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I
shook her hand.

“My
name's Sasha. Are you friends with my mum?”

“Not
really. I'm just here for money.”

“How
did you meet?”

“Church,
up in Kaimuki. I went to pray, all by my lonesome, so imagine my
surprise when I walked through those huge doors and found the place
packed with all these people, all hollering in Filipino and broken
English and clapping and cheering.

Your
mum was standing in front all of them, her arms waving in the air.
She was screaming about how the aswangs – these witches, these
vampires, these monsters – had to die. 'For our children!' she
kept hollering. She said it would cost a lot of money to go out and
catch the monsters, but the families didn't care. They would pay
through the teeth, but they wanted the aswangs alive. There was a
disturbing discussion about torture. Your mum was nodding her head.
She then asked for even MORE money. 'Whatever you want!' the people
screamed back. I heard a couple behind me a'jibbering and a'jabbering
about just moving away. Your mum said more things, and these
churchgoers all ran off at the mouth; some looked mad, some were
crying; some were biting their nails. Your mum asked if anyone was
fearless enough to help her hunt the beasts. Most of the people there
raised their hands and agreed to hunt with her. Most, I should add,
that ended up wussing out, running off later on. Others in the church
just looked down, ashamed, too scared – all talk but no guts.”

“Did
you raise your hand?”

“No,”
Janice said. “At the end of your mum's great speech, she walked
the aisle and stopped by me. To my shock, she pointed at me, saying
how she felt all this strength in me, how I MUST join her posse. And
I agreed. I felt needed for once in my life. I had a purpose; and
here was someone I felt safe around – someone I could trust.
Before that day, I had no dreams...maybe just a vague sense of
direction, that maybe I'd get into accounting.” Janice looked
at me. “Your mum's a great lady. She was pissed off. She
thought you were dead. She's doing all of this because of you.”

I
just sat there and tore into my cooked rat. Mum cares about me? Haha,
it is to laugh. Actions speak louder than words, and it sure didn't
SEEM like she missed me or anything. I felt that old rage burning up
in my brain. I had to chill.

Breathe.
And besides, I didn't want to start an argument with Janice. She was
one of the good ones. The last thing I wanted to do was leave a
negative impression.

“Thanks
for the rat,” I said.

Janice
smiled and ate.

“How
is it?”

“Tastes
like...chicken,” I said. “BAD chicken. And dirt.”

“Finish
up and get some sleep.”

“And
you?”

“Naw,”
she said. “I have to stay up and watch for trouble.”

“I
read that if you don't sleep for 10 days, your body gives up and
dies.”

“Jesus
Christ. Damn scientists. Well then,” she said, “maybe a
little nap wouldn't hurt.”

I
looked around.

“You
wouldn't have a pillow, would you?”

She
smiled.

“I
do. It's called my leg,” she said. “Knock yourself out.”

I
swallowed the rest of my meal and put my head on her lap. She played
the harmonica as I dozed off.

I
dreamed of a man-sized rat chasing after me through the woods,
scolding me, telling me I was a bad person. The rat said, “I
can't wait until you're dead! I can't wait until I eat YOU!” He
laughed and laughed like a crazy person. And then the damn thing
started screaming.

I
shook and my eyes sprung open.

Janice
dangling above me. Her feet danced about and kicked me in the face. I
fell back into the dead campfire, ash all over my head, some in my
mouth. Three shadows held Janice high up, shaking her. Loose change
jingled out from her pockets.

I
jumped up and grabbed her foot. Whatever had her got mad and flung
her about. I was flying round and round like a merry-go-round. It was
those three aswangs Mum had tied up. Someone had cut them loose!

Mum
ran out of the hut and fired off her gun, ending up blasting away
chunks of Janice's back. Bad stuff got all over my face. I tried not
to inhale. The aswangs threw Janice and me against a tree and flew
away into the treetops. A breeze hit me in the face, and it smelled
like milk gone bad. Beefy-man and all the other hunters searched the
area. They were all trying to hold back tears. Their guns and nets
and knives shook in their hands. Mum didn't cry.

