Chapter Four

Chasing Shadows

Sumire's POV

I realised I was asleep, but the surface was too far above. I stared at it through the nothingness, the form I took in my consciousness wrapped in an innocent white dress, my hair tied with a black bow. I could see myself dressed like this, and knew what was to follow.

There you are, Sumire. I've been waiting for you to come.

I could see him through the darkness, the shadow of the man that haunted me. There was no light, only darkness, complete and suffocating as it pressed into me from all sides and angles. Ropes of the blackness coiled up my arms and legs and held me tightly. I was held in place as he approached, unable to move away from this man of nightmares.

Now now, struggling won't do you much good. Not with my hold being this tight around you.

I looked down at my legs. The ropes were tightening. I could feel it outside of my consciousness as well. He was squeezing me the more I tried to escape, so I let myself hang limply. He lessened his hold on me, but the dark ropey tendrils remained nevertheless.

That's better. He was close enough to reveal his features, the long, dark hair, the glinting eyes, the smirk on his face. Now you can listen to me properly.

I didn't want to hear what he had to say, but I couldn't refuse to listen. In this world of unconsciousness, my will was weak and useless. It was like trying to swim upstream when I fought against this virus man. I couldn't block out his voice with thoughts as he came closer. I could only open myself up to him and hear his words.

I think we are ready for the next step now, he said, amusement in his voice. I think we're ready to meet.

A tremor ran through my unconscious form and my eyes widened. I echoed his words in disbelief. "Ready to meet?"

He nodded, his hair waving about him as though he were underwater. In fact, his attire was rippling, his dark coat and pants, his red tie and white shirt beneath. Yes. After all, I have been waiting for too long to meet you in person. Now I think you are ready.

I didn't feel ready or even willing to meet him. He scared me enough in my dreams. Seeing him in real life meant I would be surely drawn into a trap. I couldn't. I wouldn't.

If you come to see me, all of this will end," he promised, his smile fading. He looked more serious than he ever had. Your illness will be gone, and you will be free. You will be free forever from my hold.

I had never been as smart as Lucia. I had always been the one walking into traps, and she would have to yank me back from death. She always yelled at me. 'Sumire, concentrate! It was obviously a trap! I could see it from a mile away!' What would she say now? Would she tell me to go ahead with it and get cured? She would want to come, but that wasn't an option. It was clear that I had to be there alone. The man didn't need to say so. The way he spoke told me that this was a personal meeting, and I didn't want to drag anyone else into danger.

You will come, I trust, Sumire? His smile was back on his face, his teeth shining white against the darkness.

I swallowed deeply and uttered the first words I had since the nightmare had taken me. "Where?"

An image came into my mind, blocking out all other views. I gasped and would had reeled had I been awake with my feet planted on the ground. It was so unexpected, but I drank the image into my memory before it faded.

"The park," I said, the white picket fence surrounding a lush green area with trees at the edges. The swings had been taken out years ago due to dangers to children, but people always went there to rest. At night, though, no one would see us, for it was darkened by the shadows of the trees, and too far from any houses. It was the perfect place for a trap, yet I didn't want to miss my chance to be cured. What to do...

You will meet me here as soon as you wake, he said, his voice pressing close to the edge of demanding. If you don't, I will never leave you alone and you will never be free.

He released me from the darkness, the ropes sliding away form my limbs and leaving me to swim to the surface of my consciousness.

I woke with a jump, leaping up as though my soul truly had been thrust back into my body. I was shaking and sweating with the sheet tight around my arms and legs where the ropes had been. They ached and I pulled the covers away, finding imprinted bruises from the black tendrils lining my skin. He was serious about this meeting, it seemed. He had even left me a reminder to convince me it wasn't a dream, or maybe he was taunting me.

Either way, I had to get moving. I wouldn't be left under his suffering hold. I yanked out a jacket from the closet and shrugged it on, pausing to look at Lucia's clothes and wonder what she would say on the matter. She would want to come, that was for sure, but it would be too dangerous for the both of us. I shut the closet and turned to the window. I would sneak out and head to the park. I still had my gun tucked into the hidden belt of the jacket to turn into a berserker and my dagger. I knew that in my state I wouldn't be able to do much against him if it came to attacks, but I didn't feel safe enough going unarmed.

