Biohazard's Catastrophe: Death's Hallway

Hanging With His Skin

From various corners of the village sounding kentongan beaten back-times with a rajapati tone. The same voice was also heard from the direction of the patrol post which was not far from Sumita's house. Ardana frowned in surprise to see some residents running towards him and Paramitha had come, which was also the way to the village hall. They are dominated by men who seem to be guarding stalls or odd jobs who are equally surprised.

Nina came out in a hurry from inside the house. His face looked panicked as he squeezed his own two hands.

“Why, yes? The sound of his clanging is a danger sign so?” muttered worriedly.

Ardana and Paramitha just stood and looked at each other not understanding.

“Let me ask them,” said Ardana. He went down into the yard with half a run. One of the moustached fathers who was directing the citizens asked.

“Pak, what is this?” Ardana approached him curiously.

“I heard earlier from the village hall, there was a body found near Sirnasurya Forest,” replied the moustached father. Then without saying anything more, he ran after the crowd he directed towards the village hall.

Ardana's heart rate almost stopped hearing the reply of the moustached father earlier. Slowly he turned back, looking at Paramitha and Nina who were still standing on the porch. His mind is now made dizzy because it considers the incident of the corpse that the moustached father said was a recklessness. It seems that someone entered after hearing the gunshot sound he did with Ilham when he was intercepted by a charred black creature there.

Without wasting any more time, he returned to the veranda of the house.

“There are bodies near Sirnasurya Forest. Though...” Ardana is almost lost. He was silent.

Paramitha frowned looking at Ardana's expression which was like hiding something. “What's the situation?”

Ardana shook her head quickly, “No, it's okay. I'd better get back to the village hall. Mr. Ilham must have been waiting for me.”

This young man approached Nina while bowing. Then kissed the middle-aged woman's back hand respectfully.

“I'll say goodbye first, Mom. Thank you for accepting my arrival,” he said.

Nina smiled and nodded slowly. “If you have time you can play here again. Here, Paramitha rarely goes out,” he said.

Ardana gave a smile while nodding quickly. Just as she stepped down from the veranda towards the grounds, Paramitha also moved swiftly back to her room. Not long after that this girl reappeared wearing a maroon bomber jacket and followed Ardana.

“Bu, I'll come with him first, huh? Hey, you! I'm coming!” Paramitha said goodbye to Nina and followed Ardana who stopped for a moment while turning around.

“Be careful, Neng! Far from A’a eta!” exclamation Nina.

Paramitha replied with a wave along with the exit of him and Ardana from the yard area. The two walked to the right following the mass group earlier. Without looking at the girl who is now with him, Ardana continues down the road that will lead directly to the village hall. From a distance the place was already crowded by a crowd of people. This young man only knew the path he was traveling was a fast road because as he remembered there were several forked roads including those he had passed when following Paramitha to go to Sumita's house. He even forgot which way.

Paramitha did the same. It was as if the two were deliberately throwing their faces away. From a distance, the village hall was already crowded by a crowd of curious locals. Some of them knew and whispered to each other. Ardana could see Ilham being accompanied by the village chief who stood in a higher position on the podium.

“If Mr. Ilham knew I was coming with you, he would have been shocked,” he said.

“It's okay, later let me explain myself,” reply Paramitha try to convince.

“But... residents gathered almost covered the front of the village hall.” Ardana stuck out her neck while looking for a way to get straight to Ilham and Odang who were explaining.

Without Paramitha's consent, the girl's hand was then held. Paramitha was surprised but could not dodge when she was led through a near-total crowd. Ardana tried to pass through one by one crammed citizens. Some people who felt intruded initially frowned in wonder and some also interrupted his actions. However, they are restrained to see the appearance of Paramitha which is considered to attract attention. This girl only smiled as an apology for Ardana's actions. Spontaneous those people fell silent.

Along with the success of these two young people set foot on the right side of the veranda of the village hall, Ilham who accidentally turned his head in the same direction was surprised instead of playing. Not because of Ardana's presence there, but because the girl he was holding was Paramitha. Inspiration is made to say nothing, as if not to hear some citizens who ask for an explanation.

Ardana and Paramitha stared at Ilham at the same time. Another thing that made the short-haired former Kopassus officer surprised was the hands of the two who joined each other. Inspiration gave the code of twitching the eyebrows several times while lowering the eyes to their hands.

