Disclaimer: The original "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona" series as well as any other mentions of copyrighted material is not ours, and is copyrighted and owned by Atlus and/or their rightful owners. All material in this work that is not our own is borrowed for fair use and entertainment purposes.
Persona X
Chapter 4: Unexplainable Events
September 30, 2016
The Johnson Residence
Hiro's eyes were glued to his computer monitor's screen as he saw a woman in a video hanging from the ceiling, bound by rope. The bound woman's screams were muffled from a white cloth gag, and she was struggling fervently to get free. "Today we will see if our player can escape from this rope in five minutes, before being eaten alive from my little friends," Blitzkrieg drawled.
He gestured below her. A tank of black, shadowy-like sharks swam around impatiently, waiting to be fed. Hiro's eyes still widened, wondering if this was just a big joke. They weren't going to seriously...?!
The woman's eyes widened. She began to scream louder, to no avail as she choked against the gag, and squirmed furiously. Tears ran down her eyes as she tried desperately to go free, and Hiro could do nothing but watch in dumbstruck horror. Blitzkrieg shook his head. "Well, it looks like she can't get out," he said. "She tried her best but can't get out. Oh, wait, I said five minutes didn't I?" He shrugged. "I lied, I meant five seconds."
The crowd chuckled as he turned towards them. "So I ask of you, the audience...should we let her go or should she die right here?"
With that, Blitzkrieg pulled out a sharp knife from his pocket, and with perfect aim threw it on the weakest mark of the rope. The rope was severed, and the woman fell into the tank. Hiro grabbed the edges of his computer. "Why is nobody helping her?!" he yelled futilely, his eyes fixated on the monitor. "Somebody help her!"
The woman began to scream for help, but her screams became pain-stricken as the strange sharks immediately advanced on her. One chomped her arm, and in the next second it was severed. Hiro watched as she continued to shriek and cry out, shocked at all the blood leaking out from her limb. He could faintly make out her skin peeling, and could see splints floating from a visible bone.
"What is going on..." he uttered fearfully.
His ears finally regained their senses, as he began to hear chanting from the audience. His shock and horror increased when he heard the words they chanted:
"Kill her, kill her, kill her!"
At this point, the screaming woman had no limbs left on her. The water had become completely reddened, and one badly maimed arm thrashed in the red, trying to climb uselessly against the edges. The crowd continued to chant, and Hiro continued to watch like an innocent, useless bystander.
It was then that this Blitzkrieg began to walk up to the shark tank. "Ahh, I love a woman who screams a lot," he murmured, "but you're not my type at all. It's funny to see you like this, but allow me to humour you a bit more."
He reached into his other pocket, and pulled out a handgun. He grabbed her arm, held her still, and pointed the gun at her head. "Do you know what a person screams after being shot?" he asked her coolly.
He pulled the trigger, and Hiro couldn't help but flinch entirely as he looked away briefly. When he turned back to his monitor right away, all he saw was a brown-haired, bloodstained lump, her back exposed as she floated in red liquid. "They scream nothing at all," the host finished, blowing the smoke off of the revolver.
The man turned back to face the camera. "There you have it, folks!" he announced, and bowed amidst wild roars of applause. "Thank you, thank you. Hope you enjoyed this episode of The Wake of Dawn, we'll see you next time."
The computer was shut off instantly as Hiro crumpled off his chair and on the ground, his dinner completely ruined as well as the carpet. What...he thought, aghast, his body shaking uncontrollably. Was that...?
* * * * * * * *
September 30, 2016
Prince Royale Private High School
"Man, thank God it's all over!" Marcus gasped, walking over to Hiro and leaning against the lockers with a huge sigh. He looked up lazily. "I think I'm gonna collapse if I get any more work..."
"You didn't even touch any of it during class, you just played your PSP," Lily retorted in deadpan.
"Hey, no, no, I didn't play it," Marcus quickly rebutted. He raised a finger. "I watched a movie. It had sweet looking cars that could turn into giant robots, and it also had a hot chick!"
