zaldy was hurrying home when he heard the noise. it sounded like a mix between an elevator closing and a very loud turbine of a plane. it was a very unnatural sound.

naturally, he went to investigate.

amidst the hustle bustle of recto, he found it weird that no one else heard the sound. then again, he wasn’t in the heart of recto, just one of those small roads that lead to bigger roads. an artery. he was in an artery. or a capillary. that works too.

zaldy shook his head, clearing out the analogies running inside his head. that was a big problem of his, letting his thoughts wander.

as zaldy entered a smaller road, where the noise had come from, he found himself disappointed. there was nothing there, save for a big blue box that looked very out of place.

nothing extraordinary was happening. there were no crimes to solve, no aswangs to fend off. just another day in zaldy’s humdrum life.

and here he thought it would be different today.

zaldy turned away. it was getting late, and he should be getting home soon. if his mother’s favorite program comes on before he gets home, he wouldn’t be able to use the oven to heat his dinner.

one step forward. zaldy turned to look at the big blue box again. if only it had been something else. if only it were something magical, fantastical—something out of the ordinary, instead of something just out of place. he sighed. he really should stop reading all those fantasy fiction online.

zaldy hurried on. back to the small road, and on to the main road; where he would have to pray that a jeepney would be able to accommodate one more passenger.

but just as he was about to exit the smaller road, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“hello.” zaldy blinked. there was a strange looking man, a foreigner, smiling at him. behind the foreigner was a girl, looking baffled. “can you tell my friend here that we are in australia, 2015?”

“why would i do that?”

“because we’re in australia. in 2015.”

“but we’re not in australia. and it’s not 2015.”

“what?”

“ha! i told you! i’ve never been to australia, but this place is too concrete-y to be australia!”

“and what do you suppose australia is? just mountains, deserts and fields? maybe a few kangaroos and cows frolicking about?”

“no, but this place is so obviously not australia.”

“she’s right, sweetie.”

zaldy shook his head, out of disbelief. a woman with curly blonde hair seemed to have materialized out of thin air.

“but you are here for a reason.”

“we’re not here to clean up your mess. again.”

“you’ve been cleaning up my messes, have you? hmm. pandorica’s already happened, i take it. otherwise,” she turned to the girl. “you wouldn’t be wearing a wedding ring.”

zaldy cleared his throat. the three people looked at him.

“what’s going on?”

the curly-haired woman looked meaningfully at the man, as if saying, this is your problem.

“nothing’s going on. we’re nobodies. just tourists, being tourist-y, doing tourist-y stuff. you know? here,” the man pulled up something from his back pocket, “my passport. see? just tourists.”

just then, a loud high-pitched cackle filled the air.

another woman appeared. this one didn’t materialize out of nowhere though. this one was strutting from the end of the smaller street. which was now covered in fog.

the cackling was coming from her.

“when did that happen?” zaldy found himself asking aloud, looking at the fog-filled street. the foreigners turned to look at him, making him realize he spoke his thoughts.

the man turned to him, “i suggest you run now. run fast, run hard. and don’t look back.” zaldy was supposed to do just that, when the man suddenly changed his mind. “on second thought, don’t run. just—look at that statue. don’t look away. don’t blink. just keep looking at that statue—but don’t look at its eyes.”

“its eyes are covered.” zaldy looked at the statute of an angel. it hadn’t been there when he entered the street. “it looks like it’s crying.”

“trust me, it’s not.” the man pulled out a pen-like thing from his breast pocket and pointed it at the approaching figure of the cackling woman. the pen emitted a green light and a weird sound—a bit similar to the sound he was investigating earlier.

the girl was tugging at the man, “i know about the angel. but what’s up with the cackler?”

“it’s a carrionite.” the man said. he motioned for the girl to go to the blue box. “there’s a chest inside. with a ‘c’ label. ask your husband for help. look for a crystal ball.”

“a crystal ball? is this really the time?”

“just do it. get the crystal ball and then hand it over.”

“all right. no need to get snippy about it.”

from the corner of his eyes, zaldy watched the girl enter the blue box. the curly-haired woman was holding a gun of some sorts now. the man was still holding the pen with the green light.

“excuse me. how long am i supposed to stare at this statue?”

“just until the carrionite gets here.”

“what’s a carrionite?”

“it’s an alien life form from the fourteen stars of the rex—” the man looked at zaldy’s perplexed face. “just call them witches.”

then something dawned on the man. “you’re not looking at the statue.”

the two of them turned to where the statue had been earlier. it was gone. zaldy felt as if something bad was about to happen.

“we found it! here’s the crystal—”

the next thing zaldy knew he was standing in the middle of a forest. and there was someone behind him.

”¿quién eres? ¿de dónde vienes?”

zaldy turned and saw a spanish soldier holding a rifle to his head.

”¿se puede hablar español?”

zaldy shook his head, not knowing what the answer. he didn’t even know where he was. all he could think about now was that if he hadn’t gone to investigate the weird sound, he would be at home now. enjoying a cold dinner.

disclaimer: save for zaldy, i don’t own any of the characters mentioned in this story. this is a bit of a fan fiction. just thought i’d give it a try. and, umm, i guess that’s it. props if you recognize what show this fan fiction is about.