White Eyes

"Yes, her eyes suddenly turned white! How did you know dad?" Theo could not believe his father knew exactly what he was talking about.

"All the men you are seeing here are like you. They saw a woman's eyes turn white, and for some unexplainable reason their feet brought them here." Thomas further explained to Theo.

He stood in the middle. "Young men, gather round and I will explain everything to you." All the men there went to their seats silently. None of them understood what was happening.

Thomas pushed the wall behind him and a wall with ten monitors. Each monitor has a man in a suit, but all of them are unrecognizable because of their masks.

"Welcome to the Brotherhood of Phantoms." All ten men said simultaneously. Thomas cleared his throat before he spoke. It shows that he has high regards to the men behind those masks. This side of town respects Thomas as a person in authority.

"Gentlemen, by default, in association with your blood, you are all members of the group. However, each of you has some tasks to do to rank up in our organization. Only the loyal, deserves to know the big brothers and receive full privileges as a full pledged brother." Thomas narrated to the men in front of him.

Theo's eyebrows furrowed. If this is about a fraternity, then it is too elaborate for his taste. Other men in the room also started to talk amongst themselves.

Thomas raised his hand to settle them down. "We are not a regular brotherhood. If you don't believe in magic and unworldly beings, then it is time for you to start believing it."

Some of the men in the room laughed after Thomas spoke, thinking it was some kind of prank.

"Those of you who think this is something laughable, you may leave and ponder why you saw some women with white eyes and why your gut led you in this old tattoo parlor." Thomas added.

The men turned silent once again, as none of them can explain what is happening.

"We are all witch hunters." Thomas said it out loud.

"Dad? Why are we hunting mythical creatures that do not exist? Stop this non-sense already!" Theo shouted, he frustratingly glared at his father.

"Those women whose eyes turned white are witches." Thomas said directly. "It is our obligation to eliminate all of them before the masses finds out about them." He further reiterated.

"If this is true, then why did they suddenly resurface?" Bren said with conviction, still not wanting to believe what he is hearing.

One of the men in the suit showed an old book and spoke. "According to our outstanding leader, the last warlock made sure to protect their next generations. He cast a spell that protected the witches from us. We could not see their eyes; their real eyes. Also, all witches that bore sons do not inherit their powers, only the women do." He straightened his posture and loosened his tie.

"A few days ago, the spell was broken, as stated in the prophecy of the Witches' servants; the 'Sakalam' will be born and her power so strong it will break the protection spell of the warlock." He said in a worried tone.

"Sakalam? You mean we will hunt down a newborn?" Theo asked one of their leaders.

"The Sakalam is the strongest witch ever to walk the Earth. She is the only full-blooded witch existing. Her power is more than that of ten witches combined. What more when she learns to use her power?" The worry in his voice transcended to all the men in the room.

Theo's brows furrowed as he scratched his head. "If a witch cannot bear a son, how can there be a full- blooded witch remaining?"

Other men in the room agreed with his assessment.

"That's what we need to find out. For now, we have to hold the Sakalam in captive." The man in the mask said.

"How do we know she's the Sakalam?" Bren asked.

"Her eyes are bluish gray. That's the only clue we have so far." The man said as he rested his back on his chair. "Common sense will tell us that the newborn's parents are witches too. Black eyes for men and white eyes for women and of course bluish gray for the Sakalam."

Theo suddenly thought of Cara's new contact lenses. He smacked his face for thinking of how captivating her bluish gray eyes are even if he is in the middle of something important.

"Are there any questions?" Thomas asked the new members of their brotherhood.

Theo raised his hand. "What do we do if the parents refuse to give the Sakalam to us?" He asked with hesitation.

"We eliminate all of them, no questions asked." The man in the suit said with conviction.

***

Bren walked home, still feeling lost with everything that he found out at the tattoo shop. All the men walked out from the shop like nothing has changed. It baffled him that he does not feel the gusto they all feel for having the 'license to kill'.

"Mom, I'm home." Bren announced his arrival to his mom.

"Son, come and join me and your sister for dinner. I've prepared your favorite food." His mom affectionately called him in.

"hmm, it smells wonderful, mom, I'm sure if dad is still with us, he would gobble this bowl up in no time." Bren embraced his mom from behind her back.

"You should not tire yourself, mom. You are sick." Bren got into his bowl and sat down.

"It's okay, son. You know I have this unexplained flow of energy. I am actually feeling better." She confirmed to his son.

"Well, that's good news, mom. Looks like we are finally kicking the big C on the butt." He chuckled while he took a spoonful of risotto. Bren patted the head of her little sister, who is busy munching on her bowl of risotto. His little sister looked back at him, and Bren almost fell off his chair.

He immediately stood up while his heart was beating so hard it could go out of his chest. He turned around and collided with his mom.

"Son, are you okay?" She asked Bren, sincerely worried about his sudden agitation.

"Yeah, yeah mom. I got to go make a quick phone call." He answered briefly and rushed to his room.

"ring, ring." Bren was pacing back and forth in his room, waiting for Theo to pick up his call.

"Yeah Bren. What's up?" Theo finally answered.

Bren was biting his nails and can't seem to find the words to explain everything to Theo.

"Hey, are you there? Are you okay dude?" Theo asked Bren, sensing the uneasiness of the usual playful Bren.

"Bruh, I have a tremendous problem." Bren spoke in a low voice.

"What is it Bren? Spill!" Theo encourages Bren like he always does.

"My little sister and my mom… well bruh, they… they… have white eyes." Bren said slowly.

"What? Are you sure?" Theo confirmed it with Bren.

"A hundred percent bruh, what should I do? I'm freaking out right now!" Bren is getting restless.

"I'll go there dude, we'll figure something out." Theo was trying to comfort Bren.

"Bruh, please don't tell your father about this." Bren said with his voice cracking.

"Yeah, of course. I promise." Theo said without hesitation. He ended the call and sneaked out of his room, through the window. Since Cara left their home, Theo is now using her room. Good thing it has a window and a fire escape hatch so that Theo could go to Bren without his father noticing.

Bren's house is around thirty minutes away from his house. Theo took the train, the fastest way he could go to Bren's house.

***

"Blag" The violent sound of doors breaking resonated on the quiet household.

"Ahhh, no! please don't hurt us!" Bren's mom shrieked in fear. He instantly runs downstairs to check on his mom and sister.

Bren found his mom and sister on their knees, begging for their lives, in front of a man he knew all his life.

"You?" Bren tried to confront the man. He handed him a wooden stick.

"Use that to neutralize them." He said coldly.

"What the fu*k dude. No!" Bren said boldly, not minding the man in front of him.

"Well then, if that is your decision." The man answered back.

***

"Bruh! Bruh!" It's been a few minutes since Theo stood outside of Bren's house. His instinct is telling him that something is absolutely going wrong. He finally decided to go around the house to check the backdoor.

Theo's instinct was right. The door was open; he knocked once more before he went in.

"Bren? Mrs. Collins? Anybody home?" Theo announced his entrance to Bren's home.

Theo almost slipped with a slippery liquid on the floor. He looked down and saw the red fluid standing out on the white ceramic tiles of the kitchen. Theo could only cover his mouth and scream in silence at the gruesome scene that unfolded in front of him.