A suffocating silence hanged through the air as the teal haired finished his sentence.

"D-dead...? The person driving the bus?" Midorima rarely stutters but any person will find this situation unnerving even if its only happening by chance.

"T-Then it really is a c-coincidence r-right?" Aomine suddenly looked really shaken. His bravery and confidence drifted away like the wind. Momoi pat his back silently.

"Y-yeaaah!" Kagami nervously supported. "I-It's not like he's dead when we first got on the bus...I mean...the bus moved..and then we're here..." Kagami trailed off.

"Can ghosts even drive...?" Murasakibara somewhat commented.

Everyone stayed silent after the comment. Now that they think about it, they never really did notice how the driver was acting when they got on the bus. It's not really weird for them not to notice, right? When riding public transportation, you're mainly focused on the road after all.

"It could've at least done a better job at driving..." Midorima quietly joked.

"It could have also purposely lead us here, kind of like the novel I was reading." Kuroko added monotonously with a glint in his eye, unfazed by the situation.

"K-kurokocchiii! Midorimacchiii! D-don't joke like that! Akashicchi, stop them!" Kise whined. He can only take up too much horror in a day. He just want to be out here fast.

Akashi stayed silent. He opened his phone and looked at the clock. It's already 11. If this incident didn't happen they should've been training at the lodge by now. Surely, the others would've noticed that they're missing for an hour and a half already.

So where were they? Did something happen to them as well? Akashi shrugged the thought and made up his mind, they all have to get out of here before dark.

"Akashi-kun, should we do my suggestion earlier?" Momoi brought up the methods she had mentioned a while back.

Akashi nodded as he really didn't have any choice. They have to do something.

"Okay then, first, we'll split up-" says Momoi but got interrupted.

"Woah woah woah wait a second! W-we can't split up! We can't just leave heeere!" Aomine barged in.

"Why not? Four of us will go find a clearing while the other four stays here to create some signs." explained Momoi. She crosses her arms while staring at her childhood friend. She knew how scared the other was, that's why she'd rather split the group evenly rather than having one or two search the entire premise.

"Don't you know it already Satsuki?!" said Aomine exasperatingly. "Even Bakagami knows what I'm talking about" Aomine pointed at Kagami.

"I s-second with Aomine on this one" Kagami nodded his head.

The others looked at the three curiously.

"Just spit it out Aomine-kun!" Momoi huffed, annoyed while reverting the blue haired teen's nickname.

"If we split up, one by one we're going to...be doomed...and if we leave this place something might happen...ugh...I don't even want to talk about it" Aomine shivered with Kagami nodding at every word.

"You two watch way too much horror movies! Besides, didn't you 'bravely' say earlier that this is just a coincidence!"

"B-but-"

"I will have to agree with them, Momoi" Akashi suddenly said. The others looked at him with surprise.

"E-eh? Akashi-kun you...?" Momoi looked at Akashi flabbergasted.

"I didn't say that because of the reason those two have but I do think that we should at least do something rather than staying here."

Kagami and Aomine pouted.

"I also agree that we should all stick together. We aren't familiar of this place and we really shouldn't mess around here either."

"As mentioned earlier, the dam had several missing people cases." continued Akashi.

"But this area isn't part of the dam, right?" Midorima chimed in. He personally liked Momoi's suggestion as it saves time and energy so why was everyone so worried in splitting up. It's not like they're haunted or anything. Everything is just a series of coincidences. Yes, the situation is unnerving for him too but he wants a fast solution.

The others waited for Akashi's answer.

"Well, this area is still part of the dam."

"What?!" Midorima was taken aback. Everyone seemed to have the same reaction.

"B-but the dam is like miles away from here, we passed by it just b-before the crash happened. How can this area be part of it?" Kise cried. He now wanted to join Aomine and Kagami's scaredy-cat group.

"Akashi-kun, could you possibly mean...?" Kuroko looked at Akashi with knowing eyes. The other nodded at him. This made the teal head think.

