Sunday 28 April 2013

Jacob's Ladder

A Light Mist shrouded the two soldiers at the quiet sentry point. A cold breeze whispered past the trees branches waved like giant hairy fingers in the dark of the night. The stars glimmered with the shine of a meat cleaver against the black sky. The night was still, almost unmoving, uneventful. If that was true, the two soldiers would be smiling, laughing if they were in good mood. But, no one does that on sentry night. 'Did you see it?' Salim almost gulped down his words. He gripped his truncheon stick so tightly that the stick almost creaked in protest. Sweat streamed down from under his oversized helmet. he was spindly, had a small head and a small body, and even smaller guts. 'See what?' Cheong whispered. One of the few giants in this batch of recruits in the ITD (Infantry Training Depot), he towered over Salim by more than two heads. Needless to say, he was solidly built and had biceps larger than his small backside. 'If you see nothing, why are you whispering?' Salim glared at Cheong, his eyes narrowed in an effort to see his buddy better in the dark. 'Because you're whispering, lah,' Cheong whispered nonchalantly. 'That's because I saw something.' Salim broke his glare and ran a piece of tissue paper over his forehead. 'Oh, the sickening sweat.' 'What did you see?' 'I don't know. It's not very clear.' 'Then pretend you saw nothing lah.' Cheong pulled Salim towards him. 'Relax, buddy.' 'But, it's our duty to check.' 'Please lah, Salim, don't siow on (take things so seriously), can?' 'But...' 'Sit back and relax lah. Sentry id for you to relax. Talk rooster and sing Karaoke, man.' Salim let loose a string of malay expletives. 'It's talk cock and sing song, blur king Cheong.'

Cheong laughed softly. 'The world is progressing. This must progress too. Be civilized lah.' 'You, eh, really bodoh (stupid), you know.' Salim stabbed a finger at Cheong's helmet. 'Certain things don't progress. Army tradition. 'You see anything?' Cheong asked suddenly. His voice was barely audible. The colours drained from Salim's face. There seemed to be some movement under the trees near the SOC (Standard Obstacles Course). 'I... I think so.' 'I think they're headed in this direction. Stand behind me, 'll challenge them.' 'You... you dare to challenge ghosts?' 'No, I eat ghosts. Of course I challenge ghosts. You understand, as in friend or foe ghosts, lah.' Salim landed a heavy punch on Cheong's bicep and swore. 'You're sick. Don't joke now. I'm in no mood...' 'Shh...' Two shadows were fast approaching. under the pale moonlight and in the heavy mist, they seemed to glide gracefully towards them. Smoke wafted from their bodies as if they had just emerged from a burning hell. Salim squinted his eyes. Their heads seemed big, bald and hard. he had always heard about ghosts in Pulau Tekong, but he didn't expect to see any. No, not tonight, not on Thursday night when no night training is allowed. The school rule was stipulated because the spirits of Tekong roam the land and hunt for preys on Thursday. To find someone to steal a life from.

'Cheong, I'm scared.' Salim stayed behind the weightlifter. 'Relax.' Cheong brandished his truncheon stick, breathed in deeply and bellowed, 'Halt! Friend or foe?' 'G... h... o... s... t... s.' The voices quivered, rising and falling in an eerie minor scale. Two helmeted heads suddenly appeared and floated out from within the mist. Their faces emitted a pale green light. They looked like dead soldiers: probably recruits who had died during their training here. Every year there were stories about recruits dying in Pulau Tekong. Some died after a strenuous run, some committed suicide, and some simply vanished or lost their lives. many know the reason why, but simply keep it to themselves. Salim felt his tongue stiffening like a corpse undergoing rigor mortis. His grip on Cheong's arm tightened and his fingers instinctively dug into Cheong's flesh. The giant shuddered, if not for the pain, it would be for the two ghostly heads. The two heads floated towards them. Now, they were so close Salim could see the anguished look on their faces; both had a cigarette sticking out of their twisted mouths and had for their eyes only the whites without the pupils. The two heads moved unsteadily as if losing their balance. Then, they collided. 'What the fish! Yeo, you can't balance, is it?' 'Ong, how to balance without looking?'