The visor-wearing girl just sighed. "Well, hopefully you did well on that Social test."
"...um, let's talk about something else."
"Ugh. How do you think you did, Hiro?" Lily paused when she did not hear an answer. She turned towards Hiro, who looked rather distant and disturbed. "Hiro?"
Marcus took note of it too as he tried to look closer at his friend's face. "You look pale, Super-Hiro," he murmured.
"Yeah," Lily added softly. "What's up?"
"Take it you did poorly on the test too?"
Hiro closed his locker. He shuddered briefly, and his eyes narrowed. "I...saw something...really disgusting yesterday..." he finally replied, his voice strained and weak.
Lily and Marcus raised their eyebrows, curious and concerned. "It sickens me just trying to think about what happened," Hiro continued, running a hand through his hair.
"Wh – what was it?" the blonde inquired, blinking.
Hiro looked towards him hesitantly. "Howard-san – "
"You know, the formality cultural thing can be dropped for me, dude, Marcus is fine. Anyway, spit it out. What did you see?"
The boy looked away. "It's...it's called the Wake of Dawn."
Marcus instantly recoiled and slammed his back into the locker as his eyes bulged open. "The Wake of Dawn?" Lily echoed, cocking an eyebrow.
"Don't tell me you've never heard of it!" Marcus gasped. Lily and Hiro turned towards him with questioning glances as he shifted his eyes. "I...I've heard some creepy shit about that thing...it's an online game show that starts at around midnight." He shuddered. "The games and competitions they have on there are...really brutal..."
Hiro nodded dumbly. Lily, however, looked agitated as she glared at him. "How would you know?" she demanded. Her eyes widened. "Have...have YOU watched it?"
"We – well – "
"Why would you watch something like that?!" Lily barked at him, clenching her fists.
"Look, I wasn't watching it for entertainment purposes!" he blurted back, narrowing his eyes at her. "That's sick! I...my friends dared me and...well..."
"Well, WHAT?!"
Marcus looked away guiltily. "I...honestly couldn't watch it. I closed the video before anything happened. It...I hear it's supposed to be all digital effects and CG and whatnot but...it just seemed so..."
"Real?" Hiro finished, in the same tone.
Marcus nodded and gulped. Lily was silent, looking very frustrated with both of them. "You should not watch it if you don't feel comfortable, Nguyen-chan," Hiro reassured her.
Lily's scowl deepened. "I have no intentions of watching something like that. I have enough problems with reality shows as it is. Honestly, people will do ANYTHING for fame and fortune. It's sickening."
Marcus and Hiro exchanged glances. Then, Marcus took a deep breath in as he straightened his posture and turned his cap backwards. "Well, if I got the opportunity, I could take on that show!" he bellowed, pumping his fists into the air.
Hiro couldn't help but chuckle, and Lily's scowl became lighter. At that moment, Kyoko walked past them. "Oh, Kyoko!" Lily called, her scowl disappearing as she turned to the other Japanese student. "I didn't get down the notes this Social class, can I borrow yours?"
"Oh, me too?" Marcus butted in, standing next to Lily with innocent eyes. "Pleaaase? Maybe you can even come over and help me understand what Mackenzie was teaching us..."
Hiro sweatdropped. Kyoko simply took out her binder from her bag, and took out a few sheets of paper, handing them to Lily. Lily grinned at her gratefully. "Thank you so much!"
Marcus, however, pouted. "Aww..."
Hiro decided to join in the conversation. "Uh, hey, Nakamura-chan, how are you?" he greeted, waving a hand at her.
Lily and Marcus' heads turned to look towards Hiro. Kyoko kept the same expression on her face as she closed her binder. "I am well," she responded, placing it back in her shoulder bag. She looked up at Hiro. "You don't look so well, however."
Hiro froze. "Ah, Hiro's fine, he just watched a really gory game show last night," Marcus explained for him rather carelessly.
