Aswang: Carnival of Corpses

Evil: Rising

The Red Haired Demon, that’s what they call it. He’s a guy who’ve been said to roam around at night, collecting souls. He is a ruthless vengeful ghost. It was a story used to frighten us as a kid but as I aged, my thoughts of that old ghost story have changed. Not a ghost story but a reality coming true; GHOST – souls of those who departed but haven’t passed to the other side, their souls still hungry for something.

I saw him. He’s real and he’s up for revenge.

People start to go missing and reports have piled up. At times, a mutilated body will be discovered at the nearby forest park but authorities don’t have a clue to what have cause the killing. Some of the body parts we’re eaten and most of the corpses are too decayed to be analyzed. Several cases have already been reported but not a single trace of evidence to pin point the reason what was going on. Experts suggested it’s a new strain of virus. The government have no idea and are planning to declare a state of calamity once the cases go out of control.

It was during the 7th of May when I came across a mysterious looking guy at the Town Park’s gazebo. I thought he was just one of those homeless people who stay at the park and call it their home. It was a usual sight for me, since I walk my way home from school. But that night felt different. The wind was blowing stronger and it was cold. My phone’s battery has been dead for almost an hour and I was running late. The council’s meeting ended pretty late, just pass nine ‘o clock. The others took the train, and I went to take a look on the nearby convenience store for some noodles.

I try to approach the man; he was sitting down, like he was waiting for someone. Then a few hostess pass by him. It looked like they thought he was a customer since they approached him. But moments later, they began screaming.

I myself was frozen on my place. I wanted to help but my body is telling me to run. Adrenalin started to rush on veins and I began running, running away from the scene. The screaming stopped. I paused for a bit, I was around ten meters away from the park. Then, I saw a tall figure by the street lamp. Its eyes were burning crimson; I thought I was just seeing things because of exhaustion. But it wasn’t just hallucination, it was the real deal. Again, I froze.

It came closer to me. I couldn’t move, I tried screaming but nothing came out. It moved faster and closer just a couple of meters away. I thought to myself I was going to die.

Then, his face was in front of him. His breath smelled like decaying corpses. His skin was pale blue, his hair was red and his lips were like cracking. The Red Haired Demon has come to take away my soul. I was frightened.

“Help me, I can’t control it anymore.” He pleaded. I thought he was a zombie. I was a dead man I thought to myself. He was crying. I can blood from his lips, they were pouring out. He was reaching to me. He wanted my help but there was nothing I can do.

“More of us will come; you must put an end to this misery.” He further added. He wasn’t a zombie but he was completely in some sort of weird condition.

There was nothing I could do. I ran, closed my eyes and moments later I found myself right at the block near my house. I was sweating; I was barely catching my breath. And on that night, I couldn’t sleep peacefully at all.

May 27th, twenty days had passed since that encounter the cases of missing person dropped but more mutilated bodies piled up. Authorities organized a man hunt for the killer; they say it could have been a cannibal. People were warned not to stay outdoors beyond ten and a curfew was put on. Security was tightened and cops were roaming every three hours. Thoughts of that incident were still clouding my mind.

Days passed then its June. The authorities weren’t able to capture the culprit but the curfew was toned down. By June 6th, almost a month after my encounter the missing cases had stopped. The bodies also stopped appearing. For a moment there was peace. I was able to do early morning walks with dogs and people started to have a normal life.