Chapter 1 - The Meeting

10th July 2019

“Dr. Anthony Jin? The Supernatural Professor?”

My breakfast of toast and eggs was rudely interrupted.

“I sound like I've just been cursed.” I shot back with a dose of sarcasm.

“I am sorry, but everyone calls you by that name,” he said.

I stopped stirring my Kopi-O and looked up at the disrupter of my breakfast routine.

“You’re not from the media I hope,” I asked.

“I assure you I’m not, Dr Jin.”

“Don’t call me Supernatural Professor. Just call me Ant. Everyone calls me that.” I asserted.

I tried to ascertain the speaker’s identity, but the sunlight behind the figure made it hard for me to make out his facial features. I stood up to get a better view but he continued.

“Some call you the Bridge. The Bridge to the other worlds.”

I winced at that description written by Singapore Global, a journalistic social site with over a million subscribers. It was an inconvenient overstatement, one of the causes of unnecessary public attention.

“Enough with titles.” I smiled as I spoke, hoping I was not rude.

I had a better look at him now. He was a man pushing fifty. Well-tanned with grey hair on the temples. His smile was strained and that made his friendly demeanour fake. The single eyelids lent an air of authority.

“Are you looking for a signature?” I asked, hoping to disperse the interruption as quickly as possible. Sales of my latest book have been brisk and I had surprises from fans.

“You misunderstood; it’s my fault. I failed to introduce myself properly.”

He sat down despite me making no invitation to join my breakfast.

“My name is Tan, Tan Choon Kim, but everyone calls me by my initials, CK.”

“Mr. Tan, what can I do for you?” I asked, careful not to knit my eyebrow. “Perhaps a drink?”

“I came because I need your help.” He did not appear to hear me and continued.

“Dr. Jin, I know you may be getting irritated with my sudden appearance. I am just pressed by the urgency of the moment.”

Irritated is an understatement but my intuition, that something grave has happened, counseled patience.

“Pardon me Mr. Tan, but where are you from?”

“Please, CK will do.”

“I prefer ‘Colonel’” I winked before continuing “Where are you from?”

“I’m from the Ministry of Defence.”

“Ministry of Defence,” I repeated. CK has my attention now. A first for a visit from the government.

“If this is about giving a lecture to your officers, you can talk to my programme director.”

“No, it is not about a lecture. I know you are a well-known lecturer with the National University of Singapore, but I came because of a pressing issue.”

“What might that be? “I asked casually.

“I am a Colonel with the Ministry of Defence. Military Forensic.”

My eyebrow raised. “Forensic? I am afraid that’s not my specialty.”

“I agree, but I actually came because of your other specialty - your supernatural skills.”

I raised my hands in an attempt to disengage, but CK continued, oblivious to my desire.

“You’re the direct descendant from a clan of great ghostbusters.”

I remained aloof.

“Ghostbuster is a superficial term,” I protested. “We are communicators with the spirits. A bridge between the two worlds. We do not ’bust’ anything or anyone.”

“Your reputation precedes you – you have solved many supernatural mysteries, no?”

“Those are tales. I fall short of the glowing testimonials you heard from the grapevine.”

“I remember that you were voted one of the top ten most eligible bachelors of Singapore. 1.8m tall, 32 years old, and a brilliant academic at a top university.”

I blushed, not being used to flattery. Where is this leading?

“You have unique abilities, Dr. Jin.”

“Call me Ant, please. I insist.”

I looked intently at the Colonel. It seems I am not going to shake him off easily.

“What do you want, Colonel?”

“Ant, you mean what I desperately need?”

I realized the Colonel had wrapped his hand over his fist.

“What happened?”

“There’s been an incident.”

“What incident?” I asked. The tension on the Colonel’s face baited me on.

 The breakfast diners seemed to fade away as my cat of curiosity pounced.

 “What incident?” I quizzed.

 “Last night,” He paused before continuing, “Last night-”

I sensed his nervousness but nodded encouragingly.

“We had a two-day field exercise over the weekend, and the at cut-off time, three National Servicemen failed to turn up.”

The Colonel shifted uncomfortably like he was on pins.

“Lost? Missing?” I tried to sound calm, though I comprehend the severity of the situation.

3 boys are missing!

The Colonel continued to explain.

“At the exercise cut-off time at approximately 2300 hours, a roll call was conducted, and the platoon commander realized they were missing. The disappearance was reported, and the Commanding Officer immediately ordered a search. Two hundred men! However, they found nothing. The brigade HQ was notified, and another battalion was mobilized for the search.”

“How long has it been?”

The Colonel checked his watch.

“In another 60 minutes, they would have gone missing for twelve hours.”

