CHAPTER 26: THE CHAOS

They sat in silence for the rest of the ride, save for Hans who tried to cheer them up by pointing out all the landmarks of Seoul that they passed by. Suzanne stared blankly out the window, the snow was knee-deep by now and there was no sign of the snow letting up.

 

They drove past a bearded man with a beanie holding up a cardboard, it read; THE END IS NIGH! REPENT!

 

It was a depressing scene, Hans kept quiet after that.

 

An hour later, they arrived at the Gangnam province and pulled up at Hans’ residence. The minivan stopped briefly in front of a huge vintage iron gate before it swung open, allowing the minivan to make its way up an enormous driveway up a little hill. The winding road seemed to go on for miles when all of a sudden, Tom was gazing out of a large…Tom shook his head. The word ‘large’ did not do the place justice. It was a mansion and a great big one at that.

 

*Great, he’s good looking AND rich.*

 

The mansion was of elegant colonial design, with its beautiful architectural features of white walls and rounded pillars. The whole place was illuminated by floodlighting, giving the place a warm yet cosy feel. To the unseen eye, the mansion was just an impressive building, but to the clairvoyants in the minivan, the place was a refuge for spirits before they journeyed to the great beyond.

 

For out in the snow-covered garden walked a few spirits, one enjoying the night sky, one making a ghostly snow angel and another looking at Hans and his friends.

 

“*What’s with the entourage, Hans? Having an orgy*?” one smiled sneakily, eyeing Suzanne. Suzanne was far too depressed to greet the horny spirit.

 

“Mind your own business, Jimmy. And you two, don’t stay out too late you hear me?” Hans called out as he helped Tom bring the luggage bags out. Tom froze.

 

*We’re not alone?*




He was still not used to the idea of spirits wandering about. As if sensing his thoughts, Hans beamed another of his eye-blinding smile at Tom and patted his back.




“You’ll get used to it.”




“I hope so,” Tom muttered under his breath, wearily looking around. It was still dark but he was grateful for all the lampposts and floodlights around. The warm orange glow made him feel a lot less vulnerable.




Suzanne and the twins began heading towards the next building, it was much smaller than the mansion, but still of impressive architecture nonetheless. Tom looked back between the main mansion and the next building wondering how the girls knew they were staying at this double-storey detached lot as opposed to the gigantic four-storey mansion. Perhaps they had communicated via text messages prior to meeting up.




Thomas walked up from behind, panting. His lips were practically blue from the cold, “The mansion serves as a temporary resting place of sorts for the spirits before they depart for the rainbow bridge. The one we’re staying,” he nodded his head towards the detached lot, “is for us, the humans.”




Tom’s jaw literally dropped.




“Don’t worry, they won’t bother us. Besides, Hans has already set up a protective barrier all around our place. The guy’s a genius when it comes to enchantments. You can rest your laurels and have a good sleep.”




Marcelino marched ahead with the rest of the luggage, his fuzzy hair sticking out from under his beanie cap, collecting snowflakes.




Thomas’ words did little to quell Tom’s worries. He didn’t want any spirits hovering over him while he slept. He shook his head, wishing he hadn’t taken up Suzanne’s dare on marathoning horror movies last month. Scenes from Insidious and The Poltergeist started to pop up in his head. He quickened his step, trying to stay as close to Marcelino as possible. The big man looked a lot stronger than Thomas. A gust of wind could probably blow the pale young man away.




Jimmy and the other two spirits waved a jolly goodbye to Hans as they made their way to the detached house.




Once inside, they stook off their winter boots and coats, placing them on the racks beside the main door. They all stood at the lobby, right in front of the grande dame of all staircases. The bifurcated staircase had a sweeping set of steps that split off into two smaller flights going in the opposite direction. It reminded Tom of the iconic Titanic staircase. And above them, a magnificent chandelier glistened like a diamond. It was as if Tom had stepped into the home of a royal. In front of him, Hans passed them their bags and directed them to their rooms.




“Ladies, you get the left-wing on the first floor, gentlemen, you head to the right.”




Tom blinked, stepping forward, “Excuse me?”




They all turned to look at him, save for Suzanne who was still lost in her thoughts.




Then the lightbulb in Hans’ head suddenly lit up and he laughed awkwardly before smacking Tom on his weak arm, Tom winced. The pain from his brush with the black mist never really went away, suddenly reminding him of why they had travelled halfway around the world to be here.




“Right, sorry man, I forgot Suzanne got herself a boyfriend,” Hans handed over the key to Tom and gave him a wink. Tom forced a smile back, his eyes still on Suzanne.




He was worried about her. The meeting with Vlad the vampire and the revelation that most of her friends had perished had all but drained her. He had never seen her in such despair before. Between the two of them, she had always been the more positive one.




“Alright, you’re all jet-lagged. Get some rest. We’ll meet in the library at the crack of dawn. There will be much to do,” Hans said solemnly.




They all nodded wordlessly and headed for their rooms, knowing deep in their hearts that daylight would bring them one step closer to the age of apocalypse.