The two men emerged from the mist and grinned at Cheong and Salim. 'You guys are sick!' said Salim, his blood almost boiling. 'Guard duty is to be taken seriously.' 'Don't siow on lah!' The duo said in unison. Yeo wore a pair of black framed spectacles and would have fooled anyone into believing that he was a goody two shoes until one sees his cheeky face. Ong, on the other hand, was born with a serious face: but, when it comes to joking, his dirty jokes always bring the whole house down. 'You two should go fly spider, man,' said Cheong as he gestured the rest to sit down. 'Blur king Cheong! It's if... spider and fly kite,' said Salim, still insistent on using the proper army terms. 'Anything lah.' Cheong dismissed it with a wave of his hand. 'Another boring night, right?' asked Yeo. 'Want to be entertained?' Ong asked eagerly. Lust shone on his eyes. Worries creased Salim's faced. 'Ong, you sure the DO (duty officer) won't charge you two for wandering from your sentry point?' 'Don't worry about Chee Keong. We're like brothers, okay. If he charges me, I'll make him pay the five thousand bucks he owes me. So, sit back, relax and be entertained.' Within minutes, Ong made the group laughed till their sides and jaws ache.

'And then, there was this man who went to this nunnery at night. You know, nuns always have funny habits. Never seen man before what. They have this weird habit of bathing at night as a group... and then, this man, he blur like sotong (squid), wandered into the bathing pool area to bath before the nuns did and... so, he had no place to hide... he acted like a statue and the nuns just...' 'Stop! Stop!' Cheong laughed harder than ever. 'I can't tahan (tolerate) anymore.' 'Me... me too.' Salim rocked from the side to side in laughter. 'Ong, you, damn funny.' 'I know.' Ong wasn't modest about it. Minutes passed as the foursome caught their breaths. Above them, the dark clouds scudded by, stopping to cover the moon. A blanket of darkness moved in to smother the island of Pulau Tekong. Camp 1, where the foursome were seated, became extraordinarily quiet. Three in the morning wasn't a time to make too much noise. Not when the spirits were roaming the land. No one would want their attention, anyway. 'You guys want some ghost stories?' asked Yeo as he adjusted his spectacles. Each of them could feel a tingling sensation creeping up their backs. The silence and the darkness made the atmosphere eerie. Coupled with the cold breeze, the time and place were perfect for something supernatural to come forth. 'You're sick,' said Salim. 'Why frighten ourselves?' 'Come on, buddy Salim,' said Cheong, 'there's no such things as ghosts lah.'


'Oh yes, there are,' said Ong in an ominous sounding tone. 'They're now around us. Listening.' Yep rapped his knuckles on his helmet on the floor. 'They like to hear us talk about them. Just like we like to hear others gossip about other people. They're clever creatures.' 'They were like us once,' Ong chipped in. 'When they die, they travel in their own dimension. From where they are, they can see us. But, we can't see them, unless they let us. Some people with yin yang eyes can see them. And I can see them.' The group held their breaths. 'Don't bull,' said Salim, taking in a deep breath to boost his courage. 'It's true.' Ong looked serious. 'I don't lie about this. I'm one of the few born with this ability.' 'I can prove that,' said Yeo. 'Just now, he saw a lady combing her hair at the top of the Jcaob's ladder.' Salim's eyes froze, looking at Yeo. Cheong grinned. The word 'ghost' didn't exist in his dictionary. He didn't even know what it meant anyway. 'We were strolling at that path,' Yeo pointed into the distance,' and the mist was rather thick there. Then, there was this wind and the branches were waving as if beckoning to us. Then, we heard dogs barking damn hard. All of us know dogs can see things that we can't. And they were barking their heads off at the Jacob's ladder.' 


