The Knock
“Am I a bad person?” Chase asks, several minutes later. We both haven’t moved from the couch; still sitting side by side, still watching the dried black liquid on the floor’s rug like we’re expecting it to coalesce into some fresh new horror. Askal is burrowed on Chase’s other side, head on the boy’s lap while his paws cling to the teddy bear.
“Why would you say that?”
“You said that the Diwata was only curious about me. But now—it doesn’t feel like that. It feels like it’s trying to frighten me. Was it—does it think I committed a—?”
“No,” I say firmly. “He won’t do anything to you.”
“But how do you know for sure?”
“If He had marked you as a sinner, you would be seeing visions like the others.”
Chase winces. “I mean, trees that try to tear out my throat seems like wanting me dead, right?”
“That’s not what it said.”
“Then what did it say?”
“Huwag mo siyang saktan. Don’t hurt them.”
He pauses. “Hurt…you? It thinks that I want to hurt you? I wouldn’t! I like you!”
His confession echoes through my ears. After a moment, he looks down, embarrassed. “I liked you the instant I set foot on this island. But I was worried about approaching you because I didn’t know if this was gonna be just some rebound. Rory and Jordan have been yelling at me to say something, and I wanted to, but every time I tried, I couldn’t. Plus, I figured you weren’t interested in me, anyway. But then Rory started convincing me otherwise, and then…” He raised his arms, sheepish. “Was that why? Because the god knows I feel something for you?”
I sigh. “No. It knows that I like you back.”
Chase gapes at me for so long that I think the creature actually hurt him. “No, you don’t,” he says reasonably. “You pushed me away. Not that you shouldn’t have. I moved too fast, and I didn’t think to ask you first. I’m sorry.”
“I can’t.”
“Can’t what?”
“Have a connection with anyone else.”
“But…why? Is it because of this island? Kisapmata won’t let you start a relationship?” His voice rises, disbelieving. “So it is jealous?”
I have to smile. “It’s complicated. If I left, He would have no ties to the people here. As odd as it sounds, He’s lonely too, and I am a good companion for Him. He’s used to reading my thoughts, easy for Him to reach out and find others. The illusions that some of the crew see are proof of that. He’s interested in you because He’s protective of me, and He doesn’t completely understand our relationship. So the easiest way to know what your intentions are, is to…”
“Terrify me?” A slow smile steals across his face. Askal watches us both, tongue out and looking oddly smug. “So, our relationship? You do like me?”
I swallow. “I—”
He raises his hands. “We don’t have to do anything. I respect your space, and I respect the island…this god’s, whatever’s, space. But once we get out of here…do you think…? I mean, it’s gonna suck since I’ll be in LA, but if I could call you—”
“It’s not about the distance. It’s—” I look out the window. “I have other responsibilities here that I can’t ignore.”
I wait for him to protest, to insist we’ll make things work between us. “Is it because of your father?” he finally asks. “You can’t leave because of him, too?”
“It’s different here. We don’t just—I can’t leave him because he’s old. I wish I—sometimes I do resent that.”
“I understand,” Chase says. “Sometimes I get frustrated with Dad too, you know? It’s like his job is the only meaning he has left in his life. He’s never gotten over Mom dying. What about me? When did I stop mattering to him? But he’s the only dad I’ve got. I know he’s doing his best, despite everything. I’m sure that your dad’s the same.”
My gaze drifts back to the stain on the floor. “I guess.”
Chase’s phone lights up, buzzing. Surprised, we look at it for a moment before we realize the implications. Then Chase’s hopeful look abruptly turns into a scowl when he sees who’s calling.
“Riley? What the hell do you want? Look, you are the last person I want to—”
Riley interrupts him. She’s not on video call, and her voice sounds terrified. “I said I’m sorry, Chase! Please believe me! I swear I won’t bother you ever again. Just please, make her stop! Tell her to stop doing this to me!”
“What?” Chase is dumbfounded. “Riley, what are you talking ab—”
“It’s not funny anymore, okay? I don’t know who you paid to dress up like some deranged tree monster, but this isn’t funny! Tell her to go away! I can’t—oh my god. It’s at the window. It’s at the—”
The call ends.
Chase gazes open-mouthed at the phone. “Is the Diwata haunting Riley? Can it do that? Is it because—was it because I—?”
Chase yelled his frustrations into the cave. I’m stunned. The Diwata is protective of me. Was He trying to placate me by trying to solve Chase’s problems with his ex? “I—I don’t know. Maybe He was trying to help?”
“This is what he considers help?”
“He doesn’t know enough about human relationships. And as you already know, He prefers a direct approach when it comes to confrontations.”
Chase gulps. “He’s not really gonna harm her, is he?”
“He won’t.”
The knock on the door is loud. “Chase? Are you okay?”
“The door’s open, Dad.” And then Chase pauses, dumbstruck. “Why is he knocking? It isn’t even locked.”
The door rattles again. “Chase? What’s going on?”
Askal begins growling quietly. My gaze flicks toward the ceiling.
The beams are covered with makahiya, writhing quietly on the metal ledges.
Chase stands. “Dad, are your hands full or—”
He moves toward the door but stops when I grab his arm. “Wait,” I whisper, a familiar dread creeping up on me.
“What? If that tree creature’s still around and Riley is being bullied, we need to warn him—”
Quietly I point to the window before us.
Through the half-open blinds, we see Gries still some ways off, looking despondent and dirt stained, walking toward us from the direction of the cave; the rest of the search team is with him.