Kyoko's gaze seemed to become sharper as she looked directly at Hiro, and Hiro could feel himself grow uneasier. "What, what'd I say?" Marcus asked, blinking in confusion while Lily slapped a palm to her face.
"You watched The Wake of Dawn?" Kyoko asked, still focused on Hiro.
Hiro nodded slowly. "Y-yeah..." he muttered back, still not comfortable at all talking about it.
Kyoko's eyes widened, the first bits of expression that Hiro or any of them had seen from her. Lily turned her head towards her in shock. "Don't tell me that you..." the longer-haired girl began.
Kyoko's gaze sharpened. "That's none of your business," she interjected.
Lily flinched, looking at Kyoko very cautiously. Marcus shifted his eyes nervously. "Uh, so, we should be going right about now..." he said rather loudly.
Kyoko turned her back on them, but not her gaze. "You should avoid watching it," she told them. "All of you. Like Lily has implied, it isn't a good thing to watch anyway."
Hiro again could only nod. "Yeah...I guess..."
With that, Kyoko turned completely and walked away. The three could only stare towards her direction for awhile, before Lily looked towards her left uncertainly. "She's...sort of creeping me out now..." she confessed.
"It is fine, Nguyen-chan," Hiro reassured her. "She is only telling the truth, I don't know if she actually watches it."
Marcus nodded. "I'd be worried if she did," he added. "Then again, most of us do usually worry about her sometimes."
Lily scoffed. "You mean you do."
Marcus scoffed back. "Hey, somebody's gotta care!" He put his arms around Hiro and Lily with a smirk. "So, you guys want to head down to the arcade? I've got money I need to blow."
"Marcus, you should save your money, not just blow it all on games," Lily chided.
"Hey, I wouldn't be talking. Aren't you a shopaholic?"
"...not really."
Marcus raised an eyebrow at her. "Damn it, what kind of girl are you?"
Lily's eyes widened instantly. "Oh, why YOU - ?!"
"Guys!" Hiro butted in, instantly stepping between them.
"Arcade it is!" Marcus confirmed, dragging Hiro and Lily out the doors. "Let's go!"
"Hey, wait, stop dragging us!" Lily cried, trying to squirm out of his grip.
"If I do that, you'll run away!"
Hiro sweatdropped. "How did I get strange friends again..." he murmured as he followed them.
As he walked down the hall, he spotted Mr. Mackenzie and Mr. Craigsworth talking in the middle of the hall. Craigsworth was the first to finish as he walked back inside his office, and Mackenzie gave a sigh. It was then that Lily waved her hand. "Hey, sir!" she called as they walked on by. "Have a good weekend!"
Mackenzie blinked, and quickly waved back. Marcus just scowled at him as usual, and Mackenzie rolled his eyes back. Hiro, however, avoided the look of his teacher. What if I failed the test? he wondered as he looked away guiltily. I did not know the concepts on that quiz at all...
At that moment, Mr. Mackenzie froze. The teacher opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it right away as he looked at Hiro hesitantly. This caused Hiro's wariness to grow. So did I fail the test? he thought. Maybe, but...maybe he's just worried if I might have told everyone about his other life...
With that, Hiro just forced a smile and nodded towards his teacher. It was then that Mackenzie regained his composure as he cleared his throat and nodded towards Hiro solemnly as they crossed paths.
The problem was that something about the concern that was in Mackenzie's original look did not make Hiro feel comfortable at all.
* * * * * * * *
September 30, 2016
Rune Royale Arcade
Hiro blinked as he stepped foot into the large, clean-looking shopping center. Various decorations and attractions hung from the ceiling of the two floors, and many people walked back and forth, into one store chain to another. "So this is your guys' mall," he observed.
"Yeah, I know," Lily said. "It's fine if you're surprised to know that it's not as big as the malls in Japan."
"I don't care about the mall," Marcus scoffed as he gripped his fists determinedly. "All I care about right now is video games!"
"Idiot."
"What did you say, tomboy?"
"How do I look like a tomboy, you crybaby?!"