Murasakibara stared at the two. He knows how close Aka-chin and Mido-chin is since their position in the club practically has them spending way too much time together, but he honestly finds Kuro-chin and Aka-chin more terrifyingly close since the two of them could understand each other through mere sight and a few sentences. Murasakibara always thought that they'll be alright as long as those two people are here. Then again, as long as everyone is here, they can all get through this together.

"By that, I mean, soon this area will be part of the dam" explained Akashi.

"Soon?..." Murasakibara repeated.

"Was it on the pamphlet that they're going to expand the dam...?" Momoi looked thoughtful as she grabbed the pamphlet in her bag, that thankfully wasn't damaged, to make sure. She read the pamphlet again and sighed. How could she have overlooked that information?

"Not to mention that the coincidentally placed driver for us has a similar name to the one leading the construction for the expansion of the dam..." Akashi added as he pointed out a paragraph in the pamphlet while the others groaned.

"Please, no more of those coincidences" Kagami muttered as he places his arms around himself.

"Then, I guess it really is best for us not to split up. Considering those cases..." Momoi agreed while moving on in changing her plan.

"Can't we just stay here..." Aomine continued to whine.

"And what? Wait until it gets dark?" Momoi looked at Aomine with blank eyes. The other just sighed. "We'll all go together to find a clearing. While walking, we'll leave some trail so that we won't get lost. If it doesn't go well, we will come back to the bus and prepare some fire or something that can signal that we're here." Momoi continued.

Everyone complied as they all stood up and got ready to leave.

"What can we even use to leave a trail?" Kise asked.

"Hmph, this is why you shouldn't underestimate Oha-Asa" Midorima shifted his glasses.

"What do you have this time, Midorimacchi..." Kise sweatdropped.

Midorima showed a pack of mushrooms. He walks ahead and places the mushroom beside a tree. It perfectly blended in the environment.

"But what if there are other mushrooms in this forest?" Kagami curiously poked the mushroom that Midorima literally stuck onto the ground.

"You think that I wouldn't have thought about that? Just to remind you, Cancer is ranked first today."

Kagami notices some kind of tape wrapped on the mushroom. It's unnoticeable for others but when you know this team's shenanigans, you'll quickly notice that its definitely their trail. Kagami just sighed.

"This is why no one gets along with you, Midorima. Everybody thinks we're weird because of you" Aomine sighs and mumbles as he followed the others, whom had already walked forward, starting their quest to find a clearing with a phone signal.

"What's that supposed to mean, nanodayo?!" Midorima said ticked off as he also followed the rest.

Everyone smiled a bit.

After a while of walking and mushroom poking with a few arguments here and there, the group took a break.

"Where do we even find this clearing, Aka-chin?" Murasakibara catches his breath. He has decent stamina on court but walking for a good few minutes outside of it? He didn't have any to spare.

"To be honest, I don't really know but while at the bus, I think I saw a hazy clearing at this direction so I thought it'd be the best place to start." answered Akashi truthfully.

"Is it just me or do I hear water running?" Kise asked as he perked up and went to the direction of the sound. Everyone looked at him curiously.

"I think Kise finally snapped like Midorima" Aomine commented as he tried to hear the sound but cannot hear anything.

"I don't think so Aomine-kun, I can hear it too..." commented Kuroko.

"Me too, Ahomine" said Kagami while grinning at Aomine who mumbles a 'piss off'

They all followed the source of the sound. True enough, they reached a clearing with vast amounts of water. It felt like they're standing in front of an ocean.

"Amazing..." Kuroko quietly commented. Everyone agreed.

"This must be one of the places that the dam expansion had already submerged" Momoi thought as she looked and walked around to find a signal. Akashi trailed behind her to get a good look at his phone as well.

"What's this?" Murasakibara pointed at the three unnoticeable statues on the ground. The statues are positioned in a triangle formation whilst facing each other.

"Hmm?" Midorima took a closer look at the old dusty statues. The statues depicts three children wearing the traditional kimonos.

Midorima unnoticeably trembled as he noticed one terrifying detail.

