A/N: I'm back! As some of you may know from seeing my most recent posting of my story called To Cure the Curse. This story is a little different. I have NEVER dabbled in the horror story department. While I play many horror video games, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Fatal Frame to name a few, I have never thought of writing a story about it. And one day, a few months ago, this suddenly came to me while I was replaying Fatal Frame 1, 2 and 3. I wrote this up forever ago and just left it on my computer. Along with all my other stories I'm working on, which is a lot. I finally decided to post some stories and let you guys see what I'm working on now!
I know it probably sucks, but take it easy on me, okay? I've never writen horror before, I don't even read horror. But, I do watch a CRAP ton of horror movies as they are my absolute favourite and mainly only play horror video games, just replayed Saw 1 and 2 the other day. I'll try my best to make it good, but I suck at writing these kind of things, but I really do want to try!
Night 1: Don't Follow the Butterflies
Winter was turning to spring. Flowers had begun to bloom, peaking through the soft patches of white that still covered the ground from the passing season. A cool breeze ruffled the leaves and the tall blades of grass. It's path only hindered by a lone figure standing in the middle of the deserted meadow.
Kagome breathed in the fresh air with a sigh of contentment. Her raven hair danced behind her, being twirled around by the soft wind. Her ocean blue eyes drifted up, taking in the beautiful crystal clear sky lit by the afternoon sun. An awed smile spread across her face. She has been travelling in the Sengoku Jidai for almost a year and a half and it was still the most beautiful place she had ever seen.
She closed her eyes to enjoy the peace and tranquillity that surrounded her. She allowed herself a moment to soak in the wonderful weather and delightful breeze before opening her eyes once more. A flash of red to her right caught her attention. Turning in place she expected to see Inuyasha standing at the edge of the clearing waiting impatiently for her to finish up and rejoin them, but that was not what she found.
Stunned in place a startled gasp left her lips. The field that was once empty, void of all life except for herself was now filled with the most dazzling crimson coloured butterflies. Their bright red wings glittering as they kept themselves afloat in the air. She watched in amazement as one flew so close it's wing gently brushed her cheek.
She reached up, letting the fingertips trace the path the wing had made. Pulling her hand away she nearly screamed in shock to find her pointer and middle finger coated in blood. The red liquid dripped slowly down the digits, pooling into the palm of her hand. In fascinated horror she studied the sticky substance to find that it had taken the shape of a butterfly.
The blood began to glow and before her eyes the liquid disappeared and a butterfly stretched it's wings before flying away to join the many still drifting around the meadow. As if they were one, all the butterflies flew off together, headed into the grey sky. Confusion filled her mind as soft flakes of snow drifted down around her, landing in her ebony hair making it sparkle in the dim winter sun.
"Inuyasha," Kagome cried out, startling herself from sleep.
"What is it," Inuyasha jumped down from his tree, pulling his sword free from it's scarab as his amber eyes searched the surrounding area for any invading forces.
Sango and Miroku sprung from their make-shift beds, each reaching for their weapons, preparing to help Inuyasha defend their camp. A heavy silence settled over them as the three warriors scanned the area franticly for any life signs. The small red headed child that has been sleeping peacefully beside Kagome crawled tiredly into her lap, looking up at her fearful face. Her blue eyes were trained on her right hand, staring at it as if it had turned into Naraku himself.
"Mama," he whispered gently, drawing the other's attention, "what's wrong?"
"It," Kagome forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat, "it was just a bad dream."
'But it seemed so real,' a shiver of fear danced down her spine at her unspoken thoughts.
Sango set down her Hiraikotsu against a tree before she moved over to comfort her fear stricken friend, "Kagome, are you sure you are alright?"
"It just shook me up a bit," she smiled shakily up at her friend.
"Keh, you woke up the whole group and the sun is still hours from rising," Inuyasha scowled up at the night darkened sky.
