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Chapter 1 - Creature

PART 1

It was dark in the forest. They are running, grasping for air, trying to get away from a mystical creature that's chasing them. One of them tripped and fell. His ankle got sprained.
"Aghhh.." Adam lets out a groan of pain as soon as he falls.
"Shit!" Joe was shocked and worried as he saw Adam got hurt. He runs towards him and tries to lift him gently, though they are running for their life. The others run back to help Adam, too.
"I think something happened to my right ankle."  Adam said while taking a breath and holding his right leg. "Yeah, no kidding. it got sprained." says Joe. He is still shocked but tries not to panic.
Hakim and Joe are now in a position to lift Adam.
"Alright, Kim, on 3." Joe said, and Hakim nodded.
" 1, 2..3." Hakim and Joe pursed their lips as they lifted Adam with his arms on their shoulder. Adam closed his eyes, trying to endure the pain. He groans while being lifted. He uses his left leg to balance and tries to stand.
"You good?"Laila and Sab asked. Adam nodded. They felt relieved, but they still had to find a way out of the forest.

A loud laughing voice comes back, and it really make them feel frightened. Their eyes wandered around, and each of them held a torch except Adam, they look at where the voice came from. The scary looking creature is getting closer to them. The noises are getting louder. When others are trying to help Adam, Faiz stands before them to protect them by reciting the du'as to keep the creature away. They figured that the creature is called 'Pontianak', which means a ghost of a woman who died during childbirth. They are all wide-eyed as they see the creature clearly, floating in the air. Her hair is very long. Her long white cloth was full of blood. Her eyes are big and look like they're not located in the same position. Her mouth is wide open, almost as wide as her face. The teeth were sharp while the blood was drooling out of her mouth.
"Wait, is that -" Laila was about to ask.
"Yup, I think it is," Faiz said to Laila while giving a death stare to the creature. He continues reciting.

(Author's note - du'as are prayers of invocation for Muslims in order to seek assistance, protection, and peace.)

The creature screamed loudly, her pale and bloody hands with long sharp nails covering her ears as she heard the du'as. As soon as she starts to disappear, her shadows become bigger and flee away towards Laila. She gasped..

Alarm ringtone ringing*

Laila gasped, then opened her eyes. She frowned. It feels like she had some weird dreams again. She sits on the bed while reaching her phone. She turned off the alarm ringtone on her phone, it's 5:30 a.m. She then wakes up from her bed, realizing today's the day she will be moving to college to continue her study on Degree. She feels a bit nervous but, well.. she'll get used to it anyway.

Laila's POV

I got up and got ready. I had a nice breakfast with my mom and dad. It really keeps me distracted from feeling nervous, and.. the dream. During high school, I realized most of my dreams are about warnings, which is weird. But, I'm not gonna let that keep me from living my life. At least a normal life to begin with, okay?
I go into the car with my mom and dad.
"All good, Dato' Sri?" Our driver, Mr. Rashid asked. "Yes, we can go now." My dad, Dato' Sri Ramlee, answered him with a smile. Yes, my dad is one of the successful CEO of a company. He is always firm to his employees, but he is a good and well-respected boss.
I arrived at college, got registered, and I went straight to my dorm. My parents and Mr. Rashid helped me with my stuff. After that, we went to a restaurant nearby for lunch. I had Pasta Carbonara, which is my favourite dish as a kid.

"Take care of yourself. We love you so much." Says my mom.
"I love you guys, too." I replied while hugging both of them. My parents went home and I went back to my room. There is a girl in the room unpacking her stuff. I guess I have a roommate now.
"Hey, I'm Sabreena. You can call me Sab."She greets me with a warm smile while I'm starting to unpack.
"Hey, Laila." I responded with a smile as well. I'm not really used to socializing with some people. Just for purposes only. I didn't have friends back when I studied for my diploma, too.
"So, Degree or Diploma?" She asked.
"Oh, Degree." I replied.
"Cool, same! I'm in an archaeology major." She said with a smile. She seems to smile a lot, though.
"No way, me too! What class are you in?" I asked. I'm surprised for no reason, maybe.
"Really? I'm in class A." She replied me with a cheerful face.
"Well then, maybe we can go to class together." I said with a smirk.
"Heck, yeah!" She responded, and we laughed. We continue to unpack our stuff. We talked about what we like and dislike. We talked about our background. It turns out Sab came from a wealthy family, too. She loves history, which is why she majors in archaeology. Well, I agree. There is something fascinating about histories that we have to explore more into it. Anyway, she has a young sister named Natasha. She's currently in high school.
That night, I went to the bathroom to wash up before going to bed. As I was washing my face, I slots of blood in the sink. I frowned and closed my eyes. I opened my eyes and saw no blood. I look at myself in the mirror, shocked and confused.