“Could they have gone AWOL?” I asked, referring to potential Absence Without Leave occurrence. It happens from time to time with juvenile boys all over the world.

CK was already shaking his head before I complete my sentence.

“Feedback from his superiors and peers showed these were good boys with good academic results. They are heading for university once they ORD in June next year. They have no reason to run away.”

ORD refers to the Operationally Ready Date, the day when the NS boys leave active service and join the reserve list.

“Why are you looking for me? Shouldn’t you be calling the police or getting more manpower on the ground?”

“The police have been notified, and they have men on the ground assisting in the investigation,” CK paused, “We suspect there could be some other reason for their disappearance.”

“What makes you say so?”

The Colonel was silent.

“You’re not telling me the whole truth, CK.”

I saw the Colonel bite his lips. He is holding back.

“Now, we either have full disclosure or we end the conversation here.” I stood. “All the best.”

The Colonel grabbed my arm. “I’m sorry.”

I sat again as he proceeded with a terse tone.

“It’s the location.”

“Where?” I asked.

 “Bukit Pandan.”

The severity of the situation dropped on me like planet Saturn.  That he had approached me at a public café, with the morning din, shows one thing – desperation.

Bukit Pandan was a precious piece of nature nestled at the western end of the island. It is filled with rolling plains dotted with the tallest Flame Trees in Southeast Asia. There were rows of the Pandan plants whose leaves carry a fragrance that earned its reputation as a must-have ingredient for desserts in Singapore and the region. Experts have estimated the oldest trees to be over a thousand years old. A fine piece of forestry.

The treasure trove of nature used to be gazetted for military training in land-scarce Singapore and was only removed from training sites just a few years back, thanks to the relentless efforts of nature conservation groups.

“Hasn’t training been banned since 2014?” I got loud.

“You’re correct, to a certain extent. Military training was barred in the area after a NS boy was found unconscious and completely lost his memory.”

“To a certain extent? To what extent?” I swallowed diplomacy.

“Since last year, the Ministry has permitted basic military training that does not require heavy military hardware.” 

“Nuts.” I blurted out, but the Colonel continued. 

“Dr. Ant, we are running out of training grounds. The Bukit Pandan plains is an ideal spot for topography and infantry maneuver with the distribution of hills and flat grounds.”

“What do you mean by basic training?”

“Short-term exercises within the scope of two to three days out-in-the-field types. That sort of thing.”

“Those lands are not auspicious. There must be a reason for that belief. Unhappy spirits, perhaps? Your military exercises will only disturb what should be left untouched.”

The Colonel shrugged.

“Yes, but practical considerations override rumours.”

I shook my head. “Humans are sometimes ignorant and disrespectful of beings of other realms. The lack of communication resulted in conflict and an unnecessary loss of lives.”  I espoused.

The forest had a history of unexplained events, amongst them an unresolved murder that took place six years ago. The 2013 incident where a NS man was found naked and hanging from a tree branch. He was alive but mentally unsound. Now three NS men missing! They must have offended the beings of the forest.

The crowd in the café thinned as time crawled into working hours. The silence injected a tone of gravity into the situation.

“Have the parents been notified?” I asked.

CK drew closer and whispered.

“The Ministry will speak to them by tomorrow morning and ask for silence on the matter until we find their sons. If the news breaks, the media will be alerted, and given the age of social media, it will scuttle our search operations and put them under unnecessary stress.”

“They must be worried sick.” I mused.

“I agree. That’s why we must put our best foot forward. However, I need some help.”

“What help?”

“Your presence is required, Dr. Jin. I am here to invite you to join my task force. ”

“You came on your own initiative?”

“I proposed, and the Chief of Defence agreed. The Minister is aware of you.”

I cringed.  I had never felt so valued. It just gives me goosebumps.

“What do you propose?”

 “Something in me tells me that their disappearance was for reasons beyond science. We need help beyond our present forensic capability. Some of my men cannot understand the disappearance.”

“Possibility is stretchable,” I muttered. “There are realms we do not know and cannot comprehend with our mortal minds. There are phenomena that science cannot explain.”

 “I’ve come to the right person. I think you could be the one to help us find them.”

I was muted. I toyed with the notion of an adventure despite having some research papers, with a looming deadline, crying for my attention.

 “I’m not sure.”

“Please accept my invitation.Just spend an hour with us, Ant. You may see things we failed to.  We need you.”

The plea in the Colonel’s voice tugged at my conscience.

“You will have all the resources you need, all resources and my men at your disposal. The only thing I ask is that you keep our engagement confidential.”

I gave the Colonel a hard stare.

“How long do we need to pretend you‘re uninterested?” The Colonel said with a frown. “You’re already thinking about the next steps, right?”