10:00
October 30th 1810
"Mama!" The small boy cried as he watched his mother being dragged into the dark by shadowy hands.
"Kosa! Run! Run to the village and warn the others! Tell them it's time!" The boy- Kosa didn't want to leave her, not with those things. He took one hesitant step forward, only to stop when he saw the light quickly fading from her eyes. In her dying breath, she murmured something, but he couldn't hear what over the shrill shrieking that was traveling over the land. He turned and fled as the last of his mother disappeared from sight.
He ran as fast as his eight-year-old legs could carry him, tears streaming from his eyes. 'I'm sorry mama, it's all my fault!'
He screamed out warnings as he ran into the village. Running into the middle of the small town square, he collapsed, loud sobs making it hard for him to breath. Other villagers rushed out of their houses to help him. They stopped short as three men approached him.
Kosa looked up at the man as he bent down to give the boy water. He drank it greedily. The older man-village leader by the way people regarded him, had flaming red hair and eyes of an odd brown, almost red color. He spoke with concern.
"Kosa, what happened, where is your mother?" He asked looking for any sign of the woman. Kosa choked out the warning she had entrusted to him.
"S-she s-says it's time." Gasps of shock past through the crowd. If you looked closely, you could see fear pass through his eyes in a dark orange flash.
"…What about Kasama, what about your mother?" Kosa broke down into more sobs.
"I couldn't save her! They took us by surprise! And, and…" The man bent down and hugged Kosa.
"It's alright, you did your best." His voice was laced with sorrow and pain. In the distance, a horrible shrieking sound ripped through the night.
A second man stepped forward. "Tookama, we must prepare for them." Tookama stood and walked over to a tall flat boulder in the exact middle of the village. Climbing atop, he called, "Friends! The night has come; they are no longer satisfied to stay in the forests. We have been tormented by these creatures for hundreds of years! But no longer! Tonight is the last night! We will defeat these demons; we will set our comrades souls to rest! Tonight is our final stand. Either we kill them, or die trying! Now who's with me!"
The man next to him shouted, "The fire goddess will lead us too freedom!"
The rest of the village shouted their agreement, even the youngest children. A determined air closed around the people. Tookama looked out proudly over the village, these people were his friends, no, his family.
Out in the darkness, the shrieking grew louder, angrier. They would be upon them soon.
Within an hour, all the man and many of the women were armed and ready for war. Only the young and those who could not battle were not present. No, they were hidden in a secret chamber under the town.
Kosa lined up beside Tookama. He refused to go into hiding, saying 'you need more warriors than you currently have, and I'm ready!'
He looked down at Kosa, who turned and smiled and stuck out his hand. "See you at the end. Promise?"
Tookama grabbed the boy's hand. "With my life." He paused and then gave a lopsided smile. "Good luck, son."
Kosa returned it, "You too dad."
2 year later
Kosa looked out over the landscape. The place he had once called home… The only evidence that some one may have lived on the devastated plot of land was the elegant lone mansion that once served as the prayer house and council's special conference room. He sighed, sitting on a torn up log. He contemplated trying to poke a piece of bone sticking out of the ground. He stood again and paced back in forth. Watching were he placed his feet with a critical eye and looking for the tracks left behind. He was so occupied he never noticed the woman approaching him.
"Kosa, why are you over here?" She asked. Kosa spun around and let out a relived sigh, seeing whom it was.
"I just thought I might come out and look at the scenery."
The woman placed her hand on his back, slowly leading him towards the mansion. "Your still waiting aren't you." She stated with understanding. He looked at the ground before answering.
"Yeah." He looked up at her. "Aren't you?" The woman started pushing him a little faster.
"Come now, today's a special day, no saddening thoughts. You're turning ten!" Kosa turned to her, stopping.
"That's a nice idea, but we both know that's not true," He looked at the perfectly smooth dirt he had been standing on moments before. "I can't turn 10.
A voice echoed through the air, "Kosa, Kasama, coming?"
"Yeah." He smiled at his mother before they both disappeared.
