Five years ago.
Rome, Italy.
Narrator's POV:
The majestic, heavenly singing from the choir echoed around the grand church that the place had never felt so holy. The burning smell of incense filled the air. The pews in the church weren't entirely full as there weren't many people who had come to attend the evening Mass.
The session had reached the consecration of the Holy Eucharist where the priest in his white and green vestments stood behind the altar with his hands raised in mid-air, offering up his prayers to the Lord. The altar boy in white, knelt on the floor in front of the altar swinging the thurible containing the burning incense while the other altar boys kneeling on either side of him rang the tiny gold bells in their hands. Those who came to pray while observing the consecration of the Eucharist looked up at the priest as he raised both the cup and the bread to symbolise the unity of the Holy Spirit: the body and blood of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
At the far end of the church in the last pew is a man in a black suit, sitting with his arms folded, observing Mass without doing much as participate in it.
After the blessing of the Eucharist, the priest came down the altar with the chalice in his hand to give the body of Christ to those who already made a line in front of the altar. The man at the back felt his phone in the pocket of his jacket beep. He pulled it out to check and looked to the left side of the church where there stood large stone pillars beside the pews. There's space behind them, almost like a corridor. And there stood two confession boxes and doors that led to other parts of the massive church.
The man noticed a shadow behind one of the pillars and he took it as his cue to leave. He stood up and approached the pillars. Before disappearing behind one of them, he made sure to look to see if he had eyes on him. But the back of the church was practically empty and most of the congregation were praying after receiving the Eucharist. He didn't have anything to worry about.
He went behind the pillar and came face to face with an altar boy. The boy looked taller than the man in black anticipated. He looked to be twelve or thirteen years old, but too tall for his age, the man in black thought.
The section of room they stood in barely had any light except in the main hall where Mass is being held with the light slightly streaming its way in between the pillars.
The tall altar boy turned around and went quietly down the hall. The man in black took it that he should follow and did just that.
The boy approached the wooden confession boxes and the man raised an eyebrow, wondering where the boy could be taking him. He may have grown up in a Catholic home and attended Mass when he was younger, but he never thought he would've to go for confession today of all days.
The boy stood in front of a confession box and drew the wooden door open where the confessor entered from. He looked up at the man in black and gestured with his head that he should go in. The man looked at the boy and thought better than to ask what's going on. He had to bend his way in as the entrance was too short for his height. The boy closed the door to the box behind him and the man looked around in the dark, stuffy cabinet. He sat on the small wooden bench and leaned his back against the box's wall. He hoped that he wouldn't have to wait for too long. He isn't claustrophobic, but sitting in a cabinet for a long time might get him on edge.
Five minutes hadn't passed when he heard someone knocking on the wall of the box. The man turned around. The knocking continued. The man in return knocked back and soon enough, the wall of the box slid open, revealing a dark passage with someone standing at the entrance. The man stood up from the bench and bent over to go through to the other side. He stood upright as soon as he entered the tunnel. Right beside him stood a woman dressed in a white long, sleeved dress, wearing a gold mask. She had short, brown curly hair and bright blue eyes. The mask looked similar to those worn at masquerade parties, yet this one covered the person's face entirely. She held up a torch as they stood in the semi-darkness.
She turned towards the opening and drew the wall of the box back down by sliding it. The man stood, waiting for what's to come.
After the wall had been brought down, the woman turned to the man and took her place in front of him.
"Follow me," she said to him. She started her way down the passage and the man followed.
The walk through the dark passage took a lot longer than usual. The place smelt of dust and there were cobwebs on the ceilings and walls. The man wondered if they were still within the church premises. They soon came to a flight of stairs that lead downwards, going underground.
"May I ask where you're taking me?" the man couldn't help but ask.
The woman gave him a slight glance with a tilt of her head. "Patience," she said to him, her voice sounded calm and angel-like. "We're almost there."
It didn't take less than a minute when a wooden door appeared in front of them. When they got close, the woman knocked on it twice and it immediately flew open. She walked right through and the man found himself stepping into a room with red painted walls. A man in a white shirt dress tucked in a black trousers, stood by the door. And just like the woman, he also had a gold mask on.
The man in black continued to look around as the man in the mask closed the door behind him. There isn't much in the room, but a wooden table in the middle with a brown rectangular box on it.
