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  “How will you get home?”

  She looked at the waiting taxi and realized she didn’t have anything to pay with. Valeriana's cheeks were dusted with a blush as she hung her head in shame.

  “Here, take this.” Anna said, pulling out her wallet and handing over a couple of bills to the girl. “This isn’t much but it’s enough to take you home, I assume?”

  She looked down to see more money than she even needed at the moment. She withheld the guilt rising from her stomach, swallowing heavily. “Yes. This is more than enough. I'm sorry to bother you like this . . .”

  “You aren't a bother.” Emmanuel smiled kindly at Valeriana. “You are family.”

  “Thank you . . .” She tearfully bowed her head.

  “Take care on your way home, Val. Make sure not to get kidnapped this time.” Xandra joked, though her eyes started getting glassy for the second time around. “Man, if I saw that thief, I’ll give him a good beating myself!”

  The cab started honking, the driver looking impatient behind the wheel. Valeriana lunged for her best friend one last time and said the last part of her goodbyes.

  Chapter Four ♣ The Abducted

  They were approaching a week after the events occurred and everything had been back to ordinary as ordinary things could be.

  Luckily for her, her mother had gone to work and her brother was playing his video games in his room so no one noticed her arriving. She remembered grabbing the medicine kit stored in one of their cabinets, rushing to her bedroom, and attending to her wounds after throwing over a fresh set of clothes.

  Still, she could not hide her wounds completely. Lily's motherly instincts kicked in and she found out before Valeriana could say poop. She withheld the incident with the thief and lied about falling down the stairs. After all, Lily knew Valeriana's tendencies of being horribly clumsy.

  Aside from her mother’s concern, Valeriana was being followed.

  She thought it was only her imagination at first, but her senses were screaming at her that she had a stalker. She saw shadows following her from the corner of her eyes.

  There were soft footfalls invading her hearing, but when she turned, no one was there. Day and night, there hadn't been a time the last forty-eight hours that she didn't feel a pair of eyes watching her every move. Heck, she hadn't been able to sleep at all.

  It was giving her nightmares.

  She didn't know if this was somehow connected to the incident a few days ago regarding the demon nonsense, but it made her paranoid.

  The girl could recall creeping on her mother's bed in the middle of the night with her pillow tucked under her arm. She resembled a child seeking the comfort of her parent's warmth after a scary nightmare. However, for Valeriana, her nightmare was actually very real, unless of course, it had only been a figment of her imagination.

  And with how she remembered it to be, it hadn't.

  “You really don't have to do this, Valery.” Her mother told her, feeling concerned.

  Mothers were very perceptive beings it was scary. Lily must've already sensed her daughter's distress and discomfort the past few nights, and who wouldn't? Valeriana had bags under her eyes and her complexion was pallid. She looked worse than she did when she came home a few days ago.

  “Mom, I already told you, right?” Valeriana blew her bangs out of her face.

  She felt guilty having lost some money to the thief and so she found herself hunting for a part-time job to replace it.

  “The summer just came around. It won't be a problem for me at all.”

  “But you need to fix your registration to the university first before everything else!”

  “There's a lot of time for that, alright?” She told her. “Besides, I think it's time I do this . . . experience is good after all.”

  “Why don't we do it this way?” Lily offered. “I'll let you continue your search for that job, but you enroll yourself at the university first.”

  She sighed at her mother's insistence, but realized she made sense.

  “Okay. Fine.”

  “Thank goodness.”

  “But I'll do it tomorrow.”

  Without further ado, she left the house in a hurry. Lily breathed out tiredly as she watched Valeriana go.

  “Really . . . that kid makes me crazy.”

  And once again, her stalker was on the move.

  It actually felt very annoying already. As time passed, Valeriana started feeling weary of being followed by someone she couldn't see.

  At first, it was scary. However, the stalker never really made any move to hurt her. As much as she was concerned, he maintained a certain distance and observed her from a well-calculated location.

  She sighed.

  Her foot still hurt, but she was able to walk straight now.

  Valeriana inwardly hoped that she would be able to find the job she was after, but after trying her luck with five stores, she lost hope. The pent up frustration she kept bottled up inside her was ready to explode.

  “Agh! Why am I so freaking out of luck?” She released an upset, guttural sound from the back of her throat as she kicked a nearby tree. “Can't I find at least one job? One job! Why is the universe so against me on this?”

  Well, it was either the job was taken or there wasn't anything to apply for at all.

  “Valeriana.” A familiar voice said behind her. “There you are.”

  She kicked the tree one more time so hard that she even hurt her toes. “Crap.” She cringed, and then turned to meet the person who was calling her earlier. “What?!” She screamed.

  She received looks from the passers-by.

  Valeriana felt slightly embarrassed, but was shocked when she saw the mysterious stranger from a few days ago standing in front of her.

  “It's you!” The girl raked her eyes over the woman, unable to hide her disbelief. “What are you doing here? I can't believe it!”

  She was silent for a few moments.

  “Were you the one stalking me the last few days?”

  “I have not gathered enough courage to approach you until now.”

  “Seriously, dude, you are creepy. You should've just come up and talked to me. What gave you the idea to do that anyway?”

