We rushed downstairs, and nothing could have prepared us for what we saw.
The hotel staff were gathered around the kitchen, staring in horror with wide-open eyes and hands covering their mouths.
I pushed past them to get a look.
And there was Bobby, crouched in the freezer, feasting on raw meat. He even paused a few times to wipe the blood stains from his mouth.
"What are you doing? Stop it!" I shouted, grabbing his hands and pulling them behind his back, trying to usher him out of the kitchen.
"Let me go, I'm still hungry!" Bobby protested, struggling to break free from my grip.
Sea Snake Fang quickly came to my aid and delivered a swift chop to the back of Bobby's neck.
Bobby immediately fell unconscious.
"I think we have no choice. Let's get him to the hospital," I said, my voice laced with urgency.
Amy Lee moved swiftly, and I followed close behind.
"You guys go ahead. I'll think of an excuse and calm the hotel staff," Kurnawan said.
Amy Lee nodded, trusting Kurnawan to handle the situation without hesitation.
We cleaned the bloodstains off Bobby with whatever we could find.
I also noticed that his right hand had gotten worse.
It now appeared to be about three times the size of his left hand, grotesquely swollen.
After what felt like an eternity, we finally reached the hospital. Bobby was admitted immediately, and the medical staff began tending to the pus and blood oozing from his wound.
He was also running a dangerously high fever.
"He should improve by tomorrow. We'll monitor his condition and inform you if anything changes," the doctor in charge said before leaving.
Amy Lee and Sea Snake Fang decided to leave, but I stayed with Bobby for a while longer.
Once I was sure he was resting as comfortably as possible, I stepped outside the hospital and lit a cigarette.
What a turn of events.
Bobby had been alive and kicking just last night.
Now, no one could be sure what was happening to him.
I had a hunch Bobby might not recover by tomorrow.
My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn't had a proper meal yet.
I flagged down a taxi and headed back to the hotel, thinking longingly of the Bebek Goreng (fried duck rice) from the nearby food stall.
The rest of the day was spent replenishing the supplies we had used up.
Kurnawan had managed to convince the hotel staff that Bobby's high fever had caused him to act unconsciously.
He explained that Bobby might have been hungry but couldn't distinguish what he was eating.
The next day couldn't come fast enough for me.
I was eager to see how Bobby was doing.
After all, I was the one who had convinced him to join this trip.
…
The first thing we did the next day was head straight to the hospital.
Bobby's condition remained unchanged. His fever was still running high, and his right hand was still swollen and infected.
"Doctor, you said he'd be better today. Why is he still the same as yesterday?" I asked, my voice tinged with frustration.
"I've administered antibiotics for the infection, as well as medication to suppress the fever. He should be better today, but sometimes these things take time. I can't guarantee a 100% recovery just yet," the doctor replied, shaking his head as he noted down his observations.
Hearing this, I decided to trust my instincts.
This situation needed to be addressed by the supernatural.
It wasn't just a simple case of infection.
I asked Kurnawan to follow me, and we made our way to the Snooker parlor.
As we entered, the friendly boss behind the counter recognized me immediately. His face brightened up with a smile.
"You again! And you brought a new friend? Let me give you a discount," he said cheerfully.
"I'm not here for Snooker," I replied, getting straight to the point. I showed him my handphone and swiped to the picture of the red worm. "Do you have any idea what this is?"
The boss squinted at the screen, then put on his reading glasses and brought the phone closer to his face. He shook his head after a moment. "I've never seen anything like this around here, but I know someone who might be able to help you."
"Who? Could you introduce me to him?" I asked anxiously.
I handed him a packet of cigarettes and ten IDR $100K notes.
He felt the money, his smile widening even further. "There's a Bomoh (witch doctor) living near the river, a few streets down the road. You know, like the Bomohs in Pulau Besar who deal in black and white magic. His name is Tok Pak. Let me draw you a map."
He turned to the counter, grabbed a pen, and sketched a simple map on his notepad.
I looked at the map. It wasn't fancy, but it was clear and straight to the point.
It led to a house by the river, near a banana tree.
My heart skipped a beat. Banana trees are notorious for being the residence of the Pontianak spirit. In Malay folklore, the Pontianak is a female vampire and the ghost of a woman who died in childbirth. She is said to live in banana trees near houses, with long black hair, pointed nails, and a sickly-sweet frangipani scent. The Pontianak is rumored to be able to disembowel men with her nails and sniff out prey through laundry left out to dry. If you suddenly smell that sweet frangipani scent at night, be cautious—the Pontianak is nearby.
And who else but a Bomoh would want a banana tree so close to his house?
Kurnawan drove me there, and we parked the car before beginning our search for Tok Pak. We asked around, but the villagers were reluctant to help. They glanced at the map, shook their heads, and quickly walked away, avoiding eye contact.
Finally, we found a friendly kid who was willing to assist us.
Of course, I didn't offer the kid any cigarettes; a cold ice cream did the trick.
"That's Tok Pak's house over there. I can only take you this far," the kid said, pointing to a small hut in front of us before running off as fast as he could.
The house was small, built with wood and a zinc roof.
Next to it stood the banana tree.
The atmosphere around the house felt eerie and unnervingly quiet.
There were a few chickens in a coop nearby, but they hardly made any noise.
We knocked on the door, but it didn't open, even though we could hear sounds from inside.
