Curse of the Mist
|Chapter 1: Faint Whispers|
Twenty-nine years ago, there was a student in 9th grade, class 2 at Heartland Junior High. He was popular ever since his elementary years. He was good at academics and sports. He was very liked by students and teachers alike. However, only halfway through the ninth grade year in class 3, he died.
No one knew how he died, there were many theories but it was never confirmed. Suddenly one of their classmates pointed at a desk and said, "He isn't dead. He's right there." The class soon afterwards acted as if the boy was still alive. They couldn't accept the cruel fate of their classmate.
They even assigned a seat for him at the graduation ceremony. When the graduation photo was taken, there was a boy, who had supposedly died, standing among the class. He was pale and yet he was smiling like the others.
His name was Astral.
A boy let out a groan and squeezed his eyes, finally opening his eyes from his sleep. He stared up at the plain white ceiling above where he laid in bed. He sat up slightly, his back arched and propped himself on his elbows. He sat up properly and rubbed his eyes with his hands.
He felt a bit more awake then, his eyes scanned around the room. His window open, letting in a soft breeze and fresh air into the room. Climbing out of bed, he walked up to the opened window and smiled when he saw the beautiful scenery outside. The boy closed his eyes as a slightly strong breeze swooshed past him. He was enjoying the view until an elderly voice called out to him from the stairs.
"Yuma!" Yuma whipped his head to the door. Knowing it was morning and he should go to school soon.
"Yes, Grandma?" He called back, almost a bit louder than necessary. He heard her call back about breakfast being ready. Ah breakfast, how much had Yuma wished he was at least a decent cook. He had always enjoyed the food his family makes.
Yuma had never lived here before, however his mother gave birth to him in this very city. Heartland. Heartland was smaller than his other hometown but it was still rather a large city. It looked appealing to walk around and listen to the people laugh and chatter away in the streets. He had recently moved to Heartland with his older sister, Akari, to live with their grandma.
Yuma changed himself into a school uniform before exiting the room. Finding his place at the table, he sat down and waited for a response from Haru. The elderly woman smiled, took her seat as well and gave the 'okay' to eat.
"Hey Grandma..," Yuma looked up from his plate and swallowed the food. Haru waited for her grandson to continue on what he wanted to say. He shook his head, "Ah... Nevermind."
Shortly after, the boy bid farewell and left the house.
"Good morning, class," Ukyo greeted as he set down the black bag on his large, oak desk which was set in front of the chalkboard. He looked out of the large classroom windows, sighing to himself and he ran a hand through his soft, curly brown hair.
"I can't believe it's spring already..," he murmured to no one in particular, he brightened up once he turned to the students. "Today, we will be going over what we will be studying for this year..."
The school year always start in April, until March with several short breaks and a long six weeks summer break. Grade nine has a graduation ceremony upcoming in March while the underclassmen continue their schooling years throughout, as there isn't a school year's end for them.
"But first, there's a transfer student I would like to introduce..," started the homeroom teacher, turning to the door as it opened. An average boy around 15 years old entered, he has black hair with side spikes and two dark pink antennae bangs spiking backwards. The new student half-bowed in front of the class.
"Hello, my name is Yuma Tsukumo," he greeted himself. The class was quiet, eerily quiet. Yuma felt uneasy from the atmosphere in the room. Ukyo assigned him a seat in one of the middle rows of the class. Yuma shuffled towards his desk and sat for the whole period.
It was strange. He expected that the class would be at least loquacious, instead it was complete silence. Only sounds being the teacher talking, his footsteps, and every once in a while, a pencil falling.
No... There was something even more strange, about this class. He wasn't sure what at all. He felt there was something the class knows about except for him.
The class was doing practice warm-ups in PE. It wasn't much different from Yuma's old school. The same routine of PE period. He swatted away the sweat from his forehead, catching his breath. He observed his classmates as they lined up in a straight line at a mark on the pavement.
Yuma did the same. Running. He wasn't a fan of running very much, he'd run out of breath rather quickly. It'd been so long since he ran, perhaps then he had improved.
The group was ahead of him. Yuma boosted to catch up with them, he had always been careful when running.
That time wasn't the time. Yuma halted, trying to catch his breath. The boy panted heavily and cursed slightly. He heard a few students call that Yuma needed emergency attention.
He couldn't remember a thing what had happened afterwards. It seemed like weeks had passed since the incident in PE.
He awoke to the white ceiling. He immediately didn't know where he was, the room was very plain. Plain and white. He looked at the bed, white covers and sheets. It didn't take him very long to figure out then.
Yuma heard murmurs outside of the room, sitting up to make himself comfortable. He leaned back into the pillow behind his back for support and sighed. The door clicked and opened. Yuma was surprised to see three of his classmates enter.
Two boys and one girl had came to see Yuma? He didn't think he would get any visitors from his class. After all, it was the most mysterious and unsettling class it had seemed to be.
The middle student stepped forward, he has short blue hair and silver eyes. He dressed neatly and wore an old watch on his wrist. The boy opened his mouth to speak, "Hello. I'm the representative of class 2, Takashi Todoroki."
Takashi then turned his head to the other boy next to him. He has straight blue hair that reached to his shoulders and bright purple eyes. He wore his orange vest with a black shirt underneath, and a red tie. He smiled, "My name's Shuta Hayami. I'm one of the representatives as well."
"And this is-" As soon Takashi turned to the girl, he was stopped short by her interruption.
"Anna Kozuki," said Anna rather quickly with a tough attitude. Now she seems scary at first look. Anna's arms were crossed, her piercing golden-yellow eyes gazing at the bedridden boy. Yuma slunk back a bit.
"We stopped by to see how you were doing since the incident." Takashi then asked with concern, "Are you alright, Yuma?"