The kimono is worn the way it is for the dead.

Whether it's another coincidence or not, he does not like where this is heading.

"Akashi." Midorima suddenly called out.

Everyone looked at the green haired surprised at the sudden outburst.

"We have to get out of here. We have to go back at the bus and just stay there." Midorima exclaimed as he pointed at the statues while Akashi walked near him. Murasakibara and Kagami squinted to see what the fuss on the statues were all about.

"That's what I said a while ago...right, Tetsu?" says Aomine with an I-told-you-so face as he looks at Kuroko for reaffirmation. The other simply nodded but went to take a look at the statue as well.

"I see..." Akashi's eyes glowered at the statue and noticed the same thing that the other did. But...why is it that he felt like it was missing something? Truthfully, he does not want to know what it is since it reeks a bad feeling.

"I think it's best if we all go now, Akashi-kun." Kuroko noticed Akashi's reaction and he felt the same.

"Yeah, let's go wait by the bus or something" Kise shivered.

"We really shouldn't have even left in the first place! This is what I've been telling you guys!" Aomine shivered as well as he places his arms to himself.

"At least we're all together...?" Kise tried to lighten the mood.

The seven of them still stared at the statue while preparing to leave, until they heard a scream.

"SATSUKI?!"

A loud splash of water was heard and the girl suddenly vanish.

As soon as they all heard the loud splash in the water, all of the panic from the bus incident suddenly came crawling back.

Aomine wasted no time in diving into the water to save his friend along with Kise, Kagami and Murasakibara.

"W-what just happened?!" Midorima stuttered uncharacteristically as he asked Akashi.

"I honestly don't know..." and I don't really want to know was left unsaid. Akashi inwardly slaps himself. This isn't the time to be hesitant and afraid. Why is he losing control over himself? The red captain then joined with the search.

"...A village..."

Midorima shivered as he heard someone whisper. He looked around and found no one but Kuroko beside him. But the voice didn't really sound like it came from the other since he's also busy in preparing to delve into the water to help.

Of all the experiences he had in his life, Midorima thought that this has to be the scariest.

"I found her! I got her!" Aomine declares as all of them went to the shore as they all deemed that the girl was found safely.

"Momoicchi!" Kise cried out as he hugged the girl when he reached the shore.

"Ki-chan..." Momoi coughs a bit as she catches her breath.

"What just happened?! Satsuki! There's just no way you'll go and dive there like a madman! Did you accidentally slip?! This is why I told you that we should just stay at the bus!" Aomine presses the girl's shoulder in a panic.

Everyone held their breath as the girl explained.

"I-I don't know Dai-chan...I can't possibly know...All I did was try to find a signal and suddenly I was pulled into the water..." Momoi teared a bit and tried to stand up but her foot hurts so bad. Aomine then turned to the girl's foot to try and ease the pain but instead found a hand mark.

A very hard imprint of a hand that looked like it tried to pull the feet off the body.

Assuming from what had happened, that hand probably came from that...water.

All of them looked at the dam and back at the imprint.

To describe in one word, it's terrifying.

"W-w-wha...?" Aomine mutters some incoherent words as he looks at the mark.

"Please tell me that it's from your hands..." Kagami looked defeated as he pleaded while shaking.

Everyone knew the answer to all that and unconsciously arrived at a unifying course of action.

Coincidence or not. Real or not.

They have to leave this place.

Fast.

"Look, let's all just leave and follow the trail back to the bus." Midorima said as he started to go back and followed the trail.

Aomine carried the girl on his back, despite her protests, and proceeded to pursue Midorima while the others followed behind them.

They all continued to follow the trail. Until, they all realized that it drives them insane.

"Where are we?!" asked Kagami as he panicked. There are many things that has happened for today and he certainly doesn't want the 'we're-lost-in-the-forest' event to happen too. Can things get any worse than this?!

"Are we lost, ssu? Midorimacchiii!" Kise whined as he looked around for Midorima's lucky trail.

Everyone looked at Midorima.

