Chapter 1

She ran through the dimly lit hall, blindly turning every corner and when she found the stairs, she had to bite back a cry of joy. Without the bright glow of her flashlight, however, the many flights of stairs were cloaked in darkness and seemed to have no end to them.

She shivered and hesitated a moment…that's when she heard, off in the distance, the sound of hysterical laughter. Sai was very close. But without light, she could not tell where she was coming from or if she was already standing next to her.

Mio's heart was beating so loudly, she feared that it would give away her position. So, she took a deep breath and then blindly ran down the stairs, praying that the vengeful spirit would not be waiting for her at the bottom.

She could hear her sister's voice in her head, "You should not have come back, Mio!" Mio grimaced and replied, a slight tremor in her voice, "I had to, Mayu. I swore I would always take care of you."

The hysterical laughter was back and it startled her so badly that she just about fell down the remaining two flights. But she quickly regained her balance and swiftly dashed down the final flight.

Once she reached the bottom, she dared not stop but continued to run until she arrived at the room that she and Mayu had always gone to, to escape the many vengeful ghosts that were also trapped in The Lost Village.

The first time Mio had come to this haunted village, she had had her older sister Mayu with her. But Mayu had been captured and Mio had been forced to leave. She had had a short encounter with Sai and suddenly she was back at the small river in the woods, sitting on a large rock as though she had never been to the village…but…she had been sent back alone. Mayu was still trapped at the haunted mansion and Mio was not about to just leave her there…so she went back.

But, now that she WAS back and was on the run from the most deadly of all the evil spirits haunting the halls and streets…she was beginning to lose faith in the chance of her success in saving her sister, Mayu, or now…even herself.