Chapter 4: After the End
Davis searched the faces of those standing in front of him. "Where's Ken?" he asked again, his voice slightly trembling.
Heads turned as everyone looked at each other, not immediately realizing what just happened. Tai snatched the note from Davis and his eyes darted back and forth, reading and taking in the meaning of what was written on it. He read it out loud once, then another time, quicker.
"We've got to look for him!" said Kari, holding her hands close to her chest.
"Let's split into 3 groups," T.K. said right after. He and Davis were prepared to dash out when Tai held a hand up to stop them.
"No."
Tai's response seemed to shock everyone except Matt.
"But why? If we hurry we might be able to find him before the culprit gets away," Sora protested.
"No, Tai is right," said Matt. "We couldn't find Joe even when we went to search immediately, and even Cody was nowhere to be found after all our efforts. In fact, it may even be the culprit's intention to keep splitting us up like this."
"We have to calm down and think this through," said Tai as he folded up the paper and shoved it into his pocket. "Let's head back to the living room and we'll start from there."
Tai led the group back to the main area of the villa. Tai sat down on the single sofa while Sora and Kari took the double seater, Yolei curled up on the floor with her back against the same sofa in between the two other girls. T.K. sat opposite them and Izzy slumped down on the floor with his head on the table while Davis sat on the opposite end, which was right next to Tai. Matt chose not to sit but just leaned against the wall where everyone except Tai and Davis could see him.
Tai could tell they were all nervous and upset at the same time. Sora looked calm but he knew she was probably the most frustrated out of them all. He would know, they've been best friends for as long as he could remember.
He knew Kari was feeling very uneasy, too. Her hands were fidgeting and she occasionally bit her lower lips. She was the opposite of her usual cheery self now, but there was nothing he could do and he felt helpless for it.
But he knew it wasn't time to be wallowing. Everyone in front of him looked restless, and he knew Matt felt the same, even if he hid it. Given the green light, they would all burst out the door and scour the beach again.
He took a deep breath and clapped his hands on his thighs, getting everyone's attention. "Right," he said, leaning forward. "When was the last time anyone saw Ken?"
"He was here with us the whole time as far as I could remember," said Sora, looking distressed. "I didn't even notice he was gone until Davis asked…"
"Same here," Kari's voice was soft.
"Tai, did you notice if he was still here when you got up to the toilet?" asked Matt.
Tai shook his head in response. "I felt like I did see him, but I can't be too sure."
"But why would he suddenly leave without telling anyone?" asked T.K. "It's kinda odd, don't you think?"
"Maybe he went to the toilet, too?" said Matt. "He might have gotten up after Tai and went to the toilet upstairs. If he thought we saw him went after Tai, we'd probably knew where he was going."
"Then shouldn't we at least check upstairs?" Kari stood up suddenly and stared at her brother for a response.
Tai looked at her for a moment before nodding. It was probably pointless, but he thought it might be a good idea for her to do something. His sister was the type who couldn't sit still when others are in trouble after all. "Sora, could you follow her and do a quick check? T.K., you too. It should be safe if it's just upstairs, but just in case."
Both got up without a word and together with Kari made their way upstairs while the rest continued to brood over Ken's disappearance.
T.K. led the way up the stairs while Kari and Sora trailed behind him. He was somewhat afraid of what they might find, or in this case, what they might not find. It would be best if they found their friend loitering upstairs and that the mysterious message this time was a fake, but he knew that would be being too optimistic. At the very least, he hoped, they would be able to find some sort of clue.
Tai and Matt weren't the only ones who thought this entire case was weird. He too had felt something was wrong since the first disappearance. There were too many questions that they can't seem to find an answer to; how did their friends get kidnapped one by one, who is the culprit and where are they all now?
He realized that all 3 victims so far were far from being capable of defending themselves, but they should have been able to put up some sort of resistance against their kidnapper. It doesn't make sense then, how they had rushed to look for Joe right after hearing him scream, but were unable to find a single trace of him or anyone else. It was like they completely disappeared into thin air.