  “I apologize for that. Listen to me.” Seraphina told her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her along. “As you already know, demons have escaped into your city. If they are not caught soon, they may do considerable damage and take the life of your people.”

  “So what do you expect me to do?” Valeriana asked her, her tone dripping with sarcasm. She was still feeling annoyed. “Help you kill those?”

  “Just help me find them. You leave the battle to me.” She replied. “I lost sight of the others while in pursuit of one earlier. Even though I have managed to kill the first few, I am not very familiar with your city, so I'm in dire need of your help.”

  The girl could only look at the stranger in disbelief. “Wait! No way am I going near those things again!” She exclaimed, pulling her limb free from Seraphina's grip which then caused the both of them to stop walking. “It did almost cost me a foot.”

  People shot glances their way.

  Valeriana looked around, feeling conscious of the stares. She leaned forward and began to whisper. “This is not exactly the best place to talk about this. Besides, why exactly are you asking me? And those clothes! You're standing out too much!”

  Seraphina looked down at herself. “It cannot be helped.” She answered. “But you do not understand. You need to help me find those demons.”

  Valeriana crossed her arms. “Demons. As in with s. You're saying there are more of these guys?”

  “Like before, I had to hunt at least a dozen of them.” Seraphina answered. “But this time, I have no idea where to look.”

  “Well, that's your problem and not mine. You managed to do it before, you can do it again.” The girl answered. “I have my own problems I have to mind too, you know! I still haven't found a summer job.” She sighed.


  “Then, let us make a deal.” The lady offered. “If you help me hunt these demons down, then I will help you hunt for a . . . summer job, you say?”

  Valeriana gazed at her challengingly. “Really. You seriously think you can help me?”

  “There is nothing impossible for a Celeste.”

  “If there's nothing impossible for you, then go hunt your demons on your own. I do not want to go near those guys ever again!”

  “I beg you, Valeriana. I swear upon the name of the first king, I will not let you get hurt.” Seraphina pleaded, but the look on her face was calm. “On my own, I do not know how to navigate around this complex maze you call a city. And my unfamiliarity with the surroundings makes it dangerous for me as well.”

  Valeriana played the scenario in her head. “Okay. Fine. I'll help you. I don't want anyone freaking out seeing a woman randomly swinging her sword.”

  Seraphina's face broke into a relieved smile. “You do not know how very grateful I am for this, Valeriana.”

  “So um . . .” The girl trailed off. “How exactly are we going to look for those things?”

  “Demons feed on the negative energies. Their first priority is to strengthen their power. My guess is they are somewhere where they have what they need.”

  “What negative energies?”

  “Energies caused by fear, panic, jealousy, and among other things.” Seraphina answered.

  Valeriana's face wrinkled as she wracked her mind for the right place. “I can't think of any place . . .”

  Two, teenage girls passed by the two of them, giggling to themselves. Although they were whispering to each other, their voices were still loud enough for Valeriana and Seraphina to overhear them talking.

  “Oh my gosh. It's really really romantic, I tell you!” The first one squealed. “I'm telling you it was perfect! Even though the whole place was so scary my knees were shaking, clinging to Jason was perfect! He's like my knight-in-shining-armor!”

  “I really should consider taking Robert there.” The other sighed dreamily. “I mean, even though there are ghouls everywhere, it'll probably be the best summer experience.”

  An idea clicked into Valeriana.

  “That was convenient.” She snapped her fingers. “Looks like luck's on my side on this one. Hooray for Joseph and Robert! Whoever they are.” Valeriana reached for Seraphina's wrist and towed her along with excitement.

  “I think it is supposed to be Jason.” Seraphina corrected.

  “Never mind. We're going to check out that Horror House.”

  -*-

  While on the way to the so-called Horror House, Valeriana and Seraphina engaged themselves in a wholesome conversation to get themselves acquainted with each other even though it felt awkward at first. Valeriana contemplated about getting the woman some new clothes to help her blend in, but Seraphina refused. As a result, they stuck out from the crowd like a sore thumb.

  Valeriana decided to tell Seraphina about the way her world worked, and that those creatures she was supposedly hunting down were supposed to be nothing but a mere myth to her and her people.

  “How peaceful. No demons to fight. No battles to be fought.”

  “Look, I don't know about you guys, but there's nothing like that here.” Valeriana told her. “That's our definition of normal, 'kay?”

  “I guess the stories about your people are true. They won't believe you even if you tell them?”

  “Hey, no one's crazy enough to believe anything that can't be explained by science.” She pointed out. “Wanna try?”

  Seraphina gazed at the girl questioningly. Valeriana pulled a random passerby into the scene, a local kid with tousled brown hair and brown eyes. Freckles covered his cheeks and in his hand, he held cup of soda. Just an ordinary, wimpy-looking teenager.

  “Do you mind if I tell you something?”

  “W-what is it?” The boy hesitantly answered.

  Seraphina looked panicked when Valeriana started talking. “What are you—”

  “This lady with me hunts creatures feeding on negative energies called demons.” She told him bluntly, catching the woman and the boy in complete shock.