"Ah, yes. I'm...fine." Yuma wasn't quite sure of what happened and how he got here in the hospital. "What happened?"
"You had an asthma attack last week in PE," replied Shuta. That's right... He had forgotten to bring his inhaler along in case this happened. He should be more careful next time, especially running. Truth be told, he never had an asthma attack before and yet he was diagnosed with it when he was a child.
Anna stepped forward, putting her arms to her sides, "Have you lived here before?"
Yuma shook his head. He definitely knew he had never lived in Heartland before moving.
"Have you ever visited Heartland in the past?" Another head shake. Yuma was confused as to why they were asking questions, but then again... he was new to the area. Perhaps his classmates were curious about him.
"Well. My mother came here to give birth to me, but we moved back to Domino right after," Yuma said, giving them an understanding. The three students glanced at each other, Anna moved to Yuma once more.
"May I?" She held out her hand for a handshake. Yuma blankly stared at the girl's hand and gulped nervously. He shakily moved his arm, his hand grasped the other. Anna stood there, gaped for a moment as her eyes flashed with confusion of the firm handshake before sliding her arm back. She glanced at Takashi and Shuta momentarily before looking back to Yuma.
Takashi smiled at the best of his ability, "I hope you get well. We will see you tomorrow in homeroom." Yuma nodded silently.
"I would love to take a photograph of you, Yuma. If you don't mind," Shuta chuckled, smiling at the boy. Yuma nervously laughed and rubbed his neck anxiously, "Photographs?"
"Yes. I take photographs. I do it when people ask me to and sometimes I like to myself as well." Yuma nodded in understanding and weakly smiled at him, "Ah sure! Anytime."
"We must go... Have a good evening, Yuma," said Takashi before taking their leave. Yuma sighed and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He scanned the room. There wasn't much except for a couple of chairs, an old television, a tray, and machinery which he was sure he wasn't supposed to touch.
There was some more chatter outside of the room. Soon it faded away as a person's footsteps came closer. The door clicked once more and opened.
"Yuma Tsukumo, correct?" A young lady dressed in a nurse uniform and a clipboard in her hand. Yuma nodded the moment he heard his name called. It was a natural routine, the employers had to check to make sure they're working with the right patients.
"Do you feel nausea or dizziness?" asked the nurse. Yuma shook his head in response. She continued questioning him on the boy's welfare. At last, she checked over the results and turned to Yuma, "Well, you're discharged. Will you be okay walking home?"
"Thank you, ma'am. I will be fine," Yuma politely replied, getting off the bed onto his feet. The nurse checked out the patient to let him out of the hospital. Yuma looked out of the window glass, it's a bit after dusk. It was dark yet some daylight remained outside for a very short time.
The boy exited out of the room after he got ready to take his leave. He peered down the dim hallway. No one would be around soon enough. He quietly searched for an elevator or a stairway that would lead him to the floors below.
Old paintings hung on the walls in the corridors, one would find them creepy by the way they seem to be watching in which Yuma doesn't mind too much.
Yuma halted momentarily, noticing the atmosphere. An eerie feeling was in the air, giving Yuma shivers but he tried his best to ignore it. He found the elevator door, pressing the button on the wall. It took a few moments until the door slide open, allowing him to enter.
It was even darker then it was in the hallway, a chill passed by him as the door closed and began moving downwards. Once more, Yuma pressed the button to the floor he need to get off at, noticing another button was lit up. He raised an eyebrow, not remembering seeing anyone else in the elevator.
Yuma whirled around, taken back to see another person there. Was he too distracted to even notice there was another person, or perhaps they were just being very quiet? Yuma didn't think much of it.
The other person was staring down at the floor. He has bright blue hair that spiked up unnaturally. Yuma could see there was a patch over his right eye. He was fascinated by the rare color of his left eye however. It was very dim but he could see it clearly. His golden eye flickered to Yuma and looked back, glancing a bit away.
He was also wearing the uniform of Heartland Junior High. He didn't look that much older than him. Yuma looked away, remembering it was rude to stare at someone.
He took notice of the other lit-up button, Yuma himself was going to the main floor but the other boy is going to the basement.
Yuma turned his head to him, "Hey... Why are you going to the basement?"
The blue-haired boy didn't twitch or respond to his question. He stood there, still as a statue. Very slowly, he turned his head to Yuma.
Yuma felt a chill down his spine, feeling the creeps from him. He start to feel nervous and anxious. Was it a good idea to be here? He wasn't sure. Yuma could feel as if...as if something was going to happen.
Yuma shifted nervously from the stare. He didn't think he was going to speak at all. He tried to look away but something kept him from doing so.
Nervousness spun in Yuma's stomach once more, seeing the boy's mouth opening slightly.
"I'm visiting someone."
Visiting? There's someone to visit on the basement floor? He nodded slowly, flickering his crimson eyes away to the door. Silence. Utter silence. Not even the elevator was heard to their ears.
The elevator stopped moving, making a ding as the door opened to a dark hallway area. The boy stepped out with Yuma watching from behind. He disappeared off once he walked into the direction he went.
"Hey!" Yuma came out of the elevator as well, trying to get his attention again. Still, seeing him walk away, he tried again, "What's your name?"
He stopped walking. His back still facing Yuma, not turning around or saying anything as of yet. It was cold and very dark on the basement floor of the hospital.
A faint creak sounded under the boy's foot as he began walking again, almost disappearing into the dark the further away he got. His reply seemed to had echoed, booming off the walls as his name repeated in the dark corridor.
"Astral. Astral Asu."
Well then. I've always had a liking for horror, so I wrote a horror / mystery fic for ZEXAL.
I hope you will continue reading. Thank you!