Nen

by Sean Ding

  “Well, we have to leave soon. Or the blood stains on our shirts will be turning brown, and if that happens, we’ll be in trouble.” Sarah said, picking up her cross bow. “Are you guys ready?” Sarah asked John Chan and his children. Pete and Pauline nodded their head almost in unison. They were wearing blood stained shirts and carrying backpacks that contained a day’s supply of fruits and beverages.

  Sarah walked to the iron door and rested her hand on the door bolt. “Okay, after we step out, we’ll each take one red object from this door. And then we go. You must follow me closely. Our destination is the arched entrance across the parade ground. Remember, I will not leave anyone behind. If the beast appears, just remain still and silent.”

  “Hold on.” Mrs. Chan stopped Sarah from opening the iron door.

  “What?” Sarah asked.

  “Sarah, can we pray together before we go?” Mrs. Chan asked. Sarah looked at the others and then pulled her gaze back to Mrs. Chan. “Why not? Let’s do this together.”

  And the tourists held hands, went on their knees and prayed.

  CHAPTER 48

  Deep in the bowels of the old subterranean military camp, the murderous creature lifted its horned head and snarled. It got up slowly on all fours and squirm its scaly body, throwing off tiny scraps of charred skins. Its long talons carved deep lines on the floor as it swaggered forward, heading towards the parade ground.

  John Chan moved forward quickly, crouching low with the fire extinguisher in his arms. He looked back at the two story building behind him and felt a chill snaking down his spine. Ahead of him was Pauline, Pete and his wife. Sarah was leading the group in a single file with Nelson and Mami-san closely behind her. Everything was smooth sailing so far but they were in the open now and John couldn’t help turning around every few seconds to make sure that the beast was behind them.

  The caved-in arched entrance was within sight when a loud roar emanated from their left. Mrs. Chan’s legs turned rubbery instantly and she almost fell over.

  “Oh my god, oh my god. It’s here.” Mrs. Chan stammered. She looked over her shoulder to find her husband waving at her, prompting her to keep going.

  Mrs. Chan took a deep breath and pulled up her right leg which weighed like cement. Then, she uprooted her left leg. And she forced herself to move again.

  “Stop!” Sarah whispered and the line of tourists halted. She turned to her left and pointed to a patch of shrubbery beside the defunct parking lot. All eyes slowly turned to their left as well.

  The beast was hiding in the shrubs! It had been stalking them, scrutinizing them at close range! Like a witness identifying suspects in a police lineup, the creature crept forward and moved towards the line of terrified tourists.

  At first, it seemed like the creature was heading at Nelson, then it changed its course and plodded toward Pauline.

  Pauline’s body stiffened and she screamed!

  “Quiet, Pauline! Just don’t move.” Sarah cried.

  John stepped forward and wielded his red fire extinguisher in a big semi-circle. To his surprise, the creature did not back away but four long tentacles emerged from its gaping mouth instead. And in one swoop, they yanked the fire extinguisher out of his hands! The strength of those tentacles was so great that the fire extinguisher flew over the tourists’ heads and landed more than ten meters away.

  What happened? The creature is not afraid of red objects anymore? Does this means that the red objects that we are holding in our hands are totally useless now? - Scraps of red cloth, the Japanese flag, the bundle of red strings, and the axe with the red blade? Sarah froze when she realized that.

  In fact, everyone was thinking along the same line when they saw the creature swatted aside John’s fire extinguisher effortlessly. They knew that they no longer possess any kind of shield or protection against the Nen monster.

  Razor sharp tentacles from the creature’s mouth wriggled in the air for a moment. Then they advanced and slithered among the terrified tourists who were absolutely motionless. There was no better way to describe their situation as being chickens in a lion’s den, waiting to be eaten alive.

  Mami-san fidgeted when the sharp end of one tentacle sneaked past her face. As if the tentacle had eyes, it whirled around and hover its sharp end two inches away from Mami-san’s shuddering face.

  “Don’t move, Mami-san.” Sarah whispered.

  As quick as a flash, the hovering tentacle curled around Mami-san’s waist, lifted her up and threw her on to the ground.

