'Good luck in your new school, we'll meet again. Promise.'
Chihiro put the card back into her pocket, at the same time taking out her phone, a small, battered Nokia. No new messages. Heavy hearted, she sighed. She'd thought that her friends would at least text her, and it wasn't that she didn't have a signal – she'd checked. Why was she surprised though? She'd spend the months leading up to her departure in a black hole. She wasn't surprised that her friends had high-tailed it when they could. It may have been different though if she hadn't pushed them all away. Biting her lip, she pocketed her phone again and studied her farewell flowers with scrutiny.
"Look," her mother sat up at pointed out the window, "we're passing your new school. It looks nice, doesn't it honey?"
Chihiro looked at it briefly and turned back to her flowers, "I liked my old school." It was a blatant lie but her parents didn't notice. She just felt obligated to point it out. The school did look nice, modern, well kept gardens, with lots of beautiful old trees, but Chihiro didn't care. Perhaps it should have occurred to her parents that she in fact did not like her old school, considering she allegedly set it on fire only two weeks ago. She clutched her flowers tighter to her chest and gasped, "Mother!" she said, holding out her flowers, "they're dying!"
"Everything has to die sometime," her mother replied roughly, still annoyed at Chihiro's pessimistic attitude towards their new life. Why couldn't she just accept the change? Her father had been offered a better job in a new town, and it would give them a well-needed fresh start. A fresh start in a town where Chihiro could make real friends and live a normal life without the nightmares of drowning in flames and burning underwater.
"How depressing Mum, not to mention my first bouquet is a farewell present."
"Oh Chihiro," her mother snapped, "don't be rude. Your father and I got you a bouquet for your birthday last year didn't we?"
"A single flower isn't a bouquet," Chihiro retorted and set her flowers down on the seat beside her before pulling out her phone again. Once again, there were no new messages. Feeling friendless she let the phone drop to the floor, vowing not to check it until they stopped driving.
"Oh just be quiet!" her Dad growled, "you're starting to annoy me. Are you still navigating?"
"You just took a wrong turn," she pointed out dissuasively, receiving a crippling glare from her father in the rear view mirror, which she returned equally fiercely.
"I'm sure this road will get us to the house." Her Dad didn't slow down as the car entered the forest.
"And that is how you always get us lost," Chihiro snapped, gazing out of the window with interest, "what are they?"
Her mother followed her gaze. "Shrines most likely," she replied, "to worship the Gods, or maybe people who died in the area." Chihiro was just about to ask another question when their car hit a rock a little too fast and threw Chihiro against the door. She cursed and sat up properly, the trees passing by her window in a blur. They were on a dark path, only thin rays of sun breaking through the thick branches of the trees that formed a tunnel around the road.
"Slow down. You're going to kill us." Chihiro's mother exclaimed and held onto her husband's arm for dear life, her nails biting into his bicep. He continued to drive at a near suicidal speed.
"A tunnel?" he gasped stamped his foot hard on the break. Chihiro, who had undone her seatbelt to get a better view of the shrines, went flying into her door as their car veered off the road. Her arm connected with the door and her hand caught the handle, accidentally opening it. One second she was in the car, the next she was soaring through the air. Landing hard on the forest floor she looked up just in time to see her car hit a tree head on. She didn't eve have time to scream before it erupted in an explosion of fire.
Neither did her parents.
Note from the author: this is a darker version of Spirited Away, what would really happen if it weren't a movie aimed at a younger audience. I've worked hard on it, so please read it to the end (or to the most recent chapter) and give me some feedback, because this is my first fan fiction in hopefully a long line. Enjoy.
Chihiro woke to a horrible smell, a mix of burning metal, plastic, and another substance. She recoiled when she realised what it was; the smell of burning flesh. She slowly got to her feet, bracing herself against a tree, and staggered closer to what had once been a fully functioning car, but was now a burnt out shell, twisted humourlessly around a tree. Her eyes stung with tears as she searched the wreckage for-
She was violently sick, doubled over as she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the already damp forest floor. Oh my god, she thought, trying to erase the mental image of her father, only half of him still in the car, oh my-
She vomited again. Too shocked to cry she noticed her farewell flowers, burning in the fires that lit up the darkening forest. She quickly snatched them from the flames and beat the embers away, burning her hands in the process. Her fingertips were blistered and raw, but she didn't notice. For a few moments, all she could do was stare at the wreckage, before the sobs hit her like waves.
