, but that of her unborn child," the news anchor reported solemnly, accompanying the update with footage of the victim's room.

Rose noticed her mother shaking her head in disbelief at the tragedy unfolding on the screen. Her attention was then captured by another news segment, delivered by the same reporter.

"At least two lives were lost in a horrifying accident along the Mac Arthur Highway last night..." The footage sent shivers down Rose's spine. She recognized the man with the shattered helmet holding onto a brown rosary, while paramedics desperately fought to resuscitate the woman.

"Mom, I saw them. I told you they are real," Rose said, her voice filled with conviction as she recalled her encounter earlier.

"I saw them too, Rose," her father affirmed, sharing a knowing look with her. "But let's try to put it behind us, okay? Dwelling on it will only invite more troubling dreams," he advised, attempting to reassure her. Rose obediently turned her focus towards her meal, feeling a gnawing hunger in her stomach. Perhaps her father was right-it was best to push the strange events to the back of her mind, lest they haunt her dreams once again.

Meanwhile, a few meters away, Seth quietly observed the family, his eyes filled with a mixture of concern and determination.