"But...I am following the trail..." Midorima tiredly said as he pointed out the trail. He gets what the others are pointing out. Everyone also saw the trail clearly.

"But why does it feel like we've been walking for hours..." Murasakibara whined as well. "This is even longer than the one we've walked to earlier."

"It's also getting dark as well..." added Kuroko.

Midorima inwardly grumbled. He knows that this should've been the place where the bus should be. But where was it?

"G-guys..." Kise suddenly called out just like he did a while ago when he found the water which probably means that this is not great news.

"Yeah...?" Aomine said quietly as he placed Satsuki down but is still beside her just in case she needed any support.

Everyone looked to where Kise was at. He was standing, with his back turned on them, near where the bus was supposedly located. Except now, it's a bunch of tall trees.

"L-l-look at this..." Kise pointed out the tall trees. There were a few gaps and anyone could clearly see what lies beyond the boundary.

"Holy..." Kagami trailed off as he went beside Kise and saw the scene.

The other followed as well and they all quietened down.

There is a village amidst the trees in front of them. Also, the ground that they're on seem to have shifted higher when they were gone earlier, if that is even possible, which allowed them to overlook the whole scenery.

"...This is all probably just a bad dream...Please slap me..." Aomine said to his childhood friend who didn't respond out of surprise by the whole turn of events.

"What is this place?..." Murasakibara looked around. Honestly, he feels like joining Aomine now.

Akashi opened his phone and weird enough, the phone wouldn't open. Kuroko noticed his actions and tried it with his phone too along with Momoi and Midorima.

"It's no good..." Kuroko calmly said as he placed his phone back to his bag calmly and went to overlook the whole village again. "I'll go check around that part of the forest. Stay here."

All of them looked at him weirdly. How the hell can he stay so calm?! Heck, even Akashi is impressed by how the other is acting.

"Kuroko, I know that you're not afraid of anything but please..." Kagami cried a bit to his friend "We're going to get out of here, some officials will probably notice the damage on the road or something. So, stop doing any more of those creepy stuffs." Kagami mumbled to the other who ignored him by walking away to his desired destination but still in sight for the others to see him.

All of them sighed at the teal head and tiredly sat down.

After a few minutes, Kuroko then went back to them and sat down near Kagami to give his observations.

"It seems that all of the parts of the forest will lead to this village which is supposedly impossible since it doesn't seem like it was here a while ago...Also, looking up at the view over that part, the road to where our bus was on is mysteriously nowhere to be found." Kuroko explained as he pointed out the trees and the clearings "It's as if we're suddenly on a different place...that cages us out."

"Hah?! Are you telling me that we're stuck here?!"

"Yes, stop shouting. It's going to be okay."

Kagami calmed himself down as he looked again in front of him.

A barren village that looks like its been taken out of a horror game.

This is definitely not okay.

"How can this be okay, Tetsu..." Aomine joined the whining.

"Are you even afraid of what is happening right now, Kuroko?! Do you even realize what you just said?!" Kagami asked.

"Yes. Who else wouldn't be? We're trapped with no information about this place whatsoever."

All of them sweatdropped as the teen's expression doesn't really match with his statement.

"...So, what do we do now...?" Kise asked. They're stuck here with no supplies and better yet in a forest near a village that seemed to be haunted. Yup, what a great day indeed.

"Also...I found a certain altar on the part where I was observing a while ago." added Kuroko.

"Altar?" Momoi asked curiously. It's not everyday you get to see an altar. At least, not anymore. Gathering her information, she concluded that this village is probably a hundred to two hundred years old if an altar is casually seen like that.

"I'm not exactly sure if it's an altar...But it could give us a clue about the exit to this village since it looked like a ritual altar..."

"You mean those rituals that the tribals do or something? Dance and stuff?" Kagami asked not meaning to be rude since he really does not know much about this country's history.

"In the past, most villages in the country do rituals for luck and grace in their harvest or to appease entities. If that's the case then this village probably ranges from a hundred years old already" Akashi explained.

