Screams erupted from us haunteds. Halfway down, the shadow split into three, and one strand came directly toward me.

  It was so fast that it already attached itself to my right foot before I could react and jump back.

  Immediately, Rustia burned the head where it split, making the strand of shadow clinging to my right foot disappear.

  But still, my reflex made me whirl around to check my friends behind me. I dropped my tense shoulder when I saw that the shadows had indeed disappeared and that they also suffered no visible injuries.

  "Doc—" I said. But I saw her with one finger over her lips.

  Dr. Yap immediately whispered individual orders to the rest of the cultists. Grayson positioned himself on the right side of the door. The door opens inward so that when they inevitably come in, Grayson will be behind the door.

  Bea climb up the stacks of covered boxes on the left side of the door and pointed his gun down the doorway. Dr. Yap had us haunteds and cultists split into groups and spread out to the back of the room, hidden behind different machinery.

  "Rustia," Dr. Yap said. "Turn off the light."

  Rustia did. And now we sit in the darkness, with only the violet light from the cultists' hands illuminating the place.

  "People," Dr. Yap said. "Your U.V. lights, too."

  "What?" Rustia said, confused.

  "Yeah, what are you—" I started. But her hand clamped on my mouth.

  "Listen," she said, shushing us. "They have no reason to believe that you are with others. We have the element of surprise. They won't be suspecting an ambush. They come towards you, we light them up. Remember, they may have the power of the Azgarmoth but with our lights, they will be left with their human bodies. Bullets tend to do well against flesh and blood."

  I looked at Dr. Yap, surprised by what I'd just heard. Because her plan means to use us as bait. I tried to get out of her lock but she just tighten her grip on me.

  "Ma'am..." Rustia started.

  "Just do it," Dr. Yap said.

  The cultists had no choice but to follow.

  I screamed through her hand when the violet light disappeared, protesting while trying my best to rip her hand away from my mouth. I heard my friends' angry words but their voices too were muffled.

  "Shh," she said as she kept me in place with both arms. Then she ordered Lee, who was clamping Cana's mouth with one hand, to light us up with regular light.

  My attention immediately went to the shadow attached to me. And of course, it didn't disappeared under the normal, white beam of light. I struggled as much as I can but it was no use. Another second passed and the shadow was still on me. But still, nothing's happening. It's just...there. Feeling that I'm not fighting anymore, she let me go.

  "It's harmless," Dr. Yap said. "Just like the first time."

  "You don't know that!" I snarled at her but was mindful of my volume. "It could just have needed some time before it kill us or whatever!"

  "You don't like it?" Dr. Yap said. "Well, tell that to your Major Coleman."

  That shut me up real quick that I just stared at her, puzzled by the sudden comment.

  "What?" Dr. Yap said. "Surely, you are aware of how your entire system, your handbook's Shade rules were created in the first place?"

  Of course we knew that haunteds were used to study the Shade. After all, that was the whole point of the system. And it was explained clearly during our orientation and with our handbooks during the first day in Biringan. I guess, it didn't occur to me how much it sucked for the previous haunteds who underwent similar experiments like now to establish the rules that protects generations of haunteds up to this day from the Shade.

  Seeing her point, I simply exhaled my anger through my nose slowly.

  "I hear them," Bea said. "They're coming."

  Silence immediately wrapped around the room, allowing me to hear what he heard: footsteps echoing outside the tunnels. Each step was getting closer and closer.

  I started breathing heavily. Which was so noticeable in this quiet environment so I covered my mouth. My free hand went to grip the gun in my waist.

  Finally, the footsteps stopped outside. I inhaled sharply when I heard muffled voices. Curiosity got the best of me. I popped my head out of our hiding place. I was only able to confirm that the situation hasn't changed yet before noticing a claw gripped my head and forced it down.

  "Stay down," Dr. Yap whispered.

  I looked across the room, exchanging looks with Cana and Indigo. All of us were behind the adult cultists with them. The cultists had fingers on the triggers, ready to shoot at any given moment.

  I held my breath when the door creaked open. Human shadows stretched across the room, reaching the wall next to me. I counted at least five shadows. I looked down my right foot. A shadow of a deeper hue remains attached to me.

