Nen

by Sean Ding

  “That’s not possible, Sarah,” Howard said, his face grimacing, “we just blasted the creature with a thousand live rounds and it didn’t even sway or hurt a bit.”

  “What?” Sarah was surprised but she suddenly realized that the guys were telling the truth when she laid her eyes on the scores of dispensed bullet cartridges all over the room and the smell of metallic gun powder lingering in the air.

  “Then somehow this monster was afraid of me, Or maybe afraid of something about me.” Sarah continued.

  “Yes, it backed away when we were cornered in the Japanese garden a while ago.” Mami-san added, her reddened eyes welling in tears again.

  “Japanese garden?” Howard asked, “Where’s Kenso and Kevin?”

  “Kenso… Kenso is…” Mami stuttered, tears rolled down her face.

  “He’s dead, Howard.” Sarah said curtly, “Kevin is dead too. We were pursued by this thing and it killed both of them.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Howard said, touching his forehead with the heel of his palm.

  “After it killed Kevin and Kenso, we were cornered in an enclosed garden within the labyrinth of hallways and the beast almost killed us. Then it just took off, as if it was afraid of me.” Sarah explained.

  “Then how did you know that this creature was here?” Paul asked.

  “We were so exhausted but Mami reminded me that we must warn the others. So we hurried back and we heard gunshots.” Sarah said.

  “Mami is right. We must warn the others now.” Howard said.

  The iron door swung open and Nelson barged into the room, panting. “I saw that thing leaping across the parking lot and squeezing itself into the man-made tunnel. It’s heading to the crystal caves. I think it’s going for Wong.”

  Howard fumbled for his walkie talkie. He thumbed the call switch and spoke nervously into the mouth piece. “Wong, are you there?” There was only static. “Wong, this is Howard. If you can hear me, find a place to hide now. You are in great danger.”

  Wong’s walkie talkie was half buried in a gory mess of human remains and dried blood. It crackled with Howard’s distressed calls again and again and the sound of static echoed down the long dark passageway. Wong’s decapitated body was a few feet away from his walkie talkie. His flesh had turned grey and mounds of scaly reptilian skins were like cross-stitched garments, gingerly folded and stacked beside his icy torso.

  CHAPTER 34

  Mr. Park was dressed in blue Pajamas and was getting ready to go to bed when a loud thud sounded on the door. His sister- Madam Kim was fast asleep on the other bed with her ear plugs tucked in and a Hello-Kitty eye mask spreading across her face.

  Another thud on the door and Mr. Park marched angrily towards it his twisted lips grunting an almost inaudible vulgarity. He unlocked the door bolt and yanked the door open. Pale fluorescent light from the hallway immediately flooded in and Mr. John Chan was standing outside, his pudgy body obstructing some of the light and casted a long shadow on the living quarter’s floor.

  “What do you want?” Mr. Park barked.

  “Did you guys hear that?” John Chan asked.

  “Yes, sounds like fire crackers.” Mr. Park said, “Maybe they are using grenades again.”

  “I don’t think it is fire crackers or grenades. Those are definitely gun shots.”

  Mr. Park glared at John and said curtly, “I don’t care, I am going to sleep.”

  Just as Mr. Park turned around and swung the door closed, John had a chance to take a quick peep into the room and he saw bundles of fruits stacked all over the place- on the writing desk, beside the bed where Madam Kim was snoring badly, across the small area between the beds and the wardrobe and even inside the washroom. In a fit of anger, John Chan shoved the closing door and barged into the room.

  “What the hell are these?” John Chan bellowed, pointing at the heaps of fresh fruits hidden in Mr. Park’s room. It was not merely a small portion of fruits that Mr. Park had selfishly taken from the vegetable garden that infuriated John. The room that he was in now was no longer a living quarter but a small fruit store overstocked with inventory!

  “Please get out, this is our food.” Mr. Park yelled, the veins in his neck thickened.

  “You bastard, you have stolen everything from the garden! What are my children going to eat then?” John grabbed Mr. Park’s right arm and shouted back, “Come with me now, you selfish man. We shall go to see Howard.”