Minutes later, still clutching the flowers, she crawled closer. She didn't know what to say, so instead, with shaking hands, she the bouquet on the grass in front of the wreckage. Not knowing what to do next she took one last look before turning and limping back to the road, tears now streaming freely down her cheeks. For the first time she noticed the tunnel. What is this building? She ran her hand over the surface; plaster. It must be pretty new.
Chihiro shivered as a gust of wind blew past her, going inside the tunnel, as if it were beckoning her inside. She stood motionless for a moment before timidly setting off into the tunnel.
"Wait."
The hairs on the back of Chihiro's neck prickled painfully. The word reached her as a rasping whisper, as if carried in the wind, but she knew better. Turning very slowly she looked back down the tunnel, and almost vomited again, but instead choked in surprise and fear. Leaning heavily against the wall of the tunnel was her mother, or what used to be her mother.
"Mum," she whispered, not even sure her mother could hear her, "I-I t-thought you w-were dead, oh god, I'm sorry, I," she staggered over to her mother and stopped a meter short of her, unsure of what to do. Her mother lurched towards her, grabbing her arm. Chihiro screamed and tried to pull her arm away but her mother's grip was too strong, her nails digging into Chihiro's arm hard enough to draw pink lines across her bicep, blood blossoming in drops that ran down her arm. "Mum," she cried, "you'll make me trip clinging like that, Mum, let go- Ouch! That hurts, Mum!" Her mother raised her head for the first time and this time Chihiro did vomit.
"Help me," her mother rasped but Chihiro was too terrified to even look at her face, the way she could see her mother's teeth through her cheek, or how one of her eyes wasn't where it was meant to be. Her mother's nails dug in deeper and Chihiro kicked out at her, sent her flying backwards before landing in a convulsing heap. You just killed your own mother, her mind screamed at her, until she realised the screaming wasn't in her head. She quickly shut her mouth before opening it again.
"I-I'll get help," she choked, turned and ran, the wind sweeping past her, sweeping her up in its speed. It was only seconds before her mother was a tiny bump in the darkness of the tunnel. As Chihiro ran she heard the distinct sound of a train. I must be near a train station. Good, I'll be able to get help. She ran even faster, although whether her speed came out of a desire to escape her mum or find help for her, she wasn't sure.
She soon came out in what looked like an old train station plaza; littered with old wooden benches, drink fountains and abandoned kiosks. "Hello?" she shouted desperately, running into the centre of the plaza, "Hello? Please, can anyone help me?" she cut herself off with the realisation that there was no one else there. Forcing back a sob she ran outside. The sun had disappeared behind the clouds, casting the entire forest in shadow. She was walking in a field of grass that swayed like waves in the ocean. Half submerged statues were sprinkled across the field as if they were dropped from the sky, their lifeless eyes staring at Chihiro. She shivered and looked back at the building. This must be one of those theme parks Dad told me about, she mused grimly, this one would probably have been built in the 90's when they all went bust. Mum would have wanted to bring a picnic...
A gust of wind blew a wave of grass in her direction, coming from the direction of the train station, as if it were pushing her further away from home. It was as if the building was moaning. Or perhaps it was the cries of her mother, echoed through the building. Chihiro shivered again, turned and kept running, approaching what looked like a city, all bright faded colours, lanterns and restaurants. She crossed a dried up river and began walking through the streets, too tired to keep running. All of a sudden she smelt something, something nice, like steamed rice and roasted pork. It was coming from the kitchen of one of the restaurants. There was no-one cooking though.
Chihiro kept walking, spooked.
"Where is everybody?" she mused aloud. It was true; the entire city was empty. It looked lived in, and yet... She turned a corner and stopped. In front of her was a beautiful bridge, and on the other side, a bathhouse. "Weird," she whispered and stepped onto the bridge. It looked as if the bathhouse was running, but once again, there was no one there. She heard the sound of a train and leapt onto the rail just in time to see a train disappear underneath the bridge. She jumped off the rail and ran to the other side in time to see the train disappear underneath the bathhouse.
Her neck tingled with the sensation that someone was watching her. Oh god, what if it's Mum? The colour completely drained from her face as she turned.
It wasn't her mother.