The woman went over by the table, turning off the torch. She turned to look at the man in black. She gestured to the box with her hand as though presenting a precious gift box for him to open as she said:
"This is for you."
The man approached the table, his eyes on the box. He wondered whether he should open it. He looked at the woman and couldn't make her expression with her mask on, but he had a funny feeling that she's smiling at him.
"Please hurry and open the box," she said. "We don't have much time."
The man went back to looking at it and quickly stretched out his hand to lift the box's lid. White tissue paper covered the top and with his other hand, he spread it aside to reveal a black mask inside. He raised an eyebrow. He expected to see a gold mask like the ones the other two were wearing. He wondered what's going on as he turned to look at the woman behind him.
"Don't mind the mask," the woman said to him. "There's a simple explanation to it."
"And what could that be?" the man asked.
The woman didn't answer right away. "Just wear it, sir. Someone will answer that question; but it won't be me."
"Seems like you're trying to say that I'm ranked lower than you. Tell me if I'm right or not."
The woman continued to look at the man with her blue eyes that now looked tense, almost like she was about to lose her patience with him.
The man who stood at the door now spoke, "just wear the mask. It doesn't have to be a forcing matter. We don't want to keep him waiting."
The man in black scoffed at the both of them and turned back to look at the black mask in the box. He took it and looked at it for a minute before he wore it.
He heard footsteps approach him from behind and he could tell it's the woman. She had very light steps and she stood so close, almost like she's leaning on his left shoulder. He didn't know how he hadn't noticed it before, but she smelt of fresh lavender.
"Now, if you would follow me," she said and she went to the other side of the room where there stood another door. The man in black followed leaving the other man behind in the room.
As soon as they walked out, the man noticed that the passage also had red walls like the room he had just been in and the floor is covered with a beautiful red victorian carpet. He also noticed that there were no windows. Could they still be underground, he thought. In the tunnel, he felt like they were going downwards and not up.
As they continued to walk down the hall, they came across some ornaments like vases and figurines made of wood, jade and ceramic of deities from different religious backgrounds sitting upon tiny tables on either side of the passage. The last figurine he saw was of Mother Mary in ceramic, looking immaculate and divine even in a diminutive form.
They soon came across a flight of stairs that led downstairs and another that led up. The man in black thought the woman would lead him up the stairs, but she didn't.
As he followed her, he couldn't help but look up. He felt something important is up there. He just couldn't tell what.
They reached the bottom of the stairs and found two people waiting, both male, wearing similar attire as that of the man they left in the room upstairs. One wore a white mask, while the other had a gold one on.
"Welcome, brother," said the man in the gold mask to the man in black. He turned towards the woman beside him. "We'll take it from here, dear, sister. Thank you."
The woman gave him a nod and quickly turned around to head the opposite direction.
"You may follow us," the man in the gold mask addressed the man in black. "The Superior has been waiting for you."
The man in black didn't ask any questions as he followed the two men who lead the way down the hall. He took a little peak behind him to see if the woman was still visible down the other end, but she wasn't. He wondered where she could've gone to.
As they walked down the hall, the man in black noticed that the place is rather quiet. It's like no one ever moved around. Or is it there are barely any people at all? He wondered how many of them lived down here. Now that he thought about it, the place looked more like a mansion than an underground hideout.
He also noticed that as they walked down the hall, there were no doors or passages leading elsewhere. It felt almost like the way he came through the tunnel earlier.
"Can I ask where you're taking me?" the man asked.
The man in the white mask turned his head as they continued to walk. "You very well know where we're taking you," he said, "to meet the Superior."
"I know that," the man in black sounded irritated. "What I'm asking is the kind of place you're taking me to."
The man in the white mask chuckled. "You'll see soon enough."
"Be quiet, if you would," said the man in the gold mask. "We're almost there."
The man in black wondered what's the deal with the man in the gold mask. If anything, he felt more like a buzz kill.
Seconds later, huge doors coated in gold appeared in front of them. They were huge. The man in black now grew curious. Whoever ran this place, he thought, must be a billionaire.
When they got there, the man in the gold mask held out his right hand to the hand scanner on the wall beside the door. He placed his whole hand on it and the machine let out a little beep with the screen turning green.
The heavy double doors slowly drew open as the three men waited. As soon as they were wide open, the two men in the white and gold masks entered the partially dark room. The man in black stood for a second before following them. As soon as he stepped in, the doors closed behind him.