  Mr. Park tried to shake off John’s grip but before he could successfully do that, John had used his other hand to push him out of the doorway.

  “Fine!” Mr. Park hollered, breaking John’s grip. “Let’s go to Howard then. I will tell that self-proclaimed leader that this is not his camp. What I have taken is all mine!”

  Mrs. Chan and Pete were awakened by the din and they were at the hallway watching the head of their family breathing fire at the rude Korean man. John noticed that and said in a completely different tone, “Go back to bed and lock the door. Mr. Park and I are going to see Howard. It won’t take too long.”

  “Be careful. Just knock softly when you are back.” Mrs. Chan whispered gently to her husband and she prodded Pete to go in with her before closing the door.

  John paused for a moment to make sure that his wife had bolted the door properly. Then he turned toward Mr. Park and said, “You are a very bad example to my kids.”

  Mr. Park ignored John’s remark. He yanked his own door shut and walked down the hallway, heading toward the caved-in entrance where he assumed Howard would be. John Chan shook his head and followed him.

  Madam Kim sat bolt upright when the door banged hard. She rubbed her eyes and stared blankly at the door, and then she gazed at the fruits around her. There was a satisfied grin on her face when she uttered something in Korean before falling back to sleep. Howard Smith fingered his colossal walkie talkie and spoke in a clear, precise manner. “Johnny, this is Howard. Can you hear me? Over.”

  A burst of static sounded from his walkie and then silence. Howard glanced at Mami who was sitting on an armchair and was whimpering and tearing profusely. Dr. Sarah was trying to console her even though her own lost wasn’t any less painful than Mami. Paul and Nelson were still carrying their rifles and they were both looking intensely at him, as if they were school children waiting for their teacher to give them an instruction.

  Howard talked into the walkie again. “Johnny, Stop the drilling now. Please come to the Command Centre room.”

  At the far end of the subterranean military facility where the caved-in entrance was, Johnny was adjusting the levers and knobs on the burrowing machine that roared and rumbled as its sharp mining drill bit spiraled into the rocks. His walkie talkie was clipped on his leather belt but shifted to a position near his trousers’ back pocket. His walkie talkie crackled again but the drilling noise was so deafening that Johnny was unable to hear Howard’s call at all.

  CHAPTER 35

  Sarah thumbed through the pictures that were stored on her mobile phone, looking at the joyous moments she had spent with Kevin just a few days ago. What have I done? Sacrificing your body to the creature so that I could escape? I was out of my mind! I should have died with you, sweetheart! I should have…Sarah thought.

  Sarah lifted her gaze from her newly acquired cross bow to Mami-san who was sitting opposite her, whimpering and shuddering. She stood up and went over. “Mami, please be strong. Kenso wanted you to live. So you must not let him down.” Sarah whispered, clapping her hand on Mami’s shoulder.

  “Damn it.” Howard barked, making all heads turn in the stuffy World War Two Japanese command center office.

  “Still no answers from Johnny?” Paul asked.

  “Nope. No replies from Wong either.” Howard said, shaking his head.

  “They must be all dead by now.” Nelson said with a smirking face.

  “Cut that out, Nelson.” Sarah said with irritation. “We survived, didn’t we?”

  Nelson stole a glance at Mami-san who
was still sobbing and he decided to zip his loud mouth for a while.

  Howard inhaled deeply and then he said to the rest. “I have to go to the elevator landing for Wong. The creature went to him and I can’t leave him to die.” He paused for a second, studying the down casted expressions of everybody and continued, “I will go to the living quarters as well to warn the rest. There’s Johnny too at the far end.” His lips curled up on one side and he said slowly, “It will be a few places for me unless you guys want to split the jobs?”

  Paul was the first to react. “Are you outta your mind? You saw what that thing can do.”

  “Of course I know it is insane to go out right now. But they need to know.” Howard said.

  “Hey, we’re against a killer monster that doesn’t die. I don’t want to be eaten alive.” Paul said. He cocked his head and glared at Nelson who was sitting on a stool fiddling with his rifle. “Maybe Nelson doesn’t mind going out.”