While Marcus and Lily argued, Hiro sweatdropped and tried to ignore the argument. He was just about to step in, when suddenly he heard something.
"Breaking news!"
Hiro's head instantly turned towards a store with a number of televisions sets inside, all broadcasting the same thing. "A robbery has just occurred at the Sunridge Mall in Northeast Calgary," a male newsreporter with brown hair and a moustache announced. "Penelope Ballantine with full live coverage. Penelope?"
The camera switched to the view of a blond, bespectacled woman wearing a grey blazer over a blue shirt. "Thanks, Joseph, Meredith Wallace here reporting in for Penelope that yes, there was quite a robbery that occurred right here in Sunridge Mall. I can't give you any details right now, for the police are still investigating what just happen – "
There was suddenly shouting, and what looked like a female ran past the camera from a distance, followed by several uniformed men that looked like police officers. "Wait, there appears to be some type of disturbance with the apprehended culprit!" the female reporter gasped, turning behind her.
The camera zoomed in to the girl who was currently struggling. Hiro's eyes widened, and he recoiled instantly. "It can't be!" he gasped.
Lily and Marcus finally stopped their argument, hearing what Hiro had said. "It can't be what, Hiro?" the girl asked.
Hiro turned towards them. "That girl I saw in The Wake of Dawn show," he uttered.
Marcus and Lily's eyes widened as they turned towards the screens instantly, watching as the girl was being dragged back into a police car. "It appears that she is trying to escape, which does not bode well for this woman, as she will be faced with more police charges," the female reporter finished. "We will have more on this later, back to you, Joseph."
"Thank you, Meredith, and we will be back with more soon. Now back to your regular showing."
Hiro suddenly fell down on his knees, sweating as though someone had just tortured him. "Hiro, are you okay?" Lily gasped as she and Marcus quickly rushed to his side.
Hiro buried his face in his hand. "How..." he hissed. "What is going on...?"
"I don't get what you are talking about," Marcus murmured, looking concerned.
The black-haired boy looked up at him. "She was the victim...how is she alive...?"
"Yeah, people these days," Lily murmured, looking lost in thought.
Marcus rolled his eyes. "Wow, you sound like an old lady," he muttered.
The "tomboy"'s eye twitched. "What was THAT?!" Lily snapped, immediately whirling to face him completely.
"I SAID SOUND, I SAID SOUND!" Marcus squeaked, quickly raising his hands.
Lily would not have it as her bag smacked across his head. "Owwww..." Marcus whined as he rubbed his head while sprawled on the ground.
Hiro looked up at her, feeling less dizzy now. "Ms. Nguyen, that didn't seem very ladylike," he commented lightly.
Lily pursed her lips disapprovingly. "Well, Mr. Howard didn't say something very gentlemanly," she growled.
Hiro stood up. "Yeah, that is true, Lily. You have a point."
Marcus glared up at him. "Which side are you on, guy?!"
"So, what about a arcade you were telling us about, Howard-san...?" Hiro brought up, trying to change the subject.
Marcus grinned as he bolted right back on his feet. "It's supposed to be the biggest in Calgary," he beamed.
"Hopefully you have the money to pay for it," Lily pointed out.
Marcus reached into his pocket casually. "Relax, of course I..."
Suddenly he froze as his hand stopped. His left eye twitched. "Uh oh," he croaked.
A pause.
"...what do you mean, 'uh oh'?" Hiro asked, not liking where this was going.
"Well, Super-Hiro, over here in North America, when something bad happens – "
"He means WHY are you saying 'uh oh'!" Lily groused, also not liking where this was going.
"And when still questioning you, why do you call me 'Super-Hiro'?" Hiro added on.
"I'll explain that later," Marcus quickly responded, pulling out his hand and looking around nervously. "My wallet is missing, and I have to find it!"
Hiro and Lily narrowed their eyes – somehow, this was to be expected. "Then where did you leave it, Mr. Howard?" Hiro was the first to question.
Marcus began to pace anxiously. "I'm thinking right now." He looked back up at Hiro. "And didn't I tell you just to call me Marcus? Jeez, don't need to be formal around me."