I
crawled to Janice and held her. I was crying all over her bloodied
face. She was dead, staring up at the moon with her mouth all open.
It looked like she was screaming on mute. I closed her eyes and
mouth.

Mum
jumped over the dead campfire.

“What
happened! What happened!”

I
couldn't speak. I just kept going, “Uhh-uh-uh”, scared
that she was going to hit me. Mum went, “Blah!” and waved
me away and ran off into the woods. I should also add that while she
ran out of that hut earlier, she was buttoning up her shirt.

Something
nasty was going down in there, I knows it.

A
flock of aswangs flew down from the treetops; but these weren't the
normal sort of aswang. These were kids, and they all screeched all
over the place and chased after everyone, terrorizing everyone,
taking bites out of everyone.

I
ran into that hut and closed the door (a crude thing made up of twigs
and leaves and mud). I heard Mum barking her orders, and I heard the
men running here and there, confused and scared. Gunshots went off in
the dark like fireworks. I could hear the treetops rustle. The
aswangs were all up in them and jumping around. I heard people
yelling for help and shrieking all out bloody murder. Mum screamed
too, followed by gunfire, followed by demonic little yelps. An aswang
was in pain.

“You
better run!” Mum said. “You BETTER! I like a little
game!”

More
gunfire.

A
man – my guess, the beefy man – said, “Boss! Boss!
Look! I killed it! Come quick! I kills one! Yipee! Boss, come quick!”

And
then it was all quiet-like. Beefy-man goes, “No! No!
Arrrghhhh!”

Mum
yells, “Fernandoooooo!” She was running and firing her
gun at the same time. The monster cried out, cursing in Filipino. The
gunfire sounded like toys. Pathetic. Not the big BOOMS like in the
movies. Then it sounded like everyone screamed at the same time, all
those voices rising together...and then silence. After a few minutes,
I gathered myself up and went outside.

Mum's
little army was dead. Bits of everyone lay here and there. A torso
dangled upside down from high up a tree by the guts. Some guy's head
was in the hole of a tree trunk, looking all surprised. A big wind
rushed in between my legs and hit the camp and circled the whole
place. A rain of arms and legs fell from the trees and THUMPED on the
ground, all bouncing on the mud.

I
saw Janice...still sitting there by that tree, like she was sleeping.
Sleeping with her eyes and mouth open...with that god awful dead-look
of disbelief.

Something
in the woods was heading right for me.

I
ran.

“Come
back, girl!” said Mum. “I order you to listen to me!”

I
kept running. To heck with her. I was going home – home to the
great warm embrace. A few steps later, and Mum was all over me, on my
back. We rolled in the mud. I kicked and punched and yelled. She
pulled back on my hair and said, “Simmah down nah!”

I
did, coughing and spitting mud. She yanked hard on my hair, and my
chin stuck out.

“My
back, my back, get off me, bitch!”

Mum
whispered in my ear.

“I
have plans for you,” she said. “Just you wait,
girlie-girl.”

She
dragged me back to the camp. There was nothing I could do. I was
out-muscled. Mum searched the bodies and took their wallets, taking
their monies. I'll be damned if she wasn't grinning. A horrible
thought occurred: were these genes in me, too? If I got dumb one
night, would I find myself disrespecting the dead like this??

As
Mum kept busy, I thought of running again. Naw. It would just make
her more crazy-mad. I didn't wanna guess what she'd do to me then as
punishment. Might make me do a handstand in blood, or something wacky
like that. She might just shoot me.

I
don't know any more. I tried not to think about it. Just go along
with her for a little while. Sooner or later, you'll find your
opening...and you'll make your escape. Patience is key. Just a little
patience.

The
treetops made noise again, and Mum pulled out her gun and yelled to
the moon.

“Come
on out, fools! I'm right hea! I got yo meat right hea!” she
said, grabbing herself. “Eat me! EAT MEEE!” She blasted
her gun.

Stupid...
I thought... just wasting bullets like that.

She
reminded me of your typical, stupid human acting before they be
thinking. It confused me. The whole time I was growing up, I thought
adults were supposed to be superior. I thought they were smart. I
looked up to them.

She
grabbed my hand.