The man in black felt like he had just entered a movie theatre with a huge screen at one end of the room. There also stood a large, round conference table in the middle of the room with black office chairs around it. Tiny bright lights above illuminated the table area. The man in black couldn't help but notice one chair, different from the rest at one end of the table.
The man in the white mask approached the table and drew out one of the chairs. He turned to the man in black and gestured with his head for him to approach. The man in black did so and with the bright lights finally on him, he felt like an actor on stage. The man in the white mask stood aside as the man in black took his seat. He turned his head to check on the man in the gold mask, but the man had disappeared. He turned his head again and saw the man in the white mask walk round the table to the other side. The man in black felt a little intimidated. He didn’t like this one bit.
“Relax,” the man in the white mask said to him as he took a seat opposite him. “You don’t have to worry.”
The man in black chuckled to hide his fears, “easy for you to say. It’s my first time here. I’ve every right to be scared considering that the people who run the place aren’t ones that should be messed with.”
“It’s good you think that way, because you're right. You don't mess with the Superior.”
The man in black noticed how the man mentioned the name Superior. It’s like he regarded the person like some kind of deity. He now wanted to meet this Superior. He had heard rumours of what the man is like. Sadly, no one knows who he is. It seems no one really knows each other, considering that they’re wearing masks all the time. Or do they? He also heard rumours that the Superior is quite dangerous when he needed to be.
“When is he getting here?” the man in black asked. “I thought he was here waiting.”
“No need to ask all the questions,” the other man tilted his head towards the screen. “He’s been here the entire time.”
The man in black knew what he meant. Immediately he looked towards the screen, it finally came on. Just like every person the man in black had met so far, the man on the screen wore a gold mask, but his was different from the ones he had seen. His resembled the face of a lion. The man in black knew better than to laugh since this isn’t some Halloween costume. If anything, the mask did represent superiority. So this is the Superior, the man in black thought to himself. He didn’t expect to meet him in such circumstances, but he felt a certain kind of gratitude or is it admiration, for this man on the screen.
There's a grey background behind the Superior and the man in black noticed that he sat on a chair similar to the one at the far end of the table. He must be in some other room, but in the same building, the man in black thought.
“Superior,” said the man in the white mask, standing up while facing the screen, and giving the Superior a respectful bow. The man in black raised an eyebrow. Should he do the same or just sit this one through?
“You may sit,” the man on the screen spoke. The man did as instructed and the Superior’s eyes soon fell on the man in black. “Mr. Rondon, I’m glad you made it.”
Rondon stood for courtesy’s sake. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet the Superior of the Golden Elite.”
“The pleasure is mine, please sit,” the Superior instructed. Rondon did likewise.
“I guess you know why you’re here, Mr. Rondon,” the Superior continued. Rondon raised an eyebrow, glad that he’s wearing a mask for once. There were no pleasantries from this man. He went straight to business.
“Of course,” Rondon replied. “I’m taking that you received my letter.”
“We did. And I feel we might make good use of you for our cause. But before we could accept you into our organisation, we would like to know you better.”
This feels more like an interview, Rondon thought to himself. He didn’t say anything as he waited for the Superior to continue.
“You’ve a good reputation, Mr. Rondon. Now tell me, why would an assassin like you want to join the Golden Elite?”
Rondon felt the man in the white mask give him a stare. He didn’t turn to respond to the look as he answered, “I’ve heard a lot about the Golden Elite. In my years as an assassin, I’ve worked for so many individuals and organisations. Most of them only focused on amassing wealth and simply killing for their personal gain. As for the Golden Elite, you do what you do for the benefit of this world. I’ve killed many people in my life, and I’m tired of that. I know I can’t wash away the blood on my hands, but working for you is what I’ve been planning to do for a long time. When I finally got in touch with you, I knew this is it for me.”
The Superior didn’t say anything as he continued to stare at Rondon. The man in the white mask still stared at the assassin like anytime now he might pull out a gun. Rondon smiled as he realised that the man opposite him had grown scared.
“That’s very nice to hear,” the Superior spoke. “Do you really know what we do around here, Mr. Rondon?”
“Yes, I do.” Rondon placed his hands on the table, feeling a bit comfortable now. “Your organisation is focused on things that have been in existence from the beginning of time. Creatures that affect our world up till today. Some believe in them, most of us don’t. It’s because of these mysterious forces that bring about death and destruction; hunger and war; disorder and chaos.”
