by Mirren Hogan
“There’s nothing to purify, Maka. You saw something. Now hopefully, you won’t see any more. It’s as simple as that.” Elsie finished her beer and got up. “I need to get home. I’ll see you on Sunday? I’ll bring chorizo pie.” She looked up and smiled at Flynn. “Make sure this one doesn’t get hurt along the way. Bye, baby.” She kissed Makani on the cheek and showed herself out of the house. As if on cue, the cats started clearing away from the old woman’s car.
“Who told her dinner was at my place?” Makani leaned her head back and sighed.
“Good news travels fast?” Flynn suggested. He finished his second beer and put the bottle down on the bench. “Do you really believe all that stuff she was saying? Vampires and all that?”
“Vampires? No. Not if Hollywood says they sparkle and have superbabies. But the things that inhabit this island?” She shook her head, “I’ve seen too many things that make it impossible to disbelieve anything. Especially after what we saw.” Makani looked ready to say more but took a long pull from her beer instead.
“Sparkle?” He looked confused, but then just shrugged. “So what do you think we saw then?”
“I think we saw a part of this island that I never want to see again. And I don’t ever want to see that thing in there either!” Makani shuddered, and stood up, stretching. “I need a bath.” She undid her hair, letting it fall down, shaking it out with her fingers.
“I could wash your back?” Flynn offered. He reached over to run his fingers lightly over her soft hair, his fingertips brushing over her shoulder. “Maybe I could help you to forget that whatever it was that we saw.”
She raised an eyebrow at him, “You sure you wanna do that? What if I like you too much and I want more than a back scrub?”
“I have protection,” he replied quickly.
She thought for a moment, her dark eyes dancing over Flynn’s face. She made a quick decision, and hoped it was the right one. “Okay. Come on, I’ll grab some towels.” She took his hand, leading him back into the hallway.
The back door led to a screened porch, and then to the backyard. It was a little jungle, full of overgrown Torch Ginger and Bird of Paradise plants, barely contained within a high, mossy rock wall. The outdoor bath, an old wooden structure, was well kept, despite the grubby outward appearance. It was a throwback to the plantation days, where the Japanese immigrants had built the soaking tubs for everyone to enjoy. Her greatgrandfather was far too traditional to put up with the modern porcelain tubs, and his family had enjoyed the benefits of his old sentiments for decades after.
Makani opened the door and clicked on the lights. The entire thing was cedar, with two shower heads to one side, pegs for clothes and towels on the back wall. The other end dominated by a large, deep tub. She flung her shoes to the side of the door and went to fill turn the water on.
“You’ve done this before, right? Or you’ve watched enough Japanese porn to get the gist of how it works?” She looked over her shoulder and smiled.
“I didn’t know the Japanese made porn. Flynn said, looking bemused. “But I’m a quick learner. And If I’m not quick enough, I’m sure you can fill in the gaps in my knowledge.”
“Oh, we can turn on my laptop and I’ll find some for you later . . . much later.” She stepped back and turned around, reaching behind him to close the door. Makani wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled his face closer to hers. She kissed Flynn, tentatively at first. Her hands slowly crept down to his chest, her short nails digging in. “We need to get you out of these clothes,” she whispered against his mouth.
“You’ve been saying that all day,” he pointed out. “Just tell me this isn’t a—that monster was scary and you’re feeling mortal—thing. This is a—just because you want to—thing.” And yet, his hands lingered at the hem of her shirt.
“This is a —just because I’ve been wanting to do it, but I thought we might want to get to know each other better—kind of thing.” She started untying his shorts, a naughty smile playing on her lips.
“There might not be a tomorrow,” he pointed out. He stood still while she worked, his eyes on hers. “Especially in a world with vampires.”
“Seriously, stop saying the ‘V’ word! It’s a mood killer.” Her hands grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. In case he wanted to say something else, Makani effectively shut him up by giving him a long, searing kiss. She was, if nothing, good at getting exactly what she wanted.
