After half an hour of a bumpy drive on an unmarked trail, zigzagging through the thick, maze of identical trees, we finally arrived at our destination-a clearing in the middle of nowhere. Which, in itself, was a miracle.

As soon as we got off the SUV, it turned around and drove away, leaving us in front of a two-story, modern, rectangular building. Street lamps ringed the place. I spotted at least four armed soldiers at the rooftop. A glass door was at the center of the building. The door slid open and a guy stepped out. When he saw us, he went straight up to us.

"Welcome to Biringan," he greeted with a huge smile. "You're the last to arrive." His friendly demeanor stands in contrast to his intimidating looks. Tall and dark-skinned. His dark hair was shaved crew-cut style. He was wearing beige cargo pants, white sneakers and a black t-shirt that was way too small for him or his chest was just way too big for his t-shirt.

"Right this way," he said as he ushered us inside the building.

He didn't introduce himself or asked our names, which was very weird. And it was a bit awkward at this point to ask for his name so we just followed behind him towards the glass door in silent.

The door slid open automatically as we approach, blasting us with cool air.

We slide along the smooth, tiled floor. The place was lightly decorated with huge, black vases, potted plants, some paintings, and furniture. It was like any other dorm I've seen.

Inside, there were other teenagers. Five guys and four girls all wearing uniforms from different schools. Then there's this one girl sitting at the bottom of the steps of the split staircase. She stood out easily in her blue, knee-length, one-piece dress with long sleeves. Her raven black hair braided on one side, creating a fish-like tail that rests over her shoulder.

Everything about her is elegant like she was going to the prom, except for the white, running shoes she's wearing. And she's also the only one with her luggage with her. So she's either homeschooled or out-of-school. Based on her looks, I'm going with homeschooled.

"All right, listen up!" Our buff guide shouted. All of us formed a semi-circle around him. He was accompanied by a middle-aged man with graying hair and a balding head. "I am Major Lewis Coleman. And I will be giving you your orientation," he said smiling, his voice was loud and lively.

"For the entire month, you will be living here with your fellow haunteds and with Mr. Marino here-he gestured to the man on his side-isolated from the rest of the city not only for your safety from the Shade but also to avoid the repeat of the Dark Year."

He then proceeded to give a quick recap of the Shade history, all the way to the beginning of the first appearances of the Shade to the Dark Year that led to the construction of the shelter, Biringan. Not that we need reminding of.

The Dark Year. It was taught in our history class as part of the curriculum of the subject so almost everyone knows about it. I've seen a documentary about it, once.

It was when U.V. lights were first installed inside homes, preventing the deaths of haunteds. But because of that, another problem arose. The Shade never seemed to hurt other people, only haunteds. But that didn't stop the general public to blame every misfortune, sudden deaths, and mysterious illnesses to the Shade for years.

Over the years, the fear of Shade then turned into hate for the haunteds. Many of them were ostracized, bullied and harassed. They feared for their lives on a daily basis, even their families received death threats. Then the worst year came.

The Dark Year. During this year, paranoia solidified to the mass hysteria of killing innocent kids. The public persecuted the haunteds. The U.V. lights that once protected them had now painted them targets for scared neighbors.

Several stories of mobs invading homes, breaking down barricaded doors and dragging terrified kids, and in some cases, even their family, outside to be executed by a cheering crowd, were all over the evening news for weeks.

There was an incident with a school where a crowd had gathered outside the school gates, waiting for the suspected haunted and ambushed the poor kid with clubs and stones, killing the sixteen year old in front of his classmates.

I remembered the most was the poor family of only a single mother and her son, without any other relatives to help them. So when the mob came for her boy, the mother could only watch helplessly on the side as her kid was being butchered in front of her. It was brutal.

The most superstitious of the mobs tied haunteds outside at night for the Shade to kill, believing that by doing so, the Shade would not harm them or their businesses spared from misfortunes.

Shootouts between the police and the families protecting their kids against the mobs got so bad that the city was placed under martial law.