  "Smart," The voice said. "Hiding in the sewer."

  No one replied.

  "No use pretending," the guy continued. "We know you're here."

  But still, no one replied.

  "Go get them," the voice said. A beam of light illuminated our hiding spot. "Over there," he said.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  A flick of the switch and the darkness disappeared. The footsteps echoed louder as they come inside the room.

  Next thing I heard was a single gunshot. And in that split second, all hell breaks loose.

  I covered my ears as the barrage continued. It only lasted a few seconds but to me it lasted a lifetime.

  The shooting ended with the sound of bodies hitting the ground with a thud.

  I exchanged looks with my friends again.

  "I don't know who you are," the same guy said. Judging from his echo-ey voice, I assumed he stayed outside. I dared not to move as much as an inch after that exchange so I can only assume from what I was hearing. "But whatever they told you, it was all a lie."

  "Call for back-up," he whispered to someone.

  So he's not the only one who survived? I thought.

  Again, no one answered him.

  "I am PO1 Carlos S. Tomas. And you just killed two active duty officers," Carlos said. "Surrender, and I'll tell the DA that you've been given false information and manipulated. Resist and you will suffer the same fate."

  My decision not to go to the police turned out to be right. Here we have a police officer hunting us. What matter is this proves that the local law enforcement is compromised. If he's impersonating...we'll I guess we'll see if the guy actually called police reinforcement.

  "Are you sure you want to do this?" The guy said when he was met with silence. Still, no one speaks. "You're trapped in here, with no way out. Meanwhile, back-up is on the way. With tear gas, this time. So what's your plan here?"

  "I can't get through," the other guy said. I assumed he's the one ordered to call for backup.

  "We're under 10 inches of concrete," Carlos said. "What do you think?"

  I didn't hear any new voice. So maybe it's just them left? If so, then we can probably take them out, right? I looked at the cultist across us, he was still crouched behind the machine. Whatever the reason is, the cultists thought it best to stay down than fight their way out. So maybe there are more of them than I hear?

  "Dr. Yap," Reina said. "That voice..."

  Looking at Dr. Yap's back, I saw her head bend forward in a nod. It's probably someone they knew.

  "Look, you don't want to do this," Carlos said, addressing us again after a few seconds of silence. "You're already in too much trouble killing police officers. What did they tell you? That we want to kill them? Those kids are stowaways. We're here to bring them back as per their parent's wishes."

  "That's a lie and you know it," Reina said in a loud voice, making sure everyone, especially the ones outside heard. "Don't you, Uncle Teddy?"

  "I-it can't be," Carlos voice faltered. "You were dead! Yap made sure—"

  He fell silent. "No...she didn't kill you. That traitor!"

  "Get out! Call everyone!"

  "A-and tell them what?" The other guy said.

  "That the priestess is alive!" The leader said. "That Dr. Yap...I knew it. I knew we shouldn't have trusted her to kill you like she killed your father."

  Reina bit her lips.

  "Don't worry," Carlos continued. "I'll finish the job. Then I'll finished that traitor! Once I get my hands on her, I will—"

  A series of gunshots cut him off. I heard a body thud on the wall. Followed by a splash of water outside.

  "No, you will not," the subordinate said. I heard, and an object skidded against the concrete. It hit the wall near us. A gun. "I am unharmed, with my hands up."

  The sound of footsteps entering the room appeared again.

  "Do not fire!" Reina commanded.

  The footsteps stopped. "R-Reina? Is it really you?"

  I watched Reina stand up from her hiding place. At that moment, Dr. Yap came out too.

  "R-Reina..." the man said, his voice quivering.

  "Hello, Uncle Teddy," Reina replied. "It's good to see you again."

  I got up from my hiding place just in time to see the guy fall on his knees in front of Reina, bawling. He's had his eyes on Reina and Reina alone so I don't think he'll notice me.

  "Reina..." Teddy cried. "H-how? I don't understand. They told us you were dead! They—"

  "You..." Teddy said with shocked on his face. "What are you doing here?"