T.K. shook his head. There must be something else, there has to be… We're missing something…
"T.K., are you ok?"
A hand grabbed his shoulders from behind, jolting him from his deep thought. "Huh? Kari? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I just got a little too deep in my thoughts, that's all." T.K. forced a smile, scratching the back of his head.
"Anyway, the toilet's empty," said Sora. "Let's go through the rooms quickly."
T.K. nodded. He hadn't realized that Sora had went ahead of him. Guess no use thinking about it too much, gotta focus on what needs to be done now.
All the rooms turned out empty as T.K. feared. He could tell that Kari and Sora felt the same way he did. It was like clinging on to false hope. Hope… hah!
But it will be the end if I , of all people, lose hope now. Gotta stay strong, we'll definitely figure something out.
Making their way back downstairs, they suddenly heard Davis's voice shouting.
"Izzy!"
Izzy jumped when Davis suddenly slammed the table and shouted his name. He glanced across the table and saw Davis pointing his finger at him.
I was afraid of this…
"Izzy!" Davis shouted again. "You know something about this, don't you?"
"What's going on?" Sora was the first to appear from the stairs, looking confused and worried at the same time.
"Don't you guys find it odd?" said Davis. "Joe and Cody went missing right after they were left alone with Izzy. And Izzy has been acting suspiciously since the start of the trip as well. He knows something we don't. He must be hiding something from us!"
"Davis…" Tai frowned.
"I don't see how that makes Izzy suspicious," said Matt. "Besides, Izzy spent most of the day with you and Tai today, and it was Ken who disappeared this time. Was he ever alone with Izzy today?"
Yolei shook her head. Izzy tried to make out her expression but her face was mostly hidden under the shadows of her bangs. His brows furrowed.
"Both Joe and Cody also acted weird after they were alone with him, and then both disappeared soon after. It's just too much of a coincidence!" Davis raised his voice even higher. He gritted his teeth and banged the table with a fist. "Izzy, say something!"
Izzy did not respond, instead he casted his eyes downwards and looked away.
"Damnit!" Davis pushed himself up, stomped over, grabbed Izzy by his collars and pulled him up. "What in the world did you do to them…"
Izzy could feel Davis breathing down on his face but he still refused to look at him directly. He could hear the others moving, and within seconds, someone had pushed both him and Davis apart.
"That's enough, guys."
"But, Tai!"
"I said, enough." Tai sighed. "Sorry, Izzy. I think we should just tell them what you told me earlier."
Matt raised an eyebrow. "You mean Izzy really was hiding something from us?"
"I guess you could put it that way…"
Matt glared at Tai. "And you knew about it…"
"I really didn't think it was such a big deal," Tai said sheepishly. "I forced it out of him, but I can see why he's reluctant to say anything."
"Well, what is it?" Davis pulled on his shirt to straighten it up.
Izzy continued to keep quiet. He could tell that his silence had continued to tick Davis off, but he really could not bring himself to talk. Even if he tried, he would probably mess it all up.
"Izzy, what's wrong?" concern filled Sora's words. "This really isn't like you at all."
"Ah, well, you see," said Tai. "Right before we came, Izzy actually went ahead and did some research on the beach here. He was probably too excited about the trip and wanted to see what kind of place this is."
Izzy felt a hand on his shoulders. Even without looking he could tell it belonged to Tai.
"Let's just say… he got more than he bargained for…"
"What do you mean?" said Davis.
"Ghosts…" said Tai hauntingly. "There's been strange sightings of ghosts roaming around the beach at night."
"G-ghosts?" Sora sounded like she almost squeaked her words out.
"I really didn't know Izzy was afraid of ghosts, and it kinda creeped him out so he was talking to Joe about it," Tai continued. "When Joe suddenly disappeared last night, he started to freak out. He told Cody about it next then he too became a victim. It took me a while to get him to spill the beans."
"You're joking, right?"
"It's the truth, Davis."
"That's just ridiculous!" Davis cried.