"This is it," I breathed to myself, unlatching the window and climbing out. The night greeted me with a chill that lifted my jacket and crept up my spine. I winced and slipped out to the grass that was not far below. I landed in a crouch and turned to glance back at the house.

"This won't be the last time I see it," I told myself firmly, my fears already gnawing at me. My heart hammered as I forced myself to turn away. "I will come back... Lucia."

I headed out into the night, disappearing into the shadows as I headed to the virus whom would be my cure.

Lucia sat with Nahashi supporting her, his arm snaked around her waist. Laura's words had knocked her from her feet quiet literally.

"Sumire will die, won't she?" she gasped, the words bleeding inside of her. "Is there anything we can do?"

Laura looked stricken, her face white. "If I had known it would be this bad..."

Lucia's turned to glare as Nahashi, her eyes pleading behind the burning rage. "Tell me! Tell me what we can do!"

Nahashi's face was lined with sadness. He released Lucia as she stumbled away angrily. His struggled to keep his voice strong. "She has entered the stage of bleeding, which means her body is deteriorating. The goal of these monsters is to take them when they are weak, and they wait for this exact stage for it is when the body cannot take anymore. This is when they strike."

"Strike how?" Lucia demanded. "What do they do?"

He shook his head. "Lucia, there is nothing you can do!"

"Tell me!"

He let out a long, deep breath, then resting into a seat at the table. He messaged his temples as he explained. "They finish them off themselves, then once the victim has stopped breathing, they consume them."

"Consume?" Laura asked, looking sick to the stomach as she pictured her friend being eating by a virus. She clamped a hand to her mouth and gagged.

"They use the darkness to break down their bodies," Nahashi explained. "And the darkness enters their own bodies and strengthens them."

Lucia's mind raced and a single memory rose above all other thoughts. "Sumire, she said that the virus in her nightmares said 'come to the darkness' over and over." She was shaking, but she refused to lose it let. She never gave up. Her eyes turned to Nahashi's, full of resolve. "It isn't too late. He hasn't consumed her yet."

Nahashi looked defeated and laid his hands down on the wood of the table. "Lucia, there isn't anything we can do. Her body cannot last much longer."

"I know that!" she shot back angrily, already heading towards the door. "But anything is better than having him kill her himself and take her into the darkness. I won't let that happen!" She disappeared out of the room, and not a heartbeat later Nahashi and Laura were racing after her up.

Lucia crashed through the door to the bedroom she shared with Sumire. Her eyes flicked to the bed, and upon seeing it nothing but an empty mess of sheets, she turned to the window. It was open, and she felt her legs shake beneath her.

"I can't believe this!" she growled, hiding her fear as best she could behind rage. "Of all of the times for her to lose it and run away, she chooses tonight!"

Nahashi ran to the window and looked out over the darkened street. The stars did little to light the darkness, and he slammed a palm against the window pane. "Damn, the virus has probably called her to meet him already. He is ready for the next stage..."

"No." Lucia spoke the word with such conviction that both Laura and Nahashi turned to her in surprise. She looked more driven than she ever had before. The calm demeanour was gone, the mask finally broken. Emotion was flowing out of her, anger, sadness, fear. She was trembling, her teeth biting into her lip as she shut her eyes tightly. "No, he will not take her from me! He has put her through too much!"

"Lucia..." Laura took a step towards her and daringly took her hand. It was limp and lifeless, but she squeezed it until Lucia's fingers curled around her own. "This isn't over. I'll come with you, and we'll find her, alright?" She turned to Nahashi whom nodded.

"Yes, Lucia. We'll both come with you."

Lucia had always felt alone on the inside. The pain of it had lessened when Sumire had come along, but it had always been there. This was the first time when she realised that she wasn't on her own in whatever unimaginable plan she had. Both of these dear people to her would come into danger and help her do something that was unlikely to ever work. To her, that meant the world.

"Alright," she said, trying hard to stop herself from crying. She looked towards the early stars outside of the window, knowing that somewhere beneath that darkening sky, Sumire was running to her death.

Sumire, I will being you back here, and nothing is going to stand in my way.