"A hundred years..." Murasakibara and Kise mumbled. So why were they suddenly in a hundred year old village?

"Let's get moving to that altar then. It's better than staying here." Midorima stood up.

"We don't really have a choice...no more escape routes, remember?" Aomine sighed as he followed. If they all didn't leave the bus a while ago just as he told them then this wouldn't have happened...Oh well, nothing they can do about it.

Kuroko led the way to where he was previously observing a while ago. True enough, they saw a statue looking altar at the top of this somewhat hill looking road.

The altar is shaped as some kind of creature with the inside of it open.

"There is a message inscribed here..." Kuroko whispered to Akashi. The other looked at him suspiciously but shrugged it off as he began to decipher the writings while the others examined the statue more.

"Hmm...I think you place something here" Murasakibara pointed out some kind of small unnoticeable placeholder in the open part of the statue.

Midorima looked closer and indeed there is a weird placeholder slot in there. Three, if he were to count, placed in a triangular formation. This information all clicked in his head.

"Where have I seen this before again?" Aomine tried to recall.

"Hmm...I felt like I've seen it too..." Kise added.

"In the statues a while ago, you idiots, how can you forget already?!" Kagami facepalmed.

"Aomine-kun and Kise-kun can really be forgetful at times..."

"UWOAH?!" the three of them shouted surprised to hear Kuroko.

"Tetsu! Appear normally will ya?!" Aomine held a hand in his chest as he breathed a sigh of relief. No more haunted hands. Just no.

"Oh God...why am I in this situation..." Kagami continued crying internally as the goosebumps he felt didn't disappear.

"Kurokocchiii..." Kise whined as he cried alligator tears.

Kuroko blinked at the three of them.

"...Does that mean we have to get those statues?" said Momoi curiously. The others shrugged since it could be anything that they can place in there.

"It isn't mentioned that it's the statue to be placed on it." Akashi says as he just finished deciphering the message and walked towards the group.

"It...? Did you find anything, Akashicchi?" Kise asked.

"A message" Akashi said as he glanced at Kuroko, who is amusingly teasing Kagami. He does not understand why didn't Kuroko tell everyone about the message.

"Where did you find it?" Momoi asked with a glint in her eyes. She wants to personally see the message. Akashi pointed out the part of the statue where it was carved and Momoi glanced at it. She looked at the part weirdly and silently went back to Aomine's side. The action unnoticeably irked Akashi. First, it was Kuroko looking at him like that a while ago and now its Momoi. They could've just told him their problem.

"The first few parts were already worn out but the visible part says some kind of verse of what the village's ritual is about..." Akashi informed as he continued to say what he had read.

'...Three descendants bestow gratitude upon you. The lost shall find their way for the creators lit up their path to freedom.

Escape the will and havoc will wreath upon the land and xxx wrath will perish us all.'

"Descendants...?" Kagami asked as he tries to comprehend everything he had just heard. "Ugh...I think this thing made everything much more confusing..."

"We just have to bring something in this altar or something right? It did say that it'll lead the path to freedom or somethin'..." said Aomine trying to think up of some items that they had seen along the way while trying to ignore the 'perish' part.

"Our best bet would be those statues a while ago, right?" Kise suggested.

"Even if we do bring it, I don't think it can even fit in there..." Midorima quietly argued in which Akashi agreed.

"Maybe there's a smaller statue somewhere...?" Kuroko added to Kise's suggestion.

"You're not suggesting that there's one of those mini statues in those houses...are you...?" Kagami groaned while Aomine stiffened at his question. There is no way in hell they're going near those houses.

"We don't really know if it's even the statue...nor if this thing is true" Momoi commented.

Everyone quietened down at the comment and continued thinking for a few minutes until they all got exhausted.

"Hey..." Murasakibara suddenly called out. They looked at the purple teen who seemed to be looking at the place where they were at earlier "I think I see light in that spot..."

All of them glanced at the direction and true enough there is a bit of light. They left the altar and went to the source of the light and found a flashlight.

