I was standing in the middle of a candle-lit room. I looked around and saw that this room was some kind of workplace. On the walls, pictures of eyes were pasted. I shivered. I let my gaze fall on the table and saw blue prints of a building.

I tried to figure out what the building was, but movement from the corner of my eyes distracted me. I turned my head to the side.

There was a shelf. I walked over to it for a closer look because it wasn't lit by the small candle. I screamed at the horrible sight in front of me.

Broken dolls lay scattered, all having no eyes. Worms were squirming inside their empty eye sockets.

But there was one doll that stood upright. It was clean, unlike all the others. It wasn't violated in any way, unlike all the others. Its eerie dark eyes bore into mine with such hatred that I froze in horror.

|-| i! |-|

It was a sunny afternoon and Mai hurried to the SPR office. Again, just like everyday, she was running late. She had been working for Naru for almost three years already. Shibuya Psychic Research became very known that even other countries were willing to pay very huge amounts just to have them investigate in their places.

When she got to the office, she tried to keep quiet. Unfortunately, she didn't miss Naru's ears.

"You're late." Mai heard Naru's voice from his office.

"Sorry!" She yelled back as she placed her bag on her table. And then she headed to the kitchen and boiled water. She knew Naru would ask for his freakin' tea during these hours. Every single day it was like this.

She leaned against the counter while waiting for the water to boil. As she was staring idly at the blank wall, she had a flashback of the dream she'd forgotten about the other night. Just then, the tea kettle whistled. She poured the hot water in a tea cup with tea.

Mai placed the cup on a saucer and took it to Naru's office. She knocked on his door and waited for his 'come in' before entering.

"Hey, Naru," She said. "Do we have a new case coming?"

Naru looked up from whatever he was doing on his computer. He raised a perfect brow at her. "Why do you ask?"

Mai shook her head. "No, it's nothing." She turned to leave, but Lin suddenly came in, phone in is hand.

"Naru," He handed Naru the phone. "We received an international call."

Naru took the phone and put it to loudspeaker. "Hello?"

"Hello," A boy said over the phone. He sounded relieved and scared at the same time. "Please, we need your help here. I-I researched about groups that deal with the paranormal and found out that the Shibuya Psychic Research hasn't failed a single case and that you complete them with exorcisms." He paused for a breath. "I also know that you don't just accept cases without proofs. But this is really urgent. There have been deaths and we really, really need you."

Naru's face went all business, but he was still unconvinced of what the boy said. "Shouldn't it be the police–"

"They are also after us." A rustle from the other line. "My friend here knows what's going on. Please hear him out."

"Very well. Lin, record the conversation from here on."

Lin connected wires or whatever to the phone.

"Hello?" A different voice said. "I'm Hutch. I-I think the deaths that's been going here were because of… a game."

"Tell me about this game." Naru brought out a pen and paper.

Mai was surprised at Naru for being interested with this because he usually waited for the end of the story before deciding if he was accepting the case. Her thoughts were cut short when this Hutch spoke again on the other line.

"Okay. Um, there's this video game my friend, Loomis, found. I-I don't know where or how he got that, but a few hours after he played it, he… he died. He was found hanging on the chandelier. His other two friend,s who were playing with him, were also drained of blood."

"Are you sure it's not just a psycho killer around their community?"

"There's more. At their funeral, Loomis' sister, Emma, gave me all of his video games. I found the game Loomis was last playing and I invited all of my friends over and we played it, and my boss was at his office, playing with us.

"The game is called Stay Alive. The setting is from wherever it is that–October, who's the Blood Countess?" Another rustle. "Elizabeth Bathory. She's the countess who created a school for girls. The game is about unlocking the truth behind the Countess' evil, or whatever. We played and played until Miller, my boss, died. He was stabbed in the neck with some scissors by the Countess. That's when we stopped playing. The next day, I came to work only to find Miller dead on his desk, stabbed to death by the same scissors in the game."

Naru was deep in thinking now. "One of your friends may be the suspect. They knew how he died."

"But they didn't know him. And the detectives estimated his time of death the same time after we finished. My friends were still in my place then."

"Interesting." Naru dropped his pen on the table and kept the paper. "We're going. Any more details? We have to know everything."

"Really? Thank you so much! We're positive that there's something behind the game. When I looked at Loomis' saved data, I saw that he was hung the same way in a chandelier."

