Several police vehicles and even a couple of military vehicles were already parked outside an office building located in Orchard Road by the time Bradley arrived in the Special Hazard Exorcism Unit’s armoured vehicle. Inside the armoured vehicle, Chen Weijin adjusted his vest and joint pads, having been assigned as team leader for the human officers which consists of Roderick, Amirah, Ajibade and two other officers, a Chinese half-elf surnamed Yeo and Indian officer Weijin referred to as Jackie.

There were three other officers also in the vehicle, but unlike the others, they had different roles. One was, of course, Di Xiaoye, once again dressed like a ‘biker chick’ as her colleagues like to say, but the other officer, a large Malay man with dishevelled hair and a fierce look, was wearing the same green leather jacket as her, though under it he wore a form fitting white t-shirt and a pair of jeans but not any footwear or gloves. The last officer was an uptight elven inspector surnamed Dettral Hamlins, who was at the front of the vehicle with Bradley, monitoring the body cameras the human officers were wearing on a tablet.

“Man, I hate it when the SRE is here in Orchard,” Weijin complained.

“Why, sergeant?” Roderick asked.

“I have a bad reputation in this parts… Lots of men here are itching to break my handsome face.”

“Because you make their girlfriends break up with them, right, Farhan?” Xiaoye retorted while asking the large Malay man seated next to her, causing the other officers to chuckle at Weijin’s expense.

“You said it, Xiaoye,” the latter replied as he exchanged fist bumps with the cambion.

“Oh, right, I should introduce you to the rookies. Roderick, Amirah, this is Inspector Farhan, a designated exterminator like myself.”

“Nice to meet you both. And I see that you’re actually a police medic, Miss Amirah?”

“Oh, for real? I never noticed that,” Xiaoye commented once she saw the word “MEDIC” on the back of Amirah’s vest.

Never thought I would see Sergeant Di finally get rookies of her own.”

“Well, Amirah’s partially under me, though. She’s Weijin’s rookie.”

“I see. Do you need me to help you write him up for harassment, Amirah?”

“Wow, you’re the fifth officer to ask me that this week,” Amirah replied while Roderick gave Weijin an awkward look.

“Hey, I’m no creep, I’m a bona fide gentleman! Amirah, listen not to these officers, they seek but one goal, which is to ruin my reputation with their impudent lies and vile insults.”

“And how do we ruin your reputation when you are doing it yourself, Shakespeare? Your sentences don’t even rhyme!”

“All right, all right, enough, joke time’s over. Let’s get out the vehicle, AC Bradley’s going to brief us about the situation,” Farhan said to Xiaoye as he got up and, to the rookies’ surprise, shoved the heavy door of the armoured vehicle open with a simple push of his fingers.

“Looks like the Rapid Emergency Assault Division’s already here. Damn, I hate those army guys,” Weijin muttered at the sight of military commandos armed to the teeth and dressed in black-and-green camo loitering around the area.

“Why, sergeant?” Roderick asked.

“Because they get in the way, that’s why. Every time they lose one of their men during an SRE, we get the blame. Oh, and some of their higher-ups don’t like our non-human colleagues.”

“All right, boys, girls and others if they’re present, listen up. This SRE’s code has been confirmed as Delta, so READ’s coming with us, like it or not. Thirty minutes ago, two officers were called to investigate what initially appeared to be an affray at floor twenty-one. That’s when all hell broke loose. Right now, this whole building’s filled with unidentified, insect-like creatures that have been confirmed to be highly aggressive,” Bradley briefed the team while gesturing at the hotel.

“Any casualties, sir?” Jackie asked.

“The two officers, at least twelve employees and five security guards. Everyone else managed to get out of the building.”

Dettral Hamlins, the elven DSP, made a coughing sound, and Bradley stepped aside so that the latter could speak. Xiaoye stood behind Roderick and Weijin so that Hamlins would be unable to shoot glares at her direction. When the Special Hazard Exorcism Unit was formed, Hamlins, who comes from a line of law enforcement officers and military command, was extremely vocal among those who had refused to allow Xiaoye, a convicted criminal, to join the Shades. Even after seven years, Hamlins was still disapproving of her, but was notably less hostile than before.

