"Aw, nice one, Kuroba," a voice said with a caustic tone, "thanks to you, the car broke down, and now the only way to the camping grounds is by foot. It's exactly 5:05:10 p.m. and counting, and we'll never get to there before the sunset!"

"Well, it's not my fault that you decided to pay to attention to me and not the tree you were driving into!" came an annoyed whine in reply.

"Well, what's done is done," came an deep Osakan-accented voice, "we'll either have ta find a place ta stay 'round here, or camp out in these woods fer the night."

"Camp out in the woods for the night!? Heiji-kun, you can't be serious!" a high-pitched Osakan-accented voice shrieked.

"'Course I'm serious, Kazuha!" snapped Heiji, the one with the deep Osakan accent. "You really expect us ta get ta campin grounds by sunset?"

"Oh great," the high-pitched Osakan voice that belonged to the girl, Kazuha, lamented. She glanced back into the car where another girl accompanied her. "Thanks to your boyfriend, we're stuck here, Aoko-chan."

"Mou, Kaitou's not my boyfriend!" Aoko exasperatedly exclaimed, her cheeks blushed with pink. "We're just childhood friends, that's it!" Aoko eyed Kazuha. "And besides, why should we believe your boyfriend, Kazuha?"

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Maa, maa, girls…" Heiji said, attempting to calm the two girls down.

"Oi, oi, there's someone there!" Aoko and Kazuha quickly got out of the car and joined Heiji and Kaitou, the boy who caused the breakdown of the car. Aoko blinked.

"Eh? Where's Hakuba?" she asked, glancing around.

"Eh, Hakuba went ahead to that someone," replied Kaitou as he pulled on his collar and broke into a sprint. "C'mon, maybe this person can lend us a hand!" The other three glanced at each other before they followed Kaitou towards the blonde teen who was heading for the lone figure in the distance. "Oi, sir!" Kaitou called out. The lone figure turned around to face them, light cobalt eyes blinking at the group as they approached.

"Hai?"

"I'm Saguru Hakuba," said the blonde teen, bowing slightly. "This is Kuroba Kaitou, Hattori Heiji, Nakamori Aoko, and Toyama Kazuha," he introduced, gesturing at the four who each bowed slightly, "we're campers…our car broke down, and we were wondering if you, sir, would happen to know a place where we can stay before sunset…"

"A pleasure to meet you all, I'm Kudou Shin'ichi," the teen said, bowing slightly, "Ah…a place to stay?" He glanced around, ruffling his short chocolate brown hair. "I'm looking for a place as well, I've heard the winds are harsh during these times…" he muttered before he spotted something. He then pointed behind him. Where he was pointing revealed an old house in a nearby clearing. "The house over there looks aged and unoccupied, but maybe it can provide some shelter for us until daybreak?" Shin'ichi suggested.

The five glanced up at the house before nodding. "I guess so," Heiji said, pulling on the cap on his head. "anything for now…"

---

He jolted awake, a shiver going down his spine as the wind blew hard. He glanced around, his mind feeling oddly blank. Who was he again?

He suddenly groaned, placing a hand on his forehead. "Man, what a headache…" he muttered, eyes briefly closing. He then glanced around once more. Night had settled around the area; no wonder it was colder than usual…

Slowly he stumbled to his feet, his headache seeming to get worse. If this keeps up, he thought, I'm gonna die of exposure. I gotta find somewhere to stay… He glanced around again…and to his luck, found an old house in a clearing. He stared at it for a while, observing it. Hm…it looks aged and unoccupied…but I guess it's better than dying out here… A moment later and he made his way to the house, shivering uncontrollably. He quickly opened the door and entered.

Much to his surprise, the moment he was fully in did the door suddenly buckle shut. Quickly he turned the knob of the door and tried to pull it open, but to no avail. It was jammed. He'd have to find another way out.

Releasing a sigh, his ears caught soft and dull whispers. He glanced around the area, which really didn't look any better than it did on the outside.

"…H-hello?" He called out hesitantly. When heard no reply he sighed and dismissed the whispering as the wind outside playing tricks on him. Glancing around one last time he decided to go up the staircase on the right.

By the time he'd made it to the second floor, he had to stop himself from jumping every time he heard a creak. Relieved that he'd made it on the second floor without any injuries, he glanced up where a window was. Moonlight streamed through the sweeping clouds and into the house.

He glanced to the sides. To his left was a door, probably leading into a room. At his right was a door as well. He blinked upon hearing hard, dull thumps from the walls and roof. …It's like someone's trying to get my attention… he thought, suddenly noticing the hatch on the roof.

…Is that where that thumping sound's coming from? He thought, staring at the hatch. This could probably lead to an attic, which could explain where thumping was coming from…

Without another thought, he reached out to the hatch and pulled it down, a ladder immediately sliding down. He coughed as it made contact with the floor, sending dust everywhere. Once the dust had cleared, he glanced up at where the ladder lead up to. Hopefully, the thumping noise was coming from up here… He proceeded to climb up the ladder.

Only an inch of moonlight shined into the attic. However, he coiled back in surprise and horror upon seeing that the light shined upon a human torso strung up by its arms, literally ripped to shreds and missing its lower extremities.

A/N: Ok, I couldn't resist putting this idea up. Just hope this sparks some interest in some readers.. I'll have the next chapter up soon, so I can get it over with and finish CotNAoL...Peace and Bacon!

LazyTantei