MYFATHER
Episode 11
The man immediately came out from behind the bush to follow the cloaked figure, he was a little late as the man was hunted down to disappear, just like a few nights before when he and Wayan were lurking in this place. Fortunately tonight the strange figure was carrying a torch as a light so his eyes caught a flash of fire among the large tree in the direction of two o'clock from him. As soon as he checked the place, his chest was claustrophobic with joy to find a path there. His steps settled quickly behind the figure, his hand holding a flashlight that was not lit because he was worried that the person he was following would come back suspicious.
He prepared himself for various possibilities, the cloaked figure might not be what he was looking for but his suspicious existence in the middle of a blind night like this did not close it down. So in addition to the flashlight in hand, he also took out the necessary equipment, especially the magic spell book. He felt the book he was holding inside the leather bag was shaking slightly, which indicated he was getting the right target. Don't want to waste time, Seto took out the book.
At that moment Seto felt a gentle breeze flowing behind him. His hair bristled and reflexively the old man looked back. Seto was surprised not to play to find a long haired figure without a body hovering just a few meters behind him. Spontaneous Seto screamed hysterically. The creature wasted no time, darted quickly, and buried its fangs in Seto's cheeks.
The old man was stricken by the collision of the head without a body. The spell book and the flashlight fell off somewhere. He was forced to remove the two objects because both hands were needed to remove the head of the strange creature from him. Unfortunately, the creature's fangs have been embedded so deep that when Seto managed to pull them, the creature managed to pull the piece of meat from his cheek. Throwing the head of the creature while holding his left cheek that released a lot of blood. The old man groaned...
His right hand groped the ground surface in search of the flashlight. He had to get light as soon as possible, it was the fastest reliable weapon for the creature not to return to attack. Seto managed to find a flashlight that fell not far from him, had not had time to look for his spell book further sounding shrill from the direction where he threw the figure of the disembodied head earlier. With a trained motion his hand immediately aimed the flashlight he had grasped earlier at the headless creature, and Seto found it disappearing rapidly between flashlights.
Accidentally Seto's flashlight was directed towards the path, to the place where the last time the cloaked figure was followed, he said, and it appears that the figure is no longer walking in the direction that was originally intended but turning toward him. The figure stood frozen for a moment, with its entire body covered from head to toe, as if watching itself with a haunted look. The atmosphere is getting creepy, especially Seto can only see the figure vaguely because the flashlight suddenly jammed...
Hit the back of the flashlight several times so that the battery stays afloat. Just when the flashlight was back on, the scene in front of him was increasingly strange. The robe that enveloped the figure fell slowly to the ground, followed by his body, leaving the head whose face was covered in black hair and decomposed long, long, with several organs in his body such as lungs and heart that hang in the air...
“Sial...” rutuk Seto scared, he knows what will happen to him if not fast to act. He had to search for the spell book immediately. Unfortunately, the flashlight was not very helpful because the light was out. The man banged his flashlight back on, unaware as the strange creature soared rapidly in the midst of a flickering flash of light that it was too late for old Seto...
***
Yudi was enjoying his coffee that morning – something that has become his habit to arouse the spirit before working – on the terrace of the supervisor substation when Danu came to approach, also with a cup of coffee that was being enjoyed. The puff of steam coming out of his best friend's glass sent a sensation of the Arabica scent that for him was too strong.
“What happened at Rick Felds' house back then?” Danu opened the conversation. “You haven't told me anything yet.”
“Many strange things..”
“What kind of weird thing?”
What the Felds had experienced on that fateful night on Danu was exactly what Rick told him, and also about the mysterious old man who said strange things about a local legend called kuyang. Then how did it scare Mirna half to death before leaving her furiously in the cafeteria as she asked about the kuyang. Danu slightly held it in that section, “Wait, you said you told this to Mirna? Secretary Iwan Feng, Boss Personnel and General Affairs?”
“Yes, why?”
Danu even grinned ignorant, “You have never spoken if you are close to a girl in this place.”
“Stories of it to him does not mean I approach him anymore.”
“Indeed, but what I heard was that girl was not approachable.”
Yudi frowned, “Hey, we are going to discuss what happened at the Felds house. Why did the topic turn there? Then what do you think?”
”I think? That's all bullshit.”.
”Come, And ! This is not just a coincidence. There are supernatural beings involved here.”
”Gue did not want to rush to that conclusion. Need to see first because Felds also said that, right? Even if it looks the same.”
