Author's Note: This chapter is where the "horror" part of the story begins. If you think the rating needs to go up then please let me know.
Ito's bad feeling only grew the following day. He found himself constantly glancing at the crowd of homeless people as they maintained their eerie, silent vigil. The discovery that the cylinder contained an elaborate locking mechanism that could only be opened from the inside did nothing to ease his worries.
Mitsuhashi, with his typical lack of subtlety, suggested simply breaking open the cylinder to get a sample of the liquid for testing. The priest looked as if he were about to have a heart attack upon hearing that. Birack of course had refused, pointing out that the liquid could be poisonous.
The chamber with the cylinder also contained an ancient leather-bound book that some of the students set about translating. Imai offered to help (mostly by bringing food and drink) and as he saw the translations appear on a computer screen he found himself beginning to worry as well. Drawn by morbid curiosity Ito joined him and they read the translations together.
I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you this thing which shall be unleashed.
And the Prince of Darkness was himself sealed, that old life, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.
Alarmed, Ito took a step back and bumped into the supervisor, causing him to whack his arm on a nearby piece of machinery.
"I'm very sorry" Ito apologised. "I didn't mean to…"
"I know, it was an accident" the supervisor replied as he rubbed his arm. It was already developing a nasty-looking bruise.
Feeling in need of some fresh air Ito excused himself and went outside. He felt a little better outside of the oppressive confines of the building but that feeling of relief disappeared when he looked over and saw that sure enough the scruffy mob of derelicts were still there in the alley, still staring motionlessly at the church. He fought off an urge to scream at them to just do something. Not that it would work. If Mitsuhashi couldn't get a reaction out of them then nothing could.
He looked up at the sky. It was covered by a thick blanket of cloud that seemed to perfectly match the sense of smothering dread that had come over him. As much as he tried to tell himself he was being silly the feeling would not go away. Something very strange was going on here and he had no idea what to do about it.
"Ito-san!"
The voice was warm and bright, driving away the dark thoughts that had been consuming him. A genuine smile lit his face for the first time since he'd arrived at the church as he looked over at the front gate to see Kyoko waving at him, a matching smile on her lovely face. With her were Riko, Ryoko and Hitomi, all of them with cheerful faces.
"Kyo-chan!" Ito called back as he waved to her, feeling as if a weight had lifted from his shoulders.
"We came to see how you, Mitsuhashi-san and the others are getting on" she explained as they walked up to him.
"Yes, you've all been working so hard we thought we'd pay a visit to lend our support" Hitomi agreed.
"And make sure you're not getting my Imai into more trouble" Ryoko added. She was carrying a rectangular canvas bag that Ito knew contained her shinai.
"Speaking of trouble how's San-chan?" Riko asked.
"He's fine" Ito replied, the feeling of dread beginning to creep back in as he was reminded of why Mitsuhashi had wanted to continue working here.
Kyoko saw the change in his mood at once. "What's wrong Ito-san?" she asked in concern.
"Oh uh, nothing" he said hastily as he pushed his troubled thoughts down, not wanting her to worry. "Come on, let's not keep the others waiting."
As the girls followed him inside the church Ito cast a hard glare at the statue-like derelicts, a silent warning not to try anything. They reacted to it the same way they had to everything else so far; not at all.
Down in the basement Mitsuhashi was gazing at the cylinder and rubbing his hands together as he plotted ways to make money off of it, a greedy smile on his face.
Hmm, maybe Ore-sama could sell tickets to come and see it, or perhaps sell it to someone. There are lots of collectors that'll pay a lot for weird stuff like this. But then I'd have to sneak it out of here somehow and that could be difficult even for one as brilliant as Ore-sama.
He pressed a hand to the glass, his smile broadening as he continued to scheme. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't hear someone approaching until they were right behind him.
"Excuse me."
"Aggh!" He jumped and whirled around to see one of the students standing there. "I wasn't doing anything! I was just standing here."
"Your friend Ito asked me to get you. He said you have a visitor" the student replied.
"Ah, well all right then." He walked out of the basement, muttering to himself about how whoever it was he hoped they had brought him food.
The student went to a nearby piece of machinery to check the readings but then stopped, his gaze turning back to the cylinder. Was it his imagination or was the green liquid spinning even faster? And had the corroded metal top of the container moved slightly?
"Get a grip" he muttered. "You're letting all that religious stuff get to you. That stuff's just a load of…"
HSSSS!
A thin jet of the green liquid shot from the top of the cylinder right into his open mouth. He staggered back, choking and coughing as the liquid slid down his throat, burning everything it touched. Collapsing to the floor he thrashed about wildly for a few seconds before going still, his eyes closed.
A moment later he stood up. His movements were now stiff and mechanical and his face was blank and without expression, just like the derelicts outside.
He turned and slowly walked out of the chamber, heading for the sleeping quarters…
Watching the church from his hiding place in an alley, Sagara smiled malevolently as he saw Mitsuhashi walk past a window. He had already confirmed that Ito was still there and now that he knew Mitsuhashi was as well his revenge could proceed.
He looked up at the sky, noting how dark it was. It had already been somewhat dim due to the thick clouds overhead but now it was as dark as night.
Weird he thought. Still, no matter.
He hefted a petrol can, listening to the sound of its contents sloshing around. It was a pity about all the other people inside the church but hey, it wasn't his fault that they had decided to go there.
As he was about to move out he heard a faint rustle of cloth. He turned to see the crowd of derelicts were finally moving, shuffling slowly towards him.
Sagara started to tell them to get lost when he noticed their eyes. They were utterly empty, not merely lifeless but soulless, unlike anything he'd ever seen before. He wasn't spooked easily but now, looking at those eyes, he felt genuine fear. Fear that robbed him of his ability to speak.
He was brought out of his stupor by another sound. A clicking, skittering sound, like numerous hard shells rubbing over each other. A sound coming from beneath him.
Sagara looked down and his eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as he saw that he was standing in the middle of a seething mass of black cockroaches, their exoskeletons glistening faintly in the darkness as they began to crawl up his shoes.
With a cry of revulsion he sprang backwards, dropping the petrol can which clattered to the ground as he began trying frantically to shake the insects off. He turned to run, his plan of revenge completely forgotten, only to find himself facing the pale man who stood holding half of a broken bicycle. Before Sagara could react the pale man rammed the bicycle's top tube through his chest!
His jaw fell open in shock and he uttered a low groan as pain spread through his chest. Blood spurted out as the pale man yanked the tube out and pushed him over. Sagara fell back into the writhing mass of cockroaches and stared up blankly into the pale man's empty eyes as the insects began to swarm over him.
Author's Note: I combined two scenes from the movie here because I wanted to include the Alice Cooper bike impalement scene in some capacity but killing off some random guy seemed gratuitous so I mixed it with the scene where Wyndham is killed with Alice Cooper's character replacing the bag lady.