  Sarah and Nelson fired their weapons with extraordinary viciousness as the beast lunge at Mami-san. Hundreds of bullets and arrow darts rained on the formidable creature but to no avail. The blood thirsty monster sank its teeth into Mami-san’s neck, clawing and tearing Mami-san apart with its long talons.

  “Mami-san!” Sarah shouted in agony.

  Pauline and Pete screamed as they watched the creature swallowed Mami-san’s head.

  “Run! Run for your lives!” Nelson yelled at Sarah and the Chan family. He reloaded his rifle and started firing again.

  The horrified group made for the arched entrance. Chaos erupted. Some of them dropped the red objects they carried in their arms, some tripped and fell but they managed to get up. A strong breeze started to form in the parade ground, casting icy airstreams across panicky faces as they sprinted.

  At one point, Pauline seemed to head in the wrong direction and John shouted at her to get her back on course. “No, Pauline! Not that way, this way!” Pauline heard her father’s call and she turned around. The gruesome image of the beast gnawing on Mami-san’s body came within her view again. She tore her gaze away and ran back to her father. At that moment, an unexpected gust of wind blew the red scarf off her neck.

  Nelson stopped firing at the creature. Wearing expression of dismay and confusion, he stared at the carnage and witnessed the hideous creature slowly ingest Mami-san’s hands and legs. The nonchalant beast paused for a moment to glare at Nelson. It had only one eye and that glistening green eye was locked on Nelson’s in a death-stare. Then it smiled and returned to its feast.

  “What the hell?” Nelson cursed, swinging the rifle over his shoulder and forcing himself to run. He prayed hard that he could catch up with the others before the creature finished its meal.

  The red scarf from Pauline’s neck fluttered in the air and descended slowly until it finally landed in a pool of blood a few feet away from Nen. The monster cranked its neck and looked up. Blood gushed down from its mouth as it snarled at the fleeing tourists. Gingerly, it moved away from the bloody gore which was once a sweet lady known as Mami-san. Then at incredible speed, it leapt from one spot to another like a gargantuan frog, going after the fleeing tourists.

  “What happened? It’s not afraid of red objects anymore?” Nelson asked as he finally caught up with Sarah. The Chan family was alongside them and they were just ten meters away from the arched entrance.

  “Something is not right, Nelson.” Sarah answered, tears rolling down her cheeks, “I think the creature is not afraid of the blood stains on our shirts. But I can’t explain the fire extinguisher. Maybe we were wrong in the first place. Maybe it is already immune to all those red stuff,” Sarah wiped tears from her eyes and continued, “Poor Mami-san, I hope she don’t….Oh My God, Pauline! Watch out!” Sarah froze when Nen descended from above and thudded down in front of Pauline.

  “Arrrghhh!” Pauline screamed when the creature was about to lunge at her. In that split-second, Nelson hurled himself forward and came in between Pauline and the beast.

  He removed his red head band and flapped it in the face of the monster. The monster shrieked with rage, backing away but keeping its green eye fastened at Nelson and Pauline.

  “Pauline, I want you to wear this over your head.” Nelson said, wrapping the head band around Pauline’s head.

  “No...No…I cannot…”Pauline stammered, her entire body was shivering with fear.

  “Now go, Pauline, run.” Nelson w
hispered into Pauline’s ear. Pauline ran as fast as she could toward the direction of her parents and brother. She threw herself into John’s arms. John grabbed Pauline and Pete by their waists and dashed toward the hollow at the arched entrance. The Nen Beast did not give chase. It watched John and his wife carried their terrified children to the big hollow at the arched entrance. Then it staggered towards Nelson with a smile on its face. Sarah could see that smile and it made her hair stand on end.

  “Nelson, what are you doing?” Sarah shouted.

  “It’s coming for me now! Go, save the kids and their parents!” Nelson shouted. He lifted his rifle and pulled the trigger, firing continuous shots at the beast.

  “I’m not leaving you!” Sarah cried, her voice almost inaudible over the explosive gunshots.

  Nen moved forward in Nelson’s line of fire. It went head on into the rain of bullets and shrapnel but did not even wince.