"Okay, Howard-san."
"Gaaah." Marcus raised a finger. "Okay, let's completely reverse our steps and check everywhere, THEN we take the train and the bus we went on and then go to the stations and – "
Lily sweatdropped. "Marcus, do you even have the money to do all this?"
"Oh, right," the blonde blinked, then slammed a hand to his forehead. "Damn it!" He began to think again as he paced, when suddenly, an invisible lightbulb turned on instantly. He slowly turned his head towards Hiro and Lily with a big smile on his face.
Hiro and Lily immediately felt very, very uncomfortable. Don't tell me what he is about to ask is... they thought in unison.
"Can you guys do any cool performances to allow us to have enough money?"
Lily and Hiro nearly fell flat on their faces. "YOU IDIOT, WE'LL JUST USE MY MONEY!" Lily snapped, looking ready to pummel him.
"I can spare several of mine too," Hiro added, holding up his wallet.
"Better be more than a few dimes or yen, that's for sure," Marcus told them, readjusting his glasses very seriously.
Hiro suddenly blinked in confusion. He scratched the back of his head as he raised an eyebrow at them. "What are dimes?"
Marcus and Lily sweatdropped. "Oh, I remember!" Hiro gasped, and pulled out a nickel from his wallet. "These five-cent things, right?"
* * * * * * * *
September 30, 2016
The Howard Residence
Marcus put down his phone back on the receiver. "Damn it," he groused. "I called every station in the city that uses that bus we took and the train...and we already went down to Customer Service five times..."
Hiro and Lily exchanged nervous glances. "It's okay, Howard-san," Hiro tried to say, giving a forced smile. "What is the worst that could happen?"
Marcus sat down on his couch, his face grim. "My credit will be used up and I'll have to pay more...my bus pass will be taken by joyriders...my social insurance and Alberta Health Care card can be stolen..."
Lily nearly choked. "Who puts a social insurance and health care card in their wallet?!" she gasped, looking up at him in disbelief.
"Hey, hey, tons of adults do!" her friend argued back. "And I am an adult!"
"It is okay, Marcus," Hiro comforted him again. "I'm sure it will turn up somewhere sooner or later."
Marcus just seemed to become more depressed. "Thanks, Super-Hiro, but I doubt it will..." he murmured.
Hiro was still not giving up as he raised a finger. "Well, if not today, then tomorrow is another day. Maybe it will be at school."
There was suddenly a long, heavy pause.
It was Lily who spoke up first. "Marcus...?"
"Yes, Lily...?"
"Did you forget it at school...?"
"...maybe."
Lily and Hiro both groaned together. "See?" the black-haired boy said. "At least it is safe."
"I still need it!" Marcus bawled, clutching thin air with his hands.
"Get it tomorrow," Lily retorted irritably.
"But my bus pass is in there! And everything else!"
"So? If it's in your locker – "
"I still don't feel safe with it in my locker!" Marcus screeched. He clenched the hair poking out from the sides of his cap. "Those blue-collar janitors...what if they take it?!! I can't let that happen!"
As though hit by a sudden revelation, the boy stood up from the couch. "Guys, we gotta go back to the school," Marcus announced firmly.
"Ehh?!!" both Asians exclaimed, eyes widening.
Marcus didn't break his expression or posture as he lifted his head. "We gotta sneak in to the school, and get my wallet back," he finished.
Hiro and Lily's eyes widened even more as they leaned forward. "Ehhh?!" they cried.
"No way!" the Vietnamese student first protested. "This will ruin our reputation!"
Marcus scoffed. "What reputation?! We're breaking into a place, that will make us badass!"
Hiro groaned again. Great, in my new school, I will become a criminal, he thought grimly. However, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Fine, let's do it," he muttered.
Lily was shocked. "Hiro, are you serious?!" she rasped, blinking in disbelief.
"Yeah, Super-Hiro, that's the spirit!" Marcus grinned, glad that he had at least one of his friends' support.