  “You're kidding, right?” He asked. “Is this some sort of . . . what do you call it? Cosplay?”

  “See?” Valeriana then ushered him off, thanking him along the way. “He looked at me like I was crazy.”

  After watching the poor kid run away, Valeriana realized what she just did and started snickering to herself. A few moments after that, she was laughing out like a maniac.

  “Oh god.” She guffawed. “I just did something stupid.” She took a deep breath and slowly tried to compose herself, unaware of the face her companion was currently making.

  “You humans are strange.” The lady finally said.

  “Anyhow,” Valeriana covered her mouth and wiped the smile off her lips. “The Horror House's just around the corner.”

  They casually strolled down the sidewalk. The buzzing noises that permeated the air and assaulted their ears were strange to Seraphina so she could not keep calm as Valeriana did. The environment felt very foreign compared to what she was used to.

  A small girl wearing pigtails passed by in front of them, holding an ice cream with her left hand while gripping her mother's fingers in the other. Seraphina's eyes followed the food she was licking so happily, her brows scrunching as she wondered how it exactly tasted.

  Valeriana saw her reaction. “Have you had any ice cream before?” She asked.

  “Ice cream?”

  The woman almost seemed like a child by the way she was taking in everything. She fought back the urge to laugh at her as the questions fell freely from her lips.

  “We can drop by the ice cream shop and buy you one so you'll know how it tastes like. My treat.” Valeriana grabbed Seraphina by the wrist and dragged her towards the nearby ice cream parlor.

  “But I—”

  “You know you want to.” She retorted.

  Despite her protests, the girl managed to pull her into the shop anyway and buy her an ice cream. Seraphina's eyes twinkled childishly as she gazed at the treat she was given, almost like a child granted a whole jar of cookies.

  “Do you not want any?” Seraphina asked, offering her ice cream to Valeriana.

  “No. I'm not really fond of sweets.”

  With that, they left the shop and continued on their way. Having to lick her food seemed a very foreign thing to do for her that it was almost funny.

  “So . . . what exactly is Bolemia?”

  “Valemnia.” Seraphina corrected, slurping.

  “Right. Valemnia.”

  “It's far different compared to this city.” She answered. “But when it comes to beauty, it will never lose.”

  “Great . . .” She answered. “I really can imagine what it looks like inside my head.” Her words carried a hint of sarcasm as they rolled off her tongue.

  The woman merely smiled in return.

  A cold wind rushed past Valeriana's face, making her shiver. “Geez. That was a cold one for summer.”

  Seraphina's smile faltered and was replaced by a suspicious frown. “Are we here?” She asked her.

  “Yeah, sure.” Valeriana nodded and motioned towards an old-looking building to their right.

  The front yard was full of weeds and patches of wilted grass. The wooden fences needed intense repairing. The gate needed to be oiled and the lopsided sign had creepy, crooked letters carved on its surface.

  “Okay . . . this is pretty convincing.” Valeriana muttered. “I will actually think it's a house of demons if it weren't for the sign.”

  On the other hand, the house itself seemed almost halfway from being destroyed. The walls had gigantic holes that you could see the inside. The atmosphere that surrounded it looked very gloomy, giving it the haunted feel.

  A high-pitched scream echoed occasionally.

  Valeriana felt the hair on the back of her neck rising as a dark figure passed by the window.
“That's just . . . scary. I don't think I can go in there now. I'm already scared just by standing outside.”

  Seraphina shoved the ice cream into Valeriana's hands and walked through the gates as though under a trance. If Valeriana wasn't paying attention, she would've thought that she left her all alone. Even so, as soon as she noticed Seraphina going in on her own, she ran forward and caught up.

  “I thank you for leading me here, Valeriana. I can go in on my own.”

  “Wait a moment! We have to wait in line!” She looked down reluctantly on the ice cream, not knowing what to do with it. Even though she really hated wasting perfectly good food, she didn't like eating sweets so she threw it away in the nearby trash can and ran after her companion.

  They both stopped before a queue of people by the entrance.

  “This is still a horror house, so we have to wait to get in.”

  “I don't think I can wait at all.” Seraphina answered.

  With that said, she pushed past the people waiting for their turn at the entrance. They reacted harshly towards her, complaining loudly about how they waited for hours to get where they were. However, their whines fell on deaf ears as Seraphina proceeded calmly without even looking back. Valeriana could only walk after her, feeling embarrassed and uncertain of the things she was currently doing.

  “Seraphina!” She whispered loudly. “Hey!”

  When they were right in front of the door, a man stepped in their way. “I'm sorry. Do you have any—”

  The piercing gaze the woman shot his way caused him to shut his mouth completely and back off. With only a slight push, they easily brushed past him and walked into the horror house without any trouble.

  Valeriana looked back and saw the man helplessly standing in the entrance, scratching his head.

  “You've got to teach me that.”

  Seraphina swept aside the black, silky curtains and went inside without answering her. Valeriana had to lift her leg as there was a hump to get inside, but as soon as she took a step in, she regretted it.

  What they ended up going into was a dark, abandoned hallway. It was utterly quiet that every step they took echoed eerily. The atmosphere and silence felt unnerving.