"Davis!" Kari pulled him aside. "Maybe that's why he was so reluctant to talk about it, because it sounded silly," she said in a soft voice, but Izzy could still make out most of what was said.
"Besides, I don't think Izzy will lie to my brother. Now stop making a fuss about it, can't you see Izzy's really upset?"
Davis drooped his head for a few moments. "I.. I'm sorry Izzy."
But Izzy continued to be unresponsive, and the room fell awkwardly silent.
Matt finally moved from his position, put one hand in his jean pocket and said, "The other house, the one that looked abandoned. Let's go check it out again, right now."
He then explained to the rest of the group about the abandoned villa T.K. and Kari had seen the night before, drawing some frowns and raised eyebrows.
"But we already looked earlier," said T.K. "There was nothing there, we couldn't find anyway to get in and the place looked like it could fall apart any moment."
"And after hearing Izzy's story, I'm beginning to think that there really is something there," said Matt. "It's still the most suspicious looking place we've found and if ghosts are involved, it probably came from there."
"Matt! Stop talking as if these ghosts are real!"
Matt could hear a slight tremble in Sora's voice. Don't tell me now she's getting freaked out by that too.
"I say we should go and check out the place again now, together," he said.
Tai shook his head. "I don't think it's a good idea to bring Yolei with us." He motioned towards her.
She was still curled up, hair over her face and she hadn't really said anything at all. Tai leaned towards Matt and whispered into his ears. "I think Ken's disappearance hit her quite hard."
Matt nodded in response.
Tai cleared his throat. "Anyway, I think it's a good idea to check out this other place you've mentioned, but we'll have Yolei and Kari wait here to hold the fort."
Izzy finally took his eyes off the floor and said something for the first time that night. "I-I have to go, t-too?"
"We can't leave Kari and Yolei here alone, it could be dangerous!" said T.K. at the same time.
Tai rolled his eyes. "Yes Izzy, you're coming with us. And don't worry T.K., they'll be fine."
"B-but!" T.K. continued to protest, but stopped when he saw a glare from not only Tai, but Sora too.
"It's okay, we'll be fine," said Kari as she knelt beside Yolei. "You guys go ahead, but be careful."
Tai and Matt did a quick round to make sure that all the doors and windows were securely locked before giving the word to head out. T.K. continued to be hesitant, but Tai grabbed his wrist and pulled him along.
"Don't worry," he said once they were outside. "Kari's strong, you should already know that by now."
"And right now Yolei probably needs some time alone with someone she can really talk to," said Sora who appeared by his side. "Having a third person there would make it hard. I wish I could help too, but having someone closer to your own age is probably better."
"But –"
Matt smacked the back of his head before he could continue objecting.
"Ow! What was that for!?"
"Just shut up and keep walking," he said. "Besides, it's probably more dangerous where we're going. If you think about it that way, isn't it better for those two to stay behind?"
Matt watched as his words sank into T.K. as he finally stopped protesting and followed Tai's lead quietly.
Tai rubbed his eyes. "Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?" His mouth hung open as he stared at a floating light moving about from behind the windows of the abandoned villa's upper floor. It danced around behind one window for a few moments before jumping to the next.
"Ghosts!"
Tai felt a rush of blood to his head as Sora grabbed his arm. He gulped. He had to admit, he was kinda enjoying it, but as the light jumped about from window to window, Sora's grip tightened and Tai grimaced as he felt as if his arms were about get squashed into pulp.
"Sora… you're… hurting… me…"
Sora quickly let go without saying anything, leaving Tai feeling both relieved and disappointed at the same time.
"So, there really is something in there," Matt chuckled. "As I thought, this place really is suspicious."
"You really think there are… ghosts in there?" even Davis gulped.
"Don't be silly," said Matt. "Whatever that is, it's not made by ghosts."
"Then what is it?" said Davis.
"That," he replied, "is what we're about to find out."
Matt walked ahead and up to the door, placing his hands on the doorknob. He had already tried this earlier but the doorknob wouldn't turn, a fact that his younger sibling is now trying to remind him. He gripped the knob, not paying any attention to T.K. right behind him, and turned.