With his mouth so neatly occupied, he kissed her back. His hands slid up her shirt, across her skin. He tugged it up and off and her clothes joined his on the floor.
It only took a few seconds to get the rest of Flynn’s clothes off. Makani ran her fingers over his skin, tracing the muscles on his arms and chest. She pulled away just long enough to undo the ties of her bikini top, letting it fall with the rest of their clothes.
The only sound was running water, as the wooden tub filled slowly to the brim.
Hot. Wet. Steamy. The high windows of the bathhouse were foggy and dripping condensation, a heady mix of heat and the last remains of the day were slicking down the beveled panes. Just at the edges of human hearing, the sounds of sighs and soft moans could be heard. But to inhuman ears, it was a call to come flying. Fast. Far.
Now.
Coming down from the high, Makani held tight to him, slumping against his shoulder, her eyes closed in exhaustion. Taking a deep breath, she sighed and said, “How’s that for wild?”
“Don’t ever be tamed,” he said into her damp hair. “I’m wondering what wild ride you’re going to take me on next.”
“Well . . . there’s still the bedroom, the couch, the kitchen table, the back porch, the living room floor . . . ” She laughed quietly, running her hands over his arms and chest. But Makani was so comfortable in his embrace, and the excitement of the day had finally caught up with her. She could have fallen asleep in his lap just like this.
He chuckled softly. “Maybe we should get to the bath? Or dinner. I have no idea what the time is.”
“Mmm . . . I guess it’s late afternoon? Time flies when you’re having fun.” She let him go and stood up, shivering a little. Leaning over, Makani turned off the faucet. She dipped a hand into the tub to test the water. “Still hot, at least.” She stepped in and moved to one end, the large tub big enough to comfortably hold them both.
He slid into the bath beside her. “Do you think we should talk about the cave? What did you call it, the karst?”
“The technical name for a formation like that is a karst,” she agreed “But it’s not the cave system itself that was notable, was it?” She leaned forward and laid her herself over Flynn, finding that perfect comfortable spot to rest her cheek.
“No,” he agreed. “You seemed worried about that, how did you describe it, bringing something bad out of there with us?”
“It’s bad juju to even mention things, like that. Evil spirits follow you. They know their names.” She shivered, despite the warm water.
No sooner had she finished speaking, that a loud clang sounded from somewhere outside, followed by the indignant yowl of several cats.
She shot up out of the tub. “The hell was that?” Makani grabbed her shorts and shirt off the floor and dressed in record time. She didn’t even bother putting anything on her feet before she tore around the side of the house. Flynn was right behind her, pulling on his shorts.
Around the side of the house was a line of bins, full and ready for collection day. Or they had been. Now they all lay on their sides, the contents spilled and strewn onto the grass. Their lids lay a meter away, one on top of the other.
“Cats,” Flynn poked at an empty Styrofoam cup with a bare toe. “Or a stray dog?”
“Sure, but where are the cats?” Makani stared at the mess, looking for signs of what had been there. She walked to the lids, and saw deep grooves dented into each one. “What the . . . ?” The whole situation was raising more alarms than a hurricane. She started towards the front yard, cu
rious to know where the strays had gone. They weren’t in their usual resting spots under her jeep, or the garage. Sometimes they hid in the bathtub out front. Makani walked over, sure she’d see a few in there.
But when she looked inside, her eyes grew wide with horrible terror. Lying at the bottom of the tub were three dead cats. Bloody, furry lumps that weren’t moving. She recalled the three as having been pregnant and close to dropping their litters. “Flynn! Come here! Now!” She backed a couple steps away.
“What?” He approached slowly, his expression cautious. “What is it?”
Makani had tears in her eyes, her skin going pale under her tan, “Mananaggal . . . ”
CHAPTER 6
“Mananaggal?” Flynn echoed.
He looked down into the bath and almost gagged. “Are you sure it wasn’t just someone trying to find more than one way to . . . never mind.” The thought of people skinning cats made bile rise into his throat. He stepped away and shuddered, trying to suck in some fresh air. He’d seen things like this on TV and in movies, but real life was so much worse; much more graphic. And the smell!