“Nanaonan silaing, euy?” tanyakanya.

“Eh?” Ardana hastily removed his grasp from Paramitha's hands.

Ilham nodded. “True, there's a corpse. And the people gathered here are asking for an explanation. But, where have you been, heh?”

Ardana glanced at Paramitha, asking for approval. Paramitha nodded once without hesitation.

“I accidentally met him, Sir. Then stop by for a while at the house of his best friend who is in this village,” he replied.

Ilham pulled Ardana from Paramitha and grabbed the young man's shoulder tightly. Whispering something with a slightly tense expression.

“You... You're crazy, huh? If people know she's Paramitha, you want her safety responsibility?” His eyes glared slightly without blinking.

Ardana kink, “What can I do, sir? The man himself asked to come. It is also forbidden that he will still follow from behind.”

Ilham turned his gaze momentarily towards the crowd of villagers that Odang was facing.

“You must have told the boy that I am here too, huh?” tanyakanya.

Forced, Ardana nodded stiffly without daring to look at Ilham.

* * * * *

The body of the man looked terrible to see in crowds. Lucky because children are already forbidden to come along so as not to cause new panic. Almost all parts of his body that dangled were crushed like crumbs. With a body half from head to waist that was left hanging on a tree branch, adults could still be frightened to see it. What made them think of the superstition associated with the death of the corpse was what made it ten meters above the ground. Hanging from his own skin from his thigh to his leg. The lower part of the corpse disappeared without a trace. The face of the corpse that revealed an expression of extreme pain and eyes widened with heavily crushed jaws showed that he was subjected to brutal violence.

Most of the blood from the corpse had already splashed out in various directions. Police who came to investigate found traces of a fight in TKP. They questioned five farmers who found the body of the poor man and concluded that the victim had died the night before.

In the front row of the crowd was Ilham and Odang. Unlike Odang who several times shook his head in astonishment, Ilham just kept silent and stared intently at the corpse that was still hanging on the branch of the tree in front of them. He believes it was the charred black creature that intercepted him and Ardana on the same night. With his own eyes, Ilham had already seen how the monster had attacked the two of them. The large sharp fingernails that resemble swords and the deadly jagged pointed-toed tongue protrusion of the creature are still vividly remembered.

“Newly this time until there is an incident of people being killed here,” muttered Odang.

Inspiration heard. “There is something wrong with this forest in my opinion, sir. But not something mystical causes it,” he explained.

“During this time villagers often associate all the irregularities of this forest with the vengeful spirits of Linggasatria Catranata and his wife and some members of the Catranata family who were killed at that time. I also do not believe, but it is difficult to resuscitate them,” reply Odang.

The new inspiration felt a trace of the fear of the villagers towards the Catranata family after the coming night of the tomb of Linggasatria and Erni chose not to respond. The offerings placed in the tombs of his two friends have shown it. Looking at their attitude, this middle-aged man could only hold his patience even deeper.

The six citizens who climbed onto the large tree where the corpse was hanging slowly started to work. While the bodies of the victims tried to be taken down, Ilham turned his gaze deep into the Sirnasurya Forest.

A few meters from the crowd, precisely at a patrol post on the edge of the village, Ardana and Paramitha witnessed the process of dismemberment without the slightest intention to approach. Seeing from far away has made nausea especially from close. He also saw the villagers who were in the front row vomiting because they could not withstand the strange smell of the corpse.

Ardana turned to Paramitha who was sitting next to him. The girl's face was suddenly grim as if she was thinking of a heavy burden. From the first moment he saw the dead body in the distance, a change happened to him.

“Why you? Sorry, but you shouldn't have come. Or... Are you afraid of getting angry Mr Ilham?” Ardana moved in front of Paramitha and looked at her face.

Paramitha blinked a little and tried to smile. “Ah, nothing! It's just that my body was a little less good earlier,” he said lying.

“Begin,” bargain Ardana later, “you will I take home to your friend's house earlier, yes?”

His offer was not immediately accepted by Paramitha. Of course, they just met again even though once before d Bandung. Ardana thought the girl could not believe him yet. What can be done, he did not insist that Paramitha would accept. Any mistake that has his face will be hit as mentioned.

“Good. You can take me home.” The sentence later heard by Ardana directly from Paramitha's lips dropped his estimate.

* * * * *