“Gyuu! ” Gloria coughed and heaved as her lung tried to return to its normal function. Some of the wooden beams above them creaked from the wind blowing through the now open door, blowing the dust away and clearing the air. “Gyuu, are you okay?”

“I’m alright. I’m alright. Mostly anyway.” Gyuu Park coughed and responded to Gloria, he was half buried under some wood panels, presumably from the currently non-existent bucket, thus Gloria did not see him at first: “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Gloria grunted as she pushed herself to stand up and limped toward Gyuu Park. The explosion made her right ankles hurt worse, especially the right.

“Well. That’s good, considering.” Gyuu Park stood up as well, and dusted off his clothes while looking around: “I’m just glad you’re okay. Did you see the doll?”

Gloria looked around on the floor, then without much hassle she was able to locate it - it was almost entirely buried under some broken wooden pellets and panel pieces at the foot of a wall.

“Well, it looks okay.” After examining the doll, now with a burn mark on the chest area and some scratches and scrapes, Gyuu Park handed it back to Gloria: “Now, you know how to dispose of this?”

“Put it in clean water, light up incense by the bucket overnight. Let it naturally dry and burn it?” Gloria scratched her neck: “I - I am sorry for this. I will definitely clean it up…”

“Nonono, you should go home.” Gyuu Park immediately shook his head: “This level of damage from a supernatural entity to an officially recognized temple requires me to file a report. I’d just ask that you be willing to give a statement if the community collective asks for it. Right now all we can do is to preserve the scene. If that doll wasn’t connected to you I would have kept it as well. Now go and rest, you’ll need it. And let me know if you need anything. Don’t forget to take all the talismans, just in case.”

“... are you sure?” Gloria frowned: “I mean, you have a lot of things that need fixing here. I mean - can you handle it? Where are you going to stay tonight?”

“Ha-ha. I don’t sleep here. There’s a small room in the back, that’s where I sleep. Pretty sure it’s okay to stay.” Gyuu Park shook his head and rushed Gloria: “Just go back home. I’ll need to seal off the inner sanctum and wait till the community collective to clear it. But don’t worry, I have no regular visitors anyway.”

“Alright, if you say so.” Gloria hesitated for a minute, but then took out her phone to check the time: “Okay, and PLEASE let me know if you need my help.”

“Will do. Now go!” Gyuu Park rushed Gloria one more time.

Gloria sighed, then went to the closet and took only two talismans from it, leaving the rest to Gyuu. She felt that Gyuu Park would need them.

“Are you okay?” Sue came to the door with a cup of tea in hand when Gloria opened the door: “You told me you’ll be back before sundown!”

“Yeah, I’m terribly sorry Sue.” Gloria patted her friend on the shoulder, then immediately rushed to the small, barely functioning TV and turned it on: “Have you watched the news? Is there something?”

“Uh - no? What do you mean?” Sue appeared to be confused, then sat down by Gloria’s side.

“Let me - let me just check.” Gloria clicked through several news channels, yet there was nothing about the massacre that led to several deaths in that electrical substation. “I - I don’t understand - it should be there at least.” Then she took out her phone and started browsing through several news websites, she even started searching for news on social media. Yet there was still nothing.

“What’s going on?” Sue gently placed her hand on Gloria’s left shoulder: “You seem worried - did something happen at Gyuu’s temple?”

“No - not really. I - ” Gloria stood up and started pacing in the room: “I actually am kinda worried. And I think if you’ll feel comfortable it’s better if you stay with someone else for the time being.”

“What? What - ” Sue was confused for a moment, then she recoiled a bit and took a step back: “You saw something, didn’t you? You ran into something?”

“I ran into a fucking Blood Rainbow.” Gloria sighed and sat down on one of her small tables: “I ran into another spirit - oh - ugh - I needed to tell Gyuu what I saw...”

“Another spirit?” Sue shivered at the notion: “Did you - did you or Gyuu deal with it?”

“Yeah, we dealt with it. But it’s hard to say. You know how these things are, it’s hard to actually tell if one is marked or being followed. So I suggest you find another safe place to hang around first, I’ll just have to - ”

“No.” Sue shook her head: “No, I’m not doing that.”

“But I might be marked - ”

“Yeah, no.” Sue sat on the arm rest of the small sofa, leaving it to Gloria: “I’m staying with you here, okay? I - I’ve got a lot to think about these few days, and I don’t think there’s any place that’d be safe for me.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Gloria smiled, then she shook her head: “But - it’s still dangerous okay? I got this feeling that it’s not safe for anyone in the district right now. Bring more talismans with you when you work. And don’t stay out late.”

“Yeah, yeah I know the drill, Mom. ” Sue chuckled, then picked up the cup of tea she put on the desk: “Let me heat this up for you. And - maybe you can tell me what happened.”

“I - are you sure?” Gloria sat down on the sofa and sighed: “You know how gruesome and dangerous it is. And I remember how scared you are. You - you sure?”

“I am sure. And don’t push me again.” Sue chuckled as she reheated the tea in the microwave: “And - uh, while you were out, I was back here reading all day. I don’t know how much you’ve read. But I’ve read a lot. And I meant a lot. And I put my college degree to good use to cross reference different records and compare everything with things I found online - ”

“Which means you should be more worried.” Gloria giggled as well.

“Oh yeah. If I could, I would definitely pack up and leave. But you know how impossible that is.” Sue brought Gloria the tea and sat down beside her: “And - this is my home, my friends. So - let me know what is happening. Or at least what happened.”