Disturbing as the scene was, Makani leaned over and reached into the tub to lift the tail of the nearest corpse. Like something out of a nightmare, the innards had been sucked out, leaving a literal bag of bones. “It . . . it sucks the insides out of its victims. Usually through an orifice. Like these.” She dropped the tail and turned away, sniffling as she went.
He stepped over to her and slid an arm around her shoulders. If something else hadn’t got them, the bacon fat would have. He wisely kept that thought in his head.
“Teenagers. It looks like something teenagers would do.” But Flynn was less than certain. They’d gone to a lot of trouble and they’d done it very quickly and quietly.
“What human could do that . . . let alone some dirtbag teenager?” She closed her eyes and bit her lip, taking a deep breath. “That thing . . . that thing from the cave followed us.” She trembled against Flynn.
“A giant bat,” he said, more confident now. “A giant vampire bat. Maybe it did follow, but it’s not going to hurt us. It’s a shame that it’s done that to the cats, but it’s probably gone now.”
So why was his heart pounding? And why did Flynn keep glancing about, even as he was trying to reassure her? He could feel terror running off her in waves and it was getting under his skin.
“It’s not a bat,” Makani whispered with certainty. She turned and looked at him, the fear written all over her face. “It’s . . . it looks like a person. A woman. And it has wings . . . but no legs. No bottom half, at least. She . . . I mean, it leaves its legs at home.” She shook her head and pulled away. “It feeds on unborn fetuses, livers, entrails, hearts . . . anything it can reach with its tongue.”
He hesitated, hazel eyes locked onto her brown ones. Then, he reached down to run his hand over her leg lightly. “Just checking,” he smirked. He was lucky Makani didn’t slap him. “Ok, say this thing is real, and I’m not saying that I think it is,” he added hastily. “You think it followed us? That we, what? Woke it up?” And pissed it off too, apparently. “So . . . what do we do?”
“I dunno! Aunty never told me about that. Manong told her that they would make sure there weren’t any cracks in their houses, so the thing’s tongue couldn’t get in . . . ” She stopped and looked at the old cottage, her brows knitting together.
“Manong?” He asked, following her eyes and frowning.
“Like . . . Uncle. It’s a Filipino word.”
“Maybe we should go to my place?”
“Do you think that’ll help?” She looked up at Flynn, leaning against him for comfort. There was a hint of hope in her voice, but Makani was still obviously terrified.
“It might be attracted by the cats. There are no cats at my place. Too many dogs. I guess they eat them all first.” He smiled, trying to cheer her up. “I have beer.” If that wasn’t an incentive, what would be? “Pack a bag and we can get out of here before it gets too much darker.” If some kind of monster was roaming around, surely it’d be more dangerous in the dark? Or maybe that was just the way it was in Hollywood.
She thought about it for a moment, “Okay, let’s go. But only for tonight. I just hope there won’t be more dead animals in my yard when I get back.”
“I’ll help you clean them up,” he assured her. Flynn followed her back inside, hunted up his shoes and camera. He tidied up the empty sandwich packets and beer bottles while she packed. He thought about putting them out in the bin but decided that being outside alone wasn’t the wisest idea. Not that he was scared of imaginary not-vampires, but Makani shouldn’t be alone right now. He found a bin under the bench and a cloth to wipe down the benchtop. By the time she was finished, so was he.
Oddly, Makani had a bag of red salt in one hand, and an overnight bag in the other. “I’m gonna go and sprinkle salt. It’ll stop the thing from coming into my house . . . I think.”
“Okay,” he said slowly. “Inside or outside?” He’d heard plenty of strange things in his time, and this barely rated a mention on the weird-o-meter. If it would make her feel better, then he’d help. If nothing else, it would help to get them out of here more quickly.
“Outside.” She shook her head and laughed, and it was a bitter sound. “You must think I’m crazy. Because I think this is insane!”