"All right. I want you to keep the game untouched until we come. Don't let anyone play it… I take it you're American?"

"Yes, yes. We're in LA. When will you come?"

"I can't say right away, but we'll leave as soon as possible. Give us a day or two. And please, don't let anyone else die."

"Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Shibuya. Call this number when you've arrived. We'll pick you up."

Naru set the phone down. "Lin, did you record the details? Names?"

"Yes." Lin said as he typed in his computer. He paused as if contemplating on his words. "Naru, are you sure about this? We don't have solid proof."

"I definitely feel something about this." It was Mai who spoke. She shook her head. "Anyway, Naru, should I call the others?"

"Yes." He went back to his computer, preparing things.

Mai went out of Naru's room and to her desk. She called the rest of the team members one by one.

|-| i! |-|

"I think we'll be risking lives here." John said. "I don't know whose, but I strongly believe so."

Everyone became silent in their seats. John didn't usually talk much, but when he did, it was mostly what he thought of the case. And this was the first time he said something negative. Naru set down his empty tea cup on the table.

"Just tell me if you don't want to come." He announced. "It's a bother to bring unwilling people."

Takigawa shrugged. "I'm definitely in. I already feel the adrenaline running through my veins."

"Stupid." Ayako rolled her eyes at him. "I'm a priestess. I don't miss opportunities like this."

John nodded. "They need us. We have to give those dead souls the justice they deserve and stop any more deaths that may come."

Naru stood from his seat. He turned to Mai, who was silently scanning a book at the farther end of the couch. "Mai."

Mai looked up, surprised. "Uh, yes, what?"

"You can stay here." He said. She almost saw a hint of concern in his expression, but his stoic face made it hard for her to believe.

She smiled. "I told you, I'll come. I kn–ouch!" She looked down on her book. "Paper cut."

As she watched her finger bled, she had a sudden flash of memory. Of blood. Too much blood. Of a curse. Of the standing doll in her dream.

"—Mai." Takigawa shook her shoulders. "Snap out of it, Mai."

She blinked back to the present and unconsciously sucked the bleeding finger. "I'm fine."

"What did you see now?" He asked.

"I, uh, remembered the Urado case. It was pretty bloody…" Mai looked down on her finger.

"Is that all?" It was Naru. He just came back from his office.

"No." She shook her head. "I had a brief flashback of my dream a few nights ago—"

Her sentence was cut by the opening of the front door. Madoka, Yasuhara, and Masako came in.

"Sorry, we're late." Madoka apologized. "Traffic was so heavy."

Naru motioned for them to sit down. "Did you get what I asked you to bring?"

Yasuhara held up a manila envelope in his hands. "I got the recent deaths in LA. Most—no, all of them were homicide victims. Their deaths were bloody as hell, it was creepy. And they were all young."

Naru nodded in approval. "They were all young," he quoted. "As young as an average video gamer?"

"Yes. Some are in their late teens and some were college students."

"Good." He turned to Madoka. "Madoka?"

Madoka pulled some papers out of her bag then handed them to Naru. "Elizabeth Bathory. Also known as the Blood Countess. She was one crazy woman."

"Like Urado." Masako whispered audibly. "I've been seeing visions of blood. Mai, what about you?"

Mai shrugged. "I don't know how dolls with no eyes can relate with her." Then she stated the whole of the dream to everyone.

|-| i! |-|

Naru decided not to tell the details of the case to the three yet. Madoka and Yasuhara researched on the important information about it. He thought that it'd be best to discuss it with the clients. He needn't his team jump to conclusions. In this case, he concluded, every choice is risky. Added Mai's new vision, girls her and Masako's age may be harmed during their investigation. Masako didn't need to know about all this. Not right now when she's already being burdened by her vivid visions.

He knew about this Countess Elizabeth Bathory. She was indeed a brutal woman in her time. If this was her spirit that's causing all these horrible deaths, John was right. This was a dangerous thin line between life and death to all of them.

This is yet another thrilling case for the SPR. This fic is inspired by the survival horror movie, Stay Alive. I figured that if I merge the story with Ghost Hunt, the whole plot would seem more interesting.

I'm a Gakuen Alice author, but I got so excited by this brand new idea. And I'm a Ghost Hunt fan, too. XD

I hope y'all enjoy it!

~`Xythri