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“How long are you going to run hmm?”
I had just woken up from a nightmare and turn to see the kitsune looking at me with glowing yellow eyes.
“I think what is hindering you from expressing yourself is fear,” it added. “You are afraid of him.”
Still terrified, I bring my knees together. “Why me? There are plenty of girls.”
“You made a promise to him remember?”
“What promise? I don’t remember anything!” I cry.
“But if you dig deeper, you will recall some details,” it said.
“Details? He is a delusional psychopath!”
It hopped off the table and walked closer to me. “That’s because he was raised that way. You did look up his past didn’t you?”
I keep quiet.
“Many say psychopaths are naturally born. What they fail to realize is the environment also adds to the growth of a child. If he was born or raised in a better environment, this wouldn't have happened but despite the red flags, he is better than your former lovers.”
The visions crept up and I bite my bottom lip. “You were going to tell me something weren’t you?”
“Changing the subject I see.” it chuckled and stood in front of me. “Okay then, where do I start?”
“Anywhere is fine.”
“Alright but don’t be confused. There is a curse placed on the school trapping anyone who dies in the vicinity be it male, female, child, adult, student, teacher, or stranger. With this curse, the school has become a breeding ground for vengeful spirits which slowly turn into demons because of their negative energy but underneath the school is a labyrinth.”
“A labyrinth?”
“Yes. Remember that boy you saw in the mirror in the hotel?”
I nod.
“He is trapped in the labyrinth. A maze-like place between the living and the dead, created for the spirits who refused to move on to the afterlife because of unfinished business.”
The room fell silent when it said this. “So…so there is a labyrinth underneath the school?”
“Yep and it's huge! That’s why it has bad Feng Sui.”
I shudder.
“Anywhere that's haunted by a ghost has a labyrinth underneath it. Sprits are forced to stay inside it during the day but are allowed to leave at night. The more spirits, the bigger the labyrinth. The fewer spirits, the smaller the labyrinth.”
“But they won’t transform into demons in there would they?”
“Nope. They only transform in the outside world and once they are demons, they can’t go back there which is a good alternative because it gets pretty boring in the labyrinth.” it gave a sly chuckle. “Trust me, no one wants to wander in there forever.”
There was another round of silence. “But can’t they be free to do their unfinished business?”
“Some can do that using the portals but with the curse surrounding the school, it is nearly impossible.”
“So how was the ghost able to possess Gwen then?”
“Through her belongings. If you have something belonging to a dead person its spirit can communicate or possess you through its object until it gets destroyed. For it to have full possession of your body, it has to harness a lot of spirit energy it can't possess someone when the person is alive."
“Really?”
“Yeah! She was fighting it at first until it took over her body.” then it leaned closer to me. “Which is a pity because she was harvesting spirit energy herself.”
Its words and the change of tone sent a shiver up my spine. “Wh…what?”
"As you may have guessed, Spirit Energy is gotten from the souls of the dead but in reality, it is within us.” it put its paw on its chest. “It’s what keeps the soul alive and is the source of magic. Just imagine what would happen if we tapped into that energy.”
A vision flashes through my mind and I chuckle. “This world would end in ruin.”
“Our ancestors thought so as well and that’s why they stopped using it. The concept slowly died turning into myths or stories to entertain children, adolescents, and adults. Back then, Spirit Energy was used to enhance weapons, magic, heal and prolong a person’s life and it is still being used to this day. Too bad the quickest way to getting such power involves murder.”
“Murder?”
“There is a technique where someone can kill somebody, drain their spirit energy, and use it to prolong their lives, increase their strength and enhance their ability to heal. Gwen was using that method. Stan was doing the same thing except his method includes trapping them in a time like limbo and spawning familiars to drain the little spirit power. I have to say, it’s the most convenient way of getting stronger.”
A twisted smile appeared on my face. “Yo…you have got to be kidding me.”
“I am not. Stan had a nasty habit of sleeping with girls and killing them when feels like it. In my opinion, he was working his way up to become a serial killer and you were next on his list.”
The heaviness in my chest increased. “How…how was he able to do that? To put them in an everlasting time loop and feed off their spirit energy?”
“I do not know but once you freed them, he could no longer drain their spirit energy to aid himself and who knows what happened to him?” it started licking itself. “But he deserves the karma. Death may be bad, being trapped in a haunted school is worse but having your spirit energy drained until you are nothing is the worst fate.”
It scratched itself behind its ears while I covered myself with the blankets replaying what the kitsune just told me and shudder again.
‘Spirit energy, murder, ghosts, time loop?’ I look up to the ceiling. ‘What on earth did I get myself into?’
“Beats me." it shook itself and stared at me. “You have to go to sleep if you want to keep running from him.”
I trembled. “B…but what if he is still out there?”
It rolled its eyes. “It’s just a nightmare, Emma. He isn’t out there. Now go to sleep.”
I do that but the nightmare continued with him muttering something in my ear while slitting my throat.
Waking up with tired eyes, I stumbled into the bathroom, looked at myself in the mirror, and touched my neck.
'This...is...torture.' I groaned.
After doing my morning duties, I grab Adrien's journal and looked at it but sleep enticed me, and a few minutes later, I was asleep on my futon. How long did I sleep? I will never know but I wake up to someone knocking on my door.
"He...hello? Is anyone here?"
Terror gripped me when the stranger knocked again. Grabbing a blunt object I picked up in the streets earlier, I go to the door and look through the peephole.
It was a boy holding something in his hands and he had a bag with him.
I heave a sigh of relief, drop the weapon, and opened the door.
"Good evening ma...ma'am. Wou...would yo...you li...like so...some food." he raised the disposable plate. "M...my mom cooked dinner but...sh...she made a little extra so..."
I get the message, smile, and take the plate from him. "Thank you. What's your name?"
