A young man in Malolos, Bulacan was hanging out with his friends late one night. He grew up in the town outskirts near the wide plains. It was very different then. Electricity was reserved for the wealthy, there were no lamp posts to light the rural roads and when its nighttime, its really dark. Most of the lands were either abound with tall talahib or plots of land for farming so its really scary walking alone when its dark. Only the bravest souls stay outside late after dusk.
These boys were testing their bravery and were on the lookout for something. Weeks ago, an old farmer was heading home late in the evening from tuba with friends. He claims a huge black figure suddenly crossed the road in front of him, and when he tried to run, he said the creature attacked him but he was able to get away. The barrio people had mixed reactions to the old farmer's story but fear is the most prevalent. The boys stayed up late to prove that the old farmer was right and to capture the beast.
They were whispering among themselves when suddenly, the young man saw a big black shadow paused on the road. He alerted his friends of the creature and all four of them ran towards the black silhouette screaming. It ran away but they chased after the creature who looked like a hairy four-legged animal in the moonlight. When the beast went out of the road, the group was split but the young man stayed on its tail until he cornered it. Panting, the young man couldn't believe he caught up with it. Little did he know what he was about to find out.
With just bare hands, he was so sure while they were chasing the animal, he could take it on head to head. But now that he got closer, being left alone with the beast was clearly a huge mistake. There was a devilish air surrounding the creature and a foul smell tailing it. He realized that the monster was as tall as his shoulders and was massive.
Without a path to go to, the beast faced its pursuer, and the young man saw red glowing eyes like live coals. It was a huge hairy dog, ready to fight back. The young man remembered his lolo telling him of an aswang that can turn into a big black pig or dog. It has the strength of 10 men and in facing one, a man should have a buntot page or a fire hardened bolo quenched in holy water or a sharpened bamboo pole as weapons. Fear set in, and the young man ran for his life.
He and his friends lived to tell the tale of their chase. What they tell others, never chase an aswang without any weapons or tools, the tides can easily change between the prey and the predator.