Chase is frozen, now with fear. “If he’s over there, then who is at the—”
The doorknob rattles again. “Chase!”
The voice raises to a pitch that I’ve never heard Gries use before—a high whine, like an insect buzz.
“Get the fuck away from us!” Chase shouts. “Whoever you are, leave us alone!”
Nothing responds at first. And then—
“Chase.” It’s a different voice this time, feminine and light and sweet. “Chase, sweetheart. Please let me in.”
Chase shakes so hard he would have fallen to the floor if I hadn’t grabbed him. “No,” he says, a near sob. “N-no. That’s impossible. She can’t. It couldn’t have—”
“Chase,” the voice croons, and I make the belated connection. “I’ve missed you. Come and kiss me. I’ll tuck you in, and we’ll read Velveteen Rabbit together like we—”
“No!” This time I’m the one shouting. “No! You’re not going to make a mockery of his mother! Kung may gusto kang sabihin sa akin—sabihin mo na!”
The voice that sounds like Chase’s mother breaks off unexpectedly. And then, horrifyingly enough, it is Chase’s voice that begins to scream back at us.
“Fuck you, Riley!” It sounds so near, like the voice is in the room with us. “I hope you get an STD, you cheating ho! Fuck you, Riley! I hope you get an STD, you cheating ho! Fuck you, Riley! I hope you get a—”
“Wait!” Chase cries out, but I am already racing toward the door, steeling myself to face whatever I might find outside. Askal is at my side, hackles raised, prepared to do the same. I grab the doorknob, take a deep breath, and twist.
The door swings open.
There is nothing waiting for me there.
Breathing hard, I stare at the empty space. I turn back toward Chase, who watches me with fright. There is nothing amiss in the room. The makahiya on the windowsill are gone.
“Why did it do that?” Chase whispers.
I drop my head into my hands. “Because He wants to scare you away from me,” I say quietly. “Because as soon as the sacrifices are done, He’s going to open up a way to get out of this island, and He doesn’t want you staying for me. And He’s right. You’re not going to want to be here when the ritual’s complete.”
Gries steps through the doorway, exhausted. “Hey,” he says and then pauses, seeing the expression on our faces. “What’s wrong with you two?”
***
The rescue team has yet to find Karl. We relay everything that’s happened while Gries was gone, and he’s horrified for Chase’s sake.
“Why’s it doing this to him?” he asks me accusingly. “You said this god spares the innocent. Chase is the last person it should be haunting!”
“He doesn’t understand boundaries the way humans do,” I say slowly.
“And it’s haunting him because it’s—curious about him? Wants to get him away from the island to protect him?” Gries lets out an incredulous-sounding laugh. “So this god thinks it’s some sort of surrogate parent of yours?”
“The Diwata is protective of me, but He doesn’t process emotions like a human. He heard Chase shouting about his ex. He might have thought that scaring her would stop her from harassing him further. He wants Chase away from Kisapmata. I know it sounds bad, but that’s how He—”
“Chase, I forbid you to see Alon for the rest of the time that we’re here on this island.”
“Absolutely not!” Chase jumps to his feet.
I don’t argue.
“Alon understands why I’m doing this.”
“Do you really think that’s going to make any difference? Do you really think that the island is going to ignore me, just like that? You didn’t see it. It’s powerful and scary as hell, but it listens to Alon. And now that I understand what it’s trying to do, I’m probably safer with Alon than alone. Well, as long as it stops trying to help me. I’m not leaving without Alon.”
Gries glares at Chase, then at me. “So you’re going to ignore me and stick by him anyway, right?”
“I’m not the one in danger. You are!”
“Chase—”
“You’re still obsessed with Mom’s death! That’s why you’ve been seeing her everywhere! The Godseye sacrifices people who can’t let go of the past, the ones who’ve been violent toward the people they’re supposed to care for!”
Gries rears back, looking stricken. “Chase, I would never do anything to harm you.”
“Did you ever hit Mom?”
Gries doesn’t respond immediately, though the guilt on his face is clear. “I never hurt her physically.”
“What were you and Mom arguing about the week she died? At the time, you kept insisting that it was nothing. But now—now I don’t think so. You act guilty, like you murdered her every time her names comes up in conversation.”
“That’s enough, Chase!” Gries roars. He shakes, rage and grief mixing on his face. He deflates before he even starts though, as if overcome by exhaustion.
“I just want to know how the plane wreckage wound up underground,” he says. “Alon…”
“I don’t know anything about that, sir. I’m sorry.”
He sighs. “I’m not going to forbid you from seeing Chase. After Riley, you’re definitely an improvement. But don’t you think it would be better to avoid him until we get off this island? To keep him safe?”
I’m fully aware that Chase’s eyes are pleading with me as I say, “I can’t guarantee Chase’s safety. But like he said, the Diwata listens to me. I can intercede on his behalf better if he’s with me.”
“I don’t necessarily trust you, Alon. I don’t think I could trust anyone who shares a connection with an entity capable of wiping out everyone on this island on a whim, however innocently you came into that relationship. Chase—we can talk later—”
“Leo? Are you in there?” Straw Hat’s worried voice sounds outside the door, and I tense, noticing Chase do the same.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“We’re going to need your help. There’s been an emergency.”
“An emergency? What’s happened?”
“It’s Steve Galant. He’s gone bonkers. I don’t know how it happened, but he worked himself free of his restraints. He’s missing. Cameras show he’s gone inside the cave.”