CHAPTER TWO – A Rude Awakening
"Damn them! Don't they have any consideration for their neighbours who are trying to sleep?" The tall blonde cursed, as she took a hold of both corners of her pillow and pressed them hard against her ears.
"LIAR!" a low voice thundered from next door, followed by a loud smash.
"Gaaah!" the blonde moaned as she shuffled irritably in her bed, ending up on her back and staring up at the ceiling with tired eyes. She then glanced to her right to check the time on her alarm clock, letting out an exasperated sigh a few seconds later.
"It's only a quarter past ten in the morning! Geesh Haruka, you still had another hour before you had to get up to make lunch." The blonde, who identified herself as Haruka, sarcastically remarked.
Muffled voices could still be heard from next door but they were now, considerably lower.
"Idiots…" Haruka sighed bitterly, as she rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the morning wake up call."
Haruka rose and leaned against the wall that her bed was next to. At the same time, she pulled out her long legs from beneath the covers and stretched them out before her, absent-mindedly scratching at her lower neck. Then she yawned long and hard while she tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes.
"ANSWER ME!" a voice angrily demanded.
Haruka paused in mid-yawn, her mouth still wide open.
"Huh?" Haruka grunted, before she turned her head and pressed her ear against the wall.
More yelling followed and Haruka easily identified the rowdy voice, as of that of a foreign, middle-aged man's. But she didn't have half as much luck at working out what he was on about, especially since his accent on English was heavy and it wasn't Japanese.
"WAIT!" a higher voice screamed out.
Haruka's eyebrows shot up as she realised that the second voice belonged to that of a young woman, and a terrified one at that.
"What the…?" Haruka whispered, genuinely concerned.
The argument seemed to subside, so Haruka pressed her ear harder against the wall in hopes that she could hear more clearly.
"Seems to be pretty serious." Haruka thought gravely, as she recalled the desperation in the voice of the young woman.
Suddenly the argument came to an abrupt stop and after a few more seconds of eavesdropping, Haruka gave up and shifted back to her original position.
"What the hell is going on next door?" Haruka wondered, a puzzled look on her face.
As she contemplated the incident so far, she ran a hand through her short blonde hair and encountered a dreadful tangle about halfway up. Haruka's attention shifted as she proceeded to comb it through with her fingers. She had just about managed to disentangle the knot, when she was jolted from behind by a loud thud. Haruka scampered off the bed like a terrified animal, staring at the wall with wide eyes.
"Shit! They're going to put a hole through my wall if they keep this up!" Haruka stated a-matter-of-factly.
"I think this has gone a little too far!" Haruka muttered as she hurriedly searched her bedroom for some clothes.
She found a pair of black pants and a baggy blue shirt, but was having no luck in locating her sports bra.
"Blow it all!" Haruka hissed through gritted teeth and gathered up her clothes and proceeded to the bathroom.
A few minutes later Haruka emerged, fully clothed and her face dripping with beads of water.
"Now where's my towel? Ahhh shit… shit… shit!" Haruka swore, as she glanced left and right, and under her bed.
"One of these days Haruka, you have got to pull yourself together and clean your room."
Giving up the search for her towel, Haruka dried her face with her bed sheets and started to wrestle with some socks. It was only when Haruka had managed to put on the second sock, that she realised that one was longer than the other and also a different colour. Haruka closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh.
"By the time I get ready, my neighbours will have moved out of their apartment and be half way across the world."
Haruka pulled off both socks and quickly made her way to the living room, where the front door of her apartment was located. She stopped momentarily to pick up her house keys, thankful that they were lying on the coffee table, and tucked them into her pants pocket. As Haruka placed her hand on the doorknob of her front door, she paused.
"Okay now Haruka. Just remember that they woke you up at 10 AM and you had a very late night after you celebrated your victory at the Tokyo Formula One Championships. You're mighty tired and now… mighty grumpy! They're also threatening to bulldoze your bedroom wall down. Uh huh… they've got it coming to them!" Haruka recited in her head, before opening the door and stepping out into the corridor with a smile.
The door slid shut behind the tall blonde, leaving her in the dimly lit corridor of level five. One of the corridor lights had blown just the other day and still, no one had bothered to replace it.
Haruka quickly padded over to the neighbours' front door on her naked feet, all the while listening hard, to see whether the argument was still in progress. When she arrived at the front door she glanced up at the apartment number - number 18 and quickly brushed a hand through her hair once more.
All was silent.
Haruka began to have second thoughts about having a showdown this early in the morning, but she made up her mind when she recalled the loud thud on her bedroom wall.
That, had been totally uncalled for.
Haruka rapped on the door a couple of times before waiting patiently.
There was no answer.
Haruka scowled and knocked harder, immediately taking a step back when the door began to swing open. It stopped midway and from the gap, all that was visible beyond, was darkness.