  “I don’t think I can hold out any longer!” Nelson yelled, “What’re you waiting for? Bring them out! Go!”

  With watery eyes, Sarah took a step back, turned and ran towards the Chan family who were standing helplessly beside the punctured hole at the base of the arched entrance.

  “Alright, let’s go into the tunnel.” Sarah shouted as she approached John and his wife. Then she saw John pointing over her left shoulder. His face was dazed and paper-pale. An agonizing scream behind her made her whirled around and witnessed what she already knew would happen.

  The enormous creature had pinned Nelson down and was mauling him. Sarah turned back and held the hands of Pauline and Pete. “Come, let’s go. John! Follow me!”

  When Sarah was about to squeeze herself and the children into the gap in the stone wall, a dark shape sprung out of the gap, almost crashing head-on into Sarah. The children screamed at the dark shape which turned out to be a gruesome looking man with only one arm. His face was covered with blood and he was carrying a bag of dynamite. A long samurai sword dangled across his capacious back.

  Sarah ported up her cross bow and was about to pull the trigger. “Stop, it’s me!” a familiar voice sounded.

  “Howard?” Sarah asked, staring at the man with wide eyes.

  “Uncle Howard? What happened to your arm?” Pete asked, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

  “Yes, it’s me! Do not go into the tunnel. It is dark inside and if the beast is inside, it will not be afraid of you because it can’t see the color red in the dark.” Howard said. And then he caught a glimpse of the creature not far away. “Oh God, it is there? Shit! Is that Nelson?”

  “Yes, the monster is killing him, can we do something?” Sarah asked.

  Howard stared at the creature for a moment. Then he fished out a dynamite tube from his bag and said to Sarah, “It’s too late to save Nelson now. It’s good that the creature is out here. Quick, bring the kids into the tunnel. And I’ll blow down this hole to stop the beast from going after you guys.”

  “No...Howard, let’s get out together.” Sarah said. She noticed trickles of blood flowing down his severed arm but it seemed that he had already cauterized it.

  “Yes, please come with us, Howard.” John asked sincerely.

  Howard shook his head.

  “Uncle Howard, please.” Pete begged, blinking his glassy eyes.

  Howard smiled and slowly backed away from the hole. He knew that he must stay behind to block up the hole. If not, the cunning beast will just wait for them to go deep into the bowels of the tarmac tunnel before launching its next attack. And that would equate to an undisputable massacre for all of them. Howard said firmly, “I can’t find Gupta. John, Sarah, once you’re inside, there’s a big tarmac slope that goes all the way up. Don’t look back, just run as fast as you can.”

  Nobody moved and Howard raised his voice, “Get out now!”

  “I’ll see you outside, Howard.” Sarah couldn’t hold back her tears. With a reluctant half smile coupled with tears rolling down the corners of her mouth, she nodded at Howard before leading Mrs. Chan and her kids into the dark tunnel.

  John Chan turned around and there was a rueful look on his face, “Howard, I was wrong about Nelson, about Sarah and about you. My family is forever indebted to you guys. Please, find a place to hide while we get help. God Bless you.”

  “Take care, John.” Howard nodded, his lips thinned into a line.

  After John vanished into the crack, Howard waited for a few seconds before he started to plant dynamites around the cracked hole and set up fuse cables. He took less than a minute to complete the task and while doing all that, he kept his eyes on the hideous beast that was crouching and gnawing on Nelson’s torn body parts.

  The creature gobbled up the last chunk of Nelson’s leg and turned its attention to the caved-in entrance. It eyed the hollow that led to the tarmac tunnel-the nice, dark place where it had previously indulged in a pleasant meal. It couldn’t see Howard as the one-arm ex-marine was hiding behind a pile of fallen rocks, attempting to light up the loose end of the dynamite fuse cable. Perspiration mixed with drips of blood flowed down Howard’s forehead. With his good hand, he tried to light the fuse using an eighty-year old match box but the rotten match sticks kept failing one after another.

  The quadruped snarled menacingly and headed for the arched entrance with long swift strides.