“All but one, excluding the dead. We’ve done a quick check regarding the reason why the officers were in there in the first place. You all will want to keep an eye out on this man, Zhang Meng,” Hamlins explained as he brought up a hologram of a Chinese male in his late forties with a gaunt-looking face.

“Zhang Meng, 48, Chinese national from Hubei, clean records. He began working in Singapore three years ago, and was described as a jovial and helpful fellow, well-liked by his colleagues. Three months ago, he returned to China for vacation, but when he came back, his personality had changed, becoming quiet, rude, even aggressive at times. The two deceased officers were called to this building at one-seven-o-one hours because Zhang Meng had gotten into a physical fight with his manager and security. Eyewitnesses said that was when he suddenly ‘unleashed a wave of energy that knocked everyone down’ right before these insect monsters began manifesting, turning the entire building into their hunting grounds.”

“Our friends in Counter-magic have reason to believe that Zhang Meng himself may have been a victim, given his complete change in personality and behaviour. They suspect there is a high chance that he may had been used as a curse-carrier. Either way, our job is to deal with the threat at hand first. Investigations can only proceed once the building is cleared of hostiles. Due to this SRE’s assigned code, a squad from READ’s D-Company will be joining us,” Bradley added as he gestured towards an Indian man in his mid-thirties dressed in full military gear approaching them with his men.

“Good evening, officers of the Special Hazard Exorcism Unit. I’m Captain Andrew Narayanan. If memory serves me right, this is the first time my squad is working with you all,” the man greeted as he and Bradley exchanged handshakes.

“Well, this is different from the usual greetings we get,” Weijin commented.

“I understand you all have some negative experiences regarding some of my colleagues. If it makes your men comfortable, sergeant, I do not agree with their opinions of the Shades. After all, your unit is the one with the most experience in dealing with such cases. My men and I are just here to provide the extra firepower. Is there some kind of rule we are to follow?” Captain Andrew asked.

“Yeah, just one rule. If we tell your men not to do something, your men don’t do it,” Ajibade replied.

“That’s simple to follow. Guys, you heard the Shade. We stick to their rules. If you disagree, you can stay outside and miss all the fun. Clear?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Can you believe this? The army guys are actually listening to us,” Roderick whispered to Amirah, who nodded, just as confused as her fellow rookie about the whole thing.

“All right, let’s get inside so that I can set the exterminators loose. Chen, you will take Jackie and Yeo, go with Farhan. Ajibade, you take our two rookies, go with Xiaoye. Captain, how would you split your men?” Bradley asked.

“Two five-man teams, one led by my lieutenant here, Lim, while I take the other team. Each team will go along with one of yours, sir.”

“In that case, Captain Andrew, your team will go with Chen and Farhan. Lieutenant Lim can accompany Ajibade and Xiaoye.”

The SCDF and SOC personnel barricading the main entrance into the building, upon Bradley’s signal, opened the doors, allowing the combined team of Shades and READ to enter the lobby, where the shredded corpse of a security guard laid in front of the elevator, causing Roderick and Amirah to flinch.

“And people argue that Singapore’s security guards don’t need to be armed… He would have had a fighting chance if he had a baton at least,” Jackie commented as he and Ajibade examined the corpse.

“Focus on the task at hand. Everyone step back from Farhan and Xiaoye. I’m authorizing the use of their abilities. Xiaoye, you first.”

Bradley cleared his throat and began reciting the words of Ezekiel 7:3.

“Now the end is upon you, and I will send my anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations.”

The left half of Xiaoye’s Prayer Shackle suddenly glowed white for a second, and her head fell limply forward, as though she had gone unconscious, but then both Roderick and Amirah felt a burst of malicious emotions emitting from their half-demon colleague. The next thing they knew, Xiaoye had snapped her head back into position, her hair now slightly longer as her left hand transformed into a hideous, talon-like claw while the sclera of her eyes had turned black with some thin, dark green veins forming around them.