'And,' Ong continued for Yeo, 'I saw her. We were quite a distance away actually. But, I could see a shadow, a very faint one at the top of the Jacob's ladder. One hand seemed to be straightening her long hair, and the other was busy moving up and down as if combing the hair.' 'Then, the three dogs stopped barking. Suddenly, she was gone.' Yeo looked at the rest. 'I don't know about you guys, but I do believe in ghosts. Ong just proved it to me.' Cheong laughed. 'Come on lah, all these are bullshit.' 'No,' Yeo pursed his lips. 'The atmosphere was real ghostly. The wind, the mist, the dogs barking. All these are associated with their appearances.' Salim remained quiet. Ong looked at him intently. Salim tiled his head to his right. 'What are you looking at?' 'Shh...' Yeo looked worried. 'Ong?' Ong nodded. There was a tinge of fright in his voice. 'Yeo, let's go. We've work to do.' Salim shot a questioning glance at Cheong, and Cheong shrugged his shoulders in reply. 'Take care,' Yeo said as he hurried after Ong. 'Be careful.' 'What was that all about?' Salim asked Cheong as he stood up. 'You ask me, I ask who?' Cheong was now standing beside Salim.


'Ask me.' The duo turned around to see who it was. There was no one there. 'Cheong?' fear ate into Salim's mind. 'G... ghost.' 'Down here, stupid!' The duo looked down and saw the duty officer, Chee Keong, squatting at their feet. 'Good evening, Sir!' The duo stood at attention. The officer stood up and shone his torch at the two recruits. 'It's morning, soldier.' 'Good morning, Sir!' 'Gentlemen, are you trying to be funny? You do sentry by sitting down, is it?' 'No, Sir!' 'How come I saw you two sitting down just now?' 'Because Yeo and Ong came over to chat, Sir,' said Salim. 'So you do sentry talk cock and sing song one, is it?' 'No, Sir!' 'Then, how do you do sentry?' 'Standing up and remaining alert, Sir!' Cheong bellowed. 'Standing up and remaining alert?' 'Yes, Sir!'


'Then, how come you two don't even know when I'm behind you?' Silence. 'You two better give me a f...ing good reason, understand?' 'Yes, Sir' 'So? Start explaining.' Silence. Chee Keong's penetrating eyes burnt into Salim's fright filled ones. The officer had bushy eyebrows and a rather prominent mole at a corner of his mouth. he was a head shorter than Cheong, but was still a giant to Salim nonetheless. 'Never mind. Knock it doen twenty first.' 'Down! One! Two!... Nineteen! Twenty! Permission to recover, Sir!' 'Tell me why you two are not alert. Do you know that if I'm the enemy, you'll both be dead?' 'Yes, Sir!' 'A soldier must always be alert at all times, you understand?' 'Yes, Sir!' 'Bloody hell! You don't always 'yes, Sir!' this and that, and don't listen.' He paused. Salim sneaked a glance at the officer, and found his eyes burning into his.


'What are you looking at, Salim?' 'Nothing, Sir!' 'Not happy with me, is it?' 'No, Sir!' 'Bloody hell! You recruits are damn lucky, you know. Last time, I look at my officer like that, I've to sign three axtras.' 'Yes, Sir!' 'Recover!' 'Thank you, Sir!' The officer circled the two recruits. 'Tell me, gentlemen, how you want to be punished.' Silence. 'You don't think you deserved to be punished, is it?' 'No, Sir!' 'So, you know that you're wrong, right?' 'Yes, Sir!' 'very good. I like responsible soldiers.' Chee Keong paced up and down, thinking. 'I'm going to punish you two according to your weaknesses. You two better tell me the truth. Who lie to me will be charged. Understand?' 'Yes, Sir!' 'Good. Salim, tell me your buddy Cheong's weakness.'


'I... I don't really know, Sir.' 'What do you mean you don't know? You're supposed to know everything about your buddy. You're not going to fight a war together with a stranger.' The officer paused. 'Drop twenty.' Salim did twenty push ups. 'Permission to recover, Sir!' 'Recover!' 'Thank you, Sir! Cheong's weakness is not believing in ghosts.' The officer nodded. 'Cheong, what's Salim's weakness?' 'He's very afraid of ghosts, Sir!' The officer sniggered. 'Salim, you seedless, is it?' 'No, Sir!' 'Very good. You heard about the Jacob's ladder lady?' 'Yes, Sir!' 'She's a nice ghost. I want you to spend the night guarding the Jacob's ladder.' Salim's face turned pale. 'But, Sir...' 'You dare to defy my orders?' 'No, Sir! Yeo and Ong, they also...' 'I didn't see them doing anything wrong. Twenty, Salim.' Chee Keong gave Salim the inverted 'V' sign. Salim did twenty push ups ans stood up after Chee Keong permitted him to do so.