"There are papers under the flashlight too" Momoi said while Kagami commented how creepily convenient it was to find these items. The girl continued to read the contents of the paper.

'Sudagai Dam Construction Leader Missing'

"Hey guys, this is all about the driv-"

"AAAAAGH!" Kagami, Aomine and Kise interrupted Momoi with their sudden scream. The three hid behind Murasakibara.

"What's wrong?" asked Akashi. He noticed that Murasakibara also turned pale with his hands shaking.

"G-g-g-!" The four of them stuttered as they all looked at the direction in front of them which leads near the very entrance of the village.

"What the hell...?! " Midorima cursed as he shifted his glasses to look brave but is failing quite horribly since he keeps on doing it. Momoi and Kuroko looked taken aback too.

Akashi looked again in front.

There's a...

Person?

He looked decent enough, wearing plain casual clothes. Akashi shrugged off everyone's reactions. They're all exhausted after all. He'll take this matter into his hands.

"A person...! We should ask if-" said Akashi as he was about to call out to the said person but his mouth suddenly got covered up by the others.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Aomine panicked as he shuts Akashi's mouth which, if it happened on a normal day, he would probably get killed.

"I should be the one asking you that...Daiki" Akashi suddenly has this dark glare staring into the soul of Aomine. He has enough of this. Why is everyone acting this way?!

"Y-You..." Aomine trailed off while looking at the others for support which he didn't really get but came in the form of Tetsu.

"Akashi-kun, I may have to agree with Aomine-kun." informed Kuroko.

Aomine sighed in relief. If its Kuroko then Akashi will listen to him. The others listened attentively.

"Tell me, why do we have to pass on our first lead to get out of this place? Tetsuya..." said Akashi sternly. Why was he being the out of place here?

Everyone stared at him weirdly.

"What did you see, Akashi-kun?" asked Kuroko.

"A person who just might know the way out." replied Akashi. He wasn't stupid nor was he that scared. Surprised, yes, and Kuroko knows that. So why...?

"Hmm..." the other looked at him silently.

Then everything in Akashi's head clicked.

Why didn't he realize that before?...He really seem to be out of character ever since all these events happened. Well, everyone is. Nobody can blame him.

"I see...I get your point now, Kuroko" Akashi calmed himself down and exhaled. So this is what Kuroko was implying at the statue a while ago.

"Why is it like that though...?." Kuroko trailed off.

"Maybe it has something to do with all these events..."

"I can't help but feel that there is more to that"

"You also have to tell me why you know the thing about that statue."

"...At a good time, I will"

"I don't really get what you two are talking about but if you guys are done, then let's go back to our place a while ago." Kagami said as he finished calming himself down and walked a few steps and sat down.

"Why the hell do you even want to chase that thing...sometimes, I just don't get you, Akashi" Aomine mumbled as he followed Kagami along with Kise and Murasakibara.

"I think I'm seeing your point here..." Midorima said to Akashi and Kuroko, who looked at him with challenging eyes. Momoi agreed with Midorima.

"I saw something terrfying, Akashi. We all did." Midorima inhaled "It literally has an aura that screams death..." He looked at Momoi who reaffirmed the statement by nodding.

"What did you see exactly...?" questioned Akashi as he held out his breath.

There was a pause.

"It was a man walking with its neck broken...A very bloody man..."

Akashi widened his eyes as the other three looked at the ground shaken.

But why ...? What's happening?...

Why was he spared of those sight?

Why him...?

"I saw a human..."

Nobody answered. None of them knew the explanation to that.

All of them just wanted to get out of here fast.


AN:

Sooo, here's the new chapter. Schedule has been busy lately so I think I can only update every end of the week. TvT But yey look its longer (that's not really an excuse is it QwQ) sniff. If there are any mistakes or things that bothers you, feel free to comment.

Anyways, a summary of this chapter; the guys have now arrived at a mysterious village and encounters mysteries upon mysteries. One of which is why can Akashi see the human forms of those scary things.

As always, thank you for the support and reviews TvT. Sorry if I scared you the previous chapter TvT Enjoy x)