Bengkulu Indonesia

  Margo:

  It was a nice, calm day near the river; what a wonderful day for fishing. I came outside in a torn red shirt and blue jeans with holes in them, a lot of my bronze skin on display, which made me a little uncomfortable, but that's how things go with work clothes... sigh. Before you get it in your head, I'm not poor. At least not by the standards of my village. But why would I wear my best batik shirt and trousers to yank eels out of the mudd? I have to chuckle at how many American tourists offer me or my friends money, thinking we're beggars- it's hilarious. What do you expect us to look like? I wonder how Americans must dress for their jobs.

  I jogged onto the docks and scanned the area, noting the mud, reeds, and overhanging palm trees. My fellow fishermen were out with rods and nets of their own. Some were after eels like me; others were trying to get more typical fish, like catfish- you know, fishy fish- fish that look like fish. I've already preferred eels because... well because they're big! It feels like I'm fighting a monster when I pull one of the creatures in. Especially back when I was a child helping my father, marmoratas seemed almost supernatural when he would drag one of the enormous worm-like creatures out of the water. They looked so vicious.

  Yes, over time, I realized marmoratas aren't aggressive; they only squirm because nothing actively wants to be eaten. Some of the thrill of eel fishing has died over time as I've grown up, and now, in my twenties, there is a disappointment in how easy my job has become. Even the largest of eels, in the season when I can bring them in, are just scared creatures wanting to get away.

  I pulled up my net, a nice big anguillid marmorata squirming away as I pulled her out of the water. Her struggles almost knocked me off my feet. She was a beast, possibly a full six feet in length! Before she could wriggle away from me and back into her watery abode, I slipped a spear from its sheath and sank it into her head, ending her life.

  Yes, yes indeed. I could nail a struggling eel in the head with a spear. That's no mean feat, and it took practice. Practice that I seriously did not need to commit to, not one bit- but why not? As I said, some of the thrill of my job had gone when I hit twenty, so for five years after that, I started practicing more spectacular and challenging ways of killing my quarry. Don't worry; I don't let the animals suffer; I just try to get into what I'm doing more. The eel likely feels a sharp sting and then meets the Maker. Meanwhile, I have bragging rights.

  I say "the Maker" so as not to confuse myself. I cannot say "his maker" as that would imply there is more than one Maker, but there is only one. I would say he would meet Allah, but... I don't know... that seems sacrilege.

  I laid her on the ground and pulled out my trusty utility knife to skin the animal. I pulled out my spear, jammed it into the dirt nearby, and started to set to work.

  I put a knife to the creature's skin, and suddenly, the dead eel jumped, its head shooting up toward my face. I jumped back, tripping on the creature's slippery hide and falling, just seeing my planted spear as I fell.

  I tried to say one last prayer to Allah before my death as something slammed into my side, and I was spontaneously pushed out of the way of the spear.

  I rolled on the ground and slowly got up. "What... what is happening?" I stood tall and looked around, watching up and down the dock as several fellow fishermen started jumping out of the water. A marmorata suddenly grabbed a small boy from his father's arms and pulled him under.

  The fishermen began to run and yell for help. The boy's father stood on the shore, grabbing his head and screaming, looking scared and heartbroken, beating his head like he was demanding to figure out a solution before his child was killed.

  As the man reached down for his spear—probably out of desperate hope—a furry wolf-like creature with short legs shot by his legs. The dog leaped into the water and went under, straight towards the struggling child and the eel.

  The father stood over the water, spear in hand, trying to see into the water, seeming desperate to think of what to do. He suddenly started stepping back as he stood there, looking for what exactly he should aim at. "What... what?" he yelled as the water around him became a scene from a horror movie.

  The dog swam in and bit the eel. As blood spread out, the dog started to bloat in the water and finally exploded, creating a strange growing orange tide. Even the dog's face bloated and dissolved into the water in a disturbing display.

  More and more blood spread out along with the orange substance. The father dropped to his knees, and the other fishermen, including myself, started backing away from the terrifying phenomenon. However, as we watched, the young boy who had been taken under was suddenly tossed out, body-checking his father, sending the two people sprawling onto the shore.

  The father quickly got up and crouched over his son, who started coughing and crying. The father picked up his son and started crying in relief and joy.