October 26, 2010SPR Head quarters
Mai sighed in annoyance. Geez, Naru is being a real jerk today. She thought frustrated.
Flash back:
A small bell chimed as Mai walked into the room. As she hung her coat, she noticed Naru walking in from the other room.
"Good morning Naru," She greeted him, he ignored her greeting.
"Mai, Tea."
"Alright, but Naru, I hav-"
"Now." He said, now ignoring her completely. She mentally punched him.
"Yes Naru." She cheerfully complied, walking to the kitchen.
End flash back.
Maybe I could slip some kind of dead bug into his tea… She thought evilly. Not getting much sleep for the last few nights and a jerk boss was starting to take its toll on her.
He hadn't even let her finish her question before. I guess it wasn't a very important question anyway. She had been having weird dreams for the last week and had wanted to ask him if it could mean anything. Now that I think about it, I probably would have sounded really stupid.
The bell on the door gave a little ring as some one walked in. A customer? She brought out the tea and a couple extra cups. The man that Naru was talking to was probably in his late twenties or early thirties. His black hair seemed to shine a dark red in the sunlight.
"Oh, uh, thank you miss." He said as a cup of tea was placed in front of him.
"You're welcome. I'm Mai."
"Suzuo, Takashima. It's nice to meet you." He greeted.
Mai sat on the side couch as the two began talking.
Naru started. "You're the man that called about that mansion in the Bahamas, correct?"
"Yes, we've been having more and more trouble with the house over the last three months. People have started to disappear."
"How many?"
"Six so far." Mai's eyes opened in shock. Six people? Not good.
"Have you found any survivors?" Naru asked.
"Yes actually. Two of them have reappeared in the last week. And they claimed to have seen something…"
"What?"
"Well," Takashima began, "They both claim that spirits made of fire protected them from danger."
"What kind of danger?" Mai asked.
Takashima cocked his head slightly. "Actually we're not sure. But they both said 'Beware the shadows' and 'she will save us'.
"She? I wonder who that could be…" Mai scratched her head. The man pulled some papers out of a small bag.
"I've actually done some research myself and I have a theory that 'she' may actually be a goddess that an old village used to worship. She was the goddess of fire."
"Oh, so you think it's the fire goddess because the people said that fire spirits protected them?"
"Very good, miss. That's exactly what I think, especially because the mansion is located where the village used to be."
"What do you mean used to?" Naru interrupted. Takashima looked slightly uncomfortable.
"Well about two-hundred years ago, the village disappeared." Both Naru and Mai perked up at the mention of this.
"What do you mean it, 'disappeared'? That's impossible. There's no way an entire village can disappear."
"Actually, it did. On October 31st, a small caravan of merchants stopped at the village like they did every year, but it was gone. Everything except for the mansion that is."
Naru leaned forward some. "So it must have slowly disappeared over the course of that year."
"Well, no, not exactly. The caravan had sent a scout out the day before and when he got back, he confirmed that the place was still there, he even brought back some food."
Mai looked at him in alarm. "But that means that-"
"The village disappeared in one night, flat." Naru finished. "But why would the mansion still be there? It makes no sense."
"The locals believe it was because the temple of the fire goddess was located inside of it." He looked at Mai. Something flashed in his eyes but she didn't know what. "You actually look quite like her."
"Oh, uh, thanks…I think." She blushed slightly at his searching gaze. Naru stood up and grabbed the papers.
"We'll call you and tell you weather we accept the case or not, but for now, please call us if some one else goes missing."
"Will do." Takashima answered.
After he left, Mai asked. "Are we going to take the case?" Naru didn't answer. Not again! She was surprised when he turned to her.
"Was there something you wanted to ask me earlier?" She thought of her stupid dream question.
"Oh, uh, no, it's nothing." He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Really! But seriously, what about the case?"
Naru paused for a moment, thinking. Finally he looked at her, "If another person goes missing, then yes, but if not…"
They got their answer the next morning, when Takashima called. "The governers son has gone missing while on a field trip yesterday. They have yet to find him."