"Leave her alone, Inuyasha," Miroku admonished, "I think the dream left her a little more shaken then her usual nightmares."
"I don't understand how she has nightmares this often," the hanyou huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, "you, Sango and the brat don't have near as many nightmares and you have all seen far worse."
"For some reason," Miroku whispered softly, "I don't think this was just another nightmare."
"We might as well get moving for the day, no point in laying around till the sun comes up."
Kagome took in a deep breath and tried to gather her nerve to get up for the day. Whatever her dream had been about, it certainly seemed real. She could still feel the warm blood as if it still coated her fingers. She could feel the touch of the wing against her cheek and the feel of the butterfly on the palm of her hand. Shakily she stood from her bed and helped her friends pack away their stuff to head out for the day.
Breakfast was a quiet and quick affair. The whole group was tired by their early awakening, but they pushed forward, never letting a step falter because of their fatigue. Kagome felt guilty for having woken up her friends, but she couldn't shake the feeling that the dream was more then what it seemed. Her eyes stayed trained on the ground, catching glimpses of her hand every now and again to reassure herself that no blood did reside there.
"Kagome," a feminine voice broke through her thoughts.
"Yeah," she glanced up at her best friend's worried face.
"I've tried getting your attention several times, are you alright?"
"I'm okay, Sango. I think that dream just scared me more then I thought. I'll be okay, I promise."
Sango frowned, "if you say so. Inuyasha says we can stop for lunch."
"Oh."
Kagome glanced around and noticed Inuyasha and Miroku preparing a fire to cook the freshly killed buck that lay at their feet. Shippo sat with Kirara playing a game with the small neko youkai with his enchanted toys. Sango stood beside her, the concerned look still plastered on her face. Time had passed without her realizing it. The many hours they had walked she had spent so preoccupied with her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed how tired she truly was.
With a grateful sigh she sat herself near the fire. The heat from the flames soaked into her skin, ridding her of the fading winter chill. She watched the orange, red and yellow dance together, flickering back and forth as it hungrily consumed the logs. The odd silence that surrounded her didn't phase her as she allowed herself to once more slip into her thoughts.
'It was snowing, but winter is almost over. I saw the sky, it was blue. It was clear and then when those butterflies flew away... it was grey as if winter had never gone away. It was so cold there, in that meadow and that liquid it was so warm,' she bent her legs at the knees and rested her head upon them, letting her eyes close, wishing to block out the memories, 'was it my blood? Is it a warning that we are going to get attacked soon?'
Kagome lifted her head from it's resting place. She scrambled backwards on her hands and feet, shocked to see in front of her that very same meadow as the day before. Her back connected sharply with a tree trunk, effectively stopping her from retreating. Slowly and cautiously she stood on shakily legs. As she breathed out a puff of white escaped her lips, slowly disappearing as it began it's assent to the grey skies above.
Snow flakes began to fall, floating gently to the ground. A single flake landed on her cheek, below her right eye. The same cheek the butterfly's wing had touched. Startled by the sudden movement near her face she blinked. For a minute she stood there, completely unmoving afraid to open her eyes and greet whatever might now lay before her. Taking a deep breath she let the lids slide open, revealing to her a single crimson butterfly.
The small creature began to fly away, heading into the forest. Curious and afraid to stay there for too much longer, Kagome followed the tiny red beckon. She weaved in and out of the trees and stumbled over the many roots on her path. Pushing her way around a rather large and bare bush she finally broke free of the forest. A path lay before her, stretching down a small hill. In the distance she could see the butterfly as it flew down the path and around a building into the village below.
Unsure on if she should follow the creature or turn around she let herself take in her surroundings. Directly in front of her she could make out an archway. Walking slowly she stopped just before crossing under the wooden structure, her eyes drawn to a small statue set at the base. Kneeling down she studied the stone. Carved upon it's surface were two twins, one was missing his head. Around their waists ropes were tied connecting the two together.