  While the creature was approaching the hollow in the arched entrance, Howard managed to finally ignite the fuse cable with one of the remaining match sticks. A small sparkle of flame travelled up the fuse cable in the direction of the dynamites.

  The massive explosion at the arched entrance occurred when the beast was about to squeeze itself into the hole. The enormous explosive force brought down tons of rocks and stones, creating a cloud of brown dust and sealing off the exit hole completely. When the dust in the air cleared, the hideous creature was nowhere to be seen! It had been buried alive by the fallen rocks!

  “Gotcha!” Howard laughed, walking out of his hiding place. Although the pain from his cauterized arm was unbearable, a wide grin still stretched across his face as he strode towards the rubble. It might be the first time he had such an exuberant feeling in the subterranean barracks. But his joy was short-lived when a heap of rocks under the arched entrance began to tremble.

  “What the…” Howard stared in disbelief. The knoll of fallen rocks heaved upwards and disintegrates as the creature emerged from the debris. It made a gasping, gurgling sound that reminded Howard of the Living Dead rising from its grave.

  Howard’s mouth was dry, his eyes like hot marbles, his heart hammering in his chest. The monster advanced on him. Then it stopped and its lone green eye met Howard’s. They stared at each other for a moment and then the creature turned its head away, as if he was tired of staring. Then it smiled and Howard was sure it was a smile. He froze and took a step back. That was when two gruesome tentacles slithered out of the creature’s mouth and they danced in the air right in front of Howard.

  And in a blink, one of the tentacles went for Howard’s throat and it snatched away the red cloth around his neck. An icy shiver propelled down Howard’s spine as he dropped to his knees to avoid another attack. But none came.

  Howard looked into the beast’s eye, crouching. The gargantuan creature seemed bigger than before. It was almost the size of a young elephant or an oversized rhinoceros. Its two tentacles slowly retracted. Like cracking a whip, the tentacle that was holding the red cloth split the frigid air with a loud snap, tearing the red cloth into tiny pieces.

  As hundreds of red fabrics floated in the air and some descended like falling autumn leaves, Howard slowly pulled out the samurai sword from its sheath. Then the beast was upon him. He wrestled with the killing machine and was lucky enough to cut off a few whirling tentacles.

  The beast howled in pain when its tentacles fell to the ground. It backed away from Howard for a moment. And Howard seized that moment to escape. He got up and ran across the parade ground toward the defunct parking lot, where the man-
made tunnel would lead him back to the General’s Tomb.

  Chapter 49

  Directly ahead, Howard saw the familiar fissure on a capacious crystal wall. And behind the fissure was the tunnel leading toward the General’s Tomb. He had darted past mysterious glowing rocks and vegetation in the cavernous crystal cave. Crossed small streams teaming with weird luminous fishes and barged through dense foliage of strange glowing plants. The creature roared but it was some distance away. Looking back, Howard could see some movements in a patch of waist-high undergrowth forty yards away. The shuddering movements of the undergrowth foliage had created a path in his direction. And it was coming fast. Howard darted into the fissure. He felt a wrenching pain in his cauterized arm but that did not slow him down.

  Within twenty seconds, he was out of the tunnel, running past the vending machine in the underground chamber. Weaving his path through the chaotic formation of mythical creatures’ statues, Howard suddenly ducked behind one of the statues to his right, and ironically, it was the statue of Nian Shou. He did that because he could feel that intuitive sensation again, that familiar sensation of fear and distress that had always drained blood from his face. He did not know how but he was sure that the creature was already in the chamber, barely ten feet away, stalking him.

  And he was right. The creature came forward. It made no sound but Howard could hear the soft clicks of its deadly claws on the hard ground. It had pitched its head low, sniffing and smelling for blood or any signs of life. It stopped in front of a statue of Kirin (a Chinese mythical hooved creature) and snarled in frustration. A dramatic contrast of Nen and the Kirin sculpture played out a magnificent scene against a backdrop of fallen rocks and debris.

  Howard grasped the cauterized end of his severed arm, trying to stop the bleeding. A tiny river of blood was already flowing on the ground beside him. He watched in apprehension as the tiny stream of blood dribbled its way out of his current hideout.