“You’re [i]sure[/i] this is the right tunnel?”

“Yes.”

A young, rather short woman was making her way through one of Santa Celia’s many abandoned metro tunnels. Caucasian with a hint of Asian features to her face, pale blue eyes, black hair shaved short at the back and sides, the top still somewhat short and unkempt, a red-dyed streak above her forehead. Red shirt, black jacket, gray jeans, and black sneakers and gloves. She held a flashlight in her left hand, illuminating the tunnel. Her right hand held some form of communication device to her ear, connected to someone who wasn’t physically present.

“It’s up ahead.” The woman’s voice on the other end says. Her voice sounds aged, with an evident Iranian accent.

“Okay.” The young girl replies, “And no one’s gonna be down here, right?”

“No one. Stop worrying. I told you all the details.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I just… ju- oh my [i]God[/i] it stinks down here!”

“That means you’re very close.”

The girl keeps moving, eventually coming up to a very out-of-place scene. A sludge-covered spot in the tunnel, a nest of a dozen large, baby-sized eggs forming a crooked circle around the spot. The girl shines her flashlight on them, a very disgusted look forming on her face as she catches sight of the infant-like silhouettes within the sanguine pods. She keeps a few feet worth of distance between herself and the nest, speaking to her friend on the line once again.

“Jesus [i]Christ[/i]... Miss Shirazi, what do they want with-”

“Elsie, I need you to stop asking questions and just grab one of the eggs.”

“Okay! Okay… any one of them will do?”

“Yes, just be quick. We need to set it up in artificial incubation as soon as possible.”

“Okay.”

The girl, Elsie, approaches one of the eggs. She crouched down and shines her flashlight at the infantile creature inside, once again narrowing her eyes and scrunching her nose in disgusted recoil. After a moment, she regains her composure and stands up. She places her gloved hands on the egg, pulling it upward. She struggles, but with some effort, the egg detaches from its place in the sludge-nest. Else holds it in her hands, grunting a bit at the egg’s surprising weight. She contacts her friend Miss Shirazi once again.

“Got it!”

“Good. Get back here quickly”

“Okay.”

And with that, Elsie vanishes instantly, along with the egg. The space where she stood fluctuates for a split second before correcting itself. Teleportation, an apparent ability of hers. She is gone without a trace - and the aswang nest with no parents to care for it is left to its own fate.