”Then tell me what is it?” Yudi asked annoyed. ”You will stay in this city longer than me. Surely you know something.or at least have heard something about it.”.
”I know the legend of the eagle king or the science of the corpse-eating..if kuyang Danu. “She's never heard of.”
“Kuyang is a science to maintain youthfulness.” Yudi said as an opening before connecting with some of the ingredients he collected last night as an outlet of curiosity.
”In the era of hi-tech gini why also make a deal with Satan to stay beautiful? Tell him plastic surgery, done things!” ledek Danu after Yudi finished telling the story. ”But can not be blamed also because people here are still many who believe in superstition, especially the parents. The way people think if there is something difficult to explain with logic usually immediately think to the like.”
”Menduga so can. But I'm not sure the supernatural causes it all. Female model Stella Felds what kind of holding her belly by a stranger?” danu's words were immediately confirmed by Yudi. ”Or are given an obscure drink.”
”It's possible that the creature could change shape into a person he knows. Then you should also be careful, man. It could be that he's also eyeing your baby.”
”Sompret,lu! You swear to me huh?”
”No, I just give you a warning.”
”If the warning is real, like this..” Danu thrust a newspaper at Yudi who swiftly caught him. ”...he said later there were frequent attacks by panthers in Rawen. That place is only five miles from my house. How about a leopard that flabby my house should I choose a house that is a bit to the middle of the city, near the people's complex.”.
Yudi's forehead wrinkled, ”Rawen?”
”That's the third largest forest after Borneo. It is located to the north of Bontang, flanked by three large enough charissidens, Malindo, Bompur, and Kamparu. It should be a beautiful place if there were no beasts. You can take Mirna for a walk there to enjoy the green trees and the small river that flows there, I heard that the river there can also grant the love of lovers.”
Yudi did not listen to the suggestion nyleneh the friend, busy listening to the newspaper given Danu. His eyes widened to see the photo that adorned the top of the main article, a photo of the victim obtained by the journalist to complement the news exclusively.
The photo was faint because it was taken at night, the position of the victim's body that was stretched between the bushes did not give clear identification, let alone the writing below gave an explanation that the victim's face was completely destroyed. But on the next page there is a sketch of a photo that is a reconstruction of the face of the victim in the hope that the reader can recognize it. The face in the photo is indeed very similar to the face of the old man he met at Felds' house, and who also met Wayan at the office.
According to the article, a woodcutter found the bodies as they were about to cut down wood in Rawen forest. The body was full of strange bite wounds and quite severe, suspected while the cause of death was the old man was attacked by a panther, but the official autopsy will only come out the day after the day after the forensic section finished examining the corpse.
The police also allowed journalists to put up facial engineering sketches so that there were families or relatives who recognized and wanted to come provide information in the form of identity of the victim. The article concluded that this attack was an umpteenth attack but the community around Rawen did not need to worry because the police had formed a special team to catch the beast.
Yudi remembered what was written on the internet about kuyang. Written there the supernatural can change into an animal. Could that include the panther, the big, strong, ferocious black cat who became the specter of Seto's murder in the Rawen forest?
On the other hand, the death of the old Seto dashed the only source of clues to find out more about the assassination plan that Wayan was about to do. Yudi folded the paper back and clamped it in his armpit, putting the thing aside for a while to enjoy the last drop of coffee in his glass. The news had been a strange start this morning but at least he could be a little relieved because the plan of murder devised by Wayan was impossible with the death of old man Seto.
The phone in Yudi's pants pocket rang, apparently from Mirna, glimpsed by Danu at a glance.receiving Mirna's call in front of his best friend as if confirming the chattering ngawur Danu. But his best friend was still staring at him with curiosity until he was forced to lift the phone if he did not want his noisy ringing continues, “Halo?”
“Halo,Yud...you're already in the office?”
“Already from seven hours ago,” reply Yudi. “What do you need?”
“I want to apologize for what I said yesterday. I shouldn't have to be that angry responding to your question.”
“Oh, it’s okay.”
“If you still want to know about me that I can tell while drinking coffee after office hours.”
“Neventless. I don't want to talk about it anymore,” Yudi responded.
“Oh, so..” Mirna's tone sounds disappointed.
“But I didn't turn down the coffee invitation.”
There was the sound of Mirna back cheerful, “Oke then. See you later afternoon.”
***