Haruka froze, seriously contemplating the situation.
"Maybe they did move out…" Haruka thought to herself, before gently pressing on the door and allowing it to swing fully open. But the scene that met Haruka's eyes proved otherwise.
The apartment was exquisitely furnished and a glowing candelabrum was hanging on the other side of the living room. It seemed to be the only source of light, as Haruka noticed that all the blinds and curtains had been drawn closed.
Haruka poked her head in and observed the room before her. There was no one in sight and no voices could be heard. Haruka arched an eyebrow and thought about what she was going to do next. Her curiosity won the inner struggle and so Haruka took a few steps into the apartment and called out timidly.
"Hello?"
No answer.
Haruka took a few more steps towards the hanging candelabrum, her eyes scanning the darkness. Unexpectedly, the front door creaked to a close behind her and Haruka swiveled on her heels to face the door.
There was no one there.
Haruka blinked a few times before she let out a small reassuring laugh.
"I think I've seen too many late-night, horror movies." Haruka whispered to herself.
The tall blonde took another step, this time backwards and screamed out as pain shot through her right leg. Haruka withdrew her foot and quickly limped over to the nearest couch.
"Shit!" Haruka exclaimed as she lay down and pulled her foot into view, observing a flower thorn deeply embedded within. Haruka picked out the thorn quickly, rubbing her foot with her fingers to numb the pain. While doing so, her eyes began to wonder. Suddenly, Haruka's breath froze in her throat.
On the wall adjacent to her bedroom, was a bloody streak, running vertically down. Haruka's eyes nervously followed the blood trail to the floor and the next scene that met her eyes made Haruka gasp in fright.
A young aqua-haired woman was lying on the carpet. Her face was turned to the right and her arms at her side. Her hair seemed to be wet, but as Haruka stared more carefully realization dawned, and she worked out that it was blood.
Haruka's heart began to beat faster and she could hear the blood pumping in her veins. She sat there, completely transfixed and unmoving, as she played back the voices that she had heard only ten minutes ago. That's when she recalled the one belonging to the foreign man. She turned her head around and searched the room, constantly glancing back to the body of the young woman. All the while Haruka's mind kept chanting one word, over and over again.
"Murder! Murder!"
Suddenly, a small moan escaped the lips of the wounded woman on the carpet. As Haruka focused her attention on the body, she noticed that the woman's fingers began to twitch.
"My God… she's still alive…" Haruka whispered, swallowing hard.
"Damn them! Don't they have any consideration for their neighbours who are trying to sleep?" The tall blonde cursed, as she took a hold of both corners of her pillow and pressed them hard against her ears.
"LIAR!" a low voice thundered from next door, followed by a loud smash.
"Gaaah!" the blonde moaned as she shuffled irritably in her bed, ending up on her back and staring up at the ceiling with tired eyes. She then glanced to her right to check the time on her alarm clock, letting out an exasperated sigh a few seconds later.
"It's only a quarter past ten in the morning! Geesh Haruka, you still had another hour before you had to get up to make lunch." The blonde, who identified herself as Haruka, sarcastically remarked.
Muffled voices could still be heard from next door but they were now, considerably lower.
"Idiots…" Haruka sighed bitterly, as she rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the morning wake up call."
Haruka rose and leaned against the wall that her bed was next to. At the same time, she pulled out her long legs from beneath the covers and stretched them out before her, absent-mindedly scratching at her lower neck. Then she yawned long and hard while she tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes.
"ANSWER ME!" a voice angrily demanded.
Haruka paused in mid-yawn, her mouth still wide open.
"Huh?" Haruka grunted, before she turned her head and pressed her ear against the wall.
More yelling followed and Haruka easily identified the rowdy voice, as of that of a foreign, middle-aged man's. But she didn't have half as much luck at working out what he was on about, especially since his accent on English was heavy and it wasn't Japanese.
"WAIT!" a higher voice screamed out.
Haruka's eyebrows shot up as she realised that the second voice belonged to that of a young woman, and a terrified one at that.
"What the…?" Haruka whispered, genuinely concerned.
The argument seemed to subside, so Haruka pressed her ear harder against the wall in hopes that she could hear more clearly.
"Seems to be pretty serious." Haruka thought gravely, as she recalled the desperation in the voice of the young woman.
Suddenly the argument came to an abrupt stop and after a few more seconds of eavesdropping, Haruka gave up and shifted back to her original position.
"What the hell is going on next door?" Haruka wondered, a puzzled look on her face.
As she contemplated the incident so far, she ran a hand through her short blonde hair and encountered a dreadful tangle about halfway up. Haruka's attention shifted as she proceeded to comb it through with her fingers. She had just about managed to disentangle the knot, when she was jolted from behind by a loud thud. Haruka scampered off the bed like a terrified animal, staring at the wall with wide eyes.