Hiro looked up at Marcus. "But when will we sneak in?"
Marcus smirked deviously. "At midnight."
"WHAT?!" Lily spluttered. "Why so late? And Hiro, you do realize this isn't being a superhero at all, right?!"
Hiro looked back at her, trying to come up with an excuse. "But Nguyen-chan, I am retrieving something," he protested. He sweatdropped and gave a faux smile. "It's like a rescue mission?"
Lily narrowed her eyes grimly as she sighed. "Fine, let's do it," she growled. "But what about your uncle and aunt? They will worry."
"Actually, they will allow me to go only just once."
Her eyebrow arched. "Why is that?"
Hiro shifted his eyes. "Uh. My aunt is a close friend to one of the teachers, so yeah, haha!"
"Oooh, is it Ms. Gunner?"
Lily resisted the urge to dropkick Marcus. "Let's just get ready..." she grumbled, standing up.
Hiro looked up at her and Marcus. "Just tell your parents you will be sleeping over at my house today," he suggested.
The two nodded and said "okay" as Hiro grabbed the phone to call the Johnsons. "You know, you're lucky Hiro is being nice for you," the girl whispered to Marcus.
The boy nodded. "I'm also lucky that it is only Friday, we have the weekend to hang out!" he pointed out.
Lily blinked. "Oh right...you can't get your wallet tomorrow then..." she realized, and sighed.
"So, yeah, sleepover for the whole weekend at Hiro's house!" Marcus whooped, jumping on the couch and pumping his fists in the air.
Hiro, who had just hung up, was about to say it would only be for one day, but he gave up even saying it – at this point, he knew that Marcus was stubborn.
* * * * * * * *
September 30 – October 1, 2016
Prince Royale Private High School
Hands began rummaging through a quickly thrown-down backpack. "Okay, time to test out my lock-picking skills and observations of how these doors lock," Marcus muttered, taking out various things – a crowbar, some pins and a library card.
Lily flushed as she lowered her visor. "Th - this is ridiculous! I feel like such a criminal..." she hissed, and looked down at the black sweater, skirt, tights and shoes she had donned. "Wearing all this black too..."
Hiro shook his head,readjusting his headphones around the black sweater he wore. "Howard-san, you don't need to do that," he said as he looked over the side of the fence at the entrance.
Marcus' gloved hand stopped midway from pulling out a solder. "Why not?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.
Lily blinked. "Yeah, Hiro, why not?"
"Well...the door is wide open."
Marcus and Lily immediately poked their heads over the fence to see the doors of the main entrance, exactly as Hiro had said, wide open. "How..." Lily began.
"Don't question it let's go," Marcus immediately hissed, dragging them as he dashed towards the building without hesitation.
"Hey, stop dragging us!"
"This is quick transportation so shut up!"
When they stepped inside the dark campus, Marcus pulled out three flashlights from his bag and gave one each to Lily and Hiro. "Okay, my locker's down here," Marcus whispered, turning on his flashlight and adjusting his glasses as they headed straight forward down the hall and then left. With that, he found his locker, quickly unlocked it, and yanked the door open. "HA!" he exclaimed.
Silence as Lily and Hiro looked at him in anticipation. Marcus' face fell, just as Hiro suddenly began to hear a faint, almost creepy laughter down the hall. "Did you hear that?!" Hiro hissed, looking up alertly as he aimed his flashlight down the other hall.
Lily jumped. "Somebody's here!" she gasped, turning off her flashlight instantly and shaking Marcus' arm. "Crap, Marcus!"
"My wallet isn't here..."
"What!?" both dark-haired students exclaimed in disbelief.
Marcus gritted his teeth. "We gotta find it!" he demanded as he whirled around.
Lily shook her head furiously. "Howard, there is somebody else in the school right now!"
Suddenly, there was faint chanting heard down the other hall. One, two, three...
Hiro jumped as he turned his flashlight back behind him. "There, that voice!" he uttered.
Four, five, six, I can hear noisy kids...
