Chapter 13 AFRAID TO BELIEVE

Kevin trembled from his knee as he looked up at its mask. Its dark, hallow eyes sent a cold shiver racing down the length of his spine. Only a meter of space separated him from the masked figure, who stood still with its arms folded and eyes fixed on him.

Kevin shuffled away from him. The figure, who seemed almost inanimate, remained unmoved, and he wondered why. With his hands still pressed on its chest, he doubted if really the masked man was there with him. A sudden curiosity grew within him that left him wondering whose face was behind that mask. Was someone simply playing a prank on him?

Kevin started towards him, raising a hand to his face—to take off his mask. Only an inch close, he spread out his finger to pull off the mask, but then, much to his horror, the figure clutched his arm, pulling it away.

Gasping, Kevin fell back and scrambled away quickly, pulling back his wrist. And when he turned to look up at the wall where the masked figure stood, he found nothing. He was gone.

He looked around the room. Found no sign of him anywhere. He was really gone this time. Kevin held his wrist. Could still feel the pressure from the tight grip—the only indication that the masked figure was here.

He painfully remembered circumstances surrounding Mrs. Lena's death. The images of Lena hanging from the ceiling.

What if Lena wasn’t really insane as we were all lead to believe?

What if the masked man had also been there with her in that room, and we just couldn’t see him?

We called her crazy just because we couldn’t see what she saw. What if we are the insane once for not believing her; for not being able to see things that are actually there?

What if the mask man is still here right now and he’s watching me?

What if…

Frank opened the door to William’s office and walked in. William was on the phone when he entered. Frank sat on an empty seat in front of the desk. Waited for him to finish.

William finally hung up and dropped the phone on the table. He quickly apologized to Frank. “Sorry for keeping you. I had to take that call. That was Elena. Am sure you remembered my wife.”

He let out a breathless gasp, lifting an eyebrow. “Been long since we spoke. Wasn’t she enrolled in a military school? How’s her training coming along?”

“She just called to inform me she has completed her training at Fallout’s military camp and will come home tomorrow.” there was a slight tone of excitement in his voice.

“Excellent news! This calls for a celebration.” he cajoled.

William’s laugh was controlled. “You did not come to my office just so we could talk about my wife, did you?”

The smile on Frank’s face slowly vanished. Then he adjusted the seat to get closer. “It is about the lab experiment to create a shifter that will work with us on the field.” he spoke, his voice sounding low.

William leaned forward, suddenly interested. “Did it succeed?”

“Yes. As we speak, he is undergoing medical procedures to ensure that nothing goes wrong when he is out on the field.”

He raised an eyebrow. “He?”

“I went for a male specimen this time since the feminine species are feeble. He is a lot stronger and faster than the previous test subject, Mrs. Eulich. I assure you.”

It was almost midnight. The air was deadly still and cold. The full moon drifted high in the sky, glaring down at the forest trees. Several armed uniformed men marched through the forest, crushing several tree branches in their path.

Scott and Derik marched at the frontline, leading the troops to battle. They were deep in the dark forest, had walked nonstop—ear pricked, eyes peeled. They’d not found anything out of place yet.

Kevin stood beside Derik, steering the course through the scanty, dark forest. Could barely remember where he came in through the last time he was here, since he was only following Cedric.

Some of the towering oak seemed familiar as he proceeded. Then Kevin plotted a mental map of the forest in his head, trying to remember the path he’d followed before stumbling across the warehouse.

Then Kevin looked around at the huge machine guns and rifles they had all carried along with them. And memories from the last time he was here flooded his subconscious.

The masked figure floating in the air was already on his tail, its arm stretched forth to grab his collar. Another loud gunshot sounded, and the masked figure collapsed behind him.

Kevin caught the headlight of a car driving through the forest towards him. It only worsened his anxiety. The car stopped in front of him and its headlight bathed his face. He scampered to the side to run past, but then—much to his surprise—he saw Derik through the window.

Derik hollered out to him to get in, aiming his gun at the masked figure running behind him. Having gotten a clear shot of his target, he fired. The hooded figure dropped, wilting in pain.