Once the month had passed, everything returned to normal. The murderous community apologized to the families and their victims. The prisons were overcrowded with the flood of criminals. News of the incident was covered all over the world, dubbing it The Modern Salem Witch Trial. The Vatican offered masses and prayers for all the people of our city. When the killing stopped and people came to their senses, the death toll reached 150, 138 more unnecessary deaths compared to what should had been only twelve.

"To ensure the Dark Year never happens again, the government established Biringan." Major Coleman ended.

After the history lesson, he explained that there are six rooms on the first floor. To our left were the dining hall and the storage room. To our right were the arcade and the movie theater. Behind us were the laundry room and the clinic, with the split-staircase at the center.

"First things first," Major Coleman said, gesturing to the table near the entrance door. "We have our suggestion box here for complaints or requests, should you have any."

Then he led us to the dining hall first, which was both the kitchen and the dining area. It's like one of those high-end, luxury kitchen and dining rooms I only see pictures of. To the far left was the kitchen sink with a window view to the trees outside. Electric stoves were installed on the counter top made of granite-I say granite because it's the only stone that I could think of-with an exhaust vent hanging above. An oven was built into the wall, next to a refrigerator with double doors and multiple drawers. On our side were three square, rustic dining tables with glass vases holding decorative flowers. Each table had four chairs padded with soft, silvery cushions.

"I hope you know how to cook," Major Coleman said, grinning.

Oh great. I can't cook a real meal. And I have a feeling Food Panda doesn't make deliveries here so ordering Jollibee is probably not an option. But we had home economics class so I can at least fry eggs and precooked hams so worst-case scenario: I'll be eating processed foods for the rest of the month.

"What about those who can't cook?" A girl said with a sheepish grin. Her skin was a golden tan, looks athletic, and her blonde hair was pulled into a simple ponytail. It's not hard to guess that her family are descendants from the foreigners who settled here because of their interest in the Shade.

"Anyone here knows how to cook?" Major Coleman said. At least half of us raised their hands.

"Does cup noodles count?" The guy with short, spiky, hair with brown skin said. The room burst into laughter.

"We'll count it," Major Coleman said, still smiling. "Well, that's what Mr. Marino is here for. Besides, I'm sure you can find something to eat in the Storage Room."

Major Coleman must have realized it was almost lunch because he instructed Mr. Marino to prepare our meals. We left Mr. Marino behind as the tour continued through the door on the right, connecting this room to the storage room.

"We made sure to stock on only fresh and new products every October so you don't have to worry about eating anything from last year." Major Coleman explained.

The storage room was like a convenience store minus the counter and ATMs. Rows of different bags of chips, cookies and an assortment of baking ingredients and canned goods take up most of the space of the room. The walls were lined with large refrigerators with glass doors filled with soft drinks and bottled beverages. Upright freezers kept meat, hotdogs and other frozen products. And there's also a refrigerator for fruits and vegetables, like the ones on display in supermarkets.

"And of course, everything's free," Major Coleman said. Everyone "Whoo!" and scattered, disappearing behind the rows of goods. I rushed on to check what kind of candy they have.

"Sweet! They have gummy bears," A scrawny kid with short, messy hair next to me said, comparing packets of gummy bears he's holding. I say kid because the embroidered emblem on his uniform reads: Damien Middle School. I think he's the only middle school student here.

When he noticed me, he got up immediately. "Oh, hello," he said, extending his hand. a full smile was on his face. "I'm Demi. Demi Clive."

"Vergil Torres," I said, shaking his hand.

"Can you believe this? Free Gummy bears!" His voice got super high when he said that. "You want one?"

I do love gummy bears so I took it. "Thanks, man."

"Did you know that the green gummy bears are actually strawberry-flavored?" he continued. "At least for this brand."

Major Coleman clapped his hands. "All right, that's enough," he said. Despite being a Major and all, he was being very patient with us, so he's starting to look less intimidating. "Let's continue with the tour." We all gathered and followed him towards another door and we're back at the visitor's lounge.

We were walking towards the other side of the dorm, which he explained was divided into an arcade and a movie theater. At the door, Major Coleman stopped and faced us. A broad smile spread across his face. "You're going to love this one," he said and opened the door.