  “Hey brother, I wasn’t thinking just now, in fact I almost shitted my pants when I tailed that monster. I wasn’t thinking then. Trust me, I am not taking chances and I won’t be going out this door for now. Not with this killer thing lurking outside.” Nelson retorted, as he tried to eject the ammo magazine of his rifle with trembling fingers.

  Howard folded his arms and paced the grimy floor littered with ammo cartridges. Nobody talked for the next few minutes and the office room was quiet for the first time since the creature’s attack. The only sound that lingered in the air was Mami’s perpetual weeping and sniffling.

  “Jesus Christ! This ...this explains how all the Japanese soldiers died.” Nelson hollered, startling the rest. “The monster must have wiped out the entire army seventy years ago. And those who survived probably locked themselves up in the prison cells upstairs. Some of them eventually swallowed bullets because they couldn’t take the stress anymore. Like us, they …they were trapped in this place and they finally broke down and they…!” Nelson cried out loud, rattling the unnatural calmness of the room with his rapid-fire monologue.

  “That beast must be… immortal then, having…having lived here for decades?” Paul added, scratching his sweaty head with his shuddering fingers.

  “I seriously doubt so,” Sarah interjected, “I think this creature is not the same one that killed the Japanese soldiers.”

  She paused for a moment, looking at Mami briefly, and then she said, “We saw something in the big cook house kitchen, a strange piece of animal skeleton that looked exactly like this beast, having horns on its skull and talons on four legs. Kenso was almost crushed by that heavy carcass.” Sarah paused and peered at the direction where Mami was sitting, feeling a dim sense of loneliness in her own heart. I hope Mami is not listening now. If she is listening, I hope she can imagine her boyfriend being crushed by the skeletal carcass and that was it. Being crushed to death is certainly better than being eaten alive by that monster. With a fake cough, Sarah pulled herself back and once again brushed away all the ridiculous thoughts that clouded her mind. She swallowed her own saliva to cleanse her tingly dry throat and then she continued. “We also discovered some kind of freshly shed skins in the vicinity, it was covered with mucus and looked like snake skins but it was much thicker and there were furs on it.”

  “Just like the fur on the creature’s back?” Paul asked even though he already knew the answer.

  “Yes, same kind of bushy fur and the scaly reptilian skin.” Sarah said, her voice softening a little.

  “Don’t tell me this creature is shedding its skin?” Nelson asked, planting his hands on the waistline of his jeans.

  Sarah nodded and said, “Snakes shed their skins quite frequently, but exactly how often depends on the species, the quantity and quality of food it eats, and, most of all, the age of the reptile. The average is two to four times per year, but young snakes, since they are growing more rapidly, may shed their skins every two weeks. When they reach adulthood, however, growth will have slowed, and they may only do it twice a year.”

  Howard unfolded his arms and planted one of his hands into the front pocket of his khaki trousers; his other hand rose to massage his forehead as if he was having a headache. “If what Sarah said is true, it can only mean that this creature is shedding its skin like a snake, and it is growing as we talk. I hope I am wrong but my hunch is telling me that this monster will be much bigger and stronger in the next few days.” He said.

  “Ha...ha, if only we can survive the next few days.” Paul sneered, his face twisted into a bitter grimace.

  “I know this sounds incredulous but we mustn’t lose hope, Paul.” Howard said in a stern voice, staring into Paul’s shifty eyes that started jerking from side to side in their sockets.

  “I believe…the…the soldiers blew down the arched entrance to stop something from leaving this place.” Mami said, her wavering voice was loud and clear and it surprised everyone. “I think the soldiers… or my ancestors had done something terrible here… in this horrible place. And their dark secret was buried here for decades, until we...until we…”

  “Until we opened the Pandora’s box and released the monster.” Nelson chipped in, completing Mami’s unfinished sentence, to which she nodded in agreement.

  There was a grave moment of silence when a sense of dejection and uneasiness settled firmly in everyone’s mind. Then Howard walked over to Sarah and broke the hush. “Sarah, are you wearing some kind of perfume or mosquito repellents?” He asked Sarah.

  “Well, yes, I’m wearing CHANEL Number Five, the perfume. Why?” Sarah answered with her eyes widened.