  I looked back to where the boy had been pulled in. The orange tide had disappeared, and the orange dog emerged from the water again. The dog barked a few times and wagged its tail, but the father hid his son from the animal and eventually ran off back into the shelter of our small fishing village. The dog cocked its head as he ran off, as if confused.

  A part of me... I guess I kinda felt for the animal. I wasn't sure exactly how, but it had saved the man's son, near as I could tell, so why did he act with prejudice towards it?

  Then again, the animal started to head toward me, and now, remembering what happened when it jumped in the water made me nervous just as quickly. The dog barked twice, then shot forward, approaching me like a shot. I lept to the side and took cover as the animal- ran straight by me, snarling and barking.

  I watched the dog dive into several bushes along the river shore. Suddenly, I heard a cry like that of a baby and... something else. It was like the baby had a digitized quality to its voice... It was a wrong sound. I got up, backed up from the bush, and watched as something was tossed out of the reeds and bushes and rolled onto the river bank. The creature got up and- it was a disgusting sight. A pitch-black baby, darker than any human baby I had ever seen. It was about a foot and a half tall with spindly fingers and was abnormally thin with glowing red eyes. Again, it made a sound like that of an infant, but again, it came out as though through a digitized filter.

  The small orange stub-legged dog shot out of the bushes like a bullet, again barking and snarling. The strange baby raised its hand, and the dog, inches from chowing down on the black... thing... suddenly started to float in the air. The baby grinned as the dog was lifted in the air. The baby waved its right hand, and the dog was tossed through the air, crashing into a nearby palm tree.

  The area was emptying of people; perhaps that was evidence that I was not the sharpest. But I didn't join everyone, and I stayed behind. I can't help it; my curiosity regularly overrules my other emotions. Hearing a more human scream, I realized I wasn't the only person without a healthy fear.

  "Doggie!" A little girl from further down the docks ran across the moss and mud to the dog. The dog was staggering to its feet- after being slammed into a palm tree at speed just under that of a cannonball and dropping fifteen feet... but it's not like I was under the illusion that I was still looking at a mere dog.

  The girl looked like she was maybe six or seven. She scrambled over to the small dog. She gently tried to pet it and helped steady the creature. As she was gentle with the animal and even hugged it... I wasn't sure how to feel.

  I'm a Muslim, and... we're not fond of dogs. Please don't get me wrong, dogs are God's creatures as much as any other, but we're taught that they're unclean. I suppose they can be "cute," but... well, to us, hugging a dog is like hugging a pig.

  Not that that was my biggest concern at the moment. This particular dog had saved a small child's life, and the girl WAS a small child, and this area seemed dangerous, so... well, like I already said, my fear was underdeveloped. I ran towards the girl and the dog.

  As I moved, the little black baby thing waved his arms with a grin. Before I could get to her, the little girl sidestepped and- a small broken tree shoot was jammed through her foot. The girl screamed in pain.

  The dog ran around her and stood between her and the dog, the animal's fur rising as she cried and struggled.

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  I scrambled over to the girl and held her, gently trying to pry her foot off the shoot as the creepy baby walked towards the three of us. Yes, I included the dog in us. It was not an ally I preferred, but I knew an ally when I saw one. I was thankful to the creature for its bravery.

  The baby's steps were strange and jittery as if it would shoot a foot forward and then drag the rear foot forward. It grinned even as I rose with the sobbing child, holding her tight, half covering her body with mine to protect her.

  The baby spread its arms and shrieked, a slight rumble coming off its form and a yellow glow coming off its body. I finally realized that I was looking at—a Tuyul! A mischievous spirit creature, they were legendary, magical, and technically neutral, but they could be troublemakers. Supposedly, they didn't exist, but well... apparently, that last part was wrong.

  The dog kept barking and snarling until the Tuyul gave off that "vibe check," as you might have called it. The dog lowered its head. I thought it might be bowing out, but it threw its head up and howled.

  The earth shook, the trees swayed, and I looked over my shoulder, watching a two-foot ripple travel into the river.

  The Tuyul stomped its foot, forming a crack in the earth, and then it swung its hand, the dog suddenly seeming to be forced into a roll.

  The Tuyul then grinned at me again. I suddenly saw a yellow baby form in my mind's eyes. I thought it was trying to invade my mind. I closed my eyes and stepped back a few times in the real world. The baby started to give a digitized laugh until- it gasped. I closed my eyes again and-

  In my mind's eye, something else appeared. Whatever that something else was, I only have one word for it—massive. My mind's eye did not see another creature; no, it saw the inside of the eye of another beast looking back at the baby's invading form. My mind's eye looked around, seeing a vast orange mass around it. The mass was so massive I couldn't even comprehend what it was as a whole.