“My God…” one of the READ soldiers muttered in a mix of fear and awe as everyone except for Bradley, Farhan and Weijin stepped back from Xiaoye.

“Sinister-looking, eh? Don’t fash yourselves, you will get used to it,” Xiaoye said to the others.

“Sedikit sahaja, sudah takut? You all will have white hair when you see my transformation,” Farhan boasted before suddenly rearing his entire upper torso back and letting out a ferocious roar.

Amirah shrieked and hide behind an equally fearful Roderick as Farhan’s skin tore apart to reveal orange and black fur underneath, his face contorting into that of a ferocious tiger’s while his hands and feet also began transforming into a more bestial form. Within seconds, Farhan had transformed into a were-tiger of sorts, and unlike the ones portrayed in cartoons and comic books, Farhan’s appearance was quite frightening, with matted fur, bright red eyes and a deranged, predatory look.

“他媽的, 第一次看到你的變身, 原來比我的更恐怖,” Xiaoye teased Farhan in her mother tongue before unholstering one of her pistols.

“What is he?” Roderick exclaimed out loud as he pointed at the transformed Farhan.

“Farhan is a harimau jadian. He can use special charms made from white magic to transform into this mighty beast. The charms are sewn into his shirt, so that he can transform faster. Exterminators, you will take charge from here on out. I’ll be waiting outside. Clear this building as fast as possible. No need to check for survivors, all have been accounted for,” Bradley explained before leaving the building, the doors quickly being sealed once he was out.

“From that loud slam of the doors, I take it AC Bradley is finally out of the building?” Inspector Hamlins’s voice came in over the radios.

“Yes, sir,” Farhan replied.

“All right, based on the footage I’m getting from the drones, there are three targets. Two of them look like hives, one on floor seven, another on floor fourteen. I can’t determine what the last one is supposed to be, but it’s where everything supposedly began, floor twenty-one. You have your objectives.”

“Roger that, sir. Xiaoye, you take your team to fourteen and clear it out. I’ll take mine and clear the one on seven.”

“Sure. We’ll take the elevator.”

As Xiaoye and her squad squeezed into the elevator, Farhan took his up the stairs. As the elevator goes up, the nervousness Roderick and Amirah were experiencing became too obvious for their senior colleagues.

“Ease up, you two. Just shoot whatever is coming your way with malicious intent,” Ajibade said.

“You make it sound so easy,” Amirah retorted.

“Both of us have been in the force for four years, including National Service, but we’ve never had to draw even our batons before,” Roderick added.

“Right, this is the first time you two are entering a situation where you have to shoot something… Listen, do not hesitate, because whatever we’re about to face has only one intention in mind: Kill all intruders, which is us. Steady yourselves and open fire at any hostile.”

“Maybe it would be best if these two bring up the rear guard instead? Our captain always have new soldiers or transfers act as the rear guard,” the READ lieutenant suggested.

“Hey, that’s actually a good idea. What’s your name, sir? Lim, right? Yeah, Xiaoye, it might be wise to listen to him.”

“True, he is military, after all. Which reminds me: Lieutenant Lim, what kind of bullets are your men using?” Xiaoye asked.

“Silver bullets, made from ingots soaked in holy water for three days and blessed by ten different religions before being put to the fire.”

“Make every shot count, those are expensive bullets. And do not shoot me with them, I’ll rip the face off whoever hits me and wear it for the upcoming Halloween, savvy?”

The way Xiaoye wriggles the claws of her left hand as she flashed a toothy grin was a rather unnerving sight, with everyone in the elevator mentally reminding themselves to watch their fire, just as the elevator’s ding indicated that they have reached their destination.

“I can hear movement outside the elevator,” one of the READ soldiers mentioned, to which Xiaoye chuckled.

“Seems we were expected. Start firing once the doors open, folks, ‘cause a bloody party’s about to start.”