It wouldn’t be very kind to agree with her, although he was leaning slightly in that direction. Instead, Flynn smirked. “Whatever makes you feel better,” he shrugged. “Besides, it might be necessary, for all we know. And what’s the worst that can happen? No weeds will grow where the salt is.” He grinned.
“Yeah, yeah. Here’s the thing,” Makani opened the screen door and went out onto the porch. She started to inspect the windows and door, carefully laying little piles of salt where the joints weren’t perfectly fitted. “In European and Japanese tradition, people would lay out salt or rice, because the evil spirits can’t resist stopping to count every single grain. Mananagaal is the same way. It’ll stop and count, but if it doesn’t finish counting and get back to its legs by sunrise, the creature dies.”
He stared at her for a long moment and then burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, but anything that silly doesn’t sound all that scary to me!” In the next moment, he thought of the cats. His laughter died like a bucket of water had been thrown on it.
“So, lots of salt then?” He suggested. He glanced around but saw nothing untoward. The cats seemed to be slowly wandering back.
Makani didn’t bother to reply. Flynn could see her hands shaking as she picked up each bag of bones and laid them to rest in plastic bags inside an old cardboard box. After setting them on the curb next to the mailbox, she left a message for the County to pick up the box of remains.
The evening air was starting to cool. Or maybe something else caused the chill. Flynn dismissed that thought, but he still startled when she came running back.
“Are you okay?” He asked, looking to see if something was chasing her.
“What? Yeah, fine. I just . . . let’s go, okay?” The chill seemed to be creeping up on Makani, too. She swallowed hard and grabbed for Flynn’s arm. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled. He followed her gaze as she turned to look down the driveway. Across the street was a strange figure walking away. A woman dressed in rags, with her hair hanging down in greasy strings. Every few seconds, she’d turn her face and look back at them.
“Yeah,” he stared too for a while. Just a person, that was all, albeit an odd one. She looked like she could do with some of Makani’s scraps. Flynn hefted his camera bag up higher on his shoulder and tried to ignore the sudden slight increase in temperature as the woman moved on.
Makani let go of his arm and grabbed her things from the porch, reaching inside to grab the pack with her adventure gear. Her feet were quick as she dashed over to the jeep, “Okay, ready?”
“Can I drive?” He asked hopeful but still headed for the passenger door.
“No.”
“Then that’s your answer.”
He climbed into the jeep and assumed his accustomed position, belt in, hand on the handle. “My camera is worth several times more than this thing.”
“Then don’t complain about my driving.” She backed out of the driveway, and a dove lost its tail feathers to Makani’s tires.
“Excuse me if I like living,” he muttered. He must be going crazy because he was starting to get used to her driving. As long as she didn’t kill them, he might even start to enjoy it. Flynn turned his face to look back at her house as they sped away, the cats lazing on the front lawn in the fading light as if none of the earlier insanity had occurred. It looked peaceful now, bathed in golden twilight, the epitome of the ambiance of suburban Hawaii.
He was silent on the way back to his place, thinking about everything Makani had said about the mananaggal and the evil she believed followed them. As soon as they arrived, he’d put his photos on his computer and then do a Google search.
“You’d better have plenty of beer, man . . . ” Makani was taking a different route. She drove warily, moving with the flow of rush hour traffic. The roads were still clogged with people trying to get home, and a good portion of the drive was conducted well below the speed limit.
Eventually, they made it back to the lane where Flynn was staying. Pulling the key from the ignition, she leaned back and closed her eyes. “I’m so frickin’ tired!” she moaned, although it ended in a slightly odd laugh.
Flynn let go of the handle and put his hand over hers. “Come on then, I’ll make you dinner and tuck you in. I have steak.” And not much else until he went shopping, but enough for dinner. And breakfast in the morning.
He let her hand go and climbed out of the jeep. Mercifully, he saw no dead dogs, cats or anything else out of place, no strange elderly women, no dirtbag teenagers. Even the kids staying in the cottage a few doors up were absent.