I peered through the window to see if anyone was home.
Inside, a young woman was kneeling, chanting prayers.
In front of her stood an old man, dressed in a shirt and sarong.
He was carefully placing tree roots into a glass full of oil.
Suddenly, his gaze snapped to mine.
My heart started pounding, and I clutched my chest as a sharp pain shot through it.
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"Are you okay?" Kurnawan asked, holding me warily.
I was in too much pain to answer. Then the door opened, and the pain slowly subsided.
I had to take a few deep breaths before I felt alright again.
The young woman who had been praying moments before quickly covered her face with her tudung and left.
In her hands was the glass bottle filled with oil, with a root submerged inside.
"Come in. Next time, don't peep into other people's huts," a deep voice called from within.
I slowly entered the hut.
Inside were many odd items.
Some bones were lying around, a snake was in a cage, and a kris (knife) hung on the wall.
The old man, Tok Pak, was sitting down, lighting a pipe and looking at us intensely.
"Are you here for a Pengasih (Love) spell like that woman?" He pointed in the direction the woman had gone, using his pipe.
"No, we're not here for a Pengasih. We need your help with this." I handed him my phone, showing him the picture of the red worm.
He looked at the picture and frowned.
"My friend got bitten by this worm, and he's now in the hospital. Can you help heal him?"
Hearing this, Tok Pak took a deep puff from his pipe, exhaled, and asked, "How long has he been bitten?"
"One day ago."
He grinned uncomfortably as he stared at us.
"You're lucky. If you'd come a day later, I wouldn't have been able to help.
"I need to perform a spiritual ritual to ward off the evil spirit making him sick. It will cost you IDR $15 million."
"He's in the hospital now. We can take you there. Here's IDR $5 million as a deposit."
I had taken some cash bundles from my Shifu's safe for this trip.
Luckily, it was more than enough to pay the Bomoh.
"Let me make preparations."
He accepted the IDR $5 million, took down the Kris from the wall, and put some dried plants into his bag.
Then we left the hut.
On the way, I called Amy Lee to update her. I needed her and Sea Snake Fang at the hospital just in case.
You never know whether someone is trustworthy.
…
When we arrived at the hospital, Amy Lee was already there.
"Are you sure about this Bomoh guy?" she asked.
"Yes, we have to try something."
We then went straight into Bobby's ward.
Bobby was still unconscious, lying on the bed with the machines beeping periodically.
His hands had become even more swollen, despite the antibiotics.
The Bomoh examined Bobby's wound, shook his head, and mumbled to himself.
He then took out a piece of yellow cloth and spread it on the floor.
Next, he pulled out a dark-colored urn, grabbed a bunch of dried plants, placed them inside the urn, and started burning them.
He sat down, closed his eyes, put his hands together with his palms facing up, and began chanting.
"Who are you? What are you doing in the hospital? Security!"
A nurse entered the ward and shouted at the Bomoh to stop.
The Bomoh, deep in his trance and focused on his chanting, ignored the nurse.
The nurse approached the Bomoh and tried to pull him out of the ward.
Amy Lee saw this and tapped the nurse on her shoulder.
The nurse turned around, opened her mouth to speak, but then miraculously stopped.
She seemed to be in a daze as Amy Lee whispered in her ear.
After nodding furiously, the nurse left the ward as if nothing had happened.
Later, I would learn that Amy Lee came from a family that specialized in all kinds of smells—smells that could render you horny, sedated, or in total submission.
When Amy Lee tapped the nurse's shoulder, she had silently applied submission powder to it.
With the nurse gone, the Bomoh continued his ritual.
After chanting, he took out the Kris and, with a stabbing motion, pinpointed Bobby's hand wound, 'stabbing' at it repeatedly.
He cursed in a language I couldn't understand as he performed the stabbing motion.
This went on for a few minutes.
Finally, Tok Pak stopped, took out a towel, and wiped the perspiration from his forehead.
"Mix this with water and let your friend drink it. After that, he will recover soon.
"The red worm is a type that feasts on the flesh of corpses. Your friend has been cursed by a vengeful spirit from a corpse, but I've exorcised the spirit. He should start to feel better."
He handed me a packet of grayish powder, instructing me on what to do next as he packed up.
I then paid him the remaining balance.
He reminded me to follow his instructions, then left.
I mixed the powder with the drinking water available in the ward and fed it to Bobby.
Since he was unconscious, we had to lift him upright, tilt his head back, open his mouth, and slowly drip the water into his mouth using a spoon.
We laid him back down and went outside the hospital for a smoke.
When we returned, Bobby coughed and regained consciousness.
"Hey, Bobby, are you feeling better?" I asked.
"I had a really exhausting dream. I dreamt I was digging for the construction of a tomb, and when it was completed, I was sealed inside. No matter how much I screamed, no one came, and then I woke up."
"Wait…" I suddenly got excited as I tried to piece everything together. Then it hit me, "I get it now! The main chamber of the tomb is behind the hole where the red worm was."
Amy Lee's eyes lit up when she heard me.
"The red worm most likely devoured the corpse of the workers, who was offered as sacrifice after constructing the tomb, which was a common practice before the Ming Dynasty.
"But in this case, they did it to silence those who constructed the tomb."
I snapped my fingers, pleased with myself for figuring it out.
"Let's make our move once Bobby recovers," Amy Lee said with determination.
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