Of all the 7 days of the week, Tuesdays are the worst in my opinion. Although Mondays are a drag, Tuesdays are usually where trouble begins and it doesn’t let up until the sweet release of Friday, with the weekends providing some much needed reprieve before the cycle repeats when Monday returns.


    Right now though, this rain only serves to prove my point. Tuesdays are the worst and it seems like this young man shares in my melancholy as he seems to be so engrossed in his thoughts that he failed to notice the concrete wall he was about to collide with until the very last second. Intriguing that his face betrays a sense of disturbance in his mind which makes me wonder if he’s involved in this incident as well. He shakes his head and fixes his scarlet hair a bit as the echoes of his brisk walking joins in the chorus of random noises uttered by the building’s residents.


    “No reply in over an hour…” he muttered after checking his phone. “...What did you do that got her into this mess?”


    Noticing several steel doors with window slits, the young man couldn’t help but fix his blazer and necktie as loud ramblings and maniacal laughter emanated behind some of those doors while an assortment of babble and noise permeated from the others.


    “I wonder why they took her and the others straight to the quarantine facilities?” the man uttered as he turned to a particular steel door protected by two human guards.


    “May I help you?” one of the guards asked.


    “Bryce Mariano, Senior Investigator, Spellcaster Protection and Enforcement Department, Philippine Casterbulary” the man answered, presenting his ID. “I have business with Ms. Marie Luna Pancho of the Taskforce Andres”


    “We weren’t informed of any visitors today. I’m sorry but you are not allowed to visit the patient, elders’ orders”


    “What? The elders? Why?”


    “She and her team are currently under heavy surveillance. They were exposed to dangerous levels of Oizite particles without adequate protection. They are currently under strict observation for Pravus Syndrome.”


    “But isn’t their exposure classified under ‘safe’ levels? Protocol doesn’t constitute this kind of response.”


    “I’m sorry sir. We’re just following orders”


    The young man ponders the oddity of the situation as he notices snow particles thinly surrounding the guard’s right fingers. That incident was only a few hours old and even if the isolation is part of protocol, there are already adequate barriers that can be used to shield the visitor from infection… As far as I know…


    “I see…” he responds after a few seconds of silence “I’ll be off then”


    As he turns the corner in the hallway, the young man randomly approaches one of the steel doors before slowly opening the window slit a bit.


    Inside is a tall, pale, thin young woman wearing a hospital gown tapping a corner of the wall. A purplish aura emanated around her as the man noticed her abnormally elongated fingers on her right ‘hand’ which looked like it was charred.


    He quietly closes the slit, uttering a small prayer to the poor soul that’s probably beyond saving behind that door.


    “She and the others definitely don’t belong here.” he muttered “I don’t believe she and her team are too far gone or ‘infectious’, even with such an intense exposure.”


    Traffic congestion is almost ingrained in Metro Manila’s roads though this Tuesday’s congestion is awfully unusual as streets are filled to the brim with vehicles that won’t seem to be moving any time soon.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    At the very least, the young man could take solace in the fact that the roads on his route aren’t mired by flash floods that frequent the cities during intense rain.


    Faced with this traffic jam, the man’s glance keeps going back and forth between the road and the stack of documents neatly organized on the passenger seat next to him. After a few minutes of back and forth, he grabs the bottom most document in the pile.


    “To think it’s only been a couple of months…” he muttered, opening the document “The incident, his strange message, and now the elders’ orders… There’s more to this story than a group of college kids and rookies being exposed…”


    He then sifts through the documents until coming across a report dated January 13, 2020.


    “Traffic’s not letting up so I might as well start by retracing her steps…”


    Oh, I remember that particular Monday. How could I forget? That was when most of these shenanigans began and I was particularly lucky to just so happen to be around to witness it all unfold.


    It was a calm Monday early morning in Las Pi?as City. Luna had drifted into the world of dreams, finding herself in a small village scorched by fire and littered with craters as the sounds of gunfire, explosions, panicked cries, and monstrous roars created a twisted orchestra of terror that permeated throughout the trees.


    Four children, with various dark purplish crystalline growths on their arms and neck though their faces were obscured by the dark sky and the shadows of the woods, were running for their lives through a thick forest. Chasing them were various humanoid monsters that have sharp blade-like appendages sticking out their shoulders. Their heads seemingly grew into such proportions that it formed a permanent ‘smile’ and a pair of sinister glowing yellow eyes that stared straight into the soul.


    Luckily for the children, a soldier was ready to defend them. Dressed in a brownish standing-collared shirt, a cap with an insignia depicting two black feathered eagles side by side with the left one holding a scepter and the right holding a golden orb, the soldier gripped his Mosin Nagant tightly as the creatures lunged at him. The protector demonstrated his marksmanship, landing headshot after headshot. Though with each fallen monster, more seemed to emerge from the woodland, almost as if the forest itself was sheltering or, even, creating them.


    Nevertheless, this proud soldier refused to be overwhelmed. He instructed the children to hide inside a small crevice by the rocks as 2 creatures got dangerously close. The soldier earned another headshot but did not have enough time to pull his bolt before another creature pounced on him. With his rifle being the only thing between his face and the creature’s gaping mouth, the soldier quickly moved his head to the side as one of the creature’s appendages landed on the spot his head was on.


    Unable to normally reach his sidearm, the soldier takes a deep breath as he uses all of his strength and wit to keep the monster’s sharp teeth and appendages from piercing his skin. Soon, the buckle keeping his Nagant M1895 in place was undone and the sidearm quietly floated out of his holster before the barrel was aimed at the back of the creature’s head before the trigger pulled back on its own.


    Wasting no time, the young man threw the dead creature to the side as more arrived. With his right hand somewhat stretched out and the revolver floating just close to him, he imitated the mannerism and stance of firing a pistol while the revolver was still floating in midair to which it behaved exactly as if he actually held it. Sadly, six headshots was not enough to thin the horde.


    Realizing this, the soldier snapped his fingers as bullets floated out of his pouches and the revolver reloaded itself as he pulled the bolt back on his rifle and proceeded to use his rifle in tandem with the floating revolver, demonstrating his mobility in the process. Although unnecessary, the soldier’s fighting style seemed to involve rotating between his rifle and pistol stances when switching between the firearms.


    Despite his skills, it looked like he was doomed to be overwhelmed by the monsters had it not been for the timely arrival of reinforcements, giving the soldier some reprieve. With the area seemingly clear, the children emerge from the crevice, being spotted by the other soldiers. To the protector’s absolute horror, the moment his saviors laid their eyes upon the children, they immediately raised their rifles, seemingly ready to subject the little ones to a spontaneous firing squad.


    A fierce standoff ensued for a good minute before a bright blue light diverted everyone’s attention towards a beam hitting the part of the woods near them, completely obliterating the area before slowly engulfing more and more of the land.


    The soldiers disperse as the protector motioned the children to start running. Ran as they did, it was ultimately futile as the beam was too fast for them. The last thing Luna saw in this dream was the sight of the protector looking back and seeing the beam about to engulf them.