  I shook my head and opened my eyes in the real world again, looking towards the orange dog... what was he?

  Suddenly, the dog morphed, growing in size. It continued to bark, its barks growing louder and more profound in pitch as the animal increased from a foot and a half in height to a terrifying six feet tall while still on all fours. The dog stamped the ground and gave one last powerful bark, and hundreds of tentacles erupted out of its form.

  The Tuyul raised both hands, and the dog floated up again, but I saw a struggle on its face this time.

  The girl in my arms hid her face as our champion, it would seem, started to morph more and more into something horrifying. Those tentacles continued to shoot out, some large, others small, and some even having mouths.

  The Tuyul started to give off a scream that, no matter how digitized it was, was still understandable as one of panic. Whatever the Tuyul was fighting was bigger than it- much bigger. I started to see a yellow field of energy building around the dog as more tentacles grew. Then, I started pushing on the field and moving in all directions. That yellow field must have been some kind of psychic magic. Watching the eyes of the baby creature start to bulge, and his screams start to get louder, watching him back up, I was quickly getting the feeling that whatever the Tuyul was doing was NOT working.

  Finally, I watched as a single tentacle fired from the dog's tail and into the ground. That was strange—why shoot it into the ground? Then, behind the Tuyul, a single small tentacle emerged, and in a blink, it formed another four-foot-tall dog.

  Its hands still up, casting its magic on the first dog, the Tuyul turned around.

  The Tuyul's eyes widened as the new dog opened its jaws wide and snapped them shut in a blink.

  The girl hid her face again as the second dog slammed its jaws shut on the small supernatural creature, lifted it off the ground, and started shaking it side to side viciously, black blood firing out in all directions.

  The yellow field disappeared, and the first dog dropped the Tuyul to the ground and ran towards its newly formed companion.

  Then the Tuyul was slammed on the ground so hard I swore I saw a crack beneath it—it was slammed hard enough to move a massive amount of mud and muck away, so it lay on solid earth. Then both dogs grabbed the Tuyul again, one holding its arm and the other grabbing its leg, as the creature screamed in terror.

  The girl kept hiding her face, and finally, I looked away. The Tuyul was evil, and perhaps what was about to happen was the judgment of the Almighty, but a part of me still felt those screams in my heart.

  I waited for the sickening tearing and cracking but heard a voice instead. "Release it,"

  I looked up, the little girl still clutching around my shoulders and trembling, hiding her face.

  There, between the two vicious dogs, was a metal pole. My eyes traveled up the pole to see it being held by an Arabic man dressed head to toe in green, complete with a dark green hat that looked nearly black. My eyes only noted all the green articles before they were drawn to a straight sword on his side, which— well, maybe I should have been rolling with it all at this point, but that'll get your attention.

  The Tuyul slowly got up and looked up at the man, even as the giant dogs stayed on either side of it. "You... you are a host... a host to... a great one?" On the term "great one," one of the dogs had his fur go up, and he showed his teeth.

  "Let's dispense with certain titles," the man said. "You crossed all kinds of lines today. I could let my beast finish you off."

  "Who are you to tell me what I am to be about, though?" asked the small demonic creature.

  "For now?" the man asked back with a cocky grin. "I'm the one with the big nasty dog creatures. That gives me all kinds of authority, at least in the moment."

  "True enough." The black creature sighed. "What do you want?"

  "Well, first, at least give me your word. I won't find you acting like this again..."

  The baby-like creature folded its arms. "Oh, sure. From now on, I'll be watching orphans and widows and showering them with blessings."

  "That better not be sarcasm..." the man said, one of the dogs suddenly giving off a deep and long growl.

  "I mean... um..." The black creature started backing away from the growling dog. "Well, I can get power from good deeds too- maybe more power... who knows... no... no time like the present to find out, right?"

  At this point, I knew none of this was my affair, but I found myself transfixed, watching what I could only figure out was some kind of supernatural confrontation with the authorities. Was the man in green some sort of angel? I didn't think angles would present themselves as dog-wielding, eccentric armed men. Well, I mean, it's not like I would have known what I was expecting.

