Case 1: Evil Spirit's All Over?! Part 1
"Come on Mai! We're gonna be late," Mei called to her friend who was busy staring at the old school house.
She turned in time to see Mai open the door to the old school building and walk in. Knowing how clumsy Mai was, Mei hurried after her to make sure she didn't get hurt. She saw Mai looking at a camera that Mei knew wasn't there yesterday. Mei was wary of the old school building, not because it was haunted, but because it was old and worn down and falling apart. It wasn't structurally stable to be in with all the rotted boards and warped ceilings.
"Who's there?!" a deep voice shouted causing Mai to flinch and trip into a bookcase.
The bookcase leaned back before falling forward towards Mai. A tall Chinese man rushed forward and pushed Mai out of the way of the falling shelf. Mei acted quickly, knowing Mai was no longer in danger. She dropped her bag and quickly braced herself to catch the shelf before it did any damage to the Chinese man that saved Mai. The weight of the shelf crashed onto Mei's shoulder and back, stopping it from falling anymore. She carefully began pushing the shelf back into place.
She turned to look at Mai, seeing that her friend was unhurt. Mei could feel blood dripping down her back, letting her know she had popped her stitches and reopened her wound. She hoped no one would notice. She then checked on the Chinese man. His foot had gotten caught by the shelf before she got to it, and he had blood dripping down his face. She quickly knelt down in front of him, gaining his attention, and held up two fingers.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Mei asked gently. She watched as his eyes, which were slightly glazed over, tried to narrow but couldn't, and he answered, "Four."
"What's going on here?!" a black-haired teenager demanded quickly making his was to the Chinese man's side when he saw he was injured. "Lin are you alright?"
"He has a concussion," Mei informed the black-haired teen, "His ankle is hurt as well. I don't think it's broken but it's definitely a sprain."
The teen nodded and helped Lin off the floor. Mei quickly grabbed Lin's other arm, not wanting him to put any weight on his ankle.
"Where is the closest hospital?" the teen asked.
"I'll show you," Mei said, "I have to go there myself anyway. Mai you should hurry so you won't miss class, the bell already rang."
Mai hurried out of the building and rushed to her classes. Mei and the teen quickly got Lin into the van and drove to the nearest hospital. After getting Lin checked in, Mei tried to sneak away, hoping her doctor didn't come out and see her. She really didn't want to spend another few hours getting her stitches redone. Luck wasn't on her side today though.
"Don't even think about it," a deep voice called out before she could even make it to the door.
"Damn it!" Mei cursed under her breath before turning to glare at her doctor, who was also the one taking care of Lin. Like Mei had told the teen, Lin had a concussion and a sprained ankle. He would be out of work for a few days, at least until his concussion cleared. The teen blinked curiously at Mei as he heard what the doctor had said.
"I can see the blood from here Mei," the doctor said sternly.
Mei growled lowly but complied to the doctor's orders. She reentered the room Lin was in and sat on the other bed in the room. Cleaning supplies and needles and thread were already there. How he knew to do this, she would never know. She already knew the drill, so she laid on her stomach after taking her shirt off.
Three long, deep gashes ran from the top of her left shoulder to the bottom of her right hip bone were red, swollen and looked infected. The doctor, Ishida, sighed when he saw how had they had gotten. He knew Mei had a high tolerance for pain, but this was going to get her killed. The black-haired teen's eyes widened at the sight of the wounds.
"What's your name?" Mei asked the teen, wanting a distraction from the feeling of the needle going in and out of her skin.
"Kazuya Shibuya," he said, "paranormal investigator."
"Hmm," she answered, "Is that why you two were in the old school house?"
"Yes," Kazuya said, "Your principal asked use to investigate it."
"Well you're wasting your time," Mei said.
"Why do you say that?"
"Cuz there's nothing there," Mei replied, "besides even if there was something there, there is something far more dangerous to worry about."
"What is that?" Kazuya asked, curiosity shinning dimly in his black eyes.
"The building itself was built back in WW2," Mei explained, "it's an old building with no solid foundation under it to stop it from collapsing in on itself. I noticed earlier as I entered to retrieve Mai. The door frame is closer to the ground than it should be. Not to mention all of the rotted floor boards and warped ceilings. Some of the students thought it would be a good idea to do a courage test in the old school house. They would have gotten severely hurt if I hadn't gotten there in time. I wound up falling through the floor, instead of the girl who was going to."
"Is that where the gashes came from?" Kazuya asked.
"No," she replied, "that's from something else. But needless to say, that the old school house is structurally dangerous. If you do plan on continuing the investigation, be very careful where you step on the second floor. Now I have a question for you."
"What is it?" Kazuya asked slightly tilting his head.
"What is the great Oliver Davis doing in Japan of all places?" Mei asked in English.
The black-haired teen tensed but seeing as she had switched languages to ask him the question, he figured she wouldn't tell. And he was right, she wouldn't as it wasn't her secret to tell.
"How did you know?" he asked.
"Really Oliver? You can't tell me you don't remember me," Mei teased knowing that was the case, "Come now Noll. Though I don't really blame you. I am wearing color contacts."
His eyes widened at the nickname and watched as she removed the contacts. The only ones who called him that were Gene, Lin, and… Familiar grey, cat-like eyes peered at him.
"Mei?!" Black eyes widened in disbelief. The last he and Lin had heard from her had been when she was doing an investigation of L. Ron Hubbard's Secret Scientology Lab. They had lost all contact with her during that investigation. Lin and Naru knew she was still alive but hadn't found her when they went searching themselves. All they found was her equipment.
"Yeeees?" she replied.
"You have a lot of explaining to do," Naru said, "where the hell have you been?!"
"Yes Mei," Lin's deep voice said, "Where exactly have you been?"
"W-well," she stuttered.
"And how exactly did you gain those wounds?" Lin's sharp eyes narrowed even more at her. She knew he wouldn't be dropping the subject, neither of them would, especially Lin.
"Do I have to?" Mei grumbled unhappily.
"Yes!" both said.
"So, you two know how I went missing during my investigation right?" she asked and they both nodded.
"Well," she sighed, "I didn't just go missing. L. Ron Hubbard was well known for worshiping Satan. During my investigation, some of the members from his cult broke into the lab and attacked me. The next thing I know, I'm being used as a sacrifice in one of their rituals. Didn't work though."
"Is that where the gashes came from?" Lin asked, a stern look in his eyes.
"Yes," Mei answered, "I was able to get away from them about a year ago and came here."
"If that was a year ago," Naru said, "then they should be healed already."
"They would be if someone would actually let them heal," Ishida said, "but nooo… she has to always go and do something that reopens them. Not to mention she refuses to take her antibiotics."
"Don't worry Ishida-san," Lin said, "we will be making sure she will take them from now on. Even if I have to force it down her throat."
"Sad part is that he'll do it too," Mei sighed.
That caused all the men in the room to chuckle, even Naru. Ishida finished cleaning and re-stitching the gashes on Mei's back and took his leave from the room. Mei knew she should get up and leave but she was, in all honesty, exhausted. She let her eyes close as she fell asleep, knowing she could trust Naru and Lin to keep her safe.