He shakes his head rapidly and runs off down the hall. I take a quick look and shut the door.
'Weird kid.' I feel the plate. 'It's ice cold. Maybe it got cold on the way here?'
I was about to open it but the door burst open revealing a group of men who stormed in and made to grab me. I fight them off but more came, grabbed me, and forced me to my knees.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
I stop struggling and look up.
Fear gripped me. "T...Togo Atatsuma!"
The old man wearing a suit gave an evil smile.
“You are the leader of the notorious Yakuza Gang who kidnaps people for ransom!”
“Someone’s been watching the news lately," he said with a sadistic grin.
I struggle again but it was fruitless.
"You were so hard to find," he said walking toward me.
"Wha...what do you want?"
He crouched down and looked deep into my eyes. “There is something I wanna know and you’d better tell me the truth.”
I take a deep breath to calm my aching heart. “What is it?”
“What happened to my son?”
My face twisted to that of confusion. “Y...your son? What do you mean? I…I don’t know your son!”
“Alright, princess let me jog your memory.”
Wham! My face felt like it had been stung by a million bees and I blink back my tears.
“Do you remember now?” he asked.
I shake my head and get another slap.
“How about now?”
This time I stared back, wondering if I should answer him or keep my mouth shut. He slapped me again, stood up, and pointed a gun at my head.
“What did you do to him?!” He yelled.
“I don’t know! I swear! I don’t know who your son is!” I cried.
He hit my head with the butt of the gun and chuckled. “I know. I was just messing with you. My son was the one you saved on your little ‘vacation’.”
Teary-eyed, I recalled the incident during the summer, “Wait! You…you mean the one who had his kidney punctured?”
He nodded and turned his back to me. “He was a good boy! Always faithful to the gang, happy to do whatever I say...” he sighed again and admired the gun in his hands. “He was such a good boy.”
“Bu…but he is not dead! The doctor at the hospital told us he was going to live!” I said.
He hit me so hard I saw stars. “He lost a kidney! Do you know how expensive it is to get a replacement?"
I cough and hang my head. “I swear! He was bleeding when I saw him! I didn’t do anything to him!”
“You are stupid to lie to me girl because that’s not the story I heard. Now my son is stuck on that island all because of you!”
I grunt from pain.
“Since you aren't kind enough to tell me the truth, you will donate your kidney to the Yakuza gang.”
At this, someone appeared holding a knife in his hands. He walked behind me and lifted my undergarment to reveal my back.
"Where should I begin boss?" the one wielding the knife asked.
Togo cackled and pulled up the only chair in the room. "Anywhere as long as I am entertained. Oh, what's this?"
The disposable plate was lying on the ground untouched. Snapping his fingers, one of Togo's men picked it up and handed it over to him.
"What a cold meal." he chuckled. "Is this what you wanted to eat tonight?"
I grunt a response.
"Too bad it isn't your last."
The minute he opened it, his facial reaction turned into that of disgust, and dropped it on the floor. Standing up, he rushed towards the bathroom, and the sounds of someone throwing up were heard.
Suddenly, someone entered the room slamming the door behind him. It was the little boy who came earlier and he was breathing heavily with cuts all over him. With the leader of the Yakuza gang throwing up in the bathroom, I take advantage of the distraction and throw the men off. Grabbing what seemed to be a knife from one of them, I start stabbing and slicing through them until they were all dead.
The boy looks at me in shock while I quickly rush to the bathroom to lock Togo in while he was still throwing up. After wearing my clothes, search the corpses for anything of value and turn to the boy who was trembling.
"Listen, I am not going to hurt you..."
The bang on the bathroom door interrupts me.
"We have to leave now!"
The boy shakes his head.
"Why?"
He doesn't say a word.
"What's wrong?"
Then I hear another bang but it came from the front door.
"I know you are here you little b@stard!"
It was a woman's voice. The boy immediately hides inside my closet while Togo was trying to break the door open. Grabbing the blunt object placed near the door, I wait.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The bathroom door was starting to give way while the woman behind the front door screamed and growled. Finally, Togo broke through and I give him a minute to survey the room before knocking him unconscious.
"Come out you little b@stard!"
I look through the peephole and immediately put on the door chain and just in time. She opened the door by a mere crack and put out her hand to unhook the chain but I slam it shut jamming her fingers in the process
"What do you want?" I ask locking the door.
"Where is the little b@stard?"
"What b@astard?"
"Don't lie to me!"
"I have no idea of who you are talking about."
"LAIR!"
Crack!
A huge hole appeared on the door. Through it, I could see her eyes glowing with madness and a twisted smile on her face. As she took huge breaths, she cackled like an evil witch and shot her hand through the hole to get to the door handle.
I waste no time breaking it.
She growled and I hear footsteps disappearing down the hall. Taking a huge breath, I look around the room.
'Dead bodies are everywhere. What I'm I going to do?' I look at the window and see it's dark. 'I could use the cover on the night to dispose of them but what about the other tenants? What about the crazy lady outside?'
I hear a sound coming from the closet.
'What about the boy?'
'You are asking too many questions! Kill him and make it look like an accident.'
I shake my head rapidly.
'Come on. You did it before.' It cackle. 'What's the matter? Why are you trying to be a hero? We both know you aren't.'
The need to distract myself was huge so I look around and spot the disposable plate lying on the floor half opened. The lights flickered as I crouched down and picked it up.
My blood froze the minute I opened it.
"Ms.? Can I go now? My mom will get mad."
It was the boy who finally decided to emerge from his hiding place and his voice filled me with a mixture of emotions ranging from rage, confusion, and....happiness.
"Sure. You can go but tell me," I struggle and fail to wipe the twisted look from my face. "Why is there a half a man's face in the plate."
ns 15.158.61.17da2
