"W...w...what are you doing here? I thought you are not allowed to come here..." Bryan said still in a state of utter disbelief as he looked at the handsome, young and unchanging face of the friend that he so dearly missed. He and Rich, as he wanted to be called, share a great bond being part of the same brood, they also shared a deep connection with each other, spending their formative years with each other. "Relax bro... I haven't violated any rules, at least not when I came here." Rich said as he smiled, looking at the picture of shock still on Bryan's face. "I was allowed by the elders to return. I have petitioned to them for hundreds of years and I actually thought that my pleas were falling on deaf ears but I finally got through to them and they allowed me to come back, or at least provisionally." Bryan let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear" Bryan said letting go of the fearful thoughts that had run through his head upon realizing that Rich has returned, since being "Sundang" meant that he will be the one to carry out the punishment for those who break the law of their kind. The harshest punishment reserved to criminals who were sentenced to be banished but still returned, eternal sleep.
"Have you consulted with the council since your return?" Bryan asked. "Nope, not yet... I came directly to you since I know that you've missed me so dearly after all those years." Rich said as he let out a grin from his luscious red lips. "Huh? I never even thought of you for hundreds of years!" Bryan said, visibly annoyed "How did you even know where I was? And why hasn't the council informed me about this?" "Relax bro... I was just teasing you. I asked the council of your whereabouts and I also requested them to keep it secret from you so I can surprise you." Rich said smiling as he can't contain his happiness at seeing Bryan's reaction. "Surprise me? I could've killed you, you idiot!" Bryan said through his teeth, only now remembering how Rich used to get in his nerves sometimes. In terms of their personality, they are polar opposites, Bryan was a very serious person who feels bound by his sense of honor and duty while Rich always seemed to go with the flow, happy-go-lucky and just wanted to have fun all the time. "Anyway, you have to take me to the council tonight." Rich said in a sing-song, almost childish way. "Why do I have to take a scumbag like you?" said Bryan, still annoyed at his friend. "Hey, stop that, you're hurting my feelings you know. And besides it's an order from the elders. You can call them if you don't believe me." Rich smiled once more. "Alright, alright...I'll take you. But you can't go to my workplace coz I know you're just gonna annoy me to hell there." Bryan said "I'll just get your number and call you to meet up when it's time to go." As soon as Bryan said this, the train has stopped at his destination. "We have arrived at Ayala station. Ayala station..." said the voice prompt on the train. The two of them went out of the train and went into the 2nd floor of the station with Bryan getting Rich's number afterwards. "I'm going, just wait for my call okay? see ya!" Bryan said "Just make yourself scarce for a few hours, I'll just finish up my work then I'll call you." " Ahhh... Can't I just go with you to your office. Please... It's so boring here you know..." Rich pleaded "Please, just let me go. I won't bother you, I promise." "Nope, you definitely can't." Bryan said. "You just don't want me to meet your girlfriend at work that's why you don't want me there." Rich teased "What girlfriend?" Bryan said in wonder "That weird little human girl I saw you with on the train" Rich answered. "She is not my girlfriend." Bryan said in protest. "What will I tell my colleagues if I tag you along? And besides, I'll be done faster if you're not around to bother me." Bryan said definitively "I'll just call you once I'm done. Just go watch a movie and go shopping or something. Look at your clothes, it really doesn't suit the weather here." "But I don't feel hot anyways, so why can't I wear it?" Rich argued "Well, for one, you are sticking out like a sore thumb! Don't you realize how hot it is here and you go around wearing a leather jacket like it's fucking New York!"Bryan told him "Go on now, I'll call you later." "At least I look stylish, unlike him, he looks like he has never left the last century." Rich told himself as he went his separate ways with Bryan. He will just enjoy himself like Bryan told him to d. At least for a few hours he can get his mind off of the things that have been bugging his mind, something that the council definitely has to know about.
YOU ARE READING
The Hidden Ones
RomanceFor about 500 hundred years, Bryan has been walking this earth and is one of the protectors of a secret society in the concrete jungles of Manila. He is part of a race called the "Aswang", believed to be bloodthirsty and having appetites for human...