The Night of the Amalanhig-2 Seguir historia

In Part 1 of “The Night of the Amalanhig” the friends find themselves in a frightening predicament on the 12th floor of the abandoned Durian hotel in the heart of Davao, city on Halloween night. Two of the six companions who agreed to go on the uncharted tour under the cover of a full moon and have been brutally murdered. The murders happened very unexpectedly inside what used to be known as the Hero’s bar that in its heyday had been one of the hottest night clubs Davao City had ever known. However, on this night it resembled more of a combination between a slaughterhouse and morgue.

The remaining friends witnessing firsthand the brutal slaughter taking place ran in a zig zag fashion and were able to escape to the temporary refuge of the old pool. A maneuver that left them trapped and in an even more desperate situation because the pool was discovered to be emptying rapidly and the Amalanhig that surrounding them were hungry.

Hanna, looking around at all the creatures that now packed the pool area like a bunch of Vienna Sausages packed in a tight can with expiration dates that were way over the limit. Witnessing the creatures and their blood thirsty rampage she turns toward her husband, then Raymar, and screams in a state of hysteria tears running down her face like she had just waited in line to get water for hours in some forgotten barrio on the outskirts of the city. Hanna struggles and sobs, "Well, can't one of you do something about the fucking leak before the pool completely empties and brings these zombie fuckers down on top of us all.

Hanna’s husband in a state of terror himself, not believing what was happening and wishing it was some type of prank reluctantly agrees to dive under the water and locate the source of the leak. He dove under the water several times feeling around for any holes he could patch, and it seemed to others to be taking an eternity. When he finally emerged from the last dive he was stripped down to his underwear. Hanna, breathing a sigh of relief says,"Thank God, you got it patched."

He responds to his wife, "About that I have some really bad news. They have somehow managed to put gaping holes in the bottom of the pool with hollow block rods and all the water is running out to the 11th floor."

Raymar, desperation in his voice asks, "You couldn't fix it?"

He answers, "No, I was just as helpless as a street sweeper in the middle of the intersection with a bamboo broom and dustpan. I am really scared; we are completely surrounded by these fucking Amalanhig and have about 20 minutes or so to live.”

The Amalanhig all respond mimicking in unison, “You are completely surrounded and have about 20 minutes to live.”

Upon hearing all this Geraldine breaks down crying uncontrollably again for the third or fourth time in as many minutes like when she was a first-year medical student and having to dissect a human body. In complete helplessness she tells her husband, “Raymar, look what you have done to us my uncle is going to be so mad I didn't even complete medical school!”

The young man looks at his wife himself realizing that he doesn't know what to do or how to escape the situation says, “Geraldine, you can escape to the elevator when the water runs out. I'll throw myself into that hoard and the three of you can make it to the elevator, down to the first floor, and then out.”

Just then no sooner than did the words fall from his mouth, a couple more of the stiff legged mother fuckers stumble into the pool area as if wondering over to a “Minute Burger” after a night of heavy drinking. Geraldine exclaims, “Raymar, aren't those your fucking friends from work that you insisted to come over here with us?”

Raymar, not wanting to acknowledge her question or the zombie lifestyle they were now embracing snaps back, "Who really knows anyone? Besides with their bloody distorted faces, snapping teeth, and darting tongues any kind of accurate recognition is hard and besides it's not like we shared one office."

Geraldine still crying uncontrollably screams back at him in sheer horror while awaiting their impending fate, “Raymar, what the fuck, you worked with them daily for over three years!”

Hanna observing the ever-emptying pool and realizing the water is getting lower yells in defense of her friend. “Are you fucking joking those are obviously your friends look they are even wearing the same clothes!”

Raymar answers, "Are you sure that's what they were wearing?" At which point, Raymar’s former friends and now the newest members of the Amalanhig dream team respond, “Raymar, come out let's talk.” putting Raymar into a frenzied panic as if he we're waiting in line to meet a couple of the singers from the fucking Village People with his remastered copy of the YMCA soundtrack.

Geraldine now looking down reached a new level of desperation when she noticed that the water level was just above her knees now and cries, “Curse my uncle for forcing me to do all that studying and now I am about to die before I got a chance to live. Like a beautiful Monarch butterfly in reverse turning into an ugly yellow, white and black caterpillar.”

Hanna’s husband looking from his wife, Geraldine, and then to Raymar in a righteous declaration reminds Raymar of his promise, “You should start getting ready to rush the hoard as you promised?” Raymar looks back at him with a lump in his throat, tears in his eyes and regretted.