"What do you know, looks like we're invited in," he chuckled again. The door drifted open lazily with a soft push, but the inside was so dark it was impossible to see anything. "Shall we?"
They walked in one by one after Matt. He shut his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again, trying to get his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He could start to make out a few shapes around them.
Izzy, following right behind Davis, was the last who entered.
And the door slammed shut.
"Not good. Door's shut tight," Davis said as he tried to push the door open.
Matt pushed Davis aside and took a deep breath, but before he could do anything else T.K. grabbed him from behind. "No kicking! Not while we're in here."
Matt shook himself free. "I'm not an idiot." He grabbed the knob with both hands and with a grunt tried to turn it without luck.
"What do we do now?" asked Sora.
"We came here to investigate, so let's investigate," said Tai. "Izzy, you ok? Sora?"
Izzy nodded. "Yeah."
Sora coughed. "There's too much dust floating around. Doesn't seem like anyone's been here for ages." She held herself tightly and took a look around, her eyes had already adjusted and could now see what was inside. It was quite similar to their own villa, but everything was covered with sheets.
"But we definitely saw lights upstairs," said Tai. "It's time to find out once and for all what is going on around here."
"C-can I stay and wait here?" Izzy suddenly said when they were at the bottom of the stairs.
"Come on, don't tell me you're really afraid of ghosts, are you?" Davis teased, although his voice sounded quivered a little at the end.
"So what if I am?" Izzy sounded flustered.
"Uhm, I can stay with him here. We could guard the stairs to make sure no one comes down," Sora quipped in. She was exactly enthusiastic about finding out what's upstairs. She knew what she said might actually happen, but it the chances of meeting it, whatever it is, is higher if she went up with the group. She'd rather take the risk waiting with Izzy.
"Fine," Tai sighed. "Just scream if you see or hear anything suspicious."
"I'm not going to scream!" she shouted softly.
She watched as the rest of the boys went up the stairs, losing sight of them as they turned the corner mid-way. She dropped herself down on the stairs next to Izzy.
Sora scratched her head wildly with her hands, the feeling of frustration filling her up. "Why is this happening to us…"
No response.
"Izzyyyy," she said in a disheartened tone, rolling her head.
… Is he… asleep?
Izzy's head was leaning against the wall, his eyes were closed and his mouth slightly opened. Sora could hear his steady breathing.
Poor guy… he must be the most exhausted out of all of us… Davis even accused him, he's probably already at his limit.
Watching one of her closest friend at ease had somehow managed to calm her own feelings too, and she genuinely smiled for the first time since the fiasco began.
"This is probably the room where we saw the light coming from." Tai stopped in front of a door. "Shall we?"
T.K. reached his hands to the doorknob, but let it go again.
"What's wrong?" asked Matt.
T.K. rubbed his thumb and fingers together. "There's no dust."
"What do you mean?" asked Davis.
"The doorknob, it isn't dusty like everything else here," he said.
Tai scowled. "That means someone was here, and could still be behind this door."
Matt slid in between T.K. and Tai and without warning opened the door, revealing a spacious looking room. There were 3 windows and the light from the moon outside shone in through each of them, washing the room with a soft purplish hue. The curtain on the right most window fluttered slightly, the window was slightly ajar.
They carefully entered the room and eyed their surroundings. There was a 4-post bed draped with a thin cloth, complete with 2 pillows.
T.K. went up to the right window and pushed it all the way open, welcoming the gentle breeze that took away the stuffiness in his lungs. He peeped out and took a look around. "This was definitely where we saw the light."
"But there's nothing here," said Davis as he examined the desk on the opposite side of the room. "There are still dusts everywhere here, are you sure the doorknob was clean?"
"Yeah," said T.K.
"Hey, you don't think…"
"Don't tell me you're starting to buy this crap about ghosts too, Davis," Matt stopped him halfway.
"There's no other explanation," said Davis, puffing his face.
"Someone might have just came in for a look," said Tai. "If they didn't touch anything else in here then only the door would have been touched."