  “Is the creature afraid of your perfume?” Howard asked.

  “Maybe, but I was drenched with sweat and cave water. The perfume could have been gone.” Sarah said, lifting one of her wrists to her nose and sniffed gently.

  Mami shook her head and said, “Can’t be the perfume. I am wearing CHANEL N5 too but the beast was coming at me. Kenso had purchased a fresh bottle of Chanel N5 for me at the airport. Before we left our hotel room, he asked me if I liked the fragrance. He told me he didn’t like it and he was blessed that he doesn’t have to wear that smell on him all day long. And I was being playful and I actually sprayed the perfume on him, quite a lot of perfume...But the creature still…killed him.”

  “Now that you mentioned, I remembered Kenso having that weird scent around him when we were checking out the blocks. Didn’t alarm me as I thought it was a type of men’s cologne. Well, I can’t tell the difference anyway.” Paul said.

  “If it’s not perfume that scared the creature, then it must be something else on Sarah that did it.” Howard said, his eyes rapidly scanning Dr. Sarah.

  Sarah looked down and studied her own body for a while. “Don’t tell me it is…” She mumbled to herself.

  At that moment, Howard’s walkie crackled aloud and there was a long buzz of static noise. Then the voice channel clicked open and what came through was a loud noise that sounded like a lion growling into a microphone. It was followed by a second growl that was crystal clear. Howard snared his walkie and inquired anxiously, “Wong, is that you? Speak to me, Wong.” There was nothing. Howard tried to contact Wong again but to no avail. The voice channel had been terminated.

  “It’s from Wong. He’s in trouble.” Howard paused and looked at the others. Most of them were either looking down or avoiding his gaze. He thought, what’s wrong with you people? What if you are the ones stranded out there? Will you come? Will at least one of you come? He gave a long sigh and then he spoke grimly, “You guys stay put. I have to go to Wong now.”

  “Take this.” Nelson said, handling a loaded rifle to Howard and was totally relieved that he could stay in the room.

  “What for?” Howard said with a smile. “Guns are completely useless.” He clipped his walkie on his belt and turned to Paul and Nelson. “I need you guys to keep calling Johnny until you get him. Understand?” The two men nodded but they kept very quiet. Neither of them wanted to say anything about Howard’s ende
avor to save Wong and the others.

  “I will go with you, Howard.” Sarah said, with absolutely no idea whether she volunteered because she wanted to help Howard or was it a matter of foolish bravery. However, a voice that reeked of revenge was echoing in her head and it had been telling her to step outside, hunt down the creature, and slaughter it for Kevin’s sake. Judging from what happened, perhaps she’s the best person or maybe the only person capable of doing that.

  Howard and Sarah walked toward the embattled iron door and were about to step outside when they were stopped by Nelson. “Howard, you forgot about the radio?” Nelson asked, his face smacked with an expression of true concern and beneath that, there was also some remorse for not going with Howard.

  “Yeah, how is it, can you reach out for help?” Howard asked.

  “Not yet, but I will keep calling. The signal is weak and I have no idea where the antenna wires lead to.” Nelson said.

  Howard took out a brochure from his jacket and asked for a pen which Sarah swiftly provided. He scribbled some numbers and letters on the tattered piece of ‘China’s best Jade emporium’ brochure and handed it to Nelson.

  “Try these frequencies, with these code words.” Howard instructed.

  Nelson looked at the numbers and codes on the brochure for a few seconds. His two eyebrows rose and he said, “Don’t tell me you are…”

  “Yes I am.” Howard answered, cutting short Nelson’s query. “Try that and all other frequency channels that you are aware of. Just keep sending the SOS message out to anyone, anywhere. We already have three casualties and probably there will be more if they don’t come quickly.”

  CHAPTER 36

  John Chan was never a busybody who enjoyed sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. It was especially so when the hostile environment they were in and the bizarre happenings that were beyond comprehension had prompted him to watch over his wife and his two children closely. But this time he felt that he had to report his findings in Mr. Park’s room to the rest of the tourists, specifically to Howard and Sarah who had taken the lead to keep everyone safe.