A THRILLER

             By Russell Lee
       
          An army corporal serving at Cable Car Towers was performing
     guard duty. There was another guard with him, but they had to take
     turns staying awake. One was snoring in the guard-room while the
     other sat in the little booth on the ground floor.
          He was reading a book of ghost stories.The story he was reading
     was reading was entitled "Demon Lover".Ah Seng flipped the pages
     eagerly, his eyes glued to the book. Ah Kow, his eyes fellow guard,
     gave off a loud snort behind. Ah Kow turned onto his side and
     began mumbling something. He must be having a nightmare, for
     there was a twinge of horror in his voice.
          Ah Seng ignored the disturbance. The ghost stories were ex-
     trembly absorbing, for these were the sleazy kind you find from
     Hong Kong. Perfectly mind-boggling. He consumed page after page
     of The Erotic Ghost Story when an eerie wind blew.
            It sounded like the sighing of a sexy woman.
            Ah Seng looked up from his book and scanned the surroundings.
     Trying to pick out things in the darkness was always a creepy process.
     You will your eyes to pierce through the murky cloak, but simulta-
     neously, your inner springs of fantasy burst into action, concocting
     the wildest of creatures to delude your sharpest senses.
            What was that whitish shape that flitted across the steps? And
     that grey shape squatting so still in that corner? Was it a . . .
            His imagination wandered; but Ah Seng restrained himself.
      Now, this is no way to stand guard. You won't last through to morning.
     scaring yourself like that.
            Then he thought he heard feet shuffling. Ah Seng pinked up
     courage and emerged from his booth. He switched on his torchlight.
            "Who's there?" he shouted.
            Silence. No one was there.
            Ah Seng heaved a sigh of relief. In the night, he thought he heard
     another sigh of relief-and it wasn't his. His heart racing, Ah Seng yelled,
     "You! Show yourself! Stop playing tricks, this is not funny!"
           And it showed itself.A horrible head with gigantic, bulging eyes
     flew past him. It was leering wickedly, its white teeth showing, its lips
     were red as blood. And dangling, where the neck was detached from
     the body, were the innards the throat, the intestines, the veins. . .
           "Ahhhhh!" Ah Seng's blood-curdling scream pierced the silence of
     the night.
             The Medical Officer examined his body three hours later. He
     pronounced the poor soldier dead.His conclusion was Ah Seng had
     died of a heart attack.
             The Duty Officer called up the other guard for questioning. This
     corporal revealed all that he knew:  I really don't know what
     happened. You see, I got up in the middle of the night, sir, for a
     leak. I went to the toilet and relaxed,  when suddenly I heard
     him scream ... like killing pig like that. When I came out, he was
     already lying son the floor."
            Everyone was quite mystified. What could have happened?
     What did Ah Seng see  that frightened him to death?
            They searched around for clues, but there was hardly anything
     helpful. They did, however, see in a nearby tree, a kite caught in the
     branches.
            It had a happy face, with big eyes and a wide smile. And
     dangling in the wind were strand  stand of colourful crepe paper.
           Innards? Throat? Intestine?