Gabriel Llanera had always considered himself a rational man. He believed in logic, in things he could see and touch, in reason over superstition. But his first night in Lamingan had shattered all those beliefs. He had never been more terrified in his life, and the terror clung to him even after the sun rose the next morning.
Despite the strange events of the night before, he had to go on with his duties. He taught his first class that day in the nearby school, his mind barely able to focus on the children in front of him.
They were a small group, ranging from ages six to ten, all of them looking at him with wide, curious eyes. Gabriel tried his best to teach them basic arithmetic, but his thoughts kept drifting back to the creature—the Busaw—he had seen last night. Its gaunt face, its glowing eyes, the horrible growl that seemed to echo in his mind even now.
As the school day came to an end, Gabriel packed up his books and papers, ready to return home. The walk back to the hut felt long and tiresome. Every step he took was weighed down by a deep sense of dread.
He couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened, and the more he thought about it, the more he wondered if he had imagined the whole thing. Maybe it was a dream—a nightmare brought on by the unfamiliar surroundings and the eerie silence of the village.
But as Gabriel walked along the dirt path that led through the center of the village, his thoughts were interrupted by something unexpected.
The cemetery.
He had passed it the day before without giving it much thought, but today, something drew his attention to it. A small procession was making its way to the far corner of the graveyard, where a freshly dug grave awaited. Gabriel watched from a distance as several men lowered a coffin into the ground, their faces somber, their movements slow and deliberate. He couldn’t help but feel a chill as he realized this was a burial—a newly dead villager being laid to rest.
Gabriel had grown up in the city, where cemeteries were large, well-kept places with paved paths and trimmed lawns. This cemetery, however, was different. It was small, overgrown with weeds and wild grass, the tombstones crooked and worn with age.
The graves were packed closely together, almost haphazardly, as if there wasn’t enough space for the dead. And there was an odd stillness about the place, as if the air itself was holding its breath.
He shuddered, his mind flashing back to the creature—the Busaw—that Mang Efrain had warned him about. He had dismissed the warning at first, thinking it was just an old man’s attempt to scare him, but now, after what he had seen last night, he wasn’t so sure.
Gabriel quickened his pace, eager to get back to the safety of his home. But just as he was about to turn away from the cemetery, something stopped him.
A sound.
A low, guttural growl.
His blood ran cold.
The sound came from the direction of the freshly dug grave. Gabriel froze, his heart pounding in his chest. He turned slowly, his eyes scanning the cemetery for any sign of movement.
And then he saw it.
At first, he wasn’t sure what he was looking at. There, by the new grave, was a dark shape hunched over the earth. Its body was thin and bony, covered in pale, almost translucent skin. It moved with unnatural speed, digging into the ground with long, sharp claws.
Gabriel’s breath caught in his throat. It was the Busaw. The same creature he had seen last night. And now it was here, in the cemetery, digging up the freshly buried corpse.
He wanted to scream, to run, but his legs felt like they were made of lead. He stood there, frozen in place, watching in horror as the Busaw tore through the dirt, its growls growing louder and more savage with each passing second. The creature moved with a kind of ravenous desperation, as if it couldn’t wait to get to the body beneath the earth.
Gabriel’s mind raced. He had to get out of there. He had to run. But his body refused to move, paralyzed by fear.
Suddenly, the creature stopped digging.
It lifted its head, its glowing yellow eyes locking onto Gabriel. For a moment, everything went still. Gabriel felt a wave of nausea wash over him as the Busaw’s lips curled into a grotesque grin, its sharp, bloodstained teeth glinting in the fading light of dusk.
The creature let out a low, rumbling growl, its eyes never leaving Gabriel.
And then, it spoke.
“You...”
The word was barely a whisper, a guttural sound that sent shivers down Gabriel’s spine. The Busaw’s voice was deep and raspy, like nails scraping across stone.
“You...watch...me.”
Gabriel stumbled back, his heart racing. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The creature had spoken. It had seen him, and now it was coming for him.
Without thinking, Gabriel turned and ran. His feet pounded against the dirt path as he fled from the cemetery, the sound of the Busaw’s growl echoing in his ears. The air around him seemed to grow colder, thicker, as if the very darkness of the night was closing in on him.
He ran and ran, not daring to look back, his breath coming in short, panicked gasps. The trees loomed over him, their branches twisting in the wind like skeletal fingers reaching out to grab him. The path ahead seemed endless, and every shadow felt like it was watching him, waiting for him to stumble.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Gabriel reached his home. He slammed the door behind him and bolted it shut, his hands shaking uncontrollably. He pressed his back against the door, trying to catch his breath, his heart still pounding in his chest.
For a long time, he stood there in the darkness, listening, waiting for the creature to follow him.
But there was nothing. No growl, no footsteps. Just the deafening silence of the night.
Gabriel collapsed onto the floor, his body trembling with fear. He couldn’t believe what he had seen—what he had heard. The Busaw was real, and it was hunting the dead. And now, it had seen him.
He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t stay here. Not after what had happened. But where could he go? The village was remote, and the nearest town was hours away by foot. He was trapped here, in this cursed place, with the creature lurking in the shadows.
Gabriel pulled his knees to his chest, his mind racing with fear and confusion. He had come here to teach, to make a difference. But now, he felt like he was fighting for his life. The village, the cemetery, the Busaw—it was all too much to process.
As the hours passed, the fear began to fade, replaced by a deep sense of dread. Gabriel knew that this was just the beginning. The Busaw had seen him, and it wasn’t going to stop until it got what it wanted.
The thought of facing that creature again made Gabriel’s skin crawl. But he knew he couldn’t avoid it forever. The Busaw was out there, somewhere, watching him, waiting for the right moment to strike.
And when it did, Gabriel wasn’t sure if he would survive.
The next day, Gabriel forced himself to go about his routine. He went to the school, taught his lessons, and tried to act as if everything was normal. But the children noticed the change in him. They whispered among themselves, their eyes full of curiosity and concern.
“Teacher,” one of the older boys, Nardo, said during recess, “you look scared. Did something happen?”
Gabriel forced a smile. “No, nothing happened. I’m just...tired.”
Nardo frowned. “You shouldn’t go near the cemetery. Bad things happen there.”
Gabriel’s heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”
Nardo hesitated, glancing around to make sure no one else was listening. Then he leaned in closer and whispered, “The Busaw lives there. It digs up the dead and eats them. Sometimes, it hunts the living too.”
Gabriel felt a chill run down his spine. “How do you know that?”
“My lolo told me,” Nardo said, his voice barely audible. “He said the Busaw loves organs, especially the heart and liver. If it sees you, it won’t stop until it gets them.”
Gabriel’s stomach turned. He didn’t want to believe it, but after what he had seen the night before, he couldn’t deny it anymore. The Busaw was real, and it was dangerous.
As the day wore on, Gabriel couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. Every time he glanced out the window, he half-expected to see the creature lurking in the shadows, waiting for him.
By the time the school day ended, Gabriel was exhausted, both physically and mentally. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep this up. The fear was eating away at him, and he wasn’t sure how much more he could take.
That night, as he lay in bed, Gabriel heard the growl again.
This time, it was closer.