'Double to the Jacob's ladder now! Move!' Salim ran as fast as he could towards the SOC, his torch bobbing up and down. The Jacob's ladder was about two hundred meters away. Visibility was low due to the heavy mist and the moon wasn't in a position to make things any brighter. Salim swore. 'F...! Yeo and Ong get nothing! Cheong gets don't know what! And I get to guard the Jacob's ladder and keep the...' Salim slowed down. Keeping the lady ghost company at this unearthly hour wasn't really his cup of tea. From behind him came his officer's shout. 'Run! I'll spot check later!' Another string of expletives polluted the air, but Salim picked up speed nonetheless. He reached the jacob's ladder two minutes later. From where he was, he couldn't see his officer and Cheong. The mist was real thick here. And the lone wild dog there was getting a little too inquisitive for his comfort. The canine brute sniffed the air and walked towards Salim. He shone his torch at it and the animal flinched. 'Back off, you bitch. Stay away from me.' Salim waved his truncheon stick maliciously at the dog. He felta surge of courage charging into his mind. 'Come any closer, I'll whack the brain juice out of your skull!' The dog regarded Salim with its mournful eyes. Tears were evident in its eyes, and it had a forlon look on its face as if it had lost her puppies.


'Stay away from me.' Salim climbed up the Jacob's ladder backwards. His bottom landed on a rung of log as his feet gave the bottom rung a push. The dog followed, climbing up the rungs one by one. When Salim reached the top rung, a chill ran down his spine and a tingle crept, up at the nape of his neck. As if synchronized with Salim's fear, the wind began to howl and the trees branches went into a frenzied dance. Dead leaves flew up from the ground like spirits breaking free from hell. The mist swirled and the surrounding turned into a vision of surrealistic images. From his left eye's peripheral vision, Salim saw a form materializing. It was a coruscating nuance of black, shimmering at the edge and solidifying in the centre. Slowly, the mass of black took form. A hand appeared first. It was pale like a dead pig's skin. A long white dress, typical of a ghost's, emerged from within the black and flapped softly in the wind. Salim froze, his breath caught in his throat and his torch dropped onto the ground. He couldn't take his eyes away from the thing. Neither could he ran away from it. He was nailed onto the Jacob's ladder like a sacrificial object. The thing really took its time to show itself. long black tresses appeared, followed by a hand which held a wooden comb. The face slowly emerged from the black like a corpse floating to the water surface. She turned to look at Salim. In spite of the surrounding gloom, he could see her quite clearly.


Her smile was so captivating that Salim smiled back in spite of the fear nibbling at the edge of his mind. She had very fine features - small mouth, small nose and a pair of mesmerizing eyes. Her porcelain white complexion accentuated her high cheekbones and provided a beautiful contrast against her jet black tresses. 'Hello,' she said. 'Hah... hah... loh.' Salim placed his hand on his crotch. He was so scared that the urine in his bladder was going to burst forth. 'Don't be scared.' She ran her comb through her hair once. 'I'm a good ghost.' Salim looked at the advancing dog and then at the lady. 'Go, Jess!' The lady waved a hand at the dog. It whimpered, turned and ran off into the distance. 'Sometimes, these rude dogs have to be taught a lesson.' Salim nodded as if he had a robot like neck that needed oiling. His body was so tensed that he panted from the exertion. 'Relax, Salim. Ree-lax... ree-lax...' Salim could feel the words penetrating his brain and triggering some calming chemical reaction. Strangely, his muscles relaxed and he suddenly felt comfortable in the lady's presence. 'Feel better?'