Her hand reached out to touch the statue, her fingertips had almost made contact when a noise to her left drew her attention. Standing just inside the archway was a woman, roughly around her age. The woman had long wavy strawberry blonde hair that went all the way to her knees. Her face was heart shaped with high cheek bones, her eyes were almond shaped their colour a shimmering light emerald, her nose was small and pink like her cheeks from the cold and her large plush lips were blue.
She was dressed in only a simply white dress. It was modest and covered her breasts barely showing the start of her cleavage and it flowed all the way down to mid thigh. But, the thin material was doing nothing to protect the poor girl from the weather. Her nails on her fingers were beautiful, the tips of each coloured a sparkling pink. Her feet were bare, showing her toes painted the same way as her fingers.
As the other lady began to speak, Kagome's gaze was drawn back to her eyes. Her green orbs held a darkness, a haunted look, one Kagome had only seen on her many friends there in the past. The woman tilted her head to look down at her, the reddish blonde hair falling over her shoulders to frame her face. Her words sent a chill of foreboding down her spine and raised goosebumps on her skin.
"If you cross, you can never return," her voice was soft, almost lost on the breeze, "do not follow the butterflies."
"Where do I go then? Which way do I follow," Kagome asked, panic filling her voice.
"Do not follow the butterflies," the woman turned, walking back towards the village on her bare feet.
Kagome glanced down at the ground and on the sand were two perfect red footprints where the woman had been standing.
"Wait," Kagome cried as she stood up from her spot prepared to chase after the stranger, "your feet are bleeding!"
"Wait," Kagome screamed, her head snapping up from it's resting place on her knees.
"Are you alright," Miroku placed a hand on her shoulder, "you fell asleep while we were waiting for lunch."
"Yeah, I'm okay... it's just that girl," she tapered off, glancing around in confusion.
"What girl," Sango asked her softly, "we haven't seen another person all day."
"But, her feet... they were," Kagome paused realizing she had been dreaming and the woman had been a figment of her imagination.
"They were what," Shippo crawled into her lap with an innocent look on his face.
"Bleeding," she finished her sentence and with a shrug she said, "I guess I was dreaming."
"Well at least it wasn't a nightmare," Inuyasha gripped, plucking some meat from the fire handing it to her.
"Yeah," she murmured, "thanks."
Gratefully she accepted the food and mindfully picked at it with her fingers. The taste of the meat was lost to her, her mind still absorbed in the dream and the woman she had seen there. A frown pulled at her lips. She had been injured. Who knows how long she had walked without shoes or how infected her feet would be after such trauma. Shaking her head she tried to push it away.
'It's only a dream, that girl wasn't even real. I shouldn't worry about her, I should just continue with my day and help out as much as possible.'
With her resolve to forget her dreams in the front of her mind, she finished her lunch while attempting to make small talk with her friends. They continued to glance at her repeatedly, worried about her well being. After they had finished lunch they packed away their things and continued on their trip.
"So where are we headed any ways," Kagome asked curiously.
"If you had been paying attention this morning," Inuyasha huffed, "you would know that we are headed to talk to Koga."
"But why are we headed all the way there," she looked to the other two for further information.
"Inuyasha thinks that Koga might have some information about the wolves that attacked us the other day," Miroku smiled at her.
"He also wants to know more about that valley we passed through," Sango pitched in.
Shippo shifted in her arms, gently reaching up to touch her chin and gain her attention ,"they say that, that valley is haunted and those who wonder there get spirited away."
"Spirited away? You mean people in this time believe in that kind of thing too," Kagome said unbelievingly.
Miroku nodded grimly, "many people go missing because they were spirited away. It's not a belief, it's real."
"Well," she laughed, "I found out that youkai were real, I guess ghosts could be too. But, what would Koga know about the valley?"
"Those wolves were there and they looked like wolves of his," Sango said thoughtfully, "if anyone knows anything about it, it would be him."
