Haunteds

Chapter 7

It was past lunch when my baggage came. Each was labeled with the name of the owner since our parents cannot hand them personally to us, for obvious reasons. Major Coleman assigned us rooms by giving us keys with numbered, wooden, key rings attached to it. Mine was room six, a room just above the glass sliding door we came in.

I was halfway done with unpacking my stuff, which mostly are clothes good for a month when I remembered about the handbook Major Coleman was talking about. I went to the lamp table and pulled open the drawer. Inside was a simple notebook, the words Haunted's Handbook engraved with white ink, in contrast to the black cover. Same as with the number 6 in the center, the number of my room. I took it out, sat on my bed, and ran my fingers on its cover. It's some sort of fabric, it felt like touching the surface of a sofa. I opened it. There was an extra space where a pen is held by a strap. The first page reads:

TOP SECRET 

FOR BIRINGAN PERSONNEL AND HAUNTEDS EYES ONLY.

It described the Shade (although Mr. Chua did describe the Shade to our class already, the information here is more detailed). Below it was a set of Shade Rules that we were supposed to familiarize ourselves with if we wanted to survive throughout the month of October. Like how the Shade originally kills haunteds.

Apparently, according to Shade Rule 1, once a Shade latched on a haunted, the haunted will fall into a catatonic state, usually leading to cardiac arrest. Doctors weren't able to do anything once the haunting took place since drugs  seemed to have no effect on the body. 

I kept reading.

I already know that U.V. lights protect us from the Shade. But what I didn't know is how exactly. Apparently, according to Shade Rule Four, The Shade cease to exist under U.V. light. It went on to explain that the Shade doesn't simply disappear from the naked eye; all (supernatural) traces of it disappear. But will reform again in another place safe from U.V. lights.

I bet this rule is based on the theory of Mrs. Roth, the one who discovered the use of U.V lights. I've read about her on our trip to the Shade Museum for history class. She's got a whole gallery dedicated to her with her monument, self-portraits, everything. She was a hero.

I've remembered reading that after her kid died; she took a passionate interest in the Shade. That passion eventually led her to conclude that only sunlight can affect the Shade because A) the Shade never appears during the day, even in dark places safe from sunlight—under the bed, inside the closet— and only appears at night and B) Apparently, she tried everything else. Fire, flashlights, and anything that casts light, because, at its base, the Shade is still a shadow. So she passed on her theory to the government and the military tested the only thing we have closest to sunlight: U.V. lights.

It was a short read, ending in Shade Rule #5 The Shade cannot be captured or recorded by any devices, like Major Coleman said. Not really sure how the last one was going to help. But it does explain why there was never a picture of the Shade.

I closed the handbook, put it down besides me and lie on my back. Years of studying, observing the Shade and all they have is this. My mind is having a hard time to believe it. I would've read it again if it weren't for someone knocking at my door. I sat up and jumped off my bed to open the door. It was a girl. 

"Hey, we're having a karaoke party," she said, smiling. "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to join us."

"Sure," I said. I've been meaning to get to know my dorm mates so this is just perfect. I extended my hand. "I'm Vergil, by the way."