'Yeah.' Salim looked at the lady intently. 'You're very beautiful.' The lady smiled. 'Good ghosts usually look beautiful.' 'You mean not all ghosts are bad?' She covered her mouth with a hand and sniggered. 'People are always so ignorant. Ghosts are just people who died and has not left this world yet. There are good and bad people, why can't there be good and bad ghosts?' 'True.' Salim nodded in agreement. 'But, how can we tell the good and bad ghosts apart?' 'Like I said, good ghosts are usually beautiful. Because of the goodness in them, they take on beautiful forms. Bad ghosts, on the other hand look horrible. Some have long sharp teeth, others have worms growing on their faces, and yet others simply don't look like a ghost.' 'Have you seen any bad ghosts?' 'Yes. They are always around, waiting and searching for an opportunity to steal someone's life. Infact, there's one sitting beside you. She signaled to me to let her have you. I refused her.' Salim looked to his right and saw nothing. 'But, there's...' 'You can't see unless we let you to.' 'And you refused her...' 'Oh that. It's ghost ethics. No ghost is to infringe on the earthly connections of another.'


'Earthly connections?' 'It's a very broad term. It means anything that comes from your world and is preempted by us on a first come first serve basis.' Salim nodded his head even though he didn't understand what she had just said. He shot another glance to his right, and of all the rotten luck in the world, his wasn't particularly good. The bad ghost had decided to show itself, and perhaps fish for some compliments from Salim. 'Hello, handsome.' The she ghost put on her most endearing smile a twisted mouth of misshapened teeth gleaming like little knives. A piece of rotting flesh slid slowly from her temple down to her chin, and dangled like a hangman's bloddy rope. From within her eye sockets, white light flickered. 'Aren't I beautiful?' Scorching vomit surged up Salim's throat and would have sprayed onto the ghost, had Salim not bit his lips. 'Y... yes.' 'Don't you desire me?' The words slurred sexily. Salim would have let loose a string of expletives if the ghost wasn't sitting so close to him. Of all the cursed luck, his must have been run over by the coffin of a car smashed drunkard. 'Yes', the ghost would take him; 'no', the ghost would strangle him. Either way, his life would be drained from him. 'I... I...' Salim turned his head slowly to look at the good ghost. 'Well, handsome?' Impatience was evident in the voice. Even a tinge of threat was coming through.


Needless to say, misfortune usually comes in bulk. For the third time, of all the damned luck in the world, his must have been run over by the coffins of ten car smashed drunkards, with a few dead black cats thrown in for a good bargain. The good ghost was nowhere to be seen! 'Smooth skin.' Salim shuddered as the ghost run her long and sharp fingernails over his face. 'You use Oil of Ulan?' Salim closed his eyes and concentrated on slowing down his heartbeat. God, his heart was beating too fast. There was a shortness of breath. Sweat gathered on his body as much as fear clouded his brain. In his mind's eye, he saw death staring starkly at him. A myriad of colours spun with cyclonic force. Furious red and freezing blue, ragged bolts of blinding yellow and icicles of penetrating black. 'Allah,' Salim muttered. 'Don't act, Salim. You're not a religious man.' He could feel her cold breath on his neck. 'Now that Ling isn't here, you're all mine. Look at me.' Salim held his eyelids shut even tighter. If he looks at that foul creature again, he would die of shattered guts. 'Look at me, look at me now...' The voice dulled Salim's senses. Sound waves of uneven tones and pitch entered his ears and assaulted his brain. Somehow, the cell responded in defiance of Salim's wishes, like glasses shattering due to resonance. His eyes twitched. He could feel the eyelids lifting up and he wasn't even willing it!


'Look at me... look at me.... you desire me.' The voice changed. 'Ling.' Salim looked at the mesmerizing eyes and felt his manhood asserting control over him. 'You're beautiful.' 'Take me.' Ling pulled him over. Coldness merged with Salim's body warmth, and desire reared like a sex starved maniac. 'Feel me.' Salim could feel Ling's hand holding his tenderly. Slowly, she moved his hand to her cheek; then, downwards, to her neck, and further down to her breasts. 'You like?' Salim nodded and grinned like a drunk monkey. 'Then, you'll like my hair.' Salim felt his fingers going through Ling's tresses. 'Smooth?' He nodded. 'Good. Pull them and feel... hmm... good. Pull harder... harder still... PULL!' Salim felt their tearing from Ling's skull, making sound of an rusty zip. He stared at the bunch of torn hair - no, snakes, snakes of grey and black in his hand, and vomited in fear. The bridge between dream and reality had been demolished. Nightmare loomed. Ssss... A snake lashed out at him, and he instinctively leaned back, lost his balance and fell backwards. His helmeted head impacted a rung, knocking the breath out of him. His body followed, and soon he was sliding down the Jacob's ladder, screaming like a lunatic. Vomit burnt his throat and tongue again, erupting from his mouth like a water fountain. His vision blurred, but still he could see Ling's smiling at him. Such an endearing smile, and the sharp teeth that she had.