  The rest of the cultists on our side followed Reina's lead. Bea, who was on the stacks of boxes, dropped down. Rustia closed the door and came forward. Lee, who was in charge of protecting Cana and Indigo got up and left them. Looking at Cana and Indigo, it was clear none of us wanted to join just yet. So we stayed hidden.

  "Grayson, Rustia," he said.

  "What's up, Teddy Bear?" Bea said.

  "Theo, my man," Rustia said. "Can't believe I get to see your ugly face again."

  "W-what's..." Then Theo gasped. "You plan on taking back the cult?" He faced Reina again, "Then Angel, this didn't have to happen. You should have told us, and we would have fought to the death to get you back in charge. Instead of dying like this. He said looking at the dead bodies inside. Based on what I'm hearing, I'm guessing from this group that the only one who's a Lucarian is that dead guy outside of the room.

  "This wasn't our plan," Reina said.

  "What do you mean?" Theo asked. "Then what are you doing down here anyway?"

  "Our hands were...forced."Dr. Yap said.

  "What?" Theo said.

  A pang of guilt stabbed my heart when I realized what just happened. We did this...because we chose to go outside than stay at the penthouse. The guilt forced me to look down the floor. With the light now on, the shadows disappeared. But I chose to withhold my question about the missing shadow for another time.

  "Uncle Teddy," Reina said. "We will explain everything. But now is not the time. Right now, we need to get out."

  . "Yes, yes, of course," he got up on his knees and wiped away the tears. A wide smile replaced his crying face.

  "Angel," Theo said. "How can I help?"

  "How many of you are there?" Dr. Yap began. "I wasn't brief about this during my last time on duty. So I assume this is new?"

  "Yes, that's correct," Theo said. "Luca created five teams this afternoon after they failed to capture any of the haunteds."

  My heart jumped with joy. I immediately stood up and joined them in the center of the room. "Wait, not one of us was captured?"

  The recognition immediately showed on his face. "Can someone explain how you managed to capture one haunted when an entire armed squad with the element of surprise failed to do so this morning?"

  "We weren't captured..." I said. "Well, Indigo was. But the two of us looked for these guys."

  Theo looked to Dr. Yap. Then back to us. Then back to the cultists. "What?"

  "Theodore, please," Dr. Yap stopped him. "We simply don't have time for this. The other four teams. Are they near?"

  Theodore shook his head again to get back on track. "Yes. We are spread out looking for them in close distance to each other. The nearest would get here in..."— he looked down at the watch on his wrist.—"10 minutes after I call."

  "After you call?" Cana said, coming up from my side. "You mean you're going to tell them?"

  The sight of Cana made him paused again.

  "Uncle Teddy?" Reina pressed.

  Theodore cleared his throat. ""Yes. Each team is to call back to HQ every 20 minutes. Last time we called was 10 minutes ago. When our amulets reacted and tracked you down here."

  "We have questions about that," I said.

  "We do," Dr. Yap continued. "But are any of the teams coming?"

  "Well, they shouldn't," Theodore said. "Cause they should still be waiting on our call. On our update."

  "I doubt it," Dr. Yap said. "You got a trail. If I were Luca, I would send all of the closer groups in immediately after your call."

  "Still," Theodore said. "That was 10 minutes ago. It'll will still take them another, maybe, eight, nine, minutes to get here."

  "And when they do," Rustia said. "How are you going to explain this?" he said, kicking the dead body in front of him.

  "Hey! Isn't that your friend?" Indigo scolded Rustia. From the look of Rustia's face, he clearly didn't expect that. Then Indigo turned to Reina. "They're loyal to you, right? Your Rei-dians?"

  "Rei-dians?" Cana asked in disbelief. "Are you really making fan names right now?"

  "Well, calling all of them cultists is starting to get confusing," Indigo argued while making a hand barrier on the side of her eyes so that she doesn't see the dead body.

  "Theodore, what are you going to tell them?" Dr. Yap said, bringing us back to the vital topic at hand.

  Theodore looked down and kept quiet. And since no one was able to give any suggestions, the room fell silent.

  "There's only I way that comes to mind," Theodore said absentmindedly-staring at the dead bodies. "I tell them the truth."