"Ah, that makes sense."
Sora's head leaned forward, lower and lower, until she suddenly jolted back up straight. She touched the corner of the lips, it was slightly wet. It took her a few seconds before she realized it was drool and she quickly wiped it away. Tensed, she slowly turned to her left and saw Izzy was still asleep.
Phew…
She stretched her hands upwards, her fingers interlocked. I must have dozed off… Guess I'm pretty worn out too, eh?
She looked back up the stairs. Doesn't seem like the boys are back yet.
"Pssst…"
The hair on her back suddenly stood. She turned her head left and right.
"Over here," came a soft, barely inaudible voice.
Sora got up and peered over the railings of the stairs. "Tai?"
She slowly walked down two steps, arriving at the base of the stairs, then turned, staring into the empty house. "Is that you?"
Light appeared from under a door that was beneath the stairway. She heard a creaking sound as the doorknob turned and pushed opened slightly. More light shone out but she could not see who or what opened the door. She took a step back and gulped.
"Sora, here, hurry!" came the hushed voice again.
Sora's eyes grew wide. Is that…
She headed towards the opened door…
"This one's locked." Matt tried turning the knob a few more times.
Davis yawned. "Oh man, I'm starting to feel really tired again… What time is it?"
"It's almost 1am," said T.K. "We can check out the next room before coming back to this one. Maybe we'll find a key."
"What about the last 2 rooms, were there any keys?" asked Tai.
Davis shook his head. "I checked the desks and drawers, nothing there."
"Hey, guys," a sleepy sounding voice interrupted them as Izzy walked into view, rubbing his eyes. "Why did Sora leave me alone down there?"
"What are you talking about, Sora isn't…" Davis trailed off.
"Oh crap!" Tai rushed off and almost knocked Izzy over as he went pass.
Matt and Davis took after Tai while Izzy, who still looked confused, stood by himself in the hallway. Just as Izzy had said, there wasn't anyone else below. Sora was nowhere in sight.
Tai slammed his fist on the wall. "Damnit!"
Then Davis noticed something, a soft glow. "What's that?" he said, pointing to the door under the stairs.
The glow was soft and was hard to see even in the dark room, but it was without a doubt, light. Tai put a finger to his lips, signaling them to keep quiet as they slowly tiptoed over to the door. With a nod from the rest, Tai grabbed the door handle and pulled.
It was a small storage room, oddly shaped since it was under a flight of steps. It was mostly empty except for a few small boxes at the far end, plenty of cobwebs, and in the middle was a single lit candle on a silver candle cup. A square note lay under it.
A midnight chase,
To one with grace;
From under your nose;
O' Love, one pretty as a rose;
Maybe I will give it up a kick,
By showing you another trick;
Before the light was up this morning,
Who's Next, who shall you be mourning?
Tai scrunched the piece of paper in his fist and slammed them on the floor. He continued pounding the floor as hard as he could. "Why did we leave them alone," he cried. "I should have stayed with them!"
Davis looked away, clenching his fist. Then it dawned on him – Sora was with Izzy. Izzy… Izzy!
He dashed off and practically jumped up the stairs. With a last lunge he landed at upper floor with a loud thud. He got up and slowly walked towards Izzy, who was standing in front of the locked room they had tried to enter.
"It was you after all, wasn't it?" Davis cracked his knuckles. "I'm gonna get the truth out of you right now."
Davis took a few more steps forward, but Izzy still looked like he didn't know what was going on.
Click!
A sudden sound from behind the locked door caught both their attention. The knob turned and the door pushed wide open. Davis stopped in his tracks. He watched in horror as a pair of black hands reached out, grabbed Izzy by his shoulders and without warning, pulled him in. The door started to close.
Coming back to his senses, Davis ran over and tried to grab the handle, but he had missed by inches. The door slammed shut and another click could be heard. Davis turned the doorknob furiously but it was locked once again.
"Izzy!" he called over and over as he banged the door. "Can you hear me!?"