The bunch of snakes move animatedly like the snakes on Medusa's head. Salim couldn't do anything but look at them wide eyed. His hand seemed to have become a part of it. There was no way that he could will his hand to throw the snakes away, much less squeeze them into pulp. He simply lay on the ground, waiting for his time to end. Ssss... Venom dripped from the snakes tongues like blood from a spirit possessed tap. Somehow, Salim relished the burning sensation on his chest. He even wished for more. 'Enjoying yourself?' Ling had appeared beside him. She placed his head on her thighs and stroke his face. 'Want a kiss?' Salim nodded ans smiled in anticipation of an erotic kiss. 'STOP!' Something snapped in Salim's mind and suddenly, reality washed over him. He saw the evil ghosts rotting face over his and the bunch of snakes in his hand. More from fright than from instinct, he threw the snakes away ans screamed into the face of the she ghost. The rotting flesh dangling from her chin dropped into his mouth, and a bitter taste of dead flies and cockroaches bit into his tongue. Vomit surged and he began to foam.


'Stop it, Ah Huay! Stop, you bad ghost!' In that split second, too fast for the human mind to register, two shadows, one black and one white caught hold of the evil ghost and pulled her away from Salim. For Salim, that time and frame seemed to freeze for eternity. His mind took in the details of the event. each of the spirits wore a tall hat which was matched by a similarly coloured robe. They had very long tongues and deep set eyes. But, what really struck him was the fact that their skin colour was the same as their entire outfit, black for one and white for the other. Ah Huay wailed like a spoilt child who was being pulled away from her doll. Then, the wail died off abruptly like a siren switched off. 'Salim, are you all right?' Ling's tender face came into view. Salim nodded weakly and forced a smile. 'What happened?' Ling help Salim to rest his back on the Jacob's ladder. 'Ah Huay, that bad ghost, tried to rape you and then kill you.' Salim shook his head, trying to clear the dizziness throbbing between his ears. 'But, she looked like you.' 'Illusions, She used her magic to confuse your senses. She took on my form to entice you. In her real form, she wouldn't be desirable to any man.'


'And you left...' 'To look for help. A bad ghost always has much more powerful and evil magic than a good one. I can never outfight her. The two spirits that you saw just now were hei bai wuchang, the black and white hell constables. only they can subdue her.' 'That means you save my life.' 'No,' said Ling as she ran her comd through her hair, 'you're going to save mine.' 'Me?' 'Yes.' At this, sadness shone in Ling's eyes, and tears began to trickled down her face. 'Are you human?' Salim was surprised to see tears on someone who was supposedly long dead. 'I wish I were. But, I'm a ghost, a human gone. I belong to the other dimension.' Salim felt the dizziness clearing and his thoughts became more coherent. 'But, you can cry just like us. And, and you're so like us. How can you not be human?' 'There are some similarities because we're actually the same species. But her the similarities end. Ghosts are humans who died and are stuck. Those who are not would have reincarnated.' 'Stuck?' 'Like me. That's why I need your help.'

'Stuck? Salim said the word again like a broken record. 'my body is buried under the Jacob's ladder. I'm imprisoned under it and I can never reincarnate unless my body is freed from it. Would you help me?' 'Of course.' Salim almost melted from Ling's imploring look. 'But, how did you end up under the ladder?' 'I don't know. It was such a long time ago. My memory of it was gone.' 'How can I help?' 'Simply dig up my body from under the Jacob's ladder. After that I'll be free.' Ling smiled. 'And I'll no longer have to sit on the Jacob's ladder and comb my hair all alone. I can be reincarnated.' 'I'll definitely help you/' 'Thank you, Salim.' Ling kissed him lightly on his cheek. 'I've to report to the hell constables now.' 'Where's your body?' 'I don't know. Promise me you'll definitely find it. Thank you.' And Ling faded off. Salim touched the place where Ling had kissed and felt wetness on it. Tears of sympathy for the ghost had stained his face. 'I promise, Ling. I promise I'll definitely free you.' So saying, Salim struck the earth with his truncheon stick. Helmet off, webbing off, and he was digging the earth furiously. The torch on the ground provided little light, but that didn't worry him. The truncheon stick entered the earth again and again.