Another hooded figure jumped off a tree branch above them, coming down. Derik shot him away, and its blood spilled on them. “What the hell are these things!?” He sneered, quickly putting the gun back in the car and driving away after Kevin got in.

The sight of blood appalled Kevin. “God knows I have not a clue what they are.”

Huffing and puffing, Kevin turned to glance backward as they drove away. He blinked in surprise when he saw the two hooded figures Derik had shot earlier getting up to their feet again. They huddled together. And all three masked figures remain rooted to the ground, glaring at them through their masks. Again, Kevin felt a shiver go down his spine. He felt like he had almost escaped death.

“For some reason, your gun did not harm them the last time we were here,” Kevin uttered, worries clouded his features. “What difference would all these guns and rifles you brought along make?”

“I had a lot of time to think about it, trust me. I finally understood why my gun had no effect on them. The last time, I went for the heart and the bullet struck between their chests. They could quickly heal from that after they’ve transformed.”

Derik turned to him and smiled. “This time I’m going for the head, something they can’t recover from. I have briefed the troops on this already.”

He saw the fear on Kevin’s face. “Don’t fret over it.” he pressed a thoughtful hand on his shoulder. “Cheer up, because tonight we’ll put an end to T-Rex along with his confreres. We shall get justice for all the people he has murdered. We shall get justices for Landry. It all ends tonight.”

Kevin looked at him as he spoke with so much confidence; a feeble smile crossed his lips. He really wished he could take his words for it. Wanted to find solace in Derik’s words, but every voice in his head was telling him to turn around and flee now it wasn’t too late. He felt a shiver go down his spine.

After several minutes of marching through the forest, they finally came upon an old warehouse. This was it—the wooden house he’d heard the loud chanting. The men quickly surrounded the building. Then some troops walked up to the door and leaned on the wall beside it, waiting for Scott to give the signal.

Kevin looked around the building. Had a gut feeling that something was terribly wrong. He didn’t hear any chanting coming from the building—like the last time he was here.

The whole surrounding was awfully quiet and appeared deadly still, and it scared the hell out of him. He could literally hear his heart throbbing within his chest and slowly retracted from the building.

Scott finally gave the order, and the troops kicked down the door. They quickly rushed in with their guns pointed in every direction. The room inside was poorly illuminated and empty. There was not a single person in sight, not even the tables or the chairs.

“There is nothing in here, sir.” one of the men reported to Scott.

“It was almost as if they knew we were coming.” Derik—sensing that something was wrong, said, eyes darting about suspiciously.

His eyes narrowed as he glanced about at the building. For a long second, the whole place was left in absolute silence. That’s when he heard it—a faint continuous beeping.

Derik blinked in surprise, his eyes widening when he realized what it was. “Retreat!” he thundered. “Retreat, we’ve been set up!!”

One of the soldiers spotted a bomb wired to the door. “Run!!” he warned the others in a loud cry, quickly reaching for the door.

Before they could all reach the door, the bomb exploded, and the building went up in flame. Some men ran out through the door, screaming, with fire burning behind their backs. The rest were trapped inside.

“Fall back!” Scott cried. “Fall back!!”

They fell back and ran into the forest. Suddenly, a sharp knife, almost invisible to the eyes, whizzed past and plunged into Scott’s chest.

Gasping, Scott’s legs buckled. He gurgled as the knife moved in on its own free will, slicing his chest and breaking his rips. Blood dripped from his mouth.

The rest of the troops stopped to watch in horror as the knife moved about his chest—like it had a will of its own. Seemed almost as if something invisible was holding it. Scott shrieked from the torture as he dropped to his knees.

The knife drew blood as it pulled out from his chest. Scott collapsed on the floor, dead. His blood pooled around him. Derik’s eyes were caught by the footsteps moving on the patches of leaves that lay on the floor. It left Scott’s side and started waking towards them.

“It’s him,” Kevin stuttered, his body trembling. “It is the masked man with the C mark.”

Derik cast a sceptical eye. “You can see him?”

A line appeared between Kevin’s brows, and he turned to look at him. “You can’t see him?”

“It is only his footprints I see.”