Chapter 27: The Watcher in the Water
The afternoon air was thick with tension. Peterson sat on the edge of his bed, his eyes fixed on the shimmering XP bar in his Voodoo System interface, still glowing faintly from his recent gains. But suddenly, a strange ripple of energy surged through his chest. It wasn't from the system—it was something else. Something foreign.
He stood abruptly. "Something just surfaced," he muttered.
Amanda, curled up on the bed with a book, sat up immediately. "What do you mean surfaced?"
"There's something... out there. I felt it. Like a pulse in the air."
Miranda looked up from her phone. "Then we're coming with you."
Peterson hesitated. "No way. It might be dangerous."
Amanda crossed her arms. "And you think we're gonna let you go alone?"
He sighed. "Fine. But stay close."
The trio quietly climbed out the window, trying not to disturb their mother, who was still humming a lullaby from the kitchen. As Peterson dropped to the ground below, they heard a grunt.
"Ah crap, not again," Jean-Daniel groaned, dangling halfway through the window frame.
The three looked up in surprise.
"You trying to break into my room or just practicing your climbing?" Peterson joked.
Jean-Daniel pulled himself through and dropped beside them. "I was coming to show you my new system alert. But clearly, there's a secret club forming without me."
"Perfect timing," Peterson said. "We've got something to check out."
They crept through the back streets, slipping past stray dogs, tin-roof houses, and the creaky wooden fences that bordered the narrow path to the outskirts of Cap-Haïtien. Eventually, they reached the area—a large, serene water basin circled by mossy rocks, with thick forest closing in around it.
Peterson furrowed his brow. "Nothing here."
Jean-Daniel shrugged. "Maybe it was just your system messing with you."
"Maybe," Peterson said, unconvinced.
Just as they turned to leave, a bone-chilling growl cut through the silence.
From the forest, hulking figures emerged.
Seven Galipots.
Their twisted canine faces snarled, fangs bared, walking upright like werewolves but distorted by shadowy energy. Long claws gleamed under the canopy, and their eyes glowed with malevolence.
"Back up!" Peterson yelled.
Jean-Daniel acted quickly, slamming his hand to the ground. "Protective Dome: Material Shield!"
A circular dome formed instantly around Amanda and Miranda, its surface lined with metallic sheen as it pulsed with his energy.
The Galipots charged.
Peterson's Veve symbols flared green across his skin. "Activate Veve Power!"
His aura exploded outward like a shockwave, throwing back the first two attackers. One clawed through the air but missed narrowly. Peterson launched a summoned skeleton forward, its shield raised high.
Jean-Daniel met the third Galipot head-on, fists turning to iron. He ducked under a slash and countered with a metal-forged uppercut that sent the beast flying into a tree.
The other four circled, growling low.
"System," Peterson muttered. "Summon: Dual Blade Skeletons."
Two skeletal warriors burst from green light, slashing through the underbrush with rusty machetes. But for each Galipot they knocked back, two more emerged.
"Where are they all coming from?!" Jean-Daniel barked, parrying a claw with a stone gauntlet that formed over his arm.
"They're multiplying!" Peterson shouted.
Blood trickled from his cheek. One Galipot had scratched him deep across the arm. Jean-Daniel wasn't faring much better—his left leg was bruised, and his breathing ragged. Inside the dome, Amanda and Miranda clutched each other, eyes wide with fear.
"I should've stayed home," Amanda whispered.
"No," Miranda whispered. "We had to come. He needed us."
Peterson turned just in time to see one of the Galipots leap toward the dome. "NO!" he roared.
Before he could move, shadows erupted across the ground.
From the blackness, Wilkens emerged, shrouded in swirling tendrils of living darkness. "Shadow Warp: Emergency Pull!"
Everyone was swallowed by the shadows—Peterson, Jean-Daniel, Amanda, and Miranda vanished into the black as Wilkens whisked them away.
The world twisted for a moment, and then they landed with a thud back in Peterson's bedroom.
Wilkens staggered, eyes wide. "I got everyone, right?"
Everyone lay panting on the floor.
"You... you saved us," Peterson gasped.
Amanda pulled Miranda into a hug. "That was too close."
Peterson sat up, wiping blood from his cheek. "Thanks, Wilkens. You got here just in time."
Wilkens chuckled nervously. "Well, someone had to save the muscleheads."
Jean-Daniel flopped on the bed. "We were totally not winning that fight."
Then Miranda pointed to the window.
"Um... who is that?"
They all turned.
A young girl with flowing blonde hair stood calmly on the windowsill. Her eyes glowed faintly green, and she wore an elegant medieval-style dress laced with gold and silver embroidery. She looked like she stepped out of a fairytale—or a nightmare.
Peterson stood slowly. "Who... are you?"
The girl curtsied with a smile. "I am Lili Zaka. And I believe we have much to discuss."
Jean-Daniel reached for a weapon. "She with the Galipots?"
"No," she said, amused. "Quite the opposite. I sensed something rare today... a power that doesn't belong to this world."
Everyone froze.
"You're from the Loa World?" Wilkens asked.
Lili nodded. "Yes. And you've awakened something ancient. That medallion... others will come for it. Stronger than the Galipots. You'll need to be ready."
Amanda and Miranda looked pale.
"Wait... others?" Peterson said, his jaw tight.
Lili nodded again. "This was just the beginning."
Outside, a faint green beam pulsed in the distant woods—the lingering trail of Peterson's Veve power before it dimmed completely.
[END OF CHAPTER 27]