  "I suppose I'll be off to get to that..." The Tuyul started to back away from the man in green and his creatures.

  "Stop," the man said. The dark creature did not want to press its luck, so it stopped. "I know the stories. Your kind doesn't just show up, and throwing around that kind of power isn't normal either. I got summoned here to track down a Genderuwo. But that's not enough aura for you to feed on and get THIS powerful."

  The darker creature chuckled. "Hehehehe- look, dude, I'm just gonna get scarce if you don't mind. Don't ask me to take sides in what's coming, alright? I won't be able to do much."

  "But you do know what's going on then, don't you?"

  "Look, buddy, this isn't something you want to mess with- even if you have a big spirit on your side."

  "I'll decide that."

  The Tuyul sighed. "Fine... look, you know that girl who went missing last week? Samiah? She didn't just go missing. She was sacrificed to summon well- a palasik."

  "What kind of idiot would summon one of those?" the man asked.

  "Idiot is the word, but I don't know the details. But with the kind of aura vibes I've been absorbing- buddy, I don't think the shaman is calling the shots anymore. I wouldn't be looking to set up camp anywhere around here- this town will be ground zero for a ghost town- at least that's my bet. My kind feeds off the aura until things get out of hand."

  "You just said you would be a good little boy from now on..."

  "Tuyuls, like me, generally don't have an allegiance; we go whichever way the wind blows. You smash a palasik- somehow- I guess the Tuyuls will get in line. If you get swatted like the bug, I'm betting you are- well, we'll be running out of here soon enough anyway. Either way, we're not your problem... Can I go now? You're weird dog creature is freaking me out..."

  "Ra doesn't like you..."

  Just an... interesting note: that dog who had been growling, I didn't note when its growl stopped because it didn't. That whole conversation was backdropped by one deep and long growl. I was rooted in place by curiosity and fascination, but I wasn't gonna call attention to myself.

  However, the baby thing started to run. "The feeling is mutual!" It said as it went.

  The dogs made no more efforts to chase the creature. One of them disappeared, and what I supposed was the first dog sat down and started panting, just watching the Tuyul run away.

  The Tuyul then paused. "Before I pop smoke, I just wanna know, that dog creature- I'm not getting much of an aura from him, but he's no pushover. What is he exactly?"

  "He doesn't like letting his aura out. It would cause all kinds of havoc if he did." the man said, resting his head on his staff. "I'm letting you go as a... gift, by the way."

  "And I shall remain thankful- all the same, what DOES the aura of your creature feel or look like- if he were to let it out?"

  Suddenly, the man in green's eyes flicked to me. "We have an audience, it seems. Would you also like to see my friend in all his glory?" he asked.

  I held the girl tightly, but... what could it hurt? What even is an aura anyway? Vibes are just these hooky old energy fields that supposedly come off spirits... but apparently, some of those spirits are real.

  I stood up straight, still holding the girl. I wasn't sure I could protect her if things got out of control again, but that was neither here nor there. "Alright. Show us whatever it is, this aura."

  The man in green smirked. "Only for an instant- everyone else will think this was a mirage. Look into the eyes of my... dog; only then will your eyes be able to interpret what they're seeing as anything but a series of strange clouds and shimmers."

  As the Americans say, in for a penny, in for a dollar.

  I looked up from the dog and- gold.

  Well, maybe not gold; it was more like radiant orange surrounding me. I was suddenly transported away from the docks and found myself in a massive room. I looked up, and the ceiling was as high as the sky. I looked around, and the walls were as far from me as the horizon on either side. All around, orange pillars went up, holding up that massive ceiling. I looked forward again to where the dog stood, and there was a throne. The throne must have been hundreds of feet tall with a massive orange orb over it, glowing like an enormous star.

  I looked beside me and saw the Tuyul. "It's... it's... godkind..." The dark creature was trembling.

  I blinked, and the throne room was gone.

  Beside me, the Tuyul fell on its face. Then, a voice seemed to emanate from the dog. "Don't." The Tuyul got back up.

  "I... I don't understand. When someone as massive as you shows up, they demand worship.... I... I..."

  "Just run," said the voice.

  The Tuyul ran down the docks, its little legs still moving in that strange unnatural step drag form, but now at a comically fast speed.

  I wasn't laughing.

  The man in green focused his eyes on me. "You're not running too, eh? You sure you won't regret that decision?"