Just then two new figures bolted through the glass doors and into the 12th floor pool area. The one in the lead was dressed in some type of homemade Medieval Armour and rubber sandals (possibly a Halloween costume but then again possibly not) and it was someone they recognized. It was their loyalist friend Louie who had resided with them at the house for several years and had now come to rescue them and brought the first-floor security guard with him. The guard being a heavier set man was loaded down with several large containers of diesel fuel. Louie was an admirable figure and born for command. Just like his idol Vladimir Putin he barked out his first commands to a soldier in a losing battle that didn't want to be there. “Pour the diesel faithful friend, we can have this battle won in a couple of minutes.” After which he quickly yells to Geraldine who was trying very hard to bury herself below the waterline like some kind of mudfish or banana cue in oil, “Te, you know that water is really disgusting right? Sorry, I’m late I guess I missed the invitation to attend this stiff legged ass kicking competition! Hearing you came here and knowing there would be trouble, I stopped by SM to borrow this bow and a quiver full of arrows from the second-floor range, take another lesson,
grab a couple of these really awesome swords and ask around to see if anyone saw Raymar’s cousin from your wedding but she wasn't anywhere to be found.”

Geraldine screams at Louie with a new fervor, “Are you out of your fucking mind? Raymar's cousin lives in Cagayan what were you even thinking?”

Louie thoughtfully responds to her question and answers thoughtfully as he climbs up the ladder to the high dive and watches his new friend fight the hoard valiantly, “I know that now because I looked for her in all the other malls around the city before coming here.” He then goes on to study Geraldines diminishing condition, the fear and panic on her face, as well as that of the others and asks, “You have any food left anywhere, Tè?”

Again, for the third or fourth time since the ordeal began, she was sent into a sheer panic screaming, “Get us the fuck out of here!”

Louie methodically studies the room, looks at the position of all the Amalanhig and fearlessly reassert his command of the situation screaming to the security guard, “What's taking so long don't let those zombie fuckers scare you keep dousing them with diesel until they all smell as if their employees at Caltex! Well, most of them except that dancer over there in the far-left corner, she seems nice and looks kind of innocent. Maybe, I can make Raymar’s cousin jealous.”

The security guard continues to fight on valiantly following the orders of Louie who genuinely admires him from his safety of his perch directly over the pool. Louie was a wide reader and remembered that the Amalanhig hated heights he just forgot to mention it to his chubby friend fighting the hoard down at pool side. Still, Louie a compassionate friend to all living entities upon seeing the hopeless plight of his new friend, the blood flowing gapping wounds from the bites of the fiends risks his own life to throw down the cheaper of the two swords to his friend (The "Ninja Turtle" collectible sword he kept for himself because he was a big fan). With an increased fury fueled by his own blood squirting through his gaping wounds he continued hacking at the hoard with a renewed vengeance. Meanwhile, Louie from the safety of his perch practiced his shooting position and draw knowing full well the importance of proper technique before he let loose a single arrow and hoped his friends appreciated his form. No, taking pictures so he could send them to Raymar's cousin.

Sometime during his practice, the security guard lost his will to continue fighting and was now twitching all over the floor like a freshly cooked piece of bacon. The pool only contained ankle deep water, the Amalanhigs teeth were already chomping up and down with a blood thirst and the friends in the pool were resigning themselves to their fate. Geraldine screams, “Louie, please do something!”

Louie responds by pulling out his first arrow from the quiver, lights it from a picture-perfect stance, fires into the hoard and looks to see if his friends are filming. He then uses the classic line from all the movies he loves, "One shot one kill." The stiff legged, blood thirsty mother fuckers burned one after another just as bright as a handful of candles inside a Halloween pumpkin. Louie looks at the security guard now starting to burn with them and screams to his comrade and his brother in arms, “Sorry Mr. security guard, I guess you were right we should have been more careful! No matter what you do those stains are never going to come out of that uniform."

One Amalanhig from the far corner was able to escape from the room before burning and made her escape into the hallway in search of other Amalanhig reinforcements. The ones in the room were dead or near dead before Louie climbed down from his perch and started tying red ribbons on their toes.

Raymar with a brief sigh of relief screams, “What the fuck are you doing now, help us out!”

Geraldine also responds, “Please Louie before they come back.” Which he does, throws them all garlic to eat (the Amalanhig hate garlic) and then goes back to tying the ribbons preventing any future resurrection. Feeling secure that those pool side are dead and staying he contemplates his heated battle, how he was able to overcome the forces of darkness and celebrate his victory while enjoying a couple pieces of candy that must have fell out of the pocket of one of the stinking, rotting corpses.

Louie watching as the four survivors pulled themselves out of the dirty pool felt superior in his shinning armor and asks Geraldine, “Do you think I can find that girl again?”

Geraldine answers him and she is really pissed off, “I already told you Louie she lives in Cagayan!”

Louie answers looking intently at the four, “Not Raymar's cousin Te, the stiff legged smelly Amalanhig girl that escaped. I really feel as if the two of us have a chance to make it work!"

There is a lot of hatred in the world and division. This is a story about the power of love, true acceptance and its ability to overcome life's obstacles and uniting all God's creation great and small. Just as the circumference of a circle (made by a compass and not a drunk ass sailor) is equally near and equally distant from its center, so is all God's creation equally near and equally distant from him. Richard E. James Ed. D, Ph. D

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

Corinthians 13: 4-8