'Ling, I'll free you. Don't worry.' Emotions washed over him and tears flowed again. 'Salim!' A voice rang out and a beam of light landed on Salim. It was Cheong. 'What are you doing? Siow ah?' Salim stopped momentarily, looking at Cheong like a busy workman who hates to be interrupted, much less insulted. 'You either help or keep your damn mouth shut.' 'What's wrong, buddy?' Cheong felt as if hie mother had just slapped him for no rhyme or reason. 'You. That's what's wrong. Don't interrupt when I'm doing something important.' 'I don't understand. You're digging for what?' 'Don't ask. Help if you want, but don't waste my time.' 'But...' 'F... you!' And Salim lunged at Cheong with his truncheon stick. Cheong was caught unaware, and the blow landed squarely on his chest. He disarmed Salim and pushed him away, dropping his torch in the event. Like a mad bull, Salim charged again. Cheong leapt forward and surprised Salim with a roundhouse blow at his head. Salim ducked, feinted a right handed upper cut and followed through with a powerful left handed straight punch. The blow connected and forced Cheong to back step.

He groaned in pain. 'Stop, Salim. Why are we fighting?' Salim panted from his exertion. 'Because you're wasting my time.' 'but you're digging as if you're mad.' 'I'm not mad. I'm trying to free Ling.' 'Ling?' 'The Jacob's ladder lady. I must find her body so that she can be reincarnated. Now, you either step aside or help.' The gauntlet was thrown and Salim readied himself for the big fight. His eyes narrowed and his hands tightened into fists, draining blood from the knuckles. 'Help or fight, Cheong?' 'Stop joking lah!' Cheong waved off the challenge and laughed. 'Salim, I didn't know you damn joker, man.' 'I'm not joking!' Salim leapt forth and swung a bone cracking blow at Cheong's stomach. Cheong side stepped, and used his body mass to push Salim onto the ground. The smaller boy fell. 'Salim, are you mad?' Concern was evident in Cheong's voice. 'Are you joking or what?' 'F... you!' And Salim was up and at Cheong. The duo traded blows. A jab caught Cheong at the kidney; not to be outdone, he landed a blow on Salim's shoulder. The smaller boy stumbled a little and leapt at Cheong like a leopard. The force brought Cheong down, and the fight continued with the smaller boy on the top of the bigger. Salim's great strength amazed Cheong, and his gaunt body really belied the tons of muscles and bones he had within him.

'Salim! I'm Cheong!' 'I know.' And the blow knocked the lights out of the bigger boy. 'Stop it, Salim! Are you mad?' It was Yeo. Ong was just behind him. 'What the hell is going on?' 'No one's going to stop me from looking for Ling's body! So, get lost.' 'You're mad,' said Ong. 'No, you all are!' Salim almost snarled. 'Yeo, he may possessed,' whispered Ong. 'Salim's too small to knock Cheong out.' 'Don't whisper, you cowards. Fight me!' Salim dashed forward and tried to down the duo with a wrestler's T shape flying tackle, his two arms outstretched perpendicularly to his body. The duo ducked and countered with a kick at Salim's knees. he fell and soon the two boys were pinning him down by their body weight. 'Let me go, you f... assholes! I've to save Ling! Let me go!' A tear trickled down Ling's face. She was sitting along at the Jacobs' ladder, combing her hair once again. The night breeze was freezing even for her. But, there was nowhere she could go.

Another recruit, as she understood it, had been sent to a place those people called Woodbridge. His name was Salim. But, she couldn't understand why. All she did was only ask for his help, and nothing else. Perhaps, all those recruits had been over zealous to help; so determined were they when they promised her freedom. She sighed. Hopefully, tonight, another man could help her. It was after all another sentry night.