"I get a bad feeling about this," Kagome tried not to think about the goosebumps rising on her skin.
"Everything will be okay," Miroku told her firmly, "we will figure it out."
"If you say so. How long will it take to reach Koga's dens?"
"Only a few days if we pick up the pace," Inuyasha stated harshly.
"Gomen," Kagome blushed, picking up the pace of her steps.
Hours passed as they continued forward on their journey to reach Koga's dens. The sun was sinking, bringing upon them the cold blanket of night. Inuyasha instructed them to set up camp. They built a fire and unrolled their sleeping bags. Dinner was made and ate in silence as they all prepared themselves for a hopefully peaceful night sleep. Kagome begrudgingly crawled into the warmth of her makeshift bed.
Shippo eagerly crawled in with her, curling against her chest. Kagome laid awake as her adopted son slipped off into sleep. Her eyelids were heavy, wishing to close and bring her into the world of dreams, but she fought to keep them open. She was afraid of what might come if she closed her eyes. Afraid of what she might see in her dreams that night. Her dreams that were so vivid it was hard not to believe it wasn't reality.
Her strength began to leave her and her eyes slid closed. Her mind remained awake, begging her body not to let her go. Tired from the long trip and the lack of sleep the night before her body gave into the call for sleep and gently sent her off into the sea of dreams.
Kagome opened her eyes to find herself standing at the archway. The red footprints still marring the ground where the woman had stood in her previous dream. The woman was no where in sight and there was no trail of footprints to lead her to where ever she had gone. Glancing over the village, a crimson butterfly caught her eye, floating in front of the nearest house.
Pushing down the fear of foreboding, she took a couple steps forward crossing the archway. Gaining nerve she continued forward till she reached a small crest in the hill overlooking the village. It seemed quiet, too quiet. Not a single person walked the street and every house was darkened out. Turning around she chanced a look back at the path she had gotten here on to find it gone.
The wooden structure that had been there was gone and the only things that remained were the footprints and the stone statue. The soft breeze like voice echoed in her memory, 'if you cross, you can never return.' She took a deep breath to steady herself before continuing on down to the house the butterfly had been in front of. The feeling of being watched crawled across her back as she pried open the front door.
Nervously she rushed in, slamming the door shut behind her. Her breathing quickened and all her courage left her. Something was out in that village and whatever it was, it wasn't friendly. How she knew this, she wasn't sure. But she was sure she didn't want to meet whatever was waiting for her. Spinning around she screamed when she noticed a woman standing in front of the door that lead to the living room.
Suddenly the woman vanished, leaving her alone and yet panicked. She had two choices, go forward and find out what might possibly be in this house or turn around and face what was waiting out there for her. Swallowing hard and chose to enter the house. The fire pit that sat directly in the center of the room looked as if it hadn't been used in years and dust clung to every surface. Slowly she explored, searching each room she came across.
In the very back of the house she stumbled upon a flash light that still worked. Under it was a note written in a very neat and feminine script. As she read she couldn't help but think about the woman she had met during her afternoon nap.
You have found your way here, called here by her. She wants you to help her, she wants you to free her. She wants you to become a butterfly. You must find your way out of here. You must leave and never return. It's dangerous in this village. There is a camera, I hid it here in this house for you. It's upstairs in the very back room. You will need it. Hurry, find it quickly, they are everywhere.
"They are everywhere," Kagome repeated the last part out load to herself.
Standing from her crouched spot next to the dressers in the room, she glanced out the doors and into the back yard. This time she didn't scream when she saw her. The same woman as before stood silently on the deck staring out towards the yard. Her heart began to pound, sliding a foot back she attempted to quietly back out of the room. Her foot smacked hard into the small raised burning pit.
She held her breath, waiting, hoping that the ghost hadn't heard her. Luck however was not on her side. The woman turned around, a crazed look in her eyes, and came after her. Reacting on instinct, Kagome raced from the room and down the hall. She turned into the small outcrop where the stairs were and took them two at a time. The ghost she could hear was behind her, keeping up with her with it's lack of need to walk around walls.
