In an old apartment, Christian Espinoza woke up on a rusty bed, his entire body chained down. In front of him was a bowl filled with brownish, foul-smelling soup. Shocked by what he saw, he jerked backward against the wall.
"Where am I?" "Why am I here?"
Not far away, he heard faint footsteps from outside. He crawled along the wall in fear, bracing himself for whatever came through the door. Moments later, he saw a shadow, then a man entered — someone in his 20s wearing a jacket, his eyes hidden under a gray fedora. Behind him, tucked at his belt, was a whip made from a stingray tail.
"Who are you?"
The man lowered his hat, revealing his face.
"Sir Basco?"
It was him — Jun Basco. Christian couldn't believe it. Sir Jun Basco, the calm, quiet teacher who lived simply... was secretly actually a hunter?
Jun: "Yeah, it's me. And that's why I become a science teacher because I'm always exposed to see entrails. "
Another man followed him into the room. This one had his entire face wrapped in a scarf, wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. Along the side of his pants hung a collection of blades: balisong, karambit, and more.
Jun: "We are the Matai-Tao Hunters of Manila. We're a group of secret urban hunters in this city— and obviously we are not a syndicate."
"We're the ones who clean up this city, even though the government often brands us as terrorists because we also go after some of the monsters at the top."
"We won't hurt you unless you let your monster take over."
Chris: "I'm not a monster! They infected me. I'm human — a human!!"
Jun: "I know, Christian. That's why we're here — to help you heal... or to learn how to use your monstrous side the right way." "We injected you with a tranquilizer, that's why you blacked out."
Chris: (Tranquilizer?? Wait... what did I do?)
Jun: "You really don't remember because you were starving."
Two burly armed men entered the room, both in black t-shirts with triangular-symbol bandanas around their necks. They carried AK-47s.
Jun: "Finish your food. It's made from pig entrails."
Chris: "But... this is wrong."
Jun: "If you don't eat it, you'll lose yourself again. You'll become a monster."
Christian slid down from the wall to the bed, then to the floor. He reached for the bowl and stared at its contents — blood and guts floating in it. His stomach twists while his mouth is salivating.
"This is purely disgusting.
But... why?? Why I'm craving it?"
He dropped the bowl in disgust. It crashed to the floor, spilling the bloody broth everywhere. Tears streamed from one eye; his hands shook as he spoke:
Chris: "Is this really what it's like to be a monster?"
Jun: "You're not becoming a monster. You're just adapting to your new life."
Chris: "But I can't do this."
Jun: "Trust your instincts."
Christian stared at the bowl again. Doubt warred inside him — mind against heart.
"Eat it."
Finally, he grabbed the bowl and drank. Not because of force or logic, but pure instinct. At first, his heartbeat pounded harder; his hands went cold. With every chew, the hunger in his body filled up, but bit by bit, it felt like his soul was being extinguished along with the broth dripping down his chin.
"You're not a monster. You're not human..." "You're an Aswang..."
He slurped the broth, gulping it down until it slipped from his hands and shattered on the floor. "CLINK!!" Fragments scattered everywhere. His messy face went blank — the look of a soul that had just died.
Jun: "You're pushing yourself too hard. You'll break your mind like that."
Chris: "I've been broken for a long time."
Jun: "I understand. But we can fix it."
Chris: "No, you don't..."
He bowed his head to the floor, wiped the foul blood from his mouth, and his eyelashes grew wet with tears.
Chris: "Because you've never been a monster."
Jun knelt and put an arm around him.
Jun: "Whether you're human or Aswang, it's still a monster inside."
Christian looked up at him.
Jun: "You know, I want to tell you something."
"In my five years of teaching, I met a male student — the son of a politician. Big guy, good-looking."
"One day, he killed and raped a student from another section. But because of his father's power, they flipped the case and pinned it on the girl's boyfriend. To this day, the boyfriend is still in prison while this asshole parties at a Yacht Club in Zambales."
"Isn't he a monster too?"
He stood up and paced the room.
"Being a monster is a choice. There are just a lot of creatures who can't fit into society because of their craving for human flesh. Same with humans — many can't follow moral laws."
"Not all Aswang eat human meat. Some can stick to animal meat. But there are those who get tempted anyway, even when they don't have to."
Christian looked at him, eyes full of questions.
Chris: "Can I ask something?"
"What's really the difference between human meat and animal meat?"
Jun lowered his head with a twitch on his lips.
Jun: "Honestly? There's no real difference. We're all living flesh."
"It's up to you whether you want to taste human meat. We can't help you there. But we're here to protect the people in our city."
"We're all monsters in some way. It's just that a few become big threats to society, so we're forced to become monsters ourselves to kill them."
"But one thing I can tell you: I'll help you — not as your classroom teacher, but as your teacher in life."
He put his arm around Christian again, eyes honest and steady.
"I'll help you to adapt."
(To be continued.)