The Superior remained silent and for a second there, Rondon swore that the Superior had put up a smile. But with that lion mask he couldn't tell.
“Very impressive, Mr. Rondon,” said the Superior. “You really have heard about us.”
Rondon gave a nod and he turned his eyes towards the man in the white mask who didn’t seem impressed with what's going on. Mr. Rondon couldn’t care less.
“Why I thought you would be a good fit for us is because of your skills, Mr. Rondon," the Superior continued. "Not only are you good with handling weapons such as guns, but you're also good in physical combat."
"Indeed, I am," said Rondon. "I know very well that I'll be most useful here."
"The Golden Elite is a very powerful group and we recruit young people who also agree with our vision and are willing to take up the task. You'll help train them. But before that, there's something we need you to do."
Rondon raised an eyebrow. "And what could that be?"
"When I asked how you know about us, you also mentioned what we do. There's still a lot you've to know first before you start."
Rondon didn't say anything as he nodded. He knew dealing with the supernatural isn't going to be easy. If he is going to be helpful to the Golden Elite, he has to be knowledgeable about what he's dealing with.
"Very well," said the Superior, sounding very pleased. "We've rules here like every organisation. My comrade sitting with you will tell you all you need to know."
Rondon turned to the man across the table. This time around, he didn’t have the same intimidated look he had at first after hearing that Rondon is an assassin.
"I leave you in safe hands, Mr. Rondon," said said Superior. "If there's anything you might need, don't hesitate to ask. We want you to feel welcome."
"Oh, I already am," said Rondon, smiling under his mask.
The Superior gave a brief nod and the screen went blank. Mr. Rondon looked at the man in the white mask who soon stood up from his seat.
"Mr. Rondon, if you would."
Rondon stood and watched the man in the white mask walk towards the end of the room where there stood another set of double doors. These were different from the ones they had walked through to get into this room.
Rondon followed him and with every step he took, he felt a strange sensation. Is it relief that he has finally been accepted into the Golden Elite? Maybe. But he knew it isn't only that. The thrill of doing something different for once got to him. He knew he isn't just going to be up against people. This time, it's something much bigger than him.
The man got to the doors and before he pushed them open, he turned to look at Rondon.
"Welcome to the Golden Elite, Mr. Rondon," he said as he drew the doors open.
Rondon looked before him and his eyes bulged with excitement. So this is the Golden Elite, he thought to himself. He knew he's going to fit right in for sure, and would do all he can for the organisation to prosper.
***
Present day
"Anything from Mutale yet?" Rondon asked one of the recruits working on the laptop.
"Nothing, sir," came the voice of a young lady behind the black mask.
"For some reason, I can't get through to his com, sir," said a male recruit, who sat right next to the young lady, also in a mask with headphones over his head. "There was some sort of interference at first, but now it's just dead silence."
Rondon sucked his teeth. He knew coming to Zambia would be a problem, considering that most rural areas barely had any telecommunication towers around. But that isn't an issue with the latest technology. For some reason, they could barely communicate with Mutale. Could there be someone onto them that might be causing an interference? Not that he knew anything about it. He just wanted to know how Mutale is doing.
He turned towards the person keeping an eye on Mutale's GPS location. With the help of satellites nowadays, locating people isn't much of an issue. As long as that little red dot is still up and blinking, he didn't have to worry.
"We still have his location, sir," said the man in a white mask who is in charge of the IT department. He decided to come help out with the operation. Rondon thought he be better off at HQ, but the man is naturally persistent.
"That's good," commented Rondon. "Have you tried to get a clear visual of the ground, yet?"
The IT manager shook his head, "not yet. I don't know what's with this place. We're using a good satellite, but we can't get a view of what's going on on the ground."
Rondon cursed. In the many missions he has been on, they had never experienced such a problem. It's not like they've entered a military zone where coms can be interfered. He didn't like this. It brought up a troubled feeling that something's wrong.
He moved on away from the IT manager, heading towards the larger section of the room. There were many people up and down, with computers lit up around the place and people tapping away. There was a huge long table at the centre where there stood a few people in white masks and one in gold looking at a digital map on the table. He went past them towards a group of recruits seated and staring at their computers.
"Is there any sign of supernatural activity?" Rondon asked.
A young female recruit with her blonde hair tied in a pony tail looked up at him. "No, sir. So far, the only supernatural being in the area is our target."