She sped around the corner, ripping open the lone door there. The room seemed to last forever as she rushed through it and into the next where a camera lay innocently on the top of a desk. Her fingers had just enclosed around the object of her search when the ghost appeared in front of her. Once more she let her instincts take over, she raised the camera and snapped a picture. The woman screamed and backed away.
Quickly she took a couple more and the woman disappeared. Kagome's legs gave out and she landed on her bottom right next to the desk where another note waited for her. The same handwriting as before decorated it's page.
There will be more, they won't stop. They are everywhere. They will find you, just don't let them touch you. It isn't safe to let them touch you. Lest you wish to bare their pain.
'There is more,' Kagome thought in horror to herself, 'there can't be more. I can't do this. I need to wake up. I have to wake up.'
There was nothing left for her in this house. If she stayed she would end up being caught by that woman. She pulled herself to her feet and cautiously found her way down the stairs and out of the house. A ghost appeared on the path, walking to the left deeper into the village. Quickly she brought up her camera and took a picture and watched in fascination as the ghost disappeared seconds after it's image was caught on film.
With fear running high and the need to find a way out, Kagome walked the direction the ghost had been heading. Another fork in the road appeared and this time instead of seeing a ghost, she knew she saw someone. Running forward she looked to her right to barely catch a glimpse of Kikyo walking around the next corner at the bottom of some stairs.
"Kikyo," Kagome cried, trying to catch up with her, "wait! Kikyo!"
Desperate to find the familiar face she didn't think twice about why Kikyo might be in her dream. As she rounded the next corner she scrambled backwards in a vain attempt to retreat. Four men in white charged her, protecting the locked gate behind their back. The way Kikyo must have gone. Thinking quickly Kagome pulled up her camera and continued to take pictures of the men until they all disappeared.
Cautiously she walked forward and touched the lock. Kikyo had gone this way and now she had to find a way to enter this gate. Glancing at both sides she noticed a tree that was only a few feet shy of the hight of the gate. Deciding against finding a key, she grabbed a steady branch and pulled herself up. Times like this she really wished Inuyasha was around, he would have bound her over the gate with barely a twitch of a muscle.
Grunting she hauled herself over the top of the gate. Losing her balance she fell harshly off the other side, crashing hard against the ground. She hissed as a sharp rock dug deeply into the soft fleshy tissue of her side. With a deep breath she got back onto her feet. Taking in her surroundings she couldn't help but love the long bridge in front of her and the crimson butterflies that danced all around it.
'Don't follow the butterflies,' the woman's voice echoed in her mind as she walked across the bridge.
Kagome sighed, 'what other choice do I have? Where else am I suppose to go?'
Eerily the doors on the second set of gates slowly swung open as she approached. Their creak of old ageing wood filled the still air making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. If she wasn't so sure this was a dream, she would believe that entering this house meant that she could never leave. Footsteps on the bridge urged her to rush forward and into the mansion. The doors clicked behind her, the sound seemed final.
Gulping in as much air as she could take she moved forward towards the hallway. Kikyo headed into the door on the right. Kagome followed, wanting to catch up with the other miko, only to find the door locked. It was impossible, it was illogical, then again the whole dream was. She decided to just go through the other door in hopes that it would eventually lead to a key or another passage to where Kikyo had gone. As her hand touched the doorknob a young girl appeared in-between her and the door. A wicked grin on her face and her kimono splattered with blood.
Kagome jerked awake, the scream frozen in her throat. Her eyes glanced around nervously for any recognition that her dream had been more then just a simple dream and she found nothing. Taking a couple deep breaths she calmed herself enough to lay back down and attempt to find sleep again. The dark bliss she had been hoping for evaded her, leaving her horribly tired that morning when the group woke to begin their day.
'This is going to be a long day,' she sighed.