Marcus and Lily looked towards the direction cautiously as Hiro took a step back.
Seven, eight, nine, I want their flesh...
There was another round of ominous laughter, and Hiro froze absolutely rigid. Lily looked towards Hiro. "Hiro...I didn't hear anything..."
"What...?!"
The other boy nodded. "Yeah, neither do I..." Marcus murmured. He readjusted his glasses and sighed. "Hiro, you know, if you're not okay with this, we can go home now, really..."
Boy, nice try, the voice began to echo again. You can't run from me and neither can your friends...even though you're the only one that can hear me.
Hiro felt his blood turn cold. He lowered his gaze. "I'm going to check it out," he told them, and began to walk towards the direction of the strange voice.
"H - Hiro – !"
Hiro shook his head as he turned his head back to look at them. "You guys try to find Howard-san's wallet," he instructed. "I'll be fine."
The girl was not convinced as she looked away. Marcus bowed his head towards him. "Hiro, you're a good man." With that he pulled out schedule and closed his locker. "Alright, here's the classes I had today, we gotta go in the classrooms..."
They walked off. Lily cast an uncertain glance at Hiro before she followed Marcus. Boy, don't you know it is bad to always split up in school at night? the voice began again.
Hiro began to start walking down the dark hallway. It unnerved and bothered him that this looked similar to one of those horror films that people always watched. Hiro keeps walking down with his flashlight – every step he took in this direction, the voice becomes clearer. I like the flesh and blood of a virgin, but I smell no such blood in you, boy, it chuckled. I smell the blood of a boy who had it stolen.
Hiro's eyes widened, and he began to tremble. But I even love human blood of those who have had their virginity taken away as well, it drawled. It laughed again. At this point, Hiro was uncertain as to whether this was a good idea or not, but he shook his head and continued to keep going down the hall, towards the voice.
He wasn't going to stop, no matter what it would say. No matter how much was true...
Finally, he reached his destination. It was a barely open door, with a dim light emitting from the space. The boy looked into to the room and saw what appeared to be the computer lab. Hiro slowly put his hand on the doorknob, even though he was practically shaking in fear of what was on the other side. He took a deep breath, summoned up his courage, and opened it.
Before he took a step again, he poked his head inside and looked around. There was a flickering monitor at the far end of the room, farthest from the door. Hiro began to walk inside towards the computer, gripping his flashlight tightly. As soon as he was standing right in front of it, he saw Marcus's wallet right next to the tower.
At that moment, the voice spoke up clearly.
Found what you were looking for? I have.
Hiro's head whipped towards the monitor again. The flashlight dropped from his hand. It would be a lie if he said he wasn't afraid of what was happening right now, but he had to be brave and grab Howard-san's wallet and meet up with them again. Slowly, he began to reach for the wallet, and grabbed it.
Safe. He could escape now.
The voice that spoke up next was far deeper than the first.
I don't think so.
The monitor stopped flickering, and a blurry image of an almost inhuman figure appeared on the screen. It extended its arm, and before Hiro could react properly, a grotesque, dripping hand came out of the screen and grabbed onto his arm.
You think that I will give up that easily, boy? The original voice from earlier sniggered. Hiro's eyes bulged wide open. He struggled furiously, trying to get out of this strange thing's grip. Your blood is perfect for a wonderful feast.
Panic fully kicked in as Hiro's heart raced. He opened his mouth to scream for help, until another arm came out of the screen and covered his mouth. Not going to let you go boy, for you are also the main attraction for the feast, the voice hissed, and somehow, Hiro could make out a face in front of his eyes smirk.
It was then that he heard an irritating feedback fill his ears as he felt himself being pulled in to the screen. Hiro kicked and flailed, but it was to no avail as the grip increased. Don't be shy, come on in, the voice cackled.
Against his will, Hiro was pulled in deeper and deeper as he cried against the inhuman hand. The last thing that was left from his presence before he was completely sucked in was Marcus' wallet as it dropped to the ground, next to his flashlight.
To Be Continued...