Rondon gave a nod. If there's anything unusual, they would inform him right away. Right now, the only thing that mattered is Diana.
He turned around to head for the table in the middle of the room. He knew capturing Diana would be tricky, if not dangerous. The Superior gave him a warning before he left for the mission:
"Be careful with her. Don't let your guard down."
When Rondon approached the table, one of them in a gold mask turned to look at him and broke away from the others.
"I take everything's going well," said the man in the gold mask.
"So far," Rondon said, the muscles around his mouth twitching.
"I know we'll get her. Yet it so happens that the person to do the job is Mutale. Don't you think that's bold?"
Rondon's mouth continued to twitch, but he still managed to say, "why do you say so?"
The man folded his arms. "I mean, Mutale is or was very close to Diana. Won't it seem strange for her to see him here after such a long time? And in this area, for that matter."
"We already went through the plan with him. You were there. It's a simple surprise attack. She won't know what hit her."
"But what if all that fails? What if she gets to see his face? Have you considered the possibility of everything not going as planned?"
Rondon got irritated with every word the man spoke. They don’t call him a buzz kill for nothing, he thought. Now Rondon wished he never came for the mission; but just like him, he's also in charge of the recruits, specialised in gathering high classified intel and is ranked higher than Rondon in command. It's all written in the masks. Black is lower; though the masks the recruits wore were different from the ones the supervisors like Rondon wore; then comes white and the highest, gold. There's a special kind of gold that sat among the category of the Superior. Rondon is supposed to have moved a rank higher around this time, but the Superior thought otherwise; not until he's managed to capture Diana.
"I have," Rondon replied. "Mutale is smart. If things don't go as planned, he'll know how to handle it."
The man chuckled, dropping his folded arms. "I sure hope so."
"Don't worry yourself, Brian. This is my mission. Remember, you're only here to help out wherever you can."
Brian said no more as he gave Rondon a curt nod before turning to join the others looking at the map on the table. Rondon gave out a sigh. Dealing with Brian always left him on edge.
"Mr. Rondon, sir!" came a voice from one of the recruits in charge of spotting any supernatural activity. He quickly rushed over.
"What is it?" Rondon asked.
"I don't know what's happening, but somehow the target is fast approaching Mutale as we speak."
Rondon raised an eyebrow, looking at the computer screen. Diana is heading towards Mutale? How? Did she somehow sense that there's someone out to get her? It can't be. She can't have such heightened senses. And why is she roaming around? Isn't she supposed to be at her grandmother's house at this hour?
"Sir!" said the young blonde lady beside him. "You need to see this."
He quickly turned to her computer which covered a larger scale of the ground and saw something that he didn't expect to see. Supernaturals emitted a red aura that their technology could pick up and can be seen on the screen. Diana's aura was thick and red, yet, there's another on the screen far different from hers. This aura is darker and much thicker. What horrified Rondon is the size. The aura covered a larger surface area than Diana's that looked more like a tracker's dot. This meant whatever this creature is, it's more dangerous than they realise.
"My scanner tells me we're dealing with a level one," said another recruit seated on his computer and looking at the screen.
"A level one?" Rondon isn't at all surprised. Just by looking at the aura, he already knew. But what creature could it be?
He turned to look at the recruit that had called him earlier. "Ask if those in charge of communications have managed to get through to Mutale. If they've, tell them to give him the order to retreat."
The young recruit paused for a second and Rondon knew that he didn't expect such a command. But right now, it seemed to be the right thing to do. They were here to capture Diana. Running into a level one wasn't on their agenda. Until they know what creature it is, they can't go in blindly. As far as Rondon knew, they still couldn't get a visual of what's actually happening on the ground.
"Yes, sir," said the recruit who quickly stood up from his seat and rushed to give the order.
Rondon turned back to look at the screen. He noticed that the aura is much closer to Diana's and they were both moving fast heading Mutale's way. That's it, Rondon thought.
"Diana is running away from this creature," he said out loud. "And she has no idea that she's running into one of our men."
"Why can't she just take the creature on?" the female recruit asked, looking up at Rondon. "I mean, she's strong, isn't she?"
"She's strong, but I guess she knows that she can't take it on," said Brian as he came to stand beside Rondon. "When you know your opponent is stronger, the best thing you can do is think of a strategy before you take it head on."
"Looks more likes she's running like a coward," said the female recruit.