"Shit! They're going to put a hole through my wall if they keep this up!" Haruka stated a-matter-of-factly.
"I think this has gone a little too far!" Haruka muttered as she hurriedly searched her bedroom for some clothes.
She found a pair of black pants and a baggy blue shirt, but was having no luck in locating her sports bra.
"Blow it all!" Haruka hissed through gritted teeth and gathered up her clothes and proceeded to the bathroom.
A few minutes later Haruka emerged, fully clothed and her face dripping with beads of water.
"Now where's my towel? Ahhh shit… shit… shit!" Haruka swore, as she glanced left and right, and under her bed.
"One of these days Haruka, you have got to pull yourself together and clean your room."
Giving up the search for her towel, Haruka dried her face with her bed sheets and started to wrestle with some socks. It was only when Haruka had managed to put on the second sock, that she realised that one was longer than the other and also a different colour. Haruka closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh.
"By the time I get ready, my neighbours will have moved out of their apartment and be half way across the world."
Haruka pulled off both socks and quickly made her way to the living room, where the front door of her apartment was located. She stopped momentarily to pick up her house keys, thankful that they were lying on the coffee table, and tucked them into her pants pocket. As Haruka placed her hand on the doorknob of her front door, she paused.
"Okay now Haruka. Just remember that they woke you up at 10 AM and you had a very late night after you celebrated your victory at the Tokyo Formula One Championships. You're mighty tired and now… mighty grumpy! They're also threatening to bulldoze your bedroom wall down. Uh huh… they've got it coming to them!" Haruka recited in her head, before opening the door and stepping out into the corridor with a smile.
The door slid shut behind the tall blonde, leaving her in the dimly lit corridor of level five. One of the corridor lights had blown just the other day and still, no one had bothered to replace it.
Haruka quickly padded over to the neighbours' front door on her naked feet, all the while listening hard, to see whether the argument was still in progress. When she arrived at the front door she glanced up at the apartment number - number 18 and quickly brushed a hand through her hair once more.
All was silent.
Haruka began to have second thoughts about having a showdown this early in the morning, but she made up her mind when she recalled the loud thud on her bedroom wall.
That, had been totally uncalled for.
Haruka rapped on the door a couple of times before waiting patiently.
There was no answer.
Haruka scowled and knocked harder, immediately taking a step back when the door began to swing open. It stopped midway and from the gap, all that was visible beyond, was darkness.
Haruka froze, seriously contemplating the situation.
"Maybe they did move out…" Haruka thought to herself, before gently pressing on the door and allowing it to swing fully open. But the scene that met Haruka's eyes proved otherwise.
The apartment was exquisitely furnished and a glowing candelabrum was hanging on the other side of the living room. It seemed to be the only source of light, as Haruka noticed that all the blinds and curtains had been drawn closed.
Haruka poked her head in and observed the room before her. There was no one in sight and no voices could be heard. Haruka arched an eyebrow and thought about what she was going to do next. Her curiosity won the inner struggle and so Haruka took a few steps into the apartment and called out timidly.
"Hello?"
No answer.
Haruka took a few more steps towards the hanging candelabrum, her eyes scanning the darkness. Unexpectedly, the front door creaked to a close behind her and Haruka swiveled on her heels to face the door.
There was no one there.
Haruka blinked a few times before she let out a small reassuring laugh.
"I think I've seen too many late-night, horror movies." Haruka whispered to herself.
The tall blonde took another step, this time backwards and screamed out as pain shot through her right leg. Haruka withdrew her foot and quickly limped over to the nearest couch.
"Shit!" Haruka exclaimed as she lay down and pulled her foot into view, observing a flower thorn deeply embedded within. Haruka picked out the thorn quickly, rubbing her foot with her fingers to numb the pain. While doing so, her eyes began to wonder. Suddenly, Haruka's breath froze in her throat.
On the wall adjacent to her bedroom, was a bloody streak, running vertically down. Haruka's eyes nervously followed the blood trail to the floor and the next scene that met her eyes made Haruka gasp in fright.
A young aqua-haired woman was lying on the carpet. Her face was turned to the right and her arms at her side. Her hair seemed to be wet, but as Haruka stared more carefully realization dawned, and she worked out that it was blood.
Haruka's heart began to beat faster and she could hear the blood pumping in her veins. She sat there, completely transfixed and unmoving, as she played back the voices that she had heard only ten minutes ago. That's when she recalled the one belonging to the foreign man. She turned her head around and searched the room, constantly glancing back to the body of the young woman. All the while Haruka's mind kept chanting one word, over and over again.
"Murder! Murder!"
Suddenly, a small moan escaped the lips of the wounded woman on the carpet. As Haruka focused her attention on the body, she noticed that the woman's fingers began to twitch.
"My God… she's still alive…" Haruka whispered, swallowing hard.