“Come
on,” she said, stuffing her gun behind her belt, right in front
of her privates. “Like I said earlier, I got a plan...and
you're the star.”

The
sun was peeking over the mountains by the time we arrived. Birds
chirped on the roof of the trailer. We were hiding behind a tree that
was covered in ants. I was tempted to eat them. They looked like
little pieces of candy. And didn't they eat honey? Weren't they
bursting with the stuff?

I
picked one off and ate it. The vile thing exploded in my mouth and
tasted like battery acid. I spat it out.

Mum
told me to shut my pie-hole and be still.

The
trailer was rocking back and forth, and all sorts of noises were
inside – glass breaking, tearing sounds, giggling, kids
shouting “More!” and “Cheers!” I looked down
and saw a blood-trail leading up to the trailer home, sprinkled by
bits of meat and bone. There was also an arm and a leg. Mum looked at
these things, and I'd be damned if it didn't sound like she was about
to cry.

Then
she started talking, not looking at me.

“I
know that leg,” she said. “That's Jerry's leg.” She
wiped away a tear and said, “I know that arm, too. That's
Chloe's arm.”

Then
she pointed to half of someone's head. A cat pulled out the brain and
dragged it along the grass, growling at us with its tail and hairs
up.

Mum
picked up a rock and said, “Beat it, you stupid beast,”
throwing the rock. She missed, but the cat jumped in the air and ran
off under the trailer. Mum turned to me.

“Now
listen here. I got a plan.”

And
by then I already was backing away.

“Fine
by me,” I says. “You just go on and do what you haffta,
but leave me out of it. I'm going home.”

She
grabbed me.

“You
listen to your mum! I order you to run over there, knock on that
door, and get me one of them little aswangs.”

“Hells
no!”

“Think
of all the money I'll make!”

“NO!”

I
made to dig out, but she wouldn't let go. In fact, her grip came
tighter. She pulled me close to her.

“You're
going on over there, kid, one way or the other.” For a second,
I thought I saw dollar signs in her eyes. She picked me up and held
me over her head. “Now git!” she said, and threw me at
the trailer. I landed on the blood trail with a tuck-and-roll,
sliding all the way to the trailer. I screamed as I went and hit
those little stairs leading up to the front door.

I
could hear Mum.

“Get
one!” she ordered. “Dammit! Do as I says!”

I
got up and limped away, but the damage was done.

The
door opened, and all these little kids with no legs come pouring out,
some crawling. That was that. Game over...so I just stood there,
looking all dumb with my hands over my face.

Nothing
happened.

I
heard something that sounded like a hand shooting into a bag of rice,
and looked through my fingers.

The
aswangs were busy with something. Some were under the trailer, some
were in treetops, and some were even on the roof of the trailer. All
of them sniffed here and there, turning things over. Many of them
were already in the air, flying around like vultures. They just went
on right past me. They were looking for something else, and I had an
idea who it was.

I
looked to the woods and saw Mum. She looked perplexed and pissed off
at the same time. Her gun was out. I done messed up, but it couldn't
be helped.

Granny
wrapped her arms around me.

“Gotcha!”
she says, breath smelling like onions. “So where's mommy hiding
now?”

I
made my legs limp and tried to wiggle away from her.

“Help!”
I said. “Mum, help!”

Mum
looked out from behind a tree. Their eyes met. Granny grinned and
held me tighter. I felt her stomach rumble. Mum hightailed it out of
there. Granny's hold on me loosened.

“What
the...?” she said. “I didn't expect that.”

Granny
raised her arms up high and said something inspiring in Filipino. I
don't know what, but it must've been “Get her!” or
something, because then all them little ones cheered and took off,
all flying into those woods. One of them zipped out from the trailer,
saying, “Me so hungry! Me so hungry!”

This
one stopped, hovering, and turned around.

Vol
was an aswang. She looked dead. I jumped back and gasped.

“Vol?”

The
real Vol was in there, banging behind those eyes. The aswang...I mean
Vol...snarled and tried to bite me. Granny stuck her leg out and put
her foot on Vol's head, holding her back. Vol waved her claws at me.
I pressed up against Granny. She gave Vol a shout.