"Seems so, but she's not stupid. Sometimes running is the best thing you can do."
Rondon couldn’t agree more. Diana isn’t one to back away from a fight. How he wished he could’ve a clear visual, then they would know what they are dealing with. He now feared for Mutale and he wanted him out of there immediately. As Mutale’s trainer, he knew the young man hasn’t taken on a level one supernatural before. And whatever creature it is, now isn’t the time to be out capturing their target.
“What level one do you think we’re dealing with?” Brian asked.
“I don’t know. I just hope we connect to Mutale. He has to get out of there quickly.”
“Yes, let’s hope.”
“Sir!” came a voice behind Rondon, the recruit who had gone to deliver his command. “They've just connected with Mutale. The line is pretty fragile, but you can still speak to him. They are doing the best they can to keep the connection stable.”
The recruit held out his hand to give Rondon a black earpiece. Rondon rolled his eyes. These guys couldn't simply follow his instruction and tell Mutale themselves, he thought. He took it and placed it inside his ear. He could hear the static and he knew the line won’t hold much longer.
“Hello, Mutale?” Rondon called out.
“Sir,” came Mutale’s voice. Then a bad series of static followed afterwards until it became clear again. “-ir?”
“Mutale can you hear me? I need you to get out of there right now.”
“-at?! I can’t get what you’re-” Again the static came through. Rondon didn’t like this at all.
“Hello, Mutale, get out of there. We’re temporarily aborting the mission.”
“What about the mission?” Mutale asked. Rondon felt like cursing out loud.
“Fall back right now. You’re in danger.”
“What! I still can’t-"
Then a bad series of static followed that the sound grew high pitched, hurting Rondon in the ear. He yelled and quickly removed the earpiece which fell to the floor.
“Are you alright?” Brian asked. Rondon looked at him and he could tell from his eyes that he’s worried.
"No, I'm not," said Rondon as he straightened up, pressing onto his ear. "I'm afraid we lost Mutale."
All those around who were listening, fell silent. They all started to exchange worried looks.
"There's something unusual going on," Rondon continued to say, trying to shake off the feeling in the room. "The static on the earpiece felt like something I've never heard before." He turned to the recruit who had given him the earpiece. "Tell the IT manager to check for any radio signals in the area."
"Okay," said the recruit, quickly rushing back.
"What did you hear, Rondon?" Brian asked.
"Something unusual. I'm guessing that whatever is interfering with our communications is that level one creature."
"We've to do something soon," said the young lady. "They are closing in on Mutale, and they are doing so fast."
"It's too late now," came a woman in a white mask who stood by the long table. "There's nothing we can do but hope Mutale will be able to handle this himself."
Rondon nodded, agreeing with her. It's also too late to dispatch any of the recruits to go and help him. Not with a level one out there.
Rondon stopped pressing down on his ear and turned to see the IT manager rushing over to him alongside the recruit.
"You're not going to believe what I've for you," said the IT manager.
"What is it, Peter?" Rondon asked.
"I checked the radio frequencies around the area like you asked and an unusual one came up. It's a strong one, strong enough to even interfere with our satellites and communications."
"Great," said Brian, sounding annoyed. "And what could it be?"
"Well...," Peter hesitated for a bit. "It's the creature currently on the ground. And judging by the frequency patterns, you can sometimes tell what kind of level one it is."
The room soon fell silent wanting to hear this.
"Tell us already," said the woman in the white mask who had spoken earlier.
"It's a shadow monster," Peter quickly blurted out.
A deadly silence followed. Now everyone's terrified.
Brian shook his head. "I never expected this."
"No one did," said Peter.
Rondon couldn't help but think this through. A shadow monster in the middle of nowhere? It's not unusual, but why appear now when they were about to aquire their target? Could it be that it's after Diana too? If it is, who could be behind it? Shadow monsters may be destructive, but like animals they can be controlled. And for someone to have control over a level one shadow monster should be greatly feared. He hoped that the creature is there by chance and not by coincidence.
"What are you thinking, Rondon?" Brian asked.
"Nothing," he replied. He looked at the computer displaying the shadow monster's aura. This time it almost covered the whole screen.
"Let's pray that Mutale gets out of this alive," said the woman in the white mask as she came to stand next to Rondon, her eyes also fixed on the screen.
Rondon looked upwards, giving a silent prayer to the Lord above.
ns 15.158.61.23da2