"Davis, what's going on?"
"Matt!" Davis was startled when he heard his name called out. He turned his head while his hands kept on trying to open the door. "Izzy, he… I just saw him being pulled into this room!"
"Isn't that the locked room?"
"Yeah," Davis continued to try forcing the door open. "It suddenly opened and someone dragged him in and it's now locked again. Help me!"
"I've got a better idea," said Matt, rushing into the room next door.
Confused, Davis gave the door another kick and ran in after Matt.
This was the second room they had checked, which only had an empty cupboard, drawer and a small bed. Matt pushed one of the windows open and hopped on to the sill. Realizing what Matt was doing, he quickly did the same thing and they both carefully walked over the roof tiles to where a window to the locked room was.
Much to his chagrin, one of the windows was pushed out. He hurried over and looked into the room. Empty.
"We're too late," he got down and touched some of the tiles. "The room is empty and there are some dust and grainy bits of sand around here. It looks like they got out through the window and escaped."
He caught sight of something white partially hidden under one of the tiles. He reached over and pulled it out.
Here's a sudden impulsive thought,
Maybe even a clue to this crazy plot;
So I might as well continue,
With the one next in queue;
Just to pass you this message,
I have taken your one true Knowledge;
Without whom you're not so wise,
Can't tell the truth among the lies;
What you see in what you get,
Interested to find out Who's Next?
Tch!
Matt got up. "Let's grab Tai and T.K., then head back for now."
"What about Sora and Izzy?"
"They're probably not here anymore, but we'll come back and double-check when the sun is up."
"The door is locked," said Davis.
"We'll use the windows, break it open if we have too. The door might be difficult but it should be easy to get the windows with a chair or something. I'm pretty sure I saw a sheet that looked like it was covering a chair downstairs. We'll be able to get back in too. Come, let's go."
The grandfather clock had just chimed twice, indicating that it was already 2 in the morning. Kari had been yawning but the knock on the door caused to suddenly become alert. Trying not to make a sound, she crept over to the door but was relieved when she heard T.K.'s voice calling for her to open the door.
She was not expecting to see what she saw. Her brother looking weak and down, while T.K., Matt and Davis all had weary looks on their face.
"Where's Sora and Izzy?" she asked.
Tai twitched at the question but did not respond or looked at her. Her stomach twisted as she asked the same question a second time. "Where's Sora and Izzy?"
She searched T.K.'s face for an answer, but he looked away.
It was Matt who dug out two pieces of paper from his pocket and showed it. "We lost them," he said.
Kari gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.
Matt pushed in and after making sure everyone had entered, locked the door once more.
Everyone was back in the living room. Tai was back in his seat, leaning back with his eyes closed. Yolei was still lying on the longer sofa, where she had been the entire time Kari was with her.
Davis retold the story of what had happened to them and Kari just listened on without making any sound or movement. When Davis finally finished, Matt took a step forward and tossed the 2 paper on the table. There were some dirty markings on the second note, the one left when Izzy was caught. Under the light it was obvious what it was – prints from the sole of a shoe.
"It looks like someone accidentally stepped on it when they were escaping," he said, "Now we know for sure that our opponent isn't some sort of ghost or monster. It's human."
"We're going to make whoever is behind this pay," said Davis.
"We've already lost 5 people, damn!" T.K. pounded on his knees, his face contorted.
Kari felt her chest tightening up. She had seen T.K. making that face only a few times before, it was a face that broke her heart every time she saw it. She was just as worried about her friends, and seeing T.K.'s face like that made her felt even worse.
"Six."
All heads turned to Tai, even Yolei had gotten up. He shifted forward with his hands clasped under his chin.
"We've lost 6 people," he said softly. "Joe wasn't the first victim."
Silence.
"He was the second."
A/N: This chapter was longer than usual and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did writing it. I'll probably be taking a short break from writing this, but don't worry, it won't be that long. I just want to focus on my original fiction over at FictionPress (Please do check it out! It's called Reverie Online, you can find it in my profile here!) and another new fanfic in the works.